Film Opening: Part 3

Se7en (1995)

Strengths:

The introduction of the film portrays a variety of different pieces of work, in which an assumed criminal/murderer is seen to be completing their "project." There is a Plain white text set against the discoloured and almost grainy background, thus enabling the audience to see first what companies produced the film, before continuing on to show the main characters in it; done on purpose to connote their importance. The text itself however is rather shaky, unstable and distorted in a way that makes you as the viewer fell distressed and unhinged, so forth creating a sense that this film is going to be of a similar nature, that of distress. Similarly, the music adds to the tension because the first sound to be heard is that of thunder and lightening (instantly connoting a sense of danger;) a key weather element in horror/thriller films to set the atmosphere, carried out equivalently in order to illustrate that this film is going to be dark and ominous throughout. However, the editing is also used effectively, to skip between names of the cast/crew and the development of the work in the background; the constant reference back to this illustrates a good narrative. Such components like cross cutting and fade outs give relevance to the story and make it seem like it is developing through the opening scenes, giving the audience an idea of what the film might be about. Furthermore, the eerie, unnatural, anamorphic music develops throughout this intro in such a way that it seems the noises in the background have a narration themselves as they seem to get worse and more menacing. Added for effect is also the shot types, which are mainly close ups, enabling the viewer to get a clear subject on the essence of the mystery character's work, again elevating the story. Finally there is a mix of colours ranging from mainly black and whites, to the more sinister red which develops the conventional horror themes within the opening sequence.

Weaknesses:

Although the shots of this mystery character are used to develop the story, there is no mention of him/her and a reason behind why they are doing the task that is carried out. There is not really a development with the scenes because it is all focused on one main room; to progress further a thriller would normally contain scenes of the murder itself being carried out, which helps create an un nerving and unsettling mood thus adding to the tension and atmosphere created at the beginning and therefore foreseeing the film to be first class. Again the use of the texts effects are great to create an enfeebling atmosphere, however at most occurrences it isn't clear enough, and if used correctly to rank the importance of the cast/crew within the film, wouldn't give the same effect towards the audience in contrast to if it was clear. Conclusively, the colour had the same effect in the sense that it is rather bland and distasteful; there is no changes to make it stand out. Despite being used effectively in the thriller genre, there is a lack of symbolic colours such as red to catch the audience's eye, hence adding to the previously mentioned proposed and potential tension.