Analysis of Opening Sequences

se7en

Mise-en-Sene
The mise-en-scene in the thriller opening of Se7en are the lighting is very low key, this adds tension to the opening and makes the audience feel on the edge on their seats before the scene has even started. There are many gory images of hands and the person is peeling skin off of his hands. This gives the impression to the audience that then main character in this thriller is going to be rather unusual and maybe even insane, as he is able to peel skin off his fingers and these are things that people would find rather disturbing and horrid. This will make the audience want to carry on and watch the thriller as this gives them a little glimps of what the character is going to be like and they will want to find out more about this character by watching the rest of the film. There are also many pictures of peoples faces in black and white being crossed out in black pen. This implies that the character may be a murderer and he is crossing out the victums which he has murdered, this is giving the audience a little glimps of what the film is going to be about. We also see many sharp objects such as needles and knifes, the man is putting these through his fingers. This again shows the audience what to expect in the film, for exampl there may be a lot of violence involved as knifes are maybe trying to represent danger in the film. Also it is very typical of a murderer to carry a sharp weapon to kill his victums so this creates tension with the audience as they will be wondering what he is going to be using them knifes for.
Camera Work
Most of the shots is the whole of the opening sequence are close up shots. We first see a pair of horrible looking hands in a book. This will seem very unusual to the audience which will make them want to carry on watching the film to find out what these strange items are all about. Then we see a close up shot of a pair of hands peeling skin of their fingers. Again this seems very strange and the audience will tink that the person doing this to themseleves must be very insane, but the fact that we can't see the person will create mystery and make the audience feel anxious to find out more about this person. The camera sometimes zooms in on an objects, this could maybe be trying to show the importance of that object in the film.
Sound
At the beginning of the opening sequence the music starts very slow but as it gets towards the end of the opening sequence the music gradually gets faster. This builds up tension in the opening sequence and makes the audience feel on edge, it makes it seem to the audience that the music is building up to something big which makes the audience feel very anxious. We also hear non-digetic sounds of screeching and screaming nosies. These kinds of nosies are used to send shivers up the audience's spines which will create a weird feeling and atmosphere for the audience whilst watching the film. The screaming nosies could be there to reflect the screams of his innocent victums which he has murdered. These screams show the audience what to expect in this thriller, shows there might be violence and danger involved.
Editing
Editing is used in the opening sequence when the credits keep flickering on the screen. The flickering makes the credits stand out when they are being shown over an image in the opening sequence. The flickering of the credits has also been added as this creates another unusual thing in the opening sequence and this again implies that the film is going to be full of strange things and reflects on the main characters personality. When we see a close up shot of a pair of hands writing in a book a shadow is created right next to his hand. This is used to make the shot seem creepy to the audience. There are a lot of quick edits and cuts from scene to scene to scene and the these become a lot more frequent towards the end of the opening sequence, when the music is buliding up as well. This will create tension and make the scene feel very hectic, this reflects on the main characters personality and shows the person to be rather insane. This again shows the audience whats to come in the thriller which is craziness and unusual things. Finally, the screen every now and again changes colour to red. This demonstrates that there is going to be danger and violence in the film. Also as the colour red is accosiated with blood this could be showing the audience that the film is about murder, so the screen changes to red to imply that it's the blood of the persons victims he/she has murdered.





The Panic Room

Mise-en-Scene
In the opening sequence all that we really see is buildings and cars. The reason for this is that these things are very familar with the audience and they will see them in their everyday life's. This will make the film seem a lot more realistic to the audience if it is shot in a place which they are familar with, in this case a city. Another reason the city has been shown is because it is showing the audience the place that the whole film is going to be set, so establishing the location of the film. The cars are there as this is what you would typically see in a city and this will make the scene seem a lot more realistic to the audience again. Finally, the lighting is natural and again this is to make it seem realistic of what a typical city would look like.
Camera Work
As soon as the scene begins there is an establishing shot of a city and then the camera slowly zooms in. This is to show the audience that the main setting for the film is going to be in a city. There is close up shots of buildings and establishing shots of cars going past. These are used to show the typical things that you would see in a city, this makes the scene seem a lot more realistic to the audience.
Sound
We can hear digectic sounds of cars going past and car horns beeping. This is to show the audience the typical nosies which you would hear in a city, again making it seem realistic. The music is played very low and as the scene goes on the music is gradually getting faster. This is to build up tension as it makes the audience feel as though something is buliding up to happen. This will also make the audience feel anxious as they are wondering why the music is building up so much, what is going to happen. As the music is getting faster a non-digetic sound of a clock ticking can be heard and as the music is getting faster so is the ticking noise. This is used to demonstate that maybe in the film time is against them and it also creates more tension to the audience as they will be wondering why time is against them. This will make them want to carry on watching the film and find out more.
Editing
The credits used are plain but bold and placed over images of buildings. The credits are bold so they can be seen easily over another image but the reason for them being shown over images of buildings is again to show the audience the main location of the film. There are many quick edits from scenes of buildings to another scene of buildings. This is again to establish the main location of the film.