The titles for this film begin immediately. This contrasts with the opening titles for ‘The Purge’ where there was a slight introduction to the context of the film.
The backing track consists of a constant beat which increases gradually in tempo until 1:14 where the is a big jump in tempo and volume to raise the audiences heartbeats and build a great amount of tension, anticipation and enigma codes from the audience. The footage in the background depicts a multitude of seemingly significant clips that may be clues for as to what the film may be about. A lot of enigma codes are raised from these clips.
Font, colour and positioning
Similarly to the purge, the titles in this film are small, white and in a sans serif font. Each title is presented, predominantly, between shots which dramatically increases the suspense factor and does not obstruct any of the backing footage. Although the title for the film is initially the same size as the other titles, it flashes/glitches into a much bigger font to emphasise that it is, in fact, the title of the movie. Again, similarly to The Purge, white is often closely associated with ghosts and spirits and as a result of these connotations, the genre is effectively conveyed and established to the audience.
Titles entrances and exits
Each title follows the same ‘fade in/fade out‘ fashion that seems to be conventional in many horror films. It demonstrates and signifies the mysterious and ghostly elements of the genre and movie. Every title shown appears to glitch and have an animation to them where they either flash, duplicate or disappear for a short moment much like there is some sort of interruption. This appears to be a typical genre indicator and aids us as an audience to settle into the film. The titles have their own unique methods of exiting; some flash before disappearing, some stretch across the screen before disappearing and some just fade out. As the sequence progresses, the titles are seemingly more aggressive and abrupt in their animations and exits as if to reflect the possible structure of the plot of the film, not to mention, the build up of tempo created by these gradual changes in the credits.
Genre indicators
- Tense, gradually escalating music.
- White, glitchy titles.
- Background footage and the pace at which they’re cut together.
the titles used and their Order
The collage above shows the some of the titles used and the titles used overall seem to be the most significant contributors to the movie:
- The two lead actors
- Producers
- Editors
- Costume designers
- Music by
- The director
Each of these play extremely significant roles in this genre particularly. Actors give the reactions, connect with the audience and tell the story. Costumes are incredibly important in the horror genre; a persons outfit or costume can indicate the entire genre – you wouldn’t be frightened by a someone in a ‘Barney the dinosaur’ costume, you’d be scared by a masked murderer. Just like costumes, music plays an extremely important role in a horror movie. Music sets the tempo and can help to build suspense when necessary.
The order of some of the titles in the opening credits of ‘Se7en’ are presented above. It seems typical for the director of the horror movie to be last in the order of titles and the main actors to be first – also illustrated by ‘Insidious’ and ‘The Purge’. It also seems to be the case that, after the actors, the titles follow the order of:
- Casting by
- Costume designers
- Music by
- Edited by
- Production Design
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