Snatch Opening Titles Analysis

 

Opening Titles Analysis – Snatch

“Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewellers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.” – IMDB.

Snatch is directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Matthew Vaughn. It incorporates various unique styles that are now synonymous with Ritchie and his company, Ska Films. I chose Snatch as an example of his style because it is a different form of introduction compared to his other opening titles. I will look at various aspects of the opening two minutes including: Camera Angles, Editing, Lighting, Sound and Mise-en-scene.  
 

Camera Angles

Shot 1 (Left image) - audience views is a Close up (CU) of the back of a balding head, which is completely in shadow. The CU is used to show this figure as a person of interest. It deliberately doesn’t show you the figure’s face to create anonymity, which adds a sense of intrigue and mystery and sparks the interest for audience gratification, and the audience wants to be informed.  Next in the same shot it tracks up and tilts slightly to show 2 visible characters sat in chairs opposite the mystery figure. When the camera ceases its movement it is a slight high angle position, which gives the sense of the 2 characters being not as important as the mystery figure.

The camera shows the figures clearly and we can see their faces and bodies, this is an introduction of the characters to the audience and allows access to another one of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications Theory (1974), Personal Identity. Now the audience have characters that are tangible and they will be able to relate to easier because they know significantly more about them than they do about the first mystery figure. It also tells the audience more about the characters because they can see their clothes.  

 

Shot 2, 3 and 4 (right) - These shots are all exactly the same type, a CU. The first shot is a close up of the head of the left character, and then shot 3 is a CU of the head of the right character, then shot 4 is back to a CU of the left character. This quick succession of CU's furthers the introduction to the characters, is allows the audience to see the characters clearly. The CU's also synergise with the voiceover (VO), which is the left character talking. The CU's allow us to clearly see the characters emotions, making them more human and more relatable. Also it can add a sense of comedy, one of the characters facial expressions could spark humour in the audience, entertaining them, fulfilling another audience gratification. Ritchie uses these CU's effectively which gives me inspiration to include more diverse shots but especially include shots that match the dialogue as it is easier to understand and more enjoyable to watch.  

 

Shot 5 (left) - Next a Mid Shot (MS) is used of the two characters at a level angle, this shows the power structure between them, there isn't one. Both of them are shot at the same level showing their equal status but also affirming to the audience the characters situation. We can clearly see they are partners/in the current situation together. This again matches with the VO backing it up with visible evidence that they are partners.

 

Shot 6 and 7 - Mostly the same as shots 2, 3 and 4. CU's of the two characters again, first the right character for shot 6, then the left character for shot 7. These CU's are used by Ritchie to further back up the dialogue, and see the characters reactions to the situation described by the VO. The right character shows incredulation, allowing the audience to subtly further understand his character, clearly out of his depth. The character on the left shows annoyed exasperation with a sigh, as if waiting for a verdict, but clearly is more level headed. As with the earlier CU's these shots are typical of opening titles for a film, they are introducing the characters to the audience clearly. Ritchie is demonstrating his knowledge of classic film techniques which I should definitely incorporate in my final product.

 

Shot 8 (left) - This is the final shot in the opening 2 minutes but Ritchie employs the use of CCTV monitors in this scene which I will look at next. In this CU shot it shows a CCTV monitor that shows the main action in the scene, it stays on this monitor for 28 seconds then tracks left to another CU of the monitor next to the first one, where it stays until the end of the 2 minutes. By utilising these CU Ritchie is setting the scene of the movie, a typical opening titles technique, the audience can now see that this scene is in a secure building as they can see the state of the art security at the time, this allows the audience to speculate where it is, fuelling the audience gratification for information, which intrigues them to continue watching, they want to know what's going on and where.

 

CCTV - As aforementioned Ritchie uses CCTV like footage to create the secure environment effect. If we analyse the shots used in the CCTV footage the audience can see that they are High Angle (HA) shots. This presents the characters on screen as being lower, less superior and not a threat. The characters are being looked down upon, lulling the audience into assumptions about the characters before later on showing the characters true intentions. This is a classic Guy Ritchie ideal, the character of Soap in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is assumed to be an innocent chef but turns out to be a knife wielding maniac. Toying with audience perception is a good technique to incorporate into my final product because it allows me to add surprise and entertainment, to bolster my audience gratification.

 Editing

The editing in Snatch is crucial to the structure and style of the overall film, some of the style comes through in the first 2 minutes but it is mainly simple edits, straight cuts or fade to blacks (FTB). This doesn't mean to say that the opening two minutes is boring in the editing department, Ritchie uses the simple edits in tandem with the VO and the dialogue, creating a perfect synergy. The fact that the edits are not noticeable is good, it makes the opening seamless. I will go through the first 2 minutes and analyse each edit because I think that each one is noteworthy and of a subtle importance to the overall effect.

 

1st Piece of Editing - initially the movie starts with a black screen, this edit is used to create a subtle tone for the movie, the audience realise it won't be happy and joyful with a black screen intro. It also creates the sense of a blank canvas that something will form upon it, the idea of creation. Next "Columbia Pictures presents"(left) in medium sized white font fades in, and after 3 seconds FTB's. Then "In association with SKA films" fades in and after 3 seconds FTB's. This text informs the audience of the institutions behind the project, and the average cinema goer would recognise Columbia Pictures and assume that this film is of high quality, and the media centric audience would recognise SKA films, and immediately roughly understand the tone and style of the movie, Ritchie's style.

 

2nd Piece of Editing - Now the video fades in from black, the blank canvas is being painted on. Next some more post production credits appear, first "A Matthew Vaughn production"(right) then after that "A film by Guy Ritchie". Both pieces of text stay on screen for 3 seconds. The duration of these opening credits suggests something about the film, they are all 3 seconds long, this suggest a sense of structure and uniformity to the movie, rather than it being wacky credits suggesting chaos.

 

3rd Piece of Editing - For this next sequence of editing Ritchie uses straight cuts, to go between the characters. First a simple cut to the first CU, the left character, then a simple cut to the right character, then another simple cut back the left character. Throughout these 3 edits the left character gets 15 seconds of screen time, compared to the right characters 4 seconds. Immediately we know who has the visual topic management, and who the leader of the two is clearly. Even though this set of edits is simple, it is cleverly used. When the VO is talking about himself, the left character, the camera is on him. When the VO talks about the right character it cuts to the right character. This provides a visual aid for the audience allowing them to clearly understand who the VO is talking about. These edits also immerse the audience a bit more, when the left character turns to look at the right character (left image) that is when it cuts to the right character. The audience are 'seeing' through the eyes of the characters, immersing them more.

 

4th Piece of Editing - This next set of editing mirrors the previous set, simple cuts that match what the VO is saying, creating synergy between the two. It cuts from the previous CU to the MS of both the characters, this shot lasts 5 seconds (right). As mentioned earlier this shows the audience that they are symbiotic. This edit allows the audience to establish a connection between the characters, coupled with the VO they know some of their story. Next it straight cuts to a CU of the right character for 5 seconds, then cuts to a CU of the left character for 18 seconds. This screen time again highlighting who the leader is in this scene. It then FTB and the black screen lasts for 2 seconds. This fade shows the audience that a change in situation/scene is coming. It also makes it very clear for the next shot that both scenes are happening at different locations and/or different times.

 

5th Piece of Editing - The opening 2 minutes end on a very long edit, 47 seconds (right). This scene fades in from black adding to the sense of location change. The dialogue in this section is supposed to be a conversation with different peoples train of thought, this edit reflects the dialogue by being long winded and not sharp cuts. The clear synergy between editing and sound is so very well demonstrated in Snatch, and it shows me that I need to take much greater care in the planning and construction of editing and sound in synergy.

 

Post Production Opening Credits - Throughout the Antwerp scene, the second half, of the opening titles the names of the actors in the movie are shown one after another. This greatly entices the audience to watch the rest of the movie to see their favourite actors and famous actors that they know are good. Brad Pitt (left), Jason Statham and Benicio Del Toro are huge stars and these will reel in audiences, and encourage them to want to watch the rest.


Lighting


1st Scene Overall - The lighting in the first scene is quite unusual, it soft white light but in an interrogation like scenario. Typically in an interrogation scenario which this scene is recreating the lighting is harsh bright line shining down inquisitively onto the person(s) in question. This suggest that this scene is perhaps less sinister than initially thought as it seems less interrogatory. The main characters are lit up so the audience can clearly see they are the protagonists, and the shadowed figure is set up to be the bad character. This gives the shadowed character a sense of mystery and intrigues the audience to watch on.

2nd Scene Overall - The CCTV monitors are clearly lit up in the second scene allowing the audience to clearly see the setting and understand the shift in scene location. In the actual monitors the lighting is saturated. Saturated lighting is tampered lighting, suggesting that reality has been tampered with, what your seeing on screen is a visage. This turns out to be true as the characters on screen are disguised thieves.

Individual Character Lighting -  The two main characters we are introduced to, Turkish and Tommy, and their different personalities are shown and highlighted through lighting. Turkish initially is lit up on one side of his face, casting the other side into shadow, this suggests that he has a good and bad personality, adding depth to the character. When Turkish turn to look at Tommy he face is now fully in the light, this suggests that Tommy is a good character, he is the thing that keeps Turkish good. Tommy would be fully lit up in the face except that he has a hat that shadows his eyes, this could suggest that he is blind to what is coming, as well as the audience. As he lifts his face up the shadow is lifted, possibly meaning a sense of enlightenment,  Tommy is starting to realise what is going on and the situation they are in. This now slightly alienates the audience as they do not know what is going on, but they will want to have that information.


Sound


There is very little sound in the opening two minutes, only dialogue and a Voiceover with a smattering of music. Turkish is speaking the VO again showing that he is the one who is in control, the main protagonist. The voiceover is used as the introduction to the film, it familiarises the audience with the tone of the movie, comedy with pieces of action. The VO introduces the characters, "My name is Turkish, funny name for an Englishman I know" , "and this is my partner Tommy, it doesn't mean we hold hands and take windy walks". It familiarises the audience with the characters, "I'm a boxing promoter" and explains a little bit of the current situation, "I was a happy boxing promoter until a week ago, and then what do I know about diamonds". The audience can now gather a great deal of information from these short sentences, they know Turkish's occupation which means they can make assumptions about his personality. They have a rough idea of the time scale, they know that something happened a week ago and the series of events that lead up to this scene took a week to bloom. All of this shows how important sound is in the opening titles as it is the only thing that engages with the audience and properly introduces them.

The voiceover also helps link the scenes together, because without the VO the audience would be disorientated without it, "What do I know about diamonds, don't they come from Antwerp". Then a chyron appears at the bottom of the screen of the next scene saying "Antwerp". This neatly ties the two scenes together.
It is the second scene that the dialogue comes into play, although it is not the focus point of the scene. It is quite nonsensical and Tarantino-ish, it is just a normal conversation everyday people would have. The 4 characters on screen talk about the story of the virgin Mary in the bible and if it is true or not, this lulls the viewer into a false sense of security into thinking these characters are normal people, which makes the shock much greater when they turnout to be armed robbers.

Music is subtly used in the second scene, it is the Hava Nagila, a stereotypical song used in conjunction with Jewish themes. This again makes it very clear to the audience in case they don't know that these characters in this scene are Jewish. It also helps to create a natural environment that the audience feels calm in, the music is upbeat but slow, it is in a major key which makes the score more positive. It subtly helps to build up tension as it slowly gets faster throughout the scene, adding to the subtle dramatic effect.  


Mise-en-scene

Props in 1st Scene - The only props present in the first scene are furniture, a small bland table and indistinguishable chairs. This could show that the characters have nothing to their name, their situation is desperate. Also it shows the setting is a impoverished place, with no luxuries. This helps set the tone of the movie as gritty, not a lavish costume drama.

Props in 2nd Scene - The props utilised in the second scene simply add to the immersive experience and reinforce the setting. The handheld metal detector is used so the audience can fully see that it is a secure setting that these character are in. Also various office items are shown again to establish setting, from these props the audience can guess the setting, a secure bank perhaps. This makes the audience want to find out the setting and that the characters are doing there encouraging tem to watch on.

Clothing in 1st Scene (left) - We only see the two characters clothing in this scene, as the mysterious figure is hidden. Turkish, the left character is wearing a shirt, a jacket and an overcoat. These clothes are lightly coloured suggesting that he is a protagonist and a good guy of the movie, but the black shirt is hidden under the light overcoat again perhaps suggesting a dark side to him. The outfit is smart but casual, showing that he is in a business environment but it is not too serious. The overcoat is typically associated with Bookies, the profession. This could show a gambling side to Turkish or synergise with the profession he is in. Turkish and Tommy both have gold wristwatches, showing a sense of wealth, or desire to be wealthy.

Tommy is also wearing a shirt and an overcoat that is lightly coloured, painting him as a good character. Tommy is sporting  a trilby, a hat more typically associated with professions on the lower end of the NRS social grade. This again shows who is in charge of the two because it could suggest that Tommy is of a lower intelligence because he is wearing lower NRS social class clothing.

Clothing in 2nd Scene - There is little variation in clothing in this scene, the two guards wear white shirts and black trousers, again highlighting to the audience that they are in a secure location. The 4 other characters are wearing stereotypical traditional Jewish outfits. This makes it clear to the audience that they are Jewish which adds to the stereotypical joke that Jewish people are always associated with diamonds. The traditional outfits are very dark outfits, which could suggest that they are the antagonists, the bad guys of the movie.


Overall


Overall the Snatch opening titles is an excellent example of how the perfect combination of sound, editing, lighting, mise-en-scene and camera work can come together to create a memorable and intriguing opening that will have audiences hooked from the get go. I can now apply this research and knowledge that I have learnt from Snatch in my opening titles to create a great end result.