British Film
Conventions of British Film:
- Gritty
- Often based on the working classes
- Characters usually have an interesting twist or character defect
- Very urban, very real
- Doesn't usually have a happy ending
- Usually deal with sensitive issues: i.e. drugs, alcohol use, racism, etc.
- Characterisation in British film is very important
- Examples include: 'Kidulthood', 'Trainspotting', 'This is England', 'Fishtank', etc.
- Signifiers of genre: Vinnie Jones, Ray Winstone, etc.
- Made up of a montage of archive footage of important figures, events, and pop culture from the time period the film is set in
- This footage shows the context and setting of the film is essential to the narrative
- The music for the opening has a heavy beat and a somewhat lighter tone than perhaps what might be expected due to the images on screen, but it is also quite rough and edgy, giving an added weight to the images on screen without going for a downbeat and altogether more depressing song. The heavier beat provides a good counterbalance to the images shown in order to create the sense that some of the more shocking scenes in the opening are largely ignored by the large majority of people.
- The opening outlines some of the themes and issues it will deal with such as poverty, riots, war, etc.
- Introduces main characters effectively through freeze frames
- It is revealed very early that our protagonist has a glaring character defect, as is normal in this genre, in that he has an addiction to heroin
- Voice over is effective in introducing the main character's personality and motivations (heroin)
- Music is very adrenaline fueled, with a fast beat, perhaps implying the rush of excitement these characters receive when they take drugs and/or break the law
- Locations look very run down and poverty ridden
- Clearly this film will be dealing with sensitive issues, such as poverty and drug use, as is common in British Film
British Film Mock Opening
Strengths:
- Our script was written by Charlie Warner, and we thought it linked with the theme well and we got good feedback from our classmates and teacher saying that the dialogue of our script was very effective in engaging the audience and helping the audience to relate to the subject.
- We also thought that the use of freeze frames to introduce characters worked in conjunction with the font used, as it helps to create an understanding of the personality of the characters, and provide a greater understanding of the relationship between the protagonist and the characters introduced.
- Another strong point during the opening sequence, was the visual anonymity of the protagonist until the very end shot, which heightened the effectiveness of the dialogue, and focuses the audiences attention on the words being spoken.
- Perhaps the fonts and colouring on some of the titles were a little too far, they look a little takcy
- The school setting is perhaps not as gritty and urban as a lot of British film locations are meant to be
- Some of the freeze frames are left too long in order to accommodate the voice over