Analysis of an Opening

Sequence

‘Se7en’

Story line• A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for

a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopath "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset and Mills -- one sin at a time.

TitlesThe titles in this opening sequence are presented in a format which I

think is supposedly meant to be the handwriting of the killer. However different fonts are used as-well to display the bigger names of

the credit reel such as ‘New- Line Cinema’. None the less the same effects have been used on every credit which

is a sort of judder which looks like they are being played on an old piece of film.

The text is more or less never displayed straight, but instead to a slant to further conform to the idea that it looks like the killer’s handwriting.

The techniques used to produce the text in this opening sequence are perfectly suited for a thriller because they create the right impression towards the plot of the film.

Mood and ThemeThe mood and the theme come hand in hand in this sequence. The

theme being shown is a serial killer researching and scheming together a plot of murder. This is represented through the mood of the sequence.

The images shown are the main criteria used to display the theme of the film. These images all conform to the stereotypical ideology of how a killer would prepare themselves to commit mass murder.

The mood created by these images is additionally helped by the style of the titles and the music used.

Settings CastSe7en isn't set in a specific city. It

is set in an ambiguous location, which is never named, so as to point out that this could be any city in the world.

The opening sequence is also set in an unknown location. The audience is made to believe that the location it is filmed in is the serial killer’s home which would also be in America.

Seeing as the film ‘Se7en’ is produced by New-Line Cinema with an estimated budget of around $33,000,000 a cast of A-list actors is most definite.

Brad Pitt – Detective David MillsMorgan Freeman – Detective Lt.

William SomersetAnd Gwyneth Paltrow – Tracy

Mills…

…Are the biggest names within the cast.

MusicMusic is one of the main components in any title sequence.

It is the most important aspect used to create the mood, theme and genre of the film.

The music used in the title sequence of the film ‘Se7evn’ creates an inquisitive and fearful mood in addition to the images being shown.

Text, music and images are the three components used in a title sequence which determine how successful it is. Each on their own would not be as powerful as they are combined together.

The soundtrack used in this title sequence conforms to the stereotypical use of non-diegetic sound used in thriller movies.