NW Technical analysis of Cube (1997)

As a result of completing this technical analysis of the first two minutes of Cube opening I have learnt some techniques and ideas that are used in psychological horror films which we can take into our own production.
The majority of shots feature the protagonist however at this point in the film we don't see an antagonist as it is still very early on, we will bare this in mind when creating our film opening by making sure most of the shots have the protagonist in them.
Titles are included before any shots begin, they indicate the films production company in white font and capital letters on a black background across the top of the frame, the film title itself doesn't come until about 4 minutes into the opening.
To begin with the average length of shot is around 13 seconds however the cutting rate increases with each shot being on average about 3 seconds, this increases tension and builds the heart rate of the audience as they have to focus more on the shots in the scene.
Camera movement is mostly still however as we become placed with the man it starts to move so we can see more of the location and puts the audience in his shoes as it is jerky as if its been filmed in a handy-cam style from an onlookers point of view.
In terms of framing, the man is mainly placed off centre in the shot, rule of thirds is applied a few times which creates an uneasy feeling as we wonder why the character is not centred which helps to build tension in the scene.
What we will take from this clip especially is the use of extreme close ups and handy-cam because it increases tension, also the use of continuity editing which we have had practice implementing in the preliminary task, this will be used to tell a story and help set the scene. In terms of mise-en-scene, the location isn't what we plan on using however it will be dark like in this clip as it creates a sense of mystery and adds a bigger fear factor. We will also use similar sound effects because they have an eerie and mysterious affect on the audience to make them fear what's coming next in the sequence.

Duration of shot	Camera distance, angle and movement	Mise-en-scene and sound
Starts at 21 seconds after black background and titles. Lasts 15 seconds.	Extreme close up of eye twitching, blinking and slowly opening. The camera is still while the pupil dilates and changes shape.	The eye takes up most of the frame; half of the frame is light while the other side is darker. Sound includes a dull whistling in the background which starts to build.
8 seconds	Mid-shot of man lying on the floor waking up. Its a birds eye view shot and the camera remains still throughout.	Rule of thirds applies as the man is not centred in the frame he is slightly to the left. Sound is eerie and mysterious.
16 seconds	Low angle showing the cube at a wide angle, the man comes into the shot from the bottom and them the camera pans up to view more of the cube and back down again.	Its dark, the cube can be seen and the silhouette of the man but its hard to tell any features in detail. Sound is the same as previous.
13 seconds	Cuts to mid shot of man standing in the cube, low angle. 360 degree spin around the man, the movement of the camera is jerky and irregular, connotes the uneasy nature of the shot.	It’s dark but we can see the mans face and his emotions. Sound echoes around the man as the camera does, it sounds like creaking machines in the background. Heavy breathing is also faintly heard.
18 seconds	Mid shot and low angle of man opening vault, camera stays still.	Sound of footsteps and the opening of the vault.
5 seconds	Close up and eye line match, the mans face moves into shot from the left side of the frame, camera pans left as the man moves along.	More lighting on mans face, the location remains enclosed and boxy. Sound is the same.
3 seconds	Still camera, long shot.	Different location, looks the same as previous cube but blue.
2 seconds	Cut back to close up of man, still camera.	Mise-en-scene and sound the same as previous.
2 seconds	View of blue cube, long shot, mans head comes out of shot in centre of frame but very far away, continuous to previous close up shot.	Same as above.
10 seconds	Low angle, mid shot, camera still.	Rule of thirds is applied, man is in left third of frame near the bottom.
9 seconds	Birds eye view shot of man opening another vault, camera is still.	Diegetic sound of vault being opened. Mise-en-scene, same as before.