Opening sequence of Se7en

Se7en is a psychological and crime thriller. This is clear through its effective opening sequence with its use of micro elements such as editing, sound, miss-en scene and cinematography. The clip starts off with a close up shallow focus shot of a book opening pages with typography. The use of the typography creates a sense of mystery as the font is quite formal but at the same time sharp, and the colour used is white. This creates a ghostly effect.

It then cuts to a black background with the use of white, spooky typography creating a sense of evil and the juxtaposition of the two colours create a fierce, sharp look. Foreshadowing evil events to happen later on in the film.

Further in the opening sequence there is a close up of someones hands with some kind of sharp object scraping off what looks like dead skin. The use of props here such as the sharp object creates enigma codes for the audience as we start to wonder what this film is actually about and why the person is doing that to them self. This messes with our minds which is conventional for a psychological thriller. Throughout the opening sequence the use of non-diagetic sound creates a ominous feeling. The music changes from high to low pitched through out the sequence. It gets the audience intrigued as it makes us feel we're waiting for something bad to happen or a cheap surprise to occur. 

The sequence then continues with the use of black backgrounds and white typography, building up tension for the audience. The use of miss-en scene in this clip such as the books, the pens, the sharp objects are very effective as they are something you would expect to see in a crime/psychological thriller. The use of editing is very significant in this clip. For example the use of the colour red conveys death and evil indicating that the film is to do with crimes and murders.

This extreme close up shows us someone putting something together. This suggests that throughout the film there are things to put together and work out. Which relates to a crime thriller as in crimes there are always clues to put together to solve the crime. I think the Se7en opening sequence is the most effective opening sequence i've come across because of its well used micro elements.