INTRO RESEARCH- Seven & Red Dragon

RED DRAGON & SEVEN

I have analysed the opening scenes of Red Dragon and Seven. Red Dragon is directed by Brett Ratner and was made in 2002. Seven was directed by David Fincher in 1995. In these clip I have focused on sound, editing, camera movement and mes-en-scene to analysis the clips. 

Sound

In Seven there is very loud music this helps make the audience feel tense because they do not know what to expect but know it will be something dramatic. It is also non diegetic so the characters cannot hear it therefore showing it there just to put an effect on the audience. The sounds effects are very disjointed for instance screams and doors shutting, this also makes the audience uneasy and gives them a sense of what to expect later on in the film. The sounds effects also being disjointed is a direct relationship to the mindset of the protagonist being all messed up which is what we expect the head of the main character to be like. 

Just like Seven the Red Dragon also has loud  music and non diegetic sound to cause a tense affect on the audience and show that its there just to effect the audience as the actor cannot hear it. As we see the negative stories about Hannibal the music turns low and aggressive to emphasis what is being shown on the screen and that it is significant to what to expect from the film you are about to watch. 

Editing

In Seven there are visual images of children which could be used as a link to the characters and what happened when they were younger which resulted in what they do now and what will occur in the film. This helps the audience understand the plot of the film better. The background between scenes is black with white writing, this could be used because both these colours are bold so when used together make it stand so therefore making it stand out emphasizing what it is being brought across. They also edited it so the writing was jumpy making it seem hand written this could symbolize that the protagonist is simple minded. There are a lot of jump cuts which makes it not flow smoothly which links to the main character and how messed up his life is. 

As with Seven in Red Dragon they use visual images of children to reflect the childhood the protagonist may have had and what trauma he may have gone through which links to the mind of the character he now plays. The word 'Red' is in red and the word 'dragon' is in white which are contrasting colours. The use of Red could show Hannibal's evil side as the colour symbolizes blood, danger whereas the white could show Hannibal's good side as it is a sign for hope and innocence. This could be the fight between good and evil inside Hannibal which also links to how messed up his head is. The writing is smooth and linear as it is typed up which is a contrast to Seven where the writing is hand written. This could show the difference between the two main protagonists personalities.  

Mes-en-scene

The setting of Seven is in the house of the main character which could symbolize how it is behind closed doors, private for no one to find it making it a secret and possibly something which is not good and something he shouldn't be doing. The lighting is very dark so this gives of a negative feeling to the audience so they know to expect something. Its also helps build up the tension and suspension of what is going to happen through out the film. As well as that is also adds to the fact it is set in his house as secrets are kept in the dark. 

In relation to Seven, Red Dragon is also set in a house giving the effect of the protagonist having something to hide for only him/her to see. The lightening is dark as if it set in a basement/attic which like Seven gives the fear/suspense of what is going to happen to the audience. It could also show that the scrap book is hidden and no one would find out about it so Hannibal has something to hide. 

Camera Angles

In Seven the use of extreme close ups on the character which means you never see his/her face gives you the thought that they have something to hide for instance he may be a killer who wants to hide his identity. It also makes the audience hooked so they want to keep watching to try and find out who it is. They also zoom into words to emphasis whatever the message is being put across as important. They do not use any wide shots as this could reveal the killers identity so it keeps the mystery there and people to keep on watching.

In Red Dragon the close ups are on news paper articles to show the audience what is going on and so they understand the story line. This also gives the audience the link of what happens between the pretitle scene and title sequence.