The opening of"Louis Theroux: Behind Bars" begins with an establishing shot of the prison from a fade out from black to a real interview between a prisoner and the host of the documentary which we witness through a handheld camera point of view as the camera pans between the two. Towards the end of this snippet of the interview, there is a brief shot reverse shot when Theroux ass what it is the-prisoner has done to end up with a sentence of over 500 years.
As Theroux enters into the inside of the prison building, the BBC logo fades into the bottom of the screen accompanied by upbeat, slightly optimistic background music which is contrapuntal to the scenario of thousands of serious criminals in prison. By using the BB logo, connotations of trustworthy and objective journalism can be interpreted. This sets up a montage of Actualisation from within the prison such a prisoner in a mask and cuffed which indicates a serious tone for the documentary. During the montage, a voiceover explains the prisons reputation, and provides an insight into what the programme is about. Diegetic sound such a metal doors being opened and locked create a typical setting for American prisons especially when we hear the sound of a basketball during the extract of the interview at the start; Prisons in America being famous for the courtyard of free time where men can be seen to play basketball or spend time working out in the boundaries of the court. Before going to the cells, Theroux is asked to wear a protective vest and rather obviously asks what this is for. As well as acting as medium for the audience, this forebodes the danger surrounding the environment he is in and adds rick to the documentary as we learn there also attacks within prison on guards.
After this montage, we are taken to an open spaced yard where the prisoners, through personal choice, are segregated into groups by race, Here, Iconography of the orange jumpsuit reflects the severity of the crimes here as this is often associated with prisoner son death row and also the vast size of the prison as there are a lot of convicted men in shot. Medium shots are then used on the body of Theroux when talking to the white group of prisoners. This is because he is the main person of the documentary who acts as an authoratative figure to the audience as he is a recognisable filmmaker for the BBC. At the end of the programme, a metaphor for the programme ending and perhaps some for the prisoners life outside of prison is seen when Theroux leaves the prison through the bars with the view from within the prison. He the exits the prison doors to an iconic sunset outside making us realise that life not behind bars is much brighter than behind them
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