Se7en analysis

Se7en title sequence

I felt the opening credits of 'Se7en' was an effective opening to write about due to the camerawork and mystery surrounding the opening titles. The camerawork is effective as the extreme close ups are used to hide the identity of the killer and also the close ups of the paper gives the audience clues of the type of killer and person the killer is. The editing that is used such as faced paced cuts are to keep the audience guessing as they see little glimpses of clues but never get a full picture to work it out and this could reflect the job of the people tracking down the killer as they find it hard to piece it together. I also think the typography is effective in this sequence as in the opening sequence we see the killer writing within a diary of some sort, and also a lot of text is present. I feel this is effective because it creates a link as the titles look as though they have been hand written. This is effective as it shows the main film is all about the killer and if the writing is reflective of him it suggests that the killer may think or may even be the most important character. This also has links to God as God is the leader and he may trying to be like God. The effects on the writing is also key, there is a blurry effect on the writing which reflects the identity of the killer is blurry and unknown.

The close up camera shot of the person shedding skin in this image can suggest he's trying to shed his past off and get a new life as he may be a religious figure who wants to get rid of the sins he's caused by shedding the skin that was present of when he committed his sin and it could be a way for the character to release the bad and make God forgive him.  The diegetic sound of the music in the background is a rather unnerving sound when the skin is being shredded off. The sound is like an screeching sound of finger nails scraping down a blackboard. This is a sound that makes a person unsettled which is a convention of a thriller, trying to unsettle the audience.  

The storyline is based around the seven deadly sins and this image is reflective of the sin envy. This can create a link for the audience as to why he commits the murders. As there is a lot of religious words that appear with the opening sequence and this creates the link as to why the killing takes place as he's doing it for God as the murdered people are sinning against God. The camerawork at this still is a flickering picture which shows it isn't giving much information away. Also the hands in the picture help portray the thriller genre as the hands aren't normal hands and this will unsettle the audience but will keep them watching as they will be intrigued to see why the hands are like that. The titles that are present here aren't fully focused and have a blurred effect on them, this could help create a link with the film as it's something that could be confusing within the film. This shot is a medium shot to show these hands and it creates a sense of mystery as they are odd and will unnerve the audience.  

This image represents the obsessive ideas and compared with the disturbing diegetic sound of the music will unsettle the audience. The picture of a young boy being crossed out suggests that the killer is rubbing away his life. This is effective as a thriller film creates tension and the audience don't want to see a young boy killed as it's a disturbing sight but it will make them carry on watching to see what happens to the young boy. Also there is a jump cut when the killer is drawing over the eyes of the young boy, as it suddenly jumps to the whole face being covered in black pen. This is effective as it shows how quickly life could be lost and this will create tension amongst the audience as they will feel as though they will need to watch the film to see what happens to this young boy. 

This is where the religious imagery is seen. The link to the seven deadly sins and the use of religious words suggests what the killer is about. This shows that the killer is doing his work for God and killing people who commit sins against God. This is effective as it creates a sense of mystery and makes the audience want to watch on as they will want to know why the killer is so involved with God and why he's killing people. Also the diegetic sound of an voiceover is effective in this still as it says 'you bring me closer to God' this creates the message of the killer thinking that the crime is fine as it's making God love him by removing all the sinners in the world. Also the words sends a sense of unnerving down the spines of the audience as it will make them wonder why crime such as horrific as the killer is performing is bring the killer closer to God. This image is towards the very end of the sequence and helps set the atmosphere for the film that is about to begin. 

This image seems quite important for the film and the thriller genre. The word you can see the killer crossing out is 'transsexual' which creates a message around the motive of the killer. As thought, the killer is killing for people who sin against God and homosexuality is seen as a sin against God. Also the crossing out of the word could reflect what the killer is going to achieve and remove all transsexuals. This is effective as it creates tension amongst the audience as they will know to expect a killing to people who sin against God.

I think this opening sequence is very effective for portraying the thriller genre. I think this because of the mystery surrounding the killer and mystery is one of many convention of the thriller genre. Also I felt, in this sequence especially, that the camerawork was exceptional. The audience is always watching the image on screen in the centre and is always at a point of view shot of the killer himself. We, as the audience, are seeing what the killing is seeing, it is in 1st person. This shows the killer is the antagonist of this sequence.