se7en

Se7en- how do mise on scene and editing establish character and situation in the opening two minutes?

Thrillers generally establish there genre immediately this is achieved in a multiple ways that I am going to explore. Se7en is a crime, mystery, thriller hybrid. This means that thriller is just an element of the piece and it is not solely based around the thriller principles. The thriller genre is renowned for its plots to surround a hard type character, that through accident or occupation is led to face a villain. Thrillers have a close link with mystery however the bold difference is that in a thriller the leads are trying to prevent what’s going to happen next, rather than uncover what has happened. Se7en is a typical thriller, two cops uncovering a murder, following clues in an attempt to prevent more from happening.

The question I have been asked is to establish how Mise-en-scene and editing establish character and situation in the opening. As this is an opening I would expect to see credits of some form and to see a character or event significant to the film. As this is a thriller my guess is that it will follow conventions of a typical thriller film, the opening may not consist of an establishing shot as to create confusion and suspense as to where we are. The shot may be tight and not give to much away again to create a mystery around the characters.

The first thing that appears before the movie is the distributing company credit. This not only establishes the companies associated with the film but also raises some audience expectation. Newline cinema is quite a large company therefore they will be a rather high budget of the film. Strong cast and direction also creates the idea its going to be a good film. Around 1995, the time of release for ‘Se7en’, Newline were producing mostly martial arts thrillers this may come through in ‘Se7en’.

The first shot consists of a character played by Morgan Freeman in what we believe to be his kitchen, this is mundane and suggests he is an ordinary guy. The use if set is simple, however as the kitchen is clean and structured it suggests the character is organised, minimal ornaments and applications suggest he is either not wealthy or he is not home allot which coincides with his occupation later.

We then cut to a shot of a him placing his tie on in a mirror, again this suggests organisation and possible occupation, we then pan up to see his face, this close up reveals his plain faced expression that suggests this is not for a special occasion or that he has done it many times, again leading to the idea of his appearance being occupation based.

It is within the next shot this character becomes clear, the use of prop (badge) informs us he works within the police force. Again the organisation of the prop reveals more about the character having been in the job for a while. We can now associate the badge with the clothes and come to the conclusion he is a detective. The pen, knife and gun show how his work ranges in action.

The next cut goes to a high angled mid shot of a dead body; we assume it to be dead as although we cannot define the colour due to the dark lighting there appears to be a pool of blood surrounding it. This creates confusion as we are unsure if this is a cut to another location or it is within Morgan Freeman’s characters home, in the back of our mind we assume he commited the murder raising questions of his character.

The change in location becomes clear a simple cut to the next shot reveals Morgan Freemans character in a corridor, the low key lighting stays the same to maintain the continuity, it also creates a dark, eerie effect creating a tension and suspense. It becomes clear that he is investigating the scene of the murder reinstating his clear character as a detective.

In conclusion, the mise en scene and editing of the opening sequence produces a tension and suspense surrounding the film. Through use of realistic location and mixing natural and low key lighting a realism is created to match the moods of the film. In terms of character establishment, key information is given such as occupation and few characteristics to gain audience expectation and question.