Opening Sequence Analysis- Bullet boy

Analysis of opening sequence of Bullet Boy

The opening sequence of bullet boy is when the audience is first introduced to the main actors of the film. The opening of the film is also when the film establishes itself or "opens "the production in the gritty realism style and genre.


The film opens with a sequence of titles of the BBC films logo and the uk film council logo. There is non diegetic music in the back ground, and the sound of a cars engine that forms a sound bridge to the opening image track. The image track then shows a black back ground with small white text giving the names of the films sponsors to show that the film is British. The titles move on to give the names of the three main actors and then the sound carries along with the image track to show a young boy with a torch in a small space, suggesting to the audience that he is trapped. The hand held camera and the diegetic sounds of a car suggest he is hiding somewhere in a car.

This shot is faded into a plain white image track with the large black font showing "bullet boy". The titles at the start of the film along with the main film title are a significant hint at themes we may experience later in the piece, along with looking good aesthetically tidy and formal. The two opposites black and white hint that this film may focus on race through out the piece. Also, the punchy title "Bullet boy" suggests that violence and crime will be a predominant feature in the film.

At fifty seconds (after the title of the film is shown) the scene changes to a camera focusing on an inside door window. The focus of this shot is important as its focus is a scratched graffiti on the door, which is what we see first even before we see who is in the room. This is done in order to give us a judgement and instantly gives the audience a stereotypical feature of the type of person we meet. for example, the fact that there is writing and vandalism suggests a lack of respect. Again this can be applied through out the film as stereotyping becomes a reoccurring theme through out, as well as bad behaviour and violence.

Lighting is used very carefully through out the opening sequence, and remains consistent with the stereotypical British film. Lighting in gritty realism films is usually dull and plain in order to mimic natural light, this is done by using high or low levels of high key lighting which in turn leads to higher levels or verisimilitude. The high key lighting also means the audience is not distracted by any special effects and so engage more with dialogue and the characters on screen.

Costumes are stereo typically "chavvy" in order to show where the wisdom and Curtis are from and their age and status. For example, Curtis wears a school uniform to show his age and wisdom wears chains and smokes to show his age but also his clothing suggest a sort of thuggish personality.
The mise en scene in the prison is very much the same. Ricky's home clothes consist of a grey tracksuit and he wears branded trainers again to show him as a stereotypical lower class young adult. The mise en scene implies also that the characters are out of place when they are in the countryside with their cars and clothing but also their accents and the use of the word "brah" and "rude boy" are again stereotypical of black British culture in poor areas of London.

The same piece of music is played on the image track through out most of the opening sequence with the exception of it being faded down when the dialogue is taking place. The sound used is partly parallel as it reflects how the characters are feeling about meeting each other but also builds tension and suggest that there Is danger to come later in the film. The sound is used also to link the characters emotions and feeling. For example when the intercutting shots are shown of the brothers Ricki and Curtis the same music is linked to show how both feel trapped in their situation, both within the car and the prison.
The opening sequence is filled with many minor details and enigma codes that give the film an air of suspense but also many subtle questions are raised such as "what happened between Ricky and Wisdom?" and "why is Ricky in jail?".

The opening sequence is when the audience gets their first impression of the characters and start to form their own opinions on the main protagonist and start to form ideas about who the antagonist is and where is will take them. Actions like wisdom hitting Curtis gives the audience a negative first impression which can be carried along through out the rest of the film.

No comments:

Post a Comment