Spooks Title Sequence Analysis

The background music begins straight away and sounds like it would fit an action film which immediately draws you to the film and establishes that there is going to be a fast pace storyline. The map shows that there is a team possibly on the chase or lookout for someone are some gang which implies that there is an element of crime and a team of investigators out to catch a criminal and there are different scenes overlaying each other to show that there is plenty of action going on. Also there are patterns moving across the screen which creates a sense of movement throughout the title which prepares you for the film.

The close up on a man at the start shows that he plays an important role and a low angle shot of a man walking towards the camera shows dominance. A close up shot on a female character subverts the stereotype of women being in a position of low power showing their facial expression as one of importance and authority. The man at the end is looking down at the camera with an expression and posture of authority. The camera shots and angles throughout the title sequence establish the importance of some of the characters before the film even starts which is effective in a short space of time.

There are some elements of the film that give you an idea of what the film is dealing with and what it may contain. For example there is a shot that has the screen size reduced and duplicated four times to create an effect like a window and the ticking clock shows that the film that is one of suspense. Also there is a shot showing an average day on a street but the shot is shown through a sniper rifle scope indicating that violence is included and that there is a secret mission taking place. The computer showing the mass string of binary is showing that there are some scientific elements to the show and the explosion is easily establishing that there will be action in it.

There are reduced sized screens showing the different characters in action and each character’s facial expression throughout is always an expression of having a serious matter on their minds.

The title sequence begins with shots of people sorting matters out and it is quite calm in the content of what is shown but as it gives clues to what is in the film the pace and intensity of the content picks up and the action rises which draws the viewer closer to the film. The music fades out as the film title comes on screen which after establishing the genre being possibly a mixture of action, crime, thriller, sci-fi calms back down again to begin the story.

The sequence draws the attention to what it contains and gives a heightened introduction to the film which makes it an effective title sequence because the film is introduced in an exciting way and we wish to create a similar introduction.