narcos title sequence analysis

7/23/2019 Narcos Title Sequence Analysis

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NARCOSTitle Sequence Analysis



Shot Types and Camera

Angles• Throughout the sequence it is made very

clear that a lot of the shots are a form of

surveillance of presumably Pablo

Escobar.

• A lot of the shots used are birds eye view,this gives the impression of the

surveillance being performed during a

helicopter fly-over. The aerial view helps

the viewer to establish that this is a

series about searching for Pablo

Escobar.• The sequence integrates shots that are

from the series and real life footage of

Pablo Escobar, this is to remind the

viewer that the show is based on real

events and people.



Lighting

• imilar to the lighting in the !True

Detective’ title sequence there is a

spectrum of light being used to portray

both sides of the story. "henever a shot

to do with the #EA comes up their isn$t

much colour in the shot and because ofthis it creates quite a clinical feeling

around the organisation. "henever a

shot of Escobar%s lifestyle comes up the

colour is very prevalent and because of

this creates a fantasy loo& to his life,

which is reasonable considering he

thought he was living his dream.



Mise en Scène &

Typography• Aside from the recurring investigation-

style notes in nearly every frame, it is

made clear to the viewer what is going

on in the given time period from what is

shown on screen.• "e are given an idea of what Pablo

Escobar does when a briefcase filled withcocaine is shown then moments later the

same shot'briefcase is used only this

time it is filled with money, which is

obviously the fact that Pablo Escobar

sold cocaine for a living and it is made

clear how much money this could bringhim.• "hen shots of Escobar%s !fantasy life% are

shown, attractive women are often the

central interest points of the frames,

which leads to the suggestion that

Escobar%s fantasy life was heavily made

up by women.



Editing• (n many shots some form of white writing

can be seen overlaying the actual shot

itself. There are also grids, highlighted

locations and crosses over people%s

eyes. All of this is representative for the

investigation ta&ing place at the time,

these are clearly some form of #EAresearch'investigation and this is made

clear specifically by the suspect

elimination shot in the bottom right.• The white writing that overlays these

shots is often variations of crime scene

notes or in some cases it is a chemical

equation for presumably the drugheroine.

• Another noticeable edit is the placement

of the real Pablo Escobar shots and what

comes before and after them. (n one

scenario a shot of Escobar is shown then

cuts to a shot of burning buildings, which

is suggestive for what he has caused.



Sound

• The soundtrac& to the sequence is called

)Tuyo” by Rodrigo Amarante and was

composed specifically for the series.• The trac& is in panish which relates to

the conte*t however if translated it can

be seen that the lyrics relate to the actualnarrative of the series.

• The song fits into a genre &nown as

!narcocorrido% which is a genre of music

based on drug &ingpins in +entral and

outhern America.• The song is often described as hypnotic

which could be related to the drugheroine which is one of the main centre

points of the storyline in the series.



Summary

• verall ( feel that the title sequence

served its purpose and also was quite

entertaining to watch.

• The most effective part of the sequence

was the investigation-style te*t as well asthe use of chemical equations to

establish that this is an investigation into

the +olombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

• (t is made clear from the very start what

the series is about and the sequence

also provides basic characterdescriptions.

narcos title sequence analysis

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