Opening Titles Analysis

Dexter

Dexter is an American TV show set in Miami. The show is based off of the main character ‘Dexter’, a socially awkward man who works for the CIA as a forensic scientist specialised in blood splatter. His leisure time however is spent tracking down murderers and Killing them for himself. The opening to each episode shows Dexter's daily routine yet in a way that links ordinary things to Dexter's ‘secret lifestyle’.

The first shot for the opening of Dexter, the titles show are the producers and the word presents. It has been written in a bold font with only the producer's name in capitals to make it stand out and be easy to see. The white colour used for the text contrasts with the plain black background, also helping it to stand out. At this point there is no music playing, this makes the audience more aware of the title and is importance.

In the second shot of the opening scene, we can see Dexter hit a mosquito, leaving it’s blood on his arm; no titles have been shown. This is an extreme close up with his face blurred putting the main focus on the mosquito and his arm. The death of the bug links to the narrative of the TV show, telling us he isn't afraid to kill and maybe kills people often like they're pests. Diegetic sound has been used when slapping the mosquito to create realism, it wouldn't have been so effective without that sound.

In the next scene we are shown the title of the TV show ‘Dexter’. The font is very clear being shown in capitals and filling nearly the whole screen. The word has been made to look like blood with its dark red colour and drops of it. This links to the genre being a thriller and suggests in the TV show there is going to be a murder. The darker colours of red move throughout the lighter colour in the letters to recreate the movement of blood. The background is a brown colour which almost looks like old, stained paper.

In this next shot we can hear Dexter shaving using dietetic sound. Once again an extreme close up is used in bird's eye view. With the sound and the close-up being used together, it causes the audience to almost feel uncomfortable. This is effective and relates to the narratives of Dexter being a murder than is at times uncomfortable to be around. Once again no titles are used and there are only two props being used, the tissue and the razor. During shaving Dexter cuts himself and drops of blood falls into the sink. This is symbolic of Dexter’s ritual before he kills people. He cuts them and puts a drop of the victim's blood in between two glass plates.

The rule of thirds has been used here for the sinks drain being placed towards the left of the shot, and the blood splatters are in the middle right of the screen. This is effective as it shows us the blood yet also tells us it's in the sink, thus informing the audience.

This shot is an extreme close up of the tissue Dexter used to stop the bleeding when he was shaving in the previous shot. This scene switches from slow motion to normal speed, changing how quick the blood spreads out in the tissue. Once again the opening titles have showed blood as part of everyday life linking with the narrative of Dexter, killing as part of his life.

Here we see a close up shot of Dexter cutting into some meat. At first he cuts it from the packaging which gives it the appearance of a body bag, symbolising death. Then he continues to cut the meat when out of the bag. These two shots signify the narratives and sub genre. This action implies that Dexter kills people like meat, like their nothing. This also links with the second shot where Dexter kills the bug like it's nothing.

We now get an extreme close up of Dexter eating the meat he just cut and cooked. We can hear him biting into the meat and chewing. The close up and dietetic sound has been used to make the audience feel uncomfortable. This can suggest, although he's not, that he's a cannibal to someone who's never watched the show before.
 

When Dexter is eating his food, the tomato ketchup have been splattered on the plate to look once again make it look like or symbolise blood. Being mixed with the food it also suggests like the previous shot that's he's a cannibal. This links with Dexter’s day time job as a forensic scientist who specialises in blood splatter.
 

This shot is a close up of a orange being cut with a knife. The juice from the orange is like blood splatter once again linking with Dexter’s life. The background is also red which represents death and symbolises blood. The orange also looks a bit like human skin and the inside shows it isn’t a normal orange. It has a blood red colour which we can see in the next shot, this represents a person and how when you cut them, they bleed. The prop of a knife tells us that it is one of the weapons that Dexter uses to kill. All these previous shots have been purposely made to look like blood or certain methods of killing, like cutting or stabbing. This all symbolises the darker part of Dexter’s life by using a normal morning routine.

These two shots are extreme close ups of Dexter tying both props rope and floss around his hands and fingers. You can see he is using a lot of force to do these everyday actions. This symbolises Dexter choking his victims to make them pass out or to kill them. The first things seen in both these shots are the rope and floss wrapped around his hands, the camera then switches to get a better view of what he’s doing and it is then we can see he is tying his shoes/ flossing his teeth. The camera angle of the shoelaces around his hands is at birds eye view, we can therefore see both his fists balled up like he is fighting which can also symbolise his killer personality.

In this scene we can see a extreme close up of Dexter putting his shirt on. He has purposely put his shirt on this way to represent suffocating. By doing this it suggests this is a method in which he kills people with. We can see in the next shot when he actually takes his head out of the shirt, he gasps. This helps with the choking symbolisation. Overall the amount of blood used in this opening scene links with the TV Show. It symbolises his job as a forensic scientist that specialises in blood splatter and it also relates to his secret lifestyle of killing people who have done wrong. The music being played the whole way through is a soundtrack with bits of dietetic noises being played over the top. For example Dexter hitting the mosquito, him shaving and cooking food. Throughout the whole opening extreme close ups have been used to try make the audience feel uncomfortable with him last, perhaps suggesting he's dangerous. The only two titles that have been used are the producers and the title. With all the everyday items and foods that look like blood in his daily routine, it suggests Dexter puts on a act to hide his true self.