SE7ENOTS ANALYSIS

Mise En Scene

The opening title sequence of Se7en takes place in a room with desks in, although the is never shown fully, you are able to piece together the room and the fact there are multiple desks that the character is using for images and documents.

The lighting in the opening title sequence of Se7en is dim and unnatural as if the whole room is being lit by a small dying light bulb. This is typical of the thriller genre as it manipulates the lighting to make the mood more tense and eerie.

The boards of light to examine x-rays are also contributing to the tension as they have a brighter blue tinted light that cuts through the dimness of the opening title sequence and gives more silhouetted shapes and figure there for increasing the effect of the atmosphere.

The costumes used in the opening title sequence of Se7en are not very varied as no characters have any head on screen time, all that is seen is someone’s hand. The hand has been made up to have multiple bandages, cuts and lots of dirt this amplifies the tension as the character is view what appears to be photos from autopsies and so this is typical of the thriller genre as it keeps the tension running high and keeps the audience guessing.

The props used in the scene are somewhat ordinary as there are pens, papers and bandages used but, the autopsy photos that are used are less ordinary suggesting that this character is probably the anti-hero as they are viewing victims from murders. This is common in thrillers as it sets the mood of the film which is generally vey tense and keeps the audience in the dark. The actors performance the scene is fairly simply as it is just hand motions but from the way they move and interact with props you can tell that they are nervous or are waiting for something.

CinematographyThe opening title sequence of Se7en uses almost all close up shots with one mid shot. Most of the close up shots in this scene are of various props to set the scene and with a few shots focused on the actors hand as it interacts with props. This series of shots shows the audience only a part of what is currently happening in the film as they do not know who is on screen and why they are doing what they are doing, this is typical of thrillers as it keeps the tension high and the audience interested.

Editing

The editing in the opening title sequence of Se7en, has a shot and then a black screen with some opening credits displayed in a way that adds suspense. This style of editing is common for thrillers as it starts the tension off from the very beginning of the film.