Se7en Title Sequence analysis

Se7en title sequence analysis

The title sequence for Se7en uses many different techniques to make the audience feel the suspense, tension and mystery.


Moreover, sound is also used effectively when one can hear the tape rewinding backwards. This sound gives the audience the impression that someone is being recorded/monitored which is quite disturbing. Additionally, this fits in with one of the typical genre conventions of being watched/followed because to record someone the criminal would have to follow them. What's more, one can identify the sound of the wind knocking something which could imply that something/someone is trying to get into the room. Not only does this conform to the typical thriller theme of vulnerability, but it also makes the audience feel theeeriness of the noise. This also promotes the gloomy side of pyscholigcal thrillers.

 

When focusing on sound, there are a variety of methods used to make the visual imagery seem more intense. The title sequence is made up of a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds; the drum beat and rewinding tape are both diegetic and the robotic noises are non-diegetic. There is a constant drumbeat throughout the first minute of the clip; this might suggest that this beat is symbolic of a heartbeat with also relates to life or death. When this beat is sped up after a minute the audience may feel that the tension has been increased as the pace 'heartbeat' has increased. This suggesting panic, which may prepare the audience for the film.
Additionally, one has noticed that the editing in the title sequence of Se7en mirrors the possible mindset that a criminal has. The editing is slow to begin with when focused on the book, however this could be the time period when the criminal is thinking. Therefore, when the editing becomes faster and more jump cuts are used this could demonstrate that the criminal is planning what or who to kill next.
The faster edits could be a way to conceal what the criminal is doing to build tension as the audience won't know what to expect, which may also make the audience excited to see whats going to happen next.

 

 

Another way that the editing creates tension is by making the transitions very quick; this could reflect the characteristics of the criminal and therefore make the audience feel unsettled. Also, the out of focus close up of the book conveys mystery to the audience and could be interpreted as some parts of the narrative are less obvious - further increasing the suspense.
One of the more obvious ways that mystery is built is by one hand being in the light area and one hand being in the dark area. This suggests the criminal is hiding something. This could be a sign that the criminal has two sides to him; one side that misleads people and one side that is the self that the public see. 
Moreover, the camera is looking down on the crooked hands; suggesting that these hands are not that of the criminal because they are below him, therefore whoever's they are is seen to be of a lower status than him.. One can tell that the criminal is obsessive because of the two overlapping shots of the writing in the book.
The way the book looks like they have taken a neat approach to the book and the grid paper all reinforce this obsessiveness and organisation. Similarly, the criminal could be seen as disturbing when he sews into the edge of the page; this conveys that he has to get the book absolutely perfect and he uses a surgical needle to do this. Significantly, the image of the blade symbolises danger and  builds tension by representing the criminal as a dangerous figure that people should be afraid of.