Horror Opening Title Analysis

Se7en:

This opening title sequence begins with a close up shot of a ticking barometer (time keeper) followed by another close up shot of a notebook and credits layed over. There is shallow focus to hide the identity of the hand moving. The sound of ticking builds tension and an enigma code. This enforces the idea of there being some sort of time pressure in the story. The first two titles are the production companies name and the producer. They are written in block capitals which distances them from the actual film. The actors are written in handwriting as the titles fonts to show realism of the psychotic character and their involvement and relationship with the film. The handwriting is flickering and moving from side to side which creates a feeling of disturbance, and also emphasis' the fact that the killer can’t be caught. The movies killer is shown shaving off his finger prints and looking through disturbing photos to introduce the horror genre. There is also a use of the colour red which shows links to blood, anger and is a convention of the horror genre. There is also a use of CCTV which introduces a stalker story atmosphere as the killer has been following the whereabouts of his victims. There is a clip of him crossing out the eyes of a photographed man which could be a visual metaphor for their death. Less important actors or people involved in the film (e.g. the editor) appear later in handwriting over the top of similar visuals that we have seen already. The ending is the non-diegetic music stopping and ending suddenly. It had an eerie effect throughout to add drama and an enigma code for the audience.

Dawn of the Dead:

The initial thing seen by the audience is the name of the production company written across the screen. It is written in red and then the writing trickles away like blood. This shows the codes and conventions of the horror genre immediately. There is then a wide shot of a mass group of people who all appear to be praying at the same time. This links to the way in which a group of people could follow a leader and are potentially brainwashed to commit acts. Another production company is then shown on the screen in capitals before it also runs away. The red colour connotes to death and anger. There is then three very quick creepy clips which are edited together very fast to build tension and shocks the audience as they are unable to see what they are. This builds up tension to at last the title appearing very large on the screen in mainly capital letters. There continues to be creepy shots of zombie like creatures on the screen. Over the top of this there is a voiceover taken from a news report which runs alongside the sound of a heart beat speeding up gradually. The effect of the voiceover is that it makes it feel very realistic as all the viewers will have heard a news report like it before. Secondly, the sound of a heart beat connotes the feeling of worry and anticipation so creates an enigma code for the audience. A non diegetic song starts playing over a montage of clips from a tv news broadcast and are edited together with the loud noise of an old TV changing channel. The main colours in the clips used are black, white and red. This demonstrates the conventions of horror genre. The diegetic sounds of screaming and sirens can be heard and create a feeling of fear. Lastly, all of the additional sounds and video are stopped and it ends on a creepy voice crackling in and out. The lack of a visual means the audience focus on the words being said and suggests it has more importance than initially anticipated.