Yr 11: ANALYSIS OF OPENING CREDITS

Today we analysed the opening credits of a television thriller Zen (BBC 1 drama). CLICK HERE
Use the images to illustrate your points. 

We noticed the ways in which genre was signaled:

• Images of guns to signal the world of crime

• Images of keys to refer to prisons

• The protagonist in a dark, formal suit with sunglasses, looking formal and authoritative

• Buildings relating to Italian police headquarters ‘The Questura’ clearly inscribed in stone

This detective series featuring Aurelio Zen is set in Rome and is based on the novels of  Michael Dibdin. I noticed how the opening had many visual clues that signaled the Italianicity of the drama, such as:

• The red, white and green vertical bands with connotations of the Italian flag

• Silhouetted images of St Peter’s Dome as well as bird’s eye shots of St Peter’s Square which are iconic emblems of Rome, renowned the world over

• Repeated images of Fiat Cinquecento cars.