'Se7en' Film Title Sequence Evaluation

New Line Cinema Presents
an Arnold Kopelson production
A film by David Fincher
Brad Pitt
Morgan Freeman
SE7EN
Gwyneth Paltrow
Richard Roundtree
R. Lee Ermey
John C. McGinley
Julie Arashog Mark Boone Junior
John Cassius
Reginald E. Cathey
Peter Crombie
Hawthorne James
Michael Marsee
Leland Orser
Richard Portrow
Richard Schiff
Pamala Tyson
Casting by Billy Hopkins Suzanne Smith Kerry Borden
Music by Howard Shore
Costumes Designed by Michael Kaplan
Edited by Richard Francis-Bruce
Production Designed By Arthur Max
Director of Photography Darius Khandji
Co-Producers Stephen Brown Nana Greenwald Sanford Panitch
Executive Producer Lynn Harris Richard Saperstein
Gianni Nunnari Dan Kolsrud Anne Kopelsun
Written by Andrew Kevin Walker
Produced by Arnold Kopelson Phyllis Carlyle
Directed by David Fincher
The next sequence that i have chosen to evaluate is the opening title sequence from the film 'Se7en.'Firstly, the typeface that has been used to write the titles is very rough-looking, and looks as if it has been handwritten by somebody or even scratched onto a surface. The way in which none of the letters join together and the inconsistent sizing of the misaligned letters in each word give us this impression. Also, the text often flashes in the style of a lightbulb when it is not working correctly. In traditional horror film style, this already appears slightly unnerving and makes us slightly anxious from the off. Next, the text is consistently white, stood against a dark (usually black) background. The way that this contrast has been juxtaposed together makes the text stand out more and exaggerates the electricity-style flashing. Also intensifying this, the text often glitches slightly. This jittery aesthetic could give the viewer the subconscious impression that they are shaking slightly. This is also reinforced by the quick cutting between shots which make the viewing experience more tense for the audience. Next, in the backgrounds of the text we see many small snippets of close up shots, for example hands cutting photographs as well as more gruesome images such as someone with a nail in the back of their head. I feel that this is a clever way of the director hinting at things that are going to unfold in the movie, giving the viewer a taste for it early on. Overall, i feel that this is a very effective opening title sequence, and that it sets the viewer up appropriately for the film ahead.