Se7en Charlie Funnell

Character The opening title sequence for Se7en is conceptual, with no clear presentation of any character apart from the one figure. Although we only see the persons hands, some parts of the sequence suggest that this person is possibly in a bad mental state as their actions are very frantic and sporadic. The fact that the character in this scene is using a razorblade to cut the skin off of his fingertips, suggests that he wants to hide his identity and remain disguised, which is typical of the antagonist of a thriller and hints that he has the intent of committing crimes and not being caught.

Narrative In this scene there are a lot of vague shots of disturbing things happening, such as the figure in the scene cutting the skin off of his fingertips. This is of course significant to the narrative later on, although the audience watching this scene for the first time would not know this. Another example of this is the various photographs and crossing out of parts of text that are shown briefly in the sequence. At a first glance it appears that these things are only being used to create discomfort, (as it is an uncomfortable scene to watch) although later on in the film it appears that every action taking place in this scene has significance in John Doe’s plan.

Mise-en-scene This opening scene is conceptual and relies a lot on Mise-en- scene for its effect. Location The location of this scene is unknown to the audience, but because of the low key lighting it is clear that the setting is somewhere indoors. Props The props used in this opening scene are very important as they are what is shown most in the shots. The use of many small photos with gory looking pictures in them and the way they are only briefly in the shots, not quite giving the audience enough time to make out what they are. Helps to make the scene very unsettling, foreshadows the bad things to come later in the film and suggests that the character in the scene is mentally unstable. Another prop used a lot is a pen, which the character in the scene frantically uses to cross out words in books and faces from photographs. This again is unsettling for the audience and suggests the mental instability of the character.

Cinematography The majority of the shots in this scene are extreme close ups. These shots are used to confuse the audience and give the whole scene a disturbing feel to it. None of the shots in this scene follow any action, as the action always stays in frame, this is combined with lots of quick cuts to make the scene seem very tense.

Editing An effect used a lot in this scene, is superimposing. Many of the shots have something else happening over them to create a sense that the figure doing the things in the scene is doing them very fast and frantically.

Sound The soundtrack to this opening sequence is definitely one of the most important elements of the sequence and helps to add the feeling of discomfort as the song, a remix of “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails which is very intense, fast and builds up towards a climax throughout the scene. The song keeps this pace as it plays throughout the sequence and works perfectly alongside the disturbing conceptual imagery used in the background. Alongside the soundtrack are a lot of warped scratching noises which are also very discomforting.