Notes on Seven

Seven - directed by David Fincher

The opening sequence to Seven shows a few of the thriller conventions.

At the beginning, we discover the main character (Morgan Freeman) who is also the lead detective. This also shows the audience who the protagonist is.
We also see that the focus is on the crime which Freeman is investigating in the flat with the two other detectives. Also in this scene, Freeman becomes isolated when he starts talking about other details which aren't linked to the crime and the other detectives ask him what he's talking about. The fact he talks about unrelated details could be a weakness of Freeman's character.

When Brad Pitt is introduced, there is instantly a binary opposite between him and Freeman. This is because Freeman is older, wiser, organised, and he's seen a lot whilst working as a detective. Unlike Pitt who is younger, messy, unorganised, and has a cocky attitude about him. We can tell Freeman is more organised than Pitt by looking at the mise-en-scene. Freeman's costume is neater than Pitts, this is shown because Pitts' costume is messy and looks unorganised unlike Freeman's.

Sound is important to the opening clip because it builds suspense from an early stage of the film. The opening credits build suspense with the music because the music has a dark abnormal tone, which could raise questions for the audience. Just after this, the music builds more suspense again when the detectives are searching through the house/crime scene.

There is a mature and highly regarded cast for this film, and this is shown by the fact that the two main characters are Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt.

To make the setting seem realistic, they base the story in a city.

The titles convey to the audience unanswered questions, and this is good for the audience because it gets them thinking about the plot and what may happen in the film itself. Also, we are introduced to the main character, Morgan Freeman, in the titles.

Going back to the micro elements, the lighting in the crime scene footage is effective for the audience because it gives us a sense of claustrophobia by the fact that it's a small, dark, gloomy room which is difficult to see in.