The opening sequence of Se7en, directed by David Fincher, introduces the killer John Doe through disturbing close-up shots and unsettling imagery set to a gritty score. The dark color palette, flashing images, and disorienting editing aim to put viewers on edge and hint at the psychologically thrilling and horrific story to come. Specific techniques like close-ups, unusual mise-en-scene elements, and minimal character shots are analyzed for their ability to build tension and intrigue the target adult audience.
2. Overview
• Distributer – New Line Cinema
• The opening sequence of se7en gives the
audience an insight into the film as it
introduces the character of the killer (John
Doe, played by Kevin Spacey) and hints at
the story.
• Immediately the title designer Kyle Cooper
and director David Fincher set the tone and
atmosphere of Se7en as the disturbing and
horrific film that it is through their choice of
shots and titles.
• Due to the horror/thriller genre, it is clearly
based at an audience of young adults.
• Se7en is a well-known psychological thriller
with horror elements and after watching the
opening sequence, I feel I want to direct my
own similarly to this as a psychological
thriller based film.
• I do however recognize that in order to meet
the marking criteria, as well as the clos-ups
I will need to experiment with a range of
3. Themes and Typography
The colours chosen in the opening
sequence are dark, and dim lit,
creating the mood and atmosphere
fit for a thriller/horror.
The typography used for the
names, is in a graffiti/handwritten
style and when names appear they
are distorted, and look abstract.
This then gains a shadow
momentarily, and then goes to the
next camera shot. This editing
creates the disturbing and
uncomfortable feeling for the
audience which reaches the target
audience of thriller loving adults.
4. Shots
• The shots of the title sequence are a few second frames with
quick cutaways, not focusing on one particular area; this
makes it seem as if the audience is seeing something they
shouldn’t.
• This then creates the impression that they are witnessing
some sort of preparation for what is going to take place
within the film.
• Another main focus is the extreme close-ups onto objects.
These limit what the audience is seeing, creating more
tension and fitting with the thriller genre.
5. Shot Types
The opening sequence is made up of many
extreme close-ups that work together to create a
montage. This is effective at intriguing the
audience with providing them with little detail and
by distancing them by not showing any wider
shots that would give a clearer view of a
character.
This can be effective at creating a tense
atmosphere for an audience by showing minimal
full length character shots. I would like to do this
in my own opening sequence, but in order to use
a variety of shots I will include long shots of
setting and mise en scene (not necessarily
characters).
6. Mise En Scene
• The opening sequence is full of unusual creepy mise en scene, such
as pictures of victims faces being rubbed out by black marker pens.
• This immediately puts the audience on edge and connotes the edgy
sinister feel that the horror/thriller takes.
• The audience is shown the word ‘God’ being cut out of a dollar bill.
This hints towards the storyline of the film in which the character
believes he is God.
7. Editing & Colour
The editing that went into the opening
sequence lasted five weeks compared
to the two days it was shot over. This
can be seen because of how
advanced the editing is with the use of
dissolving transitions and flashing
frames. This gives the audience the
feeling of disjointedness, creating the
desired effect for a psychological
thriller.
The editor Richard Francis-Bruce
creates a textured effect which gives
the entire sequence an effective
washed-out grey tone. These dull
colours connote a lack of feeling
which are then mixed with flashes of
red which appear randomly, connoting
violence. All of these elements have
an effect on the audience and warn
them for the films dark edgy story.
8. Music By Howard Shore
• The music chosen and used by Howard
Shore is a remix of Nine Inch who are
known for their association with dark and
gruesome Imagery.
• The music is gritty and reflects the overall
disturbing tone of the film.
• As the music increases in tempo, the
random images begin to flash and come
up quicker, making them difficult to follow.
• This then creates the feel of urgency, with
some of the images being repeated often,
creating a sense of unease and
disorganization to the film.
• There are disturbing sound effects, such
as nails scratching on a chalk board,
which create a unnatural atmosphere and
9. Characters
• Similarly to ‘The Walking Dead’ sequence that I looked at
in my previous blog post, there is minimal shots of
character in the opening sequence.
• In doing this the audience is alienated from a character, as
they are more mysterious as their face has not been
shown.
• This is effective in the genre
of horror/thriller, as it adds
suspense and tension for an
audience.
