Analysis of music/ sound in psycho and vertigo

psycho 

In psycho, Alfred Hitchcock's music producer made this music to make the audience feel some form of tension and excitement throughout watching this film. The repetitiveness of the violin using a single note in this piece of music builds up suspense and makes the audience contemplate what is about to occur. the music produce also uses a very disturbingly high pitched sound to make the audience feel tense and unnerved. The dramatic change in octave (becomes lower) demonstrates the darkness in the film. also, towards the end of the piece of music, the notes were stretched out (longer), this could linked to the bathroom scene and how dramatically long the killing took place for. 

vertigo 

At the beginning of the song from the film 'vertigo', it is clear that the producer, Bernard Herrmann, uses a variety of instruments from the string family. The connotations of string instruments are that they create suspense. The use of a 6/4 time signature could imply an uneven feeling toward the film and what may occur as the progresses. Herrmann also uses instruments like trombone from the brass family. the constant use of brass instruments also gives the audience the same unnerving feeling. As the music continues, the key/ of the piece changes from a minor to a major- this symbolises that everything will be okay however there is a drastic change back to a minor note- this shows that there are many bad/alarming occurrences in this film.

Se7en analysis

In this opening title, the key aspects which makes this a thriller are:

• the use of color 
• camera angles 
• sound/music 

There is very few color used in this title sequence and these colors used are primarily black, white and some dark blue. This is highly significant as the connotations of black is mystery- it is typically associated with something negative. it also could suggest how much power the protagonist has in the film. However white is also used and this is important as the connotations of white are mainly purity and innocence. This is compelling as the two colors are shown together which portray a contrast of good and evil. These colours begin to paint a picture of the type of genre this film is.

There aren't any specific camera angles used however the creator of the film focused mainly on quick cuts and extreme close. The constant use of quick cuts cut make the audience feel excited and expecting something to occur.

At the beginning of the title sequence, the music sounds very distorted which could infer to something bad happening throughout the film and as this music progresses, it still has a disoriented feel to it. This is a crucial part to the title sequence as it could give a rough idea of what the genre of the film is.
 

Analysis on barthes codes

Analysis on the Barthes codes

There are many ways which makes an opening of a movie intriguing and captivating for example music- music is a key aspect as it can take various forms and build up emotion, leaving the audience wanting more. another key example could be choice of color. this is important as many colors have many meanings for instance the use of red can infer that there may potentially be some form of violence. This is the predominant reason why red is seen in some title sequences in thrillers. 

Barthes codes are also a vital trait in films, particularly in thriller films. They are used so the audience can have different views/ perceptions of what is occurring or what my occur later on. An example of A Barthes code are the hermeneutic code and the enigma code. 

The hermeneutic code refers to any element in a film which is not fully explained and this appears as an enigma (a puzzle that needs to be solved) for the audience, raising enquirers that demand explanation. Most stories hold back vital information in order to increase the final effect of the truth.  In the minority report, there are various questions which need to be answered (from the audiences perspective) for example we are told that the protagonist is wanted however there this itself raise questions as to why he was wanted. Also in memento, the protagonist doesn't seem sympathetic to the boy that had died however the clip stated that he was the youngest boy in the world yet he claimed to be 18 years of age. The audience could be wondering how the boy had died or why he is the youngest boy in the world but he is eighteen years old. 

these codes are used to create queries by the audience and make them contemplate about the film