Title Analysis - Danielle Driscoll

THE GIRL WITH A DRAGON TATTOO

In this shot the picture flashes to the beat of the non-diegetic soundtrack  - The Immigrant Song. Before this even happens, the audience are shown a black screen with the faint noise of The Immigrant Song, perhaps implying the sequence is going towards them. We're unclear as to what exactly is being shown to us, thus creating enigma, but I believe it to be part of the logo for this film - dragon tattoo. Low key lighting has also been used in this dark, sinister opening to build more of an atmosphere. The font of the titles is quite Celtic, shadowing it with a dark, bloody period. 

In this shot we see what looks to be dragon scales, embedding the idea of this dragon tattoo. Once again it flashes on screen to the beat of the soundtrack creating a fast pace, connoting the film will be action packed.

When the film title appears on screen it starts to be lured and taken over by black oil. At the same time the woman starts to sing this sort of Japanese tune that matches the font of the title, which I think looks quite Japanese. 

In this shot, a keyboard has been shown which is foreign as the letters are different and are in different places, this could perhaps establish where the film is set. There is also oil spreading across it, almost like a disease, connoting the girl with the dragon tattoo could also be like a disease and have control over others.

Here we see a pair of lips which I believe belong to a girl, and there is oil spilling out her mouth, almost like she's been possessed by this dark phenomena, suggesting it's demonic and evil. She also has a low lip piercing, connoting she's a bit on the wild side and rockish, stereotypically showing less care.   

I find this shot in particular odd, as to me it looks like some form of electronic sperm and later in the sequence we see them go towards this nest like egg. As they come together a nuclear reaction takes place where by this baton on fire ignites the oil and burns an eye, whilst both the human figures start is disassemble and a dragon is born. This is similar to a fuse when in contact with water - this might all be what's happening inside this girls head, lots of fury and pain, maybe down to a mans actions.

This shot shows a man drowning, which we see quite frequently in this sequence but with oil. This embeds the idea that this girl hates men. The effect on the titles also makes the letters slowly spread, especially the letter 'R', increasing the idea of a virus spreading. 

LUTHER

This is the second shot in the sequence and here we see the silhouette of a person, ideally a man who I think is Luther as the actor who plays him is Idris Elba. The surroundings are red and blotched almost like blood splatter, connoting gun crime. It's also an establishing shot as it appears to be in London. The non-diegetic soundtrack is also very chilled, which could be reflecting the complete opposite of Luther's life, which isn't calm at all.

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Here we see what looks to be barbed wire from a prison, which too helps to emphasize the crime in London and in the programme.

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SHERLOCK 

This EXT LS shows this is Piccadilly Circus in London, therefore it is an establishing shot. The pace of it is quite quick as it is sped up, perhaps to show the night rush in the capital of England. It almost looks like it's from a POV of a CCTV camera as it is slightly blurred and is at a high angle, connoting Big Brother is always watching you; ironic when the drama is to do with investigation. The parallel non-diegetic sound complements this as it's quite pacey, although the high pitched tones make it sound manic, suggesting the manic situations that happen in London. 

This shot too is like one from a CCTV camera, that also establishes where the programme is taking place, which is Central London as we can see the London Eye. This shot was dissolved in using a filter to help it flow better, and to show the continuous energy, night and day in London; the sped up pace helps reinforce this idea. The title 'SHERLOCK' is placed deliberately on the lighter area of this shot as is complements the dark font that has a slightly rustique effect to show time passing over a period of weeks, months or years.

As the individual strings are played in the shot, we see a string on the violin being plucked at the same time showing a connection between the two, making the non-diegetic sound more powerful. This shot is shown in the opening sequence as Sherlock likes to play the violin. Along with this are two names of the actors which fade in. They are shown at this point as this is one of the most least active and darkest shots in the sequence, making it easier to see what is written.  

Here we see a chemical liquid about to be dispatched from a pipit. During this shot there is a slight jump in distance as the text gets larger and in effect does the inanimate object at 0:22 seconds, along with this the non-diegetic sound has two fast keys played one after the other. This is another perfect place to include some titles, and so it does, once again using a slight rustique font to continue that idea of time passing.

Here we have a straight cut from the previous shot, similar to an eye-line match  inn terms that they've followed  exactly from where the solution was coming from and where it was going to - a sample of blood. As the solution starts to spread, the titles start to enlarge, showing they have been magnified by the solution. I think the titles have been placed on the blood sample instead on the white background as they were able to play around with effects and enlarge the text.

This microscopic view is of the previous shot where we see the blood sample. The last three shots of the sequence really help the flow in particular, as they're all of the same topic just zoomed in. Once again, the credits are placed here as they show well on the dark rouge background. The non-diegetic sound is also slowing down, noting the sequence is coming to an end.