Dexter Credits

Dexter is an American television crime drama mystery series. Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan, a blood splatter pattern analyst for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department who also leads a secret life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have slipped through the cracks of the justice system.

Denotation:  Connotation

•  Mosquito Slap: Opens with a 'murder'; action seen as 'acceptable' and justifiable; Dexter smiles, showing his satisfaction- he finds pleasure in act of killing, the fact that he killed the mosquito before it sucked his blood suggests that Dexter likes playing games.
• Shaving: Shaving is a mundane action. Blood is a recurring theme and it appears once again in the shot where Dexter cuts himself. His reaction and 'calmness' to the blood running down shows that Dexter is unfazed by blood and gore- meaning that he is familiar. The cleaning up by letting the blood soak through the tissue also shows how Dexter is careful in cleaning up and collecting the blood of his victims throughout the show.
• Cooking breakfast: The cutting of the meat shows Dexter's skill with using the knife and cutting flesh; one of the ways in which he murders his victims; it also puts Dexter in an 'animalistic' light, which makes him seem more dangerous and threatening. For the egg, the yolk is represented as blood.
• Coffee grinding: The coffee beans are turned into grounds by being spun around and cut with sharp blades. This shows the destroying of one thing to use as another purpose.
•  Cutting Grapefruit: Again, Dexter uses a knife to carefully cut a grapefruit (really precisely and skilfully), the insides of the grapefruits after being juiced look like guts/distorted flesh. The accuracy of cutting reflects Dexter's tendencies to cut his victims up. The 'juice' of the fruit is represented as blood in this shot.
• Flossing: The tightness of the floss around his fingers shows that Dexter has more than one way of killing, although it looks uncomfortable and painful, Dexter finds pleasure in cutting off the circulation in his fingers.
• Dressing up: Dexter wraps his shoelaces tightly again, this suggests that this may be one of the method that Dexter uses to kill. The tightness of the cloth against his face shows suffocation but his expression seems to not suggest that he is suffering. 
• Out the door: The key suggests that being a serial killer is a secret and is 'locked up', the fact that he has neighbours suggests that he does not isolate himself (can still fit in with society) and that anyone can have a killer as a next-door neighbour. 

Camera

The extreme close-ups exaggerates and scrutinises every little detail. It is also suggestive and misleads the audience into thinking Dexter's everyday actions are something more violent. For example, the shoelaces scene resembles strangling someone and the shirt scene resembles suffocation or wrapping a dead body. Close-up shots also make everything more personal and intimate; we are in Dexter's personal space.

Editing

Jump cuts and rapid movements builds up suspense and keeps the audience curious.

Mise-en-scene

Dexter's morning routine is perfectly ordinary and 'everyday' but is put into a sinister light. For example, cutting meat looks like he is craving out human flesh. 

The dim lighting in Dexter's apartment contrasts the bright, friendly vibe in Miami (when he goes outside), this suggests that in his apartment, the audience are in his personal space- the darkness shows that his secret is dirty/dark.

Sound

The non-diegetic music is somewhat joyful and 'happy', which is unusual for a mystery/crime/thriller show. The contrast in the sound and images shows the two sides to Dexter's character, the calculated serial killer and the nice guy who he shows to his family and colleagues.