In the opening sequence of ‘Se7en’ we see a montage of clips of an anonymous person doing mysterious activities. This is shown through a series of close up shots of this person cutting up pictures, writing in pictures, cutting his own fingers with razor blades and other ominous activities. Also we never see the person doing this except for their fingers which are always busy but we do see this person cutting their own fingers with a razor blade and then the rest of the time we see the fingers with bandages on them. This makes the audience ask as to why he would need to do this to himself. The camera also never moves during these clips so as to focus on the work that this person is doing. However it does move in one clip as it pans across a shelf of journals that obviously belong to this person. Lastly the camera is kept at eye level to the activities that this person is doing, keeping the mystery of this person’s identity.
This is very different to the camera style of ‘Panic Room’ which gives the audience a series of shots consisting of high angle, low angle, birds eye and panning shots. All these shots merely sum up the opening sequence to this film which gives no real clue to a plot. These series of shots all involve buildings and emphasises on their height and grandeur.
Sound:
The sound in ‘Se7en’ is wholly non-diagetic. However the sound is a mournful, slow beat song adding to the feel of these ominous activities that this person is doing. It could be mainly non-diagetic to cover up any sounds that this person is making that could give away who he or she is. Whereas in ‘Panic Room’ we mainly non-diagetic sound of, again slow, string music but this gradually fades and we get a quick sound clip of stereotypical sounds that’s audience’s would hear from New York e.g. car horns, traffic, millions of people talking.
Editing:
In ‘Se7en’ we get a montage of clips all showing ominous activities of writing, cutting pictures and news documents, someone cutting themselves. However some of the clips are replayed at certain times and also we also some of the clips are layered so we see two different activities taking place at the same time. However in ‘Panic Room’ there is no real sense of editing except for, again, a montage of shots of tall and large buildings.
Mis en Scene:
There is a lot going on in the opening sequence of ‘Se7en’. The props are ominous and threatening like razor blades and scissors and pictures of people. The lighting is a dim, pale orange and it sometimes blurs the background which gives the scenery a more mysterious atmosphere. There are no costumes that take place in this opening sequence however we do see this person’s fingers in bandages. Whereas in ‘Panic Room’ the opening sequence is a very stereotypical idea of New York to international audiences of sunny days, traffic, large and grand buildings and millions of people in busy streets.
Characters:
In both opening sequences we have no real sense of who the characters are. However in ‘Se7en’ we do have a persons hands busy at work. But is this the hero or villain?
Location:
‘Se7en’ gives us no real sense of a location. But the audience is supposed to assume that this is taking place in a room or house because of all the jobs and activities that this person is doing and, due to the dim orange background, this couldn’t be anywhere else but inside. However in ‘Panic Room’ we are instantly thrown into the rooftops of New York and then are taking to some of the major locations like Greenwich Village and Time Square.
Narrative/Plot:
Neither of these films gives any sense of plot or narrative.
Visual Style:
‘Se7en’ has a very mournful visual style because of its montage of ominous shots and this persons’ activities. However in ‘Panic Room’ the visual style is very normal every day New York however the mournful music gives mix messages and contrasts with what the audience see and then what they hear.
Genre:
Both of these films fall under the genre of ‘thriller’.
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