Opening of Se7en - Timeline

Se7en - Opening Title

This is the timeline for Se7en's opening titles:

Opening titles in films and TV shows are used to introduce all the people that helped to make up the film/TV show. The credits of the opening title shows things such as the production company, the producers of certain things such as costume or music and the cast and crew members. The purpose of the opening title is to introduce the most important members of the film to the audience. 

Opening credits are not usually just rolling text on a blank screen, movies use images and the typography, music and other such things to make the opening titles link with the genre and entice the audience. 

Stills from Se7en - Opening Title Sequence

This still from Se7en's opening title sequence shows how they have effectively used typography, images and lighting. They've used a text that looks handwritten, this looks creepy and really sets the thriller genre. The image behind adds to this because the hand looks crooked and almost like it belongs to a dead person, this gives a creepy atmosphere and also adds mystery because the audience don't know the purpose of the hands being shown and why they look the way that they do. Another things that adds mystery is the dark lighting. This is because you can't see half of the screen and so this uneases the audience because they cannot see whats there. Dark is associated with evil and so this fits well with the thriller genre.

I feel that this still is very effective in terms of representing the thriller genre. It has the same typography that looks handwritten; this is used throughout. The most effective thing about this still is the word 'REPENT' scratched into the dark background. This is so effective because it looks as though someone has written it in anger because of the scratches around it. Also, the dark background again adds effect because it's gloomy and the darkness is associated with evil and generally uneases people because you don't know what's lurking or happening in the dark. The word repent means to express remorse over your own sins so the fact that this is the word written in the background tells the audience that something sinister will probably happen in the film. The word 'repent' put together with the dark background entices the audience because they want to know why someone would feel such an emotion.