The opening sequence introduces the three main characters of Seven: 1) Detective Somerset is shown alone in his sparse apartment, illuminated by cold lighting, suggesting an empty personal life focused on his work as a strategic thinker. 2) At a crime scene, Somerset observes details with care, while Detective Mills arrives confident but disheveled, hinting at differences between them. 3) The antagonist is presented anonymously through disturbing journal entries and manipulation of images/text, implying a fetishistic worldview that rationalizes crimes as "cleansing." Diegetic sounds establish the setting's underlying tension.

1. Using Mise-en-scene, Sound, Colour & Lighting discuss how the 3 main
characters are introduced to the audience during the opening sequence
of Seven
The first setting the audience is exposed to is that of Detective Somerset’s
(Morgan Freeman) apartment, in the first shot something that is quite
apparent is the coldness of the lighting the light streams in through a window
to the right in Somerset’s kitchen and filters through a curtain through the
window directly in front of him. This sense of cold lighting is also enhanced by
the strip lighting in the kitchen itself. Possible connotations could be that the
‘world’ outside of Somerset’s apartment is a cold one and this sense of
coldness is impinging on his own private world.
There’s a sense of emptiness about the kitchen with only essential items,
which begs the questions does Somerset actually like his apartment? Is it just
somewhere to live and not really a home? In the forefront of the shot out of
focus we can see a chess board which is said to be ‘a thinking man’s game’
this could allude to Somerset being a thinking man possibly strategic in
nature.
Somerset takes his time getting ready in the mirror, he appears to have a
‘system’ connoted by the way and order in which he picks up his keys, badge,
penknife and pen. His actions have a sense of order each item has its place
on his persons (weirdly or not this same sense of order or systematic practice
is also presented to the audience by the antagonist during the title sequence).
Even the small act of picking some fluff of his blazer jacket tells the audience
that everything has to be ‘just so’ not perfect but just Somerset’s kind of
order.
As we move to the crime scene this is the first time the audience are allowed
a glimpse into Somerset’s everyday working world. While at the crime scene
Somerset asks another detective f the ‘kid’ saw the murder – this question
shows that Somerset has a caring side and that unlike the other detective his
work has not yet turned him cold. Somerset wears a hat which could possibly
connote his importance and also makes him stand out from the rest of the
cast; in addition his glasses connote intelligence. The setting (murder scene)
that we are presented with is quite shocking but the apparent calmness of the
two detectives to the situation tell us that they are used to seeing things like
this. While at this crime scene we are introduced to Detective Mills (Brad Pitt)
he come running up the stairs to the crime scene and when he reaches the
top he places his hands in his pockets – this action was done by Somerset
only a few second ago and so could connote that these two detectives are
similar in small ways – When Mills introduces himself his head is pointing
upwards slightly like a cockerel this could connote that he is trying to present
some kind of authority and is over confident. His leather jacket looks like it’s
taken a beating, his shirt doesn’t look ironed and his wearing a tie with
basketballs on this costume is very different from Somerset’s 3 piece attire
and is also in opposition to how Mills is attempting to present himself verbally.
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2. As they leave the crime scene and walk down the street together their
attempts to present authority over the other is communicated through the way
in which they walk and take up more of the frame at different times during
their conversation. Also when a passing pedestrian knocks Mills he looks
back angrily as if the person should not have invaded his space. This short
conversation could show what is to come with regard to the two detectives
relationship, they get each other’s backs up, when Somerset shows his
authority Mills folds his arms defensively and tells Somerset that his not a
rookie, as Somerset finally exits the shot (and the whole sequence) he makes
reference to the film title and elucidates to the time span of the film by saying
‘Over the next seven days you’ll do the favour of remembering that’. Mills
moves his head from side to side almost ‘boxer-like’ could connote the end of
round one!
The sound (excluding that of the spoken script) is diegetic to present a sense
of verisimilitudei. We can hear the sound of rain and police sirens, its presents
to the audience that they are in a city where something is always happening
crime is something that doesn’t stop; the sound of the rain connotes a sense
of misery and depression.
The scene changes to Somerset’s bedroom, he has boxes on the floor which
refers back to the emptiness of his kitchen, he doesn’t see the apartment as a
home. He has an extremely full bookshelf signalling his intellect. We hear
dogs barking, cars screeching, car alarms and people shouting; Somerset’s
flicks his metronome and looks in the direction of the window where all the
disturbances are coming from. This again we can compare to the kitchen
scene where the light connoted the ‘outside world’ impinging on Somerset’s
now again at night-time the sound of the ‘outside world’ are impinging on is.
He uses his metronome to help him switch the ‘outside world’ off and go to
sleep. Just below the sound of the clicking metronome the sound of a ticking
clock or watch can also be heard this could connote time and the start of a
countdown.
Brief Overview title sequence
The antagonist is introduced to the audience through the title sequence we
never see his face only his hands, his anonymity is kept intact and we the
audience are shown that he wants to keep his anonymity through the action of
slicing the skin of his fingers to get rid of his finger prints. He is seen to keep a
record of all of his crimes, he makes notes in journals and sticks in pictures,
his actions are done with a sense of purpose carefully sticking the pages of
his journals together and selective certain words to be crossed out of books.
His actions are methodical and could be compared to the actions of
Somerset. The use of photographs to present the voyeuristic nature of the
antagonist, he’s a people watcher, and we the audience are invited into his
world as we look the pictures and see the words that he blacks out of books.
There is a sense of fetishism that is put across.
The shakiness of the titles and the way that they are written are done
purposefully to reflect the antagonists frame of might (something is not right),
it makes the audience uneasy. The main colours used are red, black and
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3. white. Black referring death, bleakness, depression, red referring also to
death, blood, danger and white has a sense of purity the notion of cleansing.
As you watch the rest of the film you see that these colours are used as
enigmas to represent the antagonist’s action that although what he is doing is
morally wrong he believes that he is cleansing the world of sin.
The soundtrack used is by Nine Inch Nails, and it has an uneasy sound to
match the uneasy feeling that the shaky titles give. As the sequence comes to
an end the lyrics that can be heard are ‘You get me closer to God’ at the
same time the antagonist can be seen cutting the word ‘God’ from an
newspaper – which refers to the religious methodology behind his criminal
acts.
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4. i
The appearance of reality