Planning and Research

Se7en 

Opening Sequence Analysis of Se7en 

• Camera Shot/Angle/Movement
• The camera angles, shots and movement of the opening scene of se7en seem to be mainly a close up of a mans hands and other objects like books photographs. Using these camera shots and angles they build tension throughout the scene. Also at the beginning of the scene their is a high angled shot of a set of deformed hands.   

• Sound
• The sound in the opening scene is mainly non-diegetic sound. But in the middle of the scene you hear like an electrical drill which also sounds like an women screaming. Also the non-diegetic sound running throughout the scene seems to keep in time with what you see on the screen. 

• Editing
• The editing in the opening scene uses straight forward cuts for example at the beginning of the opening scene you see a set of hands flicking through a book, then they cut to the credits to tell you who is in the film, then it goes back to the book but this time it is open and with an high angled shit of the hands and then back to the opening credits. 

• Mise en Scene
• The Mise en Scene in the opening scene uses very dark and artificial lighting. Which makes the scene feel dark, gloomy and quite frightening. Also it seems like the light is focused on one particular point in each shot. Also the props used are books, photographs, a razor blade and a very strange prop to have is a tea bag in the scene. Their is a person hi-lighting words in a book and colouring over peoples faces. The opening scene to me looks like the character is processing a photography film to put into a book that they are making.  

• Characters
• Throughout the opening scene to the scene you only see one character. You only see close up of the characters hands, which look like a mans hands. We have no idea of what the character looks like but i would think that he is going to be the main character in the film.   

• Locations
• In the opening scene you don’t get much idea of where the character actually is. I would think that the character is in an basement or a laboratory. Somewhere that is not easily assessable. 

• Narrative/Plot
• The narrative plot in the opening scene death. Also i feel that it is about an unknown curial killer that kills people throughout the film. 

• Themes
• The themes running through the opening scene look like they are going to be death, suffering possible serial killer. 

• Visual Style
• In the opening of Se7en there are so many cuts in the first 35 seconds and we still don’t no really what is going on in the scene or what the main character looks like.  

• Genre
• I feel that the Genre in the film se7en is a thriller. I think this as all the scenes you see are dark short cuts that created a dangerous feeling to the film.