Title Research: Seven Movie

For this blog, I chose a movie from another website to indulge into the title. I will be answering questions about this movie. The questions are:

- What Website?
I got this movie off of ‘www.watchthetitles.com’. This is the website that I decided to use because it’s easy to navigate. I had no complications finding my movie and watching the opening sequence.

- What film?
The name of this movie is Seven. This movie is about a retiring detective that decides to go on one last case with a new detective in town that he was paired with against his will. Through this last case they realize that they’re dealing with a serial killer. This serial killer justifies his crimes by using the seven deadly sins as his motive. Being that one detective is new on the force and the other is an old dog, the two have a tough time coexisting. Despite this, they both have the common end goal that is catching this serial killer.

- How long was it?
The title sequence was 2 minutes and 8 seconds.

- How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
There are 27 titles displayed during the opening sequences. Of that, the title of the movie was shown after the 6th title and once again after the 26th title.

- What imagines are prioritized in the opening sequences?
The images that are prioritized are the ones that showcase gruesome murder and equipment along with news.

- What connotations do the images carry?
The images connote mystery, death and overall chaos.

- How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
Genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset in many ways. In symbolic codes, the genre is reinforced in the opening sequence based off the images. As stated earlier, the serial killer justifies his killings as punishment for what he thinks is the “ignorance” of others regarding the seven deadly sins. In the outset, it shows what seems to be someone planning and this planning is showing us what is beneath the surface which is the killers multiple murders. In technical codes, the genre is reinforced through the lighting. The lighting for the shots along with the angles are used to create an eerie feeling.

- How does the film establish enigma from the outset?
The film establishes enigma by the use of props and color. The outset is in black and white with weird and unusual props being used.

- What strategies are used to make sure the film appeals to its target audience?
The strategies are the sound, lighting, and focus of the camera onto certain things such as the props.
The non-diegetic sounds along with lighting and focus of the camera all draws the audience attention and has them intrigued. While the sound has them on edge, the lighting also establishes enigma and the focus of the camera leaves them curios and guessing.

- How was technology been used effectively?
Technology was used through the editing techniques of fade-in and dissolve. This caused an effect of leaving the audience curious and on edge as discussed earlier. Also, through the camera angle of extreme close up and camera movement of pan. This is where enigma is once again apparent.