Se7en Analysis

Se7en Opening Sequence Analysis

The opening sequence doesn’t include any establishing shots, instead the audience sees quick cuts of slice of evidence to do with the case that is about to unfold.
The place in which the action is happening is not shown which creates tension for the audience. It also shows that the film is going to be about mystery and discovery as there are certain aspects of the opening sequence that are not shown.

 The props used hint us that there are investigations or detectives e.g.. Photos, files, pens… It looks like someone putting files into a file. This creates tension because where there is an investigation going on, there has to be an important crime beforehand, which foreshadows murder.
All the shots are quite dark which means that it is a serious film and that there is danger in it. These shots are also normally indoors which shows a suspicious feel. The audience feels engaged by the lack of information and excites them.

Most of the colours of this opening sequence are black and white but when the photos are being developed we can see a dark tone of red. This red light connotes danger and blood, which represents the theme of the film and how the events are going to develop.
The opening is done as a montage with different clips together. This shows that the film is going to have quick action and confuse the audience a bit making them have to concentrate more and being more engaged with what is happening.
It is not in chronological order, which again shows that the audience are going to have be paying much more attention to be able to follow the events. This represents that it is a well elaborated film and it requires engagement.

There is a jumbled and non chronological order, which mixes the man doing an investigation and creating a file. This again represents the films theme, and the way in which it plays out.
The transitions vary from straight cuts to cross fade or fade to black. This goes very well with how the opening sequence is trying to be unclear and mysterious.
The fading makes us feel like the clips are joined together, this creates an atmosphere of darkness yet at the same time sincerity.
Most of the shots are quite short and some of them are even edited into slow pace which blends in with the slow music at the start.
The sequence of shots gets faster towards the end which builds up tension for the film ‘hooking’ the audience.
The slow motion in the shots gives us time to see the detail of every scene and lets us know exactly what is going on.

In some shots we can appreciate some flickering which creates a scary effect on the sequence.
Most shots are close ups so we can see there are quite a lot of shallow focuses.
The audience’s focus becomes engaged by this and they pay more attention to the objects that might reflect the events in the film.
However, this distracts the audience from paying attention to the persons hand, which creates tension