Analysis of the opening sequence of Seven

I have watched the opening credits of the film Seven which was directed by David Fincher during 1995, this film was given the certificate of an 18.

The mise en scene in the opening to this film helps build up the suspense for the film. In the opening there is emphasis on props such as books, and photographs of hand sizes, this provides a element of suspicion for the viewer, as they wonder what is happening. There is also emphasis shown of using a razor to take the skin off the fingers, this suggests that someone wants to remove their fingerprints and hide their identity. There is also use of photographs and then the same photographs with faces crossed out, this suggests that there will be murder within this film. This is also done with crossing out certain words from a newspaper article; this also suggests that there is also crime within this film.

The use of sound within this film helps create an atmosphere and a mood for the film. The music for the opening is by Nine Inch Nails, this music is eerie, yet it has areas where the music goes creaky, and this suggests that there are elements of hiding or creeping within this film. The music is sharp and distinctive within this opening; it is also very edgy which helps build up the suspense for this film.

There are many camera angles used within this film. The opening shots in this film are close ups of props such as a book. There is also use of crane shot; this is of the hand shots. There is also up of high angled shots during the film, in areas such as when the writing is being crossed out and when the face is being crossed out of the photo, this suggests that the man has power over the people in the photographs. There is also a close up of shaving off the fingerprints; this suggests that the hiding of identity is a theme throughout this film.

There are many different editing techniques within this opening sequence. Firstly, there are many cuts and cross cutting during this sequence. There are many cuts into the opening credits section also, which adds to the ‘thriller’ genre, as it adds suspense to the atmosphere. There are also sections within the sequence where it fades into a scene or it fades to black. This also adds suspense to the atmosphere.