Opening sequence analysis of Se7en-

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00169-seven

Music and sound-The music and sound throughout the opening sequence created an eerie feeling and seemed to give a sense that you as the audience were being watched; this highlighted the psychological thriller genre.The amplified screams denotes a sense of danger and insecurity, this is generating the idea that the character we may see or the character we see getting their face crossed out is helpless, which will give the audience a thrilling feeling wanting to know more about the storyline.

Mise en scene- The opening sequence seems to be set in someones home, or in there office as the props that we see such as the needle would be found in these settings and he also is in reach of all of the props he needs like he has planned what he is doing. The opening sequence does not include any long shots of the setting so we only see short clips of the setting and what the character is doing. We do not know clearly where he is therefore this is creating tension for the audience as they will want to find out. The props that were used in the opening seemed seems to be associated with investigation and detective work. The props that were used include books, files, pens and paper and the character seemed to be writing a lot about something. It seems that the person is putting certain pictures and information together to maybe solve a case. This will make the audience want to watch more to see what he is doing.Most of the shots are close up so that we see in detail what the character is doing and it takes up most of the frame. This creates suspense as we do not see who is behind the investigation as we do not get to see their face.

Lighting and colour-All of the shots are very dark which connotes danger and that something bad is happening. The shots are all indoors so we do not see any outdoor lighting and it is all very low-key, that makes the audience feel suspicious to what is happening and why its so dark. The only colours we really get to see are blacks and whites but occasionally we see a red lighting when photos are being developed such as when we see the mans face being crossed out on the piece of paper. The red lighting connotes danger, but also shows that the photos are being developed. When we red lighting is shown over the males face being crossed out this connotes that this person may not be liked by the character behind all of this and that he is in danger.

Titles-The titles are in a font that looks like it is handwritten. This fits in with the idea that someone is creating an investigation file, put together with some of the props that we see. The text is also white on a black background; it makes it stand out more.

Editing-The transitions of the opening sequence seem to vary from straight cuts to cross fades from scene to scene, as well as fading to black. The fading gives an effect of the clips being linked together which can create an eerie feel, and the fade to black reflects the sincerity and darkness on the overall film.Most of the shots are fairly short, but some of the shots have had slow motion added to them giving them a much slower pace. The music is also at a slow pace, particularly at the beginning. As the opening sequence builds up it gets faster towards the end, this will create more tension for the audience.There is the animation of flickering throughout most scenes, this will also be used to make it seem more eerie. Camera-Most of the shots are of close up objects such as the books, pens and photos. These close ups allow the audience to focus on the certain objects and on what is happening in the clip and maybe what will happen later on in the film. This will also distract them from seeing who the person behind all of this is as we only get to see their hands; this will make the audience want to see who it is.The identity of the person and their location is not revealed throughout the whole of the opening sequence to create tension.