This document provides a shot-by-shot analysis of scenes from the movie Se7en. It summarizes each shot, explaining what is shown and its purpose. The shots show Detective Mills putting an important document in his desk, the cramped office space they share, Detective Somerset turning his back to take a call privately, and reaction shots of the detectives displaying discomfort, confusion, and anxiety throughout their conversation.

1. Se7en –Shot Analysis
In this shot (screen captured from a
scene in Se7en), the camera is zoomed
into an extreme close up shot of
Detective Mills putting a document into
his top desk draw. This lets the audience
know that this documentation is of some
importance, and will most likely appear
again sometime in the movie.
This medium shot lets the viewer
know that the office they are sharing
is quite cramped. However, it also
allows the audience to see both of the
actors more clearly, allowing the
audience to read Detective Mills body
language, as he listens to Detective
Somerset on the phone to his wife,
Tracy. The viewer is then able to see
that Detective Mills is uncomfortable
with the situation.
This medium close up shot shows
Detective Somerset continuing his
conversation with Detective Mills wife
– Tracy. Due to the camera angle, we
are able to see that he has turned his
back on Detective Mills, as if he wants
more privacy when talking to Tracy, as
he is accepting her invitation to
Somerset’s and Tracy’s house for
dinner.

2. This medium shot once again shows both
Somerset and Mills in their shared office. It
allows the audience to have an insight into
how Somerset appears to be feeling, and to
enable them to read his body language,
which makes him look anxious. This may
be due to bits of the conversation he heard
Somerset having with his wife, and that he
is anxious to know they where conversing
about.
This medium close up shot gives the
audience a clear view of Detective Mills
face. This is useful to the audience as it
enables them to gauge an understanding
of Detective Mills reaction to finding out
that Somerset has accepted his wife’s
invitation to dinner. The audience is able
to see the clear look of confusion, and
shock on Detective Mills face, at possibly
both the fact that Tracy would invite
Detective Somerset to dinner, as well as Detective Somerset
accepting the invitation.
This extreme close up shot focuses on the
number on the door – 5A – as well as on
the door handle. In addition to this, this is
the shot that also ends the scene. The
director may of decided to end to the
scene like this due to the way the
conversation abruptly ended between
Somerset and Mills, and could be a
reference to the saying “the door is
closed”, in a way representing Detective
Mills lack of authority, or possibly lack of control of the situation.