1. The longest scene is the opening credits (1.35) which shows through action both the story world and status of series protagonist Thomas Shelby.
2. Chief Inspector Campbell (the series main antagonist) has 2 scenes – a total of 1.16 – roughly 10% of screen time.
3. In contrast Thomas (protagonist) dominates the opening 10 minutes with approximately 75% of screen time.
In the next post we’ll study how Steven Knight grabs us and pulls us in with his opening scene.
1. In the opening 10 minutes of Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders only 2 scenes are driven by dialogue:
i) Scene 8 – Arthur and Thomas’s power struggle. (1.28)
ii) Scene 10 – Freddie’s political battle cry. (1.21)
N.B Not including the Opening Credits, these are the two longest scenes in the opening 10 minutes.
2. C.I Campbell’s scenes (the series antagonist) have NO dialogue. They are visual only.
3. In total there are approximately 3 minutes of dialogue.
So, this means that the opening 10 minutes of Peaky Blinders is:
30% dialogue. 70% action.
We’ve been exploring the opening ten minutes of Steven Knight’s brilliant historical crime drama Peaky Blinders, and we’re onto the final scene.
We’ll look briefly at what happens in this scene.
Then, we’ll examine what elements the writer, director and editor have included to present the most effective opening ten minutes in the grasp of their collective talents.
So, onto the scene.
The scene is 4 shots and lasts 20 seconds.
It starts at 09.40.
SHOT 1.
EXT. INDUSTRIAL BACKSTREET, BIRMINGHAM – DAY
Thomas Shelby, small in the frame of the huge street, walks towards us for 6 seconds.
SHOT 2.
SAME STREET – CONTINUED.
Switch POV as we watch Thomas approach a pub from behind.
In the top corner of the frame we make out part of the sign: The Garrison Tavern.
Three people stand at the entrance: two WOMEN and an OLD MAN.
Seeing Thomas the Old Man cowers and bows.
Shot length: 6 seconds.
SHOT 3.
INT. THE GARRISON TAVERN – DAY.
We watch men being men in a pub.
Shot length: 6 seconds.
CUT TO:
SHOT 4.
INT. THE GARRISON TAVERN – DAY.
The doors open, like an old Western saloon, as –
Thomas enters.
That’s the final shot – BANG ON 10 minutes – Thomas Shelby, center frame.
Shot length: 2 seconds.
Total scene length: 20 seconds.
For extra posts on the opening ten minutes of Peaky Blinders click here.
In Scene 6 Thomas enters the Shelby house and has a quick interchange with Finn, his youngest brother.
In the screenplay Steven Knight describes this short, 30 second scene in detail:
Thomas breezes through a hallway decorated with brass and fancy floral crockery. The Shelby home is compact, a typical terrace, but we might notice a surfeit of brass and flowery ornamentation around the place. The Shelbys are cash rich but without conventional good taste. The home is decorated like a gypsy caravan, or a boatman’s barge with lots of roses, elephants and castles.
We might glance a photograph of three brothers in military uniform, smiling (this is Arthur, Tommy, and John – all in Warwickshire Yeomanry uniform, with a freshly dug trench behind them).
Thomas tosses his coat aside and passes through a small kitchen, where a young boy (FINN, 10, Thomas’s youngest brother) is smoking a cigarette into the flames of a coal fire. A rabbit roasts on a spit. Finn hides the cigarette and calls out as Thomas passes…
FINN
Arthur’s mad as hell.
THOMAS
What does a ten year old know about hell?
FINN
I’m eleven Sunday.
Let’s have a quick look at how much of this is realized on screen.
The first paragraph –
Thomas breezes through a hallway decorated with brass and fancy floral crockery.
– is on screen.
However the first thing we notice when Thomas enters is a crucifix on the wall, illuminated by a shaft of sunlight as Thomas opens and closes the front door. This is perhaps a nod to the Shelby’s Irish – Catholic heritage. Aunt Polly is described as “half Romany, half catholic” and the city of Birmingham in the UK in 1919 had “a large Irish Catholic” community. (Sources: Telegraph/Guardian).
From Steven Knight’s description we do notice on screen –
flowery ornamentation around the place.
– and the home is
decorated like a gypsy caravan.
It’s interesting to note Thomas is referred to several times as being a “gypsy.”
However, the rabbit on the spit, the action of tossing the coat, and specifically the photo of the three brothers in uniform are all absent from the screen.
(Note to self – not everything you write will make it on to the screen – even if you’re at the top of your game!)
So, to answer our two questions:
1. What is revealed in this scene regarding plot?
Nothing per se. However the line of dialogue from Finn prepares us for familial conflict between Thomas and Arthur – itself revealing one of the series’ major themes – the rise of a king – and this theme is itself revealed in plot – the various actions Thomas takes in order to achieve his ambitions.
And why is Arthur ‘mad as hell’ ? Because, as we soon find out, Thomas has been treading on Arthur’s toes. There’s a battle for leadership going on. A battle for kingship. Who is the King of the Shelby clan? Who is The King of Small Heath ? Is it older brother Arthur, or his younger, smarter, brother Thomas?
2. What is revealed in the scene regarding character?
Firstly, through Thomas’s action – a playful bash on Finn’s head with his cap (on screen not in the script – actor’s choice?) – and by his tone of voice – we see that Thomas is friendly to Finn.
He could curse and swear at him for smoking, but he doesn’t.
Thomas is revealed in this scene as friendly, gentle and playful – a stark contrast to the fear and reverence he evokes out on the streets.
Secondly, through dialogue, Knight cleverly and with subtlety reveals that Thomas has experienced ‘hell.’
Thomas asks what Finn, a ten year old, can possibly know about hell.
“Hell” here refers to the horrific war Thomas has just returned from – the blood, the bombs, the death, the injured and dying men screaming – portrayed to us later in his vivid nightmares.
Tommy Shelby is a paradoxical character: ruthless, yet with an almost angelic aura; youthful, but with the air of one who has already seen it all.
Stay tuned for the next post analyzing the opening ten minutes of Peaky Blinders!
Out of 50 scenes, Dexter is on screen for 25.
Exactly half.
This adds up to exactly 23.06 minutes of screen time – just less than half of the 50 minute episode.
Approximately 50%.
Out of 42 scenes, Thomas Shelby is on screen for 20 scenes – just less than half.
This is 27.21 minutes of screen time – just less than half of the 56 minute episode.
Approximately 50%.
How long is your hero on screen for?
Here is a list of scenes + scene length for Peaky Blinders opening episode.
It also shows which characters are in each scene.
The hero is Thomas Shelby. His scenes are highlighted in red.
3 things to note.
1. Thomas is in 7 of the opening 8 scenes.
2. In total, Thomas is in 20 out of 42 scenes (approximately 50%).
3. Thomas is on screen for 27.21 minutes (the episode runs at 56.12 so again approximately 50%).
How long is your hero on screen for?
Here is a list of scenes and scene length from Episode 1 of Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders.
For an in-depth study of the opening ten minutes click here.
The breakdown is color-coded as follows:
Scenes less than 1 minute.
Scenes over 1 minute.
Scenes over 2 minutes.
Scenes over 3 minutes.
Scenes over 4 minutes.
The episode runs at 56 minutes.
Out of 42 scenes it’s interesting to note 5 things.
1. There are 18 scenes less than 1 minute.
2. There are 16 scenes over 1 minute.
3. There are 3 scenes over 2 minutes.
4. There are 3 scenes over 3 minutes.
5. There are 2 scenes over 4 minutes.
Check out the latest sneaky peak at Peaky Blinders, about the opening ten minutes last scene.
In the opening ten minutes, as Thomas Shelby rides majestically through the backstreets of Birmingham on a beautiful black horse, dressed immaculately in three piece suit, polished black shoes and a gold watch chain – it’s a stark contrast with the dirt and grime of the laborers and beggars around him.
As beggars, the preacher, and even policemen bow and tip their hats we see Thomas is revered by all.
Refusing to tip his hat in return to the police, Thomas is making a strong statement. He doesn’t see himself as subordinate to the police. And if he’s not subordinate, he must be above them. Above the law.
But in the UK only The King or Queen is above the law.
In the United Kingdom the Crown has never been able to be prosecuted or proceeded against in either criminal or civil cases.
This theme of Thomas as King runs through the series.
In scene 13, as communist leader Freddie Thorn examines the razor blades sown into Thomas’s cap, he says:
The crown of a prince. Soon to be king, I’d say.
Later, Freddie says to his girlfriend, Ada, Thomas Shelby’s sister:
Oh my Ada. The only princess of the royal family of the Kingdom of Small Heath.
But Freddie isn’t the only one to recognize Thomas as King.
When Thomas’s wealthy, aristocratic horse trainer visits him in the backstreets of Birmingham, she says:
I mentioned your name and it was like being led to a king.
But Thomas, when he leans down to drop a coin into the bowl of a line of begging soldiers, blinded in the war, he shows he shares status with them.
Your fat king and your lean beggar are but variable service – two dishes but to one table.
– Hamlet.
Also, Thomas leaning down to drop a coin in the bowl of the soldiers might be compared to King Henry V when he humbles himself to sit with his ordinary soldiers just before battle.
John Truby, in his review of another rise of a king story, House of Cards, says:
The struggle for power is one of the prime human motivations.
As I explore the opening 10 minutes of Peaky Blinders it’s clear that Steven Knight shows Thomas Shelby’ character visually, through action, in 3 ways.
1. How he acts.
2. How he reacts.
3. How others react to him.
By his actions we learn he is generous and humble.
By his reactions we learn he does not bow down to authority.
By others’ reactions to him we learn he is feared and revered, by both the common people and the police.
How are you showing character in your opening ten pages?
We’re analyzing the opening 10 minutes of Peaky Blinders.
We’re up to Scene 4 (which is also the Opening Credits scene.)
Let’s get stuck in.
What are we going to discover?
Firstly, that this scene is a brilliant example of showing character through action as we learn 3 characteristics of series protagonist Thomas Shelby.
(You can read the scene in the actual script here.)
There are 4 major actions. I’ve taken the action directly from Steven Knight’s script.
1. Thomas rides through a dark, grimy, industrial street on a beautiful black horse.
Why a black horse rather than a white one?
The website Universe of Symbolism says a black horse is:
A symbol of mystery and intrigue, power, independence, sexual allure and a strong sense of self.
2. Jimmy Jesus – an Afro-Caribbean street preacher – glances up and nods a greeting.
This is from the script. However, on screen he doesn’t nod a greeting, he fully removeshis hat from his head – showing both social distance and reverence (more on this later).
3. Thomas slows to allow a line of men to cross the road. (These are men blinded in the war, now begging for pennies.) Thomas leans down in the saddle to drop a coin into their bowl.
Interesting phrase Steven Knight uses here – leans down. He could have just written ‘he drops a coin in their bowl.’ But he doesn’t. He says he leans down. When Thomas leans down he is equating himself with these beggars, showing humility.
So why show humility to a group of men who were blinded in the war and now begging ‘for pennies’? Does Thomas share an affinity with the beggars?
4. Two policemen see Thomas. They both look nervous and touch their caps. Thomas ignores them and urges his horse on.
This action of touching your hat is called a hat tip.
Check out what Wikipedia has to say about it:
In Western societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a hat tip was a common non-verbal greeting between friends or acquaintances. Typically, two men would lift or tip their hats to each other.
But Thomas doesn’t lift or tip his hat. This is not to each other.
Wiki continues:
Where the ritual was used to emphasize social distance the subordinate was obliged to make the more elaborate gesture, for example fully removing his hat while the superior merely touched his.
Who fully removes his hat? Jimmy Jesus – the street preacher. Jimmy’s full removal of his hat shows social distance. As well as showing reverence he is admitting to Thomas that he is his subordinate. Jimmy’s preaching echoes this social distance:
God does not care if you live in a slum or in a mansion.
Back to the policemen then. Not only does Thomas not tip his hat to them, he doesn’t even respond. Steven Knight makes a point of this:
Thomas ignores them.
So why do the police look nervous? And why do they tip their hats? Isn’t Thomas Shelby a criminal? Why are the police tipping their hats to him? The fact that Thomas doesn’t tip his hat reveals a lot. Wikipedia says:
The subordinate was obliged to make the more elaborate gesture…
But Thomas doesn’t even touch his hat, let alone make a more ‘elaborate gesture.’ He doesn’t make any gesture. As Steven Knight states:
He ignores them.
So Thomas doesn’t see himself as subordinate to the police. And if he’s not subordinate, he must consider himself as above them. Does Thomas consider himself above the police? Above the law?
But isn’t this pride?
Summing up then, in addition to the power, independence and sexual allure symbolized by the black horse, which 3 characteristics of Thomas Shelby are we shown through action?
I suggest respect, humility and pride.
Will his pride be his downfall?
This visual, opening credits scene ends around 3.57 and we get the title credit:
Screenwrite.org 