Luther opening sequence analysis
Introduction to the
series
Is a British crime TV drama starring Idris Elba who plays
the Detective chief inspector John Luther He is dedicated to his job although
can be possessed, obsessive and sometimes violent and finds it difficult to
prevent himself from being consumed by the darkness of the crimes he deals
with. His first investigation of Alice Morgan paves the way for a complicated
nemesis and companion relationship.
Opening sequence
analysis
The sequence
begins with a red watercolor like background. The red connotes danger and
blood suggesting the genre of crime. With black silhouettes of Idris Elba
himself. The First shot is a medium long shot with a silhouette of the London
skyline slowly fading in This connotes a mysterious tone for the audience
suggesting the genre of investigation. The shot quickly cuts to a close up shot
of a silhouette of the back of his head with the London skyline faintly in the
distance still with the reddish hue. In this shot large white text is presented
at the bottom of the screen saying “IDERIS ELBA” this suggests to the audience
he is the actor playing the main character in the series this idea is further
enhanced as Idris is the only character in the sequence. The shot then cuts
once again to a medium shot of the back of Idris with the London skyline in the
background however this time the water colour is spreading out from the middle
in green and dispersing into the red. The dispersing of colours could be a
suggestion of the crimes being investigated and solved. It then cuts to a
greenish yellow close up of what looks like an ex-ray of someone’s teeth but
could also be 
interpreted as someone’s lips. This could suggest that in the
series not everything is always as it seems this brings a slightly mysterious
tone. The range of different shorts continues and the London sky line allowing
the audience to get an idea of the setting. There is continuous use of shots of
telephone wires over the London sky like shots. These could be seen as a
connotation of the complexity of the crimes and investigations. 
All shots vary with
long shots and close up shots of police tape, hand and fingerprints and bullet
holes through glass these are all significant to the genre of the series. Similarly,
there are shots of barbed wire suggesting he is a successful detective as the
wire connotes prison. 
The overall sequence is low-key lit further enhancing the
theme of crime as it suggests dark secretes and wrong doing. All credits are
white as it stands out from the dark background this makes it clear and easy
for the audience to read. The sequence then ends with a reddish / orange tone
with a long shot silhouette of Luther facing away from the audience because he
is facing in the opposite direction to the audience it suggests there is
something mysterious that we are yet to uncover. The final shot also shows the
big white texts that reads “Luther” letting the audience know this is what the
title of the series. Throughout the whole sequence the song “paradise circus”
by massive attack is played. This is interesting as the ambient dubstep seems
inappropriately relaxing for the genre of the series, this could be a
reflection of two contrasting perceptions of Luther himself one being the good
willed detective fighting crime and the other himself being the criminal.
interpreted as someone’s lips. This could suggest that in the
series not everything is always as it seems this brings a slightly mysterious
tone. The range of different shorts continues and the London sky line allowing
the audience to get an idea of the setting. There is continuous use of shots of
telephone wires over the London sky like shots. These could be seen as a
connotation of the complexity of the crimes and investigations. All shots vary with
long shots and close up shots of police tape, hand and fingerprints and bullet
holes through glass these are all significant to the genre of the series. Similarly,
there are shots of barbed wire suggesting he is a successful detective as the
wire connotes prison. The overall sequence is low-key lit further enhancing the
theme of crime as it suggests dark secretes and wrong doing. All credits are
white as it stands out from the dark background this makes it clear and easy
for the audience to read. The sequence then ends with a reddish / orange tone
with a long shot silhouette of Luther facing away from the audience because he
is facing in the opposite direction to the audience it suggests there is
something mysterious that we are yet to uncover. The final shot also shows the
big white texts that reads “Luther” letting the audience know this is what the
title of the series. Throughout the whole sequence the song “paradise circus”
by massive attack is played. This is interesting as the ambient dubstep seems
inappropriately relaxing for the genre of the series, this could be a
reflection of two contrasting perceptions of Luther himself one being the good
willed detective fighting crime and the other himself being the criminal.
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