Textual Analysis of TV Drama Title Sequence

Title Sequence:
-attract people with the theme tune
-signitaure
-identity
-so people know what they are watching
-show where the programme is set/time period
-name of the show
-alerts people that show is starting
-shows the characters
-people in the setting
-tone/style/pace


Dexter Title Sequence:

Normal morning routine filmed to make it look weird and scary.
-normal with a hint of sadisium
-Dexter
-name of main charactor
-dark tone
-theme of murder
-he looks miserable/empty
-associations of him with death
-casual killer
-music
-sneaky but casual/jaunty


Sound
-emphasising sound
-foley track when he is:
-eating
-shaving
-cooking
-slicing orange
-killing the insect
-blood dripping
-flossing
-pulling out keys
These are all digetic sound.

-creepy music
-jolly music but the sounds he is making make it creepy
-ding at the end
- music tune fades away when he gets outside (matches his facial expression)
-odd sounds within casual tune
-rattling shakey noise makes it creeps
-music anchores the meaning of the image
-unnatural
-wrong
These are al non-digetic sound.

Cinematography
-Start - focus on mosquito, kills it, camera focuses on to Dextors face (smile)
-Extreme close ups - e.g. cleaning blood, cooking, cutting orange,
-shows intimate detail
-close up on face before leaving house
-air of mystery. Do not see his face properly until the end
-mysterious, there is a dark side of his face and a light
-he seems like a normal guy but he has a dark side
-when you see the meat it is like the camera is in the pan
-focus on the lock showing him looking away


Editing
-Dexter is written in blood
-jump cuts : him waking up and him shaving, the blood drips in the sink and him wipeing the blood slithering down his neck and him cutting open the meat
-jump cuts - normal things have been cut out to emphasise death related things
-meat has been slashed loads of times connotes slashing flesh
-way he eats sounds crunchy - cannablism
-in control does not seem like a crazed killer - calm killer planned well
-crushing grounding coffee beans

Mise-en-scene
-blood - alot of red= orange, ketchup, title, murder, violence
-clothese white t-shirt (normality) t-shirt used to show smothering when being put on
-facial expression- creepy and seems like a physco, but is the opposite when he leaves the house
-props - the way he shaves shows that first sign of blood
-normal things- morning routine - but the way they are being used and anchorage of music suggests murder and violence
-way he does things e.g. putting knife in egg and twisting eating meat straight off the knife etc shows evilness