JC: What are the conventions of an opening & the opening of Se7en (Fincher, 1995)

Se7en (Fincher, 1995) opening sequence

- Film openings are often around 2-5 minutes long and usually include character exposition of the protagonist, antagonist or any other lead roles.
- Montage editing is frequently used to build a foundation of the story of the film.
- Titles and credits also feature in film openings in order to list the distributing companies and also to showcase any bankable stars which appear in the film. This heightens the audience's anticipation, as it is highly likely that they are watching the film to see the how the actors fulfill their roles in the film.

-In the opening sequence of Se7en (Fincher, 1995), all of these generic conventions are featured.
- Stars' names such as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman appear in a 'glitchy' font which mimics handwriting and damaged film reels. This connotes to an unsteady and deluded mindset of the film.

- Scratching noises are part of the soundtrack along with pulsing, electronic music, which contributes to the psychopathic aura.

- The images which appear in the montage are grotesque, and the mise en scene such as dirty fingernails, razorblades and images of people with censored eyes are bloodcurdling and highly unpleasant.