Analysis of Opening scene
From Diagnosis Murder

Genre: Mystery/ Medical crime drama.
Set in Community General Hospital (fictional)

Characters: Dr. Mark Sloan, Lieutenant Detective Steve Sloan, Dr. Amanda Bentley, Dr. Jesse Travis, Norman Briggs, Nurse Delores Mitchell.

Story: Before the opening sequence of the episode it starts with a scene were Amanda is finishing an autopsy when she Dr Travis enters to see how she is doing he then leaves then she is attack by a supposedly dead man that was lying on autopsy table, as she begins recording her preliminary finding on what killed him.
The opening sequence of Diagnosis murder consists of a number of police, medical and criminal equipment crossing the screen in the form of a pan shot in slow motion (knife, rubber gloves, police badge, etc). During this the background is white with faded ambulance lights in the centre it then a magnifying glass appears in the middle of the screen and the lens is replaced by clips from other episodes in the series, , these are used to allow the audience to identify the characters (and the actors that play them) in the episode to come, This also allows the audience to see some of the exciting events that take place in the series.
The background falls away to reveal an orange background with a heart monitor reading running across it then returns to the plan white background. At the end of this sequence the magnifying glass fades out of the shot then returns in its practical fashion as it magnifies the letters on an eye test to reveal the name of the main character Dick Van Dyke and the Title Diagnosis Murder and then zooms in on the title.

Camera shots: Pan Shot, close up, mid shot, zoom
Props: The objects used at the beginning of the sequence are linked to the three themes of the show,
1. Crime – Knife, Playing cards, Gun, etc
2. Medicine – Blood pressure device, rubber gloves, X-ray, etc
3. Justice (Police) – Hand cuffs, Badge, Gun, etc

Tone: Bright clean white background adds to the tone of the sequence and might be linked the classic stereotype of a Pristine Hospital ward.
Editing: The editing on this sequence is fast paced and may refer to the fast paced life of the characters in the show.

Music: The constant up and down rhythm of the music through out the sequence might be linked to the rhythm of the human heart as it beats or the ups and downs of the story line.
The end of the music might represent death or the end of the story as it is also played at the end of the episode. Played by a Piano and Brass instruments, with some use of sound manipulation software.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-555gY1vKM