Se7en Analysis
In this analysis I will be going over a film noir/thriller
that’s called ‘Se7en’ and going into more depth on the opening scene. Film
noirs all follow similar codes of conventions to make the audience guaranteed
of what they’re going to be seeing. An example of some of the codes of
conventions are that there is normally a hero and a villain which in this case
there is two detectives who are trying to find the serial killer who’s
committing crimes and leaving various clues for them.
Camera Angles, Movement and Position
First of all I am going to be going over the camera angles,
movement and positioning in the opening scene. One of the first camera angles
that I noticed was the POV Shot (Point of View) in this shot the camera went
down the table and it showed how the detective’s daily possessions were laid
out on the table. This was done in a manner which suggested that he had a past
career in some special force whether it was in the army or another service. We
know this as everything was immaculate, similar to how you’re expected to be in
the Army. Another camera angle that we see in the opening scene is a Low Angle
Reverse Tracking Shot which is following the two detectives down the road
showing them walking together and you can also see how much their personalities
clash, they’re almost the complete opposite. Another time which shows this too
is when they’ve finally stopped walking down the road, they stop and the
distance in which they’re standing apart may show abit about their relationship
together. They don’t really know much about each other at the start as the
rookie detective gets put onto his first case with the senior detective.
Some of the shots in the credits shows some sort of creepy
serial killer who may be the one that the detectives are trying to find. Some
shots show him using a razor blade to carve his off his finger prints, this
suggests that he is a criminal and he don’t want to be traced for anything he
has committed. Also it shows some kind of scrap book which he has created with
creepy and sick pictures of dead people and also people in the nude. It also
shows him erasing words out of a book for example ‘sex’ ‘intercourse’ this
shows that he may not think these are appropriate or he may be a religious man.
Sound
There is lots of sound in the opening scene which has a
deeper message behind it and can be deconstructed to find out the message.
First of all the dialogue sets out the scene and what’s happened this is
important as the audience needs to know so that they can have an understanding
of the film and what to expect. Some of the first sound that we hear is police
and ambulance sirens which suggests that the city is full of crime with sirens
becoming an occurring noise in the city. Also we get a little understanding of
where it’s set as big cities in America have a fairly high crime rate.
When the detective is sitting in bed and the metronome is
ticking it shows that he has that on every night to try and block out the
outside noise of all the sirens, shouting and traffic etc. And there is dogs
barking which just adds to the ongoing noise which he has to block out in order
to get to sleep. There is a build-up of the metronome noise and it gets louder
until there is some kind of thunder/lightning noise. This suggests that it’s
the calm before the storm and that things are just about to get worse.
Now moving onto the sound in the credits which consists of
loads of screaming and screeching sounds which may be similar sounds to the
people who he is torturing/murdering. The music in the credits also makes it
very awkward to listen to making the credits awkward. The music in the credits
may represent the serial killers state of mind as he don’t seem to be normal
with all the scrap books he has made full of weird cuttings out and peoples
bodies.
Editing
The font which displays the credits suggests that a child or
younger person has written it as it’s very messy and not very presentable. This
just adds to the weirdness of the credits and makes it fit in with the rest of
the ab normal behaviour from the supposed serial killer.
MiseenScene
With all the noise and surroundings of the opening scene it
suggests that its set in some busy city in America, maybe somewhere like New
York, Chicago, San Francisco or somewhere alike. At the start there is 4 main
settings of the scenes:
1.
House/Kitchen
2.
Murder Scene
3.
The Street
4.
Bedroom
This basically shows the daily routine of the detective and gives
a little in sight of his life as a private detective.
One thing that suggests the detective is quite intellectual and
intelligent is that there is a chess board positioned in his apartment. Chess
boards are normally associated with smart people as it’s a strategic game which
you have to think about which decision you’re going to make before it’s your
turn. This is similar to the strategic procedures that the detective has to go
through on a daily basis when he’s carrying out an investigation. Also there’s
another way that he shows strategic procedures as when he wakes up the items
such as Hanker Chief, Police Badge, Flip Knife, Pen and a pair of Glasses. This
is done in a manner in which he may have been following for a number of
years. Another stand out thing in his apartment is that
there is not many decorations around and the colour scheme is basically monochrome,
this suggests that he lives on his own and may be a bit lonely at times. I
think this as a family man would normally have more of a welcoming home with
warm colours in and maybe some things showing that there’s a woman there and
kids but it’s all monochrome. His immaculate bed shows his background and maybe
a former army sergeant or officer. Another thing which adds to his OCD is that
his bed is made perfectly with no creases in what so ever as this is another
thing which is required when serving in the army. He also picks a single hair
fibre off his bed and flicks it away showing that he wants to be as perfect as
he can.
When Brad Pitt is introduced his appearance is the complete
opposite of the other detective as he comes across as rather scruffy. With his
neck on the shirt hanging quite low and not dressed as he should be for a
detective, he is not clean shaved as he has a beard and wears a leather jacket
which is not appropriate for a police officer/detective. The old fashioned
detective look which Morgan Freeman appears to be like is a long trench coat, a
fedora hat or one similar to it and a suit on underneath. This is the
appropriate and smart way that a detective should look as he’s solving crimes
and would steer towards the smarter way as he seems like he’s been in the force
for a long time and is more of an experienced detective.
No comments:
Post a Comment