shot by shot analysis of Thunderbirds intro

the first shot opens with thunderbird 5's number panel, it holds for about a second and crash zooms out with a kind of curve creating a real sense of momentum. when the zoom stops the whole thunderbird is visible as well as the backdrop. in this case as 5 is a space-station the backdrop is stars. as this happens a non-diagetic voice (narration) is overlaid pronouncing the number. after it has held for a further second after zooming out it cuts.

the next shots in this pattern lead down to 2. when it reaches 1, the beginning is the same - crash zoom out of number and full view of craft, although this time it has a longer pause after the number is announced by the voice. after the pause 1 begins to take of from it's launch platform until it is fully out the shot. this shot has a color burn styled transition to black at the end.

A cloud background appearsthen with a lightning flash a THUNDERBIRDS title zooms in changing from red to green. it then cuts.

a montage forms of various different action sequences from many episodes - all the clips are cut well with the beat and speed of the theme tune making it very punchy:
(all clips roughly 1/3 seconds long and from side angles)
-a long shot of penelopes car taking a jump and crashing down
-a long shot of a crocodile being blown up outside a mansion
-slow zoom mid close up of bad guy with glowing eyes in front of green/red gradient background
-mid long shot of thunderbird 3's engines lifting off from launch pad
-possible thunderbird doing repair with welder. filmed with tight framing of piping and other objects. mid long shot
-2 landing in a desert-like environment. slowly rotates head on towards camera. long shot
-Large aircraft making what seems like an emergency landing on runway with smaller vehicles beneath wings.
-cockpit setting with thunderbird at controls. mid shot
-large aircraft skillfully placing wings on support vehicles. close up on tips of wings making contact.
-4 approaching obstacle underwater surrounded by debris
-cockpit setting with different thunderbird at controls. mid close up. 4 crashes and sends shake through cockpit, pilot shakes forward
-4 hitting obstacle and seemingly exploding
-2 pursuing jet/bomb like object - seems like it's trying to knock it off course with it's wings. long shot with a speeding sky background
-1 landing in similar desert location to 2's earlier, this time dotted with pylons. steam and dust blasted out from beneath. long shot
-penelopes butler hanging on for dear life on top of ski lift trying to grasp winch/hook, travelling hi speed downwards with mountains speeding past in background. mid long shot
-craft hitting bridge (possibly the one 2 was attempting to knock off guard). huge explosion. extreme long shot - cuts to different angle of explosion. mid long shot, low angle

MONTAGE ENDS. this montage was incredibly fast, completely ignoring all rules of continuity to allow for maximum gung-ho action - it worked very effectively, sucking me in through it's intelligent sort of time lapse editing and fluid cuts in time with the music. interestingly along with the music they've edited the explosion sfx in too really adding emphasis to the rhythm - it's very enjoyable and i could clearly see how this could appeal to many audience ages/targets.

THUNDERBIRDS title comes back inwards from outside the screen back in red with a different theme tune as if the bit before was just a taster - it works well by keeping the audience hyped up and highly anticipant. the title keeps moving in until fills screen evenly and is legible. it holds for a few seconds and then it's copyright information fades in beneath it. this time the lightning removes the text instead of placing it there and it cuts.

individual characters appear. these shots are arranged like a still collage: they have an initial setting/location background, an image of their craft then a brightly colored matte of the person which is then swapped for the actual picture. this technique reminded me of gangster films by guy richie as he often introduces characters like this.
(each collage is roughly 4 seconds)
-first 1 and scott tracey appear in front of a control centre
-5 and john tracey appear in front of a space vista
-2 and virgil tracey appear in front of the beach landing strip on thunderbird island
-4 and gordon tracey appear in front of a coral reef
-3 and alan tracey in front of sky vista
-brains in front of lab
-lady penelope in front of mansion

COLLAGE ENDS. i found this collage very stylized and cool, adding a lot of sophistication to the mindless explosion at the beginning, it also allows the audience to quickly understand the characters via stereotypes before watching.

the final shot is of a factory in a desert landscape exploding all over with flashes between cuts to keep all of the actually separate explosions seemingly in one long shot. as "videcolor" fades in i cant help but think that the explosions are kind of tied into it's imagery as if to say an oxymoron like "devastatingly beautiful color".