Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee Analysis

Opening of "Le Donk & Scor-Zay-Zee"

Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee

(Shane Meadows, 2009)

Produced by Big Arty Productions and Warp Films

Budget £48,000 (estimated)

Rock roadie, Le Donk, has lived, loved and learned. Along the way, he's lost a classy girlfriend but gained a sidekick, Scorz-Ayz-Ee. He sets out to make Scorz a star with a little help from the Artic Monkeys.[Source IMDB]

Shot By Shot Break Down
Overall, the opening sequence is about 2.5 minutes long, and includes 21 overall titles that last for 1:40 minutes and the first shots before the titles lasting for 55 seconds.
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.

• This is the first shot of the film. There are no titles - it simply cuts in with a close up shot of the sign on the caravan and then zooms out to reveal the whole caravan (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 what you would call 'chavy' or quite Americanised, he is wearing an American football jersey and red jogging bottoms: this exposes to us that the character is extremely influenced by America, and given that the audience is likely to also be very influenced by America they are likely immediately relate to the character. 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 this is a sort a music video)

• The music video style of the whole opening denotes that the film will have some sort of music theme to it the is also shown in the opening titles were the almost documentary 'behind the scene' style filming turns into a cartoon.

• This could also connote the childish nature of the film which charts the character almost growing up in the music world.

Opening Credits (in order)

21

• The next shot after the cartoon aspect of the film if a shot of a run-down street the immediately suggests the social class of the characters of the film as working class or poor this is due to the run down nature of the neighbour hood and the cars (a big telling factor in when making assumptions with films) this also ties in with the opening shots as before the titles start which shows the to characters exiting a 'run down' caravan (as can been seen in the start of the blog post).

• After that shot the door in front of the camera opens and when are presented with the main character who tries to be funny in a childish sense. This immediately presents the character as fun and the film as a fun film/ comedy instead of a serious documentary as appose to the documentary style it is in.

Source: http://f9films.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/opening-conventions-of-le-donk-scor-zay.html