Research & Planning : Title Sequence Analysis: Se7en

In order to analyse the opening sequence of Se7en (1995) I will look at the different  elements of the film  and try and establish how they are used to set up character, narrative and genre.
     The music in the opening credits/sequence  is called Closer, by Nine Inch Nails. The music sets a tone of a sort of underground, eerie feeling. The piece of music is at the start, relatively slow paced and as the opening sequence goes on, the music increases to a faster pace and creates a sort of climax at the end of the opening credits.  
     In the opening sequence, I feel that the mise en scene plays the most important part in creating  the tone of eerie feeling and the drama genre. In the opening, the lighting is very dark, this creates the tone of uneasiness around the set. The fingers that we can see in the film seem to be male, this creates a sense of power which then could determine the main male theme about the film as it progresses. 
     In the opening credits of the film there is a lot of sharp objects such as blades, needle points and tips of pens. This has an effect on the audience where it puts them on edge and invites them into the film straight away. These sharp objects are backed up by the disturbing images of the weirdly shaped hands and the image of where it looks as though there is a spike going through someone's head. This could be disturbing for some viewers but it sets the drama sort of tone straight away.  
     There are a lot of cuts in the opening and it seems to compliment the music because at the start of this short sequence, the cuts are relatively infrequent but as the opening goes on the music pace increases and the cuts become more frequent. Again this emphasises the point of there maybe being a climax towards the end of the opening. Also, to do with editing, the writing to introduce the actors playing the characters is sometimes blurred, this again gives the impression to the audience that something suspicious is going on and it seems to involve the viewers as it slightly confuses them. 

     The main colours used in the opening sequence are blacks and whites. Occasionally there are a few reds chucked in which surprises the viewers as it is such a contrast from black and white. Surprising the viewer also sets the tone for the rest of the film as there are many more surprises to come. The irony of the distinguishing colour being red is the thought of blood that it brings to the viewers mind and at one point in the opening we see a spurt of blood onto a page which creates the feeling of the frightful crime that the story could have to bring. 
     Overall I think that the opening of Se7en has a great effect of setting the tone for the rest of the film mainly because of the dark lighting and dirty music that is presented in the sequence.