RESEARCH: ART OF THE TITLE SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a Netflix original show based on the highly popular book series of the same name by Lemony Snicket, real name Daniel Handler. The very unusual format of the show means that every two episodes are based on one book in the series. This led the production team to design new title sequences and lyrics to the theme song for every two episodes. This title sequence is the first, based on the book Bad Beginnings.

It starts with the show’s title on a greenish gold background, using an ornate font. Next it announces the production team. We then get our first glimpse at an overall story board in the sequence. As this show can be considered a mystery/crime show, the theme of this sequence utilises a murder board, using different coloured strings to connect suspects, places and events. This is used to present the actors in the show, their names appearing on the screen as a hand puts a pin tied to string in the character’s photo. The first we see is Neil Patrick Harris, followed by Patrick Warburton, Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes, K. Todd Freeman, and Presley Smith. This is interspersed with different images linked to the episode such as images of a birdcage, several eyes, anatomy sketches and several newspapers. These symbols act as an enigma code as most viewers will have read the books, and recognise where each picture comes from. Therefore, these act as a hook to draw viewers in.

The theme tune also changes lyrics every two episodes, meaning the song can summarise what happened before and what will happen in that episode. This episode’s lyrics read:

Look away, look away

Look away, look away

This show will wreck your evening, your whole life and your day,

Every single episode is nothing but dismay,

So look away, look away, look away.

Three children lose their home, and go to live with someone awful,

He tries to steal their fortune with a plot that’s not quite lawful.

It’s hard to fathom how the orphans manage to live through it,

But how a decent person like yourself would even want to view it.

Just look away, look away,

There’s nothing but horror and inconvenience on the way,

Ask any stable person should I watch and they will say,

Look away, look away, look away,

Look away, look away, look away,

Look away, look away, look away.

During the bold text a sense of what is happening within the story is shown, but the title sequence also shows a preview of the episode itself. A snapshot of the Baudelaire children foraging in the charred ruins of their house is used, then a shot of the three being belittled by a gigantic door- carved with an eye. Count Olaf’s dingy sitting room is seen, and then Olaf himself threatening Mr Poe, the banker, with a map. Then seen is Olaf’s program for the play ‘The Marvelous Marriage’ hinting that he will marry Violet Baudelaire to gain the Baudelaire fortune. The Baudelaires despairingly stare at the ceiling, and then Sunny Baudelaire hanging in a birdcage feet in the air. Our first glimpses at Justice Strauss and Mr Poe are shown, vital characters for this episode. The title card is used but as if on a malfunctioning screen. A typewriter is shown being used, presenting a ‘Form of Will’, and a police file with Olaf’s photo. It is then shown that a tiny feather is used as a quill to underline key facts in a newspaper. The string is shown being looped around various pins. The next section is perhaps the most puzzling for newcomers to the show, as a very rapid set of pictures are used. They all depict eyes apart from the last two, which show a very important symbol to the story, the VFD symbol. This is genius as fans of the books will know that anyone within the VFD who defected was branded with an eye. The last shots show a decoder, which also excites fans as the decoder also denotes anyone part of the VFD. Flashes of different images on the murder board are seen, before the last pin is put next to Count Olaf. The amount of pins next to Olaf connote that all ties lead back to him, making it absolutely clear that he is the villain of this story from the start.

The lyrics also intrigue a viewer as they very explicitly say that you should in fact not watch the show. It is ironic as the production company wants you to watch it but by saying they don’t want you to watch it, they hook in the viewer. It is almost as if there is a deadly secret they know, and only by watching the show will you learn what this secret is.

Throughout this title sequence, glimpses of someone’s hands are seen, hands that book fans will recognise as Lemony Snicket’s hands. The books are unique in the sense that they have a 3rd person omniscient, narrator within Lemony Snicket, who frequently breaks the fourth wall. This is an effective book adaptation, even in the title sequence, as the murder board makes it clear that Snicket knows every detail about this story, something he couldn’t do unless he was retelling this story after it happened. It also makes it clear that Snicket, like us is detached from the story, leaving the viewer interested in what Snicket’s own backstory is. The last intriguing fact about this narrator is that Lemony Snicket is the pseudonym Daniel Handler used for the books. In the credits, the books are still written by ‘Lemony Snicket’ which would be picked up by astute fans, tying him into the story even more.

Lastly the whole title sequence appears to be under a filter,
that gives a ivy green hue to it. This tricks the mind into
thinking it is an old story, something reflected from the books’
tone. It also follows the tragedy genre as it tells the mind that
this is a gloomy tale not worth watching. It has a funereal tone,
with the photos almost being presented as a commemorative
slideshow to mourn them. All in all, this title sequence is highly
effective, as it has a unique selling point for new audiences but
also stayed absolutely true to the books, keeping the loyalty of
original book fans.

I can use techniques like looking at parts of a story, without showing
the whole of the story within my own title sequence.