To better practice the skills necessary for constructing our title sequence, my partner and I felt that it would be beneficial to analyze a film clip in our genre. This could teach us more about the conventions as well as prepare and inspire us for ideas in our own project. The film clip we analyzed is from a movie called, “Murder on the Orient Express”. It aligns with our title sequence, carrying aspects of crime, mystery, drama and thriller genres within it.
Cinematography: A long handheld shot is used which emphasizes the chaotic nature of the sequence. It is very shaky and increases the overall tension of the clip. (1:13-1:50) Another type of shot used are pans and whip pans. They help to show each character involved in the murder. It also adds suspense and fear in the audience because it increases the pace and rhythm of the scene. (1:35) This entire killing scene is a low-angle shot which shows that in this moment, they are placed in a position of superiority to the victim. The slight low angle and high angle shots from the detective to Pfieffer’s character shows the power the detective has over her that she is being found out as the main killer. (0:38-0:47) There is also another high angle shot (2:31-2:41) to show Pfeiffer’s character being in a higher authority than the victim who is lying on the bed, helpless and dead.
These observations fit right into the researched genre conventions of the crime genre because high angle and low angle shots are consistently used to develop and portray a representation of status.
Mise-en-scene: The lighting in the clip is very low-key throughout and has aspects of chiaroscuro, with deep shadows to make the overall tone very creepy and suspenseful. The setting of this scene is on a train, which is a very intimate and enclosed space, which also contribute to the suspenseful and scary tone of the clip. The props also establish this same tone. Different objects such as a knife, pocket watch and window were used symbolically to convey important messages and represent an important aspect the story. The costuming of each character varies over a wide range and it help sot add unique characteristics to each person and distinguish them from one another. Blocking is another part of mise-en-scene that is used in this clip. The characters that commit the murderous crime are placed in close proximity together, showing that they are all bonded together, and in this case are bonded by their murder.
Editing: This extract from “Murder on the Orient Express” is filled with various match cuts. An eye-line match cut is shown when the woman is stabbed in the back and when it transitions to the present clip of her recalling the story. (0:36) This match cut serves the purpose of telling the viewer that these are the same characters because it could seem confusing with the woman having two different costumes. The majority of the match cuts were match-on-action cuts because it is meant to preserve the continuity. One example is when the man is being killed on the bed and it immediately cuts to the surrounding people killing him. (1:13) This makes the scene flow better by showing the victim and the criminal sequentially after. Another editing technique was the black and white effect, which helped to show when flashbacks were occurring.
Sound: Non-diegetic sound was used when all the characters were killing the man on the bed. Music was played over the scene to emphasize the creepy feeling throughout the murder. Dialogue was used to preserve the continuity and keep the storyline and plot moving forward.
Into the Truth 