Evaluation: Part 2

How does your film represent Women in the opening?

There were a few ways in which women were represented in the opening of my production. Through my shot types, choice of sound, the mise-en-scene and editing I both supported and challenged contemporary gender ideas.

I made some notes analysing the opening...

The opening introduces you with a diegetic, background procession of police cars going past, synchronized with the opening titles. Police cars or other authoritative services connote power, dominance and responsibility, all of which are stereotypcally attributed to male characters in film. Giving the audience this initial impression means they are likely to associate the male characters to be more powerful than any female ones to come, supporting traditional gender roles. Not to mention the central, bold, white titles with a font type that is aggressive and impacting. These features appeal largely to men, establishing initial action and violence, men being my predominant target audience. Traditionally, women have been associated with rounder, more comforting and more gentle font types, alienating them from the film before its even really begun, and reinforcing a dominant stereotype that women aren't supposed to fill these character roles.

The sirens soon transition into my non-diegetic soundtrack. It is an edgy, suspense-filled, bassy film score, which is orientated towards my mainly male target audience, as it implies that a significant, action-packed moment is just around the corner for the viewer. This implication suggests that women would feel vulnerable in this narrative world, playing up to theme of a male-dominated world that gangsters live in, in similar past productions. When you accompany this with the lighting of the scenes, which are dark, misty and grim, you get a further reinforcement of gender-based stereotypes. It again, shows a potentially threatening environment for female characters to be in, and also goes against the the connotations of a female presence in a scene, which are bright colours, happiness and peace.

As the audience begins to see a series of shots showing Ade walking around, we hear a non-diegetic voice over of him telling us about his character. This dominant voice, over the images gives the reader the impression that Ade is more powerful, more knowledgeable and in control in general. With this, it reinforces traditional gender views that men are the more powerful sex, also alienating the female viewers who feel that you need to be male to identify with Ade. This stereotype is reinforced with the long shot showing Ade spreading his arms in the subway. In this shot, his body language suggests that he is control, his arms spread out, making himself the dominant focal point of the scene. However, in the voice-over, there is one section where Ade talks about the loss of his Mother and it's arguable that this challenges the stereotypes in film. He is audibly emotional about his Mum's death which is a more open, vulnerable presentation of his character, historically this has been attributed to women in film.

Further male power is asserted when Ade is walking with the use of a match on action edit, this connotes forward-thinking, dynamism and aggression. This scene alone shows that to be in an authoritative position you are required to be masculine in your action, backed up by the time lapse edit over-looking a city view, again reinforcing this fast paced tempo. In the end sequence, Jamie and Ade feature in a series of music-synchronized cut aways. The two, main focal points are male, along with a dubstep soundtrack, gives the impression that a women would be intimidated or scared, alienating them further.

These are just a few examples of how women are presented in my production. In this genre, their presentation is largely negative, this was something I tried to reflect when shooting and editing mine, also taking into consideration what effect breaking these traditional gender-based roles would have on the viewer. 

Evaluation: Part 1

In what ways does your project use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real film openings?

Conventions my film used...

• Typical narrative storyline. Vopice-over introduction/Mysterious antagonist introduced/Background information/Contextual information.
• Costume/Props similar to MOB/British Gangsters 
• Lighting dark in parts
• Disequilibrium obvious
• Street setting 
• Criminal/Corrupt element introduced

There were a few ways in which I used the conventions of real films, for example, my choice of costumes.

Traditionally, MOB-Gangster and Film-Noir productions use costumes which are formal, smart or sophisticated. British-Gangster films often feature long-length expensive coats and shirts or alternatively leather jackets, hoodies and jeans. These looks are synonymous with the likes of 'Goodfellas', 'Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels' and 'Get Carter'.     

       

I took inspiration from all three films to an extent with my two main characters:

The Antagonist in my opening, Ade Freeman, is dressed in shoes, a shirt, a long coat, a scarf and a traditional cap which ties into the conventions of a British-Gangster production. I kept the colours of my costume dark and non-exclamitory as it fits into the genre, 'Goodfellas' for example, having a similar theme.

My Protagonist, Jamie Carter, was wearing trainers, dark jeans, a black polo shirt and and a black jumper, all of which would fit into a film like 'LSATSB'. Given this character's role in a brief get-away scene, it was fitting to have more casual clothes as British-Gangster films have used this dress scheme in similar situations.



They're comparable these memorable examples:


Shoes, long coat, scarf...










                                                Dark polo shirt...









                                                                  

I also used the feature of direct address to influence my opening.

I also tried to adopt a wide range of shot types and camera movements, for example tracking, tilt up and establishing .This creates the effect of a fast-paced, dynamic atmosphere, playing up to the general conventions of the genre. The direct address shot type has been used in previous MOB and British-Gangster productions, for example 'Goodfellas', in the final scene.

Similarly I used this when the antagonist, Ade, says "but let me ask you a question."

I challenged conventions of the genre through:

My soundtrack choice. I used an edgy, bassy and suspense-building film score which resembled that of a crime TV-drama. Doing this is not common in 'British-Gangsters', Lock, Stock for example, using Hundred Mile City by Ocean Colour Scene, as their generic British Gangster opening song. Conventional opening soundtracks connote London, white gangsters and street crime. In my opening I deliberately wanted to steer away from these stereotypes, linking it more to the crime-thriller aspect.

The titles were another way I challenged conventions:

The usual British-Gangster production features titles that are relaxed, in-formal and contrapuntally playful. Lock, Stock uses lower-case, quick-lasting titles in its opening. 

Through this, the viewer connotes the production with humour and quirkiness..

I didn't want to down-play my titles at all, so instead I chose to use bold, in-your-face, capital letters to establish the mood and atmosphere of my film. Going against this convention attracts a different target audience and drastically changes their expectations.