By Bailey, Tom, Sachin and Marcus

1) Identify 2 OTS conventions in Dexter

• The opening sequence introduces the film title which is what the audience expect the opening sequence to do and therefore is a convention.

• In addition, the opening sequence presents the actors/ the cast memebers which is typical of any OTS as the audience associate them to display who is in the film and the main people involved in creating it

2) Connotations of the conventions within the OTS of Dexter

1. Red-shows superiority, alertness, blood, anger and danger within the series Dexter; it is a masculine colour and so the audience is expected to be mainly male.

2. Drop shadow- is used to give the audience the impression that the object/text is raised above the object behind it-distinguishing the genre as a result.

3. Laces, knives, mosquito's and oranges (crushed)- these objects/beings used in the OTS, represent the acts that Dexter will make within the series e.g the laces represent strangling and so ultimately death and the orange being crushed represents a head being crushed...

1. Bold text- establishes priority within the OTS-it gives references to blood and so connotes the impression of murder within this series-giving a narrative enigma of what the protagonist/antagonists motives are.

2. Capitals-are used for visual effect to emphasize the narrative enigma-highlighting the blood theme and crime thriller as a result. Arguably, foreshadowing events that will follow in the series (Dexter leads a double life-he murders the guilty). Moreover, capitals denote a louder, almost shouting pronunciation...

3) How does the OTS's from Go and The walking dead compared to the OTS of Dexter• The font in Dexter is bigger and bolder letters that are all in capitals

then other openings such as Go, the OTS also uses under shadow for the credits to make it stand out more.

• The OTS for Dexter gives the audience a clear understanding on what the show is about(murder), this can be compared to another opening such as 'The walking dead' where both OTS give short clips which in a way foreshadow events in the show.

4) Why does this OTS have the conventions you named in Question 1

• This OTS shows many normal day items which are used to represent different methods in Dexter's different killing methods.

• for instance the shot where Dexter is tightening his shoe laces is made to look like he is straggling someone.

5) What conventions/purposes are not applicable and why?

There is no clear establishment of the theme as Dexter’s character is shown graphically making food with no reference to violence/murder. However, there is the use of colour to signify this nature of violence, present within the OTS and the TV series as a whole, as the colour red is used to represent blood and so ultimately, this illustrates Dexter’s persona/ alter ego that gives the audience an insight into his misunderstood mind of being a psychopath. Furthermore, the setting isn’t established due to the fact that the OTS’ main focus is to primarily show the protagonists morale's- establishing the genre as a result. By showing Dexter surrounded by man’s raw/domestic materials, the audience are able to see how easy it is for Dexter to use such lethal equipment (that in a sense could mask his true identity-being a mass murderer) therefore signifying the dangers that will ensue later on in the series… Moreover, it is clear from the outset that the characters of the TV series are not the main focus of the OTS as the audience are only shown the ‘chief protagonist’ in the opening credits-emphasising the importance of the assumed protagonist as a result.

6)Are the conventions in your OTS typical in films in the same genre?

• The opening sequence establishes the protagonist which is similar to most OTS The film title is set which is bold therefore highlighting it.

• The genre is clearly introduced because of the constant reference to blood which connotes it is going to be a slasher type film

• However, the setting is not established which is unusual for an OTS. This

therefore makes the audience focus more on the character rather than the setting which is the purpose of the film.

7) Evaluate the effectiveness in Dexter's OTS

The sequence is very effective because: • It is very enigmatic as the audience do not get a clear

indication on what are his motives

• A mystery is created as the OPS is careful in not revealing exactly who he is and what is his purpose therefore creating tension because the audience still cannot identify his motives

• The constant use of blood foreshadows future events because the audience assume that this person will be involved in killing but are not certain if he will be the criminal therefore achieving a narrative enigma