SE7EN

FONTS

SE7EN

Typography

Setting

The setting in the opening sequence of SE7EN is not actually known but is shown in short flickers, its not necessarily a long shot or mid shot, we see brief little sections that could give us an indication that it is an attic or a basement however at the end of the sequence we get a long shot of the city this could be an indication that is is in an apartment somewhere.

the opening credits most important part is when the title of the movie appears. The sudden change of typography from clear to blurry signifies sudden movement often linked to thriller movies the ideology that we cant see something clearly and our mind plays tricks on us. This type of opening for a thriller film is very effective as it sets the mood of the genre. Typography can give a movie personality the SE7EN title is on a plain black screen which looks like it has been scratched on and appears very quickly, connoting that the movie is jumpy. The typography stays the same throughout the whole thing but changes direction and angle, also changing colour which could suggest change linking to certain personalities of individuals in the movie. the flickering of the typography could suggest indecisiveness which is linked to the movies theme of mental illness.

AUTEUR

The opening sequence of Se7en was created by Kyle Cooper. You can see by just the opening sequence that his style is very dark and jumpy , flickers appear frequently while the opening is playing out, this is very disturbing. It also fits into his theme as the high-pitched and taut stringed music in the background is amplified by the denotation of flashing lights, which causes anxiety and stress. The sudden change of typography from clear to blurry signifies sudden movement often linked to thriller movies the ideology that we cant see something clearly and our mind plays tricks on us. This type of opening for a thriller film is very effective as it sets the mood of the genre e.g you wouldn't have dark and mysterious lighting in a comedy movie because comedies are more light and fun whereas thrillers such as SE7EN tend to go into deeper meanings. kyle Cooper portrayed this well in his opening denoting things like ripped up books and scribbled out pages, implying to the audience the fear of the unknown, specifically a image of a young boys eyes being covered by a thick black Biro, not only does this connote quite a malicious view as the eyes are being covered suggesting a tainted opinion it also goes against the innocence of what a child should act like, this is often played on in thriller movies. Kyle Cooper is known as the Auteur of this film as he creatively influenced it in a style that got peoples attention, another example of his work is in American Horror Story where he subverted the classic theme tunes and played with music of high and low tones.

Costumes and Actors

the opening scene of SE7EN doesn't show any faces of the actors, in fact all you see of a human figure throughout the opening is their hands and this is done through an extreme closeup. However the hands of these individuals in the opening sequence reveal alot about that person. Firstly the hands have multiple plasters on them this connotes that whatever they are doing isn't pleasant , they are also very dirty which could portray somebody who works hard but also doesn't take pride in themselves, this could describe somebody who's doing something they shouldn't. the fingernails are the most significant thing I noticed, they are very short suggesting they do a lot of tactile work but also very masculine , suggesting they could be in fights and have more power then a female would often taking more risks which is part of a thriller movie. one scene you see the male scapping of dead skin this could connote the idea that this male is dead inside, as if they are doing something where emotion would be a disadvantage.

SE7EN opening scene

Lighting

Props

throughout the opening scene the lighting changes from a very high key light such as vibrant greens and almost blinding pale yellow tones to low key lighting e.g blacks and dull shades. The high key lights are usually presented in flickers and are often used to define an object that may be in a darker setting this denotes a distorted image which can be quite off settling. Something I notice that the opening does very well is contrasting light and dark, creating shadows, this is often displayed over a book and creates the effect of anonymity to the audience, darkness can often be scary as we percieve it as a disadvanatge as in we don't know whats out there when we cant see it can often be spooky and is one of the main reasons why thriller movies use this technique, so creating a black surrounding and having prominent light in the centre like the picture on the side can be nerving.Esoecially when it draws your attention to something unpleasant. black spots and brownish tones

are also used to give it an old effect and filters like Sepia and Black and white are commonly used, its UN-natural and doesn't connote happiness but rather a disturbing effect.

Within the main sequence there are many different props seen which adhere to the story plot, this directs the theme of the movie for example first of all multiple books are shown this conveys the idea of a story hinting at the aspect of "true story" often said in thrillers to make the audience feel as if its real and view it as something more realistic as if it could actually happen to them. razor blades are also seen which suggests violence maybe linking towards fights and killing, all things to do with crime. Razor blades may also portray physical damage and emotional pain often used for self-harm. scruffy notes are piled in places suggesting obsession and confusion as if they have to keep going over things because they can't understand it. newspaper clippings conventional towards news and media . Lastly a needle and thread somethings destroyed and needs to be put together could describe the storyline

Editing

Use of colour

The editing of the opening sequence is very quick, the image zooms in slightly then jump cuts to the next scene. The editing almost matches the music the way it cuts to the next scene, its very fast paced, this is done to create tension, the faster the quicker something can come up (unexpected) you almost don't get a chance to think. There is no fade between scenes it just jumps from one to the next and the scenes are not on there for long just in short intervals. They all seem to be very closeup and very fast which could be putting the audience on the edge of there seats , it gives anticipation and when the surprise does come its almost right in your dace a good editing skill for a thriller movie

the colours in the opening sequence are very dark dull browns and blacks , there also was some greens and yellows but all colours were not bright and vibrant for obvious reasons this was done to give the effect of disturbance and sickening colours. Having dull colours keeps the film having a mysterious effect connoting the parts of the film which are disturbing . although throughout the opening sequence outbursts of red come through representing the colour of blood which could suggest pain and death, red also represents love which could mean the death of a love one.