THRILLER TITLE SEQUENCES - SE7EN

'Se7en' is a crime/neo noir thriller starring Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt and follows two homicide detectives looking into the case of several sadistic killings, all with a trail that leads back to the seven deadly sins.

The title of this opening sequence has incredibly short cuts, with many lasting only 2 seconds which means the audience have a lot to take in, sparking feelings of confusion. The opening shot of a book and text is important as the font reveals something about the content of the film. It is in a typewriter font, inferring a time period - pre computer age, as well as the intelligence of individual characters who are perhaps literary. A typewriter is also something a detective would have used, fitting with a convention of the neo

noir sub genre.

The handwriting suggests that the subject matter in this film is going to be disturbing, the audience can infer this both from the scratchy, deep writing and the chilling, rattly soundtrack which has background noise of creaks and echoes at a high and uncomfortable pitch, making the viewer feel uneasy.

This birds eye view shot is the closest to an establishing shot that there is in the duration of this sequence, yet it still provokes questions of who and where, adding to the suspense and confusion, two key feelings associated with this sub genre.

More squeamish members of the audience would probably feel quite nauseous at this part of the sequence as it appears that in this extreme close up shot someone (still remaining completely anonymous, adding to the mystery) is peeling off the skin on their fingers with a rusty tool, causing the viewer to squirm in their seat. Although this is not explicitly gory, it has underlying tones of it being grisly, perhaps giving the audience a clue as to what happens next, with gruesome killings carrying the plot. It could be argued that it acts as an omen.

In this part of the sequence, what looks like a mugshot is drawn on and the text flashes on the screen again, but is shadowed (by the same titles). The handwriting is nowhere near fluent and is not flowing either, suggesting a deliberation of words, almost an analysis, suggesting that the person writing it is either a child, uneducated or writing these words carefully, suggesting his or handwriting is of importance, predominately due to its repetition/constant use. 

Parts of the sequence have symbolism in them, although it is almost impossible to tell as they disappear in seconds. This particular screenshot shows a dollar bill being dissected and God being taken out of it. This could infer that religion is being erased or being a separate, linking to one of the film's themes - the seven deadly sins. Due to this symbolism being so subtle and minute, the audience watching this without analysing in such depth would not spot this, despite the title sequence giving the smallest of hints, perhaps showing that the sequence's purpose is not to explicitly and obviously inform but rather to embed these themes in a secretive way, linking to the mysterious and confusing ambiance of this clip, giving the audience a clue as to how the rest of the film will play out, probably with a similar kind of tone.

 

The title sequence of this film is gripping (and thus particularly effective), I really like the font and when it comes to planning I think I will look at it further and perhaps include an intertextual reference on it.