Seven Analysis

The starting scene of ‘Seven’ shows Morgan Freeman ( Detective Lieutenant William Somerset)  in very formal clothing, this instantly makes you wonder where he is going so dressed up and what his part of the movie is, he is also shown at the very start because he is one of the main characters, this helps you have an instant connection with him. Throughout the time he is getting ready, a lot of the shots are close ups, this reflects his personality, how he is very picky about what he does, so the camera work is also very picky with what you are seeing. When he picks up the objects off the table, he does it in a very particular order, this shows how he takes care for anything in his life, it also shows he is quite a stubborn character who is set in his own ways.

After 54 seconds of the film you see a straight cut shot of a dead person on the floor, this very unconventional of a typical thriller, usually you would witness the murders happening or they would be built up with tense music or faster cuts, this shows how things in this movie won’t be what you expect. The shot is a mid shot and is a high-ish angled shot, this shows how you are looking upon the body, the lighting is also set upon the body, bringing all your focus directly onto it. I feel this shot works very well, as the shots before it are of a perfect, clean house, then to a dead person and general mess and chaos, this contrasting change is effective.

As Morgan Freeman is talking to the police officer, the shot is a plain and simple mid-shot and the character is centred nicely, however unlike most shots, you focus is swung to the blood on the blind behind the character, this makes the scene quite hectic as you have two focus points within one shot.

As Brad Pitt (Detective David Mills) is brought into the film, it helps show how this is a very unconventional thriller, as Morgan Freeman is a very stubborn and perfectionate character, however Brad Pitt is set to be a very scruffy, layed back character, you know these two will be working very closely so it makes you think they will cause a lot of debate throughout the film.

As Morgan Freeman goes to bed, he starts up his metronome, the camera shots then go from an extreme close up of the object to a mid shot of the character in his bed, this continues cycle of switching shots shows how time is constantly ticking, the metronome could also represent the ticking down of time to a specific event in his life. There is also diegetic sound played over the top of cars, this makes you think they could be memories playing in his head.

Opening Credits:

The first shot you see is of a book and the pages are turning, this is a still shot to set the mood, however you feel like it is more of a journal, this is quite conventional of a thriller, it has been done in films such as ‘Butterfly Effect’, the use of a journal to record certain events that will become key within the film itself.

All the shots are extreme close ups, this will make the audience feel very uncomfortable and edgy as it will be on a large scale and things will be constantly moving, this use of extreme close ups also enhances how detailed the work is that the person is doing and also helps hide certain aspects, leaving you with no idea of who this person is or what the overall outcome is of this scene.

The whole opening credits are made to make you feel uncomfortable and unsure as to what is going on, as you have no idea who this person is or how he relates to the movie, the cutting off of the fingers tips creates a very eerie feel, however it tells you this character is smart, cutting off his fingerprints to keep his identity hidden. Some scenes also have a red colour to them, this gives you an instant representation of danger, blood, death, passion or anger, the red also hides some of the information.

The diegetic sound played over the top of the scene is conventional in the way it is used, being played over a clip to bring tension, however the music itself is very different, as if it’s made to make you feel uncomfortable rather than scared. The weird screeching noises could be a multiple of things, but it sound like a girl screaming, but it has been manipulated and altered.