MINDHUNTER Analysis

 MINDHUNTER Analysis

The clip I'm going to analyse is the official opening credits to MINDHUNTER season 1. I am going to be discussing things such as what I can see, what the genre is, the editing and the effect it has on the audience, the sound used, and so on.

In the clip, I can see someone setting up a tape recorder while there are occasional flashes of a corpse. From this, I am guessing that the genre is either true crime or horror. I know this because of the dark themes present; the tape recorder could be being set up to interview a criminal whom killed the person whose corpse which is shown, or a suspect of the crime. Upon further analysis, I've been able to spot that there are actually two corpses shown, as one of the shots show a single hand on it's own, while another shot shows a pair of hands set beside each other (tied together, I'm assuming).

Camera Angles

The camera angles used in this scene show the tape recorder being set up from up close, so that only the persons hands and the tape recorder are visible. The camera is also close up to the corpse that it occasionally shown, showing their hands, mouth, eyes, etc. These close up shots add a lot of mystery to the scene as the audience can't see the full extent of the murders, this makes them curious as to what happened and what is happening which may prompt them to watch the show.

Editing

The quick flashes of the corpses make you think that it is building up to something, and that something is going to happen or be shown near the end of the video, however nothing actually happens. This build up of suspense can make the audience feel uneasy but unable to look away because of curiosity. 

Sound

The non-diagetic soundtrack adds to the feeling of suspense and mystery. There are also hints of diagetic sounds, which are there to engage the audience. Sound makes it so the audience don't grow bored of watching the video, and to help increase the atmosphere of the scene.

Conclusion

Overall,  MINDHUNTER seems to be a crime related show in which criminals or suspects of a crime are interviewed. In the previous paragraphs i discussed the camera angles, editing and sound, and how each of these aspects affect the scene and make it more enjoyable/immersive for the audience. The camera angles make the scene more mysterious, as the camera is set up close enough to the object(s) of focus so that you can see what's going on, but you can't really see the full picture. The editing helps build up suspense and a feeling of uneasiness by showing quick flashes of the corpses while someone is setting up a tape recorder. The sound helps add onto the feeling of mystery and suspense, and it also helps engage the audience so they don't lose interest.