Analysing the opening sequence: This Is England By Marcus Gordon
Summary of the opening sequence:This opening sequence sets the era the film is based upon (which is the 1980s); and we can tell this by the iconic and historical events that can be denoted throughout the sequence such as, the royal wedding with princess Diana and prince Charles. The opening quite clearly acts as a foundation/starting-point for the film's story line as it gives us a gritty sense of what to expect whilst not giving away the plot. For example, we can denote, large groups of men fighting, houses with graffiti and explosions which connotes a rough circumstances. Therefore, it gives the audience a raw feeling of British society and uses the "kitchen ideology" to create a verisimilitude which gives a rough realistic feel of the working class lifestyle of individuals in this time period. By the use of props, such as the England flag, we can connote that the film will have a British feel to it. The costumes and the location add to this British realist feel as we can denote "skinhead" people in a graffiti infested building (skinheads was a popular fashion statement that evolved from the 1960s and was popular up onto the 80's). Therefore, this signifies the raw lifestyle of real working class individuals at this time in British life.
An Analysis of the institutional logo
Annotation of the titles O
On the next slide, I have written on a timeline on a sheet of paper in relation to when each title comes in. This will help me understand the how titles are arranged in British social realist films. Therefore, I will be explaining the job role and the reason why they appear in that specific order. O From annotating I have benefited greatly as I understand that each title should be a formulaic type of structure. I have realised that the duration tends to no longer than 6 seconds and if the title is shown for long, it is usually because it has a significant relevance to the film. In addition to this, I observed that significant cast/production members tend to come at the start or the end whereas the less significant members such as the script supervisor would most likely come somewhere near the middle. The directors and producers were typically displayed in the opening sequence near the end because they have such a vital role in creating the film. O In my British social realist opening sequence I will take in account that the title needs to be used suitably and that when it is used, it needs to flow in a suitable way that complements the arrangement of the film clips.
Annotation of the titles
Annotation of the titles
Annotation of the titles
Typography
This is an example of the style of the text that each title uses in ‘This Is England’ (2006). It has a rough and gritty presentation to it as we can denote torn parts in the text which connotes the raw nature of the film sequence.