J.Cork - Analysis Of The Opening Sequence Of 'Se7en'

The Opening Sequence Shot-by-Shot

It opens with an establishing shot of a dark room with black man sitting up in his bed reading, with only his bedside lamp on. He puts his book down on his bed and then He takes is glasses off and it cuts to a CU of his hand placing them on his bedside table. There is then a camera tilt shot from him putting them down to him starting a metronome that is also on his bedside table, this shot is held for about three seconds.

It then cuts to a long shot of the man lying in his bed from where his feet are, and then there is a very slow zoom towards his face. There is then a jump cut back to the ticking metronome, with all background detail being out of focus. It then cuts back to the previous shot of the slow zoom into the mans face but this time we are much closer in and we can only see his chest and face, the man tilts his head to the right, but shows no expression on his face. We then cut back to the metronome again, and watch it ticking for about five seconds seconds.

From this shot we cut to a completely black screen, which then cuts to a CU of the pages of a book, and in the background we see what appears to be a hand turning the pages, however this is not very clear because the depth of field is not long enough, and so the hand is out of focus. The opening credit then fades in to the bottom right corner. It is white ‘typewriter’ text in all capitals on the dark black/brown of the original shot of the book’s pages. This then cuts to a black screen with more credits in the top left, this time they are in a ‘handwritten‘ font, but still in white. These then fade out to a birds-eye view of a picture of a white and a black hand that are on sheets of paper on a table. This shot is obscured by a shadow over the right hand side of the screen. Another credit fades in over the top of this shadow, it is in the same ‘handwritten‘ font, and white colour. There is a recurring shadow over the pictures of the hands made by the blades of a fan that is spinning out of shot.

There is then a montage of three shots that we see for less than a second each. The first of these shot is a CU of what looks like a black mans thumb twisting a screw. The second shot is a CU of what looks to be a razor blade, and the third shot is another CU of some kind of mechanical clamp that is being wound up. This then cuts to black, and another credit appears in the same white ‘handwritten‘ style of font. This shot then flashes white/green and then reappears with the font now thicker, and slightly distorted. There is then another montage of three shots, of CU’s of a black mans fingers holding a razor blade, and cutting dead/rough skin of his fingertips. This then cuts to another black screen with a credits name again appearing in the same white ‘handwritten‘ font. The font again becomes distorted before it cuts to the same hands dipping a tea bag into some water, we then see the water turning brown as the powder infuses its self into the water.

It then cuts to a black screen with the films name appearing in the top right corner, in an all small, white, all capital ‘typewriter‘ front. The text then flashes into the centre of the frame and becomes much bigger so that it is very easily read, and then flashes back into it original size and position. There is then a fade in of a CU of the cover of a book/file behind the title, and then the title fades away, as we see the black mans hands open the book. He now has bandages on the ends of his fingers.

As the book opens its pages act as a screen wipe, which reveals the pages of yet another book, but this time the shot is very dark and it is hard to be sure what they are for definite. Another credit appears just right of centre in the white ‘handwritten‘ font. There is then a jump cut to a shot looking across the surface of a sheet of paper with a pen writing on it. The pen and hand are then distorted as if we have double vision, where we can see everything twice at the same time. There is then handwritten black text overlaid on this shot, so that we can still see the pen writing in the background. This then cuts to a red screen, with black symbols appearing, which then cuts to a black screen showing another credit in the ‘handwritten‘ font.

This then cuts to a birds-eye view of a black mans hand with a pair of scissors cutting out a picture. This then cuts to another black screen showing another credit in the usual style. There is then a montage of four shots of the hands holding different pieces of paper, this montage lasts about three seconds all together. This then cuts to another black screen showing two more credits in a the same ‘handwritten‘ white font. The text flashes and becomes distorted before the it fades out to reveal the hands holding a photo of the face of a dead woman. This then quickly cuts to a book with pages filled with handwritten text, and then there is another cut to a black screen showing three more credits in the usual font and colour, they again become distorted.

There is then a cut to an ECU of the mans finger tip smudging some words he has just written. This then cuts to a CU of a marker pen obscuring some of the words in a newspaper article, witch then quickly cuts back to on of the first shots that we saw, of a book with a hand that is out of focus turning the pages. It then cuts back to a black screen showing more credits in the usual way. From here there is a cut back to the marker pen drawing over words in a new article, only this time we see it from a different angle. It then cuts back to another black screen showing more credits, but this time in the top right corner there is a black and white photo of a young boy’s face, and the marker pen is drawing over his eye’s. To the left of this picture there is the word ‘WRONG‘ in a white handwritten font, but it is very big and looks as if it has been done out of anger. There is then a jump cut, and the only thing that has changed is that now all of the boys face has been covered up by the marker pen.

The Soundtrack

Throughout the opening sequence there is no dialogue or narration of any kind, yet the audience are still very intrigued and drawn into the film, this is because of the soundtrack that creates suspense and encourages the audience to try and think why they are seeing all of the images.

For the first eleven seconds of the film we barley hear any sound at all. The only thing that is audible is a distant dog barking that is coming from outside the house. The man then turns on the metronome and from this point on we can hear its monotonous ticking, this sound reflects the image of the man who looks very bored lying in his bed. While the metronome is ticking we can still heat the dog barking and distant voices that are coming from outside the house. This part of the soundtrack makes the audience feel slightly uneasy, as we don’t know what is going on, and why everything is so quiet. Forty seconds into the film this abruptly changes to a thunder clap as the screen turns black and the opening credit appears, this evokes feelings of a storm, and that this might be reflected in what is going to happen in the story. The ticking of the metronome is replaced by a similar repetitive sound once the film has cut away from the images of the man in his bed. The sound that replaces it is that of symbol being lightly hit, however it is very quiet as there are also other layers of sound present at this point. We can also hear a banging drum sound that echo’s and an eerie high pitched string sound that combine to add drama and suspense to the images. This continues until the first montage when there is a high pitched saw sound over the top, that connotes the use of machinery, and this ties in with the images that can be seen. There are then other sounds added such as high pitched scratching and clicking, these also evoke the idea of machinery being used. Sounds like this continue to be frequently repeated throughout the opening sequence, and they are accompanied with the other layers of sound that could be heard from the beginning of the opening montage.

In the opening two minutes of the film the only diegetic sound that we hear is the mentions ticking of the metronome. Other than this all sound is non-diegetic, and this helps to create an air of mystery as the audience cannot be sure about what is going on. The lack of dialogue also helps to create this sense of mystery and suspense. It keeps the audience guessing as to what they are seeing actually means, and engages them to think about what is happening for themselves.

What Have I Learnt From This Analysis?

This analysis of the opening sequence of Se7en has show me the amount of different shots that are needed to make an effective opening sequence. In total there are about 56 cuts within the opening two minutes of the film. This suggests that there is a cut approximately every two seconds, however this is not true. The first 46 seconds of the film only has five cuts in, and this is because each one of the shots is held for a very long time, this helps give a feel of unease and boredom. It also means that there is an extremely fast cutting rate for the rest of the opening, and this is because it is full of the opening credits and various different montages.

This combination of shots that are dragged out of long periods of time with relatively no sound accompanying them, and the fast paced montage’s that have many different layers of sound act as a really effective way to hook the audience. The use of these two very different styles leaves the audience wondering what is happening, and what the significance of all the different things they are seeing is.