'Se7en’ Opening Sequence Analysis

Researching into some opening sequences will help give me a more of an idea of what our group would like to include in our Thriller opening sequence. I’m analysing the Thriller film ‘Se7en’ made in 1995 with the director David Fincher and writer Andrew Kevin Walker. Stars in this all time Crime Thriller include Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey.  The plot is mainly two detectives, a rookie and a veteran; hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.

The ‘Se7en’ opening sequence is short yet effective as it uses fast paced cuts which gives the audience little glimpses of ultimately what the story is about. The editing gives the film typical generic convections as there are close ups and the shots are quite fast which gives it the overall eerie atmosphere for the film. Also, the transitions between the shots are a black screen that’s when the titles are shown; this helps the audience digest what they’ve just seen before seeing something else. The fonts of the titles are also typical of a Thriller genre as it’s a serif font and its slanted which suggest instability.

The sound plays a big part in every film as it helps set the atmosphere and express and convey emotions. In this film in particular, parallel sound is used as we see an unknown character scraping the skin of a finger with a razor blade and the music complements this as it has a sketchy sound. The pace  and pitch of the music gets faster as the sequence moves towards the climax, this will create enigmas in the audience as they anticipate something is going to happen.

The director uses mise-en-scene to convey the Thriller theme to the audience. He does this by the use of lighting and colour. There are harsh colours being used like different shades of grey and black and hard lighting. This is also typical of the Thriller genre as it sets the scene and mood. The setting is rather hidden from the audience as the angles that are mainly used are close ups so we don’t get an ultimate establishing shot which will reveal more about the narrative. But from what we can see the setting connects with the music and whole theme of the film.