Analysis of title sequence: Seven
As a group we have analysed and researched into title
sequences in order to understand how a particular genre of film is introduced
and how the creator sets up the mood of the film.
“Seven” is a crime thriller with an 18 certificate. The film
is about two detectives hunting a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins
as his modus operandi. Analysing the opening title sequence of this film will
help us understand how the film is introduced; the title sequence of seven is
very clever as it only shows sections of the full image which leaves it up to
the audience’s imagination to work out what’s happening. The images combine
with the colour effects and the music set a very dark disturbing scene.
Although the images used in the title sequence may appear irrelevant, they bear
connections to the film later on. We could use this idea in our own film.
1.
The first image we see clearly is an open book.
Although the subject in the focus of the shot is visible, the background to the
frame is dark and the various images appear and disappear fast making it hard
to tell what’s happening. The shots appear to be showing someone creating a
journal.
2.
The eerie music combined with the images is very
affective at making the footage appear ‘dark’. The sounds in the music seem to
be mechanical and animatronic this forces the viewer to believe something is
not right. It suggests the audience is witnessing something sinister even
though most of the images used are not particularly horrifying. for example the film could be showing a man
innocently creating a historical journal, but through the build-up of strange
sounds, out of focus shots, close- ups of dangerous objects and dark lighting
we are encouraged to believe that this creating/planning something horrific.
3.
Another imaged used in this title sequence is a
photograph of hands in a book. The hands look old, crippled and frail which further
in forces the idea of evil. The hands could also be displaying a negative
representation of elderly people. The hands look as though they belong to someone
who is ill or even dead. The possibilities of what the hands could represent
are left up to the imagination as the rest of the body is not visible. The
image appears disturbing as it looks as though the hands are reaching forwards
as though there about to grasp something, it springs to mind the idea of ‘chocking’.
The camera angle is tilted and shadows move across the images this suggests the
viewer is being watched or that we have been given insight into something were
not supposed to see. The lighting in the images is underexposed and redline
runs through the images contributing to the sinister mood of the piece.
4.
The next shot appears to be a close up of a
razor blade; again the images are edited together through a series of fast cuts
making it difficult to determine exactly what you see. The sharp object could
be associated with death. The audience is led to believe that the man creating
the journal is inhumane and is perceived as some kind of killer. The metallic screeches
in the background liken the killer to some kind of machine. This suggests the
person is doing what they are because they feel they have to, as though they
have been programed to do so.
5.
The white opening credits appear in between the
images displaying the director and main actors.
The white text used is written in a very childlike font, and it flickers
in and out of focus as the background sounds grow loader.
6.
Next we get a close up shot of the man’s
fingers. He appears to be scraping off dead skin from the top of his finger or
he could be scrapping off glue. The low-key lighting enforces the fact that whatever
he’s doing is ‘shifty’.
7.
The title “seven” flashes up in different places
on the screen. The bright white lettering looks as though it’s scratched and it
contrasts with the black background.
8.
The film looks as though it’s being played from
an old film reel. It appears as though there is scratches and blotches of
colour in unusual places that makes the film look like it’s been damaged. Again
this lends to the idea that we are watching something secretive that we shouldn’t
know about.
9.
The next lot of images we see are of pages in
the book and someone righting in the journal. The pages flash upside down and overlaid. The scratches
and blotches continue to appear on top of the images making it impossible to
read the text. The ambiguity of the words could have been done to show the man
is not thinking clearly. The images suggest he’s “not in his right mind set”
this makes the character seem all the more dangerous. As the book is being
written double exposure is used to imply that the character does not see things
normally. The double exposure makes the viewer feel as though they’ve got a ‘headache’
which reveals theirs something mentally wrong with the person. The images shift
in and out of focus which draws the audience in as they have to try and work
out what’s happening in the image and how the images relate.
10.
In the next shot the frame turns to a red
liquid. It’s not clear what the image is, it could be the ink used to develop
the photos that are part of the journal. I’m sure after the previous images the
red is seen as a representation of blood to most people in the audience.
The red filter is very bold it is used to
signify danger.
11.
More fast cuts and over –lap edits are used - it
gives the impression that the person is desperately trying to finish his work. The
next image we see is a film being cut with scissors. The image he has cut is
then placed on a page under the words sexuality and homosexuality. It’s not
clear what relevance these words have to the story line yet but I assume they
play a part in the film as they are the only words we have been able to read in
the images so far.
12.
We see some more of the righting and watch him
stick some black and white photographs into the journal. The photographs are of
people’s body parts which reminds me of “Frankenstein”. By this point it’s
clear what genre the film is. Following this an extreme close up of a pen shows
him going through a page of righting crossing out certain words from the text. The
words sexuality and pregnancy are both blacked out. This could have reference
to something later on in the film.
13.
The next lot of images shows a young boys face. The
same pen used in the previous images blacks out the boy’s eyes. This suggests
the man has taken away the boys identity. A quick jump cut switches from the
image of the boy with his eyes crossed out to the same image now with his
entire face scribbled over. The flashing
editing gives the impression the man is angry. We don’t know who this boy is or
what has happened or is going to happen to him. The music grows very loud at
this point in the opening sequence. In the next cut a red filter is placed over
the image of the boy. Questions start to arise in the mind of the audience. Has
the boy been murdered?
14.
The screen then becomes a split screen the top
picture is bright red contrasting with the bottom picture which shows him righting
in the book.
15.
After this we see his plastered dirty fingers
holding what looks like a row of fishing hooks. After watching the clip a
second time it seems he is binding the journal.
When the image disappears so quickly all the audience sees is the sharp
objects.
16.
We are shown a close up of a photograph. The photo
shows the back of a man’s head with something metal inserted into the back of
his skull. Following this we see more disturbing images of body parts. Another photograph
shows a different boy with his eyes blacked out suggesting this man could be a serial
killer. A close up of his fingers show s him putting a strand of hair into a
container. Perhaps this man is also trying to uncover something (like a detective)
alternatively he could be a psychopathic killer.
17.
The film continuous to revert back to pictures
of the book and someone righting. There is a cut to an extreme close up shot of
something being pulled between the man’s fingers. It becomes clear in the next
shot that he is threading string through a needle to bind up the book.
18.
Finally we see an extreme close up of an American
dollar note upside down. The word god is the main focus of the shot. The word “god”
is removed from the frame as a voice says "You get me closer to God",
which is the final shot of the opening sequence and suggests that this character
is trying to play the role of god.
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