Featuring an all star cast (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, no less) and a devilishly cool cameo from Kevin Spacey, David Finchers first foray into thriller films -a pattern later continued with films such as 'Memento' and the US remake of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'- proved to be very successful, both critically and commercially. Se7en seemingly follows the conventions of your typical buddy-cop thriller movie- a retiring detective, paired up with an up and coming cop (played by Pitt) on a homicide case, a who-done-it with the inevitable chase sequences, bust-ups and an unravelling case that has to be solved. However, it was set apart by its intricate plotting, as well as the natural chemistry between Freeman and Pitt. Here Melissa has chosen to analyse the opening sequence of the film, outlining the various codes and conventions of thriller films that have been utilised to create a thouroughly engaging and appropriately ambiguous opening to the film. Melissa discusses the film below:-
I do not own this footage, it is being used for educational purposes
''What is Se7en about?
For half of my research, I am analysing two opening title sequences, and one of them is se7en, this is a film about two detectives' hunt for a serial killer who is murdering people and justifying the crimes by absolution for the worlds ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The two detectives try and track down the serial killer who chooses his victims bases on the Seven Deadly Sins. Together, the two detectives trace the murderers every step, witnessing the aftermath of his horrific crimes one by one as the victims increase, all while moving closer to a gruesome fate neither of them could have predicted.
Camera
The title sequence starts with a close-up shot of a book, this creates a sense of mystery for the viewer as they don't know what's in it, the next camera angle is a high-angle shot looking down on the book, revealing to the viewer what is on the page, it then shows lots of different shots of close-ups on objects that don't seem to have any meaning to the viewer at that point which creates suspicions and keeps the audience guessing. There are no long shots in this title sequence so it doesn't really allow the viewer to see what's fully going on, reinforcing the mystery of it. Throughout the clip all of the camera angles are high angles or at eye level which could connote that the filmmaker doesn't want you to see anything of real importance yet, and that all the objects shown are of little importance as they are looked down on.
Mise-En-Scene
The Mise-En-Scene puts across very significant ideas in this title sequence, like what to expect from the film and the overall tone it puts across, which is ominous. The lighting in this extract is very dark adding to the ominous tone throughout and there are shadows which could be perceived as someone moving about which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, wondering who or what it is. The colours used are very dull and usually consist of brown, grey and black. You can see some words being highlighted on paper, with a black pen, the black connotes death and bad things. The objects shown such as blades and needles also help create a dark mood. The props such as the book and the images etc, add to suspicion of the viewer and make them wonder what the person is doing.
Editing
The opening title sequence starts off with slow paced shots of objects that aren't of any importance to the viewer at that point but which could be important later on in the film. The editing then changes to fast paced cuts, showing a variety of different objects, giving effect as they're shown on the screen for long enough for the audience to see what they are, but not long enough for them to figure out why they're included. The credits shown throughout help define the genre as they are messy and flicker on the screen, the credits flickering makes the viewer think of a flickering light bulb about to run out of light, which creates a sense of foreboding. Most of the images shown, look as if they're being doubled but they are blurred, which connotes to the audience that the person that is in the opening sequence is not mentally stable and doesn't see things clearly. The editing also helps set the mood and adds to the curiosity of the viewer as the shots with the books and writing being highlighted in are more slow paced than the other shots, signifying importance and makes the audience wonder what the person is doing.
Sound
The sound used in this clip, is mostly non-diegetic but some sounds are made to sound natural. For example, sometimes in the clip, a very high pitched noise occurs which tricks the viewer into thinking it's someone screaming, which connotes danger and someone desperate for help and sets the audience up for the rest of the film. The background music is heavy-sounding and is quite fast. this is typical of a thriller movie as it creates suspense.''
Evaluation of Melissa's Work:-
Providing a sound understanding of the plot's synopsis, Melissa then discusses how the intensity of camera angles and zooms create a tense atmosphere, the audience unsure of what of who or what is happening, making the audience question further what is going to happen as the film progresses. Also, she discusses how long shots in the clip further the sense of mystery, the audience suspiscious of what is taking place within the background. Melissa implies that the high shot angles connote insignificance; however, I believe this reveals to the audience how secretive the objects are, purposefully hidden from shot to intensify the sense of dagerous goings-on and mystique. After this, Melissa discusses the mise-en-scene; she says how the dark lighting createsan ominous andmelancholy tone, foreshadowing later events in the film. Furthermore, the iconography of images such as blades and needles indexically connote death, murder and hatred, themes touched on later in the film. In terms of editing, the opening credits are fast-moving reiterating the unpredictable nature of the thriller; Furthermore, the seeming randomness of the images at this stage in the fil, coupled with the blurred camera effects, build the impression that things are not what they seem, and could ultimately become dangerous. Finally, the use of non-diegetic sound builds a sense of menace and anticipation, whilst the minimal diegetic sound has a naturalistic style, grounding the film within reality. Overall, I feel Melissa has shown an advanced knowledge of the Thriller genre and how it translates to the film Se7en, discussing codes and conventions of a thriller film through the use of sound, editing, camera and mise-en-scene to analyse the opening credits.
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