The opening sequence of "Seven" establishes a dark, mysterious tone through the use of close-up shots, a non-diegetic score, and disturbing imagery. Shots of a character removing his fingerprints and meticulously preparing materials in a book create an unsettling atmosphere and hint that he may be dangerous or mentally unstable. Intercut with credits are disturbing pictures like a crossed-out image of a child, foreshadowing violence and shocking the audience. The sequence leaves the audience with many questions about the character and his intentions, drawing them into the film's mysterious plot.

1. Analysing the opening sequence for
‘Seven’
Dir. David Fincher, 1995
By Will Yeates

2. • The medium close up is used to show that
there is a contrast between two hands and the
differences are separated by a red line.
Maybe there are two sides to the story. The
darkness of the imagery suggests a bleak tone.

3. • The extreme close up shows the audience this
character removing his fingerprints. It can be
interpreted as this character wanting to
remove his identity. He comes across as some
one who might be crazy.

4. • The book imagery recurs throughout the
sequence. The way that it is juxtaposed with
other religious iconography suggests that it
might be the bible or another religious text.
This unusual view of a normal object creates
mystery and suspense. This combines with
the atonal music to develop the atmosphere.

5. • The titles flicker and jitter and the font is
similar to the handwriting of our character.
The combination of the fonts with the
screeching noise could be interpreted as
screams and the overall effect is unsettling.

6. • The contrast between the red and the black
connotes some danger and it is the red shots
that the shots combined together with the
writing in the book as well as the photo being
developed. We can also see the meticulous
quality of the character. He is well prepared.

7. • The fact that Brad Pitt’s name comes up first
suggests he is the main character and that
fans of his would be interested in seeing the
film. The same can be applied to Morgan
Freeman. The black background has links to
thriller/horror genre.

8. • This enigmatic close up creates mystery as we
can’t tell what the object is and this again
combines with the mysterious sound to create
suspense and reinforces the thriller aspect of
the sequence.

9. • The picture of the child with his eyes crossed
out suggest that the child is a possible victim.
He is symbolic of purity and innocence and
this contrasts with the generally gritty tone.
Also, the ida of a child victim is quite shocking
and this also creates intrigue for the audience.

10. • This extreme close up shot is foreshadowing
clues for the potential events later in the film.
The words that are erased are relevant to the
plot. This is only apparent to the audience
after they have seen the film.

11. • The victim is in blood which can symbolise
death.
• The YOU stands for that anyone could be next.
Seemingly this is a film that will not follow
traditional thriller conventions and there may
be a lot of twists and turns.

12. In summary…
• Overall, in this clip there are many close up or extreme
close up shots. We never see the character’s face
which keeps the audience in suspense. By the fingertip
shots, we think the figure is a bit crazy but we see he
knows how to develop photographs, which is a skill and
shows another side to the character and makes the
audience question his personality. As the colours are
dark and red, it shows the danger and mystical
elements and tells the audience the film is not going to
be light hearted. The use of atonal and unconventional
non-diegetic sound creates tension and a thriller style
atmosphere.