Analysis of Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)-By Connor Hilton

Analysis of Se7en (David Fincher, 1995)-By Connor Hilton

Analysis:

The opening sequence to Se7en is very unique. The opening to the film is mixed in with the opening credits so we as an audience are given some information while being shown the opening. We are constantly cutting from close up shots to black screens with the actors, camera men, directors etc names on. This creates a fast pace in editing and keeps the audience interested.

Figure 1:

• This shot is a close up of a book/group of pages which immediately establishes enigma as the we begin to question what the book is and what it's about.
• The lighting is very low-key to create a dark and mysterious feel to the shot.
• The use of shallow depth of field makes the book the focus of the shot but still allows us to see a hand turning a page of the book. 
• We can't see who's hand it is so the use of restricted narration makes the audience question and think about what is going to happen.

Figure 2:

• This shot is part of the opening credits but is used in an effective manner to increase the pace of the editing.
• There is an old time film effect on this shot which creates a 'creepy' feel to the shot. 
• The shot also looks like it is shot by a camera pointing at a cinema screen but is off center which is very effective and adds a certain style to the shot.

Figure 3:

• This shot fades in from black. 
• This shot has low-key lighting which appears to be created by a desk lamp pointing from the direction at the top left of the shot. 
• There appears to be a drawing of two hands with distorted fingers and the hands are positioned in an odd way. This adds to the 'creepy' feel of the sequence.

Figure 4:

• There is a sequence of close ups of what appear to be some sort of machine moving. 
• There is a non-diegetic sound in the background that is very sharp and sounds like some type of creaking which helps to create the creepy mood and adds to the atmosphere of the sequence.
• There is then another use of the technique where it cuts to the black screen with creepy looking hand written white writing displaying one of the actors names. The writing is very common among thrillers as it has so much contrast to the black background.

Figure 5:

• This shot is a close up of some fingers holding a razor blade. This helps to make it a thriller as the use of razor blades is iconic to the thriller genre. 
• It appears that the razor blade is being used to shave skin from the fingers which is very effective as it will make the audience feel uncomfortable and creates enigma. 
• This shot is accompanied by a loud and creepy noise in the background which compliments the visuals well to add to the creepy mood and atmosphere.

Figure 6:

• This shot is a close up of someone writing.
• The opacity is lowered on one clip and then it shows the same clips with different timing which is a technique used to manipulate time.
• This shot also creates enigma due to questions being raised about what the character could be writing.

Figure 7:

• We then see a few quick clips of the character cutting film and images and then using sellotape to stick them to paper. Which creates enigma and adds to the creepy mood and atmosphere.
• We could question if the character is stalking someone or keeping record of someone.
• The short shots are entwined with the other opening credits to add a faster pace of editing even though the action taking place is relatively slow.

Figure 8:

• This is a close up of some American money. 
• The money has a phrase written across it saying "In God we trust." which helps add to the creepy mood and atmosphere and impacts the audiences feeling in a subtle way. 
• It could create enigma and questions about the characters intentions and if they a supposedly to do with religion. 

We are then shown a sequence of close up shots of an image of what appears to be a dead woman and then a few shots of the books page being turned. There is also very short clips of writing appearing on the screen which could have some meaning but the audience is left to question what it could mean. For example:

This could be telling us something about the characters before anything has even happened. This suggests that the plot is created in a non-chronological manner to add to the mystery and enigma that has already been created. There is also non-diegetic background music with high pitched noise changing in volume which helps to create the creepy mood.

Figure 9:

• This clip is a close up of an article and the first line says "when your pregnant" which creates enigma and makes the audience question if the man is planning something that involves a pregnant woman.
• This clip is followed by a short montage of words being highlighted which further develops the enigma that was created.

Figure 10:

• There is then a few clips of some bandaged fingers crafting a book and as we were shown the book a few times throughout the sequence it is indicated that the sequence is taking place over a period of time which develops the enigma.
• The costume also indicates that it is just one character due to the finger tips being bandaged due to being shaved with a razor previously.

Figure 11:

• We are then shown a series of odd images that appear to display methods of experiments or some sort of torture. 
• The background music's pace begins to increase to indicate some sort of build up.
• The lighting remains low-key throughout the series of images to compliment the darkness of the sequence.

• There are then multiple clips of the character picking at the bandages which indicates that time is passing and the bandages have been on for a long time. We also see further development of the book as there are close ups of the character sewing the pages together. Flashing images continue to appear to add a dark side to the events that are occurring and add pace to the editing.

Figure 12:

• We then see a short clip of the character removing the word 'God' from the phrase on the American money that displays "In God we trust" symbolizing that the character is losing faith and does not conform to a religion. 
• This clip could also mean that the character doesn't want God to judge them for their actions as the character could be committing immoral actions, however, due to the restricted narration we are not able to know for sure exactly what the character is doing or creating a book about.

As the sequence comes to an end the background music has a single line of lyrics that say "You get me closer to God" indicating that religion is a big part of the plot and will impact the character. As this is the only line of lyrics in the whole background music track it has a very noticeable impact on the audience and is obvious that the film makers wanted it to have an impact.

Overall, I feel that the opening for Se7en is very effective and visually smart as there are small hints as to what the character is doing yet we don't see the character throughout the whole sequence. The use of restricted narration in the sequence is very effective as the audience is left to question what the character looks like and as we don't see anything too obvious about the book that is being made we are left to question what the book is about. The whole sequence is also shot as close ups or extreme close ups which allows us to see one part of the shot in large amounts of detail but not all of the detail so that the plot is not revealed. I feel like the plot could either be chronological or non-chronological as there is no real way to identify which from the opening sequence. I also feel that the use of background music is very effective in creating a creepy and dark mood and having just one line of lyrics in the whole song also makes us focus on the one line and make us question what link the lyrics may have to the story.