Analysis of opening film sequence.

For the next task we had to choose an opening sequence of a film noir to analyze. I chose the opening part of Se7en.

The clip displayed here is what i watched and used, however i only analysed the from the beginning until 4:08.

The clip opens with a man within his kitchen, getting ready for, as it seems, work.

The man is extrememley smart and immediately we identify him as having a majorly important job.

Straight away we see the mans back and the setting here is a smart, clean kitchen, we see the cleanness

of the room, before the characters face. While the man is in the kitchen, getting sorted, in the background you can

hear the busy traffic outside. You immediately relate this to a city; a typical setting for a stereotypical film

noir. The camera shot is taken from above the table alined with objects this man needs for his job.

The way he picks them up one by one, handling them with care and placing them in their given area, indicates how serious he is.

All these elements in the first few seconds help us to identify the mans personality, lifestyle and occupation to an extent.

The sequence immediately cuts to another scene when the man reaches for the light turning it off. Here we see a body lying on

a floor covered in blood. Bodies, death and blood are the common elements of a film noir. Immediately we can identify that

a crime has taken place, crimes and investigations are the main elements of the story line within a film noir.

The camera shot is a crane as it lifts up higher and high

to show more and more of the body. While this is happening we can't see, but can hear a man talking, no doubt a detective

or policeman. The camera cuts to show the man we previously seen investigating the crime scene. We now know

his occupation is a detective and this is his next case. The house is very dark and dingy. Within film noirs due to my research

the common settings used are urban areas and places without much money invested within them, normally owned

by those who commit the crime. The lighting is very dull and the scenes used up to this point have all been pretty dark,

this is a common element of visual style within film noirs. A still shot takes place where the camera does not move

and the character walks towards it, showing the man exploring the room, taking in every single detail.

Next we see a deep shot where we see one man clearly and past him, in the background, we see a faded out character.

We cant see him clearly but we can hear what he has to say. The conversation carries on between the two man

however the shot type changes to shot reverse shot, this is where it shows one person talking, then cuts to the next, and back and forth.

The camera follows the turn taking involved in the conversation.

As another detective is introduced, the camera does not move from seeing one walk away to seeing one come into

the house up the stairs. The shot then cuts to the other detectives response when he states who he is and why he's been sent there.

When they leave the area, the camera is outside standing still to watch them walk through the door behind

a stretcher with the body upon. The camera seems to be situated below them, a low angle shot, looking up at the characters,

giving them some sign of indication that they are important. While they are stood outside you can hear them talking, diagetic sounds

and non diagetic sounds, the sirens and traffic in the background which we cannot see. The camera then stays situated at the same

level but pans across the screen from right to left following them as they walk along the street, still looking

up at them not showing their full body, more of a medium shot of them both. We see the street is rather small, involves back alleys;

these are the typical settings that state a film is a film noir. The camera stops still when they do to continue their

conversation so you can focus on what is being said. You can see people walking behind them and in front of the camera to

create the busy atmosphere; make it seem all the more realistic.

The scene then cuts from there to another; Detective Summerset within his own room, in bed. The sounds heard are the noises down

in the street below, these are non diagetic sounds. An establishing shot takes place where the reaches to place

his glasses by the bed and the camera zooms in on this to see exactly what he's putting down and when he touches another object

so let you know exactly what it is, emphasize detail. The camera gradually moves forward towards the man sat in bed, from being far away seeing the full room nearly

to be right up close showing the mans face expression. The shot cuts from the ticking object, back to the man, back to

the ticking object and so on. The ticking gets louder the closer the man becomes. A soundtrack can be heard in the background vaguely, a low

tune, rather quiet. This quietens down and fades by around 4 minutes before a huge bang is heard which creates suspense and kicks

off the start of the credits; the introduction of the soundtrack.