1. Microelements in “The wire
The Wire
There are several little elements in the wire that simulate an
atmosphere about the show, these are shown in the intro. One
of the microelements the intro included was distance shooting;
they shoot people from distance using a big zoom lens, this
gives an effect of someone watching the drug dealers. This links
in with the police theme of the drama.
Another element they have used in the intro is dirty lighting.
Dirty lighting gives an affect of darkness, mystery and drama.
Using this in the intro tells the audience what genre of drama it
is. The dirty lighting also promotes other microelement within,
making them more prominent.
Other microelements I picked up on were the Props, fonts and
settings. The props used in the intro shows straight away the
programs theme using drugs, police cars and guns, these all
relate with police, drama and danger to interest the watchers.
The use of the blood and drug makes the watchers interested
in the program making them keep on watching.
The font used in the open credits is messy and distorted; this is
aimed to scare, it directly ties in with a sense of danger. The
font of the credits shows the producer wants the program to be
seen as a police drama,. Files in which police keep records are
hand written much like the font, this shows a link to what the
audience should expect.
Finally the settings of the introduction give a sense of what to
expect from the program using council houses and derelict
building. These kinds of building introduce feelings that link into
their real life, putting the watch in the drama situation. Also the
people hanging around and gangs looking mysterious
contributes to the urban theme.