Se7en

The film, Se7en is a psychological thriller which is distributed by New Line Cinema. This studio is one of the major American film studios of all time and was found in 1967 by Michael Lynne and Robert Shaye. The studio’s name is shown for 18 seconds at the beginning of the film which shows the importance the studio has on the film. However, the film starts with no titles and moves straight on to the opening scene of the film which grabs the audience’s attention, right from the very beginning of the film.

Camera Angles/Movements/shots: The film starts with a Medium Shot where we are introduced to the first male character of the film. The characters face is exposed by the Close-up Shot where we can identify him as the leading hero of the film, because of the way he is wearing his clothes. E.g. He straightens his tie up.

The medium close up is further used in the opening which helps identify the characters role in the film. He is a detective at a crime scene, from this it is clear that the man is probably the hero and has a good role in the film.

A pan shot is followed by a medium shot where we are introduced to the second male character of the film. He is also a detective; however his character is completely opposite to the other detective, which could hint out different meanings about

him as he could be seen as either the helper of the detective or the villain.

Miss-en-scene: The objects and the costume used in the opening of the film; help convey different ideas and meanings about the characters. The opening character is considered as either the hero of the film or someone who has a positive role in the film. This is shown through his clothes. He is wearing white a white shirt which mirrors his character as the colour white is a symbol of truth and purity. He is also wearing a suit which shows what profession he has, which is a detective.

However, the other detective could be considered as the villain of the film, because of the way his character is presented. He is also wearing a black long leather coat which could be a symbol of his negative role in the film.

Lighting: There are two types of lighting used in the opening of the film. One is High Key lighting, and second is Low Key Lighting. High key lighting is used where the first detective who is considered as the hero of the film, is shown. As he is introduced to us in a brighter scene, and at his house it gives a positive feeling. Whereas, low key lighting is used when the second detective is introduced, he

is considered as the villain of the film. Also because he is introduced to us at where the crime took place it gives out a negative message about him.

Editing: There are two different types of editing techniques used in the opening of the film. One is Match-cut and the

second is Jump-cut. Match-cut is used at the very beginning of the film. When the first character is introduced, he is in his house, in the kitchen but however, the match-cut is then used which allows us to see the different side of him, which is that he is a detective.The Jump-Cut is used at the later beginning where the scene jumps from the detective’s house to the crime scene, where the murder has taken place.

Sound: There are two types of sound techniques use d at the beginning of the film. There is digetic sound, and non-digetic sound. Non-digetic sound is only used at the fist opening 18 seconds of the film, where the distributers of the film’s logo is shown. However digetic sound is shown through dialogue and the sound of the objects the characters touch. Such as the when the ‘hero’ of the film is in the kitchen, tiding his kitchen. Dialogue used in the opening helps identify the characters, such as when the ‘villain’ introduces himself by saying, “Hi, I’m detective Mills”.

Actor’s positioning: The way the opening characters are positioned, help convey different meanings about them. The ‘hero’ detective is shown as serious because of

the way he has his hands in his pocket, whereas the other

detective is looking at a girl that walks past him in a sexual manner which shows that both characters are completely different from each other, and the second detective could be seen as the villain due to his lack of concentration in his work, and because of the way he looks at ladies.

Narrative Theory:

1) Who is the hero? And who is the villain? How do you know?The hero is the black detective that is shown at the beginning of the film, he could be considered as the hero because he has a positive role in the film, he is a detective. However the villain is the white detective because of the colour of his clothes and also because, compared to the hero, the villain takes less interest in his work and his actions give out a negative feeling about him. Such as, when he looks at the passing by lady in a sexual way.

2) Where is the story set and what does this tell you about the genre of the genre of the film? The story is set in a busy city of America but starts at the detective’s house and moves to an apartment where the murder has taken place. Because the story is set in different places, it could be said that the genre is clearly a thriller.

3) How many principle characters?

There are only two principle characters shown at the beginning of the film, the black detective who is considered as the hero and the white detective who is seen as the villain of the film.

4) How is the story told? Chronologically or not? What is the effect?

The story is told chronologically, as innocent people are killed at the beginning and the detective searches for the killer and in the end finds him. The effect that this has is, is that audience know what to expect from a film such as this.

5) What questions are you left with?

If seen from the end of the beginning of the film, the questions we are left with are: Who commits the murder at the beginning of the film? Who is the killer? Who is the leading hero?