Deconstruction 3 : House of Cards

House of CardsSeason 1 : Chapter 1

David Fincher

Joe Palmer | AS Media Studies

House of CardsSeason 1 : Chapter 1David Fincher

After the studio titles there is the sound of a dog being hit by a car. This strong diegetic sound paints a very clear picture of what has happened even though nothing can be seen.


A mid shot of the main protagonist, Frank Underwood, cuts in from black in reaction to the noises. The camera angle is from below him presenting his sense of power. The camera tracks him as he moves towards the dog. We can infer that Underwood lives a simple life as he lives in a terraced residential area. The surroundings denote the normality of where he lives and potentially him. The night setting present a potential risk to the characters.


As the two characters approach the dog, it becomes the subject of the scene even though it is not on screen. This is achieved by the camera angle being that of the dogs, looking up upon the the characters. This connotes its sense of deprivation, helplessness and the characters power. The lighting continues to depict a dark and potentially dangerous environment and lights only one side of the protagonists face. This could connote Frank might have two sides to him, a good & kind side as well as a dark & mysterious side.


Frank says the line, “He’s not gonna make it”. This denotes his calmness and down to earth nature. The camera remains low and keeps the injured dog as the subject of the scene, even though it is not seen on camera. Underwood crouches to comfort the dog and comes down into the mid shot, this could connote Underwood’s power as he has to ‘come down’ to interact with the dog. As he does the music becomes more present and makes the scene more ominous than it would have otherwise been.


Underwood breaks the address and begins speaking to the camera directly, this use of monologue enables him to express his feelings and the audience can understand a lot more about him. The background music remains calm but ominous and the lighting lights only one side of his face, this could connote a dark side to his personality. The camera is below him making the audience look up to him, denoting his power. As he begins to strangle the dog the music becomes more fast paced and the bass is more present, this emphasises the tension in that moment. The camera moves lower still showing how underwood is overpowering the dog.


As all the other characters enter the scene the camera remains low, keeping the dog as the subject of the scene even though it isn’t on camera. As all the characters leave the scene the camera rises up again which could denote how Underwood’s life carries on regardless.


The music rises but remains calm to show the passing of time, change in location and mood, showing that this is a transitionary section. The shots reveal Underwood’s house which shows how he is rich and important as he has this very regal and impressive house. The lighting is quite dim and is familiar and relatable to night-time internal lighting of a house. Underwood and his Wife’s smart dress shows they are important people as they are wearing nice clothing and are obviously going out.


Wide tracking shots across the scene reveal information about time, location and setting. It is a high class New Years party. The scene is well lit with interior lighting providing a warm glow, signature of household lighting. We can denote that important people must be present as there is security lining the room.


Underwood breaks the address of the scene again and begins speaking directly to the audience. Steady-Cam, mid shots follow Underwood through the crowded scene like a third person. The camera cuts to other people as Underwood begins speaking about them, as someone who was in the scene would, this makes the viewer more involved in the scene. The camera is at the same height as Underwood however when he begins talking about his job at the end of the scene it is lowered so he is looking down at the camera, this could connote the importance and power of his job.


As Underwood says his closing lines of the scene the bass notes of the opening theme music can be heard, this could suggest the dark undertones and motives of the characters. The scene fades to black as the opening titles begin. In House of Cards the opening titles are detached from the story. The titles begin with the studio logos.


The opening sequence consists of timelapse photography of Washington DC and the important locations to the story such as the Capitol Building, The National Mall and the Washington Memorial. The music has a very strong bass to continue to present the potentially dark nature of the characters. It also has very regal sounding strings and horns which suggests the regal nature and importance of the US Congress and the work that they are doing. Fast paced keys and percussion denote the fast paced and frantic nature of the characters.


As the surroundings begin to fade into night time the music become more in the minor key and the bass becomes ever more present in the mix. This could further suggest the dark motives and play off the childhood superstition of fear of the dark. After the final title graphic is shown and the director and writers names are shown the titles fade through black in the start of the 1st scene. The bass notes carry over into the first scene before fading out after everything else.

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Deconstruction 3 : House of Cards