Everyone knows the sound theme of this cult TV show.

Even Today, the soundtrack is associated with all forms of conspiracies.

But what about the visual credits ?

 The X-Files is an American science fiction television series created by
Chris Carter in 1993.
➲ That's me !
➲ The series revolves around Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation (FBI) special agents
Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investi-
gate differents unsolved cases involving
paranormal phenomena in each episodes.

➲ M E N O   ! ➲ I W A N T T O
B E L I E V E   !
Like most duets, the two protagonists complement each other by their
oppositions. Mulder is a paranoid who despite everything, is always
right. While Scully is also a scientist who therefore constantly has a lo-
gical opinion that contradicts the theses of his teammate.
 THE CREDITS :

Are composed of a succession of

images and music, two inextricably linked
elements that respond to each other and that we
will however study separately in order to bring out
all the complementarity.

In this, the credits of The X-Files is a model of its kind,

because it appeals as much to our subconscious as to our hearing and our sight.

THE PURPOSE :

Present of course, the whole team that contributed to the

production of the series (actors, directors, screenwriters etc.).
But it mainly aims to make the viewer penetrate in an instant,
into the universe of the series,
its atmosphere,
its history,
in order
to allow an uninitiated to follow,
to take the series in progress
withoutf eeling excluded from it.

TO BE CONTINUED ...
 All
Allthe
theopening
openingisisaccompanied
accompaniedby bythis
thisnagging
naggingand
andmysterious
mysteriousmusic.
music.
Composed
Composedof ofaafew
fewlooping
loopingpiano
pianoacute
acutenotes,
notes,and
andelectronic
electronicambient
ambientsounds
soundslike
likethis
this
disturbing
disturbingwhistle.
whistle.TheThefirst
firstnotes
notesof
ofthe
thecredits
creditsevoke
evokesomething
somethinglike
likesmall
smallmuffled
muffled
explosions
explosionswhich
whichwould
wouldsuggest
suggestthe
thegushing
gushingofofsomething.
something.The
Thelight
lightof
ofthe
thetruth ?
truth ?
The
TheX-Files
X-Filesisisalso
alsoaadetective
detectiveseries.
series.SoSoour
ourtwo
twoagents
agentsare
arelooking
lookingfor
forthe
thetruth
truthhidden
hiddenininthe
the
dark.
dark.The
Theletter
letterXXreveals
revealsthe
thetitle
titleof
ofthe
theseries,
series,but
butalso
alsoaaletter
letterassociated
associatedwith
withthe
theunknown.
unknown.
Like
Like here, something dangerous taboo and forbidden. They will have no outside helpfrom
here, something dangerous taboo and forbidden. They will have no outside help fromtheir
their
superiors,
superiors, who on the contrary will constantly want to under the rug into the darkness. It'saa
who on the contrary will constantly want to under the rug into the darkness. It's
series
seriesthat
thatwill
willplay
playon
onchiaroscuro.
chiaroscuro.Why ?
Why ?
Creating
Creatingdiscomfort
discomfortthrough
throughthis
thisaesthetic
aestheticdirection,
direction,ininaddition,
addition,fades,
fades,crossfades
crossfadesand
andclassic
classic
cuts
cutsfollow
followone
oneanother
anotheraccording
accordingtotoan
anaapriori
priorinonexistent
nonexistentlogic.
logic.Bewildered,
Bewildered,the
theinattentive
inattentive
spectator
spectatorwatches
watchesaaseries
seriesof
ofmostly
mostlyindecipherable
indecipherableimages.
images.ButButwhat
whatdoes
doeshehesee
seeexactly
exactly??
The second picture shows a person in backlight pointing to a UFO. So here we see a person witnessing an
extraordinary phenomenon and who shows it to someone else, the heroes of this series will therefore be
witnesses and show us extraordinary phenomena. The mention at the bottom right, "FBI photo interpreta -
tion", reinforces the illusion that it is an archive image of the X-Files. This witness to a paranormal pheno -
menon obviously brings to mind the somewhat thankless status of Agent Mulder, pointing to the evidence
without ever being taken seriously. The premises of a major theme in the series are already taking shape:
the Conspiracy, the mystery that we are trying to keep hidden by all means.

➲ The scrolling, like a slide-

show that is accelerated,
is done in stop motion. It
stops with this close-up
on the UFO.
 What does this black hand which moves above a black surface covered with esoteric symbols mean ?
The crossfades follow one another, to the rhythm of a single and unique zoom in.
As we progress, the mystery thickens.
There is a paradox here, shouldn't a generic be above all explicit ?

All of these formulas here symbolize the weight of science

(embodied by agent Dana Scully),
as opposed to the unknown territories suggested by the paranormal.
Scully is the one who tries to disentangle the true from the false.
 Always in
crossfade , we see WE RULES THE WORLD
the face of a man AH AH AH AH !
who deforms out
of fear or pain.
The man is suffering
and seems to give in
under the inter-
vention
of various forces,
leaving us to sense
that the heroes
will therefore
have to bear many
pressures in order
to carry out their
 The following image is even more disturbing and might make us think of the images used for
the Rorschach test, as long as it does not look like anything known and therefore ultimately
everything we want to imagine. Thus, on learns here, that what we will be led to see can be the
subject of several interpretations and this will be the case even within the couple of the heroes.
This image is captioned with two words : "PARANORMAL ACTIVITY" which are gradually
approaching us. Which indicated, the area in which we will evolve.
 Between our two friends, a shot His partner, Dana Scully, is receiving similar treat-
It is only at this shot that the viewer unders- is inserted from which emerge a ment (like a fitting mirror). but the composition of
tands who are the protagonists. This Shot is admi- spectral shadow and a trunca- the frame is different: the frame is tighter, there
rably composed. In a slight zoom in, we discover ted text: "Government denies are fewer accessories (only part of his badge) and
the face of special agent Fox Mulder on his FBI knowledge …".The ghost that in his photo is located in the right part of the image.
card. We can see his badge and a pair of hand- essence, one cannot touch, is These subtle variations unconsciously lead the
cuffs. The male figure is therefore reduced to his here a concept which illus- spectator to wonder about the status of this cha-
professional attributes, to his pure function. The trates the State, to denounce its racter: friend or enemy ? Which camp defends Dana
image tells us nothing about his personality or omnipotence and immunity. Faced Scully ? FBI Special Agent Dana Scully will take a
his private life. So we know what's his name and with threats from this invisible different look at the events they will face than her
what does he do. antagonist, the two agents al- teammate, and will offer a different perspective.
thoug differents, want the same
thing : the truth
The following sequence shows the two agents entering a room frame by frame but together. Fox
Mulder with a gun in his hand, while Dana Scully directs his torch towards us. the two officers
will act together if possible, but their investigations will often distance them from each other. The
man receives the mission to act, to investigate while the woman thinks and suggests explanations.
Dana Scully the scientist, who will light her up.

The two characters seem frozen, the camera operates around them a jerky
movement in zoom in with axial cut, then the image dissolves in a :
Fade to white
 Dazzled by the truth,
they fall into the
hands of others
who will handle it.

The contrast zoom out (body)

And zoom in (hand),
accentuates the distortion and
and reinforces the kinetics of the
scene
 Conclusion :

The penultimate sequence is a close-up on an eye opening with the name "CHRIS CARTER" of
The creator of the series appears. The interpretation is basic here, the ambition of the creator of
The series is to open the eyes of the viewer.

The very fact that we see his name shows us his role (he is the Showrunner). This translates
The omnipotence of the creator who designs and imposes a coherent fictional world in order, at
The same time, to show, to reveal, to his spectators a hidden truth.

A truth that everyone makes his own according to his own convictions.

By this mystical, strange and captivating credits inwhich none of these images appear in the serie
(with the exception of the two main characters). The X-Files is TV show that asks more questions
answers. Everything is not clearly said, nor explained, and the series will play a lot with the
off-screen, on a feeling of apprehension that is not necessarily seen on the screen in shot.

"The truth is out there" does not only mean that the truth is somewhere else in an inaccessible
place but that it is there. Outside, not very far, maybe close at hand ! And it’s up to us, ultimately,
to reveal it to the eyes of the world.