Aaron Attila AS Media Studies.

Thriller Evaluation 'A Heavy Hook' By Aaron Attila

2010-04-20T07:59:00.001-07:00

AS Thriller Introduction 'A Heavy Hook'

2010-03-17T01:44:00.001-07:00

I would ask if you watch this on youtube.. just double click the film, it also says its 2.06 but as soon as you start playing it it goes to 2.05

thanks :)

Evaluating Title of Film and Soundtrack

2010-03-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

Film Title - Evaluation

'A Heavy Hook' -We choose this title because we thought it was in keeping with the film's theme (Boxing) we also thought it carried connotations of violence and perhaps corruption, which is essentially the point of our thriller production. Boxers are also often given a nick name or a slogan, its like a trademark of what they boxer is known for. Our boxer named Jerome 'Heavy Hook' Harris announces his trademark to the boxing fans. British people are often traditionally quite competent in terms of boxing amongst men anyway. However this is partially gender stereotyping the idea that men know more about boxing than women, which leads me onto my next point if i had to carry a criticism i would hazard a guess that this film would be less popular with women than men. This is because there is no female characters in the film we queried with the idea of using a femme fatal at the end but in the end we scrapped the idea due to lack of time and shots. The main point of using the title 'A Heavy Hook' was to let the audience know that know that the theme of the film was to do with violence and boxing and we thought that it integrated into that nicely, however there is one ironic moment in the film at the end where he is faced with a swing which could or could not end his life.

Soundtrack - Evaluation

After much thorough research looking on websites (www.unsignedbandweb.com) and YouTube we decided there was nothing that quite fitted our idea of a soundtrack with a build up, with that sense of a dark character and a urban setting it also didn't fit the mental tempo within the mise en scene. I composed this track to make it the surroundings seem dark and mischievous i also thought it gripped the audience and was in keeping with the the idea that the boxer is scared. The use of a steady tempo and sound effects shows the audience that something is on the way or is building up.

Generic Signifiers of A Femme Fatal

2010-03-15T04:34:00.000-07:00

The femme fatal often plays an important role in thrillers they are often used to generate a subtle twist at the end, and although they have a small part generally during the film their presence is always known and they play a major part on the plot.

Dictionary Definition:

A femme fatal is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations.

Often Femme Fatal's features can be:

-Tall

-Blond/Brunette/maybe Ginger

-Sophisticated

-Manipulative

-Clever

-Gorgeous

-White/European, Middle Eastern, Eurasian, Asian, Black,

All these are common qualities that most femme fatals share.

Here are some examples of some femme fatals.

Jackie Brown a brilliant thriller by Quentin Tarantino with the main character as a seductive mature black woman (Unusual for the time period). Notice the signifier's, she appears to be tall, strong muscular legs, with a stunning face and a very together lady, with a smart clean uniform also the feminine touch notice the thin neck scarf, conveys she is very proud of her appearance. This could also be a connotation about her situation in the film 'being held by the neck perhaps', or maybe her slightly high risen leg indicates that she has to tread carefully if she is to survive. note also the wall behind her appears to be very beaten up, showing the audience that she's perhaps a strong black lady from a ruff neighborhood and the gun a classic signifier let's the audience know she is dangerous (classic feature of a femme fatal). However if all these were interpreted be the wrong person it could be seen as 'blacksploitation' or misrepresentation of a specific culture or race. However all the signifiers together brings her across to the audience as a stunning dangerous black woman who get's what she wants, which is very ironic. Also notice the music 'Across 110th street' by Bobby Womack a positive song of black origin, which is all about being successful and making it out of a ruff neighborhood, there's a connotation about her character in its self..how ironic?

Thelma & Louise directed by Ridley scott is a fantastic film it features a wife who is suffering from domestic abuse at home, clearly featured throughout the film is a criticism of 'western old fashioned' life perhaps because Ridley Scott is an English director and there has always been that criticism between the two sides England and America. In terms of generic signifiers the woman appears to be run down, although she does posses some natural beauty, which many men would admire, notice her gun indicating along side the way she presents herself she's abit of a loose cannon and although she would appear harmless to the average bystander, but this is where her specific femme fatal type comes into play because she relies on this assumption from men and uses it to take advantage.

Media Essay Mock - Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

2010-03-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

Third Thriller Research "Once Upon a Time in America"

2010-02-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

Once Upon a Time In America was and still is a fantastic production, the concept of the film is interesting and enjoyable it gives quite a realistic interpretation of life during the great depression and shows how a former prohibition-era 'gangster' returns to his old life in Brooklyn after thirty years. I think the film is brilliant because of the references to the 'Jewish' lifestyle and how America changed during the thirty years he was away, also the cinematography and shot style is has great variety and grips the viewer right from the start.

Institutional Information recovered from Imdb

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Harry Grey

Leonardo Benvenuti

Release Date:

1st June 1984

Genre:

Crime, Thriller, Drama

Where It was Shot:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087843/locations

Box Office Returns

Opening weekend: 2,412,014 (3rd of June 1984) 894 screens

Where it was Shot:

America, Canada, Italy

Target Audience

The target audience for this film was for males and females 15 - 45 a road range of ages i think the reason being many different minorities and age groups can relate to the time period as they may well of have relatives living during that time period, and it provides a useful resource as to an insight into life during that time.

Here is a link to the statistics table:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087843/ratings

Once Upon A Time in America Opening

This is the first shot straight away the audience is pulled into the action, the diegetic sound of the door opening, with a black sillouette of a character, no clues as to whether they are male or female this is a common conventional thriller feature to hold suspense. The contrast between the shades and the colours emphasises chiaroscuro effect.

This is first estblishing shot of Eve (Close up) the lighting has now switched Noir lighting, her pearls present her as a glamorous woman, the sound remains diegetic this is to familarise the character with the audience.

This high angle shot of Eve through the lamp presents her as her vulnerable disorientated and fragile, it gives the perspective that she senses somethings wrong. The sound remains Diegetic which brings the viewer to the edge of their seat in tension.

This Mid shot is important because it Utilises Eve as a character (Femme fatal), this shots purpose is too involve the audience in the action, this is the first shot where she is completely illuminated, the tiffany lamp highlighting her fragile complexion, her hat carefully placed along side her hair carefully curled blonde hair, red lips etc. All fit the audiences conventional idea of a femme fatal due to the generic signifiers. All though the shot is simple the light on her skin conveys her aesthetic and material value, she is wearing matching pearls which connotes 'bad luck' and unhappiness. Which turns out to be significant to the story-line, the shot presents her as a passive stereotype who is caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This high angle shot of bullet holes in the shape of a person is good because it utilises the theme of the film and the murder (Crime, Thriller). The shot presents Eve again as weak and exposed and powerless, this is the first sign in the film which directly shows that Eve is in danger. The chiaroscuro lighting is there to reinforce the sense of danger and suspense. The shot gives the audience the idea that she has no idea who she has got involved with, ironically being with a local jewish gangster 'noodles'.

This long shot establishes the villans, the generic signifiers of 'crooked cops' the bowlers hat the gun and the alcahol all classics used to present a character as evil mysterious etc. There are also cultural signifiers all the men appear to have have brown eyes, dark hair, and one of them has a mustache all often associated with the jewish culture. The alcahol and gun shows there prone to attack at whatever cost, e.g the effects of drink. Also the diegetic sound makes the audience feel exposed and the sound of a glass shattering makes you jump, helping to sustain tension.

This multi shot is fantastic the tifffany lamp lighting up one side of Eve's face making her look like a split person, perhaps misunderstood then the stern faces of the cops showing no remorse or regret for killing, this lets the audience know that the men are dangerous, shows they can get away with anything.

Here is the first shot of 'Noodles' immediately the long shot presents him as vulnerable he is lying on his side in what appears an 'opium den' a place where gentlemen would go to recuperate and go to relax, he appears to be completely out of it, this gives the audience the impression that along with the police looking for him he is a man who likes to live dangerously. Again his features convey he is of jewish ethncity this again plays reference to the genre of the film and where it was set. Also his name is noodles and ironically the standing over him in the first shot is a man that appears to be from eastern asia and he is holding a bowl, obviously not holding 'noodles' himself but this connotes that he is 'holding' (looking after him). Also the asian reference to 'opeum' (heroin) is arguably a cultural signifier for the time period, but from a modern day audience perspective this could be percieved as misreprsentation of a culture (exploitation) of a race or group. Also the sound is diegetic there is a quiet chime noise which makes the audience feel relaxed but also on edge the director utilises this shot perfectly because it provides a good insight as to what sort of person noodles is.

Audience Research. Cinema's Development

2010-02-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

“Moving Image production has always been lead by the audiences demand for new sensation”

Here are some examples of films

Lord of the Rings

Avatar

Star Trek

This also backs up Tom Gunning statement

“Cinema prior to 1906 was a place of attraction unlike contemporary narrative cinema, which solits a voyeurgaristic spectorial gaze”

Cinema has developed alot over the last century, as a nation and world there has always been a constant demand and pressure for a new ‘sensation’ 3D, Black & White, Colour etc. As humans I think we have become lazy, most people go to the cinema for the idea of a ‘chill out’ when perhaps it should be a place of education, somewhere where you can learn, or be gripped by a really interesting plot.

I think Tom Gunning’s statement is too general however it is partially true, to the extent of films like ‘cheaper by the dozen’ Hollywood mainstream rubbish. However here are some examples of controversial films that are the benchmark in modern cinema and disagree with Tom’s idea that all cinema is now cheap and easy in terms of plot.

Star Trek, this film was fantastic although it carried a fairly predictable plot, the special effects really were brilliant, and I think for a mainstream film it carried lots of qwerks and differences from the viewer’s conventional idea of ‘mainstream’. I think it brought the original star trek fans vision to life, I also think that this is why they left it so long to release due to the amazing special effects now available to put into film. I do not think it had any negative implications on the original, I thoroughly enjoyed it however maybe not for the right reasons I found myself drawn into the characters emotions and journey’s (what mainstream films are criticized for) instead of the plot. Almost like a spectorial gaze. However as lazy as it sounds I think without the special effects and CGI the film would have lost it appeal completely. The director and producer would have known this though, unfortunately though often directors make films to make money which is a big generalisation of the film industry, however I think that is where independent films hold their appeal due to the type of plot they hold. Without independent film I think as a nation we would become way too lazy. Independent film I believe offers the intellectual alternative to mainstream viewing, for example films like this is England and London to Brighton all hold some kind of plot that relates to current affairs, or something of common interest hence the reason their successful. As apposed to films like the above they all carry a voyeurgaristic exiting commercial journey that could never be real, which was Tom Gunning’s whole problem, in his perspective I can imagine him thinking that the mainstream and Independent films roles should be replaced so cinema was once again a place of attraction.

Lord of the Rings, This is one of my favourite films an absolute masterpiece, I think it brought great epic fictional book to a brilliant movie, I think Peter Jackson did a brilliant job on all three of the movies because the books were fantastic, a noble read. I think the combination of good actors and fantastic locations made and gave the films the reputation they have today. In terms of Tom Gunning’s theory I think this particular film provides the most radical contradiction to that idea. The plot is well constructed and provides the perfect example of a good ‘book to movie’ arguably what mainstream should be about. The film does contain properties of a common mainstream film a ‘happy ending’ etc. The film’s, as a production’s show no intention of making scenes like they are to cope with “the audiences demand for new sensation”. For example the film is set in a Christian time where battles commence between humans and ‘monsters’ there is no laser beams or 3D swords that look like they brush past your nose when watching, because its unnecessary. I think The Lord of The Rings trilogy is a prime example of good narrative cinema after 1906, Tom Gunning’s generalisation of modern cinema is unfair and not true, just an opinion however in some cases I do agree that as a nation we have become lazy and our expectations of plot storyline and education maybe…have slipped. This film is a good example that audiences do not just rely on technology to claim that it’s a good film.

Avatar, this is the most recent and also the most controversial of the films, it’s the most mainstream film a film could be. The film has had so much publicity about it, for example the film was a five hundred million production, and had a Hollywood cast accompanied by the director of the titanic one of the biggest productions ever made. Avatar has caused a massive stir in the media, some people idolise the film and think it contains connotations about the western world and some people think its mainstream rubbish. The film is viewable in standard 2D but the real fuss is about the 3D version, about how it’s amazing to watch, the change it will bring to cinema by the hypercritics etc. 3D has been around for years but it has never been successful, now as we enter mark the end of the first decade after the millennium perhaps there is a “demand for new sensation” once again. Now perhaps cinematography is about to change again. Comparing this with a film like Harry Lime shows how much modern cinema has developed from black and white to 3D. Unfortunately cinema has come a long way from Harry Lime perhaps to a time where cinema agrees with a spectorial gaze.

All three of the films below are mainstream but I believe question the statement from Tom Gunning, however both Avatar and Star Trek contain many conventions what mimic contemporary narrative cinema however I think as a conclusion that statement is too bigger generalisation to be completely true

Conventions of Film Noir

2010-02-04T05:20:00.000-08:00

Primary Characteristics and Conventions of Film Noir: Themes and Styles
The primary moods of classic film noir were melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt, desperation and paranoia.
Heroes (or anti-heroes), corrupt characters and villains included down-and-out, conflicted hard-boiled detectives or private eyes, cops, gangsters, government agents, a lone wolf, socio-paths or killers, crooks, war veterans, politicians, petty criminals, murderers, or just plain Joes. These protagonists were often morally-ambiguous low-lifes from the dark and gloomy underworld of violent crime and corruption. Distinctively, they were cynical, tarnished, obsessive (sexual or otherwise), brooding, menacing, sinister, sardonic, disillusioned, frightened and insecure loners (usually men), struggling to survive - and in the end, ultimately losing.
Storylines were often elliptical, non-linear and twisting. Narratives were frequently complex, maze-like and convoluted, and typically told with foreboding background music, flashbacks (or a series of flashbacks), witty, razor-sharp and acerbic dialogue, and/or reflective and confessional, first-person voice-over narration. Amnesia suffered by the protagonist was a common plot device, as was the downfall of an innocent Everyman who fell victim to temptation or was framed. Revelations regarding the hero were made to explain/justify the hero's own cynical perspective on life.
Film noir films (mostly shot in gloomy grays, blacks and whites) thematically showed the dark and inhumane side of human nature with cynicism and doomed love, and they emphasized the brutal, unhealthy, seamy, shadowy, dark and sadistic sides of the human experience. An oppressive atmosphere of menace, pessimism, anxiety, suspicion that anything can go wrong, dingy realism, futility, fatalism, defeat and entrapment were stylized characteristics of film noir. The protagonists in film noir were normally driven by their past or by human weakness to repeat former mistakes.
Film noir films were marked visually by expressionistic lighting, deep-focus or depth of field camera work, disorienting visual schemes, jarring editing or juxtaposition of elements, ominous shadows, skewed camera angles (usually vertical or diagonal rather than horizontal), circling cigarette smoke, existential sensibilities, and unbalanced or moody compositions. Settings were often interiors with low-key (or single-source) lighting, venetian-blinded windows and rooms, and dark, claustrophobic, gloomy appearances. Exteriors were often urban night scenes with deep shadows, wet asphalt, dark alleyways, rain-slicked or mean streets, flashing neon lights, and low key lighting. Story locations were often in murky and dark streets, dimly-lit and low-rent apartments and hotel rooms of big cities, or abandoned warehouses. [Often-times, war-time scarcities were the reason for the reduced budgets and shadowy, stark sets of B-pictures and film noirs.]

Skins Advert analysis How does it present the youth of today?

2010-02-04T04:58:00.001-08:00

How does the Skins advert present the youth of today, and what techniques do they use to do so?

The skins advert is a very short, almost stressful advert to watch. It conveys the lifestyle of a teenager as crazy, destructive and shambolic. The characters themselves come across as energetic, neurotic, wreckless, and insecure.

The producer utilises these effects mainly through colour saturation and the violent flashing images of different people’s situations. All the characters appear to be sweaty, stressed and sometimes isolated, which contains references to the feel of isolation often called upon in parent/child arguments “You don’t understand me” e.g.

Because there is so much going on in the short time it stresses the viewer out, having an impact on the audience to such an extent that they become gripped, this encourages the viewer to watch it. The advert itself is also borderline abstract so it seems new and exclusive to the viewer.

'Our Friends in the North ' 70s Development Questions

2009-12-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

How does Mary Change and how does this represent the wider context?

As the audience watches both clips in contrast the first thing you notice is that there social roles have changed this is due to womens progress during the 70's when education was becoming more common, and lots more women had successful careers. Mary is represented in the opening shot with lots of books around her as an intellegent woman, much similar to Helen who in the 60's was seen as arrogant this shows how social status ammong women has changed. Tosca resents this as he likes to think is superior in the relationship.

What signs are there that Tosca and Mary hold different ideologys and who is struggling with hegemency?

Mary and Tosca's relationship clearly has come from in love, to who owns what (materialism) Tosca's ideology is still that Mary should be the the 'quiet housewife' she once was and refuses to leave her as its 'his home', she believes they were too young when they got together. Here the shift in Hegemency is that Tosca believes that Mary should always be the passive quiet woman she once was.

Preliminary Task + Questions

2009-12-17T04:14:00.000-08:00

What camera and editing techniques and codes did you use in your film and how do they influence the audience’s understanding of the film?

Our film was supposed to be a drug deal, we used for the opening shot a shot of my feet moving, similar shots are often used in gangster films to make the character seem dangerous. we used a high angle shot, a point of view shot, a two shot and a final panning shot. The music is a dubstep/trance to keep the viewer on edge i think the characters have a great influence on the street gangster effect (costume).

How did you use new technologies in your construction, planning and evaluation ?

We already had a ruff idea of what type of film we were going to make, the real help was in the editing side of the film because we already shot the film once and used different shot types for each shot. without the editing software the film would have been terrible. Having the use of youtube and blog was good because you can get other people opinions.

How successfully does your final product meet the brief?

Original Brief: “Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

The above was the original brief we told stricly not to break the 180 rule, i think we did this well. as the line of site is not broken and viewer can follow the eye, on the extreme close up of my hand opening the door the next shot is of me coming in side this was well in time and well constructed.

Shooting Schedule for 'A Heavy Hook' Designed by Kareem Thompson

2009-12-15T04:39:00.001-08:00

Kareem and me discussed the times and dates in which we will be shooting 'A Heavy Hook' they are shown in the sheets below and the times should be suitible for everyone. However we end up comprimising and end up shooting on the 2nd and 3rd of January

'A Heavy Hook' Soundtrack Research (Aaron Attila)

2009-12-14T13:59:00.001-08:00

This song by the EZ Rollers 'walk this land' inkeeps with the gangster look it has that jazzy upbeat tempo, connotes the Essex Gangster look. could have been used for A heavy hook, however I tried to find similar style tracks on unsignedweband.net.

Here is another soundtrack with a similar 'gangster' effect however this has less of specified steriotypical type of film it would be used with. it is called Little Green Wing and its used in Reservoir Dogs one of my all time favourites.

Thriller Planning 'A Heavy Hook' Storyboards

2009-12-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

'A Heavy Hook'

There is no writing to accompany the shots however ive have taken the care to put them into order, to match the narrative structure. On some of the shots there is numbers in the top right and corner ignore these, there is 'SHOT' and then the number all in capitals where the description would normally be. the Narrative structure contains all the detail about what the shots mean for clearer specification. For example shot 1. on the narrative structure is SHOT 1 on the storyboards. Thanks.

4. Thriller Film Audience Research. Expectations of Characters In Thriller Films

2009-12-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

Interview Number one

1) Name: Josh
2) Gender: Male
3) Age: 17

What Characteristics do you expect in thriller characters?

I would have thought alot of the characters have something shifty about them, maybe vulnerable or menacing or slighly mental.

What sort of environment if you had say one, do think characters from thrillers create?

Awqward Anxious Tense

Do you think that having believable characters is important for dangerous characters?

Yes, because if they do not a prensence, and arent imtimdating you find yourself faulting the actors and writing off all the films they have been in.
As a male how do you percieve women in thriller films?

I think having a female is incredibly important in thriller films to have identity. Alot of brilliant thriller films have what is known as a femme fetal. By having a dangerous women i think it challenges represenatitional issues.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interview number two.

1) Name: Sue
2) Gender: Female
3) Age: 48

What Characteristics do you expect in thriller characters?

Because of the vast Sub-Genre's in thriller films i think its a case of finding the right person for the right job. Obviously different characteristics are required for different roles in film. If the person in the film is supposed to be intimidating, then you find an actor who looks slightly intimdating.

What sort of environment if you had say one, do think characters from thrillers create?

On edge atmosphere, borderline unprodictability.

Do you think that having believable characters is important for dangerous characters?

Yes obviously, because if you made a gangster film with a load of thirteen year olds it would hardly be believable.

As a female how do you percieve women in thriller films?
I think they are important because you need to have a balance bettween males and females, Especially for the development of modern day cinema i think women should have more challenging roles for example maybe a female bouncer?.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Interview Number 3

1) Name: Tom
2) Gender: Male
3) Age: 29

What Characteristics do you expect in thriller characters?

They have to be crude, dangerous, snakey and know how to hold a conversation.

What sort of environment if you had say one, do think characters from thrillers create?

Strange Uneasy Mysterious

Do you think that having believable characters is important for dangerous characters?

It is absolutely imperative, take every good thriller film you've watched, all the films you liked tend to have good reviews and have a fantastic cast often renowned actors who have built up a repuatation.

As a male how do you percieve women in thriller films?

I think having a female is essential to create a good production, because when you have a women around dangerous characters often she is hiding something, and turns out the be the 'doom' maker.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. 2. 3. Thriller Film Audience Research.

2009-12-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

1. The audience expectations of Independant/Mainstream thrillers.
2. What Locations the audience expects.
3. Preffered Thriller Sub-Genre's

This Is England. Independant Film Locations ?:

The Lord Of The Rings Mainstream Film (The Return of The King) Locations?

Before I start I have to say everytime I watch that trailer it sends a shiver up my spine, an absolute masterpiece of a film, breathtaking. One of my favourite films and will be for a very long time. The most epic film ever made, Its also a fantastic interpretation to accompany the books.

Notice any diferences....locations...perhaps?

Preffered Thriller Sub-Genre's:

The Shining-Horror
Rise Of The Footsoldier-British Gangster
Hard Candy-Drama
A.I Artificial Intellegence-Sci Fi
Street Kings-Crime
The Bourne Ultimatum-Action

Here below is my questionnaire that I asked asked 20 audience members too:

1. What Locations would you expect in a high budget, mainstream film?

Local Area's
Global Area's
Wet Street's
Dark Alleyways

2. What Locations would you expect in a low budget, Independant film?

Global Area's
Local Area's
Wet Street's
Dark Alleyways

3. What Film would you go to see, if they were both the same price, and the same good reviews?

Independant
Mainstream

4. If you went to see a film that had been interpreted by two companys, independant and mainstream what one would you go an see?

Mainstream
Independant

5. What cast would you expect in a mainstream film?

Big Hollywood actors
Local Actors of Production websites
Cheap Unknown Actors

6. What Thriller Sub-Genre do you as a member of an Audience Prefer?

Horror
British Gangster
Drama
Sci Fi
Crime
Action

Questionnaire results (Quantitave Results):

1. What Locations would you expect in a high budget, mainstream film?

Local Area's - 5/20
Global Area's - 10/20
Wet Street's - 3/20
Dark Alleyways - 2/20

2. What Locations would you expect in a low budget, Independant film?

Global Area's - 3/20
Local Area's - 11/20
Wet Street's - 4/20
Dark Alleyways 2/20

3. What Film would you go to see, if they were both the same price?

Independant - 5/20
Mainstream - 15/20

4. If you went to see a film that had been interpreted by two companys, independant and mainstream what one would you go an see?

Mainstream - 13/20
Independant - 7/20

5. What cast would you expect in a mainstream film?

Big Hollywood actors - 14/20
Local Actors of Production websites - 2/20
Cheap Unknown Actors - 4/20

6. What Thriller Sub-Genre do you as a member of an Audience Prefer?

Horror - 1/20
British Gangster - 7/20
Drama - 3/20
Sci Fi - 1/20
Crime - 4/20
Action - 4/20

What I Expected To find Out, Also what I did find out:

1. The audience expectations of Independant/Mainstream thrillers.

The general idea of audience expectations was that the audience expects bigger budget films to have a better cast than indpendant film's and also expect more glamorous locations. This was baked up by the results in the questionnaire. Also I believe this was the easyest one of the questions to answer on the questionnaire as the query's answer is the most blatent.

2. What Locations the audience expects.

I thought that the audience in terms of location, would have expected dark alleyways and wet streets, but by conducting this research I have found out that actually the audiences knowlegdge and understanding of the differences bettween mainstream and independant were actually quite poor. Looking at the results most of the candidates assumed independant films were just local homemade films with a whopping 11/20 assuming it was local. However there were some candidates who chose the two more detailed options.

3. Preffered Thriller Sub-Genre's

Preffered Thriller sub-genre's, for this I wasn't in the least suprised, I had already had predicted that British gangster thrillers were very popular with the common audience and in high demand in terms of sales at the moment. It took the majority of 7/20 the next closest was action and crime suggesting britan's ever growing fascination with gangster, crime, and action thrillers.

Props & Clothing & Characters 'A Heavy Hook' Directed by Aaron Attila and Kareem Thompson (Characters)

2009-12-10T14:06:00.000-08:00

Props & Clothing

Here is some boxing gloves that will be similar to the ones we will be using, which will be hanging on the wall by the sink when the boxer is washing his hands. This tells the audience the occupation of the character.

Here is a baseball bat, which one of the henchmen will be carrying judging by the non diegetic sound in the scene, and the slow motion camera effect will show the audience how much the fight meant to them, it also connotes violence, corrupt sport, the job there going to do on the victim.

This will be an important prop as it gives away what the boxer one, instead of the pay-off from the henchmen. there will be a still on this to show how much it meant to him to win.

This is not the suit that the henchmen will be wearing but for the dress code of the two actors it will be smart mature dress which maintains a low profile at the same time as being a serious gangster figure.

Here are the shorts, there will be a shot of these lying on the floor or bed etc to show that the fight took place earlier that week.

Characters

Here is the main actor Kareem Thompson also known as Jerome 'Heavy Hook' Harris, when deciding who to pick as the boxer we thought it would be easyest and most reliable way to find people who we see often, and obviously because me and kareem are both producing the introduction to the film he will be there whenever we need him. He also has a good build and has a presence about him much similar to a boxer.

Here is one of the henchmen 'Uncle Bob', he works for the boss. We choose this person because we thought he fitted the conventional British idea of a dangerous 'skinhead' gangster/hardman, he is also quite tall around 6,0 and is well built. He is of a moderate age which was our main concern because if we had used young teenagers the idea of a violent gangster would have been laughable.

This is possibly the boxers partner, she is quite glamorous however plays a minor part in the film and is just there for the effect really, however we may consider some femme fetal manuvas it depends.....

How are Camerawork and Editing used to emphasise difference in the clip from our friends in the North?

2009-12-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

This first shot is important because its a master shot, it establishes them as a couple and judging by their body language and outfit they are clearly relaxed in a restaurant style environment. Neither character is over dressed or under dressed for the situation (no tie on the male nicky). Both characters are equally important the female nor male looks superior (southern steriotypes) judging by the title the audience would believe they were the southeners.

This is the first establishing shot of the 'Northeners' it's a two shot featuring the conventional idea of a northern working class couple, not used to going out the male has no mustache (would have been iconic in the 70's) and is clearly over dressed wearing a tie. The woman has hunched posture looks slightly inferior to the man (traditional northern working class steriotype). shot two show them both staring out Nikki to suggest 'thats woman dosent look like your type'.

Here is a close up of Helen to show the tension bettween Helen and Tosca (North vs South) she is very opinionated and is far from the traditional housewife who is inferior to the husband, unlike Mary, she dosent like the way Tosca acts around Mary and the use of a close up creates tension.

This is the first establishing shot of the four together (long shot) the northeners have their menu's facing down, the southerners holding menus of the table to look sophisticated. they have used this shot because Tosca has belitled Helen they are all laughing creating tension between Helen and Tosca.

This shot of Tosca (mid shot) contains a connotation of the working class Northener, (over dressed, cant eat spaghetti a forreign food dosent know what it is?) connotes the traditional idea of the proud englishman.

Thriller Film Audience Research Proposal

2009-12-07T06:49:00.000-08:00

Audience Research. Thriller Expectations bettween Mainstream / Independant

What I want to find out?

What locations does the audience expect in independant films?

What locations does the audience expect in mainstream films?

What film would an audience go too see if they had heard good reviews about a mainstream (hollywood production) or an independant film?

What cast the audience expects in mainstream and inpendant films?

What is the most popular sub-genre?

How I am going to find out?

Questionnaire

What i expect to find out?

The most popular Sub-Genre

What the audience expects in Location and Cast

'A Heavy Hook' Basic Narrative Structure By Aaron Attila

2009-11-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

1. Establishing shot (Extreme Long Shot) of Kareem in an empty church / mosk sitting on his own thinking, hoping/praying that the people who paid him to throw the fight forgive him and dont come after him.

2. Close up of Kareem's face looking anxious uneasy

3. Long shot of Kareem leaving the church/Mosque, walking down the isle

4. Close up on Kareem's hand opening the door leaving the church

5. Shot of church/mosk

6. Long Shot of Kareem leaving the churchyard goes out of gate

7. Extreme close up on mobile phone in Kareems hand saying 'you should have thrown the fight' to let the audience know whats going on

8. Birds eye view of Mercedes ML from bridge or small street showing the henchmen driving

9. Mid Shot of Kareem entering the house

10. Long Shot of the Car pulling into the court

11. Two shot of the men talking.

12. Close up on one of the Henchmens shoe as he steps out of the car.

13. Then goes on to a long-shot of the men walking towards the boot of the car.

14. Sudden Close up of kareems hand's hitting the speedball. Connotation of violence (Increase Tension)

15. Low angled side shot of men walking towards the house with there weapons. Have them walking in slow motion to show there importance and power.

16. Sudden close up of the boxer washing the blood of his hands and bandages. The mise-en scene will have have close ups of props e.g boxing gloves, trophies, belts etc. Connotation of violence

17. Kareem hangs his boxing gloves up on the wall, this connotes this may be the end of his boxing career.

18. Extreme close up of one of the henchmen opening twisting the handle to open the door slowly to make the audience feel anxious (get out of there!).

19. Tracking shot of men creeping up the stairs.

20. Establishing shot The woman 'boxers partner' see's the men.

21. Close up of her dropping her shopping bag on the floor.

22. Mid Shot of Kareem in bathroom turns shower on, completely oblivious to the men being in the house coming to get him because he didnt throw the fight.

23. Close up of kareems face in the shower looking down suspicious.

24. Extreme Close up of Kareem's eye (Psycho intertextual reference, and also in layer cake)

25. Mid Shot of men slowly opening the door and handle and then closing it behind them

26. Long Shot of the Door

Narrative inside the Bathroom: 40,00 grand says Ray one of the henchmen (Cockney Accent) you can't even throw a fight away youre useless. We dont need you anymore.

Kareem Shouts: ARRRR like being hurt. blackout.

Leaving the audience wondering what happend.

End.

Second Independant Thriller Research Layer Cake

2009-11-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

Layer Cake Opening (Clip 1 Analysis first 7.07 Minutes)

Layer Cake is one of the best 'Gangster' Thriller films I have ever seen, i have watched many times and thoroughly enjoy writing about it, the cast, crew, and location are all very well thought out and in keeping with the generic idea that the important drug dealers come across as well presented 'business men'. e.g the ones you do not see hanging around on street corners until dawn.

Institutional Information recovered from IMDB
(Directors, Writers etc)

Director

Matthew Vaughn

Writers

J.J. Connolly (Screenplay)
J.J. Connolly (Novel)

Release Date

1 October 2004 (UK)

Genre

Crime, Thriller, Drama

Where it was Made (shot)

London, Buckinghamshire, Middlesex, Nedtherlands

Box Office Returns

Opening Weekend

$81,706 (USA) (15 May 2005) (10 Screens)
£1,090,561 (UK) (3 October 2004) (355 Screens

Target Audience

The target audience for this film is between the ages of 16-45, by looking at the information from IMDB i have noticed that the film although may be regarded as your normal conventional 'gangster' thriller' it is actually more popular with women under 18 than men. I would hazard at the reason for this being the deviant femme fatal that leads to Daniel Craig's downfall at the end. All of the statistics seem to agree that the film is almost equally popular with women as it is men.

Too see the Statistics chart click this link.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375912/ratings

Technology

CGI- Used because you can see computer generated images

Layer Cake First 7.07 Minutes (Clip One)

Layer Cake starts of with an analysis of the 'Drug' scene taking you through a timeline, to do this the director has used panning shots accompanied by a soundtrack (non diegetic) 'Hayling by FC Kahuna' the song has a smooth relaxing feel to it connoting the idea of a relaxed well presented businessman like Daniel Craig. The way he is able to talk diplomatically about all the different eras of the drug scene also helps to present this kind of character. When 'The Duke' is introduced the sound changes to diegetic , almost bringing the audience back down to the reality of the 'common drug dealer' who has a much less sensitive approach to the law and consequences of getting caught.

This first shot is a panning shot containing generic signifiers (shotgun, leather jacket, smoke) of a 'gangster thriller' and is the start of the timeline, and also the start of the film. the narrative is Daniel Craig describing how the 'drug' world has developed and how the lifestyle and how it wasn't for him (Armed Robbery) this goes well with the way the director presents Daniel Craig as a character. The shot contains a connotation of prison, the big white distinctive pillars representing the bars of a cell, also the positioning of the man with the gun connotes the idea of a criminal being backed into a corner. The sound is a mixture of Non diegetic and diegetic making the character seem real but also reminding the audience that this particular character is irrelevant in the film, and that this generation has passed e.g the film is not going to be about armed robbers (Clever use of Narrative by the director).

This is the second part of the 'drug scene' time line and is a panning shot it provides a harsh contrast to the lifestyle of the dangerous armed robber and the layed back harmless hippy, here we have the stereotypical image and lifestyle in one shot, the director has utilised the generic signifiers brilliantly, the long hair, cannabis cigarette, layed back his eyes indicate that all he's worried about is the feeling as apposed to the money. The sound is a mixture of diegetic and non diegetic with the same song Hayling by FC Kahuna as the non diegetic which is interesting because it still works, even with the contrast between the two stereotype's. This shot contains connotations of life in the sixty's/ seventies 'the summer of love' (Daniel Craig's narrative) because this is the first shot in the timeline where there is drug's in the shot it would suggest the director believes it all began during that era.

This is the third shot (panning shot) in the 'drug scene' timeline and shows where the two different types of criminals met. You have the nervous hippy who seems out of place (unconventional) and the stereotypical bank robbers. Daniel Craig's states here that there was a period of time where armed robbers were serving time with "drippy hippys" who were serving far less time for much more money. This picture connotes the scale of crime (loads of criminals in the background). The sound is non digetic besides one point where Daniel Craig says in the narrative "were in the wrong fucking game mate" which suggests the idea that during that time period people became aware of the money in drugs in the criminal world.

This shot is fantastic and is the last shot in the timeline and is just before Daniel Craig is introduced the sound is a mixture of non diegetic 'Hayling' by FC Kahuna (soundtrack) and digetic, daniel Craig's narrative. The shot has two types of class A drug's with the word Fcuk which is connoting the designer life drugs can offer you 'giving people what they want' meaning the feeling of drugs and lifestyle that Daniel Craig leads. The shot also desensitises the audience to the appearance of drugs and how they are openly available to everyone and everyday use in the fc(uk) - United Kingdom this is another very clever connotation. Also the way the drugs are presented in a pharmacy suggests there availability and perhaps a possibility of there presence in the future much like the perfume FCUK and how its an open global brand.
By rearranging FCUK to spell the word fuck, with the slogan 'reality' (Fuck Reality) also connotes how the drug world is now less of a myth and more of a 'reality.' It also offers to 'intensify your life' making drugs seem the perfect escape from the world and reality hence why the drug world is worth so much 'fucking billions' according to the narrative.

This is the first shot where Daniel Craig is established as a character, it is clever because here the director is challenging your stereotypical representational of a major drug dealer, instead of having an intimidating presence, he appears to come across as more of a business man, his outfit mimics his lifestyle, the narrative is also in time with " I'm a business man who's commodity happens to be cocaine". His language indicates he is well educated and is far from your conventional dealer. The damp wet urban location connote how the drug world has come from the colourful laid back sixty's in the UK, to the 21st century's industrialised dangerous drug world. It also is still desensitising to the audience to the fact that drug dealing is much more common than you would first imagine. The sound is non diegetic and with a mixture of diegetic

This shot is an establishing shot of one of Daniel Craig's workers / partner, this shot is important because the narrative describes 'Clarkey' as just received his double first at Cambridge in 'industrial chemistry' sounds like he's come from a middle/higher class background, this challenges your average representational issues because you wouldn't think that someone of his intelligence would be involved in the drug game, when they are capable of getting a good job. This again is desensitising the audience to the idea that the drug game in the UK is out of control everyone is doing it. its almost considered a mainstream job.

This shot is important because it represents the two types of 'drug dealer' they are both very organised, have all the equipment they need and are wearing gloves and masks to show how aware they are that they "should know and respect your enemy" it also includes a use of a rule of thirds highlighting their structured routine to avoid getting caught. they both have their heads pricked up as the diegetic sound suggests a police siren is near them which connotes the upper classes greater awareness of the law. This shot contains connotations of how organised 'drug traffickers' really are despite what the media and the Internet says. It also questions the conventional representation of 'clever poncy school boys dealing in drugs' when they are normally represented as scared 'out of there own depth characters', such as in Lock Stock and Two smoking Barrels, directed by Guy Ritchie. Also the dark enclosed room highlights there sensitivity to their business (they don't want anyone to know what they do). The next shot is completely the opposite and highlights the stereotypical drug dealer (The Duke) in comparison. The director gets his message across brilliantly, and it is also highlighted well in the narrative by Daniel Craig.

This establishing shot represents the other conventional stereotype of a 'drug dealer' which is cleverly shot and comes directly after Daniel Craig's analysis of who to avoid "loud attention seeking wannabe gangsters, in it for the glory, to be a face, to be a name" acutely enough this character happens to a cockney with the nickname Duke. He represents the other type of criminal. The shirt he's wearing also is black and white stripes connoting the french burglar,a common criminal has not much too him, is just a criminal, his approach towards the law seems to be very relaxed, dosent seem to care whats going on arround him appears to be drunk. Not very organised and naive to the law, the director has done this shot particularly to critisise how this group of criminals operate, he's almost saying there operation is a joke.

This shot clearly represents the scale of the deals that are going on. They clearly operate on a big scale kilograms not Oz. But I think the main point of this shot is the clever connotation conveyed between the colour of the drugs and the colour of the man's arm. If you notice they both share the same colour i think this represents again how openly available drugs are and how its in our nature to use and abuse them, also that it is an everyday proffession.

This shot is important because it contains connotations about contemporary cultural identity within the criminal world (The Layer cake), for example you have the white English man (Daniel Craig) taking the money who is closest to the camera and is in control of the deal, the Eurasian (Terry) handing it to him asif to suggest that commonly that ethnicity has that role in the hierachy as the middle man. Then furthest away you have Morty the black ex-convict street runner, who has all the contacts, he is the one who watches all their backs and is the lowest in the 'supposed' criminal hierachy presenting the character in this way is called blacksploitation. The director has utilised the cultural signifiers deliberatly to have an impact on the audience's perception of each type of criminal. The sound is also non diegetic as ito suggest that he is trying to explain the hierachy to the viewers.

This shot is just a really nice shot, and i believe the use of the rule of thirds really effects the purpose of the shot. it makes the organisation seem together and organsied as they all get payed at the same time and seem efficient.

This shot contains connotations again about the 'criminal world hirachy' and social class, the reference in this shot though i think is about the area, it appears to be central West London, very up market, expensive, not the sort of place that Morty or the Duke would live. The fact that the house is clearly very nice/classy suggests you have to work your way through the 'cake' to get to this place. Characters like Duke would not fit in around the areas, which is a reference to the social classes within London, because some parts of London are vastly wealthy in comparison to its poor relations such as the 'cockney areas' (East London) and South London and some parts of North London. Its almost saying that different areas contain different types criminals, some are educated some are not etc...

Thriller Planning 'A Heavy Hook' Directed by Aaron Attila and Kareem Thompson (LOCATIONS)

2009-11-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

After conducting various thriller research, and learning the codes and conventions of traditional thriller films i have decided to construct a 'gangster' thriller film. The film's is about a professional boxer who is paid to throw away the fight by a 'heavy' firm, however he decides not to throw the fight at a price he gets a visit from the firm directly after featuring two characters (Bobby and Ray) in which one of the two henchmen 'Ray' switches into a violent and badly hurts the boxer leaving him in a mess.

Here are some shots of the locations (taken by me) we will be using we have tried to keep the location 'wet' and urban with a mixture of chiaroscuro lighting and tight claustrophobic spaces. Also the clothing is your traditional 'leather gangster' look accompanied by dark colours and long coats.

These two shots are extreme long shots from the bridge showing Norwich at night which is setting the scene or showing the car coming up the hill (Grapes Hill) I think this shot is brilliant because of the season in which we will be shooting it (Winter) it will be very in keeping with idea of a thriller, Containing connotations of isolation and inevitability.

Here is a low angle shot of the cathedral highlighting its presence, we might have a shot in this of the boxer asking that nothing happens to him because he hasn't thrown the fight. Perhaps the idea of religon appeals to some people also this idea makes the character more favourale to the audience.

Here is a shot where the two henchmen pull into the court the lighting is chiaroscuro and the hill is very narrow and hopefully the car we will be using will be a Mercedes ML which are big wide cars creating a claustrophobic feel for the audience. The lighting is still chiaroscuro.

Here is a shot of the court located near the centre of Norwich (Urban), this is one of the locations we will be using as it is in keeping with the generic signifiers of a 'gangster' thriller the chiaroscuro narrow space with a cold wet feel due to the season which makes it ideal. Also doing it at night helps to create a sense of the unknown.

This shot is again of the court we will be using is again in keeping with genre the moss up the fence helps to increase the feel of neglect, but once again with the right characters it helps to seem like a gangster set.

There is the door of the house i use again in the court. With 'gangster types' approaching a small house connotes a big danger approaching.

This shot although lacks depth has a interesting meaning because of the storyline it connotes the idea that your not even safe in your own home, also there will be a shot of one of the two henchmen stepping on this again connoting whats about to happen.

A Narrow stairway which highlights the feeling of claustrophobia, also bringing a tension to whats about to happen.

Here is where the boxer will be washing the blood of his bandages there may bee boxing gloves near by and radio recording to tell the reader why everythings happening also after using the dark urban wet areas the 'white' bathroom connotes that this is the good person of the film.

Here is shot of the shower (taken by Kareem Thompson) where kareem will be beaten up, tortured there will feature an Extreme Close up of his eye (intertexual reference from psycho, layer cake).

Audience Research

2009-10-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

Research into the habits of film Audiences in Norwich: Questionnaire Part 1 Marketing (Quantitave Research) Asked 10 People (10 men between 18-25)

First Independant Thriller Research Essex Boys

2009-10-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

Essex Boys Part One. Watch First 5 Minutes

Institutional information Recovered from IMDB
( Directors, writers etc.)

Director:

Terry Winsor

Writers:

Jeff Pope.
Terry Winsor.

Release Date:

14 July 2000 (UK)

Genre:

Crime, Thriller

Where it was made:

England, Essex

Production Company:

Granada Films

Box Office Returns:

Opening Weekend

£111,548 (UK) (16 July 2000) (54 Screens)
Gross
£441,128 (UK) (6 August 2000)
£374,030 (UK) (30 July 2000)
£262,148 (UK) (23 July 2000)
£111,548 (UK) (16 July 2000)

Weekend Gross

£36,382 (UK) (6 August 2000) (56 Screens)
£49,014 (UK) (30 July 2000) (41 Screens)
£84,303 (UK) (23 July 2000) (55 Screens)
£111,548 (UK) (16 July 2000) (54 Screens)

Target Audience:

Essex boys is a gangster thriller, and in general these tend to be more popular with men according to general IMDB statistics. But Essex boys has a twist with the femme fatal taking control and getting the better of most of the dangerous ‘Essex gangster’ men in the film. This would suggest that film is just as likely to be watched my women as men. It seems to be equally as popular with men as it is women here are the IMDB statistics to prove it.

Technology:

In recent years the internet has taken over, services like youtube, Itunes, Napster etc, you can download films anywhere, anytime and also watch them anyware. Also there are lots of DVDs outlets and such around the world where you can rent or buy DVDs.
Film Review: Micheal Thomson 13th July 2000.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/07/13/essex_boys_review.shtml

Lack of originality hasn't stopped British director after British director pumping out gangster films by the batch, as if no other form of cinema existed. To them, of course, it doesn't. They can only acquire directorial street-cred by stuffing the screen with psychos and letting it drip with blood. One cannot, then, imagine that "Essex Boys'" director and co-writer Terry Winsor has not watched "Goodfellas" at least several hundred times.
"Essex Boys" involves trainee cabbie Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles) who goes to work for a just-released con, a volatile, desperate hard-nut, Jason Locke (Sean Bean). Billy, like a schoolboy innocent, is impressed by his new easy access to nightclubs before waking up to the deceitful reality of the gang`world. No-one trusts anyone else, and someone is doing something horrible to someone else at all times. Locke, for his part, refused to grass on his accomplices and so spent time inside. As he reckons that he is owed just a few favors, his intensity increases.
Even though Creed-Miles brings some warmth to Billy, he is often acting in one dimension only, and it is left to Bean to haunt you for some time afterwards as an unstable thug whom the actor keeps short of caricature. Alex Kingston, cast as Lock's wife, removes herself convincingly from her familiar role in ER and plays a woman whose toughness can't quite conceal her insecurity. But, as so often with this new rash of Brit gangster flicks, the structure is a bit wobbly, and so the film bounces between clever twists and convolution. Moreover, Terry Winsor just doesn't know how to end it.

My Opinion:

I think this review is very critical however it contains some very relevant information, ‘Gangster thrillers’ are often criticized for being very similar and having very scatty plots that are often very stereotypical. However Essex boys has many brilliant shots, full of connotations and denotations, I would recommend the film as you will not get off your seat for 2 hours.

Essex Boys First 5 Minutes (Clip One)

This film is based on a true story, but obviously has been spiced up with added frills to make it a more ‘thrilling’ film. The opening to the film tells the audience quite a lot, and the first few shots give you an insight into what the film is most likely to be about.

The shot instantly presents the type of thriller it is because of the conventional aspects (wet, urban, dangerous, mysterious). Complemented by mainly digetic sound and chiaroscuro lighting really connotes the reality authenticity within the mise-en-scene of a gangster thriller. The use of darkness, and the urban location makes the viewer feel endangered. Everything in this first shot is a generic signifier of the ‘gangster thriller’ genre.

Billy Reynolds the main character is presented instantly as quite your normal stereotypical ‘Essex boy’ grafter, I say this because of his accent and the way he chooses to present himself (leather jacket), and the way he discusses his attitude towards work and life. The next real important shot is the establishing shot of him in the car.

Essex Boys 2 First 5 Minutes (Clip One)

Jason Locke played by Shaun bean, is a brilliant character he is established straight away as a wide boy from Essex, who has ‘just came out of prison for armed robbery’. His establishing shot (Mid Shot) is clever because although he says nothing the leather jacket, his stern serious face and the denotations of him in the narrative, highlight the kind of stereotypical character the viewer would imagine in their mind. The lighting is still non ambient which seems to highlight how dangerous Jason Locke is, all aspects within the mise-en-scene seem to bring a convincing element of this ‘Essex Gangster’ image to life and make it more believable

The next shot (Extreme Long Shot) is Brilliant because it contains very clever connotations, Billy Takes Jason out in the car, taking him through the tunnel. This is the start of the film, but also the start of the journey (metaphorically speaking), the tunnel represents the barrel of a gun you see Billy and Jason enter it as if to be the bullet inside. Because of the wet urban climate and the tremendous sense of claustrophobia the viewer suddenly feels trapped and looks for a way out. The shot does have a way out, a vanishing point which leads the eye to the way out of the tunnel. This is clever because entraps the viewer and makes them feel more involved in the story within the mise-en-scene.

There is another shot inside the tunnel which has a very clever connotation and also highlights the metaphor of being trapped / or being involved in something which is too late to stop, The shot seems to have relections of light acting as 'prison bars', Which could be a signal from the director as to where Billy and Jason will end up.

At this point a soundtrack has been introduced so the sound is a mixture of digetic and non-digetic the use of digetic sound help to bring a sense of reality to the audience, and the non-digetic helps to remind the viewer that it is a film. All the shots in the tunnel are important because this marks the start of Billy’s Journey, also later on in the film when the middle of the story begins there is another shot of them traveling down the same tunnel as if to mark the start of something new or the end of an Era (19 minutes).

Essex Boys 14- 21 minutes (Clip Two)

Billy becomes more involved in the crimes that his affiliates commit, much to his partners disapproval. You get the impression throughout the film that Billy would rather keep his distance than be so directly involved in the crimes, but as we know he gets too involved which leads to his downfall in the end because he gets to involved directly with the femme fatal. This Shot (Long Shot) is the first establishing shot of Jason Locke and Billy Reynolds and the rest of his gang. This is a generic signifier in the 'gangster thriller' genre because it establishes the most important dangerous characters, and the people who have the most significant roles. The use of Noir lighting also makes everything within the mise-en-scene seem more dangerous and gangster like. The fire could also xould be a connotation for 'heat', being obvious, drawing too much attention to yourself etc.

Here is an inter textual reference of a similar shot which establish the main characters, although they are not all the same they all connotations with the same meaning. This is of Rise of The Footsoldier another Essex gangster film, which I believe both films were made of the same story about the ‘Essex gangsters’. Both shots contain Digetic sound, which makes the characters seem more real.

Essex Boys 2 14-21 Minutes (Clip Two)

The next shot (two shot) is Important because it contains a connotation that even though at work he has to watch people/situations get attacked and exploited, and watch things that are illegal and have an ill moral, his first priority is to bring money home to look after his partner. This challenges the moral compass of a conventional gangster, and highlights that although Billy is actively involved with crime he is doing it for good reasons, this makes him a favorable character towards the audience.

This next shot is vital to the film as it establishes the most dangerous character in the film, which is interestingly a woman (Femme Fatal). This is because she is surrounded by such a contrast of hard 'gangsters'. This suprises the audience because the way she's presented in the establishing shot of herself perhaps seems to suggest the director wants you to think the opposite. This is the reason the film is just as popular with women as it is men (IMDB Statistics), because it has a dramatic twist. By doing this Terry Winter is Challenging your stereotypical representational issues bettween women and men, this separates this film from other typical ‘gangster thrillers’.

The shot (high angle shot) is quite deceptive because her body language indicates an insecure, anxious frail woman. But actually she is firmly in control of everything, her body language also seems to show that she’s hiding something (which she is). Terry Winter has cleverly utilized the conventions of the thriller genre and added a twist, which is why it should be a highly respected ‘Gangster thriller’ film.

This Is England Powerpoint.

2009-10-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

Audience Research

2009-10-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

Initial Research proposal into the habits of British film audience (Marketing and Exhibition)

I am going to construct a questionnaire which contains both qualative and quantitative research questions. For my research questions I will be focusing on two audience segmentations, piercings and hair style. I will be asking open (qualative) in to exibition and how the audiences find out about films, why they watch them, and what resources they use. For my quantitative I will find out about film marketing and how the audience prefers to consume films.

Soul. My Advert

2009-10-15T05:21:00.001-07:00

Soul. My Advert
Originally uploaded by Aaroooon

This is My fragrance i composed through photoshop and designed to embrace the smell of soul of a succesful.

1. Who is your target audience and how would your advert appeal to that audience?

My target audience is men that would fall under the 'striver' catagory of steriotypes. I would say the age range is for 25-45 years old who very focused on their career and lifestyle, and are looking for something to make you stand out from the rest. Whilst maintaning the same businessman image, alongside the connotations in advert it should offer a personal appeal to everyone. However because of the expression on the characters face he seems to come across as 'in control' on top of things etc or perhaps energetic. The connotations create the imagine of a successful man surounded by a blue tranquil space, the expression on the characters face suggest that this fluid in the bottle will fuel your 'soul' and idealy fuel your life.

2. How did the technologies help in the process of constructing the advert, and how comfortable are you using these technologies?

Computers are a modern day nessecity to life and are the primary resource of everything to do with work and pleasure. Photoshop helped me to construct the advert by using a series of different layers, rubber and brusher effects. I am a MACOS user which i find for creative tasks like music, photo, film much better to use. I did the thermal imaging effect on my own computer (MAC) but however windows acted fine to use.

3. How does your advert represent particular social groups?

My advert is clever because instead of using a normal picture where you would have been able to determine somones ethnicity looks etc, i have used thermal imaging so you cannot tell what ethnicity the character in the advert is (Me), by doing this people will see themselves in thermal imaging because anyone can do it, in terms of social groups the word 'Soul' appeals to everyone because everyone likes to think they're unique so again it should appeal to all men in the 'striver' catagory. The picture does seem to show a young male (16) but again by using the thermal imaging has kept the age range open so their is no specific age, the picture is almost ghostly 'soul' so it appeals to everyone. Also many average people aspire to this 21st century designer lifestyle so by adding a touch of 'soul' you become closer to that aspiration.

Advert Anaylsis

2009-09-24T04:40:00.001-07:00

Advert Anaylsis
Originally uploaded by Aaroooon

Please click this picture to go to my blog and see the work i have done on it.

2009-09-11T05:09:00.000-07:00

Mise en scene - meaninig everything you can see in the picture/ frame/ shot, The French meaning 'put in scene' for example props, lighting, costumes and the setting.
Denotation - In media studies terminology, denotation is an example of the first level of analysis: is often somethig literal and not a metaphor, with the direct meaning at heart.
Connotation - is a subjective cultural and/or emotional coloration in addition to the explicit or denotative meaning of any specific word or phrase in a language, i.e. emotional association with a word. often used as a meaning for a metaphor

2009-09-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

2009-09-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

YO

2009-09-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

My name is Aaron, im doing Media studies, Music Tech, Theatre Studies, Business at AS Level at CNS.