Seven is a film directed by David Fincher in 1995.
The plot of the film is about a serial killer who uses inspiration from the seen deadly sins to kill his victims, such as forcing someone to eat them selves to death (gluttony). The film than proceeds t show the killer being found out. but open his capture shooting at the detectives and fleeing. Nearing the end of the film, the killer leads detectives to a remote desert far from the city and tells them that god has told him to punish the selfish and greedy.Narrative Context
The narrative content of the opening sequence shows a figure (unknown to the audience due to camera angles) using certain instruments to edit parts of books and literature. The start is a shot of pages turning and then it evolves to showing the character writing over words in books and using sharp scalpels to cut bits of books out. It also shows hand drawings of a pair of hands on a grid. The viewer also sees the character cutting up camera films and sticking the photos and negatives in books. All the shots show things that would link to f
orgery and also show some sort of intelligence of the character as he is dealing with large books. This openings sequence creates foreshadowing of the content to come, and makes the viewer question what forgery and literature have to do with the following story line. The use of large small print books shows the viewer straight away that this protagonist in the story is slightly intelligent, the use of photo's and pens also shows the time setting of the film and that it is modern.
Enigma Codes
Enigma codes are very important devices used in horror specifically. They are signs that make the viewer question the plot of the film. The enigma codes raised in this opening are all about the same thing, due to the lack of variation of content in the opening. The viewer will firstly question who this person is. As all you see of this character is there hand, the appearance of the character is a mystery to the viewer- this is effective as each viewer will be imagining the character in a different way, therefore keeping the viewer engaged. THe audience will also question what the content has to to with the future plot. What do books and literature have to do with the plot? Why is this man editing texts? Are the photos used of characters in the story later? All these questions will keep the audience watching, as they want to know the answer. The opening of this film in particular is extremely mysterious, therefore creating a hook to the audience, and making them want to keep watching. the mysterious and odd feeling of the sequence creates many questions in the audiences minds and its very effective.
Location
The location of the opening sequence is completely unknown, due ti the shot types and camera angles. The location is a mystery which suits the theme of this opening sequence. Like the characters appearance, the location is left completely to the audiences imagination. The location is not a main aspect of the sequence so all attention is drawn completely to what is actually happening.
The editing in the opening is very effective and fits the themes of the film. The editing makes the opening very eerie and scary. The editing techniques varies from very quick cuts, to slow cross dissolves. Near the start of the opening there is a black screen with an actors name showing and it than slowly cross dissolved to a shot of a drawing of hands, this dissolve made the effect if a light slowly revealing the next shot and was very effective. This use of light and dark fitted the film and also fits the genre very well. Another part of the editing which I thought was particularly effective was the use of quick cuts. At 0:16 in the video above, there is a series of quick shots and cuts of the character fiddling with a scalpel, this created a lack of continuity and an edgy feeling. This lack of continuity is effective as it made time confusing, and this leaves the viewer confused and isolated from what is going on. I feel that the lack of knowledge of time, and time speeding up creates an unknowing feeling which is very effective concerning horror. Another part of the editing which was very effective was the use of cross dissolves throughout. Cross dissolves were used a lot of the character doing the things that I listed earlier, this created an edgy feeling. One more part of the editing i lied was when the name brad pitt came up on the screen, this than disappeared and re appeared again after a shot of the character writing. This created quite an amateur feeling to the film which suited the themes.
Camera Angles
The camera angles are all close ups, due to the main character being kept confidential at this point. The camera does not move or pan it keeps still as there is so many short shots there is not enough time for the camera to effectively, noticeably move. The close ups create a gritty feeling to the opening and shows the viewer how intense what's going on is. The camera does not create a great deal of effects on the audience, this is mostly done through editing.Sound
The sound is completely non-diegetic. The audience are unable to hear anything that is actually going on in the scene. The music that is being played is fitting of the genre and themes of the film. It is not very melodic, or tuneful and sounds quite industrial. Some of the sounds being played with the music sound like camera shutters. This reminds me of the music used in the film Atonement, they used sounds in the music that link to the film such as type righters and a pen on paper. The amateur, gritty sound of the music suits the visible opening, and fits the gritty feeling of the opening sequence.
Genre Characteristics
This opening contains some characteristics of horror. Although it does not contain the most prominent feature of horror- blood- it does at one point have a red transfer over the shot, linking to this blood color which is typical of horror and laos linking to a dark room where photos are developed which suits the plot of the film. One of the most prominent typical features is when the character is holding a sharp scalpel sharpener, this sharp object has connotations with violence and death and links directly to the genre of horror. The feeling of the opening being hand held at some points, also fits horror and links to some classic horror films such as The Blair Witch Project.
