Se7en

‘Se7en’ is a 1995 American thriller film, which also has horror moments contained in the film. The film was directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker, it was also distributed by New Line Cinema. 'Se7en' also stars many well-known actors such as Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow. The film involves a series of sadistic murders which have taken place previously. ‘Se7en’ was commercial success and received positive reviews from the majority of critics. In the opening sequence of 'Se7en', the director uses different camera angles, sounds, editing techniques and mise-en-scene for a variety of different reasons such as building tension and suspense.

The first shot the audience sees is a close-up of a book which appears to be old with pages blowing in the wind which has already created mystery in the film as the audience do not know what is written in the book. Close-ups are used throughout the opening sequence to reveal different objects which are important to the story of the film and also suggests that these objects will be used throughout the rest of the film. Shadows are also used in the opening sequence. A picture of a man is also used which is covered by red and the connotations of red are blood which allows the audience to assume that a murder will occur int he film. Also the lighting used throughout the opening sequence is dark which also implies mystery and danger. The sound used throughout the sequence is quite tense and dramatic and the director has chosen this music on purpose for a particular effect. The background music sets up the rhythm to the film and gives it a pace.

The sound at the start of the opening sequence is slow with a beat with some other sound effects added in. Around the midpoint of the opening sequence the tempo of the sound increases slightly and the beat happens more frequently at the same time the editing becomes quicker because it signifies the upcoming events that it is building up to and creates tension and implies that these events will be bad which makes the sound become more interesting. Different ambient sounds are also used throughout the opening sequence such as the wind and screaming which have all been added in to make the film scarier to the audience and this creates a mysterious and frightening atmosphere for the film. The music played during this opening sequence in the background is quite sinister which gives the audience a hint as to what to expect in the film, this means that the music is foreshadowing the events that are going to happen in the film. The soundtrack used makes the film seem much more frightening for the audience. The font of the credits and the way they appear on the black screen by fading in also show that this film is a thriller because the font is white which makes it stand out and is also easy to read.

Characters and locations are not really revealed in the opening sequence of 'Se7en' and the director has chosen to do this on purpose so that it does not reveal too much of the story and to make the audience continue watching. Within the opening sequence of 'Se7en' a man is revealed to the audience and because of the tasks that the man does in the opening sequence the audience can guess the mans personality and realise that he is slightly disturbed. Some of the activities he does in the opening sequence which give this sense of personality to the character is that he is shown cutting the skin of the tips of his fingers and he also highlights passages and phrases in the bible. The connotations of a man performing activities such as these are mentally unstable and religious.

The narrative and plot is also not really revealed in the opening sequence of 'Se7en' and this is done on purpose by the director so that it does not reveal to much of the story to the audience and to make the audience continue watching because they want to find out what happens. During the opening sequence of 'Se7en' it is difficult to work out the plot and narrative of the film. The narrative and plot of the film is unclear to the audience which creates a sense of mystery as the audience do not know what to expect and this also creates and builds tension. However although the narrative and plot are unclear, we can tell that the film is a thriller because of the music played in the background and what the character is doing during the opening sequence which is not normal which already makes the audience slightly scared.

Typical technical codes and conventions which are used in thrillers are also used in 'Se7en'. Usually in thrillers like 'Se7en' the editing is fast paced and this is used to build tension as it shows that events are happening quickly which doesn't give the audience time to think about what is happening which makes it seem more of a surprise and therefore scarier to the audience. Also the fast paced editing used can also show the state of the mind of the man in the opening sequence as he is slightly crazy. Towards the end of the opening sequence a black cut is used which displays some credits and the colour black is significant as it is a convention of the thriller genre and a convention of the colour black is death which means the audience can assume that a death will occur later on in the film. The fast paced editing also reveals a variety of different props in the opening sequence. This therefore doesn't allow the audience time to think about what is going to happen and this is done on purpose by the director.

The mise-en scene in the opening sequence allows the audience to see what type of film this is however the opening sequence of 'Se7en' is not very revealing which makes the audience want to continue watching. Shadows are another convention of thrillers because they don't reveal the character which makes it more frightening for the audience. Shadows are also used in 'Se7en' to create tension and mystery because the audience does not know who they are seeing and this also engages the audience because they want to find out who the character is, which therefore makes the audience want to continue watching. During the opening sequence the audience only see the hands of the character but not the face or the body which also makes the audience want to carry on watching. The location of the opening sequence appears to be in a dark isolated area which is also quite frightening for the audience because there must be a reason why the man is living in a dark isolated area. The colours used throughout the opening sequence are dark dull colours which implies that nothing positive will happening and that there will be negative events in the film which are to come which creates a mysterious atmosphere. The pen used to highlight passages from the bible has black ink and the colour black indicates death which is why the colour black has been used. The character also cuts out the word 'GOD' from the newspaper as the lyrics from the music playing are 'you bring me closer to god'. This also links with the character highlighting passages from the bible and also shows that the character is religious and an event which happens in this film must relate to this.