Analysis of a Title Sequence
Seven

The title sequence of the film Seven begins with a close up of a book, which shows this book must have some significance to the film. Opening credits flash onto the screen saying "New Line Cinema Presents" and this will give the audience an idea about what kind of film this is, as New Line Cinema are known for making a certain type of film, these tend to be indie or edgy.
Extreme close ups are shown of a person's hands and what they are writing, suggesting that this person is planning something and thus complying to the paradigms of the horror thriller genre, as it may seem that this person is planning a murder and this is what the audience may be expecting to see in this genre of film. The sound is non-diegetic, eerie music that almost sounds like a scream, which relates to the film plot. The sounds almost become mechanical, suggesting that the person is doing what they are because they feel that they need to, as though they are a machine that does things becuase it has been programmed to.

A close up of a photo of a pair of strange looking hands creates a feeling of uneasiness, as it looks as though the hands are about to choke someone. Also, a red line can be seen running through the picture of the hands, suggesting that something is not right. The lighting has been underexposed throughout these shots, implying that the film is dark and mysterious. A close up of a razor blade is shown in order to signify death or murder and the white opening credits appear on a black background, again, like the underexposed lighting, suggests the film is dark. Also, the writing looks as though it has been scrated onto the screen, which could have been used to contrast with the screeching music and sounds. Most of the exreme close ups are out of focus, creatng a bigger sense of mystery to the films opening.
The shots are also shown in double exposure, where two things on the screen are being focused on at the same time. This implies to the audience that the persons who is writing in the book does not see the world normally, as though they have a split personality and therfore creating an uncomfortable feeling. This is done again through an exreme close up of the book, as it shows the writing upside down, implying the persons world is upside down.
The editing has mainly consisted to this point of fast-paced cuts and over-lap edits, as it looks as though the person who is writing in the book is doing so very quickly.

A red filter appears very briefly on the screen, signifying that death or danger is looming from what the person is doing. A scraping noise can be heard as the person drags their thumb across a piece of paper and almost sounds as though they are cutting someone or could signify they are planning a murder, as there is a picture above the paper where they scarped their thumb. This can be linked back to the earlier shots of the persons hands and what they are writing, as both of these suggest the person is planning a murder, again relating to the film paradigms.
The opening credits looking as though they are scratched into the screen almost make the writing look as though it is part of the notebook, so the audience may feel that what they are watching is part of the persons book and they are inside this persons head.

Non-diegetic screeches are heard as a close up is shown of a mans face being blacked out with a marker pen, suggesting that the character who cannot be seen is planning to murder the man n the picture, especially seen as a red filter appears briefly on screen after this. The music is now getting much louder and the screeches are becoming more intense as an extreme close up shows what looks like a needle being pulled out of a thumb, although, the needle is just being wiped, as there is blood on it, which signifies that something is wrong.

An image of a child is shown in the background while the unknown character fiddles with strands of hair, which may lead the audience to believe the boy in the photo has been murdered or has some significance to what the person is planning. The word "God" can be seen on an upside down dollar bill, linking back to the earlier image of the upside down writing and implying the persons world is upside down. The word God is then removed from the dollar bill and a voice says "You get me closer to God", which is the final shot of the opening sequence and suggests to the audience that the person is trying to bring himslef closer to God by doing what he is doing or may be trying to play God. This entire title sequence creates dramatic tension and mystery for the audience, so may make them want to continue watching the rest of the film as they may think it looks interesting and want to find out what the person with the book is up to.