Section 2: RESEARCH INTO EXAMPLES OF COPARABLE MEDIA PRODUCTS - Se7en

Seven (Se7en) is a thriller directed by David Fincher and stars Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey

Narrative Structure

The Narrative of the film is generally kept flowing through the dialogue of the characters and their actions. The audience is also reminded of the time passing by captions on certain points in the scene, which say “Monday”, "Tuesday" and so on. This reminds the audience that Mills and Somerset are on a tight schedule and have to catch the killer as soon as they can.

Thriller Codes and Conventions

• Concealment- The Killer's identity is hidden until the end of the film.
• The Transformed City- Though the city does seem to have its share of murder and crime, none are as terrible as the seven sin murders, and these effectively shake up the city, turning it into an extraordinary place.
• Mazes and Labyrinths- Mills and Somerset are led on a maze of murders and clues, which eventually is unsolved, as the killer comes to them, and then the whole plot unfolds.

Camera Work

• First Scene - Mid long shot of Somerset in his kitchen at Eye-level.
• Second Scene - Medium Close up of Somerset performing his every day rituals, of getting ready for his day, which then switches to just a shot of his legs and his jacket on his bed.
• Third Scene - Murder scene- Long shot of Somerset walking closer to the camera, into the apartment until it reaches a mid-shot.
• Fouth Scene- Looks at the other officers at a Mid-long shot, then switches angles to look back at Somerset from the right instead of left.
• Fifth Scene - Camera cuts to outside, Mid-long shot of Mills and Somerset at a low angle
• Sixth Scene - Long shot of Somerset in bed which then switches between a close up of the metronome and a mid-close up of Somerset's face at an eye-level angle.
• Seventh Scene - Close up of Mills and girlfriend Tracey at a slightly higher angle.

Mis-En-Scene
Somerset is dressed in a plain white dress shirt to begin with, showing that he works in a place where formal wear is required. We see a Chessboard on his kitchen table, which implies to the audience that his character is logical, and the lighting is fairly dim, hinting that this is in the morning.


Later the audience is shown that he is getting ready for his day, and he has all of his equipment laid out neatly which signifies the presence of a routine.
In the murder scene, we learn two things about Somerset. One, that he is compassionate, as he worries about the child who may have seen the murder of his father, and we also learn that he is a detective, but he is leaving the force.



When Mills enters the scene, the audience can immediately see a difference between the two detectives. Mills wears a leather jacket and a wrinkled shirt, signifying a more modern approach, whereas Somerset sticks to a typical detective coat, which indicates his refusal to give up the old ways of investigation, and to do things his own way.
In the film, there is a significant amount of rain involved, which is an indicator to how gloomy and depressing the city is, and it is also a form of foreshadowing, predicting the terrible events about to take place there.
When Somerset and Mills are walking down the street, Somerwalks walks on the left, closer to the road, whereas Mills walks to the right and is intercepted by several people. This highlights how Somerset has experience and is aware of the city, whereas Mills has a lot to learn.
Somerset is seen as being alone in his home, whereas Mills has his wife Tracey, which makes him more vulnerable, as he has someone who the killer can hurt in order to get to him, whereas Somerset has no-one, and has no loose ends to his character.

Sound
In the beginning of the film, though it is set in a normal apartment, there is a distinct sound of chaos in the background. Dogs barking, police and ambulance sirens and shouting. This is also seen in the scene with Somerset in his bed, as he uses a metronome to block out the noise.
The song in the credits is eerie and also has foreshadowing in it, as it mentions God at the end and John Doe claims he is doing God's work.

Editing & Graphics
The opening credits are unique to the film, as they embrace the genre and give the film a more scary and thrilling edge, with the black and white contrast, along with the flashing lights and also the images that we see that are actually of John Doe, though we don't see his face, we see some of the things we later see in the film, such as his journals, and cutting off his finger prints.