Thursday 23 October 2008
Discussion - 23/10/08
Whilst planning our pitch to the class we decided that not everybody would get the name 'Knash' as our original connotations of the title were to mean the cockney slang 'Jonny Knash' - 'CASH'.
After much deliberation me jack and mitch figured we would stick to the idea of using a title that signifies cockney rhyming slang although use something a little more meaningful, which also gives a sense of the cheeky side to our film as we want to portray our characters as likeable, and humorous. We finally arrived at what we think is an exellent title for a british gangster film - 'Brass Monkeys'.
The actual way someone would use the term 'Brass monkeys' is to say the weather is cold. which actually represents the iconic british weather in london. We also found that Brass monkeys can mean slang for testicals. This is great for our film as it isn't a name that will offend anyone as the term brass monkeys is not rude, although it has connotations of cheekyness and gives our characters 'balls'.
After much deliberation me jack and mitch figured we would stick to the idea of using a title that signifies cockney rhyming slang although use something a little more meaningful, which also gives a sense of the cheeky side to our film as we want to portray our characters as likeable, and humorous. We finally arrived at what we think is an exellent title for a british gangster film - 'Brass Monkeys'.
The actual way someone would use the term 'Brass monkeys' is to say the weather is cold. which actually represents the iconic british weather in london. We also found that Brass monkeys can mean slang for testicals. This is great for our film as it isn't a name that will offend anyone as the term brass monkeys is not rude, although it has connotations of cheekyness and gives our characters 'balls'.
Tuesday 21 October 2008
The business
The Business is a 2005 British crime/gangster film, set in the 80’s written and directed by Nick Love. We can tell that this is a British gangster film this from the opening sequence because there are various stock character and conventions of a gangster film. For example the cockney accents inform the audience that the two characters originate from south London. Also their clothes are typical 80’s track suits, which would have been fashionable at the time and so it connotes that they have a lot of money and can afford the latest fashions.
The generic expectations of the audience towards a British gangster film are completely fulfilled by the opening sequence, as there are typical conventions of a British gangster film, such as violence, the use of guns, the use of drugs and the use of foul language.
The film is set in the 80’s and so the opening sequence completely conforms to the characteristics of the genre. We see use of drugs, violence, guns, foul language and abuse towards women, just in the opening 2 minutes. This shows the audience that the film is going to be jam packed with conventions that completely conform with the genre of the film.
The Mise en scene in this sequence is very meaningful, straight away we are aware that they are in a foreign country, the bright sky portrays that we are not in England for a start, because it is no the stock weather that we would expect in the UK. Also the run down buildings, the dusty foot paths, the dried grass and the colours of the two characters skin is tanned. This connotes that they have been in the country for quite a while and they have possibly immigrated Also the two girls on the footpath are tanned, have dark hair, Hispanic looking, wearing red high heels, but also holding a balloon, connoting that they are poor, through their mixture of clothes. All of these mise en scene indicate where the film is set.
There are multiple camera techniques used in the sequence, the first shot used is an establishing shot of the two men running, which shows us the location and the mise en scene. The director then uses MCU’s to establish various characteristics of the men, for example how tall they are, what race they are, their facial expressions and what clothes they are wearing. This all conveys meaning. A handicam is used at one point, when the men are running, to make the audience feel like they are part of the action. This builds up tension.
When they raid the building MCU’s are used to show in detail their facial expressions and then a freeze frame at the end of the scene, whilst the character uses dialogue to explain the predicament at hand.
80’s music is used in the sequence to support the clothes and informs the audience of the time phase that the film is set. Its also upbeat music which conveys action. Diegetic sounds are used and emphasized to also enforce action.
The first dialogue used in the sequence is at the beginning over a blank screen. We learn from these few lines of dialogue what danny dyer’s character is like. We learn that his father is a criminal and that evidently he is going to follow in his fathers footsteps. The dialogue is all cockney which indicates where they are from. And there body language connotes that they are important. Their actions connote violent behavior which portrays them as roofless criminals.
The narrative in this piece is very straight forward, the opening sequence is a scene from the middle of the story, and we see a glimpse of the operations that the two characters run. We are then informed about the story through the characters dialogue used twice in the sequence. Through this dialogue we are then placed on the criminal’s side and we start trying to relate to them.
The main characters that have been introduced so far have been identified. To a rough extent, we know the personalities through their dialogue and actions. But we are left wondering whether they have always been like this.
The music is the main creator of tension in this sequence, the build up to the raid scene is highly successful through the running and the type of music that is used.
There are 3 main groups that are represented in this sequence; there are young adult white criminal males from London, which is stereotypical that these type of people would be criminals. There are young adult Spanish males, also represented as criminals. And the last group to be represented is young adult, Spanish, females, and they are represented as quite vulnerable characters, as this particular female, fails to hurt one of the male characters.
I think the main ideological discourse used in the sequence is that to be successful you need to have money, and to have money you could be a criminal, this becomes mainly evident through the dialogue- ‘‘My old man told me to stay away from drugs, money and women, thing is, it don’t leave you much else to do, does it?’’
I believe that the target audience for this film are young adult white males, as this is the group of people who are mainly cooncentrated on throughout the film.
The generic expectations of the audience towards a British gangster film are completely fulfilled by the opening sequence, as there are typical conventions of a British gangster film, such as violence, the use of guns, the use of drugs and the use of foul language.
The film is set in the 80’s and so the opening sequence completely conforms to the characteristics of the genre. We see use of drugs, violence, guns, foul language and abuse towards women, just in the opening 2 minutes. This shows the audience that the film is going to be jam packed with conventions that completely conform with the genre of the film.
The Mise en scene in this sequence is very meaningful, straight away we are aware that they are in a foreign country, the bright sky portrays that we are not in England for a start, because it is no the stock weather that we would expect in the UK. Also the run down buildings, the dusty foot paths, the dried grass and the colours of the two characters skin is tanned. This connotes that they have been in the country for quite a while and they have possibly immigrated Also the two girls on the footpath are tanned, have dark hair, Hispanic looking, wearing red high heels, but also holding a balloon, connoting that they are poor, through their mixture of clothes. All of these mise en scene indicate where the film is set.
There are multiple camera techniques used in the sequence, the first shot used is an establishing shot of the two men running, which shows us the location and the mise en scene. The director then uses MCU’s to establish various characteristics of the men, for example how tall they are, what race they are, their facial expressions and what clothes they are wearing. This all conveys meaning. A handicam is used at one point, when the men are running, to make the audience feel like they are part of the action. This builds up tension.
When they raid the building MCU’s are used to show in detail their facial expressions and then a freeze frame at the end of the scene, whilst the character uses dialogue to explain the predicament at hand.
80’s music is used in the sequence to support the clothes and informs the audience of the time phase that the film is set. Its also upbeat music which conveys action. Diegetic sounds are used and emphasized to also enforce action.
The first dialogue used in the sequence is at the beginning over a blank screen. We learn from these few lines of dialogue what danny dyer’s character is like. We learn that his father is a criminal and that evidently he is going to follow in his fathers footsteps. The dialogue is all cockney which indicates where they are from. And there body language connotes that they are important. Their actions connote violent behavior which portrays them as roofless criminals.
The narrative in this piece is very straight forward, the opening sequence is a scene from the middle of the story, and we see a glimpse of the operations that the two characters run. We are then informed about the story through the characters dialogue used twice in the sequence. Through this dialogue we are then placed on the criminal’s side and we start trying to relate to them.
The main characters that have been introduced so far have been identified. To a rough extent, we know the personalities through their dialogue and actions. But we are left wondering whether they have always been like this.
The music is the main creator of tension in this sequence, the build up to the raid scene is highly successful through the running and the type of music that is used.
There are 3 main groups that are represented in this sequence; there are young adult white criminal males from London, which is stereotypical that these type of people would be criminals. There are young adult Spanish males, also represented as criminals. And the last group to be represented is young adult, Spanish, females, and they are represented as quite vulnerable characters, as this particular female, fails to hurt one of the male characters.
I think the main ideological discourse used in the sequence is that to be successful you need to have money, and to have money you could be a criminal, this becomes mainly evident through the dialogue- ‘‘My old man told me to stay away from drugs, money and women, thing is, it don’t leave you much else to do, does it?’’
I believe that the target audience for this film are young adult white males, as this is the group of people who are mainly cooncentrated on throughout the film.
Discussion 21/10/08 - Dividing up the tasks
Outside of the classroom, jack, mitch and I decided that we needed to divide up the different tasks that needed to be done. We came to the conclusion that the treatment would be completed by Mitch as he is the one who would read it in the style of a British Gangster from cockney London. We also came to the conclusion that we needed a questionnaire to be handed out for audience research. This will be done by jack and handed out ready for our pitch to the class on friday. I shall do the storyboarding as i also do art, so have some sense of being able to draw and present it well.
Sunday 19 October 2008
Feedback #2
Your preliminary task shows real promise for the construction and from your discussion posts I can see that you are working creatively to put your pitch together. However, the film analysis needs some work - Mitch and Jonny, your contributions are incomplete. All of you need to look at ideological discourse and rework these sections of your analysis for a level 4.
Thursday 16 October 2008
Music??!
we had various discussions about what music we are going to use for the soundtrack of our film. automatically me & jonny refereed the term gangster, to modern day, gangster rap. something like below:
But then Jack pointed out to us that that genre of music, will not confrom to the genre of our film, as our film is a
British Gangster film, not an urban american gangster genre. so we had a think about the expected type of music that would conform and
agree with our genre, and we got into thinking about light rock. maybe something form the ''mods & rocker'' days.
maybe something like this:
but it stil did not completely fit in with our film, and so none of us could think about a specific piece of music to fit. but then I remembered a piece of music i heard, which was sort of light rock, with a modern day upbeat kick to it.we reviewd the piece and agreed it could be very successful intwined with our opening images. unofrtunately the piece is not available on youtube. but it is called Guns and roses by Lenny Kravitz & Jay-Z.
But then Jack pointed out to us that that genre of music, will not confrom to the genre of our film, as our film is a
British Gangster film, not an urban american gangster genre. so we had a think about the expected type of music that would conform and
agree with our genre, and we got into thinking about light rock. maybe something form the ''mods & rocker'' days.
maybe something like this:
but it stil did not completely fit in with our film, and so none of us could think about a specific piece of music to fit. but then I remembered a piece of music i heard, which was sort of light rock, with a modern day upbeat kick to it.we reviewd the piece and agreed it could be very successful intwined with our opening images. unofrtunately the piece is not available on youtube. but it is called Guns and roses by Lenny Kravitz & Jay-Z.
Costumes
we have had various discussions about the type of costumes that we want our characters to be wearing. We have all agreed that the costumes that our characters are required to wear are all very similar. as our genre is british gangster, the generic expectations are very formally dressed, smart looking characters. for our main characters there for we are going to wear suits and shirts without a tie, we think that this is appropriate for the time phase of which our film is set. we also want to give the impression that our characters are in some way successful, to cause an enigma for the audience, so they wonder how they have become wealthy.
in resevoir dogs for example the characters wear suits, with ties. but ewe think for our film, this is a little too formal, so we are going to exclude the ties.
in resevoir dogs for example the characters wear suits, with ties. but ewe think for our film, this is a little too formal, so we are going to exclude the ties.
Wednesday 15 October 2008
Analysing the Opening Sequence to the Film 'Pulp Fiction', directed by Quentin Tarantino
The film 'Pulp Fiction' belongs to the genre American gangster, at this point in time (1994) Tarantinos work inspired a 'new wave' of gangster directors to do something different. The typical codes and conventions which you are likely to see in an American Gangster movie and their main iconic traits which come with this genre are violence, drugs and crime etc. This film plays with familiar conventions and the audiences expectations, it conforms with the idea of postmodernism and keeps the audience guessing because it is always challenging the ideas of a typical British gangster film. Both the characters are expressing their love for eachother but are also plotting to commit crime and robbery's, BUT it is more like Bonnie and Clyde, the way in which they act towards eachother is not masculine, violent nor dark etc instead they are a loving couple and are both willing to do anything for eachother but however, in a illegal method. In the opening sequence of the film the audience’s expectations are not properly fulfilled and the reason behind this is because these two people look like ordinary members of the public. However basing your opinion on first look is misguiding and it’s only when you begin to listen to their conversation you notice that they live a more excitable and risky life compared to that of a normal law abiding citizen. They are sitting in the coffee shop like all the other regular people and their dress code does not stand out from the rest and look out of place when you associate them in an iconic gangster film. Your stereotypical view of what a gangster should look like is, well dressed in an expensive suit, looking slightly more upper class than all the other people. The director of the film plays around with the characteristics and codes and conventions of the genre because this is not what you expect to happen in an American gangster film. The two stock characters do not share the same image which you expect to see in a gangster film but their actions and behaviour certainly match. The director also leaves the audience guessing weather or not these two stock characters are actually gangsters or just ordinary tough living people who for some reason decide to rob a calm coffee shop.
The mise-en-scene is set inside a coffee shop/restaurant, this connotes a sense of security where you would expect peace and a place where people can interact with each other and socialise. However tension between both sets of people is caused when the stock characters decide to hold up the coffee shop and this completely disrupts the calm and friendly atmosphere and inevitably causes a dis-equilibrium. In the early stages of becoming a Gangster, their behaviour is certainly pointing them in the right direction, the use of repeated swear words and the pointing of guns convey meaning and purpose to the crime they are about to commit. The background which is used is just focussed on the two main characters and a window. The audience is given a clear view and are able to spot the trees which connote a sense of calmness and tranquillity this helps to camouflage the characters from their true intentions by showing a neutral background. The use of weapons in the first scene shows the two characters as violent and using excessive force to get what they want, this connotes that they are tough mentally and will cause injury to the other people if they were to resist instructions and refuse to hand over the money.
The opening camera shots and angles are used to create different effects on the audience and emphasises what is happening to create excitement and tension and inevitably dis-equilibrium. The camera is positioned at a MS for most of the opening sequence, it captures both the stock characters facial expressions and is easy to see which person is talking and the way they shape their body to emphasise intent or anger. The overall opening sequence is not fast paced edited, it is dialogued driven between the two characters and used continuity editing. The camera then switches to the waitress’s face with a BCU; the denotations of her face make her out to look friendly and helpful. She has a smile upon her face to emphasise the friendly atmosphere around the coffee shop and helps deceive the audience’s expectations that something bad is going to happen. The bright friendly smile also connotes innocence to herself and perhaps to the other people positioned inside the shop. The use of a point of view shot helps the audience relate to what one of the main characters is seeing and helps the audience relate more to what is going on. There is only a small amount of various camera shots during the opening sequence of pulp fiction. Most of the way through it just stays on one steady medium shot of the two stock characters and listens to their conversation. The use of sound is used to anchor images while they are sitting in the restaurant you can hear a fait sound of a piano playing in the background to the main set. This connotes a sense of maturity in the restaurant and the calm, peaceful atmosphere is helped created by the use of a piano. Furthermore in the background you can hear people talking around the restaurant, this conveys an innocent social atmosphere around the main two characters that are essentially plotting the reasons why they should partake in an armed robbery. There are no backing tracks in this opening sequence of the film right up until the couple stand up and begin to point their guns at people, the opening sequence then stops and you have a freeze frame and then music begins to play. This connotes that when there is action taking place for example holding up the coffee shop, music is essential to shape the audiences view of these two characters and inevitably it creates an enigma. The degree of dialogue in this first opening sequence is pretty much constant throughout. There isn’t a great change in the way the characters talk to each other, their conversation is very simple which helps them fit in with their surroundings and people around them. At the end of the opening sequence both of the characters stand up and begin using excessive swear words (particularly the woman character) this connotes them as looking tough and efficient at what they are trying to achieve and they will inflict damage on other people and even go as far as killing them. Before they stand up they use non verbal dialogue as a way to show the audience that they are a couple by passionately kissing each other. This connotes a sense of unity between the two of them and they have each other covered at any given time because they feel strongly about each other.
The narrative in the opening sequence of the film 'Pulp Fiction’ is structured to show the audience how people can just camouflage themselves so easily to fit in with others but on the inside they could be plotting to commit a crime. It shows the innocence and the laid back atmosphere which starts out inside the coffee shop/restaurant and how quickly it can turn bad and people can just change the way they act at any given time if they chose to. The audience is led to believe that this is just a normal couple sitting inside a friendly restaurant and at first glance you would never expect them to be gangsters. However once you listen to the conversation they are having, it becomes a completely different situation and the audience has increased suspicion over them and to what they are going to do next. You picture your typical iconic gangster to be completely different to these two, you expect them to be smart, well groomed men and have a large scale of people fear them. The two stock characters however are not iconic to its genre ‘American Gangster’. The two stock characters in the shop are alienated and are somewhat tear-aways from the working class people in America. They have completely different views on how the should go about earning their money and they believe the best way to do so is to break the law and steal money. They adopt a one track mind and use violent and criminal methods to gain money via big robberies in banks supermarkets etc. The two stock characters towards the end of the opening sequence cause dis-equilibrium and disrupts the calm mood and sends people into panic. The opening sequence then come to an end and an Enigma is caused where people want to find out what will happen next in the restaurant. The major themes in this sequence are not extremely evident throughout, however, the use of violence, weapons and harsh language are typical and iconic of a gangster film. From listing these themes the audience can clearly see which genre this specific film belongs to as it shows typical traits of a British gangster film and is easily recognisable. The tension in the opening sequence is not very evident when the two main characters are sitting there like normal every day people until they start to talk about various robbery techniques and plotting their next one. When the two characters stand up and start pointing their guns at people the tension is maximised because it creates an enigma for the audience and also will create tension for the other characters in the scene.
The only social group which is being represented in the opening sequence of this film are mainly young male audiences and even now female audience can relate to this because one of the characters is a woman. The fact that one of the characters is a woman creates an ideological discourse because in the modern day society you would not expect this behaviour to stem from a woman and people stereotype that men are the only ones that commit crime. The audience are not able to side with the characters because a dis-equilibrium is caused and the way in which the stock characters act towards the general public, the audience watching can relate to this and put themselves in the point of view of the other people inside the restaurant and imagine the distress they are putting up with. Therefore the audience will have no sympathy for these two stock characters and portray them as the enemy. The ideologies which come with being a gangster is to be well groomed, wearing smart suits, own a posh car and live in a spectacular house. However at the start of this opening sequence it is unexpected and the ideological discourse is that you see these two main characters to be wearing normal clothes which fit in with the law abiding citizens around them.
The target audience is mainly aimed to the more mature audiences, the age certificate tells you that it’s a 18 rated and will not be suitable for anyone under this age bracket. However, now women can relate to this film simply because a woman has been introduced and is being portrayed in this way. Men can also relate to this film and a lot of young males are interested in this type of genre and is therefore targeted towards these groups of people.
The mise-en-scene is set inside a coffee shop/restaurant, this connotes a sense of security where you would expect peace and a place where people can interact with each other and socialise. However tension between both sets of people is caused when the stock characters decide to hold up the coffee shop and this completely disrupts the calm and friendly atmosphere and inevitably causes a dis-equilibrium. In the early stages of becoming a Gangster, their behaviour is certainly pointing them in the right direction, the use of repeated swear words and the pointing of guns convey meaning and purpose to the crime they are about to commit. The background which is used is just focussed on the two main characters and a window. The audience is given a clear view and are able to spot the trees which connote a sense of calmness and tranquillity this helps to camouflage the characters from their true intentions by showing a neutral background. The use of weapons in the first scene shows the two characters as violent and using excessive force to get what they want, this connotes that they are tough mentally and will cause injury to the other people if they were to resist instructions and refuse to hand over the money.
The opening camera shots and angles are used to create different effects on the audience and emphasises what is happening to create excitement and tension and inevitably dis-equilibrium. The camera is positioned at a MS for most of the opening sequence, it captures both the stock characters facial expressions and is easy to see which person is talking and the way they shape their body to emphasise intent or anger. The overall opening sequence is not fast paced edited, it is dialogued driven between the two characters and used continuity editing. The camera then switches to the waitress’s face with a BCU; the denotations of her face make her out to look friendly and helpful. She has a smile upon her face to emphasise the friendly atmosphere around the coffee shop and helps deceive the audience’s expectations that something bad is going to happen. The bright friendly smile also connotes innocence to herself and perhaps to the other people positioned inside the shop. The use of a point of view shot helps the audience relate to what one of the main characters is seeing and helps the audience relate more to what is going on. There is only a small amount of various camera shots during the opening sequence of pulp fiction. Most of the way through it just stays on one steady medium shot of the two stock characters and listens to their conversation. The use of sound is used to anchor images while they are sitting in the restaurant you can hear a fait sound of a piano playing in the background to the main set. This connotes a sense of maturity in the restaurant and the calm, peaceful atmosphere is helped created by the use of a piano. Furthermore in the background you can hear people talking around the restaurant, this conveys an innocent social atmosphere around the main two characters that are essentially plotting the reasons why they should partake in an armed robbery. There are no backing tracks in this opening sequence of the film right up until the couple stand up and begin to point their guns at people, the opening sequence then stops and you have a freeze frame and then music begins to play. This connotes that when there is action taking place for example holding up the coffee shop, music is essential to shape the audiences view of these two characters and inevitably it creates an enigma. The degree of dialogue in this first opening sequence is pretty much constant throughout. There isn’t a great change in the way the characters talk to each other, their conversation is very simple which helps them fit in with their surroundings and people around them. At the end of the opening sequence both of the characters stand up and begin using excessive swear words (particularly the woman character) this connotes them as looking tough and efficient at what they are trying to achieve and they will inflict damage on other people and even go as far as killing them. Before they stand up they use non verbal dialogue as a way to show the audience that they are a couple by passionately kissing each other. This connotes a sense of unity between the two of them and they have each other covered at any given time because they feel strongly about each other.
The narrative in the opening sequence of the film 'Pulp Fiction’ is structured to show the audience how people can just camouflage themselves so easily to fit in with others but on the inside they could be plotting to commit a crime. It shows the innocence and the laid back atmosphere which starts out inside the coffee shop/restaurant and how quickly it can turn bad and people can just change the way they act at any given time if they chose to. The audience is led to believe that this is just a normal couple sitting inside a friendly restaurant and at first glance you would never expect them to be gangsters. However once you listen to the conversation they are having, it becomes a completely different situation and the audience has increased suspicion over them and to what they are going to do next. You picture your typical iconic gangster to be completely different to these two, you expect them to be smart, well groomed men and have a large scale of people fear them. The two stock characters however are not iconic to its genre ‘American Gangster’. The two stock characters in the shop are alienated and are somewhat tear-aways from the working class people in America. They have completely different views on how the should go about earning their money and they believe the best way to do so is to break the law and steal money. They adopt a one track mind and use violent and criminal methods to gain money via big robberies in banks supermarkets etc. The two stock characters towards the end of the opening sequence cause dis-equilibrium and disrupts the calm mood and sends people into panic. The opening sequence then come to an end and an Enigma is caused where people want to find out what will happen next in the restaurant. The major themes in this sequence are not extremely evident throughout, however, the use of violence, weapons and harsh language are typical and iconic of a gangster film. From listing these themes the audience can clearly see which genre this specific film belongs to as it shows typical traits of a British gangster film and is easily recognisable. The tension in the opening sequence is not very evident when the two main characters are sitting there like normal every day people until they start to talk about various robbery techniques and plotting their next one. When the two characters stand up and start pointing their guns at people the tension is maximised because it creates an enigma for the audience and also will create tension for the other characters in the scene.
The only social group which is being represented in the opening sequence of this film are mainly young male audiences and even now female audience can relate to this because one of the characters is a woman. The fact that one of the characters is a woman creates an ideological discourse because in the modern day society you would not expect this behaviour to stem from a woman and people stereotype that men are the only ones that commit crime. The audience are not able to side with the characters because a dis-equilibrium is caused and the way in which the stock characters act towards the general public, the audience watching can relate to this and put themselves in the point of view of the other people inside the restaurant and imagine the distress they are putting up with. Therefore the audience will have no sympathy for these two stock characters and portray them as the enemy. The ideologies which come with being a gangster is to be well groomed, wearing smart suits, own a posh car and live in a spectacular house. However at the start of this opening sequence it is unexpected and the ideological discourse is that you see these two main characters to be wearing normal clothes which fit in with the law abiding citizens around them.
The target audience is mainly aimed to the more mature audiences, the age certificate tells you that it’s a 18 rated and will not be suitable for anyone under this age bracket. However, now women can relate to this film simply because a woman has been introduced and is being portrayed in this way. Men can also relate to this film and a lot of young males are interested in this type of genre and is therefore targeted towards these groups of people.
Reviewing Preliminary Tasks
When we began to plan our preliminary task on a short filmed conversation we planned our ideas on a story board. The reason being for this is to gain a clear idea of what we were going to do and had a clear set of guidelines which we could untimately stick to or change. We found it helpful to draw out a story board before hand so we are not left improvising all the time during production of our clip. In our case we didnt have to change anything about our storyboard and we stuck to the guidlines which we set for ourselves.
Analysing the Opening Sequence of the film 'The Business' directed by Nick Love
This film ‘The Business’ belongs to the genre ‘British Gangster’. The main codes and conventions which you would be likely to see in a British gangster movie are things to do with drugs, crime, violence etc. All of these things are iconic to your everyday successful gangster movies. The audience’s expectations are not essentially fulfilled during the opening sequence for reasons simply because you portray stereotypical gangsters to be well groomed men, dressed in dark suits and have a mysterious look about them. In the opening minute of the film two men break into a house each armed with a gun and ordering the people inside the house to hand over illegal drugs, these two men however look as though they are lower class citizens dressed in tracksuits, not what you first expected to be gangsters. However the actions taking place by these two men match the iconic behaviour that you would expect a gangster to do, e.g. pointing guns at people and committing crime. The two stock characters at the beginning swear excessively to scare the people who’s home they have broken in to in order to make them hand over the drugs which makes them out to be tough men and extremely efficient at getting what they want. So already you get the impression that there is a clash between the two, the characters behaviour certainly matches those of a gangsters but their image however does not. By just looking at the opening sequence we do not know if their image is going to stay the same of inevitably change to match the description of your stereotypical image of a ‘gangster’. The director plays around with the overall characteristics and the codes and conventions which you would associate with gangsters so the audience are somewhat left to guess if the stock characters are just normal tough men or fall into the category of a ‘gangster’.
The mise-en-scene in the opening sequence adds to the characters overall image and gives the audience an insight to what the characters are like. The iconography and use of weapons (in this case guns) shows that the characters are portrayed as hard men and burst into a house showing no respect for someone’s property and they disregard the law completely and show little amount of fear to consequences if they are caught. The setting is based in a rural part of what looks to be Spain; this is not however an iconic place where you would see gangsters, you would more likely see them in the city or outside a mansion, sitting by a pool with a cigar which is your stereotypical picture you create for yourself when you think of gangsters. This denotes that the stock characters involved are not very well off and shows the poverty stricken land they are on. The use of weapons in the first scene shows the two men as violent and using excessive force to get what they want, this connotes that they are tough men and will cause injury to the other person if they were to resist instructions and refuse to hand over the drugs. The outfits which the men are wearing make them out to look cheap and not the iconic look of a gangster, wearing smart suits etc. During the gun scene the lighting is very dull and dingy this conveys a sense of wrong doing and the dark lighting could connote that what the two men are doing is wrong and is frowned upon.
The opening camera shots and angles are used to create different effects on the audience and emphasises what is happening to create excitement and tension and inevitably dis-equilibrium. The opening camera shot which is used is an ELS, the two men are jogging towards the camera and as they become closer you realise it is looking up from a worm angle shot, which connotes that the two men are big and powerful and by running towards the camera makes them look intimidating and scary from below. The cinematography changes throughout when they are running, the two men are looking from left to right as thought they are worried about anybody watching them. They run past two young girls and slow down to walking pace to decrease suspicion and make themselves look innocent before leading up to a crime. The shot sizes change throughout and then switch to a medium shot, you can now see clearly what the two men are wearing, and in this case they are wearing which looks to be cheap tracksuits and not expensive smart suits which you would associate a gangster to wear with all the money gained from dodgy deals. This could connote to the audience that these two men are on their way up and need to start out with the basics before they become a proper gangster fitting in with smart suits and looking the part. When the two men break into the house, there is the use of shot reverse shot. This enables the audience to see the facial expressions used by both parties; its switches back and forward and you can clearly make out who is on the attack and which people are on the defensive. A close up shot of Danny Dyers face shows worry and vulnerability and it looks as though he is the weaker man but is just acting on instinct by holding a gun to gain control of the people inside the house while the other man searches and uses a more verbal and violent approach to get the drugs as quickly as possible to make a quick get-away. After the first scene you find out that the crime they had just committed has already happened and now are looking back on it. It comes up with ‘a few years earlier’ and now begins to show you how this crime which had just been showed came about and what they have done to get themselves into this position. The use of a big close up on a group of men’s hands and what looks to be a ‘joint’ shortly followed by a birds eye view shot, portrays a group of males status and shows their vulnerability to make them look small and gives them a negative image while they are standing in a secluded area rolling a joint in secret, which gives you the bigger picture that what they are doing is frowned upon in society. Now the audience can relate to the characters and has an idea on what the film is leading up to.
The use of sound is to anchor the opening sequence in this film ‘The Business’. The director uses a backing sound track while the two men are running; this connotes a sense of urgency as though they are trying to do something quickly and efficiently. Furthermore the sound of an aeroplane flying above a group of men shows their low status and makes them look small, in the smoke given off by the plane the spell out the words ‘be someone’ this connotes to the audience that a message is trying to be given out that simply they need to make something of their lives and inevitably ‘be someone’. At one stage in the opening sequence it is at night time, night time could connote a sense of gloominess and a negative atmosphere is set, the backing music is introduced to emphasise the negative atmosphere and shapes informs the audience that something bad is going to happen. In addition another backing sound is introduced when Danny Dyer is sitting with another man and a few brief sounds are quickly played to connote a sense of urgency and the crime which has been planned is all falling into action very fast. To end the opening sequence you hear a plane taking off, this suggests that one of the stock characters has already been put on a plane extremely promptly and is being whisked away to another country. Within the opening sequence there isn’t a great deal of dialogue between the characters, this does not allow the audience to get a clear picture on what the characters are like and are not able to familiarise themselves with them or gain a sense of personality amongst stock characters. The only insight we get to the characters through dialogue is the excessive amount of swear words used which allows the audience to get a vague picture on what some of the characters may be like. When one of the main characters is outside, watching in to see a man hit his mother, you can tell the non verbal language connotes tension and anger building up inside. A sudden burst of adrenaline makes the character run towards the house but still using non verbal language and uses violence to sort the matter. At one stage during the opening sequence the director shows a blank screen and then puts a voice-over over the top of this. The voice is of one of the stock characters with a small speech ending it with, ‘I’d rather be someone for a day, rather that a nobody for a lifetime’ this signifies a do or die attitude and believes that people should do whatever it takes to make themselves something in their life and not to waste it and do nothing for a lifetime. This creates an enigma and the audience’s natural reaction is to want to find out how they are going to make something of their life.
The narrative in the opening sequence of the film ‘The Business’ is structured to show the audience the future and how the men end up, it then rewinds back a few years and tells you the story and how these two characters lost it all. The methods of Levi Strauss use binary oppositions to create conflict during the film. In this case the binary oppositions are bad vs. bad, it shows conflict between both groups of people’s wrong doings competing against each other to commit crime, sell drugs and use violence to get where they want to be in society. The audience are put in a false sense of security and want to know what is going to happen next, inevitably this causes an enigma and the viewers want to find out weather or not the two characters make something of their life or not. Throughout most of the opening sequence the audience are shown a lot of Danny Dyer. Towards the end of the gun scene a freeze frame effect is used to focus in on this character which positions the audience to understand that the film might be based around this character, which you later find out to be true. The main characters are slightly alienated in the opening sequence due to the fact they are somewhat torn away from society and their actions are frowned upon, and do not behave like a normal person. The people whose house the two main characters have broken into could lead the audience to believe that they have done something to upset these two men and begin to ask themselves questions to weather they are part of another gang or a feeder of drugs to a rival gang. The major scenes in this sequence are extremely evident throughout, the use of violence, weapons, harsh language and drugs are typical and iconic of a gangster film. From listing these themes the audience can clearly see which genre this specific film belongs to as it shows typical traits of a British gangster film and is easily recognisable. The tension in the opening sequence is evident when the two main characters break into the house and hold up a group of people to steal drugs. The use of guns leaves the audience in a proiaretic state wondering if they are going to shoot the people in the house like they are threatening to. The tension is maintained by the constant shouting and orders given out by one of the main characters and by keeping the gun pointed at various people in the group who own the drugs. However the audience does not know for what reason these men have broken into the house for and why they are using violent methods like this to get the drugs, they look to be in such desperation they do not care about consequences anymore.
The only social group which is being represented in the opening sequence of this film are young male or middle aged white citizens. These men are made to look like the bad ones but in some respects the audience likes to side with the criminals and these men are seen to be iconic and people do in fact like them The two stock characters in the opening sequence are represented in a bad light, the ideological discourse of how to be a man is to act in a violent manner and to use physical actions to get where you want to be. The ideologies which come with being a gangster is to be well groomed, wearing smart suits, own a posh car and live in a spectacular house. However at the start of this opening sequence it is unexpected and the ideological discourse is that you see these men to be wearing cheap and unattractive tracksuits and the audience does not expect this, so you begin to work out as the opening sequence is of what has already happened and this is how the ended up after living the high life of a gangster.
The target audience is mainly aimed to the more mature audiences, the age certificate tells you that it’s a 18 rated and will not be suitable for anyone under this age bracket. It will normally be aimed towards young males because they see this film as iconic and can somewhat relate to the things which are happening in the opening sequence
The mise-en-scene in the opening sequence adds to the characters overall image and gives the audience an insight to what the characters are like. The iconography and use of weapons (in this case guns) shows that the characters are portrayed as hard men and burst into a house showing no respect for someone’s property and they disregard the law completely and show little amount of fear to consequences if they are caught. The setting is based in a rural part of what looks to be Spain; this is not however an iconic place where you would see gangsters, you would more likely see them in the city or outside a mansion, sitting by a pool with a cigar which is your stereotypical picture you create for yourself when you think of gangsters. This denotes that the stock characters involved are not very well off and shows the poverty stricken land they are on. The use of weapons in the first scene shows the two men as violent and using excessive force to get what they want, this connotes that they are tough men and will cause injury to the other person if they were to resist instructions and refuse to hand over the drugs. The outfits which the men are wearing make them out to look cheap and not the iconic look of a gangster, wearing smart suits etc. During the gun scene the lighting is very dull and dingy this conveys a sense of wrong doing and the dark lighting could connote that what the two men are doing is wrong and is frowned upon.
The opening camera shots and angles are used to create different effects on the audience and emphasises what is happening to create excitement and tension and inevitably dis-equilibrium. The opening camera shot which is used is an ELS, the two men are jogging towards the camera and as they become closer you realise it is looking up from a worm angle shot, which connotes that the two men are big and powerful and by running towards the camera makes them look intimidating and scary from below. The cinematography changes throughout when they are running, the two men are looking from left to right as thought they are worried about anybody watching them. They run past two young girls and slow down to walking pace to decrease suspicion and make themselves look innocent before leading up to a crime. The shot sizes change throughout and then switch to a medium shot, you can now see clearly what the two men are wearing, and in this case they are wearing which looks to be cheap tracksuits and not expensive smart suits which you would associate a gangster to wear with all the money gained from dodgy deals. This could connote to the audience that these two men are on their way up and need to start out with the basics before they become a proper gangster fitting in with smart suits and looking the part. When the two men break into the house, there is the use of shot reverse shot. This enables the audience to see the facial expressions used by both parties; its switches back and forward and you can clearly make out who is on the attack and which people are on the defensive. A close up shot of Danny Dyers face shows worry and vulnerability and it looks as though he is the weaker man but is just acting on instinct by holding a gun to gain control of the people inside the house while the other man searches and uses a more verbal and violent approach to get the drugs as quickly as possible to make a quick get-away. After the first scene you find out that the crime they had just committed has already happened and now are looking back on it. It comes up with ‘a few years earlier’ and now begins to show you how this crime which had just been showed came about and what they have done to get themselves into this position. The use of a big close up on a group of men’s hands and what looks to be a ‘joint’ shortly followed by a birds eye view shot, portrays a group of males status and shows their vulnerability to make them look small and gives them a negative image while they are standing in a secluded area rolling a joint in secret, which gives you the bigger picture that what they are doing is frowned upon in society. Now the audience can relate to the characters and has an idea on what the film is leading up to.
The use of sound is to anchor the opening sequence in this film ‘The Business’. The director uses a backing sound track while the two men are running; this connotes a sense of urgency as though they are trying to do something quickly and efficiently. Furthermore the sound of an aeroplane flying above a group of men shows their low status and makes them look small, in the smoke given off by the plane the spell out the words ‘be someone’ this connotes to the audience that a message is trying to be given out that simply they need to make something of their lives and inevitably ‘be someone’. At one stage in the opening sequence it is at night time, night time could connote a sense of gloominess and a negative atmosphere is set, the backing music is introduced to emphasise the negative atmosphere and shapes informs the audience that something bad is going to happen. In addition another backing sound is introduced when Danny Dyer is sitting with another man and a few brief sounds are quickly played to connote a sense of urgency and the crime which has been planned is all falling into action very fast. To end the opening sequence you hear a plane taking off, this suggests that one of the stock characters has already been put on a plane extremely promptly and is being whisked away to another country. Within the opening sequence there isn’t a great deal of dialogue between the characters, this does not allow the audience to get a clear picture on what the characters are like and are not able to familiarise themselves with them or gain a sense of personality amongst stock characters. The only insight we get to the characters through dialogue is the excessive amount of swear words used which allows the audience to get a vague picture on what some of the characters may be like. When one of the main characters is outside, watching in to see a man hit his mother, you can tell the non verbal language connotes tension and anger building up inside. A sudden burst of adrenaline makes the character run towards the house but still using non verbal language and uses violence to sort the matter. At one stage during the opening sequence the director shows a blank screen and then puts a voice-over over the top of this. The voice is of one of the stock characters with a small speech ending it with, ‘I’d rather be someone for a day, rather that a nobody for a lifetime’ this signifies a do or die attitude and believes that people should do whatever it takes to make themselves something in their life and not to waste it and do nothing for a lifetime. This creates an enigma and the audience’s natural reaction is to want to find out how they are going to make something of their life.
The narrative in the opening sequence of the film ‘The Business’ is structured to show the audience the future and how the men end up, it then rewinds back a few years and tells you the story and how these two characters lost it all. The methods of Levi Strauss use binary oppositions to create conflict during the film. In this case the binary oppositions are bad vs. bad, it shows conflict between both groups of people’s wrong doings competing against each other to commit crime, sell drugs and use violence to get where they want to be in society. The audience are put in a false sense of security and want to know what is going to happen next, inevitably this causes an enigma and the viewers want to find out weather or not the two characters make something of their life or not. Throughout most of the opening sequence the audience are shown a lot of Danny Dyer. Towards the end of the gun scene a freeze frame effect is used to focus in on this character which positions the audience to understand that the film might be based around this character, which you later find out to be true. The main characters are slightly alienated in the opening sequence due to the fact they are somewhat torn away from society and their actions are frowned upon, and do not behave like a normal person. The people whose house the two main characters have broken into could lead the audience to believe that they have done something to upset these two men and begin to ask themselves questions to weather they are part of another gang or a feeder of drugs to a rival gang. The major scenes in this sequence are extremely evident throughout, the use of violence, weapons, harsh language and drugs are typical and iconic of a gangster film. From listing these themes the audience can clearly see which genre this specific film belongs to as it shows typical traits of a British gangster film and is easily recognisable. The tension in the opening sequence is evident when the two main characters break into the house and hold up a group of people to steal drugs. The use of guns leaves the audience in a proiaretic state wondering if they are going to shoot the people in the house like they are threatening to. The tension is maintained by the constant shouting and orders given out by one of the main characters and by keeping the gun pointed at various people in the group who own the drugs. However the audience does not know for what reason these men have broken into the house for and why they are using violent methods like this to get the drugs, they look to be in such desperation they do not care about consequences anymore.
The only social group which is being represented in the opening sequence of this film are young male or middle aged white citizens. These men are made to look like the bad ones but in some respects the audience likes to side with the criminals and these men are seen to be iconic and people do in fact like them The two stock characters in the opening sequence are represented in a bad light, the ideological discourse of how to be a man is to act in a violent manner and to use physical actions to get where you want to be. The ideologies which come with being a gangster is to be well groomed, wearing smart suits, own a posh car and live in a spectacular house. However at the start of this opening sequence it is unexpected and the ideological discourse is that you see these men to be wearing cheap and unattractive tracksuits and the audience does not expect this, so you begin to work out as the opening sequence is of what has already happened and this is how the ended up after living the high life of a gangster.
The target audience is mainly aimed to the more mature audiences, the age certificate tells you that it’s a 18 rated and will not be suitable for anyone under this age bracket. It will normally be aimed towards young males because they see this film as iconic and can somewhat relate to the things which are happening in the opening sequence
Tuesday 14 October 2008
Analysis 'Rise of the Foot Soldier' Julian Gilbey, 2007
Julian Gilbey’s ‘Rise of the Foot soldier’ is a film that can be placed in one of two genres. It initially begins as a hooligan football film, much like ‘Green Street’ and ‘Football Factory’ however the reason I have chosen to analyse this opening sequence for my British Gangster planning, is that it essentially contains all the conventions of a British Gangster genre. In this way the audiences generic expectations are immediately challenged just from the opening shot of the three dead bodies being inspected. This is then followed up by the voice over of Ricci Harnett’s character ‘Carlton Leech’ introducing the main characters including himself and giving us a basic summary of his early life. What challenges the expectations of the audience is not necessarily what is said or shot, but more to do with the mood and tone change from the soft music with the dead bodies, to the conflicting fast paced voice over summary. The text is shown to conform with the typical characteristics of the genre after the early title, however before then it seems to treat these characteristics in a playful way by showing extraordinary denotations and connotations and letting us as an audience see that the trouble ‘Carlton Leech’ gets into will be far more than your typical British Crime/Hooligan generic film.
From the very start we see how the film language creates an enigmatic feel for the audience used to pull the audience towards the screen and gain their attention. Mise-en-scene is something that conveys not only meaning, but that enigmatic feel. The first shot shows a wooded, ‘snowy’ area, along with slow music. This put together alongside with the different view shots connote a very dark, and chilling mood to this film and perhaps portrays to the audience a much more serious side to the narrative and not only this but anchors the way that Julian Gilbey has used playful techniques with the characteristics of the genre, and also is contradictory to the feel that is shown in the up coming swiftness sequences. Something that is signified in the early moments of this swift and rapid sequence, is the mise-en-scene that instantaneously convey the characteristics of British Crime; via clothes, location and dialogue. The clothes worn are typical of football fans, we have the hooded jackets and coats, the warm winter football hats and scarves, and the white trainers, that connote they care about what their appearance is like, even though in no more than a few minutes they could be covered in blood. The location used is the football stadiums and also the outside of the stadiums which denotes their ‘turf’ that they own, and clearly signifies the typical characteristic of the genre in the tunnels around the stadium where the fighting takes place. This is all conveyed through the film language and the diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used to anchor this mise-en-scene and body language. The non-diegetic voice over, done by the character ‘Carlton Leech’ (in which this true story is based around) is spoken in a very hard tone by Ricci Harnett and the audience understand this due to the inappropriate language used and hard swearing every other word; this is also anchored through the diegetic dialogue, with the use of shouting and football chanting manner of the football fanatics…or in fact, fighting fanatics.
There are different social groups in the opening sequence and i think these are represented in the rest of the film as 'Carlton Leech' works his way up the ladder of respect. The first are clear gangsters or mobs. They are the three dead men, who we know to be gangsters of some sort as they are wearing the typical clothing, with leather jackets, and boots all in black. We also notice they are the Britsh Gangster characters as the way they have been killed is so brutal. The next social group we see are the football hooligans which is clearly what 'Carlton Leech' started out as. He explains this in the first seen when he is narrating the story, from when he was sixteen years old. After this we see the housewive. The gangsters girl. The woman that tries her best to 'change' her 'no good' husband but ends up failing.
When looking at the first sequence on a macro level, it is possible to think of the first footage as a way to represent the fall of British Crime scene in the late 1980's. The film is advertised to show that this true story was one of the most recognised gang slayings in history. This film just immediatly inhibits that idea by shooting the first shots of three infamous gangsters; dead. Also in the ideoligical discourse of the film we see how these hooligans, or gangsters and crime lords, live in a very male orientated world. We see the wife, who is helpless. Other than that we see no woman unless they are objectified. The men are represented in a way that shows they are the boss. No woman can question them, or they accept the consequences. Surely this is not the world we live in today, which also leads back to the first ideological discourse of it being the end of the gangland. These are all the preffered reading of the film, along with that of violence. The film consistantly contains violence. Perhaps to much violence, which is why the target audience is young males of around 16-30 years old. Men love watching violence and love watching objectified women, with violence. Is there too much violence though? is there really any need for it? This is the negotiated reading, which possibly alot of woman or, older fashioned, higher minded men would think of it. My personal thoughts on this film is that it is exciting, entertaining, and quite disturbing to think that this film was actually once what went on. Perhaps my age and gender are great factors that effect my reasoning to enjoy this film, and i can definately see why other people would find it offensive, ghastly, and innappropriate. Maybe society needs to see true stories like this now and again. It lets society realise these faults, and help stop it.
From the very start we see how the film language creates an enigmatic feel for the audience used to pull the audience towards the screen and gain their attention. Mise-en-scene is something that conveys not only meaning, but that enigmatic feel. The first shot shows a wooded, ‘snowy’ area, along with slow music. This put together alongside with the different view shots connote a very dark, and chilling mood to this film and perhaps portrays to the audience a much more serious side to the narrative and not only this but anchors the way that Julian Gilbey has used playful techniques with the characteristics of the genre, and also is contradictory to the feel that is shown in the up coming swiftness sequences. Something that is signified in the early moments of this swift and rapid sequence, is the mise-en-scene that instantaneously convey the characteristics of British Crime; via clothes, location and dialogue. The clothes worn are typical of football fans, we have the hooded jackets and coats, the warm winter football hats and scarves, and the white trainers, that connote they care about what their appearance is like, even though in no more than a few minutes they could be covered in blood. The location used is the football stadiums and also the outside of the stadiums which denotes their ‘turf’ that they own, and clearly signifies the typical characteristic of the genre in the tunnels around the stadium where the fighting takes place. This is all conveyed through the film language and the diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used to anchor this mise-en-scene and body language. The non-diegetic voice over, done by the character ‘Carlton Leech’ (in which this true story is based around) is spoken in a very hard tone by Ricci Harnett and the audience understand this due to the inappropriate language used and hard swearing every other word; this is also anchored through the diegetic dialogue, with the use of shouting and football chanting manner of the football fanatics…or in fact, fighting fanatics.
There are different social groups in the opening sequence and i think these are represented in the rest of the film as 'Carlton Leech' works his way up the ladder of respect. The first are clear gangsters or mobs. They are the three dead men, who we know to be gangsters of some sort as they are wearing the typical clothing, with leather jackets, and boots all in black. We also notice they are the Britsh Gangster characters as the way they have been killed is so brutal. The next social group we see are the football hooligans which is clearly what 'Carlton Leech' started out as. He explains this in the first seen when he is narrating the story, from when he was sixteen years old. After this we see the housewive. The gangsters girl. The woman that tries her best to 'change' her 'no good' husband but ends up failing.
When looking at the first sequence on a macro level, it is possible to think of the first footage as a way to represent the fall of British Crime scene in the late 1980's. The film is advertised to show that this true story was one of the most recognised gang slayings in history. This film just immediatly inhibits that idea by shooting the first shots of three infamous gangsters; dead. Also in the ideoligical discourse of the film we see how these hooligans, or gangsters and crime lords, live in a very male orientated world. We see the wife, who is helpless. Other than that we see no woman unless they are objectified. The men are represented in a way that shows they are the boss. No woman can question them, or they accept the consequences. Surely this is not the world we live in today, which also leads back to the first ideological discourse of it being the end of the gangland. These are all the preffered reading of the film, along with that of violence. The film consistantly contains violence. Perhaps to much violence, which is why the target audience is young males of around 16-30 years old. Men love watching violence and love watching objectified women, with violence. Is there too much violence though? is there really any need for it? This is the negotiated reading, which possibly alot of woman or, older fashioned, higher minded men would think of it. My personal thoughts on this film is that it is exciting, entertaining, and quite disturbing to think that this film was actually once what went on. Perhaps my age and gender are great factors that effect my reasoning to enjoy this film, and i can definately see why other people would find it offensive, ghastly, and innappropriate. Maybe society needs to see true stories like this now and again. It lets society realise these faults, and help stop it.
Wednesday 8 October 2008
‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ Guy Ritchie, 1998
Guy Ritchie’s ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ has brought together everything the audience would expect with the British Gangster genre in the opening sequence itself. He manages to fulfil these generic expectations in a number of ways. Straight from the start we see the London based cockney accents with the playful rhyming slang which gives a sense of wit as Jason Statham’s character ‘Bacon’ plays with the audience using irony and sarcasm in the way he is trying to sell his stolen goods to a crowd. In this way the characteristics of the genre are conformed to by the text, however used in a playful manner, especially as the chase comes on as it shows excitement, and at the same time lets the audience get to know the characters who comply to the genre.
The stock location is critical to the mise-en-scene in the opening sequence as it represents the gritty side of London with pub in the background as they run away from the police, and the building work to the left of them along with the warehouse they run over the gate into. All of the components in the frame of the opening sequence immediately sum up the ideology that is believed in for the gritty side of cockney London. A great example is when ‘Bacon’ and ‘Ed’ come sliding across the stairway, and the brick wall is shot, with the graffiti. An alternative part of the mise-en-scene that conveys a different kind of meaning is the way the characters are positioned. To start with in the first shot, ‘Bacon’ is positioned in the very middle of an audience who crowd around him in a circle. This focuses the attention on the main speaker. Another way in which Guy Ritchie manages to construct peoples attention to him is the garage situated behind him. This garage has bars going across which act as a leading line towards ‘Bacon’. The other example of Guy Ritchie using leading lines towards the positioning of the characters is when he places the camera at the bottom of the steps as the hand rail shoots towards both ‘Bacon’ and ‘Ed’. Along with the characters positions, their location and their cockney language, the characters costumes play a great role in conveying meaning to gain the preferred meaning from the audience. The collared coat, and scarf worn with the collar up shows a trendy sense of style to ‘Bacon‘. Gangsters are forever concerned about their image and the way the collar is worn upwards shows he wants to look fashionable and that he cares about his image. The clothes gangsters wear normally represents how much money they have. The suit coat demonstrates that he wants to look expensive. These costumes has portrayed the non-verbal language to the audience, along with the lighting. Lighting and colour play a vital part in conveying meaning through mise-en-scene. We see the dull, yellow wash used by the production team in the first sequence which certainly with the slightly grainy, pixelated image enhances the idea of gritty London. This then changes to dark lighting when the voice over enters the sequence which is used to depict the gangster, rebellious side and also creates the enigma as the voice over introduces the story. Compared with the voice over to introduce the story the way the text comes up for the titles has to convey the enigma. What is the reasoning for ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’? This expresses the representation of guns to the audience.
Not only is it the mise-en-scene that is used to convey meaning to the audience, but the camera shot size, movement, and angle do also. I think it is particularly strong in the chase from the police as the steadicam is used to sweep through the actors which help make the audience feel as if they could be standing their or walking past watching it all happen. This technique with the steadicam is also used whilst the audience stands within the crowd at the first shot, allowing us to visualise Jason Statham’s method of portraying the character of ‘Bacon’. In these opening shots we as the audience are given shots from different angles, and sizes, which all help initiate the enigma of the characters, starting with short shots on both characters when they first enter the scene. In the very first camera movement of the film we see the camera move towards ‘Bacon’ as if we are walking in to the crowd to find out what is going on. These camera images are anchored by the effectiveness of sound. Whilst the camera is viewing ‘Bacons’ irony in his speech we occasionally hear a slight laugh or giggle in the background which anchors the humour and not only this but as the credits come up we know the chase is about to happen due to the track playing the enigmatic music in the background and this beat just kicks in as ‘Ed’ tells ‘Bacon’, “Bacon… Coppers!”. As well as this music the dialogue plays a huge part in adding to the enigma of the characters such as ‘Bacon’s’ cheeky attitude towards conning people but in a way letting them know that he is conning them. For example “We can’t get them again, they’ve changed the bloody locks”. An additional affect the director has used is the slow motion with the voice over. This completely introduces the film to the audience and also introduces the characters. This brings us into the narrative.
The narrative is structured as a story told by one of the big bosses of the British Gangster genre. The audience is being told the story as it goes along and this first sequences is the introduction…”It’s time to move on, and he knows it.” The director, Guy Ritchie, uses the typical themes throughout the film and these are introduced in the opening sequences. We know from the voice over that one of the initial themes is going to be violence as he is moving on to something bigger than just selling stolen goods. We also realise the theme is going to involve, these two what seem to be ‘best friends’ ‘Bacon and Ed’, getting their cheeky selves in to trouble or gaining big money. In this way the tension is gained and the voice over helps to maintain it by introducing that tension to the rest of the narrative for the entire film.
Throughout the opening sequence there are four typical gangster film social groups that are shown. We start of as part of the civilian crowd with the steadicam. We watch the main part of ‘Bacon’ who is clearly the show man of the group. He’s witty, and yet brings a sense of intimidation to the character as well which possibly enhances the ideology of the British gangster. He has the partner who could maybe be the brains behind the planning, ‘Ed’. We also have the ‘coppers’, the police. They are shown to be quite stupid in the opening sequence as they can’t keep up with the partnership of ‘Bacon’ and ‘Ed’, which definitely shows the ideology that gangsters could always get away with pretty much anything in those days. All these ideologies are represented by the semiotics used in the opening sequence such as the police hat that denotes a policeman and comes with connotations of good verses bad, and robbers verses coppers. We also have Jason Statham’s shaved head, which signifies a ‘hardness’ about the character and perhaps rebelliousness.
This connects with the target audience, as we would think that Guy Ritchie is probably aiming this film at young, sixteen to thirty year olds as they are the people that it most relates to. Especially those that live on that side of London. This also means they are the ones most likely to gain the preferred reading set out by Ritchie. This would be that Gangs are dangerous, yet can be shown to be fun and the people that are good at heart will probably be the ones that come out on top to rule, where as the horrible gangsters will always end up the worst off. Compared with the negotiated reading that could be gangs are too dangerous and this should not influence young minds. In contrast to this we have the aberrant reading which would be something like gangs are easy and fun to be in and you’ll never get hurt.
I as a British teenager would go with the preferred reading of the text, as it shows that the good hearted come out on top. This is in no way related to my age or gender, although I assume that older adults with children would take a completely different reading than me as they would look at it as dangerous and influential. I also feel this maybe influenced by my background as I am not from the gritty side of London and would not know what it would be like to be part of the gang underworld such as the one portrayed by Guy Ritchie’s film.
An ideological discourse within 'Lock Stock' is gambling. The character 'Ed' gambles alot of money in a very short space of time at the beginning of film, and the rest of the film involves them trying to pay back the debts to the big boss. This ties in with the the ideology of capatilism. It reinforces the idea, however challenges it in the way the men go against the law to gain this money through drugs and robbery. This however is good way to re-present reality of how this stuff goes on in the real world. It is an artificial version of reality in the gritty side of london in this time and can be viewed on a macro level like this.
The stock location is critical to the mise-en-scene in the opening sequence as it represents the gritty side of London with pub in the background as they run away from the police, and the building work to the left of them along with the warehouse they run over the gate into. All of the components in the frame of the opening sequence immediately sum up the ideology that is believed in for the gritty side of cockney London. A great example is when ‘Bacon’ and ‘Ed’ come sliding across the stairway, and the brick wall is shot, with the graffiti. An alternative part of the mise-en-scene that conveys a different kind of meaning is the way the characters are positioned. To start with in the first shot, ‘Bacon’ is positioned in the very middle of an audience who crowd around him in a circle. This focuses the attention on the main speaker. Another way in which Guy Ritchie manages to construct peoples attention to him is the garage situated behind him. This garage has bars going across which act as a leading line towards ‘Bacon’. The other example of Guy Ritchie using leading lines towards the positioning of the characters is when he places the camera at the bottom of the steps as the hand rail shoots towards both ‘Bacon’ and ‘Ed’. Along with the characters positions, their location and their cockney language, the characters costumes play a great role in conveying meaning to gain the preferred meaning from the audience. The collared coat, and scarf worn with the collar up shows a trendy sense of style to ‘Bacon‘. Gangsters are forever concerned about their image and the way the collar is worn upwards shows he wants to look fashionable and that he cares about his image. The clothes gangsters wear normally represents how much money they have. The suit coat demonstrates that he wants to look expensive. These costumes has portrayed the non-verbal language to the audience, along with the lighting. Lighting and colour play a vital part in conveying meaning through mise-en-scene. We see the dull, yellow wash used by the production team in the first sequence which certainly with the slightly grainy, pixelated image enhances the idea of gritty London. This then changes to dark lighting when the voice over enters the sequence which is used to depict the gangster, rebellious side and also creates the enigma as the voice over introduces the story. Compared with the voice over to introduce the story the way the text comes up for the titles has to convey the enigma. What is the reasoning for ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’? This expresses the representation of guns to the audience.
Not only is it the mise-en-scene that is used to convey meaning to the audience, but the camera shot size, movement, and angle do also. I think it is particularly strong in the chase from the police as the steadicam is used to sweep through the actors which help make the audience feel as if they could be standing their or walking past watching it all happen. This technique with the steadicam is also used whilst the audience stands within the crowd at the first shot, allowing us to visualise Jason Statham’s method of portraying the character of ‘Bacon’. In these opening shots we as the audience are given shots from different angles, and sizes, which all help initiate the enigma of the characters, starting with short shots on both characters when they first enter the scene. In the very first camera movement of the film we see the camera move towards ‘Bacon’ as if we are walking in to the crowd to find out what is going on. These camera images are anchored by the effectiveness of sound. Whilst the camera is viewing ‘Bacons’ irony in his speech we occasionally hear a slight laugh or giggle in the background which anchors the humour and not only this but as the credits come up we know the chase is about to happen due to the track playing the enigmatic music in the background and this beat just kicks in as ‘Ed’ tells ‘Bacon’, “Bacon… Coppers!”. As well as this music the dialogue plays a huge part in adding to the enigma of the characters such as ‘Bacon’s’ cheeky attitude towards conning people but in a way letting them know that he is conning them. For example “We can’t get them again, they’ve changed the bloody locks”. An additional affect the director has used is the slow motion with the voice over. This completely introduces the film to the audience and also introduces the characters. This brings us into the narrative.
The narrative is structured as a story told by one of the big bosses of the British Gangster genre. The audience is being told the story as it goes along and this first sequences is the introduction…”It’s time to move on, and he knows it.” The director, Guy Ritchie, uses the typical themes throughout the film and these are introduced in the opening sequences. We know from the voice over that one of the initial themes is going to be violence as he is moving on to something bigger than just selling stolen goods. We also realise the theme is going to involve, these two what seem to be ‘best friends’ ‘Bacon and Ed’, getting their cheeky selves in to trouble or gaining big money. In this way the tension is gained and the voice over helps to maintain it by introducing that tension to the rest of the narrative for the entire film.
Throughout the opening sequence there are four typical gangster film social groups that are shown. We start of as part of the civilian crowd with the steadicam. We watch the main part of ‘Bacon’ who is clearly the show man of the group. He’s witty, and yet brings a sense of intimidation to the character as well which possibly enhances the ideology of the British gangster. He has the partner who could maybe be the brains behind the planning, ‘Ed’. We also have the ‘coppers’, the police. They are shown to be quite stupid in the opening sequence as they can’t keep up with the partnership of ‘Bacon’ and ‘Ed’, which definitely shows the ideology that gangsters could always get away with pretty much anything in those days. All these ideologies are represented by the semiotics used in the opening sequence such as the police hat that denotes a policeman and comes with connotations of good verses bad, and robbers verses coppers. We also have Jason Statham’s shaved head, which signifies a ‘hardness’ about the character and perhaps rebelliousness.
This connects with the target audience, as we would think that Guy Ritchie is probably aiming this film at young, sixteen to thirty year olds as they are the people that it most relates to. Especially those that live on that side of London. This also means they are the ones most likely to gain the preferred reading set out by Ritchie. This would be that Gangs are dangerous, yet can be shown to be fun and the people that are good at heart will probably be the ones that come out on top to rule, where as the horrible gangsters will always end up the worst off. Compared with the negotiated reading that could be gangs are too dangerous and this should not influence young minds. In contrast to this we have the aberrant reading which would be something like gangs are easy and fun to be in and you’ll never get hurt.
I as a British teenager would go with the preferred reading of the text, as it shows that the good hearted come out on top. This is in no way related to my age or gender, although I assume that older adults with children would take a completely different reading than me as they would look at it as dangerous and influential. I also feel this maybe influenced by my background as I am not from the gritty side of London and would not know what it would be like to be part of the gang underworld such as the one portrayed by Guy Ritchie’s film.
An ideological discourse within 'Lock Stock' is gambling. The character 'Ed' gambles alot of money in a very short space of time at the beginning of film, and the rest of the film involves them trying to pay back the debts to the big boss. This ties in with the the ideology of capatilism. It reinforces the idea, however challenges it in the way the men go against the law to gain this money through drugs and robbery. This however is good way to re-present reality of how this stuff goes on in the real world. It is an artificial version of reality in the gritty side of london in this time and can be viewed on a macro level like this.
Snatch
Snatch is a film made in 2000, by Britsh writer-director Guy Ritchie,. Set in the criminal life of london , the movie consists of two compatible one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish (Jason Statham ) who finds himself getting invlolbed with a gangster named Brick Top (Alan Ford). Just from the opening sequence of the film, it Is quite evident that the films genre is British gangster. There are numerous conventions of a British gangster film, such as the accents and the designer clothes that the actors are dressed in, this contrast of South East London (quite a poor part of the country) and money, causes the audience to wonder where the money has come from, and they automatically refer to organised crime.
The mise-en-scene in the opening sequence is very meaningful. We are not well informed of the situation at hand and so we make assumptions of the storyline or outcome of the film throughout. There is a lot of iconography used in the opening of the film, for example, the jeweller informs the audience straight away, of where the scene is taking place. And again, when there are shots of the security monitors, we are informed that they are in a building where there is something worth protecting. Also the MCU’s of the very first scene, are used to portray Turkish’s thought, for instance when the voice over talks about Tommy, there is a MCU of Tommy. There is varied camera movement in the sequence, and each type is used to portray different meaning, for example, in the Jewellers steadicam is used to inform the audience that the character that the camera is focused on, is in deep thought. Although the camera doesn’t pay much attention to the clothes that Turkish or Tommy is wearing but we see from the chest up. They are dressed very formally, smart shirts and expensive looking, long coats, from this we can tell that they are very fashionable, and can afford expensive clothing, and therefore are quite wealthy.
In the Raid scene, canted angles and handicam are used, to give a more drastic and unfamiliar feeling to the shots. I think these techniques, bring more action to the scene, they are fast changing shots which keep the audience interested and focused on the action. The handicam is very effective, the movement of the camera, is some what similar to the relaistic movement of human focus, and so it creates tension for the audience, as the filming helps the audience to feel like they are acrually there, and involved in the action. Because the criminals in this scene are disguised we cannot gather an idea of their personality from their clothing, we can only gather that they are roofless criminals through their violent movement and actions, and also their raised, aggressive voices.
At the beginning of the first scene there is no music, because of Turkish’s introduction and dialogue. But the music used in the raid scene starts off slow, and sounds very Jewish, to agree with the characters that are in the shot because they are all Jews. But when it is revealed that they are not Jews, and in fact criminals, the music becomes very upbeat, to tie in with the action. This is effective because the slow music, in a way sets the scene as a very laid back, inactive scene, but then the music kicks in and completely distorts the idea of peace and tranquillity. it suits the situation and builds up tension for the audience, furthermore, gets the audience involved with the action, possibly pumping adrenaline. And so this use of sound is very effective.
In the opening scene, there is the dialogue of Turkish, who introduces himself, and Tommy to the audience, and without giving the plot away, says a little bit about what he does, and what is happening in the scene. ‘‘I was a happy boxing promoter until a week ago, and now, what do I know about diamonds?’’ we are now informed of the type of person that Turkish is, because of his profession, and that there is going to be diamonds and money involved in the plot. And when he talks about Tommy, ‘‘He says that he was named after a gun, but really I know he was named after a 19th century ballet dancer’’. This informs the audience that maybe Tommy is not what he tries to make himself out to be and from that we can gather a bit about his character.
In the raid scene the dialogue is quite difficult to understand, because they are speaking in Dutch accents. But if you listen carefully the conversation is about the truthfulness of the story of Adam and Eve. In a way this could be humorous, Jews talking about the creation story, and somebody contradicting it. But when the action kicks in the dialogue completely changes, and now they have threatening raised voices, and it changes the perspective of the jews, to the audience completely. this contrast is very effective, the way that the males appear calm, and then kick into violent malevolent behaviour, in a way is exciting to the audience, and creates a cliff hanger type situation. and an enigma for the rest of the film. the audience may start to question ''are these characters really jewish, or are they disguised?''.
There is one main representation of a social group in this sequence. And it is that of young to middle aged men who are all conveyed as criminals in one way or another. But whereas Turkish and Tommy are portrayed as cockney men evidently from London, the criminals in the raid scene are clearly foreign from there accents. This begs the audience to wonder whether the film includes other countries as settings, or other groups of people from different nations, possibly immigrants getting involved in the action of the london Crime scene. Furthermore, women are not used at all in the opening sequence, this would suggest that the director has purposely left them out to identify his target audience, as mostly males.
The semiotics in the opening sequence help us to understand the representation of the characters so far, for example the diamond that the jeweller is examining is obviously worth a lot of money because of the sheer size of it, as a symbol this represents the fact that some how, Tommy and Turkish have become in possession of this diamond, and straight away the audience know that money is going to be an issue with these two characters.
The main genre of the film is British Gangster, and so I believe the film is targeted primarily at any aged males, as this film would, in a way relate to them as a group because everyone in this opening scene is male, and in fact white.
One possible reading of this text is that there are numerous men, trying to make a lot of money, because in the first scene, we see the diamond, and the introductions, where as in the second scene, we see an armed robbery taking place for the diamond. However another reading of the text is that they are just mindless criminal thugs getting kicks out of causing havoc and despair.
I think the main ideological discourse used in the sequence is trying to portray the fact that most people from london or around london, are involved in crime, the majority of people in the film, are criminals, and all have a plot to have money and be sucessful. Also i believethat throughout the film, the typical perception of travellers being dodgey characters, is reinforced. this does not become evident through the dialogue, but more through the plot of the film. There are only two women in the whole of the film, and none in the opening sequence, i believe this backs up the belief that mostly males are members of organised crime gangs, or commit phelonies. And so i believe that women are in a way portrayed as the innocent and behaved.
The mise-en-scene in the opening sequence is very meaningful. We are not well informed of the situation at hand and so we make assumptions of the storyline or outcome of the film throughout. There is a lot of iconography used in the opening of the film, for example, the jeweller informs the audience straight away, of where the scene is taking place. And again, when there are shots of the security monitors, we are informed that they are in a building where there is something worth protecting. Also the MCU’s of the very first scene, are used to portray Turkish’s thought, for instance when the voice over talks about Tommy, there is a MCU of Tommy. There is varied camera movement in the sequence, and each type is used to portray different meaning, for example, in the Jewellers steadicam is used to inform the audience that the character that the camera is focused on, is in deep thought. Although the camera doesn’t pay much attention to the clothes that Turkish or Tommy is wearing but we see from the chest up. They are dressed very formally, smart shirts and expensive looking, long coats, from this we can tell that they are very fashionable, and can afford expensive clothing, and therefore are quite wealthy.
In the Raid scene, canted angles and handicam are used, to give a more drastic and unfamiliar feeling to the shots. I think these techniques, bring more action to the scene, they are fast changing shots which keep the audience interested and focused on the action. The handicam is very effective, the movement of the camera, is some what similar to the relaistic movement of human focus, and so it creates tension for the audience, as the filming helps the audience to feel like they are acrually there, and involved in the action. Because the criminals in this scene are disguised we cannot gather an idea of their personality from their clothing, we can only gather that they are roofless criminals through their violent movement and actions, and also their raised, aggressive voices.
At the beginning of the first scene there is no music, because of Turkish’s introduction and dialogue. But the music used in the raid scene starts off slow, and sounds very Jewish, to agree with the characters that are in the shot because they are all Jews. But when it is revealed that they are not Jews, and in fact criminals, the music becomes very upbeat, to tie in with the action. This is effective because the slow music, in a way sets the scene as a very laid back, inactive scene, but then the music kicks in and completely distorts the idea of peace and tranquillity. it suits the situation and builds up tension for the audience, furthermore, gets the audience involved with the action, possibly pumping adrenaline. And so this use of sound is very effective.
In the opening scene, there is the dialogue of Turkish, who introduces himself, and Tommy to the audience, and without giving the plot away, says a little bit about what he does, and what is happening in the scene. ‘‘I was a happy boxing promoter until a week ago, and now, what do I know about diamonds?’’ we are now informed of the type of person that Turkish is, because of his profession, and that there is going to be diamonds and money involved in the plot. And when he talks about Tommy, ‘‘He says that he was named after a gun, but really I know he was named after a 19th century ballet dancer’’. This informs the audience that maybe Tommy is not what he tries to make himself out to be and from that we can gather a bit about his character.
In the raid scene the dialogue is quite difficult to understand, because they are speaking in Dutch accents. But if you listen carefully the conversation is about the truthfulness of the story of Adam and Eve. In a way this could be humorous, Jews talking about the creation story, and somebody contradicting it. But when the action kicks in the dialogue completely changes, and now they have threatening raised voices, and it changes the perspective of the jews, to the audience completely. this contrast is very effective, the way that the males appear calm, and then kick into violent malevolent behaviour, in a way is exciting to the audience, and creates a cliff hanger type situation. and an enigma for the rest of the film. the audience may start to question ''are these characters really jewish, or are they disguised?''.
There is one main representation of a social group in this sequence. And it is that of young to middle aged men who are all conveyed as criminals in one way or another. But whereas Turkish and Tommy are portrayed as cockney men evidently from London, the criminals in the raid scene are clearly foreign from there accents. This begs the audience to wonder whether the film includes other countries as settings, or other groups of people from different nations, possibly immigrants getting involved in the action of the london Crime scene. Furthermore, women are not used at all in the opening sequence, this would suggest that the director has purposely left them out to identify his target audience, as mostly males.
The semiotics in the opening sequence help us to understand the representation of the characters so far, for example the diamond that the jeweller is examining is obviously worth a lot of money because of the sheer size of it, as a symbol this represents the fact that some how, Tommy and Turkish have become in possession of this diamond, and straight away the audience know that money is going to be an issue with these two characters.
The main genre of the film is British Gangster, and so I believe the film is targeted primarily at any aged males, as this film would, in a way relate to them as a group because everyone in this opening scene is male, and in fact white.
One possible reading of this text is that there are numerous men, trying to make a lot of money, because in the first scene, we see the diamond, and the introductions, where as in the second scene, we see an armed robbery taking place for the diamond. However another reading of the text is that they are just mindless criminal thugs getting kicks out of causing havoc and despair.
I think the main ideological discourse used in the sequence is trying to portray the fact that most people from london or around london, are involved in crime, the majority of people in the film, are criminals, and all have a plot to have money and be sucessful. Also i believethat throughout the film, the typical perception of travellers being dodgey characters, is reinforced. this does not become evident through the dialogue, but more through the plot of the film. There are only two women in the whole of the film, and none in the opening sequence, i believe this backs up the belief that mostly males are members of organised crime gangs, or commit phelonies. And so i believe that women are in a way portrayed as the innocent and behaved.
Thursday 2 October 2008
Small Mood Board to Show Some Stock Conventions.
This Mood board is just to show the stock locations and also it involves some iconography with the car brands which we have to think about whilst shooting our footage, especially if we intend on involving a car.
Wednesday 1 October 2008
Mood Board that shows some example films and how the mind of a Gangster works.
This mood board shows all the components that make a gangsters mind work. This will help us when making our British Gangster genre sequence as we can use these typical famous stereotypes whilst acting it out.
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