The titling used in the genre of British film, the fonts and stylistic choices,
seem to be chosen on the basis on how much they parallel themes within
the images in the title sequence and the film as a whole.
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For instance, the font used for the ‘This is England’ titles on the bottom left seems quite dirty, not clean
and perfectly white like titles in other films might be. This titling highlights the themes of the film, the
imperfect titles reflecting the imperfect characters, who all have flaws; the imperfect locations, which
are highlighted in the somewhat dank block of flats in the screen-cap below; and imperfect time period,
with many references to Margaret Thatcher and some of her more infamous policies and decisions
played underneath the titling.
Similarly, the titling in the film ‘Snatch’, seen in the bottom right, evokes the same sort of links to its
source material. The white block capitals on the black rectangles resemble the kind of font and style you
see on the boards people hold when having mug shots taken after being arrested. This links to the theme
of criminality that is present in the film. In addition, the white on black colouring could introduce ideas of
moral ambiguity, and blurring the lines between what is right and wrong.
Both these films, and many others besides, seem to use block capitals in their titles. This could be for
legibility, but may also link to the gritty and ‘in your face’ nature of some of the themes presented. There
is no escaping the themes and issues presented by the film, just as you cannot escape reading the titling.
To play the videos below, right click
them and select ‘preview’.
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The openings to the films below (‘Trainspotting’ on the left and ‘Hot Fuzz’ on the right) waste no time in introducing key
characters from the plot of the movie within the opening sequence. Both of them use montages and voice overs to portray
key elements of these characters, who are similar in that all of them have interesting character defects that make them
engaging characters who we as the viewer want to know more about and try to understand.
‘Trainspotting’ introduces several characters, and highlights their day-to-day activities. At first we see them as a normal
group of friends, playing football, having a laugh, etc. but later on we find out about their collective character defect in
that they are all heroin addicts. The voice over in this opening gives us a firm idea of the character ‘Renton’ and what his
outlook on life is. He seems to not care for anything but heroin, and this is a very interesting character to be following in a
film, where films made in other countries (America) might select a character based on their more positive character traits,
it seems British films would rather follow characters who, while not perfect, may ultimately be more interesting as a result.
‘Hot Fuzz’, on the other hand, as a comedy, seems to be parodying the ‘perfection’ seen in the characterisation of a lot of
Hollywood films by presenting a character who is literally perfect. The voice over description of the character of Nicholas
Angel seems to suggest that there is nothing this man cannot do. However, while this aspect of his character may not
conform to the usual themes of the genre, his character is presented as harsh, and no-nonsense, with a stern expression
almost permanently fixed on his face. This idea of the ‘tough guy’ seems to be quite present in British film, especially those
that follow the thriller genre. Despite their differences however, both these openings suggest that characterisation is very
important to the overall feel of an opening to a British film.
The music in British film openings usually stays up-tempo and
adrenaline fuelled, with a lot of them also having a voice over to
introduce character traits and plot points.
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The openings below, ‘Snatch’ on the right and ‘Trainspotting’ again on the left, use sound for interesting effect, usually
having a fast tempo with which to show the excitement portrayed by the characters involved. Interestingly, both also have
voice overs, which are used as a means of introducing characters and plot elements.
The music in ‘Snatch’ actually begins rather slow paced, perhaps alluding to how the plan these men have has been slowly
and meticulously thought out. However, as their seemingly complicated plan begins to degrade into ‘lets shoot people’,
the music understandably picks up pace and compliments the action shown very well. The voice over at the beginning
provides a little background knowledge about the characters and how they are obviously like brothers to each other.
Similarly, in trainspotting, while the opening seems to deal with a rather solemn issue, heroin addiction, the music we get
is the same kind of adrenaline pumped, high tempo sounds we got with ‘Snatch’. This highlights to the viewer how the
characters within the film experience true excitement in what they do. Coupled with the voice over, we get a real sense of
how they feel what they do is the only way to escape the tedium of normal life, and how they just want a little bit of
excitement.
Something else I have noticed is how most characters within British film seem to have regional accents: cockney, Scottish,
Scouse, etc. which would seemingly go against what most people outside of Britain would consider a ‘British accent’. This
seems to give the characters an extra layer of characterisation, seemingly suggesting to people who don’t know that there
are other types of people in Britain other than ‘posh’, and that these people don’t always have the same stereotypical
lifestyle that is often portrayed of Britain (especially England) in other countries’ media.
British films seemingly tend to be set either in crowded
urban environments or in small villages and towns with
a tight sense of community.
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Mise-en-scene in British films, seems to highlight the real life issues and struggles of the characters within them. In the use of
location and props in ‘Billy Elliot’ on the left, and ‘A Clockwork Orange’ on the right, we see, albeit in very different ways, the
real world implications of living in a poorer area, or the effects of madness and drugs that a person may experience.
In ‘Billy Elliot’, the very small set that he walks into to make breakfast, as well as the props hanging from the ceiling really
convey a sense of how small the house he lives in is. The hanging washing inside the house seems to show how they cannot
afford a garden, and in general the overall size seems to suggest that the family doesn’t have a lot of money, which is likely due
to being in a seemingly quite small mining town, which we can infer from the tight group of houses from which he emerges later
on, and the scene of miners on top of the hill. This all comes together to give a sense of a relatively poor community seemingly
brought together by a sense of community that would appear to come from living in such close proximity.
While the mise-en-scene in ‘Billy Elliot’ uses real life imagery to convey a real world issue, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ uses mise-enscene to convey the psychological effect of madness and drug use. The very odd and creepy imagery of stark white mannequins
and bright lights convey a quite unsettling notion of what drugs can do. The wardrobes of the characters within the sequence
are just as unsettling, playing on familiar ideas of gentlemanly dress by wearing make-up that accents the madness in the
character’s eyes, as well as having blood stains present on the waist coat. Unlike ‘Billy Elliot’, this opening uses mise-en-scene
that would likely not be found in a real life setting, but it still follows the convention of British films being ‘real’ and dealing with
‘real issues’ by using non-familiar imagery to convey something that while unfamiliar to most people, is still a very real world
issue. It conveys very well the ideas of what someone with sociopathic tendencies and drug use problems might see in their
mind, therefore conveying a real world issue that could simply not be conveyed within a normal context.