Genre: Social Realism
Director: Shane Meadows
Narrative Context:
Like the other two social realism films, not many significnant detials are revealed in the opening sequence. However, you are soon introduced to the two main characters, two little boys who come across as good friends, one being more dominant than the other, you distingish this by the events which the boys are involved in throughout the opening sequence, such as getting his fish and chips!
Enigma codes:
Some of the enigma codes which are raised from the opening sequence are:
- Why do they both happen to be in the middle of a field?
- Why did Romeo eat more chips if he knew he would get in trouble because of it?!
- Why did Romeo not get any for his friend?
- Why does Romeo and his friend always bicker?!
How Characters are Established and Represented
The two main characters being both the little boys are introduced striaght away, one of the boys acts more "in charge" and seems a stronger character, from this impression you think that maybe he might be the main character. You soon become aware what social class they are, but nothing else about them is noted. Once we are introudced to Romeo's family we soon become aware he doesn't have a father figure around, this being a typical convention of a social realism film, only having one parent. The other boys family is then introduced, we can see that he does have a father figure and his family seem more calm tempered to start with than Romeo's.
A few of the locations which we are introudced to in the opening sequence consist of:
- A field
- The local shops
- The chip shop
- Their houses
Unlike horror films, social realism films show a number of locations to paint more of a picture for the audience. The location also tells us their social class and the era which they are in, just like the other two opening sequences, the location looks fairly run down. The props and costumes of the characters also gives us an insight of the type of people who they are, from this it looks like they are from a working class background. It is all in day time so the use of natural light is used throughout.
Most of the cuts are quick and sharp changing from scene to scene. The use of continuity editing illistrates the varied editing techniques, this also shows the use of natural light. The 180 degree rule is used to orient the viewer in the scene, it also creates a sence of geography. In this case, the rule is used to show the expression of the boys and the chip shop owner, so the aduience can view all of the characters from each others point of view.
The use of close ups and establising shots seem fairly popular in socal relaist films, due to the fact it shows the expression and emotion the character is feeling, and sets the scene and the location, these type of shots are used throughout in this opening sequence. The use of moving subject walks into space, and generally the camera following each character also shows you who the main characters are, as they more often than not have far more camera time.
The use of the low angel shot when Romeo is looking down to his friend from outside demonstrates the status both of them have, it almost tells you that Romeo has more power over his friend and comes across more confident and in control within their friendship.
Sound (diegetic/non-diegetic)
As soon as the opening sequence begins we hear a diegetic sound of the brids singing, this tells the audience without anything else the location and situation the boys are in. The dialogue between both the boys occurs striaght away with no music to begin with, it makes it lighthearted and fun due to their conversation! Once we have been introduced to both of the characters, the non-diegetic music begins which is music of that era, this is a typical convention as it expresses the interest of the present. The music is generally upbeat and puts you in a content mood, it sets the scene on the whole. When the dialogue between characters begins the music is still playing in the background, it then fades but once the dialogue is over it soon becomes louder again. The music on the whole puts you in a happy mood as i said, therefore makes you think something good will occur. However, when the music stops it makes the mood far more serious which is setting the scene for when his mum gets angry at him, this being the reason for the music to change to a more placid and sad tone, you instantly feel sympathy for Romeo due to the selected music, eventhough we know Romeo is in the wrong, you can't help but feel sorry for him as the music portrays this. This demonstrates that the music plays a massive effect on the characters and the way in which we feel towards them.
Titles
Within this opening sequence, the titles go on for a very long time, to be precise, 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Preety much all of the opening sequence to the different films, the font is white on a black background. This will then grab the audience's attention as it stands out to you, the use of fading of the titles create a good effect. Each title more often than not appears in various ways, for less significant actors the title "introducing" is kept on the black background with the names of the actors which fade in and out. The title of the film doesn't come in until about half way through the opening sequence which again is a typical convention of a social realist film. The titles appear in white font on a black background and are shown in between different shots, and various scenes.
Below is the opening sequence:
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