"SE7EN" Title Sequence Deconstruction
Brief
The iconic title sequence for "SE7EN" is embedded below:
Genre
From this clip alone we were able to gather evidence that allowed us to predict the genre of the film. Listed are the genres we identified:
- Crime - There is an extract in this opening of someone removing fingerprints. This would suggest the persona has an intention to commit a crime and, therefore, we made a link to this genre. There also seems to be shots of photos being developed, which upon first viewing could suggest some kind of evidence for a crime scene along with the newspaper clippings shown.
Above: Extreme close up.
- Horror - A non diegetic soundtrack is used and is parallel to the somewhat disturbing images of blades and needles. The sound is creepy due to mechanical creeks, whirs, metallic ringing, screams, radio feedback and loud crackles similar to lightning, all of which are hair-raising. With the removal of fingerprints to commit a crime and the menacing image of crossing out a person's identity, which suggests death, we assume that there will be a murder. Murder is not only a common convention in crime, but also in horror. With the sound, we use these observations to determine that the film is a horror.
Above: Extreme close up.
- Psychological thriller - Throughout the clip, a clear obsession of the unknown character is displayed. This is shown by the excessive writing and scrapbooking of collected and specifically selected images and clippings. A diary, similar to what we are presented with in this title sequence, is repetitively featured in psychological thrillers to show the complexity and obsession of the killer. Hence, we suspect the character in this scene is the film's antagonist.
Within this diary and plan for the foreshadowing murders, there are constant biblical references. Text like "transsexual" and "pregnancy" which the antagonist disagrees with are erased, while religious text including "God" are precisely cut out. The character is manipulating these texts and warping religion, further supporting the idea of a complex motive. The title "SE7EN" appearing randomly with glitches shows its significance. With the occurrence of biblical references and this title we can deduce that the plot revolves around the well-known seven sins.
Above: Extreme close up.
Timeline***
Below is a chronological timeline displaying the credits and every piece of relevant text on screen throughout the opening credits. This will help me understand title credits common in opening scenes.
- 01:11 - CASTING BY Billy Hopkins Suzanne Smith Kerry Borden.
- 01:17 - MUSIC BY Howard Shore.
- 01:22 - COSTUMES DESIGNED BY Michael Kaplan.
- 01:24 - EDITED BY Richard Francis-Bruce.
- 01:26 - PRODUCTION DESIGNED BY Arthur Max.
- 01:35 - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Darius Khandji.
- 01:40 - CO-PRODUCERS Stephen Brown Nana Greenwald Sanford Panilch.
- 01:44 - CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Lynn Harris Richard Saperstein.
- 01:50 -EXECUIVE PRODUCERS Gianni Nunnari Dan Kolsrud Anne Kopelson.
- 01:54 - WRITTEN BY Andre Kevin Walker.
- 01:59 - PRODUCED BY Arnold Kopelson Phyllis Carlyle.
- 02:04 - DIRECTED BY David Fincher.
Production
The majority of the clip is edited with a sickly yellowish and greenish hue with the occasional presence of red. These colours are chosen not to be vibrant further supporting that the genre is most likely to be a psychological horror, as the cinematography of this genre is commonly described as very dismal and 'gritty', due to its darkness. This choice of colour and mise-en-scene is occasionally used in crimes. Though in crimes and urban dramas there are more prominent and exaggerated colour tints like red, blue and perhaps even neon colours displaying the night life in such dramas.
Above: Extreme close up.
Old-fashioned props like: a needle and thread, reels of film, a splicer, blades, notepads, textbook images, newspapers and developed photos are used. If modernized machines were used, the clip would lose its unsettling effect, as the killer seems far from the modern world and further showing his isolation from the world; suggesting he is 'insane' and peculiar. These also add to the idea that they are planning their murderous work and has a clear, chilling motive.
Above: Extreme close up.
Post-production
The non diegetic soundtrack is immediately fast-paced and intense. This can suggest that there is no need to build tension, hence, reflecting the already minacious state of the killer. Alternatively, the soundtrack seems to change roughly three times to still keep some level of suspense. This unusual choice could further relate to the peculiarity of the antagonist.
The font used is like a rough style of handwriting. This could be a fragment of the endless journal writing shown in the opening. The fact that this might have been copied from the diary and the font looks carved due to its pronounced edges, conveys the passion and perhaps anger applied when the killer is writing and planning. The titles are even written slanted, once again suggesting that the font is from the journal.
The text also seems to 'glitch' around the scene and some cannot be translated as they are very brief and jumbled flashes of letters, which adds a form of disorientation. Most of these jolty movements also seem to be in time with the non diegetic sound, further increasing suspense. Linking this observation back to the idea of the font being directly from the antagonist's diary, the unexpected movements could represent the instability of his mind.
The text also seems to 'glitch' around the scene and some cannot be translated as they are very brief and jumbled flashes of letters, which adds a form of disorientation. Most of these jolty movements also seem to be in time with the non diegetic sound, further increasing suspense. Linking this observation back to the idea of the font being directly from the antagonist's diary, the unexpected movements could represent the instability of his mind.
The black background of these titles seem to be used for the more famous actors and important crew, as the white contrasts with the background and allows us to focus on the names. The black background can be interpreted as a chalkboard or a light box due to the flickering glow of capitalised titles. This links to the idea of the killer planning and targeting certain names/characters.
Upon scrutinizing the clip, I found there was a few subtle hints to the absence of Kevin Spacey's name in the credits, who plays the important antagonist. These included the scratchings and vandalism of writer Andrew Kevin Walker's name and also a flash of scratch marks that seem to spell out "NO KEV". This could just be coincidental, however, from the clever and specifically edited sequence we can assume these are intentional. Not including a successful actor's name means that the audience does not wait for Spacey's appearance and figure out that he must be the killer.
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