Evaluation

In what way does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?

Inspiration from films

When researching our trailer, we looked at several films such as Snatch, Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels, The Bank Job and the Counterfeiters. We looked at the conventions in these trailers, noting the things that made it that genre e.g. costumes, locations, characters, mise-en-scene etc. In films such as Snatch and Layer Cake, the characters are all dressed smartly in the latest gear, and this gives off the impression of wealth and power. Power was something that we noticed come across a lot when watching these trailers, with the only exception being the counterfeiters, as we are made to feel sorry for the main character as he is placed in a concentration camp. The use of guns and violence also shows power, as well as money. This relates to the stereotype that you have to have money to be powerful. The characters we noticed, were nearly always male, with the women playing smaller parts. This was good for us, as all 3 of us are male, and therefore can play the part. After watching these trailers, we felt picked up several key concepts of a gangster/crime film. We will explain with the help of screenshots later on in the PowerPoint, where we feel we have fully exploited these conventions. We don’t want to recreate another Snatch or Pulp Fiction, we wanted to make our own film, where we put our own twist on these conventions, using ideas from the films we have researched. We want to make a trailer featuring all the best conventions of gangster/crime films we have seen in these trailers.

Inspiration from posters

We looked into many posters when researching our ideas, and noticed that the main characters are often facing straight at the viewer, and this something we thought would work well with our poster, as it is demonstrating the power and confidence these men have, to look everyone straight in the eye. We also noticed that the majority of the posters used the black, white and red colour scheme. This was something we thought worked well with our genre, as it isn’t a happy film set in a hot country. Ours is a rough crime film, where anything goes and its also set in England, where the majority of time it’s dark and dull and cold. None of these colours we use are particularly warm colours and this also represents how cold the men are in the picture. Even though a lot of these posters have a black, white and red colour scheme, few use an image that is black and white. We, however, have decided to use black and white images. This gives the poster a rough feel to it, and also a simple look, which we think is very effective.

Inspiration from magazines

We did a lot of research into our magazines. This included using our prior knowledge of making magazine covers from last years coursework. We looked at several good magazine covers, and also at magazines that we thought weren't very good, so as to make sure we don’t fall into the same trap of making the same mistakes as them. When thinking about our colour scheme, wanted to keep the black, white and red colour scheme, but this was an issue when it came to our main image, as the picture was too dark. So therefore we continued with our colour scheme, but used more red on the magazine, with the majority of the text being black and white. This led to us creating a much more lively magazine, that still represented our film well. We wanted to use the gun as a focal point to the magazine cover, showing the power that Phil has. We liked this idea as it made it seem as if the gun was jumping out at you, and attracting your attention. We noticed that a lot of magazines use this tactic very well of making something jump out of the screen, and we have tried to recreate this.

Shot Analysis

We wanted to use these in an establishing shot. This was because terraced houses are generally in the lower class parts of town, which is where our film is located. This straight away shows it is set in an urban area, which is stereotypically where our genre of film is set, therefore fitting in with our generic conventions.

The colours in this shot are very good, as they are dark and dull, which represents the colours of an urban area. The sky and weather also help to give off the feeling of a gritty, lower class feel, making you feel unhappy

Overall, this shot provides very strong narrative, as it instantly tells the viewer the location and the type of characters that will feature in the trailer.

The mise-en-scene in this scene is very good. The 2 glasses and the whisky decanter are generic conventions of wealthy men, particularly criminal men. The gun is a generic convention of gangster/crime genre. It shows that the man is powerful and also a criminal. As does the case full of money.

The lighting in this scene is very good as it is dark and makes it feel as if its private with the curtains shut. The orange wall provides enough light to make this scene work.

The cupboard behind Josh gives a camped crowded feel to the room as if there isn’t much space. This relates to the terraced houses before, in that they are relatively small and so is this room.

This scene is one that is inspired by the Snatch trailer we saw. It is a freeze frame where the characters are introduced. We liked this idea as it showed strong narrative, as well making the audience feel like they know the character.

The text tells the characters name. One thing we noticed when researching characters was that a lot of them had unusual nicknames. So we decided to give this character one to continue with these conventions.

The main issue with this shot is the text being over the image of Phil. We were unable to move the text to one side, but after watching the clip several times, we felt that you got a good enough view of Phil to understand who the character is.

The image is exactly what we were looking for. When looking at the whole scene, you see that it is quite obvious that Phil is one of the robbers. The main problem with the image is the text over the top but like we discuss on this slide we feel we can get away with it.

Again we have good mise-en-scene in this scene with the gun, decanter and money. These are strong generic conventions and we feel we have exploited them to their potential in these scenes.

The whole concept behind this scene is that the 2 robbers are celebrating something by having a drink and toasting their glasses. We feel this is good as it shows the men are still like normal guys who will celebrate these kind of things by getting drunk, so the audience can relate and empathise with them

The table also gives off the impression of powerfulness as it is big and dominates the shot.

In this shot you see that Phil’s shirt has come un tucked. Although this happened unintentionally, we feel this shows that for the fight Phil is putting everything in, and isn’t bothered about how he looks. It shows that underneath all the smart, business like exterior, he is rough and prepared to get his hands dirty if it means completing the job

The location of this scene is ideal, as it is in a rough, secluded urban area. This is exactly the type of location we want for this scene as it is the kind of location where they won’t be disturbed by the public and therefore things like this can happen

Violence is a major convention of this genre of film, hence why we put in a fighting scene. In the actual scene the speed slows down when he hits the fence and speeds back up when he drops to the floor. This is really effective as it emphasises the impact with the fence.

In this scene we again have good mise-en-scene with the decanter and the map. The door and wall behind also add to the feeling of it being a safe house for the robbers.

In this scene Phil is telling Josh about the locations he has thought about for the robbery. He highlights the areas by drawing on the map where they are. Later on in the trailer, you see them discussing escape routes, which again links to the map.

The wall is seen in other scenes so it shows this being the same room. This adds to the continuity of the trailer.

Phil and Josh are talking to each other, hence why they are looking at each other in this scene. The clothing of these 2 is smart but casual and adds to the generic conventions.

In this scene we see me arresting somebody. This adds the narrative that I am a successful policeman and the robbers are messing with the best around.

The clothing in this is very good. The person I am arresting is wearing a hooded top, which is a stereotype of criminals today. I am wearing a smart coat and this signifies the difference between the 2 characters.

Again the location is very good here, as it is bland and doesn’t distract attention away from what the characters are doing. It is again an urban area, and the leave less tree adds to the effect as it is colourless and boring.

The car used here is very good as it is inconspicuous, yet smart enough for the characters. It isn’t a flash car as this would stand out in a crowd and the robbers want to blend in, so they don’t arouse suspicion.

The location of this shot is good as it looks on a High Street, which makes you think they are targeting a successful jewellery store. The metal bars, also signifies that it will be a difficult robbery as

it adds to security.

Here Phil is researching into the targets. This adds to the narrative, as just before they talk about locations. It also makes the audience aware that these are professionals and mean business.

In this shot Phil looks very ruthless and cold blooded. It shows that he has no second thoughts when it comes to killing somebody.

Here we are using the generic convention of violence, by having Phil shooting a gun. This shows that it is a gangster/crime film.

What we tried to achieve with the background was that it was a warehouse kind of location, which is secluded and means that nobody will witness what happened here.

When this scene occurs in the trailer, when Phil shoots the gun, the screen goes black and we felt this was a suitable and excitable way to end the trailer. The music cuts out instantly and adds to the effect.