Opening credits, also known as "intro," "main title," or "opener," are short sequences that introduce the production team, including producers, directors, and actors, as well as the creative and technical crew. However, nowadays, opening credits have gone beyond being mere introductory sequences and have become a kind of "preface" contributing to the storytelling process, making them an indispensable visual communication element for producers and directors. While opening credits are a product of popular culture, they vary depending on their genre and target audience. In the case of television series opening credits, they often bear traces of the culture in which they were created. However, with the influence of digital platforms, opening credits today share certain similarities as a product of popular culture and are woven with specific universal codes to capture the attention of the viewer, the sole consumer of popular culture. The aim of this study is to compare the opening credits of "Dexter," the most popular serial killer series among global audiences according to IMBD data from May 2022, and "Şahsiyet," the most popular series among Turkish audiences, in terms of formal (color design, motion design, typography, lighting design, and sound design) and content (semiotics), and to identify the similarities and differences between the two series. In this context, the taste preferences of both global and Turkish audiences will also be analyzed.
Book Title: Interdisciplinary Approaches in Visual Communication
Section Title: TV Series Opening Credits as a Product of Popular Culture: A Comparison of the Form and Content of the Opening Credits of the TV Series “Dexter” and “Şahsiyet”
Editor: Erdoğan Köse
Summer: Kenan Subaşı
Publisher: Kriter Publishing House
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