American Horror Story
As part of my primary research I have watched the opening credits to American Horror Story, a popular TV series which started in 2011 and is still being aired today. The show is aimed at more masculine teenagers and young adults due to the horror aspect of the show but there is also some romance involved to suit the more feminine people. In every seanson the opening credits have the same non diegetic, scary, old fashioned music which makes the audience on edge and feel uncofortable as we associate this type of music with the horror genre. All of the opening credits have the same transitions between shots which is that it goes back and forth between the new and old shot before continuing fully to the new one, this gives the audience a feel of ghostly presence as it as though the shot is being tampered with. All of the shots in the opening sequence have very dim lighting, this is typical in the horror genre as is creates a scary and mysterious atmosphere and puts the audience on edge as anything could happen. The typography in the sequence has a rather old fashioned font which links in witht he old fashioned music which gives an unnerving feel, and each time this writing aparears on the screen there is flickering in the background which also links to the theme of the paranormal. All of the shots are close ups or medium close ups which make the audience really focus on what is on the screen and in this case it is all images of things to do with what the series is going to be about.
|
The Vampire DiariesI have also watched the opening credits to season 1 of The Vampire Diaries, this is an American TV show which began in 2009. It's target audience is feminine teenagers and young adults as it has aspects romance but there is also a lot of action and scary things involved which would suit the masculine audience. There is a red tinge to the shots in this opening sequence which could symbolise danger, but it could also link to the title of 'vampire' as the red could show the blood and also it makes the shot look quite old which could represent how vampires were common tales in older times. The shots also have quite dim lighting, this again gives off a feeling of uncertainty to the audience but the light that is showing is natural which gives quite a realistic look to the shots which contrasts with the sow being about vampires. Also the shots are quite faded which makes the shot seem in a way imaginary which does link with he theme of vampires. The music accompanying the shots in non diegetic, it sounds like a pop song sung by a female which could appeal to the target audience of teenage girls. The typography in this opening sequence is white writing in quite a plain font, this could link with the title 'diaries' as it could represent the type of writing in these diaries, also the writing being white could represent purity and innocence of the ordinary people in the series but the red swirls going through it could show the vampires causing danger. All of the shots are either close ups or medium close ups again to make te audience focus on one specific thing for example the characters in the show, their name will appear at the bottom of the screen and then a few shots of that character will be shown, this lets the audience know who is playing each character.
|