Pillars of the Earth is a historical costume drama set in the 12th century. The opening credits are very revealing about what story lines and events that will happen within the programme.
Although the credits are animated drawings, we are able to pick out key characters due to unique aspects of their image.
The first image we see in the credits is of a church burning down. This is a key story line, and is also a very striking image for the credits to open with, along with the name of the drama and the author of the book which inspired the series.
There is then a clever transition, as the fire from the previous clip engulfs the screen, and then proceeds to turn into a crown. The crown has connotations of royalty and a king being involved in the plot. It is also a possibility that because the crown is the floor, it is suggesting that the royals in the programme are seen as being disrespected, and are villains, or enemies of the main characters.
The crown then grows into a castle with turrets, and the camera zooms inside of the castle to reveal two men in combat and one being killed. The colours in this shot are very dark, showing the more sinister side of the story, however the blood is a very bright red. This tells the audience that there will be graphic violence involved, suggesting that the audience is likely to be above the age of around fifteen.
The blood then evolves into a tear of a woman who the loyal, primary viewers of the drama will recognise as one of the main characters, Ellen. The tear of blood could suggest that this character will have a very emotional story of suffering within the programme.
As the blood falls from her eye, it develops into the ginger hair of her son, the main character, Jack. Jack is kissing a woman in the programme called Aliena. The image of kissing has the connotations of love, romance and passion, which suggests to the audience that these themes will be present throughout Jack and Aliena's story.
The camera then zooms out to reveal a cathedral next to Jack & Aliena, which is a vital part of the story line as the whole series is centred around the building of a cathedral. The cathedral then falls down, which is also part of what happens in the story to reveal monks standing with a cross. This represents the religious side, as all of the characters are strong Christians, as most people were in the 12th century.
The final clip is the title inside the cathedral. It is in large font so that it stands out and has bright, firey colours behind it, which makes the image more striking and dramatic.
The music is very striking and dramatic. We can hear sounds such as cathedral bells and various other sound effects which tie in with the images on the screen. The music sets up the expectations of it being a period drama due to the classical nature. It is completely instrumental, which creates more of a serious atmosphere.
