1) The opening sequence of Seven uses mise-en-scene like props and costumes to provide insight into the characters. For example, Morgan Freeman's character is shown alone in bed with a metronome, implying he is lonely and committed to his job. 2) Violent details like blood on the walls further the plot and suggest danger. 3) Camera shots are used to reveal character traits: a low angle shows the detectives as authorities and a wide shot of Freeman's tidy home shows him as organized. 4) Sounds like the metronome ticking and sinister music provide atmosphere and hints about future events.

1. Textual analysis: Seven
Joe Patton

2. Mise-en-scene
• There are a large amount of props used in the opening sequence to Seven as well as
costumes and ornamental pieces that are used to put across various points about the
story in the film. For example, right at the beginning of the film, there is a shot shown
of Morgan freeman lying in bed reaching over and starting a metronome ticking while
relaxing in bed. This suggests to the audience that the detective is very old and he
could possibly be lonely. He could be using the metronome as a type of company as he
has no one else. Morgan freeman's character appears to be very committed to his job
and this could be because he has nothing else and is lonely.
• A second example of Mise-en-scene in Seven is when the detective walks up the stairs
there is blood that is splattered on the wall and curtain in the opening scene. This
implies to the audience that a rather violent event has happened previous to the
opening scene. This is starting point in the film as in suggests to the audience that
there are events that will be violent and dangerous.

3. Camera angles/shots/movement
• Throughout the opening in Seven there are various shots and camera angles used that
show the audience insights into what the characters personalities are like in the film.
• At the start of Seven there is a shot of Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt walking down
the busy city street together side by side. There is a low angle shot of the two of them
which suggests that they are both quite powerful and figures of authority.
• There is a wide angle shot during the opening few scenes to Seven. This is used as
Morgan Freeman is lying on his bed. It shows the wall behind his bed and reveals to
the audience bits about his personal life and what he is like. It shows that his house is
rather neat and tidy and that he is a very organised man, this could be due to his
profession as a detective.
• When the two detectives are walking Brad Pitt is walking into people and round things
whereas Morgan Freeman is a lot more relaxed. This is effective as it shows the
audience that Morgan Freemans character is a lot more experienced than the other
detective in terms of his work as being as detective and in regards to the city as well.

4. Sound
• One of the first important sounds in Seven is the ticking of the metronome. Morgan
Freemans character starts the metronome ticking when he is lying on his bed. This
shows time passing and suggests to the audience that the detective has a lot of time on
his hands and is quite lonely. It also could have been used to show his age and the
ticking of time going by and that he doesn’t have much time left.
• There are also a variety of sounds, some of which are diegetic and non diegetic. These
are effective in the film as they are used to emphasis important parts to the audience.
They also allow the audience possible insights as to the future events in the film.
• When the opening titles are on the scene there is a very sinister music playing. This

5. Editing
• Throughout the opening sequence of Seven there is very effective use of editing when
the titles are coming up.
• The title sequence is edited together to stand out with all the blood and potential clues
for cases that pop up.
• The images coming up are distorted and cut quickly. This is effective and shows the
audience potentially how a criminal mind works and their lifestyle.
• The font of the writing appears rather creepy and provides the audience with an insight
of what the rest of the film might be like.