TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF EXISTING PRODUCTS:THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES TITLE SEQUENCESCOTT CARTWRIGHT

G324 ADVANCED PORTFOLIO – BRIEF 6 (CHILDREN’S TV DRAMA)

The title sequence opens with two parallel lists that consist of numbers and letters, these are rapidly alternating and changing, simulating a computer program type effect.

The wind effect that takes the centre third of the shot is forever spiralling and we follow this shot down a tunnel, very much similar to the Time Vortex effect in the Doctor Who title sequence.

As the shot continues the wind tunnel begins to draw in the letters and they travel with us down the tunnel.

It is evident from the screengrab to the right that the BBC logo fades onto the bottom centre of the screen. This identifies to the viewer that the program is made by the BBC.

The next shot then shows the title card appear, it visually appears from left to right.

In the title card, the words ‘The’ and ‘Adventures’ appear in a typography much like that a typewriter font.

The words ‘Sarah Jane’ appear to be in a handwritten style font. The music in the title sequence is very much similar to that of the Doctor Who theme tune, thus making it memorable.

The whole effect of the computer like imagery combined with the space time vortex visuals could epitomise the character of Mr Smith, who is a Xylok. (A crystalline species that when combined with a computer screen literally becomes the most powerful piece of technology on earth- in the series, he is hidden in Sarah Jane’s chimney breast.)

The inclusion of the colour pink can link to the fact that the protagonist is a woman, and pink is a stereotypical colour associated with femininity. It also represent gentleness and can symbolise how Sarah Jane deals with conflict carefully, not going in ‘guns blazing’.

The title card then flies towards the screen and the next text appears;

“starringELISABETH SLADEN”

This starring credit is the only one to feature in the opening credits, this could be due to the fact that Sladen is considered to be the prestigious performer in this and the fact that she is the main protagonist of the series.

The typography again has the typewriter effect which suggests further this notion of the series being about mystery, Sarah Jane Smith’s occupation is an Investigative Journalist so this would create the link of typography to character and to the genre of the program also.

This then flies towards the screen and the wind tunnel effect continues, this is the clean version of the title sequence but normally the episode name and writer would appear also.

The use of colour throughout this title sequence is very much reflective of the genre, the use of reds, purples and blues give the title sequence the science-fiction/space look that the producers of the video were clearly intending to achieve.

The use of reds indicates the idea of danger being involved in the life of Sarah Jane Smith as the whole concept of the show is that she fights aliens and that itself is dangerous, but this is enhanced when the teen companions are involved.

The colour blue suggests intelligence and confidence, something that all of the protagonist possess. Even the antagonists are sometime intelligent and some most definitely over-confident of themselves, which is their weakness, something the protagonist can defeat.

The colour purples suggests courage, ambition and loyalty, traits that are most definitely associated with Sarah Jane, she is loyal to the one who taught her (The Doctor) and ambitious to keep Earth safe. Something to note is how the idea of a female character being courageous isn’t always the norm in a narrative, as depicted by Propp. Sarah Jane subverts his ‘spheres of action’ as she is portrayed to be at times fearless, but when the antagonist finds the right spot to hit, the emotion becomes clear.