Brief Analysis of British Thrillers

So what I realized while I was looking over the different aspects of my analysis I have realized that I have not really analyzed many British thrillers. So here I go...

TAGGART : 

In this show which is another crime solving type of show the opening credits are quite different to the rest of the shows because this one doesn’t even show which actors are in the show. There names appear briefly in the opening sequence but the actual actors are not shown. Instead what the audience does see is that there is blurred shots of a town where everything looks a little bleak and there is not much life in the town. Also some of the shots seem to have been filtered through like a glass of water which is the blurriness of the shots. Then another thing that I noticed was that the music used is talking about how this town is so mean which could warn the audience that the show is about a dangerous town one where a lot of crime is committed. Also the creators name appeared at the beginning of the credits not the end which can often be the case. Another interesting feature was that the name of the show was placed where you might have guessed that that was the end of the opening sequence but that was not the case. What the blurred effect of the filming shows the audience is that there is an air of mystery surrounding the town and that could be the crime element of the show. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isAG49eI4BA

LEWIS: 

This show I am lead to believe is a spin off show from the series called Morse. And in this show it is Morse’s side kick called Lewis who is the main character and someone who is struggling to get over the death of his partner. The opening titles very much like the rest of the series are very subtle. They start with shots of a location and then the image blacks out with bold writing and shows the names of the actors in the series and not the images of the actors or the characters which makes the audience think that the show must be about the allure and the suspense not the plain nature of the show and also the different locations are important to the main plot. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDhQxJty8Nw&feature=related

Without a Trace Shot

This is a shot to show the establishing shot of New York which is used in the show Without a Trace.

Tru Calling Shots

This is a shot that shows how the name of some shows appears on the screen during the opening sequence.


This is a shot that shows how the creators name will appear on the screen right at the end of an opening sequence.

(THESE SHOTS ARE TAKEN FROM THE SHOW TRU CALLING.)

List of Main Features

The main features of an opening sequence:
- Name of show
- Name of actors and show creators
- Action shots
- Close up of actors
- Pulsing electric music
- Establishing Shots

NCIS Shots

This is a shot that shows the establishing shot of NCIS in the opening sequence and where the title of the show comes up.


This is a picture that shows the different action a character that will show that the actor name appears on the screen. This is agian a shot from NCIS.

Codes and Conventions of TV Thrillers

In the genre that I have decided to analyse there are probably a few main codes and conventions. As previously stated there is the idea of the order that the cast appear in and the main ideas of an opening sequence and there are a lot of main features. What the idea of showing things in an order of importance then the audience can understand that when creating a TV drama there is the idea of corporate control. By this I mean the idea that the creator specifically in American dramas all appear at the end of the credits and often right in the middle of the screen and it is made really bold and obvious it is a way of showing the importance of the creator of the show. Another feature is that if you consider the lighting specifically of the opening sequence then you see that most of the opening sequence of the thriller genre are often really dark and the don’t have much light not like you would expect a comedy or other light hearted show to have. What this is a sign of is that there is a lot of dark in these shows and that they are serious to some extent and it could even by a way of making obvious to the audience which is the binary oppositions and the fact that the main characters of the thriller are the heroes and they are trying to combat evil in whatever present society that they are inhabiting. The titles or credits are also important to a show in the genre of thriller they are often in a kind of typewriter or newspaper script they are not lose of fluid but solid and garish. Again I presume this is done to show the importance or seriousness of the show. I have already talked about the music of a show but again this is often a really important feature as it shows that reinforced build-up of tension and seriousness. The metronome is something that normally pulses at the same rate as the human heart beat and if you listen to the music it normally pulses and it shows that there is often a time limit in crime and it needs to be solved soon and the music reflects this and warns the audience about the show and the suspense that will be created. Also most opening titles music is made on digital instruments and keyboards rarely would you find an opening theme with live classical instruments. There is often the idea of building up tension and expectancy in the opening sequence of a thriller TV drama and strangely a common feature that seems to be reoccurring is the idea that when the audience is privy to viewing the characters of the show they are either seen in the close up to show the audience there faces or they are shown running or pointing a gun occasionally they are seen to be doing both of these things. The running shows that there is that idea of the pressure of time which is an important factor in building up tension and the pointing of the gun shows the action and how much an agent has to use their gun this is most commonly seen in American TV dramas. What this could show is a sceptical idea that producers are trying to get across to the audience which is that an agent is only as good as their gadgets and without their guns which are weapons of destruction they are generally quite helpless.

Opening Sequence Shots

Because the moving images that are often shown on an opening sequence usually come from previous episodes of the show they often use a variety of shots. This could be aerial and then close up medium shot and then a few long shots. The openings sequences of a TV drama will often have a lot of close ups used to show the audience who the different characters are and who the actors are. It is like a personal head shot saying this is who I am this is who I play. The use of the long shot and aerial are used to show where the show takes place the location of the show. But, the use of shots that show distance are mainly used in shows that are set in a specific location and not all shows use a specific location so they are more likely to focus on an iconic image and not really an establishing shot of a location. The medium shot would be used when a specific action was occurring to show the character in the moment. For example in Tru Calling there are mid shots of the main character running to save the victims. Also a long shot would mainly be used at the end of a sequence to show either where the characters  are or like where they are going and it is used for suspense.