The Special FX of CSI

Q: With so many shows of the same genre on the air, how do these programs set themselves apart from each other?

A: The answer for CSI is special effects.

CSI has two components working for it visually. One is the special effects used to show forensic technology and forensic investigators at work. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3cu1cdwVys

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Generally in CSI slowed down explosions like the one in the video above are used to visually explain what the characters on the show are verbally explaining. According to Danny Cannon, former writer-director of CSI, the writing team had to learn how to write "visually."

The same can be said for forensic instruments in a lab. Often in CSI, autopsies of dead bodies are portrayed through the point-of-view of the small camera used to get an inside look at a body without really cutting it up. Also, like the explosion, as a character on the show is describing how a person was killed, a visual portrayal will play as they are speaking. For example, if a person was shot, we the audience see a slowed down, detail by detail scene of how it happened.

The second component that makes CSI interesting visually is the color used to make the show darker and ultimately more unrealistic looking for TV crime shows. Lots of dark greens and blues are used to light the shows interior locations. Generally if a scene is taking place indoors, the lighting in the scene is very dark. This especially adds to the surroundings where a person was killed. Low lighting would give a place like this an ominous and unnerving quality. This heightens the audience engagement within a scene like this.