Monday, 3 January 2011

Se7en Title Sequence

The film Se7en's title sequence is an extremely good example for a horror film title sequence. There is a lot going on, so I'm going to go through it and list the different changes of scene each time.

1 sec - Old, crumpled book - pages being turned.
6 sec - 'New line cinema presents' - writing doubles and flickers.
7 sec - Distorted writing, doubles up. Black backgroun with white lettering and it twitches, like a bug. Mirrored text switches back to normal.
9 sec - Sketchy distorted hands surrounded by dark shadows.
11 sec - 'A film by' is in block letters, but names are in a font which looks like handwriting.



12 sec - Lots of cuts of a gun being loaded.
15 sec - Very quick cut of random numbers, like a subliminal message.
16 sec - More hands - dirt and darkness.
20 sec - Lots of cuts - photos and equipment like an ortopsy or crime case.
24 sec - 'Se7en' flashed and duplicates behind. The two flicker in the top right hand corner, flashes larger in the centre of the screen and then returns to the corner.



27 sec - Scene comes into the background of a hand picking up a book while 'Se7en' stays in the corner.
30 sec - Name in wonky writing on shadowed part of the screen. More paper and flashes of red.
32 sec - Handwriting while bottom of the screen is in shadow. Shot is duplicated over one another to look distorted. The shots then blend back into one.
38 sec - Everything goes red - photos being developed. No natural light is used so far, only low key lighting and unnatural flourescent lighting.
40 sec - Cutting negatives in darkness. Everything is shadowed.



There are many elements that make this recognised as a good title sequence. The non diegetic sound of the song 'Closer to God' by Nine Inch Nails furthers the feeling of horror.

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