Research into British Socialist Drama Opening Credits

As well as filming our opening to a British socialist drama we also need to create opening credits. In order to do this I looked at the opening sequences of films by British directors Shane Meadows and Ken Loach. I decided to analyse the opening credits of 'This is England' and 'Raining Stones.'

The opening credits used in Ken Loach's 'Raining Stones' are very simple and not very artistic. The font colour is white and the text is centred in the frame. These credits are made simple as it helps set the mood of british drama and not try and make it appear like some big Hollywood production. The names of the actors and team involved with the film are in large where as the title of thier role in the film appears small abve their name. The titles also appear still and do not having any transtions or effects.

In Shane Meadows' 'This is England' again a white coloured font is used for the credits, however, the font type appears slightly more artistic. It appears like torn paper. This ties in with the narrative of the film which involves destruction and conflicts between two different nationalities. Again this socialist drama does not use flashy effects or transitions with its opening titles.

In general 'Raining Stones' uses simpler credits than 'This is England', however the credits in 'This is England' have a font style that ties in with the narrative.

I think we will probably use very simple lettering similar to that in Raining Stones opening, plain white, although probably a little thinner, which will fit within the conventions of the genre whilst being striking and fitting with the feel and mise en scene of the opening.