Se7en analysis: In the film se7en the two main characters are detectives, played by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, they are both shown in the pre-title. Then the title sequence involves the villain (serial killer) who is the main focus in this segment. In the title sequence there is an extreme close up of the villain peeling off skin with a razor. This can be evaluated in different ways, firstly the villain could be seen as psychopathic based on the fact they have the urge to bring themselves harm and have a high pain threshold as it is abnormal for someone to do this making it look psychopathic. The extreme close up is used to emphasise the point and show that it is the villain’s abnormality. Another way in which it can be seen is suggesting the characters background as for someone to do this they would need to have suffered emotionally before and the extreme close up may actually be hiding tears, so this would change the whole perspective as in that case this would be seen as a tragic form of self-harm. Alternatively to those two previous points it could be argued that the character is in fact a very intelligent individual, with or without psychopathic tendencies, this is because the extreme close up clearly shows the villain is shaving the top of their finger and also shows that it is specifically the part in which a person’s finger print would be. So this makes the audience realise that this is the smartest technique a criminal could use to evade capture. This therefore helps to show the villain in a completely different light as now we can compare them to the character played by Morgan Freeman as in his bedroom there is a camera pan which looks at a very neat and regimented routine in terms of how the bed is made and the order of accessories on the bed side table. This in essence then mirrors the intelligence of the two characters and almost forebodes an intellectual war between the heroine and the villain.

Another camera angle used in the title sequence is a low angle shot of the villain writing on a note pad. This gives the feeling that the character is feared as they are being looked at from below, as if someone is almost scared to make eye contact. From another point of view we may see the shot as indicating the characters class by showing them in a high position as they clearly have the power to look down on someone. In terms of different representation this shot also shows the fingers and the nails in very good detail, this may help to recognise the gender as stereotypically people will naturally assume a serial killer is male and there is some cause to assume this as in the clip it shows the nails as being filled with dirt and rough around the edge, showing they are not well groomed, something which is more commonly found in men so it tends to suggest the character is male.

Based on the two camera angles it may also help to determine the characters day to day life as in the case with the extreme close up where it focused on a finger print being shaved away it suggests a distinct strong knowledge around the subject so we may think they are a forensic scientist. However in the other shot we see the hands are big and also rough in treatment so in contrast it suggests a more labour fuelled job such as a construction worker. The angles are used to a good effect in this way as it keeps the audience wondering about the characters identity and floors. For editing there is a flash in the sequence which is made obvious by the darkened room. This edit can suggest multiple things, firstly it could suggest that the villain is suffering with a mental illness, in this case a good fit for the effect of flashing lights is schizophrenia. This fits well also with the suggestion of the character being psychopathic as mentioned in the first paragraph, this fits well together because psychologically he mind is affected by schizophrenia and this particular illness can cause violent actions in a person, making it fit with the reason of serial killings. However it could also be showing some form of flashback as in other shots there are photos of a young child of 5 or 6 years old which may actually be the villain at a young age and the flashes show them pausing to reflect on the childhood at different times, the fact this flashing occurs more than once in the opening scene tends to suggest that the past may be a reason for their actions now.

The other more commonly used edit is cutting, this is used very effectively in the title sequence as it changes view often using a cut which suggests that the character is moving swiftly to keep something private/trying to hide something, also the erratic movements may reflect the characters actions, this therefore could be a form of foreboding as it suggests subtly that this could be one of the villains downfalls as well as one of their key characteristics. Sound is also used effectively in both the pre-title and the title sequence as in the pre-title sequence it ends with Morgan Freemans character going to bed as there is the sound of thunder (associated with a storm) and this leads the audience to believe that what they have just seen is the calm before the storm and that the movie will now take a more sinister turn. The sound used for this is diegetic as the character is meant to be hearing it, although the reaction does remain unfazed so it does show Morgan Freemans character does not feel easily threatened, in turn this could reflect his policing style. Another use of sound is in the title sequence where the non-diegetic background music has a high pitch noise that echoes through and is the abnormal segment within the piece so it catches the audience’s attention, the high pitch almost sounds like a scream from a woman, this may suggest that the serial killer is reliving a murder and is thinking in specific detail about a person they have killed or in another case it could be foreboding for the next victim and that the killers main pleasure is hearing life being sucked out of their victims or in another case it could be trying to voice public reaction against the character as the noise helps to reinforce fear into the audience. The final technique used is mise-en-scene, in the pre-title sequence this is shown in the clothing worn by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt as in Freemans case, being the older of the two his character wears a smart suit with a waist coat and a hat as well as a suitable overcoat to match the suit. He also maintains a simple, neat haircut, in contrast Pitt’s character has a shirt with a scruffy tie and jeans as well as a leather jacket, whilst his haircut is also opposite to Freemans as it is messy and untrimmed. This all points to the idea that the new temporary partnership is so opposite that it could either be a case of opposites attract well and it works or it could be a case of the two suffer the pain of not finding the serial killer.

The other use of mise-en-scene is the use of a book shelf by the serial killer as it is filled with books, this can either show that the killer is very intellectual, which links to the first paragraph where there was the suggestion that the killer shows a lot of intelligence based on their actions and the fact they read backs the point up. Or the fact that in a different scene the character is writing up notes into a book suggests that all of the books are their work, in turn suggesting that the killer has been plotting for years.