Deconstruction of Film Opening: Se7en

DECONSTRUCTION OF FILM OPENING: SE7EN

 

 

Camera Angles:

The opening scene of Se7en uses a small range of camera angles. The most common camera angle used is a low angle however, we do see a few birds eye view shots and higher angle shots. All of these camera angles are appropriate because they clearly show the audience what is in the shot, even though the viewers do not understand why this is present at this stage in the movie. The low angles simply show the mise en scène in the shot but in an interesting way that is disorientating for the viewer, this increases tension and suspense because the audience are trying to actually recognise what they see as well as understand it. The birds eye view and high angles are used to show what is happening in the shot, they are used because they are the only angles that enable the viewers to see a specific detail or object in the shot, they are also effective due to the fact that they give the audience a different perspective.

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camera Framing:

It is mostly close-up framed shots that make up the opening sequence of Se7en, this is very effective because it disorientates the viewers which juxtaposes the common use of a close-up shot which is to show a specific thing to inform the viewers of something. However, the close-up shots used in this sequence look confusing and increase the suspense by not showing the audience a full object. Throughout the whole opening scene nothing really links together which confuses the audience, the close-up shots of unfamiliar objects enhance this. For example when he is using a razor to peel dead skin off of his finger tips, the camera is so close up that it takes a moment for the viewer to see what is actually going on, furthermore, with the camera being so close up the viewer can see every little detail of the mans fingers and of the razor blade. The only other framing technique used is an extreme close-up, when analysing the opening this could be giving the audience a clue to the outcome of the movie. For example, the extreme close-up of the book with the man crossing out words informs the viewer that someone may be pregnant in the movie because he crosses out the word 'pregnant' (David Mills (Brad Pitt) wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), is pregnant in the movie).

 

Camera Movement: There are only two little pieces of camera movement in this opening sequence, the first one is ten to fifteen seconds in and it is handheld movement. It isn't clearly recognisable as handheld however, after replaying it a few times I have concluded that it is. The mise en scène in these shots include the mans fingers and are extreme close-ups of them therefore, the handheld camera movement could be representing his movement as if the camera is from his hands point of view but the audience can still see his hands in the shot. The second moment in this opening sequence that includes the camera moving is right near the end, a diagonal pan is used to show different sized books perhaps on a shelf, this could simply be because its the end of the montage and the director wanted to use a slightly longer shot to portray this.

Mise en scène:  A lot of different props are used in the opening scene of Se7en, the audience do not know why they are being used or what for at this moment in the film - they may not even find out later on or this mise en scène may not be completely relevant to the movie at all. This is effective because it disorientates the viewer and captures their attention due to the fact that they want to foreshadow the plotline. Furthermore, all of the objects are quite creepy, for example the razor blade however, lots of normal objects are made to look creepy by the editing and lighting, for example the composition notebook. A key piece of mise en scène is the photograph that was produced from a film camera, the audience know this because it is marked/scratched and they also see a shot of a piece of photographic paper being immerged in developer or another photographic chemical. There is also a shot of a film being cut and a red light which is used in a dark room. Having watched the rest of the film I know that it is a clue to finding out who the antagonist is, on the photograph there is a dead mans face which is explained later on in the film. Overall, all of the little bits and pieces that the man is sorting out and arranging in the opening link together, as if he is making some sort of book that involves a plan. At the end of the opening the audience see a diagonal pan of books standing next to each other, one or many of those books could be what the man was creating throughout the opening sequence.

Editing:  The opening scene is made up of a montage, the impact and confusion of the visual design is achieved through the editing together of many brief shots. This is effective because the audience can't see everything in every shot as they transition to the next one quite fast. For example, the quick shots before the razor blade are quite hard to distinguish between. Most of the shots in this sequence dissolve or fade into one and other, this along with blurry and dark filters create a sinister and dazed feeling for the audience. Furthermore, an effect has been applied to the whole sequence, white lines randomly appear that make it look as if it has been filmed with an old camera and to add an eerie atmosphere.

 







Typography: When the title and each opening credit appears on the page there is no shot in the background it just goes black; this enhances the white font and highlights the title and peoples names. The font used in this opening sequence is similar to a scruffy handwriting which is in fitting with what the audience can see - someone writing and creating a book. Each of the letters in a word are not the same size and the words are slanted or sometimes laid out diagonally, this increases the disorientated vibe that the viewer is already feeling. Also, the title is the only word that is completely in capitals and the 'V' in 'SEVEN' is replaced by the letter 7, this works well due to the fact that the word is still recognisable, a '7' looks like a 'V' and it is displaying the title in two forms; numerical and alphabetically.  

 






 Sound:  The accompaniment in this film opening scene is in the form of non-diegetic music that switches between being parallel and contrapuntal. It consists of a deep and slow bass sound paired with multiple high pitched melodies that come and go over the top of it, at certain points in the opening, when a sharp object that could be considered a weapon is seen, a new high pitched sound is introduced that mimics a scream. This compliments the shots visible to the audience and foreshadows that people are murdered in the rest of the film. Furthermore, whenever introductory words are displayed onscreen the audio instantly becomes parallel to the flickery movements of the typography which continues to compliment the opening which makes more of an impact on the audience. Approximately three quarters through the opening a brand new sound is added to accompaniment, a fast paced medium pitched melody that could mimic chanting with exhaling noises, this dramatically speeds up the pace and tells the audience that the rest of the film is about to begin.

Lighting: The mise en scène in this film opening is lit up by dark lighting that could be a lamp or over head light, in some shots a shaft of light comes in towards the centre of the frame which is very effective due to the fact that it dramatically increases the tension and mysterious element in the scene due to the shadows and curtain like movements created by the light. In addition, the light is very dull and only appears to be bright when the audience see extreme close ups of sharp objects, for example the razor blade, that the light reflects off of which increases the gloomy atmosphere and could also represent shedding light on a situation which is appropriate due to the crime thriller genre of the film.