Analysis of "Se7en" introduction - Stills

This is a close up shot of a Gun, Notebook, Pen knife, police badge and a pen. The objects are neatly set out on a bench, this shows that whoever these objects belong to is very well organised. It also connotes that the character is used to doing what they do and is perhaps a bit too organised, which could be either quite disturbing to the audience or it could make them feel safe, depending on how the story unravels.

 This is a mid shot at ground level of a dead body on the floor. It is very dark in the room emphasizing the eerie atmosphere,but there is a bit of natural light from the window shining onto him. The darkness also makes the scene mysterious, setting up the crime and thriller genre of the film.

This is a long shot in an outdoor setting. Because this shot is in an outdoor setting the audience would expect relief with the lighting but it is still quite dark, this foreshadows the events and that this place isn't very nice.
The setting is dark and gritty with police tape as the only bright thing in this shot, making it even more obvious that this place is not somewhere that you would want to be.





This is a mid shot of one of the inspectors. He is chewing gum, not neatly shaven and is wearing a leather jacket showing that he is very laid back and perhaps showing that he is less experienced.
The way he speaks in this scene is in a naive way, it doesn't fit well with the organised characteristic shown at the start of the film.






This is a mid shot of Morgan Freeman's character, He is a dressed as a typical inspector so it is obvious to the audience who he is. This shows that he means business, and is more experienced than his partner. The way that this shot is composed, he is stood in the shadows and out of the light, telling the audience that maybe he is the darker and more mysterious of the two.





This is a mid shot/same shot showing the two character working as a team. The shot type lets the audience compare how different they are in the way they are dressed and the way that they are standing, it also shows the irony because the way that they are acting makes it look as if they aren't very connected.
The lighting in this scene is still only natural and is quiet dark, also the pathetic fallacy of the rain goes with the sadness and mystery of the death.




This is a close up shot focusing on the metronome that the inspector uses in order to go to sleep.
The ticking of the metronome is the focus point of both the camera and the sound, which is significant to telling the audience about the character and possibly his mental state. This scene shows that his work life may be stressful, -which emphasizes the murder and its mystery,- so he needs to use this in order to filter everything out and be able to relax.



During the titles the scenes look in on the life of the killer. The whole way through the titles the lighting is very dark which makes the whole film seem like it is shrouded with mystery.
During the titles the audience don't get to see allot, which again adds to the mystery, but their is a lot of black colours and blood stains being focused on by the camera.
In this particular shot it looks as if it is a point of view shot of somebody looking down the stairs, which makes it feel as if somebody is watching from above, creating tension and making the audience feel quite self aware.

This is an establishing shot of the area that the events may be taking place in. This shows there are lots of high buildings, in quite a suburban area;  This means there could be a lot of dark, unknown alley-ways creating more hidden area's for the mysterious and deadly events.
The title shows the date, this helps the audience track the events, also because Monday is the start of a new week it connotes as if this is the starting point for an event, letting the audience follow it from the very beginning as if they are an detectives as well.



This is a floor level shot, the audience aren't able to make out what anything is. This shot makes it seem as if the audience can see just as much as the detectives, making them ask questions and getting them engrossed into the film by re-emphasizing that the audience become the detectives.

This is a mid shot, of a dead man.  Its quite a grotesque image and the fact that his face is in his food shows that there was no special act to his death, he was just simply killed, making the audience think more about the reasons behind it.









 This is a close up of the older detective (Morgan Freeman). The reason that the close up is used is to show the audience the concern and difficulty of his job. The close up puts the audience in his personal space, as if they are part of him and his journey throughout the investigation. His face in the middle of the frame, to give his expression the full focus of the scene. Also the background is blurred out making sure that nothing detracts from the detective in this scene.

This is a close up shot, yet still very obscured by the lighting. The light is behind the mans hands that are bound together (they are also in the middle of the frame) in order to show that they should be the audiences focus. This could also be to emphasizes that this is one of the clues, that the detective is putting the pieces together in the investigation.

 This is a mid shot of the older detective (Morgan Freeman) doing his job. His facial expression is in the center of the frame, with the light of the torch showing the audience what he looks like. From this shot you can tell that nothing phases him, he just seems to be getting on with his job which like the beginning shows his experience.