Opening Titles Genre Effectiveness - Se7en

I think that the Opening Credits at the beginning of Se7en are effective throughout. One way in which I think that credits are effective is through the editing. The opening credits have been edited in a way to make them very quick and choppy so not much can be seen. This gives mystery throughout the first scenes as you can only see snippets of everything happening and makes it tense from the very start. The titles have also been edited so that certain scenes overlap each other and look transparent so two different scenes can be seen at the same time. One example when this was seen was when words were being crossed out and an overlay on top of this shot shows the words which couldn't be seen. This gives the viewer as hint on what the film may be about before it begins.

Another way in which the opening credits for this film is effective is with the choice of typography. There has been a use of a Serif font in the opening titles which creates an older and more ragged looking feel to the movie. It also suggests that the film is eerie and tense as the typography is uneven and made to look as though it has been warn away and scratched at. The typography is also effective as its look also fits with shots in the background relating to religion and obsessions which are highlighted to be in the film making it appropriate for the genre of film.

There is also a lot of links made to religion throughout the opening titles. This is shown through the close up shots of the Bible, with sections being highlighted, crossed out and cut before being added to another book. Words such as 'God' and quotes relating to the 7 deadly sins are cut out and kept suggesting that an obsession with Religion is one of the main focuses of the film. This relates to the film genre as Psychological Horrors are often based on an obsession of some sort which is focused on throughout the whole film as the serial killer uses it as his main focus in his crimes.

Finally, the opening scenes are effective as the shots ensure that the identity of the person committing all the crimes is well hidden, so to not give away anything at the beginning of the film. This creates mystery as we see close ups of the characters hands and fingernails but not their face as we are unaware who has the obsession and why.. This is also made more effective by the extreme close up of the character using a blade to peel off his skin and fingerprints suggesting that the character commits crimes and is going to extreme measures to hide his identity and ensure that he doesn't get caught.