How does the credit sequence from Dexter work?
The Creative director , ‘Eric Anderson’ , saw the letter forms in DEXTER look almost identical right side up as well as upside down. Crime scene photography also played a key role in the context of the creative ideas as it showed the mundane or normal everyday things to be sinister, recontextualising how the audience view the ordinary or everyday things such as the morning routine.
Eric Anderson wanted to examine the way an audience looked at everyday things:
"Everything, no matter how mundane or beautiful, has an undercurrent of violence to it. It is just a matter of how closely you look. We are conditioned to see a blossoming flower as beautiful. But if you look closely, if you look differently you will see it more like an explosion. Here we see a mundane morning routine illustrated in extreme close-ups showing the underlying tension found in everyday situations making violence a part of everything"
Eric Anderson wanted to examine the way an audience looked at everyday things:
"Everything, no matter how mundane or beautiful, has an undercurrent of violence to it. It is just a matter of how closely you look. We are conditioned to see a blossoming flower as beautiful. But if you look closely, if you look differently you will see it more like an explosion. Here we see a mundane morning routine illustrated in extreme close-ups showing the underlying tension found in everyday situations making violence a part of everything"
How did they fit in with the concept of the character of Dexter?
This fits with the concept of the character Dexter as on the whole he looks normal, but really there is something slightly wrong, such as the letter forms of 'DEXTER', the ‘T’ and the ‘R’ which are upside down. Much like his character, on the outside or to soceity he seems normal/acts normal when secretly he is a serial killer. The use of jump cuts also emphasise the sense that there is something wrong with him as the jump cuts make his routine seem even more sinister. This raises questions and sets an 'enigma code' in which the audience are intrigued to find out more.
How did the actual sequence communicate this meaning about Dexter?
The mise-en-scene of ordinary things that can be seen as violent enhances the audiences understanding that although things may look normal, they have a darker meaning. The morning routine certainly shows this as the simple act of making breakfast, becomes disturbing by the use of close-ups on the food and the knives that are used in preparation of it. The Orange especially does this as it looks like a normal orange, but however when it is cut into, it is red inside which connotes that ‘Dexter’ will be far from ordinary television program and subtly gives indications into of the unusualness of the character Dexter.
The mise-en-scene of ordinary things that can be seen as violent enhances the audiences understanding that although things may look normal, they have a darker meaning. The morning routine certainly shows this as the simple act of making breakfast, becomes disturbing by the use of close-ups on the food and the knives that are used in preparation of it. The Orange especially does this as it looks like a normal orange, but however when it is cut into, it is red inside which connotes that ‘Dexter’ will be far from ordinary television program and subtly gives indications into of the unusualness of the character Dexter.
The shallow depth of field helps to add atmosphere as if you normally look at things you are conditioned to see them as beautiful, where as if you look closely, shown by the extreme macro close up shots of his routine such as his face, you think it is almost grotesque and out of the ordinary as it is a different way to look at something. The creative director was aiming for what he called ‘unpolished grittiness’.
Noir films portrayed a more dark side about urban life filled with crime, mystery and often a horror feel. In ‘Dexter’, noir lighting was used to enhance the feel that underneath the character surface, that there is something dark about him.
One of the key aspectss of film noir is the lighting which gives a a crisp and precise image and figures outlines in the darkness. Shadow was extremely important to create a certain mood, like in the opening sequence of ‘Dexter’.
How did the choice of music anchor the meaning of Dexter, why was it chosen over the Xploding Plastix track?
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| Crime Scene Photography: The window where Martin Luther King was shot from. Because we know that he was assassinated from this point, it seems a lot more sinister |
The undercurrent violence that Anderson wanted was meant to represent Dexter, whilst the Xploding Plastix track wasn’t liked by the creators of the show as it seemed too violent and didn’t fit Andersons concept. The second track however gave the audience a playful view of the character Dexter as well allowing them to imagine how normal things can be perceived as violent and at the same time humorous. The first track didn’t work as it came over as too strong of being violent and not the concept that everything mundane can be seen as sinister if you look at it closely
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| Cutting meat or fish seems like an ordinary task but if you look closely it seems almost violent and disgusting. |
There are a number of good points here that demonstrate your understanding but check your spelling and grammar especially in the last paragraph. The picture of the window should be linked to your comments about crime scene photography. The final picture is more about looking closely not just thinking about.
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