Director: Saul Dibb
Genre: Social Realism
Narrative Context:
So far, not much has been revealed. You soon become aware however, that he has been in prison and is getting out. Also, you soon become aware that the issue within this film is to do with crime. The location is shown almost straight away being set in the inner city of London. It becomes obvious that the main character is the boy who is being let out of prison, as he has alot of camera time. After this, you also realise he has a little brother who is very eager to see him, as he gets in his friends boot without him noticing! he also has a caring friend who takes the time in picking him up due to his realease.
Engima codes
The engima codes which are raised consist of the followng:- Why was he in prison?
- How long has he been in prison for?
- When was the last time he saw his brother/friend/mother?
- Does he have a father? as all that is shown so far is his brother and mum.
How Characters are Established and Represented
The main character being the older boy being let out of prison is represented in a way in which he can take care of himself almost, his reaction in seeing his friend and brother is almost like he doesn't need them there, he can cope alone, however is happy to see them. His brother is presented in a way which shows he looks up to his older brother, he wants to please him and be there to see him straight away. His innocence and want to fit in is portrayed instantly. It is soon noticed that him and his friend are fairly close, the way in which they speak to each other shows they are comfortable to say what they like, when they great eachother, you can almost see the fact that they have missed one another, but don't want to show this too much as it wouldn't partically fit in with their reputation!
Towards the end of the opening sequence, the mother is soon introuduced preparing for her son's return home, she is sorting out food and looks excited to be seeing him.
Location and Mise-en-scene
As i have breifly mentioned, the setting is within London. The part where they live, shows that they don't have lots of money, it isn't neccessarly run down, but it all looks down to earth and a working class area, this portays the amount of crime within the area aswell. The area near their house does look run down and conveys that they are living in a poorer part of London.
The mise-en-scene is the same throughout, the lighting being natural daylight and the props which are used such as the magazines the little boy puts under the bed and everything situated within the house, looks like normal everyday living and very down to earth as i mentioned.
Editing Techniques and their Effects
There are a few quick cuts to show the ongoing energy from one shot to another, for instance when the friend of the boy who is coming out of prison realises his friends brother is in his boot, there is a quick cut to him looking at the boot and then opening it, this creates good on going energy and makes it seem important that he has found him.
As well as this, there are cuts from establishing shots of him looking outside the window of the car back to a close up of his face, this creates a good effect as it shows the emotion and you can almost tell and definatly see how he feels to see what he hasen't seen in a while, it is almost reminding him of the past and the scenary of his hometown.
Camera Techniques
There are many camera techniques which create different effects, such as the use of fading the first shot with the titles coming up at the start, the effect this has is that it wants you to see striaght away what is going on with an insight of the actors in the film, the use of a number of long shots portrays the setting as well as seeing cleary exactly what is going on within that shot.
The zoom in's of his little brother and the close up shots allow you to see the emotion he is feeling, you almost get the impression that he feels left out, his brother doesn't seem that intrested in him as when they drop him off at home, he just says "later" and you can then instantly tell the little boy isn't happy. When him and his brother were talking through the duration of the opening sequence, he seems very happy to be with him and them to be getting on well, it seems to me that he idolises his older brother.
Sounds (diegetic/non- diegetic)
The on going music at the start of the opening sequence is an example of non-diegetic sound which soon quitens down when the dialogue starts, but however is still playing, keeping a real on edge effect. As soon as he has been released, and they have finished speaking, the music then gets louder. Through non-dialogue scenes, there is loud music creating suspence for what will be happening next, but for scenes where they is alot of dialogue the music is kept minimal if at all, to empahsis the converstaions and importance between the characters.
An example of diegetic sound such as the dog barking near the middle of the opening sequence, the noise of the cars and birds singing, shows that there is life around them and other people. It demonstrates the fact that they are in an inner city so therefore around lots of people constantly. Near the end of the opening sequence, when they get into an argument with these other boys, there is no music over the top, this empasises the reality and importance of this scene, there is no need to put the audiences mind's on anything else except the event taking place. When the little boy returns home to his mother at the end, the use of diegetic sound consisting of the reggae music illistrates the type of music they enjoy and the music of the era.
Iconography
The fact that from the start crime seems the problem, the main character just being let out of prison portrays the real issue within this social realist film. The run down location, casual not expensive clothing, small house
and the main fact being almost the first thing you see is him in prison, illistrates the genre of the film instantly. This is shown through the typical conventions of a social realism film.
Titles
The titles which first come up, appear on a black background with white writing. As i have experienced from analylising other horror films, what ever the genre is these two colours seem popular. They both work together to create a good effect, empahsisng the fact that real situations sometimes are black or white (right or wrong). Each title fades out after it has been shown for a few seconds, this portrays a clearer effect. During the titles, the first shot being the little boy in the boot of the car, as the background is still black at this point, you feel sympathy for him instantly, as he looks alone and scared. The little boy then shines a light onto the camera as he has a torch on him as he is in darkness, this then turns the screen from being black to white. This creates an interesting effect as the power of his torch has changed the colour of the screen, this almost shows us that the film is now beginning and gives us an insight of what's going on so far. The name of the film is again black on a white background in block writing, the advantage of block writing in this case is that it is to the point and easy to read, which is so far what this film shows us, easy to follow and to the point. The title then slowly fades out to a shot of him in his cell.
From just watching the opening sequence to this film, i think the intended target audience would be for people who are 15+, as although there hasen't been any extreme violence shown, there is the use of bad langauge. I think it is aimed for both genders, but partically males as they are known to be more intrested in crime and violence than females.
Below is the opening sequence:
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