SE7EN opening credits

SE7EN opening credits

Timeline

This timeline shows which titles appear when in the opening credits of the film SE7EN.

Genre

The genre is identified in the opening credits of this film due to the use of sound and the plot within the credits. It shows someone writing a diary which is a common convention in the psychological horror genre as it is all about the unstable mind of a character. He is also crossing out words in books that he does not agree with such as "transsexual".

There are also references to God which suggests it is a religious reason that he is crossing out words in the book. You see the person cutting skin off their finger tips to remove their finger print which along with the clip where he crosses out someone's face, starting with their eyes, it gives the impression that he is killing people who do not follow the rules in the bible.

This also conforms to the common conventions of a psychological horror as the killer has an obsession. You also see the person cutting out photos and pieces of film which adds to the idea of their diary and how the character needs a diary to try and stabilise his unhinged mind. These clips are effective as they all contribute and add to the impression that this is a psychological horror identifying the genre in the first two minutes of the film.

Mise-en-scene

The mise-en-scene in these opening credits help to identify genre and give clues into the story line. for example the diary illustrates how unstable he is that he needs to write down what triggers him.

There is also a close up of him removing his finger prints which leads the audience to believe he is a criminal trying to protect himself. This is expanded on later as he colours in someone's face starting with their eyes which is usually linked to the idea that they have been murdered.

After all these hints have been given away about how unhinged this character is the needle at the end although it is only used to sew together some sheets of paper it seems a lot more menacing and dangerous. He is so mentally unstable we do not know what he is going to do with the needle to start with.

Sound

The sound in the opening credits for SE7EN does not have any lyrics in the song or dialogue.

00:00 - 00:52 - During the first part of the opening credits there is a regular beat underneath some random synthesised noises that are not comfortable to hear which adds the psychological horror genre because of how the character is not at ease (he has an obsession and its mentally unstable).

00:53 - 01:13 - The regular beat continues and is overlapped with a high pitch noise that is like wind but has been synthesised to make it seem even more eerie.

01:14 - 01:34 - The music starts to build in volume and speed as more noises are added in to build up tension. The noises are still uncomfortable to listen to which is in parallel with what is happening on the screen (removing finger prints/colouring in people's faces)

01:35 - 02:00 - The music builds to start to become an actual song that is heavy and loud but has a steady rhythm. The music consists of electric guitars, drums and some synthesised sound to continue the idea of the music reflecting the character's unstable mind.

02:01 - 02:05 - "You bring me closer to God" - These are the only words in these opening credits and having the word God in it helps to highlight the religious aspect of this character and his obsession with making sure everyone obeys the rules of God as in the bible.

02:05 - 02:06 - The sound finishes with a loud noise which emphasises the end of the credits and the beginning of the film.

Typography

The typography in the opening credits for SE7EN use an appropriate font to identify the theme. The font uses capital letters for the title of the person (e.g. executive producer). The font for the name of the person is in a font that looks hand written as the text is not in one straight line, and as if it has been scratched in by someone because of the clearly defined edges. This adds to the idea of the character having an obsession because he must have spent time and effort scatting out those names.

The white text on a black background is very effective as it is not to eccentric so it does not distract from the clips of the person which is what will be giving the most clues into the story and are vital for identifying the genre.

The text does not just appear on the screen in these opening credits, it flickers on the screen and does not sty still for long. This reflects the unstable mindset of the character which is illustrated in the clips of the person as well as being demonstrated slightly through the music.



Evaluation

I like the typography in this film opening as it is creepy and suits the genre. We are going to make a film opening (not opening credits) so we will not need this much text. This also means we cannot do the short clips as we don't have any text to disperse between the clips so it would not make sense.