SE7EN Analysis

Se7en (3:22 - 6:17)




Analysis:

Character
Character of the man: The initial shot of the film 'SE7EN' is of a man sitting up in his bed reading a book and a bookshelf with many books is seen next to the bed which connotes that he is perhaps an intelligent person. He is alone in a single bed, this suggests that this man is alone in this house. The man reaches over and places a pair of glasses neatly on a bedside table which reinforces that he could be an intelligent person. The close-up of this - showing detail - could mean that the man pays attention to detail. Then he flicks a metronome which has the steady pace of a clock or relaxed heart beat. This could reflect that this man is a very relaxed character. However, it could also suggest that he turned the metronome on in order to relax or meditate, meaning that he needs something to help him relax, which could mean that he has a stressful life. The next shot is a medium long shot of the man laying in bed his expression becomes more and more thoughtful as the camera zooms in, showing his brain maybe getting deeper into thought or relaxation. Eventually he shuts his eyes and voices are heard - are these the memories in his head or an argument coming from next door he is trying to shut out by the sound of the metronome? My own conclusion about this character is that he is perhaps a detective because of various reasons - he looks extremely tired, overworked and he is obviously trying desperately to figure something out. He also could be depressed because of the mood in the scene.

Character of the person in the opening titles:A sound of thunder or an aeroplane is heard to begin the opening titles. This could suggest that the character travels a lot and could be trying to get away from something or suggest that he is dangerous because of the thunder. An extreme close-up is then seen of a book - this could suggest that he is intillegent because a book can sometimes symbolise intelligence. The extreme close up could explore that the character is very detailed in what he is doing because of the detail in the shot. The overlapping of the shots could suggest that he is trying to hide something. (more explored about this in sound, mise on scene and editing sections).
My conclusions about this character is that he is a disturbed criminal who has many obsessions. He in control of everything he is doing even though his mind is very messed up and sick. The log he is compliling could be of his own victims or of other peoples victims - he may be getting ideas in order to carry out his own killings.


Sound
The scene begins as very quiet which makes the audience wonder whats going to happen next. Then a very quiet beeping is heard sounding like an alarm from a distance or a vehicle reversing outside. Distant speaking is then heard from a distance, sounding like an argument from another house. These small sounds obviously irritated the character because it was at this point that he sighs to himself and switches the metronome on in order to relax. The steady ticking of the metronome sound very similar to a clock which effectively builds tension. This could be because we link it to time limits or because metronomes are usually used in music for keeping a beat - maybe there is going to be music played soon. The sounds of argumentative voices become louder despite the fact that the metronome has been turned on. They also become more echoed so we may begin to wonder whether the voices are really diagetic (coming from next door) or are they memories and thoughts in the characters head? The voices come to a stop and a sound of thunder is heard. Because the screen is blank at this time the audience wonders whether this sound fits into the scene of the man in bed or the beginning of this next part - therefore creating mystery.
Non-diagetic music is heard as the scene changes. There are many strange sounds within the music. For example at the beginning a sound is heard that sounds like an aeroplane; this could mean that the character travels a lot but we do not know what character it may be relating to (the man seen in the first part or this second part). It could be the man in the first part as his profession could cause him to travel thus this could be why he looks so tired. It also could be the man in the second part because he may be traveling so that he is not caught or because perhaps he is looking for a next victim. Another strange and disturbing sound heard is of a squeak which almost sounds like a high pitched, distorted scream. This connotes fear or some form of violence. A creeking sound repeated throughout the music made me think of someone pacing up and down a room with creeky floorboards, a door slowly being opened or a chair. This creeky sound is quite unsettling as it is commonly used in horror films to build tension. Also pacing up and down a room is repetitive behaviour which links to obsession and madness. The music overall is very mechanical and makes the audience feel uneasy. The steady pace makes it seem that this man is in control of what he is doing.
The cutting music changes when a boys face is blacked out with a pen. This could mean that there is something very significant about him. Maybe he was a victim of this man or was special to him, causing him to behave in this disturbing may because of something happening between them. The music now has much more depth as more sounds are put together and the tempo inrceases as does the tension. Certain sounds in the music now make me think of water because they sound slightly like waves. Also something in there sounds like a chainsaw which reinforces the theme of violence and destruction. The last words of the scene and the only words heard in the song are "You get me closer to god" this is very unsettling as the audience may think - how can such a disturbed person he linked directly to god?

Mise En Scene (with setting, lighting and camera)

the initial shot of the scene is a long shot showing the whole room. Within this room a bed, an open door, a bookshelf, a window with curtains, a cardboard box, 2 lights, a picture frame and a man reading a book. This shot basically sets the scene as there is not much detail, it just gives the audience an idea of the characters environment. We learn a lot from this first shot despite the fact that it doesn't show any detail. For example we learn what time of day it is because it is dark outside - either night time or very early morning. However we can also tell from the fact that the man is reading a book that it is probably night time because people usually read before going to sleep rather than in the morning. We also learn a lot about character because of his surroundings. The fact that he has a bookshelf full of many books suggests he is an intelligent person. He also has a cardboard box which could mean that he is moving house or just needs a lot of storage for his possessions. The room is lit very dimly which creates a mood of mystery. The next shot is a close-up of a pair of glasses and a metronome. As previously mentioned, the glasses could act as a symbol of intelligence and the swinging metronome could symbolise time passing or repetition. The camera now slowly zooms in on the man, then slowly zooms in on the metronome, creating tension.

The screen goes black then shows an extreme close-up of the pages in a book turning which could cause the audience to link this with the man reading at the beginning of the scene and wonder if its the same person. The next is an image of a pair of hands in a book that look like they have some kind of severe arthritis which makes us wonder what this has to do with the story. Next, we see flashes of machinery and a man slicing the skin off the tops of his fingers (at this point we realise that it is not the same man from the beginning because he was black and this mans hands are white). This makes us think that maybe he is a criminal and is masking evidence of his finger prints - maybe he is about to commit a crime. We then see another extreme close-up of a tea bag going into some water possibly meaning that what ever this man is doing, he needs caffeine to stay awake which makes me think of obsession. An image flashes very quickly of a person but it cuts too quickly to see it clearly which makes us unsettled. More flashes are seen of books and the man writing in a book. Up until this point, the colours in the opening are very dull - black, white, browns and creams - however they are very high contrast. Suddenly we see a flash of red which makes me think of blood therefore connections are made to death, violence and murder. Immediately after this, we see a flash of a film strip which makes me think of obsession perversion. We then see the man cutting up photos and sticking them into a book. At this point, it becomes clear that this man is making a log of disturbing things - is it things he has done himself or an obsession with violence? We can then connect the red to film developing. More flashes of disturbing images and a newspaper cutting featuring the word "God" is seen which is confusing because there is a link between this disturbed man and religion - is he religious or against God? We now see pages full of tiny writing which could mean that this man is very detailed about what he is writing because there is so much of it. A man censoring words in a book is seen but it is unclear what the words actually are. As the words become more apparent, we realise that they are sexual words - maybe he has an obsession with sex. He then censors a boys face - what is significant about this? The red of the film processing is visible again. 

We see more flashes of this man compiling a log of pictures, newspaper cuttings and writing. He carefully sews up the pages and we then see a whole row of books and we may ask - are there more logs of disturbing things? We could also link the book shelf to the one in the beginning of the scene and wonder what part the other man has in this - is he a detective of the case or is he involved? We then see him placing a lock of hair into an envelope which might have belonged to one of his victims. We see the man cutting out the word "God" - again we ask that question about religion. The final shot is a clearer one of the books.

All of the camera shots in this section are close-ups or extreme close-ups which show a great deal of detail. This connotes that this character is very precise in what he does and pays attention to detail. The lighting changes a lot. It's quite bright but some bits are in shadow and unclear. This shows a contrast between mystery and clarity. The hands are shown a lot which suggests that he uses them a lot for his crimes and also gives mystery about not showing his face or give anything else away which makes us want to know more about this character and his appearance.

Editing

In the fist part of the opening, not much editing is used to keep it simple and calm. However, zooming is used and there are also a few cuts from a long shot to a close-up. The zooming creates suspence. The screen goes blank to divide the two contrasting sections of the opening.
In this section there are so many flashes and everything is paced very quickly making it very difficult to make out what is going on. All the different images changing is very powerful and overwhelming to the audience. The fact that there is so much going on makes the audience think and gives the impression that the story will be very psychological. In addition, not all of one action is shown which almost makes it feel like the editor is teasing us. At some points frames are overlapped so that it is harder to identify which creates the impression of something hidden and mysterious. There is a lot of flickering throughout the opening credits which makes me think of an old home cinema projection. This gives connotations of perversion and links with the film processing visible in the scene. The way the film is cut makes everything seem untidy and dirty which contrasts with the detail in the actual scene and what the character is doing. This could mean that even though he has control over what he is doing, his mind seems to be very messed up and disturbed. The writing is very distorted which reinforces the sick mind of the character. Everything is a very high contrast of black and white which stimulates our visual senses. 


Themes and Mood
There are many different types of mood explored through sound, visual and editing in this opening. Some of the main themes in the first part are lonliness and isolation. This is because of the depressed mood shown by dull lighting, the characters emotions and the fact that he is on his own. The is an element of mystery, also, again because of the lighting and some things are in shawdow. The mood changes very much when the opening progresses into the opening titles. This is because everything becomes high contrast and brighter. However there is still that same element of mystery with in the scene because not everything is shown - only his hands are seen and only short fragments of actions. There is a definate theme of death because of the flashes of red and the pictures which are seen being stuck into the book. There is also a theme of censorship explored when he is blackening someones face and crossing out sexual words in a book. All of these themes together create a very disturbing atmosphere which makes the audience feel uneasy, unsettled and wanting to work out the mystery.