Produced by Warp Films, (+ Film4; Wild Bunch, Optimum Releasing)
Overall, the opening sequence is about 3mins20secs long, with two company idents and four titles. It seems that the lack of titles for this opening is done deliberately so that the audience will focus on the story and characters right away. The film seems to be trying for verisimilitude, as it doesn't start with a montage and non-diegetic sound, but with a long-shot of one of the main characters. There isn't much of a narrative enigma, but this works as it fits with the characters (who seem rather unintelligent) and are rather unsubtle.
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"Film4" is a production company, so this company ident (10 seconds in length) reveals to us that they produced "Four Lions".
Both company idents keep their original sound. |
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| This is the first shot of the film. There are no titles - it simply cuts in with a static medium-long shot (that shifts ever so slightly) of one of the characters in the middle third. All the sound is diegetic. It can be denoted that the character looks middle-eastern, is wearing dark, khaki clothing, and a head band with what appears to be islamic writing on it: this exposition shows us that the character is islamic, and given that the audience is likely to have seen videos of terrorist propaganda on the news (intertextuality) we understand that this character is meant to be a terrorist. A narrative enigma is created briefly as an audience wonders what he is going to say and what's going to happen next. The lack of titles seems to have been done to create a strong sense of verisimilitude (as if this were really a terrorist demands video, as that wouldn't have titles.) |
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| In the next shot (cuts to a long shot - which is important as it increases the shot variety) the rest of the main characters are revealed, and it becomes clear to the audience that they are not actually a serious terrorist group, but just four Pakistani's from Sheffield, West Yorkshire (exposed through their accents.) However, there is a slight narrative enigma as we (the audience) are left wondering what they're trying to achieve by being terrorists. We can denote that the room they are in is shabby and sparsely furnished, which has connotations of our main characters being lower-middle class. |
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| However, there is a jump-cut to a medium shot of Omar's (the protagonist's) family, but now the room in which they are in is a lot cleaner and nicer, a direct contrast to the place in which we first met Omar. This creates a binary opposition; the terrorist, and the family man. It must be denoted that his wife is a nurse, and that he has a young son; these two facts both make the audience more connected to Omar, despite his attempts to be a terrorist. All sound up until this point has been diegetic, but non-diegetic music begins to fade in (providing an audio bridge.) |
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| This is the 1st title to appear in the film, however it doesn't appear until 3:01. The word "presents" shows us that Film4 produced this film. Non-diegetic music (which sounds middle eastern and quite serious) has begun to play by this point. This footage provides the transition (with the aid of an audio bridge) from the introduction to the main film, and also gives anchorage to help with the context (e.g. that it takes place within a city.) |
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| This is the (2nd and) main title (the name) of the movie. It's written in sans-serif and is easy to read; fonts like this are commonly used in comedies and dramas ("Four Lions" being a combination of the two.) It's small, and in the lower middle third of the screen, however as the camera zooms in on the Mosque with fairy lights (center, middle third) we understand that this movie is to focus on Islam; the mosque is being used as anchorage. As we've seen the four Jihadi terrorists by this point, we understand the title "Four Lions" is a direct reference to them. |
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| Just as with the 1st and 2nd titles, the writing here is small, sans-serif style and pale coloured, meaning it is not eye-catching. Again it's also in the bottom two thirds, almost as if it was not meant to be seen (or at least focused on.) This title mentions the production company (Warp Films) and the director (Chris Morris - who is only mentioned once within the titles; this is unusual, as normally the director is mentioned twice.) The mise-en-scene here depicts an empty shopping center, which is revealed to be the place of employment of Omar. The use of the empty shopping center is to anchor the fact that Omar lives in the western world, which makes his involvement in a Jihadi terrorist group all the more confusing for the audience. |
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This is the final title for the opening, and it simply names two companies involved in the majority of distribution of this film; Wild Bunch and Optimum Releasing. Again, the writing is small and difficult to read, especially as it's placed in the bottom third. (The non-diegetic music ends here.)
*Each title lasts approximately 5 seconds (and they fade in/out,) with the overall title sequence stretching from 3:01 to 3:20.
(Main) Props List
- Shabby living room
- Modern kitchen
- City at night
- Empty shopping centre
- Completed by Nicola
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