DVD Cover Analysis - Seven

The DVD cover is a very omportant way of constructing the narrative image of the film.
On this cover there are two people, both in close-up, but it is not just one shot of the people, it is two different shots. Since there are two people on the cover, we know there must be some sort of relationship between the two. However we cannot tell whether it is a good one or a bad one. Since the shots are Close-ups we can see their expressions very well, and this contributes to make the image look very dark and mysterious.
The mise-en-scene of the cover is very dark and shadowy. Shadows and darkness are typical conventions of teh Thriller genre, so audiences can know what to expect a bit more from this film. Both characters have one side of their face in shadow, and this makes the audience feel they are mysterious characters and may have something to hide, because of the typical conventions of a thriller genre. There is not a lot of colour use on the cover, although we would not expect this from a film in the thriller genre. It is very dark, with light shining quite brightly compared to the dark surroundings, shining on opposite sides of each characters face. Therefore the dark split between the two accompanied by the sinister words listed here may signify that the two characters do not have a good relationship. The words listed are each scrathed off which signifies these are all things which feature in the film, and since there are seven of them, we would make the link to the title of the film. Therefore the basic plot to the film has been set up by these seven words.
We cannot see much of the people in this shot apart from their faces, so the dress codes and action codes are a mystery to us, creating an enigma around the image, setting up many questions the audience may ask. Both people have very serious facial expressions and are staring intently at something. This creates an enigma, and gives suspense, since you wonder what they are lookin at. Brad Pitt is a white American in his 30s, and Morgan Freeman is an African American in his 60s, so this conveys there is not a family relationship between the two people, in the film. The age difference could also signify that Morgan Freeman could be Brad Pitt's boss or Brad Pitt may be coming to him for help or guidance.

My Thriller Shot

When taking this shot we were trying to create a claustrophobic atmosphere. We achieved this by using a frame within a frame since this is a signifier of entrapment. We also used shadow and darkness as it gives a mysterious and eerie feeling that can rub off on the audience. The actor has a scared look on his face and is looking away from the camera. This also gives a sense of mystery since the audience does not know what the actor is looking at and what is making him look afraid. Mystery is scary for a viewer since they can only imagine what the actor is looking at. Also since the shot is an MCU the audience can’t completely read the situation and therefore can’t tell whether the character is good or bad. We hoped to create a claustrophobic, mysterious and suspenseful shot and I believe we achieved this.

I believe this shot represents the genre thriller because we can tell from it that the character is in a tense situation. The use of shadows and darkness are genre signifiers since it shows he is not in a good situation. The weird angle of the shot also creates a weird feeling that the situation is not right so it signifies the genre.