In the opening sequence of Se7en, many interesting camera angles and lighting techniques are used. The lighting , camera angles and editing are used in such a way, the viewer is unsure of what they're actually viewing throughout the opening scene. Some shots are of an unusual nature which makes the viewer feel uneasy and intrigued as to what the actual film could be about.
For example, in the picture above (a screenshot of the Se7en opening sequence) two drawn hands can be clearly seen. Both hands look similar, showing they could belong to the same person however the lighting on both of them is varied. One hand has a fair amount of light which allows us, as the viewer, to see the detail and characteristics of the hand whereas the other hand is left mainly in the dark, a clear contrast between them. This could be a declaration of a persons personality being difficult to understand, or possibly the act they have more that one personality. The light and dark could also represent the sins and virtue of the individual. The crooked fingers could represent the amount of good/bad this person has done in their society, showing that the dark side has more of a crooked look than the light side. This could mean that the person has been more sinful than anything else, making them a possible danger in the future, in the film.The font of the text in this is a clear sign of where typography can be used effectively to achieve a certain feel on a title sequence. The writing is written in a sketchy, which, chalk-like substance that looks to be the messy handwriting of a person. This could relate to the crooked hand drawings, since crooked, crippled hands would not have particularly neat handwriting.
Throughout the opening scene, the title slides can be clearly seen to blur and glitch, giving making the audience uneasy as to what this could mean. A popular interpretation of these effects are that it represents the mental state of one of the protagonists; possibly a mentally unstable person with an illness such as Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression), or schizophrenia, which could then also link to the multiple personalities and the good and bad in the person.
As you can clearly see, the opening credits use many close ups and extreme close ups paired with appropriate lighting (such as high-key or low-key). The close ups show details about the person in the opening sequence, such as their handwriting , hobbies and drawings for example. These close ups and extreme close up shots could indicate we are learning about the protagonist, and getting to know his habits and traits; we can already see he seems to like drawing by the pictures seen throughout the credits.
The habits of the person are very singular and not common, showing he could be an 'outsider' to the world he lives in. Also, although a select amount of information are revealed about them through the introduction, many are kept hidden by strategic use of low-key lighting and glitchy cuts to ensure there is still a large amount of unknown information about them. The scene also contains a mildly disturbing scene showing the person cutting off layers of skin from their finger to rid themselves of their own fingerprints. This is often an precaution taken by criminals who do not wish to be caught when committing a crime, as they will leave no fingerprints as evidence, further emphasising the large amount of unknown information about the person, and leaving the audience 'in the dark' as to what they are actually doing and who they actually are.
Throughout the opening scene, the title slides can be clearly seen to blur and glitch, giving making the audience uneasy as to what this could mean. A popular interpretation of these effects are that it represents the mental state of one of the protagonists; possibly a mentally unstable person with an illness such as Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression), or schizophrenia, which could then also link to the multiple personalities and the good and bad in the person.
As you can clearly see, the opening credits use many close ups and extreme close ups paired with appropriate lighting (such as high-key or low-key). The close ups show details about the person in the opening sequence, such as their handwriting , hobbies and drawings for example. These close ups and extreme close up shots could indicate we are learning about the protagonist, and getting to know his habits and traits; we can already see he seems to like drawing by the pictures seen throughout the credits.
The habits of the person are very singular and not common, showing he could be an 'outsider' to the world he lives in. Also, although a select amount of information are revealed about them through the introduction, many are kept hidden by strategic use of low-key lighting and glitchy cuts to ensure there is still a large amount of unknown information about them. The scene also contains a mildly disturbing scene showing the person cutting off layers of skin from their finger to rid themselves of their own fingerprints. This is often an precaution taken by criminals who do not wish to be caught when committing a crime, as they will leave no fingerprints as evidence, further emphasising the large amount of unknown information about the person, and leaving the audience 'in the dark' as to what they are actually doing and who they actually are.
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