Analysis of Thriller Films !

Se7en

Firstly, there is a book's pages being turned slowly and this builds up the sense of tension. The extreme close up of the person shaving off their fingertips, expresses the level of drama and also tension. David Fincher has used this shot to get attention from the audience and make them curious of why this action is taking place. The pictures of the people being stuck down also catch the audience's attention as the pictures and negative and creepy. The person going over words is weird because people usually highlight words on a page, not go over them in black pen, and this will make the audience curious of why this person is doing this and what the meaning of this may be. Also, the extreme close up of the words being crossed out grabs the attention of the audience, as they will want to see what words exactly are being erased, also what else may be on the page. The crossing out of the man's eyes and then face may represent murder/revenge, and these are aspects of the thriller genre.

The slow and deep music is catchy and also adds tension to the opening of the film, and it adds mystery and awareness to it, also the bass provides tension. The use of special effects, such as flashing provides the film with extra mystery and apprehension. As the music speeds up it increases the tension and level of mystery. It attracts the audience more and makes them more aware, and wanting to watch on.

David Fincher uses editing in the opening sequence to make it more effective. He uses 'cutting', where he cuts one shot and moves on to another shot. This is effective because it gives the audience an opportunity to see many actions happening in the shots, another reason why this is effective is because the use of cutting provides more tension and a sense of drama. He also uses cutting to introduce a title which also causes tension.The use of child-like text as the titles with a black and dark background, gives a sense of tension, darkness and non-adult like acts. The contrast of the white writing and black background express a sense of  drama and negative aspects. The text is small and not very bold however, but because of the use of a contrasted background, it makes it more exaggerated. The opening titles appear and then flash, which makes the text bolder, which increases the level of tension. The close ups and extreme close ups give the audience an opportunity to see detail and vital information, which gives them a chance to gain knowledge of what the film could be able.The opening sequence of 'Se7en' makes its audience want to watch on because of the actions in it. They will want to know what the film is actually about, and why this person is doing the things seen, such as cutting up pictures, shaving off their fingertips, blacking out words and much more.

As the audience are unable to see the character's face it makes them unaware of who it could be. However, this increases the tension and curiosity of who this person could be and their morals. The opening sequence introduces the genre 'thriller' as it expresses mystery, murder and crime. The audience may understand the storyline possibilities. Enigma is established by the music and images portrayed in the the opening sequence. It porttrays the sense of mystery, danger, revenge and murder.

Dexter 

The opening starts with an extreme close up of a mosquito on his skin which he splats. The

extreme close up and close up of his skin being shaved shows his power and domincance. The loud sound of him shaving and close up makes the audience aware and also exaggerates what has taken place and is actually happening in the drama. The blood then dripping from his neck also exxagerates what has taken place and represents murder/crime which symbolises a thriller. The cutting of the bacon makes the audience think of skin being sliced/cut and this being an extreme close up emphasises what is actually happening. The sound of him chewing the bacon and frying the egg is an exaggeration of the action, and the deep slow music builds up tension and drama for the audience. The slicing of the orage with the sharp knife makes the audience think of torture and murder as the orange is being slowly cut, and the close up shows the juice coming (squirting) from the orange. This is used because it represents blood squirting from someone, so the close up of it makes the audience aware of this resemblence. When he ties the flossing string around his finger, the extreme cose up shows the importance of his action. The strength he uses to wrap the piece of floss around his fingers shows his power and strength. Also, the way he pulls his laces and shows his power and may make the audience imagine someone being strangled.The close up fo dexter shows his dominance and the fact that he is in the opening sequence shows his importance and strong role in the film.

Most shots are taken with a dark background to cause tension. This expresses the sense of it being a thriller drama. The producer of this drama uses a lot of editing in this opening sequence. They use 'cutting' to put the different and variety of shots together. For example: the two shots of the mosquito on Dexter's arm and then squashed on his arm, show the audience the before and after of what has happened, and therefore give the audience information whilst doing this. This cut also grabs the audience's attention and awareness because of the surprise of the mosquito being squashed so quickly. The producer often uses cuts to show the before and after of an action.

The music in the background reminds me of gangster films, and this links to the drama, Dexter. As Dexter is similar to a gangster, and the opening sequence of the drama shows this. The sequence shows his dominance and power, and that he is the main character in this drama.

The opening sequence uses a natural light which is because it is filmed in the day and the background is often bright, however, low-key lighting is used in the sequence to portray the actions taking place, to express the negativity towards them and to cause tension for the audience.