Se7en Opening title sequence Analysis

Mise – en - scene Location and setting – The opening title sequence for se7en does not include any long shots of the setting and location, but from the images gives it looks like it has been taken in a house or an office. A lot of the objects used are typical of something that you would find in a house. However the house isn’t shown so this builds up/creates tension for the viewers/audience. The whole beginning of the opening title sequence is film with constant close ups and extreme close ups so that it has a restricted narrative from the start, this pulls the audience in. This is typical of the genre because it is constantly building up tension, creating enigmas and makes the audience question things that are happening and makes them think why it kept a secret and why are they not showing the main parts of the house. The technique that the director used Is called restricted narration- this means giving less information to the audience. The reason why this is done is so that it makes the audience think, and makes them feel the need to go see the whole film, it also keeps the audience thinking and makes them think about what they have seen. Because the opening title sequence seems to be set in a warehouse or an ordinary house, this suggests to the audience that it is in an ordinary location and is known, this is a common trait of thrillers with ordinary places with extra ordinary events, this makes it more thrilling because the audience think that its happening where they are. The not showing of where the setting is, shows that it may be a hidden identity of the character it focuses on. The unknown identity of the character suggests that he is the antagonist in this film, as he doesn't want anyone to find him or know where he is.

Lighting and colour At the beginning appears two images of hands on paper – one is darker and one is lighter which this could be showing signs of good and bad (e.g. hero and villain ). Also in the opening title sequence it is very faced paced and switches from different shades of dark colours and changes the image that is shown. The work that is shown is very unclear, this can tell the audience that the work that is being created is bad or is very secretive, also giving clues that he is the antagonist character. Small drops of blood on to the paper this shows danger as red is normally associated with murder, stabbing, crime, guns, slaughtering which is typical of thriller films. The character also gives a sense of danger, like he’s going to do something as he is slicing the skin of his finger tops to prevent getting finger prints on what ever the character is going to do. Black highlighter – the colour suggests death, danger, murder, gloominess, and the dark colour persists throughout the opening title sequence. Dark marked hands of the character shows that they may have been digging something and that they are a criminal and have a secret that they don’t want anyone to know

Costume / appearance Not a lot of character and appearance is shown in the se7en opening title sequence, this is because it’s a restricted/conceptual narration type of opening title sequence. But based on the appearance of the character’s behaviour this is what I have come up with: The character’s hands are darkly marked, this can suggest that then character has been doing something that they are not supposed to. This could also show that he might have been hiding something so that he has to dig to hide what he had done?, or to conceal it. Some photographed images in the opening title sequence had a black circle around them this could suggest that the character is planning to kill them or they have already been killed, We get this impression because black is associated with death and murder, and quite bad characters. It seems like the characters behaviour is very obsessive as he is constantly finding new things to do to protect identity.

Props Used Photographs Pens/highlighter Blades plasters books papers They are typical of the genre because they have a lot of typical violent associated things. The photographs being highlighted often shows someone targeting someone and singling someone out. The plasters on the characters hands/fingers show a sense of a hidden identity, this is very common of the protagonist in a thriller film. The fact that the character is harming himself could suggest that he is mentally ill. The plasters add to the action because it shows that the character doesn't care about him self and he will hurt him self just so that he can hurt other people. It also shows that he has obviously done crime so bad that he has harmed himself, and pushed himself to believe by cutting of the end of your fingertips it will get rid of the fingerprints this suggests psychological elements to the film. The papers can also be typical of the genre because the protagonist is usually smart and tries to find out information, or try to get as much detail as they possibly can on what they are doing, to ensure that the crime goes successful.

How do they add to the action ? The use of books, circled photographs, and papers show that the character has been researching and planning something, but this is un known, this makes it more suspicious to the audience and build up more suspense and tension to who it is or what the character is focusing on. The use of the blade shows danger to the audience making it seem a lot more interesting, and makes it more thrilling, the blade could also suggest gore in the narrative. The amount of pens, books,papers show that the man is planning a lot, and shows that he is very precise on looking for that certain person. The blade shows that the character is also very fearless and will do anything, this could be seen as a threat to the public or anyone the character knows. …Props

Actors performance The character seems like they are putting a lot of effort and detail into what ever they are doing. It can give the impression that he is trying to get payback on someone. Character seems very calm and rested, this makes this character seem psychotic as he is so calm at the fact of cutting the skin of his finger prints, whereas a normal person would be in pain, and would flinch at the thought of doing that. This tells us that character is very smart and a lot of ideas has gone into his planning, the hands of the character were very rough and all dirty, this shows that he could come from a poorer background whereas his intelligence suggests the opposite. The character seems obsessive because he is taking so much care at what they are doing. It makes the character seem like he wants to get things done very quickly. It also shows that the personality of the character is very psychotic at the element he is targeting people and getting a lot of information about who they are. It shows that he is planning a complex and a very precise crime/murder.

Cinematography Extreme close up – This shows the dramatic elements to the this shot because it is such a close up shot. It also has been added so that we can specifically see what the character is doing (as the background has been blurred out). It shows that the character is psychotic as he is cutting the skin on his fingers. Medium shot – this gives more of an insight into what the character is drawing or writing. I am not too sure if they are the actually the characters hands, or if they are a drawing or a photograph of hands, this could confuse the viewer and get them thinking.

Sound The sound used in the Se7en opening title sequence is non diegetic and helps to create the mood and sets the film. The sound that is played makes the whole title sequence seem like a mystery. The sound builds up as the title sequence does along. There is no lyrics in the opening title sequence as well as no narrative.