3. S H O T S
• All close ups, or extreme close ups
• No long shots—creates a sense of suspense as the viewer doesn’t
know where this is taking place
• The character remains a mystery—we’re unable to see who’s doing
the actions on the screen
• Key to creating a sense of enigma
• The serial killer who’s actions (the murders) can be seen, but who
cannot be found
• Sets up the tone, and the plot of the film
4. • Right side of shot is hidden
• Adds to the mystery and the tension
• The viewer cannot see everything—
not omnipresent in this film
• Too close up to understand the
image
• Flashes by quickly
• Builds tension—we don’t know
what the item is, and what it’s for
• High contrast: light vs dark
• Conventional ideals of good vs
evil
• Viewer doesn’t know who’s
flipping the pages
5. M O V E M E N T
• Most of the shots are still
• Allows viewers to see the symbols on the screen well
• Connotes a sense of obsession, and of deliberate
action
7. L I G H T I N G
• Shots aren’t well lit
• In doors—low key lighting
• Many shots with parts of the mise-en-scene hidden
• Creates a sense of tension as we cannot see the actions of the
mysterious character well
• Sets up the neo-noire crime feel of the film
• Moody and oppressive lighting—associations with thriller films
8. Black and white low key lighting
Creates shadows on the page
Shadow of a hand—looks almost he is
holding a knife
Indistinct shapes in the background
Accompanied by a dark, grunge colour
scheme
Mystery is created through our
curiosity about what is in the background
High contrast title sequence
Distressed font choice
Adds to the mood of the crime thriller
genre
9. C O L O U R S
• A dark, grungy colour palette
• A lot of black and white colours
• Represents the polarised thinking of Doe
• Flashes of red—especially when pictures are being developed
• Red is associated with murder, passion, and danger
• Suspense is created as we see hints of the plot
• Doe is a murderer, he murders because he’s deeply passionate about the
wrongs that people have committed, there are people in physical and
mental danger
10. Red tint
Red associated with blood, evil, pain
Builds tension through our associations
with the colour
A blanked out face
A sense of the lack of identity
We don’t know who the criminal is
‘Killing’ someone’s identity
Juxtaposition between the writing and
the red colour
Tells the viewer that this writing is evil
and bad
11. P R O P S
• Montages of several different props
• A sense of confusion—the audience cannot keep up
• Key props or ideas: books, the razor, and the obfuscation
of words/knowledge
• Develops the enigma
• Audience is not sure how all of this connects together
• Are curious about the significance of these images
12. Cutting of the skin
The razor puts us on edge as we associate
it with pain
Removal of identity
‘God’ represents good—emphasises
the evil of Doe’s actions
The movie is about the 7 deadly sins
Doe judges people and punishes
them for their sins—plays ‘God’
Blanking of knowledge
Once again the idea of the loss
of identity and of information
Doe crossing out the parts of
society he thinks shouldn’t be there
14. C O N T I N U I T Y A N D PA C E
• Employs montages throughout the opening
• Usually quick flashes of several images
• The audience is unable to process all these images
• End up questioning if we have seen something or not—adds to
the tension
• The use of these montages creates a very fast paced opening
sequence—tension is built through these quick changes
• Adds more emphasis to longer scenes
15. T R A N S I T I O N S
• A variety of transitions: straight cut, crossovers, fade to
black
• Straight cut: increases pace—creates a sense of
disconnect
• Crossover: creates a sense of connection—the enigma
is developed as we don’t understand how these
images are connected
16. A disturbing image on the screen
Flashes of these images make the
viewer feel uncomfortable
A disturbing image is superimposed
on the close up actions of Doe
Emphasises the wrong that Doe
is committing
We associate his actions with these
grotesque images
A double image superimposition
Shows an unstable mind
A double image
Our morals vs Doe’s morals
18. N O N - D I E G E T I C S O U N D
• Main sound in this opening sequence
• Opens with thunderstorm sounds—creates a sense of
tension because of our negative connotations of
danger and oppression with thunderstorms
• Pace starts slow, but builds up with time—increases
tension as our anxiety speeds up with the pace
• Increasingly uses synth music—adds to the eerie and
dangerous feel of the shots
