Se7en trailer analysis

SE7EN TRAILER ANALYSIS

 

The first shot in this trailer shows a close up of an actor who is young, wearing a suit (shows his importance) and has a wound on his forehead, he shares a short piece of dialogue "you like what you do for a living?" At this point we can see that he is directing this at someone however we can't see the actor who he is addressing this at. At this point the music has started but it is very quiet and mysterious (no beat)

This is then followed by an establishing shot of a black man wearing a brown coat and a hat. He is holding a torch facing it towards the camera. This shot is edited to slowly zoom out showing more of his surroundings. This shot is effective because his surroundings, are dark and the torch stands out.

At this point, the music is still quiet and mysterious, but for a second we hear a tambourine like noise which symbolizes this mans importance.

We are then shown a side view of a man (who's identity is not certain) looking at some photographs, this shot is dark on the characters face and a red neon light is shown on the photos. A voice over is used "These things you see", the actor then quickly turns his head and three very quick, short clips are shown, one which looks like fabric blowing in the wind, the second of a jar, and the third of what looks like someone's feet tied up. When all three of these shots appear they are introduced with a "bang" this draws the audience in.

The next shot is an extreme close up of a man, this shot particularly focuses on his sunglasses, which show a reflection of something in them. This is then followed by a shot focused mainly on a car window as the car is moving past a crime scene showing police flashing lights. This immediately indicates crime.

This next shot shows a dark room with a single bed and a red neon cross on the wall. This shot moves slowly to the left showing a mans body facing towards the bed with a torch but face not shown. Although, from the previous shots it is assumed it is the same man. The fact that the cross is neon red shows its importance.


Two bangs are heard and then a close up of a metronome is shown, this shot is edited to be moving up, a hand is shown pushing the metronome.





A worms eye shot is used the show the mans power and his suit represents his importance. He is shown to be walking down a narrow corridor. A voice over says "Detective William Sommerset is looking for a way out" this dialogue is dramatic and effective. The next shots show him in an abandoned looking house, and a crowded city centre. 

 

 

This shot shows a man sitting at a desk, he says,

"You're retiring, six more days and you are all the way gone"

He says this with a smug look on his face and his body language shows us that he is confident and perhaps a business owner.

This is then followed by a two shot of a couple sitting at a dinner table in their home, drinking wine and eating dinner, the women says to the detective "So how long have you lived her?" he responds "Too long" he says as he looks up at her.

 

The next shot shows a man getting out of a car in the city, a voiceover says "Detective David Mills is looking for a way IN" This already shows the contrast between the two men as one detective is looking for a way out, and another is looking for a way in, this suggests to the audience that their may be a clash.

 

A voiceover of Detective William Sommerset "We will be spending every waking hour together until I leave" followed by a two shot of Detective William Sommerset and Detective David Mills. He carries on to say "I will tell you who your friends and enemies are" This voiceover is over a shot of Detective David Mills walking past a crime scene. This is shown with yellow tape around an area.

 

This shows the detective kicking open the door, the angle of the camera is at a worms eye view to show the detectives power and importance. We are then shown a high shot of someone shining a torch at a bed which looks like someone is underneath.

 

This next shot shows the two detectives shining a torch around the dark room looking for clues, this shot voiceover says "They are caught in a game", the shot then fades to a black and yellow screen which is then quickly followed by a blue screen with the words "HELP ME" written in neon blue.

 

Detective William Sommerset "No fingerprints and no witnesses of any kind" these pieces of dialogue add intensity to the scene as the audience are left wondering. (Enigma code)

 

The next shot shows a torch shining on some weapons, the voiceover this scene "The only thing we know about this guy right now is that he is totally insane" This makes the audience fear for the detectives safety. The length of the shots start to increase as the intensity builds up, the audience is then shown a shot of the metronome again which quickly flashes to shots of a body on a stretcher.

 

Detective William Sommerset holds up pictures of images that they had found linked to the crime scene, he reads out 7 words, as he is reading these out, shots are shown of Detective David Mills shouting "You better come and see this" as they find more and more clues.

Although not many female actors are used in this trailer, we are shown an over the shoulder shot of the same blonde women saw earlier in the trailer speaking to her husband, Detective David Mills, she says "I hate this city" her facial expressions show that she Is worried and upset.

The sound of police cars and flashing lights is shown which is then followed by Detective William Sommerset being filmed and questioned by paparazzi wanting to know more about the crime. This scene shows that it is no longer a secret investigation but the whole city is interested In the crime scene. The use of helicopters and police cars shows that the crime is a hugely talked about and serious investigation.

This shot shows neon yellow fingerprints, this shows that the investigation is slowly coming together to get to the bottom of what has happened, this is then followed by short meaningful words, on a black backround in red writing, the red writing stands out on the black background showing danger, evil and blood.
These words are: SLOTH, ENVY, LUST, GREED. (These words are shown in the same format several times inbetween scenes) These are the same words which Detective William Sommerset was reading out, this shows that these words have some sort of link with the investigation.

This shot shows a man (whos identity is unknown) standing in a corridor, far away from the camera, shooting at detective William Sommerset. Weapons are usually what makes people scared which is why they have been used to make the audience feel uneasy. 

This shot shows someone loading up a gun and then a close up of Detective David Mills face, his facial expressions show that he is feeling angry, uneasy and upset. He says "Lets finish this" this shows the seriousness and moral panic.

The scenes show shots of the actors, and a voiceover of their off stage names.
This lets the audience know of their name which audiences may be aware of and want to watch the film because they enjoy watching an actor.

A two shot is shown of the detectives "have you ever seen anything like this", this dialogue makes the audience wonder why this crime scene is so bad and why its different from other crime scenes.

The last shot is of seven tally marks, this is shown on a black screen with red tally marks, this again shows danger, evil and blood. The tally marks are made to look as though they have been scratched and like their is an on-going tally of killings. 

Throughout the trailer the lighting is very dark and light is only shown with a torch, neon colours (to symbolise important signs)