The opening scene of Se7en uses distorted music, quick cuts between black and white shots, and ambiguous characters and events to create tension and mystery. No actual characters are introduced, but a person is shown marking photographs and removing fingerprints, hinting at psychotic and criminal behavior without revealing full details. The dark lighting, crime-related clues, and real life locations establish the film as a thriller/crime genre through conventions like limited information and speculation.

1. Se7en
Opening Scene Analysis

3. Music
Distorted, creepy music with discordant sound
effects adds to the tension of the opening.
Sound effects e.g. thunder and screeching puts
the audience on edge.
As the opening commences, the audio speeds
up.

4. Titles
Black background with white jagged font which
shakes in and out of focus portrays the genre of
a thriller.
The title of the film was the fourth textual shot
following the production company and the actors.

5. Editing
The quick cuts show little information but provide
enough for the audience to speculate which is a
convention of a thriller.
Black and white scenes are used to suggest the
genre.
An overlay of shots of someone writing adds to
creepiness of scene which encodes it’s more of a
horror/thriller, while it also shows the passing of
time.

6. Characters
No actual characters are introduced which adds
to the suspense and mystery of the film.
There’s essence of a personality conveyed by
showing someone marking out people’s eyes in
photographs – psychotic.
The black and white scenes foreshadow death
and murder.

7. Narrative hooks
The ambiguity of the opening makes the
audience question exactly what is going to
happen in the film – thriller/crime convention.
The unknown character – who is he/she and
what do they want? Why is he/she relevant?

8. Mis-en-scene
Dark lighting conveys the thriller theme.
The removal of skin from finger tips suggests
they are removing their fingerprints and therefore
hiding their identity – criminal?
Cutting out words from a newspaper relates to
ransom notes therefore conforms to the crime
genre.
At the end there is a real life location/scenario –
thriller convention.

9. Camera Shots
Extreme close ups restrict the audience from
seeing certain parts.