This is my textual analysis of the title sequence for the Children's TV Drama, The Sarah Jane Adventures'.

1. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF EXISTING PRODUCTS:
THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES TITLE SEQUENCE
SCOTT CARTWRIGHT
G324 ADVANCED PORTFOLIO – BRIEF 6 (CHILDREN’S TV DRAMA)

2. 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.

3. 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’.

4. The title card then flies
towards the screen and the
next text appears;
“starring
ELISABETH 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.

5. 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.