Titles & Opening Sequence Analysis - Se7en

Claire Harper

Mise en scene - Setting

• The opening sequence does not include any long shots of the setting; you would assume that the things taking place are happening in someone’s home, or in an office as the props are what you would typically find in these places.

• However it is not shown therefore creating tension for the audience.

Mise en Scene - Props

• The props used in the opening could be associated with investigations and detective work. These include books, photos, files, pens and paper. It appears as if the person is putting pictures and information into one file or case.

Mise en scene – Positioning of characters and objects

• All of the objects are shown very close up and therefore they take up most of the frame.

• This creates suspense as the audience do not know who is creating this file and doing these things as they cannot see their face or where they are.

Mise en scene – Lighting and colour• All of the shots are reasonably dark, this connotes danger and

that the film will be quite serious.• The shots are indoors using low key lighting, this gives the

setting a dull and suspicious feel.• Most of the colours shown are black and white, however

when the photos are shown being developed you see the red light that is used to develop them. This dark red connotes danger, but also shows that they photos are just being developed.

Editing – Shot selection and order, Continuity

• The opening is in a montage format, it is lots of different clips put together.

• The fact that it isn’t done in an chronological order that makes sense gives the idea that this person is doing many different things to create some sort of file or investigation about something, e.g. getting photos and writing information.

Editing - Transitions

• The transitions of the opening sequence vary. • Some are straight cuts and some cross fade or

fade to black. • The fading gives the effect of the clips being

linked together and creates an eerie feel, and the fade to black reflects the sincerity and darkness of the overall film.

Editing – Shot duration, pace and rhythm

• Most of the shots are fairly short, however some are edited into slow motion giving them a slower pace. The music is also quite slow, particularly at the beginning which gives it a slow pace.

• As the sequence builds up and gets faster towards the end, it creates tension for the audience, and shows that it will be a tens film to watch.

Editing – Special effects

• Some of the special effects include the clips being in slow motion, this creates a more sombre tone and allows the audience to properly see what they are doing on the screen.

• There are also animations of flickering on the screen during some of the shots. This is used to create an eerie effect on the shots.

Camera – Depth of field

• As all of the shots are close up objects, there are many shallow focuses. For example of the books, a pen, photos etc.

• These allow the audience to focus on what is happening with these items as it may reflect the happenings in the film. It also distracts them from seeing who the person is that is doing these things which creates tension.

Camera – shot size & framing

• The sequence consists of close-ups, there are no other type of shots.

• The identity of the person and their location is not revealed in the opening in order to create tension. Therefore no long shots or mid shots are used.

Camera - movement

• During the opening sequence, most of the camera shots are still. There is not much panning or any other kind of movement as all of the shots focus on one main thing and keep it at the centre of the shot.

Titles

• The titles that are written appear in a font that resembles handwriting. This fits in with the idea of someone creating a file or investigation, as well as some of the props.

• The text appears in white which makes it stand out against the dark background.