Analysis of gangster films which are from the same genre.

From the films that I have watched which were Snatch, Layer Cake and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I have begun to understand how my own film opening should look. Firstly, I have understood the importance of introducing either a pair of characters, which is used effectively in Layer Cake and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or a group/gang of characters that the film will be centralised on which is used in Snatch. The use of capital and lower case letters seem to be important for the type of British Gangster film that I want to do. If I want to create a humorous and more child-like opening then I should use lower case letters as shown in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. However, to create a more direct and loud style I could write all of the credits in capital letters in the way that Snatch does to create a strong impact on the viewer. The use of both capitals and lower case letters in the traditional way creates a more sophisticated looking piece, which is used in Layer Cake. This should be something that I should investigate further when making my opening sequence. The diegetic sound is important for my opening sequence, as is my non-diegetic sound, as I need to insure that I use a suitable mixture of both. For the non-diegetic sound, a rocky sounding music is vital to create the British Gangster feel. To create this effect myself it is crucial that I investigate what possible alternatives there are for me without breaking copyrights. Another recurring feature is how the opening sequences use straight, quite quick cuts between the titles and shots in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch to make the sequence seem smooth and well edited. The titles in Layer Cake overlap the action happening on the screen which makes it seem to be more of an after though and less important than what is actually happening. I also think that the effect used in both Layer Cake and Snatch where they tie the title of the film into the setting is very effective as it looks professional and well planned. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels contrasts to this as it uses a letter by letter typewriter effect to make the film title appear on screen, which shows a creative take on how to show it to the audience. These two different ideas give me some useful basis to work and get ideas off. The use of slow motion in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is also something that I find to be very effective, as well as the non-diegetic voice over, which I think would be very effective to use in my own opening sequence.




Layer Cake.

Lock,Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Snatch.