Se7en Opening Sequence Analysis

‘Se7en‘(1995) is a mystery thriller about two detectives that hunt for a serial killer who is using the seven deadly sins as his inspiration. The movie is directed by David Fincher and stars Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey.The opening titles where directed by Kyle Cooper who is an award winning, modern film maker who specialises in the production of opening titles. Cooper has produced opening title sequences for famous films including: Iron Man (2008), The Mummy (1999), Spider Man (2002) as well as Se7en (1995). The sequence starts with a close up shot of an open book.

The focus is on the pages as they are turned and there is a shadow reflecting off of the book. This could suggest that the person turning the pages has a darker side to them. This scene hides the character’s true identity to the audience- this may allow the audience to get clues from the significant props that may assist the audience in understanding the film’s narrative later. If they do make these connections they may feel pleased and intelligent which may make them relate to the main character (who are detectives), that might make them more likely to talk about the film if they understand it. The low lit scene may make the audience wonder what is happening as the close up and darkness makes the scene very mysterious. We can hear non-diegetic music that is very loud and the pace increases, this dramatic music is heard throughout. This makes the audience know straight away that the film is an intense and serious film, which may help the audience recognise the genre. The sound of the music is very crackly and is uncomfortable to listen to. There is also a drum beat throughout the sequence this may represent life (heart beat) and as the tempo increases it may reflect the audience’s own heart beat (as people’s heart rate usually increases with fear and anxiety). Additionally the low pitched explosion sound at the end may be symbolic of death as the dream beat is silent. This may make the audience want to watch on because they might want to know what happens next and the silence may create suspense.

There is then a close up shot of a man holding a blade, attempting to cut off the skin on his finger. This could suggest that he is trying to remove his finger prints which may make the audience think that he has committed a crime and

wants to get rid of the evidence. This may immediately make the audience aware of the genre that it is and makes them realise what a harsh and disturbing atmosphere that the film’s setting is. Therefore the target audience (young adults and adults) may want to continue watching the film to see more violent and horrific imagery.Additionally, the soundtrack becomes a lot more unpleasant during the shot of the blade, which therefore makes the weapon appear a lot more intimidating. There are asynchronous scream like screeches which creates a threatening and disorientating atmosphere. This may represent to the audience how most of the film’s mood will be like.Throughout there is fast editing, these short takes may create a shocking and disturbing effect on the audience. Additionally the jump cuts in the scene create enigma and there is not enough time for the audience to make a strong, formed view on what is happening. However, there are some long takes along with bizarre flashing lighting as the scene transitions throughout the sequence too. This use of editing represents the film as abstract and unpredictable, which may interest the audience and cause them to continue watching the film, possibly so that they can understand what is happening. The text that appears as the opening credits is a sans serif handwritten looking font. The text may have an unpleasant effect on the viewer because the credits are designed to look amateur rather than like the professional bold credits that appear in conventional opening sequences. Additionally the text flickers like an old-fashioned film projector maybe hinting at the kind of person the antagonist is.

The audience may also notice the difference between the texts that introduces the stars (the most valuable actors) and the other actors.

People like Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman have black backgrounds and all the focus is on their names whereas people like Richard Roundtree’s (see the picture above) names are in the same sepia colour of the shot and are not as

bold because of the mise-en-scene.

There is an extreme close up of someone writing, the hand has double exposure but becomes focused at the end of the shot. This shot is filled with the colour red and the boy’s face is scribbled out. The colour red is typical of a crime thriller as there is usually a lot of violence and blood. The red may connote blood and danger and the boy’s scribbled out face could symbolise the boy is dead. Also, because there is a picture of someone with such violent connotations surrounding it, the viewer may think that this was not an accidental death and there is someone who is a murderer.

The soundtrack builds up until the end where the only lyrics that are heard are sung, ‘you’ve got mixed up with God’ as the character cuts out the word, ‘God’ out of a newspaper page. This may represent the character’s psychotic personality of being obsessed with God and this links to the sub-genre of a Psychological Thriller.