Mise en scene:
The opening title sequence from Seven focuses around a character (presumably a man) psychotically fiddling with grimy instruments such as needles, razors and tweezers, frantically putting together photographs and notes, or scribbling nonsensical lines into a notebook. This crazed imagery shown throughout the whole opening title sequence connotes that the man we see is the murderer/ antagonist, without confirming whether this is true. This builds tension as the audience feels that they need to find out who's hands they have just seen.
Another notable thing about the mise en scene is the man's hands, or more specifically his fingers. His finger nails are encrusted with what looks like dirt or blood, with him eventually placing plasters over his fingers which further denotes that he has been doing 'dirty work', adding an eerie sense to the opening sequence.
The frenetic nature of the work that we see the man conducting and the way that he does it as well as the appearance that we are aware of (his hands), leads the audience to believe that this is probably the villain of the film - in line with Propp's character theory - as everything that we see in the scene hints towards a most likely dark and evil nature.
Camera
Most if not all shots are taken from a close up or extreme close up in Seven's opening title sequence. This is vital to have a continuous effect of building tension and suspense, as it's important that they don't give too much away to the audience about the character, place - or situation. It is a great technique to build tension because it leaves the audience guessing what the wider picture is, and continuing to watch through the film to find out.
Another affect that the close ups have on the audience is creating a feel of isolation and confinement with the unpleasant activity that the man is engaging in, making the opening sequence uneasy and tense.
Many of the shots are also at a dutch angle, which is a fantastic and widely used technique to disorientate the audience and create a disturbing feel for the film and show that something is wrong.
Audio
Though there doesn't seem to be any natural/ diegetic sound in the opening title sequence, Kyle Cooper makes excellent use of non-diegetic music over the top. A remixed version of Nine Inch Nails song "Closer", the song is made up of a harsh beating bass noise, sharp high pitched sounds and a strange static noise, which denotes the violent nature of the actions being taken, and denoting the harsh personality of the character in the scene. By having no diegetic sound, it leaves it to the audience's imagination, which might create a better affect than actually having the sound.
There are also many moments when the sharp parts of the track fit nicely onto the actions of the man. For example: When the man slides his finger across the paper to make sure that it sticks into place, the music plays a continuous airy hiss sound. This makes certain actions stick out, creating a scary atmosphere.
Editing
The titles that are shown are made up of sharp irregular fonts which feel violent and jagged - adding to the atmosphere of the scene. They flicker on the screen often suddenly and non-rhythmically - disorientating the audience and adding to the awareness that something is wrong.
The opening title sequence also uses a montage effect for shot transitions, switching from viewpoint to viewpoint quickly before the audience has the chance to establish what they are seeing properly. Again, this is disorientating and confusing to the audience. It also gives Seven the opportunity to show the various tools, equipment and terrifying resources to properly portray the character to be the villain of the film.
Genre signifiers
- The use of dark atmosphere created by low key lighting.
- A very dark and villainous character created by grimy and stained sharp props connoting cuts and injuries, connoting that the film will be focusing on darkness and violence.
- Sharp and jagged looking font to symbolize violent nature of film.
- Barbed audio, with sharp rises in pitch, similar and comparable even to the opening title sequence from classic horror films such as Psycho (1960).
Narrative enigma
One of the reasons why the sequence is so effective is due to the suspense and tension it created through narrative enigma. By not revealing the character but only his hands, it gives just enough detail of the crazed nature of this character that it encourages the audience to watch further to see what else he is capable of.
Another enigma that is manufactured by this opening title sequence is what exactly the man is planning or compiling, making the audience ask questions like "Why?", "Where?", "What?" - and leading them to be enticed into the mysterious narrative of the film.
Audience reception
This opening sequence is famed for the way that it establishes a tone for the rest of the film. Audiences would have enjoyed this opening sequence as it satisfies the need for entertainment as they might find it to be well-put together and aesthetically pleasing for the horror genre. They might also enjoy it as it increases intrigue towards the probable 'Villain' of the film.
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