How David Fincher tricked us with Color in Se7en 

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I thought he ran out of budget for rain machines

Se7en was a masterpiece on the page of the original script. Fincher kicked it up a notch, but the contribution of Andrew Kevin Walker's script should not be discounted. Se7en was the first film that I had ever read the script to before I watched it. I got the script in film school about 2 weeks before the film released in theaters. I read it in one sitting that took just about the same amount of time to read as the running time. Knowing who was in the movie and having read the script, and having seen the trailers it was the only time I've ever walked into a theater knowing that a film was going to be a grand slam home run. The marketing team were also very smart. Not letting the whole world know that Kevin Spacey who at that point was best known for his turn as Verbil Kint &... well 🤫 was even in the film was an amazing reveal and one of the touches that does make Se7en Fincher's best work.

Se7en is my fav movie and your analysis is beautiful. A masterclass in the psichology of color. Great job!

I actually liked brad pitt's acting in that final moment, it was relatable and real and out of control. I look forward to it everytime i watch this film.

Unexpected you would not like Pitt’s performance in the final scene since Morgan Freeman admits in the Seven audio commentary that he failed to convey the situation. He finds her head in a box yet acts like it’s a mild inconvenience. I’ve always loved Pitt’s breakdown.

00:13 🎨 Color in "Se7en" shifts dramatically for impact, using warm tones in the climax against the film's predominantly cold, gloomy palette. 01:47 🏙 The city's exterior in "Se7en" is consistently cold and blue, contrasting sharply with warm, orange interiors, symbolizing safety amid a bleak environment. 02:55 🎬 Due to film processing, colors in "Se7en" were desaturated, necessitating deliberate use of lighting and set design to introduce colors relevant to each of the seven deadly sins represented in the murders. 04:18 💀 Each murder scene in "Se7en" represents a deadly sin, employing specific color schemes such as black for gluttony, blue reflecting greed, green for sloth, and red for lust. 07:17 🔍 The warm, deceptive lighting in the climactic scene of "Se7en" creates a false sense of security, contrasting with the film's established color schemes and signaling a departure from obscured morality. 08:54 🦈 Similar to Jaws' score, "Se7en" strategically subverts color and setting expectations to deceive the audience, relying on the success of the final scene to uphold its intricate storytelling.

another great video... odd to call out brad performance... seems arbitrary in a video about colour and cinematography. I actually liked his performance throughout the film. Really love your videos and can't wait to see the next one!

Thanks, always appreciate your show. Just FYI, you might want to check out the featurettes on the good ol' Se7en DVD. You'll be led through a color grading course with the film's colorist while he's operating on a Baselight. He breaks down all the masks he used in the final scene etc. The most crucial thing to note however is that the film was re-graded for the DVD, as they only had a classic analog DaVinci at the film's release, which of course didn't have secondaries or even masks (if memory serves correctly). The film you show here looks significantly different from the original film print.

God damn. Se7ven is 29 years old now???? WTF. I saw it in the theatre.

Darius Khondji is underrated. And, man, this is a really great case-study for storytelling with cinematography and color. Not sure I agree with every line in the script (hard to say this means that without direct confirmation from Khondji/Fincher), but overall you make a very compelling case. Se7en is a tough watch (grim AF!), but the visual storytelling is masterful. Great video!

This was really great breakdown of color and shot compositions. Truly. Thanks for making it.

Very interesting perspective. One of my favourite films too. And one of the most underrated. The Academy Awards that year went to "Braveheart", "Apollo 13", "The Usual Suspects"... Spacey's performance in the film, however short, is unparalleled.

I just want to say, thank you! Keep up this great work and you have my sub.

Didn't think about colors or much of the video aspect while watching. This is really so cool to know how colors are taken in to consideration for this movie! 😊

Great break down. I think you could spend hours deep diving into this movie. What did you think about the context of the flash frame at the end and were there any colour implications to it?

I've never been more mentally disturbed by a movie than Se7en. It's an epic cinematic story.

I never do anything on the side when I watch your videos. It gives me an idea of what it takes to make a good movie that is pleasant to watch.

Was waiting for your videos and film analysis, thank you for sharing the knowledge

Even tho yes it is mostly about the deception, but there also is enough of green in the shots as grass to portray John being envy and while yes the shakcking is the stricken panic but also ties in with wrath.

I have always found the color pallet in this movie compelling; now I know why; thanks!

one correction though, this 10:21 is not a tight close up. thats for sure a low angle yet tilted up shot of a Medium close up. main tell being that the shot bottom border is at the middle of his chest. any tight close up wouldn't have this much going on

offing gwiiineth was a noble thing imo,a slaying the dragon moment

Fincher shooting in film has never been surpassed in terms of aesthetics. He has made good films in digital but Seven looks amazing after all these years. Can't say the same for Zodiac...

I’d say Pitt’s performance of the breakdown was fairly accurate if you’ve ever seen someone completely break and loose everything it can be pretty hysterical but I’d say the absolute best breakdown I’ve ever seen in this regard would be Andrew Lincoln in walking dead, when Rick hears Judith cry for the first time and he looks in Carl’s dead eyes and knows that Laurie is dead.. the hysteria before he just collapses to the floor… Broken..

I spit out my coffee when I heard “if you haven’t watched Se7en…”

Great analysis and video!!! Thanx!!!

Great video 👌 And yes, Brad Pitt is amazing in Babylon! (It's a unique and genius movie all around)

Amazing breakdown! Thank you for the education!

I saw this in the theater, reluctantly. The trailers made it seem like a generic serial killer flick, Fincher was coming of Alien 3 which i was still angry about and Brad Pitt was still in his pretty boy phase……man i can still remember how it felt to watch that flick unfold and how riveted i was during the third act.

I disagree that Pitt's acting was overshadowed. The scenes of Pitt from the time he learns the truth up to the end of the film, show a person who has literally lost his mind, just via his facial expressions. Very few actors could do that even with dialogue added.

My question is how do you make the scene "tonally consistent" through all the movie, eventhough several scene shows different color ?

What's the background music?

Stunning movie from A to Z. I disagree with Pitt's performance with "the box" scene. Outstanding. Perfect climax.

Great analysis of a great film

I'm so glad his influence on film treatment is over. Give me a great DP and natural color and day

I love this movie, I've watched it several times, but the last act is bit jarring. The entire film is in a rainy & urban setting. But then, over the course of a conversation, the world changes dramatically to sunny desert plains. It breaks the melancholy mood that the other 95% of the film established so well.

Great video and insights. What is the background music that you use?

Great vid!!

Great video!

Literally my fav movie.

Sir, it's raining then it stops. That's it.

kevin spacey is an absolute genius in this.

Se7en is to Brad what Eyes Wide Shut is to Tom: films that turned cute but average actors into big stars

My take is John Doe is the (Dark) Sun of this corrupted world, and each murder is a beam of light shine through the lens of a Sin. It's kind of like the seven colors you get from sunlight through a prism, only these light beams are dark. That's because they come from a Dark Sun, hence the golden hour, which is a moment before sunset - but if you see it backward, the sunset is just the beginning.

Dude, you should make horoscopes

Great video

its how Max Payne movie need to look like. Not exactly, but really close to this.

3:00 I wouldn't have thought to describe Morgan Freeman's character as "cynical."

I know it's not the theme of the video but I also didn't care for Pitt's acting at the end.

11:27 What do you mean you’re not a fan of the acting of Brad Pitt in that scene? He was fan-fucking-tastic. No other person could’ve done a better job than him.

Whoever would've guessed, that this film ENDS WITH Kevin Spacey gettin' completely OFF of the saxuel ussaalt charges...?

I dont think its that complicated but ok. The number of times i heard dp's and directors use a certain color just because they "like it that way"... Its really not quantum mechanics or Rembrandt.. Its a crime movie. Literally 90% of detective movies has cold colors as their base, its dark, its tragic, its moody...what else can it be..unless its a crime comedy.

Had me right until you said you didn’t like Brad Pitt acting at the end of the movie, great video

THX

"Sesevenen" as Mark Kermode calls it

I a,ways imagined this as a version of Gotham city

Brilliant

Spoilers but there are more than 7 murders.

Totally over analyzing it but cool vide. Im also not a fan of Brad Pit's scene at the ending

damn yo you flexed on this one wooooowwwww

Nah Pitts acting was great and I disagree whole heartedly he played his role perfectly.

✌

David Fincher is a stylist. Since there is no substance, he has to gloss over stuff with layers of paint. Just like Nolan.

I agree Brad Pitt is over rated.

Lol i think you read too much into it.

Not a fan of Brad Pitt’s acting? Are you on drugs?

Why should anyone give a shit about David Fincher's horrific scene and whatever colors he scraped together to satisfy his need for publicity? beats me...

What does “get the colors to pop” mean?

Just to appreciate your no influencer bs approach in your break downs: perfectly explained, straight to the point and beautifully illustrated. Way back when I watched Seven on the theater screen it was the first time that I wondered “how did they light that?” Hot take: if Seven is the best photographed Fincher film, his second is Alien 3. Third is Benjamin Button (although I really hate that film) and the the Social Network. I’d like you to tackle Bresson’s Pickpocket.

Contrary to your opinion, I think Brad Pitt's performance at the end of the film shone bright and at the same level as Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey. His reactions were natural in my opinion for someone who just got a terrible, unthinkable news. The way that he showed how broken David Mills was, was incredible. That was how a person would react albeit perhaps in different way depending on their personalities and coping mechanisms. Through out the movie we were showed many times David Mills bursted out his emotions. He was overall an emotional guy and he would definitely react like that when he knew that his wife was brutally killed by someone he tried to stop. He blamed himself, he just lost his wife and future child. Brad Pitt was great at dramatic roles in the 90s and slowly he progressed to master subtle way to project emotions and we can't deny he is a great actor that deserves his A-list status.