Research On Suspense

 Video 1: How to Create Suspense through Camera Movements

Here's how we can use each technique with our film:

Camera Technique	Best Scene Use in 'Til Death'
Subtle Dolly	Husband walking toward breakfast table
Unseen	Husband waking up in the shed
Anticipating Motion	Wife checking hallway or opening a door
Push on Nothing	Suspenseful moments in kitchen or shed
Widening the Space	Husband crawling or hiding in shed
Two Things at Once	Parallel scenes: Wife cooking / Husband texting
Traces and Clues	Wife discovering the affair
Steps to Suspense	Husband searching for a way out
Visual Dangers	Wife threatening in the background

 

Video 2: How to Create Suspense & Tension Like Alfred Hitchcock

How to Apply Hitchcockian Tension in ‘Til Death’

Technique	Your Adaptation
Anticipation over action	Show poison being prepared, not the effects — build dread
Audience ahead of character	Reveal her knowledge before he knows
Control visuals tightly	Use restrictive POVs, close-ups, or obscure info
Strategic silence	Natural sound > music in key moments; sudden audio cues for shocks
Delay payoff	Tease violence or death — but delay or twist it (e.g., husband survives — for now)

Video 3: Se7en - Title Sequence

What Happens in the Opening Sequence of Se7en: 

1. Credits Montage (not a typical narrative intro): 

1. -The sequence uses a montage of disturbing close-ups showing someone (later revealed to be the killer) assembling a notebook, cutting skin off fingers, developing photos, and obsessively collecting notes. 

2. -It's edited rapidly, with jump cuts, flickers, and overlays. 

3. -The unsettling industrial soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails (“Closer (Precursor)”) immediately creates discomfort. 

4. -Text (credits) appears in a jittery, scratched font — mirroring the killer’s fragmented mind. 

2. Mood & Tone: 

1. -Dark, gritty visuals. 

2. -High contrast lighting, with shadows dominating the frame. 

3. -The color palette is drained and desaturated, leaning heavily into browns and greys. 

3. Symbolism & Thematic Setup: 

1. -We see religious and moral references (crosses, newspaper clippings, biblical images), foreshadowing the seven deadly sins motif. 

2. -The obsessive, methodical behavior hints at the killer’s psyche without revealing them directly. 

What We Can Borrow for ‘Til Death’: 

Since our film is about a psychotic wife enacting revenge, here’s how you can apply Se7en’s techniques: 

1. Credit Sequence with Visual Storytelling 

• Show her preparing the kitchen early in the film, obsessively lining things up, sharpening a knife, unscrewing a pill bottle — cut between close-ups of these actions to imply mental instability and a looming threat. 

• Use jumpy, disjointed editing or fast-paced cuts to reflect her fractured emotional state. 

2. Match Tone with Music & Sound 

• Use an eerie, low-frequency soundtrack (maybe detuned piano or ambient drones) during mundane actions — e.g., stirring tea, setting the table — to signal something’s not right. 

• Include moments of complete silence, especially when she stares at her husband or holds the knife — tension through what isn’t said or heard. 

3. Symbolism & Mise-en-Scène 

• Include visual metaphors in the background: maybe framed wedding photos that are cracked, plants withering, or newspaper clippings of past disappearances. 

• If we go with the idea of missing posters of ex-lovers, reveal them slowly — maybe the camera passes them as she opens a drawer. 

4. Editing & Pacing 

• Mimic the unsettling jump cuts or layered overlays (like flickers of old memories or alternate realities) during moments of internal tension — for example, as she doses the food. 

• Consider a title reveal that flickers or distorts, echoing Se7en’s chaotic font, to instantly set the psychological tone.