How is character developed in the opening of Peaky Blinders?

Before we even see Thomas Shelby, we see the reaction of another character in response to a request given by him, immediately assigning power and authority to this unseen "they"(which is him).This is followed by an incredibly long cut to black which creates an incredibly ambiguous revealing of this character, and the opening sequence runs with this ambiguity in order to emphasise the power held by Thomas Shelby. The first shot we see of Thomas Shelby is a slow orbiting shot (figure 1) which is composed in a way that the movement of the camera doesn't reveal his identity but instead emphasises his smart costume and power that he acquires through riding a horse. This separation contributes to Thomas's power as it shows the audience just how important this character is by literally clearing out the streets which were previously bustling with life simply because he rides his horse into it. A POV shot is then used (figure 2) to establish the fear felt by surrounding people concerning Thomas, and again our view is obstructed as the composition of the shot has the audience hiding behind an object which prevents a clear shot of Thomas, further developing his superiority. We clearly see his face for the first time at around 1:45,(figure 3) and instantly the character seems less threatening and more emotional,showing how effective this technique is for establishing power and hierarchy.  

figure 1

    

figure 2

figure 3

The imagery used in the following scene presents Thomas as a more obscure character, with not only connotations of witchcraft and the supernatural or sceptic with a spell being cast but also the obvious connotations of the colour red within figure 4, blood, danger, anger, passion etc.. This develops his character as a more mysterious figure, not in the sense that we don't see his face as before, but as a more worrying individual, as the audience we begin asking questions such as why is he trying to perform a spell and how this is connected perhaps to the power that we have previously seen that he holds.

figure 4

The soundtrack is also effective in developing this power, as we hear it begin before we see Thomas and it's unrelenting nature and repetitive sounds build tension and emphasise his sinister aura that seems to part the town and crowds in front of him. The soundtrack also builds up and in volume in order to assert Thomas's power as he moves through the street instilling fear into the surrounding residents. The music is incredibly sharp and aggressive, and perhaps reflects Thomas's tendencies towards anger or brutality as a character, being slightly unsettling whilst building tension for the audience.