Evaluation Of Our Pitch

We pitched our idea to the class on friday the 24th october. We did our pitch using a slide show to give our audience a sense of what out opening would be like. Nick had gone out and taken photos of himself at the location we are going to use to help the audience visualize what our film would be like, Mark had researched music and artists from the era that we were looking at and Joe created the questionnaire and analysed the results. We put all of this information on our pitch to give the audience an insight into what we were trying to achieve and why we think it would be successful. Once we finished our pitch we were given feed back from the audience. They identified a possible problem that we had not previously thought about. We want to shoot our opening sequence in a car park, but obviously we would not be able to buy and fill a car park with 1960's style cars, to overcome this we will shoot when the car park is deserted.

Questionairre and audience research

For our pitch we created a questionnaire so that we were hoping to gain a broader understanding of what our audience will want see in a an opening of a British Gangster film and therefore begin to shape the needs for the viewer. What we were trying to achieve in this questionnaire is that we wanted to see what the public believed in the conventions of a Brit Gangster so we asked questions which were appropriate to the opening sequence. We asked questions on stock costumes, soundtrack, stock locations, ideology and then asked for their views on certain actors and films. The results of the questionnaire were very interesting and gave us a good insight into what people expected of a gangster film, we found out that some things that we asked, such as jewellery which we expected to be important ideology wasn't but everyone said that money was important, which we expected as well. The soundtrack was very much split between, this did not help at all so we will have to use our initiative to decide what will suit our opening sequence. The question which asked who was your favorite actor was useful, as 50% found Daniel Craig was and this meant that we could base the acting on the style of Daniel Craig and people may like it like that. Also, what we didn't expect was that people found violence linked with comedy was what made a gangster film, this gave us some more ideas into our storyboard in what we can use for the script.

Music.

Music is going to be very important for our opening sequence. It is going to set the mood of the film and it is also going to connote the British gangster style that we are trying to create. The soundtrack to a film is vital and if you get it wrong you can convey the wrong meaning; as we discoverd in our preliminary task. We have been discussing what type of music we think would be appropriate for our opening sequence, and we have come to the conclusion that we should use rock music from the 1960's to the early 1970's era. After having this discussion I went home and created a CD of some of the songs i believed to be appropriate for our genre. I looked at British and American rock bands from this period. The british bands we looked at were people such as 'The Who', 'The Clash', 'Rolling Stones','Led Zepplin', 'Sex Pistols' and 'Free'. I looked at American bans/artists such as Jimi Hendrix, 'Guns and Roses', and 'Steppenwolf'. As we are doing a British gangster genre British bands would obviously be the best choice for our soundtrack, but some of the American music I looked at would be good aswell, and would fit in with our opening.

The following are some of the songs I have put on the CD, and that we could be considering form our soundtrack.

Feedback #2

Well done - your film research is at a level 4 and your preliminary task shows real promise in terms of working as a group on the construction element. I would like to now see a record of your discussions and ideas.

Keep up the good work!

Preliminary Task

Preliminary Task, Filming

After drawing a storyboard, deciding what we would film, what camera shots, camera angles we would use and what would be said in our conversation we went to our location within the school to begin the long process of filming.
For our first shots we were to use a panning mid-shot, showing our character walk down a corridor. This pan shot would then lead to show the side of a wall, as we watch the character walk off into the distance. We had to move the camera up slightly so that we did not see the characters face as we wanted to reveal him in the lasts shot, creating enigma. As we were filming in school, the mise-en-scene included some unwanted details, such as school posters which were not entirely in keeping with the gangster genre! To keep in with the style of British gangster films, we kept the suits and adopted foreign Italian accents to make sure the audience immediately understood what we were trying to create. The second shot was of the characters feet acting as a leading line following him up to the door which he then went through. We had to film this shot many times as we found that without a dolly, the shot was very jerky, but the final shot was steady and had a slight noir feel as we caught the beams of light coming through the door casting a shadow on the floor where the character walks. keeping in with the noir style, the next two shots included a MCU walking through a door and then a high angle MS canted angle panning shot which gave it a slightly CCTV appearance, like the character was being watched. When filming the character walking down the stairs, we used a MCU of his feet, filming a pan shot through the bars of the stairs, once again adhering to the noir feel, showing the character to be locked up, through the bars which connote a jail bars. When filming the conversation we kept to the rule of thirds, showing the characters heads in both top corners using a MCU shot. When talking we had to make sure we were matching on action to make the shots feel natural. We also had to get sufficient head and lead room to make it all look natural. We then used a ECU of the characters shaking hands with the voice of the characters talking from the previous scene acting as a sound bridge.
We had to analyse the mise-en-scene to make sure everything looked like it should be there as well as using diegetic sounds which were appropriate. Certain rules such as the 180 rule and the rule of thirds were adhered to as well as giving the film a noir style with the lighting and angles and a gangster feel with the accents and costumes.

Preliminary Task, Errors.

During our shooting of the preliminary task we had overcome many problems and errors throughout. The most basic one was the actual shooting, as we were shooting in a corridor we kept on getting people walking straight past the camera as it was hidden behind a wall, so a lot of re takes had to be made there. We avoided errors, such as confusing the audience in the conversation is the 180 rule, if this is not aboded by then there would be confusion as the audience would not understand who is on what side. Also to make the conversation free flowing, continuity editing had to be good and had to reverse shot reverse to understand who is talking and gives the perspective that you are there and are turning towards the person talking.
During editing we had a lot of takes to overcome throughout the process of it, to cut out any unwanted clips we used to ways of cutting these out, the first was to use a clip and if it is too long at the start then you could set it in a bit further and if it is not wanted at the end then u can set it out, so it cuts off any unwanted pieces of video. Another way is once you have the shots you want in the timeline and it feels that when it cuts from one shot to another then you can use the tool split clip when necessary and then this splits the clip into two parts and the unwanted part can be deleted then the gap can be closed. Also unwanted sound was a problem as the sound from the DV camera could pick up a lot of sound, the first course of action minimise this to as little as possibly was to remove shoes so that there will no large background noise. In the video afterwards there is always slight noise picked up throughout. We overcame this by putting a slight soundtrack in the background, the non-diegetic sound complemented the sequence and it blocked out the background noise.

Gangster No. 1,Paul McGuigan, 2000

The film Gangster No.1 is in the British Gangster genre, however it does have a slight twist to the American style in the opening sequence. The generic expectations are fulfilled in the opening sequence as it portrays the top gangsters lifestyle, with champagne, slicked back hair and flamboyant tuxedos and suits. It has traditional conventions of the dialogue as well for a gangster genre with the frequent swear words. The text conforms to the characteristics of the the genre as the stock characters are what are expected in a Brit gangster genre, with their accent, which is cockney, and the way they are talking about previous encounters with people. Also the use of smoking can also conform to the stereotypical gangster. However part of it is treated playfully, as it is supposed to be a British themed gangster film there are conventions which are normally found in American gangster films, the stock characters are very well dressed and the stock location is very grand. Usually in Brit Genres they are more rougher with leather jackets and such and is usually located in a warehouse or back streets.

Mise en scene shows that the characters stock costume is very smart and flamboyant which can tell us that they have been very successful in the past, also the age of the characters can tell us they are very big in the hierarchy of gangsters and that they have been through a lot. Also the location is extremely lavish which can be used to show the audience what can happen to gangsters after the times they are on the streets, which is when gangster films are usually set in Britain.

Shot size conveys the happiness of the upper class and the contrast between the lower class boxers as it cuts from a laughing face of an upper class on a BCU to a face of a bloodied boxer on another BCU in quick succession, this can help convey the meaning as it can give a bigger difference in the emotions of the upper class and lower class at this gathering. Also the MS shot of the boxers fighting can give a better perspective of the upper classes personalities on what they do in their free time, which is be in an audience of a boxing match. Also on frequent occasions when a line of dialogue is spoken from one of them it is shot in an MS and have another character in a CU all in the same shot to show what the reactions of the other person talking, which gives off a good affect of how they react to what they say, which is mainly smirking connoting arrogance in them.

One of the first establishing shots of the location is a birds eye view angle shot, one half of the shot is the boxing ring and the other is the lavishly set out tables of all the upper class men sitting there which conveys the contrast of the two classes as there is a major difference. He also uses angle and shot to show the contrast in the way that he uses the boxers legs as a leading line to show the face of one of the gangsters in the background at eye level and as the stock costumes are different they give the contrast.

The Non-diegetic sound of the music anchors the images as it is laid back, the lyrics help as the words are "the good life," which connotes the men's easy lifestyle and the how trouble free these men are, even though they have a criminal past. However to anchor the contrast between the boxers and the high class men are the diegetic sounds that have been edited in to exaggeratethe sounds of the boxers, as they punch it sounds very savage which is totally different to the non diegetic sound of the soundtrack.

Through the dialogue of the characters we learn that they are very loud and abrasive through the volume of their voices which connotes their personality to be very arrogant and have a superiority in their status of class. There is a lot of swearing and colloquialism in their dialogue as well which can connote that they may have not had a very good education and can refer back to the crime genre and is evidence they have been involved in crime. Their does not seem to be a superior in the group, their dialogue can connote that they have known each other for along as they have been talking about people that are coming put of prison after a long sentence which also connotes to the audience that they have risen from to the top together. The Non-Verbal language also is very arrogant, for instance the over the top blowing out of the smoke on their large Cuban cigars and their extravagant way they posture themselves as they talk which connotes their intimidatory they have achieved over the years as gangsters. Their hand gestures as well as they all talk are very similar to each other, their body language seems to be a clone each other which connotes that they influence each other and copy each other with their habits.

Lighting has an impact on the different social classes as the upper class seem to be brighter and the lower class, the boxers have a darker lighting on them, even though they are supposed to be in the spotlight. Another visual technique is used to express the emotions of the men is slow motion which shows them laughing in slow motion which connotes how their happiness is long term.

The narrative is a linear narrative as it just a conversation about their everyday life whilst watching a boxing match, which takes second interest to what they talking about. It is structured so that the audience can have a slight background information on what is happening before more action happens, there is not much enigma in the opening sequence. The audience is positioned so that they are on the table next to them over listening on their conversation as there is one shot where there is a MCU of a man leaning over looking at the table, this is helpful for the identification of the group as the other table seems to be quiet as they are talking, but the other table are very loud with a lot of smoke coming from that table. The tension is created as the boxing match gives an indirect effect as tension building from the conversation as the fast paced background of the fight in the background is also maintaining tension as well.

There are two social groups represented in this sequence, the gangsters which are portrayed as the upper class groups, with their stock costumes and their personality with their stereotypical over sized cigars. Then their is the lower class which are the boxers which is traditionally known as a lower class sport and the spectators are upper class. The ideological discourse which is evident is capitalism, the difference in the social groups is great as the upper class are very rich, with a lavish dinner, with champagne and the boxers which are poorer are fighting for money and the upper classes entertainment.

As this is a gangster film as a main genre then its main target audience will be the young males which as this is very masculine and no sign of females about, a strictly male party. The opening sequence however does not have a typical gangster opening scene, it is more relaxed, which can target an older male audience as well as it is not as action packed and more easy going. Our age will think that this is quite aspiring as they are an older generation. My gender would find this more influential then females as of the large masculine presence involved and you would like to know the group of males in the sequence and females would find it less interest as there is no feminine character to relate to.

Analysing 'City of God', Meirelles and Lund, 2002

The film belongs to the gangster and crime genre, although there is a twist on the conventional gangster film as we can see life from a different perspective; the innocent. The director uses classic connotations and denotations used in a gangster movie and put them in a different context so we read the text differently, and find it in some aspects more appealing.The generic expectations of the genre are challenged as the film is by Brazilian directors who employ traditional Brazilian conventions etc. and this is different from what English speaking audiences understand to be a classic gangster and crime film. The text fulfils our generic expectations in the fact that we see throughout the opening; gangs, guns, slaughter and the now cliché innocent bystanders, things that anchor the film as being part of the gangster genre and we also realise the film is partly from the crime genre as we see murder of the innocent, and this is a traditional convention of the genre.Meirelles and Lund treat the characteristics playfully as they have moved our conceptions and ideas about a particular genre and put them in an entirely different setting, letting us experience a completely different style of film which we dot expect, thus creating enigma. Although the text does not conform to the characteristics of one genre specifically, we see that each genre has been thought of, such as the violence and murder which is used throughout gangster films and the stock characters of gangster vs. police for the crime genre. The directors have treated the genre quite ironically as our conceptions of gangster films are of men in expensive suits, a variety of weapons and a fear of no one. In ‘City of God’, it is shown to be quite ironic how gangs in run down slums in Brazil seem tougher than the people we see in films. The realistic footage and the sense that what we are watching is actually going on in other places of the world makes the characters in the film see very tough and macho, even without expensive clothing, accommodation or weapons, compared to the traditional conceptions we have of gangsters, as we know these films are fiction, compared to ‘City of God’ which we are made to believe is real. By putting the genre in an entirely different setting which English audiences do not understand, we are alienated from what goes on in the country and therefore we see the characters to be more menacing.Mise-en-scene is used throughout the beginning to give the audience a true understanding of what is going on. When analysing the film we can tell that it is set in the seventies due to the stock costumes, for example short shorts, stripy flamboyant t-shirts and bold afro style haircuts all distinguish the film as being set in the past. The clothing of the gang denotes a rugged and worn look but connotes the lack of attention to clothes; the gang has bigger things to deal with than appearance. We can also tell what the ‘City of God’ is really like through mise-en-scene. We can see the harsh conditions the people live in; old, sparse living conditions, empty streets, make-shift roofs and terraces highlight the peoples struggle in the crime-ridden city to find basic things such as proper shelter. By showing us all the surroundings, the audience can see everything and feely sympathetic for the innocent living in the city. Mise-en-scene used in the beginning helps establish where the characters are such as outside the terraces, preparing food, in the middle of the road and walking down stairs and what time of day events are taking place such as bright lighting to convey daytime. In the films opening there are a lot of quick succession shots which bring prominence onto one single object using MCU and XCU. Instead of the directors deciding to show the audience what is going on, where we are in MS etc. in a few lengthy shots, they have chosen to establish everything in a very short amount of time which also creates anxiety. In a few MCU shots of Lil’ Ze’s gun and the slaughter of the chickens, the audience immediately realise what is going on and can now let their mind focus on what is being told in the story.In the opening there are a variety of shots used to give the audience a view from a different angle with every shot. MCU and CU shots give make certain objects stand out, as well as selective focus which makes things in either the background or foreground seem more important than anything else in the shot. When Lil’ Ze is filmed, MCU, low angle shots are used to make him seem bigger than everyone else in the city. The directors use tilting and panning throughout the opening to bring some variation into the film. With these shots we can see what is going on in more depth such as a tilt down, depicting the chicken flying down from one level to another, leading the gang somewhere else and a pan right shot of the chicken running, closely followed by the gang, showing how close the chase is becoming, and we are not sure if the chicken will make it, creating enigma. There is a crane shot used to give a view from above of the ‘City of God’. When examining mise-en- scene in this shot, we can see the dilapidated buildings and the clothing that the gang members wear. Handycam and steadycam are used to give a more realistic feel and give different perspectives. Handycam is used as a POV shot of the chicken looking up at the gang, (making them seem higher in status) running from the gang, now the audience can understand what it is like to be caught up in the heat of the chase. At the end of the opening there is a canted angle of the police to create distortion and an uncertainty as to what will be the outcome of this confrontation.Sound is used in the opening to anchor the images used and to help the audience understand what each image means. The lively samba music connotes the films Brazilian background and also creates tension due to its up beat rhythm. The sound of gun-shots is heard throughout the opening very often and this shows that there is violence and death everywhere in the slum. When the hero, Rocket, is caught between the police and the gang, there is non-diegetic sound of his heart beating fast and this connotes fearing building up within the character, what will become of him? At the very beginning of the opening, the audience are left anticipating what is about to come from the black titles with no sound, not giving anything away. When the first shots come on, the sharpening of a knife is heard; the sound is very raw and tells us immediately that the film will be violent and bloody. The film is made to look very realistic, no filters are used and there is strong use of handy and steadycam. Any sound that is captured is therefore probably natural and left in during editing to give the film a more realistic feel.When examining each character through their non verbal language we can depict certain aspects about them which help to establish what the character is like. We can see the stark differences between the two leads, Lil’ Ze and Rocket through their non verbal language, Rocket walks very calmly and speaks quietly. When we see him first of all, a tilt-down shot of him and his friend walking down some stairs, we can see that he likes to keep himself to himself, he is very still and shows little emotion, the audience connotes that he has had quite a rough time and has seen some terrible things living in the ‘City of God’. When studying Lil’ Ze through his non-verbal language we can see that he is very aggressive, he walks with very heavy footsteps whilst ‘the runts’ run. His face is very tight and he draws his weapon with little worry, the audience connotes him as being one of the gang leaders in the city. When we first hear Lil’ Ze speak, the music is stopped and when he shouts we can only hear what he says and not the music. This connotes that he is the voice that every one listens to and nobody else. He laughs when he orders the gang to kill the chicken; murder is funny to him. When we hear Rocket speak he is quiet and soft compared to the aggressiveness of Lil’ Ze and this also distinguishes the two to be very different from each other. The gang members run through the city as fast as they possibly can after hearing their leaders commands, the viewer connotes that punishments will be dealt out if they do not obey Lil’ Ze. In the opening the directors need to identify who each character is and create sympathy in the audience for some but not necessarily others and in the ‘City of God’, the audience can understand what each characters purpose and history is, just from the opening.The directors use a lot of visual techniques which keep us interested and help us understand certain aspects of the film. Meirelles and Lund choose not to employ the rule of thirds too often in the opening scene as they want to establish who the main characters in the story will be. Although shots where characters are placed directly in the centre look unnatural, we are forced to look at them and remember their faces for later on in the film. Leading lines are used to draw us subtly towards the main focus such as the crane shot showing the alleyways and streets that the runts run through, leading us to where they will eventually end up, and the chicken running past who is followed by the runts. Lighting in the beginning connotes that the events are occurring during the daytime. The credits come into the shot as clear blue typography against a black background; our focus is purely on the text. There is no aural sound to distract us from the text and when the credits continue to come up whilst we are watching the opening unfold, the text is white against the bright red’s and orange’s of the slum so our eye is drawn towards the bottom of the screen where the writing appears. When Lil’ Ze appears to Rocket for the first time in the film, he is shown walking in slow motion, this brings prominence onto him and helps the audience to understand that Rocket is afraid of him as we are experiencing the shot from rockets point of view. Jump cuts are used in the opening to make a dramatic point, such as the chase of the chicken, cut to Rocket and his friend walking down the streets. Cutting from one frame to the next very quickly varies the audience’s point of view, we are shown a perspective from a variety of characters and it also compresses time. There is a good use of continuity editing so the audience can understand each shot after the other, realising each detail from each frame. Natural framing is used so the audience appreciate what the director wants them to see most such as the parked cars and tall buildings surrounding the gang when they stand in line in an establishing shot. The opening is an example of montage editing, which gives it a very modern and edgy feel, which is in keeping with the film as a whole.Although we are not to know from the first part of the film that the story will be told asynchronously, at the closing of the first sequence we are told ‘whose story’ we will hear first, letting us know that we will gain each piece of the puzzle throughout the film, until we see the whole picture and understand it, at the end. The first section of the film ‘chase the chicken’ is told as a linear narrative. The chicken see’s what is coming of his comrades so he decides to make a run for it which in turn causes the gang to chase him which results in Lil’ Ze’s gang in what we perceive to be, a potential shootout with the police.The audience is placed as someone looking in on what is going on in the ‘City of God’. Use of handycam and steadycam by the directors make us believe that we are part of the action, but the narrative and a range of camera techniques allowing the audience to see more of what is going on than the characters places us as people trying to understand what has happened in the ‘City of God’ and what is taking place at present. To help the viewer to appreciate that something may be of importance later on in the film, there is prominence on the shot, keeping the image or words in the back of our heads, such as the information told to us during the narrative.We identify Lil’ Ze and his gang as the enemy to the innocent people in the ‘City of God’ as the director establishes them through CU shots of their weapons and we see Lil’ Ze push over an innocent bystander which we connote as being brutal and violent for no reason, therefore we recognize him to be bad. We identify Rocket as the hero of the story as he is the one who talks to us during the narrative and this establishes him as someone who is on our side and we therefore connote him as being good. A radial track shot establishes Rocket as the innocent bystander caught in the middle of a conflict and this makes the audience feel sympathy for him and also creates enigma as we want to know what will happen to him at the end of the story. We are alienated from the gang members as we are not quite sure if they are truly ruthless or just caught up in Lil’ Ze’s criminal activity, as we do not get to hear them speak, we only identify them as being street urchins, too young to hold a gun. Through the beginning we identify the chicken as a helpless living thing trying to escape death, which is the same story of the people living in the city, but this is not revealed until the end of the film when we have seen everyone’s story and understand how rocket and others in the city are constantly escaping being killed by gangs.The major themes in the narrative are slaughter and gang violence. CU and MCU shots at the very beginning of the opening during the meal preparation denotes people preparing a meal but it connotes the sacrifice of something insignificant, simply to satisfy the gang. We see the gang violence through the eyes of rocket; POV shot’s show what life is like to be an innocent, through times where there is on going conflict between the police and the cities gangs.Tension is created through a number of different techniques; the music is fast paced to highlight the anticipation and suspense which is around every corner in the ‘City of God’, and this music speeds up as time passes by. The sound effects from the cooking of the chickens and the footsteps clambering around the streets all create suspense of what is about to come. Before there is any actual camera work, the credits are shown. This prolonged sequence of not seeing any of the film makes the audience hungry to watch the film. The final shot of Rocket facing Lil’ Ze’s gang makes the audience want to know what will come of Rocket and is the enigma of the opening two minutes. Quick succession of different shots also gives the opening a very quick pace.When we think of Gangster dramas, we think of hardened criminals, very masculine and proper, although the male lead characters in ‘City of God’ are presented as being quite different from an audiences conventions, mainly they are from a completely foreign part of the world and they also seem to have different conceptions about being a gangster than what we see in British movies. The characters are from very poor and rough backgrounds which common movie goers are not familiar with; they are used to seeing very formal and smart gangsters in lavish houses with fast cars. By giving the genre a view from a completely different social group, we want to watch more to find out what life is like for a ‘gangster’, in a different part of the world. The film has a ‘postmodern’ example of the traditional gangster film. Placing the same typical gangster story in a different part of the world creates dynamism, highlighted by its use of familiar framework and social realism. Capitalism is an ideological discourse evident within ‘City of God’. We see Lil’ Ze as the leader of a group of young people, ultimately telling them what to do when he sees fit, he is gaining his power as he has been brought up in harsh surroundings where he has realised that to survive, you need to be on top. Through a capitalist government we are encouraged to make money for ourselves and the film displays how every man is out for himself. We have a certain view about being a successful and strong person that is reinforced in the film; we look up to these characters and the way they do things reinforced in the film. The counter culture appeal of crime and a gangster way of life governs the way we live our lives, and therefore there is a basis of social rules and practices which we follow.The framework of semiotics used in the opening sequence include at the end of the opening sequence Rocket denoting a boy caught between two rivals but connoting the innocence of the people in the city who have no choice but to pick a side. Throughout the opening, lively Latin American music is played. This connotes that the slaughter of animals is every day and fun; there is nothing serious to it. The tempo of the music gets faster; this connotes action and the race to kill the innocent. The limited weapons connote the gang’s power in numbers rather than in arms. Analysing the mise-en-scene when Lil’ Ze gang faces the cops, we can see that the group clearly do not fear death or the police and this connotes the gangs experience in the ‘City of God’ making them very tough and hard to scare.The target audience of the film are a variety of social groups who find each genre appealing. Anybody watching ‘City of God’ would find it very visually impressive but the directors made the film with the made the film with the younger male gangster lovers, putting a twist on the classic thug movie. The film has a variety of sub genres such as drama and love intertwined throughout the film, so the audience will appreciate it, whatever their social or cultural background. The producers of the film may have made the film with favoured audience readings which are not immediately relevant; it is up to the viewers to decode it depending on their social and cultural backgrounds.The probable readings of the text are that Lil’ Ze and his group reign supreme in the ‘City of God’, (highlighted by their abuse of the innocent bystanders), and that Rocket is the innocent hero of the story as he is the one who speaks to us during the narrative so we develop a personal relationship and liking for him straight away. We understand that the two lead characters were probably brought up in and live in the dilapidated ‘City of God’, highlighted by their accents, the suburban setting which we find them in, and the clothes they wear. The possible readings of the text are decided by the audience themselves. As the story is told as non-linear narrative, from the beginning, we are to decide for ourselves how we think the characters have come to be their personal situation. The film is shown in a specific order and shows certain images to create a preferred reading in the audience as the directors want them to understand straight away what is going on.Our age and gender shapes how we read this text, as the target audience would be similar ages to the characters, and therefore we look up to individuals as the heroes of the story. Our gender makes us think separately about the film. Teenage women living in Britain would interpret the text as being dominated by male characters as all we see of women are those preparing and cooking the food for the male dominated gang members, the women are shown as characters that are of no importance to the story. The lead characters in the opening are both male as is the voiceover, speaking in a very rough and harsh voice, someone who we always connote as being male. Teenage men living in Britain read the text as different from traditional gangster movies where there is normally a completely different enigma such as death. Men see Lil’ Ze to be an interesting character who we want to find out more about and we also see Rocket the male hero of the story, and this is in keeping of films we like to watch, so all males will find the text appealing to their ‘action’ senses. Our cultural references shape how we understand the text, we are outsiders looking in, probably working or middle class, and we are shocked at what we see happening in the city.

'Goodfellas' analysis

‘Goodfellas’, Martin Scorsese, 1991


‘Goodfellas’ belongs to the gangster genre. It is an American gangster film; we know this because of the iconography that is in the opening sequence. The first thing that we see after the credits is a car. The car is a Pontiac which is a very American car, you would not find one of them in Britain, and this is the first piece of iconography that shows us we are watching an America gangster film. After that shot we see a black screen with the words New York, 1970 written on it, this tells us for certain that we are watching an American gangster film. The final piece of iconography that tells us that we are watching an American gangster film is the voice over; he has a very strong American accent. The audiences generic expectations of a gangster film are fulfilled during the sequence by the costumes, the characters are wearing very smart expensive clothes. They are wearing silk shirts and suits. These are stock costumes for this genre, these types of clothes also appear in films such as ‘Scarface’, and ‘The Godfather’; although in ‘The Godfather’ the suits look different as it is set at a different period in time, it still gives you the impression of smartly dressed gangsters. The generic expectations are fulfilled bat the end of the opening sequence when we see a body in the boot covered in blood, and one the characters starts hacking at him with a knife. The opening sequence does conform to the characteristics of the genre, the people are all dressed smartly, they are violent, and they use foul language; all of these things are what you would expect in a gangster film.

The mise-en-scene of the scene enforces our image of the gangsters. The sequence is filmed at night, this connotes that they are bad guys. When watching films you tend to see that if there is something against the law occurring, it is being filmed at night. The fact that they are travelling at night could suggest that they are trying to avoid the police. When the car is travelling and when it pulls over we can see that is on a small country road well away from cities and towns. We know this because there is no street lighting along the road and because they are driving through a wood. Woods are often a stock locations in gangster movies because that is where they bury anybody they have murdered. The combination of the dark back road and the wood connotes that the characters have committed a crime, or at least have done something that they do not want other people to know about. When the characters get out of the car and go to the boot they are bathed in a red light, this connotes blood and violence. The opening shot is a tracking shot, which then pans left and comes along side the car, this shows us the car that we are about to go inside and it gives the audience the impression that we are following the car, so we know that the people inside are going to be the people that we follow throughout the film. When we see a shot inside the car it is a medium close up shot of the driver, but we can also see the other characters in the car. The director uses the rule of thirds to show that all the people within the car are important, but we get the impression that the driver is the main character as the camera is concentrating on him, and the other two characters are slightly out of focus. We then go to a long shot when the characters walk around to the boot, the director uses this shot to show the background, and to show the characters bathed in the red light. We see a point of view shot, which tracks in on the boot, this shows us that the noise we hear is coming from the boot. Sound is used to anchor the images during the opening sequences by the way that before we see the images of the car we can hear the sound of passing traffic anchors the image of the car. Scorsese also uses sound bridges, a good example of this is when one of the gangsters starts hacking at the man in the boot, we can still hear this going on, but camera cuts to a reaction shot of one of the other gangsters. From the dialogue we learn that these are tough men, two of them swear in their first line of dialogue. The non-verbal language shows us that the men are tired, one of them is asleep and the driver is rubbing his eyes with fatigue; this connotes that they have been up along time and it reinforces the fact that they are driving at night.

The narrative is structured so that it does not run in linear sequence, at the start of the film we are already halfway through the story, when then flashback to the beginning of the story. We know it is a flashback because the voice over says ‘As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. The narrative then works its way up to the point at which we started and the story then develops from there. The audience is positioned in the style of objective treatment; we are treated as an observer not as part of the film. A good example of this is when we follow car, and when we go into the car with the characters. We know that it is objective treatment because the camera inside the car is positioned on the windscreen looking at the characters, if it was subjective treatment we would seeing the inside of the car from a point of view shot or the camera would be positioned in an empty seat. Another way that you know it is objective treatment is that there is a voice over at the end of the scene that addresses the audience.

The social group that is represented in the opening sequence of ‘Goodfellas’ are middle-aged, white males. They are portrayed as anti-hero’s. This means that even though they are the bad guys, we instantly like them. The ideological discourse of gangsters is challenged within ‘Goodfellas’. Gangsters are the bad guys so traditionally we shouldn’t like them, but we do. Another ideological discourse within ‘Goodfellas’ is gender. Gangster films are traditionally very male films and ‘Goodfellas’ reinforces this. All the characters within the opening sequence are male, and there are not many females throughout the whole film. The females that are in ‘Goodfellas’ are portrayed to be inferior to men. Capitalism would be another ideological discourse within ‘Goodfellas’. Capitalism seems to be an ideological discourse with the majority of western films; this is because people are constantly reminding us of the values and beliefs of our society, and capitalism is the belief that our society is based on. ‘Goodfellas’ is about making money, it is not one of the main themes in the film, but it is definitely there. Making money is a capitalist ideology.

The target audience is for ‘Goodfellas’ is young adults in the age range of about 18-30. There is a lot of violence and other adult topics that younger children would not understand, and it is rated an 18 so anyone under that would not be able to view this film in a cinema or buy it. The characters are predominantly white, so the target audience is white males, so the audience can relate to it. Gangster films are typically a male film; they just tend to find all the violence, swearing and drug abuse more entertaining than women do. As a British teenager I read and evaluate the text differently to an American teenager, this is natural as I have been brought up in a different environment with different values and beliefs. Our society here in Britain is very similar to the society of America, and we often here about America in our media. Therefore, I am able to understand the majority of the film, because I have some knowledge of there culture, however I am sure there are some aspects of the film that I would have been able to understand better if I was American, and was brought up in there culture.

Discussion - Monday 13th October 2008

Today we decided to discuss the changes that needed to be made to our two minute opening idea. We have already discussed what genre we will do, what era we will base our opening on and other crucial element's such as stock charcter's and costume's which we have looked into in more detail in each of our mood board's. We are doing the Birtish gangster genre set in the 1960's era. For costumes we will be using very smart suits like the sort you see on films such as 'Get Carter' and 'Gangster No.1'. We have a basic idea about what our opening will look like, what camera shots we will use etc, but after talking with our Media Studies teacher, we have decided to make a few changes to the opening, hopefully resulting in a more interesting beginning. We originally wanted to film in a corridor, but we had real trouble finding a suitable location, therefore we have decided to shoot on the top floor of a multistory car park instead. Obvioulsy we have had to adjust our plot accordingly.

Feedback #1

This is an excellent start to planning. Both moodboards and sequence analysis are focused and relevant, informing the response to your brief. You use key media concepts to inform your analysis throughout and have begun to consider logistical issues such as location, costume and font.

The analysis of 'Scarface' led me to think that a solution to your idea of a character walking down a corridor (too little for 2mins) would be to cut away to a second line of action, perhaps the same character being 'interrogated' for the crime that he is about to commit? This would provide an interesting non-linear narrative... something to think about

Keep up the good work - at the moment this is very productive and creative group work.

Analysing 'Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels', Guy Ritchie, 1998

‘Lock Stock’ is a film which a variety of audiences can relate to. Its hybridised genres attract different social groups but also allow the director to use different aspects from a range of genres to employ a range of connotations and denotations. The film could be categorised in to either crime, British Gangster or the comedy genre.
From the beginning of the film the generic expectations are satisfied in the gangster genre as the film employs stock locations, characters, costumes and non-diegetic sounds which are used in classic British gangster movies, such as slang and cockney accents, a suburban London setting and smart, snappy outfits. We understand that the film is based on the life and times of misfit gangsters as we are introduced to the male lead characters, Eddie and Bacon in the first few minutes of the film. We understand after hearing the voiceover say ‘its time to move on and he knows it’, in a hardened cockney accent, that the following story will be based around the life and times of these two characters and what exactly they are going to move onto. The generic expectations of the film are fulfilled with crime as we understand that what the two leads are doing is dodgy deals on street corners, something that the police don’t take too kindly too as a chase between the dealers and the police ensue. The cockney accent, location and the suitcase full of ‘stolen’ goods connotes that these characters are involved in some dodgy business. The comedy genre is established through the cockney rhyme and slang as well as the foolishness of the characters, letting themselves get so close to being caught. Things which anchor the film as being a gangster film are the stock costumes such as the buttoned up coats, the cockney accents employed by these typical British gangsters and the location which denotes a dilapidated estate where small time gangsters can thrive.The director treats each genre quite playfully in the fact that he has decided not to stick with one particular genre but to mould a variety together to produce a beginning which the audience finds funny, intriguing and exciting and for that reason wants to watch more. Although the text does not conform to the characteristics of one genre specifically, we see that each genre has been thought of, such as the up beat and rebellious soundtrack for the comedy genre, the accents and arrogance of the characters for the gangster genre and the stock characters of gangster vs. police for the crime genre. The Evening Standard called it ‘The year’s best British movie…one of the funniest films I have seen in years’.Mise-en-scene is used throughout the beginning to give the audience a true understanding of what is going on. In one of the very first establishing shots, we see Bacon through a crowd of people, selling what we connote is stolen goods. By showing us all the surroundings, the audience can see everything and try to work out what is going on. The leading line of the shutters from each side of the shot leads us towards Bacon which highlights his significance. Mise-en-scene used in the beginning helps establish where the characters are such as outside the shops and the alleyway, what time of day events are taking place (bright lighting to convey daytime), what the characters are wearing (helps audience understand the weather is probably quite cold due to the big, buttoned up coats and scarves, and their smart trousers and shoes connotes that both Bacon and Eddie are traditional British gangsters). In a MCU shot where we can see Bacon with his customers in front, we can see his table of goods in front of him so the audiences can immediately understand that what is going on may be illegal due to the fact that the table is makeshift and these deals are going on outside a closed shop in east London. Bacon’s non verbal language shows us he is very confident in what he is doing and perhaps has been involved with selling goods on street corners for a long time: he knows how to manipulate a customer into buying from him.In the first opening shots where we see Bacon selling his bargains, we are placed within the shot so the audience connotes that they are one of the characters in the film, looking in on him selling his items. The shot used here is a MCU shot so our eye is focused mainly on the character but we can see objects and scenery behind, such as other customers coming in and out of the shot and establishing where the deals are going on, in front of a closed shop. CU shots are sued after this so we only look and listen to what Bacon is saying as Ritchie understand the cockney is fast paced and at times confusing so the audiences attention should be focused on understanding what is being said. A customer walking towards the deals in front of a camera acts as a leading line towards the main focus. The camera used here is steadicam. This gives the effect that the audience believe they are in the shot looking in on the action, and it is used over similar camera movements such as handicam as this would give a feeling of confusion and disorientation, whereas Ritchie wants the audience to understand what is going on straight away. When Bacon is talking back to Eddie, the director uses a POV shot, so we are placed in his footsteps, looking at the customers coming towards the action whereas previously we were placed as a customer looking in. A CU is used here so our attention is drawn directly towards the actor speaking and our eye is not drawn to anything else: we understand what is going on and what is being said immediately. The director chooses not to employ the rule of thirds too often in the opening scene as he wants to establish who the main characters in the story will be. Although shots where characters are placed directly in the centre look unnatural, we are forced to look at them and remember their faces for later on in the film. The director also makes sure that every main character has enough head and lead room in their shots, compared to the customers who are sometimes not all in a shot, making us realise that these people are insignificant and will not contribute to the story later on. CU shots are used to bring emphasis on particular objects during the opening. When the police arrive, there are a number of quick and close up shots of objects such as Bacon and Eddies face and the suitcase. These shots create both confusion and tension and the pace suddenly builds up. As well as highlighting the urgency of the situation, these shots convey that these are ill things of importance and should stay within the audiences mind as the film progresses. The panning shot showing the police and both Eddie and Bacon run past conveys urgency and exhilaration. This camera movement is used to once again place us within the action and watch head on as a ‘cops ’n’ robbers’ chase goes on right in front of us. The characters non-verbal language shows they are trying to run as fast as possible to avoid getting caught. The shot size here is LS to leave emphasis on where the chase will lead to as wee see both police and gangsters run off into the distance. The final shot we see in the end of the opening sequence is a low angle shot, looking up ate Eddie and Bacon run down the stairs. As well as showing them to be high up and of importance in the film we are placed once again in the action, with the two characters running off to the right of the camera. Throughout the opening Ritchie places us a character in the story, taking us through the life and times of Eddie and Bacon. The director slows down the action in the slow motion shot of the pair running down the stairs. As the narrative is being said whilst this is going on we do not want to be distracted by anything else. If Ritchie used lots of different shots during this speech our main attention would not be on what is being said. By keeping the same shot whilst the character talks, we can learn a lot more about them.Sound is used in the opening to anchor the images used and to help the audience understand what each image means. For example, we hear the customers talking amongst themselves, and this connotes that we are actually watching a real life dodgy deal going on. The director uses a sound bridge, the soundtrack, from one part of the story to the next to help the audience understand that what is taking place now, the police chase, is very different to what was going on before. The soundtrack itself is very high-paced and has a fast tempo which coincides with the action which is going on which escalates from an everyday business deal, with no music, to a chase throughout London, with an up-beat soundtrack to create a feeling of fun and action within the viewer. What we would expect to hear when Eddie and Bacon rush down the stairs would be the sound of footsteps and items from the suitcase crashing against the floor. Instead all we hear is the voiceover, so our attention is on what Eddie and Bacon are doing but also on what the narrative is saying, we aren’t distracted by these sounds, which have been edited out after filming.When examining the pair of gangsters through their non verbal language we can see that they are both very confident in their business but at the same time we connote that Eddie is perhaps a little worried about being caught as he constantly looks side to side. He doesn’t speak with as much confidence as Bacon and is shown to be quite shy and wary. Bacon is a very outgoing character, and this is evident with his use of puns and deal clinchers all rolled into one short burst of dialogue. Only a few lines have to be spoken and we already realise that Bacon is very self-assured and has every faith in himself that he can secure any deal. This suddenly changes when he notices the police and he rushes to clear everything away and he becomes more hunched, connoting that he is scared of the police. In the opening we are only introduced to Bacon and Eddie, and no one else; we learn more in depth details about them during the narrative. By not introducing any other characters to the film too soon on, Ritchie gives the audience a chance to try and understand what the two main characters are like and make up their own decisions about what they have done in the past etc.There are a lot of visual techniques used throughout the beginning. In the film, Ritchie relied on a lot of pro-filmic effects to give the film its edge as he did not use a lot of CGI or special effects. Leading lines are used to draw us into or away from the action, such as the pavement leasing us towards where Bacon and Eddie are running, the line that a customer walks towards the action in front of Bacon and the stairs and railings leading up to the pair fleeing from the cops. There is a yellow filter used in the opening which gives the film a grainy and pure colour which connotes that the events are real life. The director also uses the rule of thirds throughout the beginning so our focus is on a variety of things within the shot, such as the background and foreground. When we see Bacon talking to his public our eye is on him in the top left hand corner but also the customers in the foreground on the left and right. Our focus is not on one thing but a variety, once again making us believe we are actually there. Low angle shots are used to establish Bacon as a protagonist, a high-standing character, someone who we look up to, the hero of the story. Lighting in the beginning connotes that the events are occurring during the daytime. The credits come into the shot as clear white typography against a black background; our focus is purely on the text. We can hear Bacon talking in the background as the credits come up and this connotes that deals are still going on. The text is similar to that of a typewriter and comes onto the screen as it has just been punched on with the typewriter. The audiences’ connotations of this are that we are watching a police report or reading a file about the life of Bacon and Eddie. The films language is very unique and the director’s use of camera shots, angle, vocabulary, sound and positioning establishes its style as being very new age and something which appeals to everyone.The narrative is linear and organised so we are presented with the beginning which sets us up and informs us for the rest of the story. When the films title appears during the opening scene, it is in white clear font in front of a pure black screen. This lets the audiences focus remain on the title and nothing else. Like very film beginning, the idea is to inform us and to create enigma. lock stock does this very well as we ask ourselves what are these ‘new things’ which Eddie are Bacon are going to move onto and we get to see the two characters in an every day situation where we can see them for what they are.The audience is positioned as an outsider looking in on the action. We are the ones who see the characters in the muddle that they are in, we are the ones who are to try to understand what is being said and going on, and Ritchie hands us snippets of information to do this. To help us to realise that something may be of importance later on in the film, there is prominence on the shot, keeping the image or words in the back of our heads, such as the information told to us during the narrative.We identify both Eddie and Bacon are the heroes due to the way they are filmed, low angle shots and a sense of charm help us identify this . We identify the character saying the narrative to have some say in Eddie and Bacon’s futures as he talks about them as if he has known them for some time. We don’t see the narrator so we are alienated from him but this helps to create enigma as we want to know who he really is.The major theme in the narrative is small-time crime. Throughout the whole opening there are shots which the director uses to establish things in our minds. We understand that the pair are both up and coming British gangsters and we perceive them to be just that through LS of the pairs faces, panning shots showing them and the cops and diegetic sound.Tension is created and maintained mainly through the music. The song builds from silence up to a fast paced and exciting tempo during the police chase. We see Eddie look side to side more than once, this establishes enigma as we question what is coming and also creates tension as we anticipate what they are hiding from. We realise through the narrative that we are going to watch the story of the two friends unfold in the future and this creates tension as we are anxious to find out what will be the final fate of the characters that Ritchie establishes very early on as the loveable heroes. As the police look to be very close to the characters during the chase we are unsure whether they will actually get away and this creates tension which is maintained throughout the chase.When we think of British Gangster films, we think of hardened criminals, very masculine and proper, although the male lead gangsters in lock stock are presented as being quite different from an audiences conventions, they are quite clumsy letting themselves come close to being caught, they carry no weapons and are shown to be quite skinny compared to other strong and muscular characters in other British gangster movies. They both have cockney accents as well as Bacon having a shaven head so some aspects of a gangster genre are kept but Ritchie decides to go against traditional conventions and give his own spin on British gangster. They are shown to be quite sure in what they are doing but vulnerable in the fact that they never quite know what is round the corner. The customers at the beginning, an everyday middle class social group, are portrayed as being of little importance to the story, having no place amongst the good or the bad, the cops or the robbers.The framework of semiotics used in the opening sequence include the visual of the suitcase containing what we perceive to be Bacon’s entire business and it connotes that this is his way out of suburban London. A shaven head man immediately connotes toughness and this is highlighted with Bacon’s rough accent. The alley way where Eddie and Bacon run through is a dark black which is similar to the clothes which the two gangsters wear, here we understand that the pair are perhaps a part of the streets and blend in well into their surroundings and activities, and the black clothing also symbolises that the two are perhaps hiding something and are perhaps a little rebellious compared to the other customers we see who wear lighter colours. The producers of the film may have encoded the text with preferred meanings in mind to be structured later on in the film but in the opening the audience can only interpret and understand what they are seeing.The target audience of the film is men, predominantly young men. Anybody watching lock stock would find it very visually impressive but Ritchie made the film for the younger comedy and action lovers, normally aging from thirteen to thirty year olds, putting a twist on the classic British Gangster movie. As British teenagers we can relate to the film; we can understand the language well, we can understand the hard times which Eddie and Bacon go through and we can relate to the characters circumstances.The probable readings of the text are that Eddie and Bacon are good friends and probably have been doing dodgy deals for quite some time (to make other customers around him jealous and want to buy Bacons products more, Eddie comes in and bids ten pounds for an item to start off the buying). We understand that the two friends were probably brought up in and live in London, highlighted by their accents and the suburban London setting which we find them in. The possible readings of the text are decided by the audience themselves. In the opening we only hear of the couples present and future, nothing of the past, Ritchie leaves it to the audience to create stories about how each of them has ended up on the streets of London. The audience would have an oppositional reading of the text as they get to know both Bacon and Eddie well and develop a liking for them justfrom the opening credits, but we see them getting chased by the police, so our reading is that although the pair are the bad people in society, they are the good people in the story.Our age and gender shapes how we read this text, as the target audience would be similar ages to the characters, also dictated by the viewing certificate, we look up to them as the heroes of the story. Our gender makes us think separately about the film. Teenage women living in Britain would interpret the text as being dominated by male characters as all we see of women are those in the crowd, characters that are of no importance to the story. The lead characters in the opening are both male as is the voiceover, speaking in a very hardened criminal sounding voice, someone who we always connote as being male. Teenage men living in Britain read the text as different from traditional gangster movies where there is normally a completely different enigma such as death. Men see the male lead as the hero and this is in keeping of films we like to watch, so all males will find the text appealing to their ‘action’ senses.

Capitalism is an ideological discourse evident within ‘Lock Stock’. We see both Bacon and Eddie trying to make a living for themselves, trying to make as much cash as possible whilst dodging the law. Through a capitalist government we are encouraged to make money for ourselves and the film displays how every man is out fro himself, although in the film this is very evident as the characters are British Gangsters and when the audience think about gangsters they immediately thinking of money and making cash quickly. We have a certain view about being a laddish man that is reinforced in the film; we look up to these characters and the way they do things. The counter culture attraction of crime governs the way we live our lives, there is a basis of social rules and practices which we follow, influenced by the film.

Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn, 2004

This film belongs to the British Gangster/Crime genre as from straight away we have found that out as the start of the opening sequence straight away was the back doors of a van being blown apart with the diegetic sounds of the typical British Gangster accent. The generic expectations are fulfilled as straight away it is being fulfilled as the stereotypical crime scene are portrayed with explosions, large vans and bank robberies. Also the stock characters have all the characteristics of a Gangster genre with the leather coats, disguised faces and shotguns. The text does conform to the characteristics of the genre as in the opening sequence it is all to do with drugs, nothing exactly in the opening is enigmatic and will give a hint that the genre will change as the film will progress, the opening basically is being used as a starting block of a man's life in drugs.

Mise en scene varies from shot to shot in the first scene as it is showing in a chronological order how the use of drugs has moved on in the years, so the stock costumes and characters were changed overtime it progressed, at the first shot it is a bank robbery. It looked like a normal modern robbery if it was not for the use of the cars. The van didn't look anything like the vans we do now and then when it pans to the woman cowering behind the car, it shows it as a car which is normally found in the 1960s. Then as it fades into the next shot of another era, it is pretty obvious within the first few seconds of what era is, the character was very representative of the hippy era, with long hair, headband and smoking cannabis. Then it then cuts to a view of the jail which conveys the meaning that dealing drugs had there consequences. In the prison it shows the hippies are mixing with the criminals which were seen in the first sequence which shows the bank robberies, which can convey that in the end whatever end of the spectrum you are, if they deal drugs, they are criminals. It then moves on to the future, which has shelves full of drugs which are signifying the voice-overs hope in the future as it shows him walking through them all. However the mise en scene is then changed to modern day, where it is still the shelves which were there before, but with just normal pharmacy items. It is then cut to the characters house which is big which can convey that some dealers have a lavish lifestyle.

Camera shots are used well in the first sequence, normally what was happening was a repetitive movement, it starts of as a MCU of the action and then tracks out, then pans across to a BCU of the woman's face, the facial expressions are scared which connotes that she is the victim, then its cuts to a hippy in BCU shot again and then again tracks out, it also seems there is a leading line in all scenes, such as in one scene a bikini clad woman is followed and leads onto another scene. This is used as it gives the audience a feel of what is going on and then pans across as this connotes time moves on as the scenes go in chronological order. The way it moves from scene to scene is through fading in and out, which gives it a smooth cut as it the action is not very active, so there is no need for quick, choppy cuts and the cutting rhythm is very slow. Camera sots to not play a major part in representing the opening sequence, it is more about the representation and ideology.

The sound has two layers along the whole opening the sequence, the aural language is diegetic and non diegetic, there is the voice-over along the whole opening. This voiceover is important as it is telling a story. There is no dialogue amongst this opening sequence, this is probably there is no need for it and it could confuse it all. The soundtrack used in the background sounds very progressive, which compliments the use of the shots of it moving through the years, also seems quite positive which connotes that the voice-over seems to be quite happy.

As it cuts to the actual character it seems he is very confident character, the way he walks is quite quick and forceful when there is an MS, he also seems to have the typical swagger of the gangster. When there is a CU of the face of him, it seems emotionless but with the hint of arrogance in it, which adds an intrigue into the character. He uses quite a lot of visual techniques, such as the start is very strong as there is a large explosion which can attract the audience very quickly, the other visual technique is when it is the shot of all the drugs which are on the shelves and as he walks past them they turn back into everyday items which connotes his dream of having legalised drugs.

The narrative is organised and structured in the way it has as it is giving the introduction first so that there is basic background knowledge to know what is going to be expected further into the film, but enigmatic enough not to give it away, such as in the opening sequence it is giving them a brief history about him and drugs progessing through the years and different social cultures and then the end of the opening sequence it ends with him giving himself a brief introduction so nothing is given away. The audience is positioned as they are being told something which they are oblivious to know what is goign on in the underworld of gangs, so the opening is basic enough for them to understand, however it is keeping to the conventions of gangster. So they are leaving sterotypical gangster attitudes there which the audience will understand. Tension is created from the large explosion from the start which is a major impact, the way it is maintained is the constant movement of the camera and the upbeat music, the camera does not once stop for one second so there is a flow.

In these sequences there is no set social group as it is was not set in a certain time period, it is set out to present all these different social groups which were involved with drugs from hippies to hardened lower class bank robbers, and dealer which live in big houses. The ideology involved in this are that gangsters work is always revolving around drugs, the main theme to do with the opening sequence is drugs, so they keep this rife within all the scenes of the opening sequence. This tells us and the audience a lot about the beliefs and values of the characters in this. The ideological discourse of money in this is evident wth capitalism, they are trying to gain money for their wealth with their own freedom and trying to dodge the law at the same time as their money making schemes involve illegal activities.

The target audience is mainly aimed at young males as the opening sequence as it is very masculine and females would not seem to be very attracted towards it, as all the characters male and the only times females are used are as victims or as in a sexist way. The masculinity of it all makes it more targeted towards the young males as it follows the characteristics of the male target film as there are hard hitting special affects, such as large explosions and conventions such as drugs and a stock character of a confident working age male with a cockney accent which appeals to the males as they wish to relate to these.

Joe's Moodboard

Here I have found various fonts and lighting used for the genre we want to use for our opening sequence, they have a vary of lighting techniques, such as lock stock and snatch use red and yellow filters. Also cult films like quadrophenia use different lighting such as black and white, or a sepia feel to it. The fonts as well varied, they were mainly very bold and strong colours.

Mark's second mood board

I decided to do another mood board.  This mood board will be concentration just on British gangster iconography.  I have put on the mood board some things which i instantly think of and associate with British gangster films.  My mood board includes different types of drugs, weapons and locations.  When we come to planning and filming our two minute opening we will be able to look back at this mood board to get some ideas about how to make our opening feel like an authentic British gangster film.

'Scarface' analysis

Analysis of the Opening to ‘Scarface’, DePalma, 1983

There are many different elements to the film ‘Scarface’ and I am going to explore the opening credits and the first scene from the film. The opening credits begin with blank black screen and white text. The text is small and just at the bottom of the screen like subtitles; this shows us that it is just background information to help us understand the movie that we are about to watch. We then cut to archive black and white footage of Fidel Castro giving a speech about how he does not want criminals trying to hold back the revolution in his country; we later find out that this is why the main character Tony Montana is shipped over to Florida. When the credits begin it is footage of boats packed with Cubans being shipped over to Florida. This helps us to understand what the main character has gone through before we catch up with him in the film. There are pauses in the footage where the names of the directors, screenwriters and main characters come onto the screen. Their names are written in bold red letters and are on a black background, these colours are very powerful together and we often see them together as the movie progresses.

The form of the opening scene is an interrogation. It is not a flash back; the movie runs in a linear sequence. We are constantly looking at Al Pacino’s face. We do not see the faces of the immigrations officers in the scene, so all of you attention is focused on Montana. The camera focuses particularly on the side of his face that his scar is on, this is to reinforce that it is ‘Scarface’ that we are looking at and so we know that he is the main character. His scar connotes that he is quite a tough man; it shows us that he is not afraid to get in fights. When the camera does eventually move it circles him, like the immigrations officers do, therefore it is like we are watching him from their view. The genre of the film is American gangster, although it is hard to work this out from the first scene, we start to get clues for example we find out that he was in a gang. Another clue that this is going to be an American gangster film is that Al Pacino is a stock character for these types of films, he played large parts in ‘The Godfather’ trilogy as well as other films. From the first scene, you cannot say that ‘Scarface has the typical conventions of an American gangster film. You would expect him to be walking around in flashy, expensive suits with lots of money and jewellery, but this does not come until later in the film. The audience’s generic expectations of an American gangster film are fulfilled by the fact that we know that Al Pacino is a stock character and we find out the Montana has been in prison and was previously in a gang. Montana is an anti-hero, he is not one of the good guys but we instantly like him. The camera angle helps us come to this conclusion about him as it constantly focusing on him. The majority of the scene is shot in a medium close up (MCU) shot, this means that the camera is just looking at the head and shoulders of the character, you can also see some of the background in the shot. The scene also uses a medium shot (MS) and a close up (CU). CU’s are usually used to draw the audiences’ attention to a characters reaction, but in this opening sequence it is used to show Montana in a state of emotion.

From the verbal language of ‘Tony Montana’ I can tell that he is an immigrant and not American as he has a foreign accent. He is not fazed by the immigration officer’s questions as his volume stays low and his tone is cool, calm and collected. ‘Tony’ does not say any more then he has to, he just answers the questions in as little words possible. This makes him seem quite mysterious, therefore we can tell that there is more to him then he is letting on. The immigrations officer’s tones are angry and annoyed. ‘Tony’s’ body language is very casual and relaxed. He leans back in his chair and almost slouches. However, when he starts getting asked questions about drugs, he starts to get uneasy and he scratches the back of his head. His expression stay neutral and unchanging throughout his interrogation so he does not give anything away to the immigrations officers, this furthers are suspicions into him. The immigrations officers stand up where as ‘Tony’ sits down, we know that they are the people with the authority. However, the camera never looks down at ‘Montana’ from a high angle shot, this shows us that he is not intimidated by them. The immigrations officers walk in circles around him and surround him, like wolves moving in on their prey, this connotes that they are trying to intimidate him, although we know it does not work.

The opening scene is set in a bland room without many props, as to not take any attention away from the main character in the middle of the room. ‘Tony’ is wearing a brightly coloured Hawaiian shirt, the connotations of this could be that he is relaxed and laid back as if he is going on holiday. The Hawaiian shirt also reinforces the fact that Montana is not American. The immigration officers are all wearing uniforms; this connotes authority.

The narrative style of the opening sequence is subjective treatment. Although the sequence is not shot through point of view shots, the way the camera is positioned makes it seem as though the audience are another immigration officer. When the immigration officers move around the camera moves around with them, but we never see a point of view shot from them or Montana. Montana does not look at the camera, which makes the narrative style feel like objective treatment.

I believe the target audience to be young males in the age range of 18-30. The film is rated an 18 so obviously the target audience cannot be anyone below this age. There are some very adult subjects in this film, such as murder and drugs. ‘Scarface’ is a very typical male film. The preferred reading of ‘Scarface’ is that everything comes at a price, especially greed and a thirst for wealth. A negotiated reading of ‘Scarface’ is that crime does pay, and drugs can earn you a lot of money if you are careful and not greedy. An oppositional reading of ‘Scarface’ is that crime didn’t pay for Montana, but it could for other people. An aberrant reading of ‘Scarface’ is that gangsters get away with everything, and they are above the law. Another aberrant reading would be that all Cuban’s are gangsters.

Capitalism is an ideological discourse within 'Scarface'. Montana leaves Cuba to get away from the communist regime. He moves to America to try and achieve the 'American dream'. One of the main themes within 'Scarface' is to get as rich as possible, which reinforces capitalism. If you did not analyse this film you would not of discoverd capitalism as an ideology within it, the references to it quite subtle, therefore we only take them in subconciously. The culture that we live is constantly forcing ideologies at us threw our norms and values, films such as 'Scarface' reinforce this. 'Scarface'is teaching us that capitalism is a norm within our society and that we should all follow it, if you were to show this film to a group of communists they would get a different reading of it.

Cubans are represented in 'Scarface' as outcasts and trouble makers. It seems like they are portrayed as being on from the 'wrong side of the tracks'. I think that they are portrayed as this because the immigration officers instantly assume Montana is trouble maker. There are no positive representations of cubans as a whole in the film, they are made fun of and they are put into camps.

Mark Scott 12K

Discussion - Friday 3rd October 2008

Today we have been planning our beginning. In our media lesson this week we were looking at the horror genre, analysing 'The Amityville Horror'. The film's opening inspired us to think about composition and framing and we have decided to start planning our opening so when it comes to filming we have a good idea of how a film should be shot and how one creates tension and dramatic effect. Looking at the beginning of the film, we all noted how camera shot, colour and angle affected how we viewed the film, and we started to discuss what our film should have which would make the audience understand tension being built up, the mood of the opening and how camera angles and shots convey meaning. We have decided on a British gangster genre, and with the help of our mood boards we have began to discuss an analyse the genre so we can film an opening which looks and feels like a traditional gangster film.

Mark's mood board

This is my mood board. For our two minute opening we have decided to do a British gangster genre. I have used poster and images from various different films to give us as many ideas and influences as possible. I did not just use British gangster films, I also used some American gangster films to give us a wide variety of ideas. I used posters and images from films such as 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', 'Snatch', 'The Krays', Rise of the Footsoldier', 'Layer Cake', 'Get Carter' and many more. I also included some words that I instantly think of when I think of Britsh gangster films which you can see on my mood board.

Nick's mood board

Above is my analysis of the British Gangster genre and ideas for our two minute opening on a mood board. It is important for me to understand the genre and traditional conventions that are seen within this particular genre. I have looked at stock locations, stock characters, stock props and stock costumes from the 1960's British gangster genre, inspired by films such as 'Quadrophenia' and 'The Bank Job'. Images and objects shown in my mood board may influence us when producing our two minute opening.