Entry Four

Ode To David Fincher

     An interview with acclaimed director, David Fincher,  specifically relating to his use and views of film openings has given me insight into the techniques used by a director known for creating fantastic title sequences. His opening for Seven(1995) has become iconic and one I feel is crucial to analyze in order to create my own. Uncomfortably eerie and alluding to the antagonist, the film's genre was perfectly reflected in every aspect of this opening. As a crime thriller with psychological, horror, and neo noir undertones, the opening made the audience feel uncomfortable, confused, and disgusted with the close-up shots of the serial killer antagonist, John Doe, doing acts like cutting his fingerprints off with a razor blade and obsessively writing in his journals. Of course, at this point the viewer has no idea who this is (John Doe appears almost 90 minutes into the movie and they never show his face in the opening), but the inclusion of the previous scene of the characters Detective Mills and Detective Somerset discussing working in homicide (which also sets up character development for both of them) followed by the creepy title sequence puts the idea far back in the head of the viewer that what is being presented to them will relate back to the two detectives previously shown. It alludes to the conflict, sets the tone extremely well, introduces the three most important characters, and captivates the audiences full attention in the span of only five minutes. Not to mention all the technique that was incredibly used to create the tone like sound and editing just to name a couple. Fincher really smashed this film opening and has done so again and again in nearly all of his films. A true master of cinema, but why? What does he do that makes his openings so admired? What's important to show the audience and what isn't? After fully reading the interview, I no longer have to infer.

   
     

Kopelson, A., Brown, S., Greenwald, N., Panitch, S., Harris, L., Saperstein, R., . . . Westmore, M. (Producers), Fincher, D. (Director), & Walker, A. K., Shore, H., Francis-Bruce, R., Khondji, D., Bottin, R., Albiez, P., . . . Picerni, C. (Writers). (1995). Se7en [Motion picture]. United States: A New Line Cinema release.

Perkins, W. (2012, August 27). David Fincher: A Film Title Retrospective. Retrieved March 29, 2016, from http://www.artofthetitle.com/feature/david-fincher-a-film-title-retrospective/

De Semlyen, P. (2010, October 15). Anatomy Of An Opening Sequence: David Fincher’s Seven. Retrieved March 29, 2016, from http://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/david-fincher-fight-club-opening-credits/