Research of Film Openings - Se7en

R	The opening scene introduces a male character, who remains anonymous for the entire sequence, the rest of the sequences give the impression that the man is mentally ill and has created an obsession with violence and making books. His Obsession leads to him harming himself with objects such as needles, representing self harm. The obsession of his is also backed up with the amount of books he appears to have made all around him; however the books may also connote intelligence. Using David Morely’s Preferred, Oppositional and Negotiated reading, the audience would think that the preferred reading of this film is that mental people are scary. The oppositional reading would be that the audience would think that the criminal is “cool” and try to be like them, and the negotiated reading would be that the audience might think that the criminal looks cool, but he is also scary so would not want to be like them.
A	This sequence gives the idea that the film will be a violent and gritty film, because of this I feel that the BBFC would give this film an 18 certificate. Because of the age certificate and violence, I also think that the target audience will be 19 – 24 year old males. Using Blumler and Katz uses and gratification theory, it could be said that the audience would watch this film for entertainment and for social interaction.
Id	The Dominant ideology of this opening scene could be represented by the affect of mental illness. The entire sequence is jumpy and blurred, not allowing you to focus on any thing for a long a period of time. This could show that the person that we are focussing on is mentally ill and can also not focus on anything. The sequence makes the audience feel uncomfortable and scared, which reinforces the dominant ideology that all mentally ill people are scary and that you should stay away from them.
L	The sequence consists of extreme close ups of different objects, creating tension and the feeling that something is going to happen. The extreme close ups of objects during the sequence also created confusion for the audience and from the start of the film. An enigma code is created, making the audience question what is happening and what is going to happen. The sequence also has fast and loud non-diegetic sound in it, creating a tense atmosphere. The non-diegetic music also contains random sounds that are throughout the entire sequence, making the audience confused. The editing of the clip is very jumpy and the clips are put together in a way that makes the audience feel uncomfortable. The lighting of the scene is muted and there is a red tinge in most of the clips, showing to the audience that there is danger in that situation.
In	The institution for this film was New Line Cinema. The stars of this film are Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Brad Pitt’s name appears first in the credits, showing that he is probably the main character of the film. Brad Pitt usually plays the good guy in films, and is not very famous for playing criminals; therefore the audience would believe that he would be the “hero” of the story. Morgan Freeman’s name is the next to appear in the credits, showing he is probably going to be the second most important character in the film. Morgan Freeman, again like Brad Pitt, is not famous for playing the criminals, so he is probably playing the hero’s helper. The difference in age between the two stars could show that in the film Morgan Freeman could be Brad Pitt’s mentor, teaching him the things he need to know to catch the criminal.
N	The narrative of this sequence uses a series of Enigma Codes to make the audience interested in the story and want to carry on watching. As most films do, this film starts with an equilibrium, however this equilibrium is completely wrong and twisted due to the dirtiness, death and confusion of the sequence this could show the audience that if this is the equilibrium then the film is going to get even worse than it already is, probably by killing or hurting someone, to make the new equilibrium.
G	The opening of the scene is quite intense and makes the audience feel uncomfortable, while creating tension and the build up to something bigger that is going to happen. This is very common in the thriller genre. The sequence also has the feel of a villain or criminal doing something wrong; therefore, this could also belong to the crime genre. The opening is very typical for both these genres, as both usually create tension and suspense.