RESEARCH: TITLE SEQUENCE OF STRIKE, BBC TV DRAMA

 Although Strike is a TV drama and not a film, there are certain qualities within the title sequence which relate to ideas that my group and I have had about our own film opening. The main quality about Strike which interests me the most is the music choices. The music is used in order to create suspense and mystery, something which my own film opening will need.

In the opening sequence of Strike, we are only given some details of the woman. She is the model of a brand named Guy Some. We know this because of the poster in her room once she arrives back to her own apartment. This explains why she was surrounded by paparazzi at the restaurant earlier that evening. The rest of the sequence raises a lot of questions and enigma. Where did she go? Who was calling her? Did she commit suicide, or was it murder?

The use of calm piano in the background makes the sequence a lot more suspenseful. It begins very gentle, single piano notes as the model is in the restaurant with loads of paparazzi waiting outside. As the sequence progresses, the music begins to change from single piano notes to louder, double notes along with strings. This immediately suggests something bad is about to happen, putting the audience on the edge of their seat. Furthermore, a heartbeat is introduced to add to the suspense making the scene even more dramatic. We begin to feel uncomfortable because of the music. Moreover, the model begins to get nervous when the doorbell rings. This raises a sense of jeopardy.

We see a close up of her face showing that she is nervous to open the door to whoever is on the other side. Once she’s braced herself, there is a cross dissolve, creating mystery which makes the audience question where she has gone. After the cross dissolve, the camera almost becomes our own eye. Moving from inside her room to out on the balcony, on to a shot of the street and slowly pans down to her dead body on the street with police all around her. I enjoyed how the final camera shot is one continuous flow, making it feel like the audience themselves are looking for the woman who’s dead on the street.  

Further long in the film, there is a part with a Robin in the Detective Agency. We are introduced to her as if she is the protagonist. Therefore, we believe that everything she does is right and that she is a good character and doesn’t mean to conflict evil. When comparing both the beginning scene (the sequence which is described above) and the scene with Robin and the Detective Agency, both characters are centre-screen. This hints that at the enduring quality relationship, that they are a team.

The soundtrack is multi-layered with a wistful, gentle opening that reflects the somewhat fragile emotional state Strike finds himself in at the start, with more uplifting lyrics that hint at the bond between Strike and Robin that overcomes difficulties ("Me and you, somehow we made it through"....."I'll walk beside you...") under which a heartbeat pulses, creating some tension. The crime /detective genre is clearly signaled through the mise-en-scene of the office environment with its desk, files, burning cigarette and coffee cup, with an emphasis on dark shadows and street corners on rainy nights. There is a mournful quality that hints at hidden depths that lie behind Strike's seriousness, suggesting that he is a lonely figure who is struggling but won't admit it, with perhaps a secret of his own. Visual codes such as an army beret with a badge allude to Strike's past as an Afghanistan war veteran. 

Overall, Strike is a great example of a TV drama which conveys aspects within film that I wish to use in my own film opening. The mise-en-scene which signals a crime/detective genre is similar to a bank robbery which I will create for my own piece. The music is effective also, adding not only rhythm but emotions to the title sequence of Strike.