Conventions of the Opening Sequence of "Trainspotting"

British Social Realism // Production Log Five

British Social Realism // Production Log Four

What have you learnt about title devices? 

This week was focused on how the opening credits of films are presented to us, which I have learnt is very important for the audience. They have to be interesting to draw the audience's attention as they are the first impression of your film. Many films use the opening credits to establish the genre and themes that may appear in the film, this leaves an enigma amongst your audience and keeps them interested. 

I have learnt that to keep the opening interesting for the audience, the credits are short, but are kept on the screen long enough for them to be read. They are also always in a clear font and colour so the audience can see them. In British Social Realism films the colours are usually black or white, to keep them simple as it emphasises the film is realistic and not as fictionalised as Hollywood films. Also, to keep them short, only key roles are featured in the film's opening, for example, the production companies are first shown, followed by the main actors, then key names from the crew are mentioned, finally finishing with the editors, producers and lastly the director of the film being shown.

In British Social Realism films commonly, the production companies would be shown with a plain black background, but the rest are super-imposed graphics meaning they overlay the images shown to us. 

How will this impact your production? 

I plan to show my graphics in the same way that I found in many BSR films, which shows my production companies on a black screen, but the credits to follow being on a transparent background, so the opening sequence does not bore the audience. I also plan to use a plain colour for my font (black or white) so it is simple and easy to read, which is also another common factor amongst realist films.  My credits will also follow the structure I mentioned above which is as follows: 

Production Companies, 

Main Actors, 

Crew, 

Editor, 

Producer,

Director. 

What methods might you use in the opening and why? 

I quite like the idea of a smash mouth opening to throw the audience straight in to the story. I feel this is a really effective way of drawing the attention of your audience and making them aware of the themes of the film within the very first minutes. A really good example of this type of opening is "London to Brighton." I found this opening quite unique and it interested me straight away and left me asking questions to what might have happened before the scene being shown to me. I need to research more into how the credits are shown with this type of opening, but I like the idea of showing the production company and having some action and then showing the credits on top of calmer scenes that follow. The credits would be clear, but not take much attention away from the scene so would most likely be shown in black or white.

British Social Realism // Production Log Three

This week I researched more into my commissioner, Film 4's background and ethos. I have found that they are behind a lot of the funding for many British films and have supported many social realist films in the past. They tend not to produce films suitable for family audiences, they prefer more controversial and sensitive film topic ideas. This means they have developed a reputation for producing British social realist films as well as many other genres. The films they invest in tend to show the true hardships of a lower class life in Britain, how people can be discriminated because of social class and sometimes the rebellion against the mundane life they live. They also look at political views and topics like race and sexuality and deal with them in quite an extreme, graphic way. I have learnt that they spend lots of money and time in supporting independent directors to offer a platform to the British film industry. They try and invest £500,000 per film at a rate of 20 films a year. Film 4 have produced some really successful films that have gone on to win awards even if they had relatively low budgets. 

This means I need to ensure that my opening sequence conveys a serious topic, such as domestic abuse or drug experimentation in a new, unique, innovative way. I feel my film idea has to be truthful as the film ideas they tend to produce come from true events or a way of life, even if I portray it in an extreme way. 

I also learnt more about sound in British Social Realism. Sound is really important in films as it helps the audience navigate and understand the text. It also creates a mood and atmosphere and tells the audience what feelings they should be experiencing. British Social Realism films would usually mainly use diegetic sound and not use many sound effects as they would want it to be as realistic as possible. I also found out that Foley sound is not often used in social realist films as it takes away from the realism. Foley sound is a naturally occurring sound but it needs to be re-recorded. It is usually used to enhance believability as it makes the sound match more to what is on the screen. It is not used in British Social Realism films because they would want the footage to be raw, so it makes it much more realistic for the audience. I also learnt about mode of address, which is the way the text speaks to the audience and it includes the way the language is used by the characters. In British Social Realism films, the mode of address may help us identify regional identity through accents or age group perhaps through slang. Also, in social realist films the dialogue is delivered all at once, because the actors tend to work around an improvised script making it much more suitable for this type of film as it is more realistic. I also learnt about non-diegetic sound for example sound bridges. Sound Bridges can be used in British Social Realism films as they bridge the sound on two separate shots and link them together. The two separate shots are usually at two different locations or time periods so is effective way of moving the story along. However another example of non-diegetic sound is a sound motif. A sound motif is when a character has a piece of music that the audience would always relate to them, which wouldn't be suitable for a realist film and is much more common in superhero films. Another example of non-diegetic sound is a voice-over, which again like sound bridges has been used in realist films before. Voice-overs could even be considered diegetic sound in some cases, for example listening to a character's thoughts. 

Example of Foley Sound: 

Example of Sound Bridge: 

This will impact my opening sequence as I need to consider what types of sound I will use in my production. For example, the music I will use while the opening credits are on the screen needs to relate to my film idea in some way but not be to repetitive or overpowering for the audience. I will also need to think about what regional identity I am trying to portray and make sure that the mode of address matches this. 

Commissioner Factfile

Who is the company? 


Film Four is a British digital television channel available in the UK, it produces, distributes and exhibits films. It is owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. They own and operate other channels too such as Channel 4, 4seven, E4, More4 and 4music. When asked about commissioning priorities, Film Four responded with: 

"We look for range across our subject matter and budgets, though we prioritise stories with contemporary relevance, based around British led talent or content.While we are not prescriptive about the kid of material we are looking for, we are particularly interested in distinctive voices and work that aims to push the boundaries, within any given film genre."

There is advantages for the success of films they produce as they are committed to airing the films they produce on both Film4 and Channel 4 on television.

What do the company produce?

Film 4 aim to fund around ten to twelve feature films a year. "We invest £15 million annually in developing and financing films for theatrical release in cinemas, working collaboratively with filmmakers and usually in partnership with other funders." Film 4 often co-produce with other companies for example the realist film "This is England" was produced by Film Four productions and Warp Films. They traditionally contribute around 15-25% of an independent film's budget. Film Four have built a reputation for producing kitchen sink dramas otherwise known as social realist films. They aim to show the hardships of working class life in Britain in the most realistic light possible. They often use real locations and untrained actors and are often set in regional, heavily accented areas. These types of film deal with some controversial or sensitive themes of the time period the film is set in. Popular social realist films produced by film 4 include, "My Beautiful Launderette," "Rita, Sue and Bob Too" and "Trainspotting." It is clear through researching Film 4 that they are mainly interested in controversial topics in films and innovative ideas instead of particular genres. However they have funded and developed other genres of film, romance, comedy, horror, science fiction and so on.

Where is the company based?

FIlm4 Productions is a British film company who are well-known for backing a large number of films made in the UK. Their main aims is to develop the film industry in Britain but they do not exclude creative, innovative ideas from outside the UK. They fund films internationally, even in America.

Why is the company important to the UK Film Industry? 

Film 4's ethos is to develop British talent and be a leader of innovation in the British Film Industry. They also aim to invest around £500,000 per film at a rate of 20 films a year. Film Four also support international independent film makers by co-investing in interesting foreign film ideas. Film Four offer a platform for British and independent cinema by committing to show each one of Film Four's productions on Channel 4 and FIlm 4. These key values of Film 4 means that they help develop the British film industry, as they do not exclude low budget films or independent directors. In 1992, the film "The Crying Game" produced by Film Four was very successful in America. Also in the 90s films such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Shallow Grave" were big successes. In 1996, Film Four had a very successful year with film productions with films such as "Trainspotting," "The Fully Monty" and "Brassed Off" found success at the UK Box Office. All these films were produced by the UK, showing Film Four help develop the UK film industry. Danny Boyle is a director who has worked on five Film 4 Productions, including "127 Hours," "Trainspotting," "28 Days Later," "Sunshine" and "Slumdog Billionaire." He has won the Oscar for "Slumdog Billionaire" in 2008, and works in both film and theatre. 

Conventions of Institutional Credits in "This is England"

This Is England (2006) — Art of the Title

In the opening sequence of This is England, the first clip is of Roland Rat which is a British television puppet character which first aired in 1983. We then see images of the computer game, Space Invaders which was released in 1978. Images of the band Duran Duran were also shown, as they were first formed in 1978 and were then considered the genre of 'new romantics' which were another youth sub-culture at the time of the skinheads. These clips set the time period of this film, which is 1983. We also see images of news articles and clips of important times that shaped history in this country from the 80s. This is accompanied by 'ska' music, which is associated with the skinhead movement popular at this time. The flashback images are clearly trying to show a strong sense of patriotism, especially in the image of three skinheads holding the flag. We also see many images of the royal wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Diana which occurred in 1981, showing the time period and patriotism to be important to the characters in the film. This introduces the themes of the film to the audience within the opening credits. We also see images of soldiers from the Falkland War which is another influence to this film and clips of Margaret Thatcher as she was an important role in politics in the 80s and had an effect on people's lives. This again hints at what possible topics may be tackled in this film.


Typography: 


The typography used in this opening sequence of This is England is quite rough and gritty, definitely not smooth hinting towards darker undertones contrasting to the quite upbeat and patriotic opening to this film. As you can see the letters seem to be broken in places, perhaps preparing the audience for a more serious atmosphere as the storyline is much more serious and intense than the opening credits make out. 


0:05: 

This first credit shows the films co-production companies, FilmFour and the UK Film Council who invested in this film. This shows the film to be British, as FilmFour tend to invest in films by UK Directors and the UK Film Council is funded by the National Lottery suggesting This is England had a low budget. 


0:10: 

This credit also shows another two production companies involved in this film, telling us it had a lot of support and funding across many different production companies. However this makes the audience assume their involvement is not as big as the first two companies shown to us. 



0:16:

This production company shown on its own in this credit makes the audience assume it was the most important investment in the film. Warp Films is an independent production company and have worked with the director of this film, Shane Meadows a few times after the success of this film. This suggests that Warp Films and the director, Shane Meadows had a quite tight partnership when making decisions on this film. 




0:21: 



This production company shown to us again on its own in this credit is Big Arty Productions. This company is partly owned by Shane Meadows who is the director of This is England. 



0:23:

This credit is shown straight after the last, showing the director's own production company and then the director's name. 



0:34-0:39:

This credit shows the film's title on an image instead of black screen. It also lasts a longer than the other credits, while the title starts of small, and slowly gets bigger while the image shows a block of flats that looks quite rough introducing us to the location the film is set and hinting at the social class of the characters.

0:42-0:45:



This credit is the first actor introduced to the audience. This means that this actor is the main character in this film. For this film, Thomas Turgoose plays "Shaun" who is the main character of This is England. 



0:49-0:52:


The next actor introduced to the audience is Stephen Graham, who plays "Combo" in this film. He is also a very important or main character in this film hence why he is one of the first actors to be introduced. 



0:55-0:59:



The next credit introduces the actor Jo Hartley who plays "Cynth," Shaun's widowed mother. Her character has a direct relation to the main character, making her role very important also. 



1:05-1:07:


The next credit introduces two actors together, meaning the importance of their character's role in the film has started to decrease,  and perhaps shows that the actors shown before received higher amounts of money for their involvement in the film. Andrew Slim plays "Milky," who still is quite a main character in this film, and Vicky McClure plays "Lol."


1:11-1:14:



This credit again shows two actors together. Joe Gilgun who played the role of "Woody" and Rosamund Hanson as "Smell."






1:28-1:31:


This credit introduces three actors, again showing the bottom of the hierarchy for character roles in this film. Andrew Ellis plays "Gadget," Perry Benson plays the role of 
"Meggy" and George Newton acts as "Banjo." 


1:36-1:39:



Again three actors are shown to us in this credit. Frank Harper who played "Lenny," Jack O'Connell as "Pukey Nicholls" and Kriss Dosanjh who played "Mr Sandhu."




1:42-1:45:

The three actors shown to us in this credit include, Kieran Hardcastle who played "Kes," Chanel Cresswell as "Kelly" and Danielle Watson as "Trev."



1:48-1:52:

The next three actors introduced to us are Sophie Ellerby who played Pob, Hannah Walters who is just listed as "Shoe Shop Assistant" on IMDb, this shows that this character isn't as important as the others and this is again shown for Michael Socha who is known as the "Bully" on IMDb. 




2:07-2:11: 

The opening sequence then tells the audience the people that worked behind the scenes and camera. The script supervisor is shown to the audience who is responsible for maintaining the internal continuity of the film and recording the daily progress. The audience is told who is in charge of casting, which is a pre-production process where actors are selected for a character role. We are also told the hair and make-up supervisor in this credit. They oversee the make-up and hair and ensure it is appropriate and are mainly responsible for continuity in the look of the characters.


2:14-2:18: 

Next, we see who the costume designer was, this means they designed all the costumes for the production. This means it had to be appropriate to the themes they were representing in the film. We also see who the hair and make-up designer was. They are responsible for the whole make-up and hair department and are responsible for the overall design, application and continuity of make-up and hair throughout the whole production. We also see who the production designer is. They are responsible for the whole look of the production and they work closely with the director as they have to select sets that visually tell the story.

2:24-2:28:

We next see the music supervisor in these opening credits. This person would combine music with visual media. They are in charge of all musical aspects of production. We also see who composed any original music in this opening sequence. In this case, it was Ludovico Einaudi who is and italian pianist/composer.


2:34-2:38:

In this next credit, we see who the Director of Photography was. They are in charge of the camera and lighting crews in production and are responsible for artistic and technical decisions related to the image. This is on its own in this credit suggesting it is considered more important than the ones mentioned before. 


2:44-2:48: 

The name Chris Wyatt is shown to the audience who is the editor of this film. This is the creative part of post-production as the film editor has to select shots of raw footage and combine them into sequences to create a final motion picture. This again is shown on its own, showing it as a more important role. 


2:53-2:57: 

We then see names of the Line Producer and Co-Producer. The line producer works alongside the director who is in charge of all artistic decisions but has the ability to change certain aspects of the film. They help the director see any issues that may occur and encourage an idea to be changed. They are responsible for human resources and any problems that may occur in the process of filming. The co-producer plays a substantial role in producing the film but has less responsibility compared to a producer.


3:01-3:06: 



Next, the audience would see the names of the executive producers. In this case there was three people and they were not in charge of any technical aspects of production and not involved in day to day production.



3:15-3:19: 



After all the different types of producers, we see "Produced by: Mark Herbert."This is the main producer, so is in charge of all the different producers and oversees the whole production. 



3:25-3:33: 



In this final credit, we see who wrote and directed the film, in this case, Shane Meadows. This is the most important role behind the scenes, as it was shown last.



This film's opening credits appear in the order: 

-Various Production Companies 
-Director
-All Actors (small cast-actors start of with level of importance & how much they feature in film)
-Script Supervisor, Casting, Hair and Make-up Supervisor
-Costume Designer, Hair and Make-up Designer, Production Designer
-Music Supervisor, Original Music
-Director of Photography
-Editor
-Various Producers
-Main Producer
-Writer and Director

What will I take from this?
This film's opening has shown me that the production companies and directors shown at the beginning of the film are put on a black screen rather than on top of the clips and images like the actors and crew. I have also found that there are many ways an opening sequence can be used to make the themes of a film clear to the audience. This film did not jump straight into the main part of the film, but used flashbacks, articles and images of things popular in the 80s to set the time period and hint at what the film may be about. I have also learnt that there are many different roles that need to be credited in the opening sequence which I will be sure to use this breakdown as a guide when creating my own opening sequence. This opening sequence has shown me also that music is an important part of an opening sequence, as you want something that is related to your film but not overpowering for the audience.

An Analysis of Sound in "Kidulthood"

The first sounds we hear in Kidulthood is a non-diegetic soundtrack. At the beginning, the music, which has dubstep elements contrasts to the shots of the school children, which you would relate with innocence. The music seems more suitable to shots of gangs as it gives quite a mysterious feel and grimy vibe yet is quite fast tempo and intense, this is effective as it connotes there may be conflict of gangs or an element of corrupted youth revealed later in the film. However, it shows the type of music the characters might listen to, and the type of music the target audience which is young people as it is a quite popular genre of music amongst the age group being shown to us. The music goes really well with the shots of the playground. (0:02-0:15)

The diegetic sound including the dialogue that can be heard is the voices of the characters who have a strong London accent, which is suitable as the film is set in West London, so shows us where the film is set. The film hints at the age group and social class of the characters through the slang terms used for example, "proper ghetto" and "buff" which shows us the characters to be young and hints at a lower social class. This represents the location to be quite rough, for example one of the characters is heard talking about sexual acts, showing the corruption of youth as they shouldn't really be of an age where that it is a topic of conversation. There is also ambient chatter in the background to the separate conversations between certain characters which helps immerse the audience in the film and sets the scene of a school environment well. (0:19-1:00) There is also another diegetic sound which is the pillar drill, this isn't used for very long which hints at its involvement later in the film. (0:15 and 0:33)