Analysis of Previous Students' Work

(AS) Film Openings 2014

Video 1: Toby and Lewis

WWW:

• This opening plays up to all the conventions of a typical British Gangster. ;It includes non-diegetic quirky music, working-class attitudes and humour. This adds to a good realism they were able to create.
• The use of parallel sound with the banging on the door also shocks us and adds more intensity to the opening.
• I also thought the use of panning movements in the opening stages was very effective because it gives us as a viewer a sense of character profiling from the out-set.

EBI:

• They were able to have a smoother tracking movement, I felt at times it made it look a lot less professional
• I also feel that better accents or acting could have made the opening scene look even better.

Video 2: Marcus and Luke 

WWW:

• The sound bridge right at the start smoothly puts us into the opening and i feel this reflects the rest of the video.
• Shot selection is consistently good and goes well with their BG/Crime-Thriller genre. It looks very professional and I felt as though I was watching a real life opening.
• The lighting and location choice is brilliant, it is very good to watch and the location is clearly well thought out and planned.
• The non-diegetic music is intense and gritty which escalates the mood and atmosphere that we feel. It starts to make you anticipate what the next scene will be.

EBI:

• The accent chosen on the voice-over doesn't really fit with the genre in my opinion.
• There was more consideration put into the very last scene, because I feel when you compare the quality of that location to the others it brings the quality down.

Video 3: Casey

WWW:

• It fits completely to the Film Noir conventions. For example the props and lighting are dim, setting looks old-fashioned. It also conveys this theme with the classical-esque instrumental to Lana Del Ray's song.
• I think the use of a few extreme close-ups is very effective as it portrays a level of intimacy between the two lead characters. This fits in well with the sinister nature of the girl we find out about at the end.
• The addition of synchronous sound, especially with the footsteps, also heightens our alertness and we look for finer details when watching.  

EBI:

• At points the camera is shaking slightly, this takes away the realism of those particular scenes.
• \In the background you are able to see modern appliances in parts. This takes away from what is otherwise a realistic, old-fashioned opening.

Analysis of Gangster Films

Analysis of Gangster Films from jo3lgriffiths

Overall, I feel tahtsthis task really helped develop my analytical skills adn also allowed me to focus more specifically on the the British Gangster sub-genre

Companies That Produce and Distribute Gangster Films

Goodfellas (1990)

Production: Warner Bros.

Who are they?..   

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly referred to as Warner Bros.) is an American producer of film, television, and music entertainment. One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment, TheWB.com, and DC Entertainment. Warner Bros. owns half of The CW Television Network.

Just some facts...

• They are an American studio who introduced their first talking picture in 1927
• Company was founded by 4 brothers; Harry, Albert, Samuel and Jack Warner.
• Initially, the brothers started off showing moving pictures in Ochio and Pennsylvania whilst travelling. However in 1930 they began to buy out movie theatres before moving on to film distribution.

They also produced...

The Departed

The Godfather (1970)

Production: Paramount Pictures

So who are they?..

Paramount Pictures Corporation (commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, and formerly known as Famous Players-Lasky Corporation) is a film studio, television production company and motion picture distributor, consistently ranked as one of the "Big Six" film studios of Hollywood. It is a subsidiary of U.S. media conglomerate Viacom. Paramount is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).[2] It has distributed several successful film series, such as Transformers, Mission: Impossible, Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008–11), Indiana Jones (1981–2008), The Godfather, Star Trek, Jack Ryan, Jackass, The Bad News Bears, Beverly Hills Cop, "Crocodile" Dundee, Paranormal Activity, Friday the 13th and G.I. Joe. It's the world's fourth oldest continuously-operating major film studio, the third being Universal Studios, the two oldest being the French studios Gaumont Film Company and Pathé.

Their History?

What they say: 'A legacy begins'

Adolph Zukor

Founded Paramount Pictures as Famous Players Film Company in 1912

From our humble beginnings in 1912, The Studios at Paramount (the longest operating and only major studio remaining in Hollywood) has been on the ground floor of every major development in film - from the advent of motion pictures, to the emergence of television and onward through the digital revolution. Through it all, our passion for excellence has kept us on the forefront of movie making and leading the pack in innovation and technological development. This obsession was evident from the very beginning when we won the very first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1927 - only a year after moving onto our current studio lot.

'The Creation of Legends'

Throughout our history, we’ve nurtured and aided the industry’s most legendary movie talent. Directors like Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith and Alfred Hitchcock as well as stars such as Rudolf Valentino, Mae West, Bing Crosby, the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley and Audrey Hepburn graced our lot in earlier years. In more recent times, the star power has only grown brighter as we’ve worked with Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and many more. Our passion and experience combined with such talent has resulted in the production of countless iconic films, including the highest grossing blockbuster of all time, “Titanic” (1997).

'From the Big Screen to the Small Screen'

Movies aren’t the only driving force behind our success stories. It was in the mid-1960s that we dove head first into the world of television when new owners began to steer the studio down new paths. In 1967, the lot was expanded when we purchased Desilu television studios from Lucille Ball. We immediately put the lot expansion to good work, creating memorable series like “The Odd Couple,” the original “Star Trek,” “The Brady Bunch,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Taxi,” “Happy Days,” “Cheers,” and the record-breaking “Frasier.” Since our start in television, The Studios at Paramount has become the place where quality shows are continually produced alongside world famous pictures.

'Making History Today'

As the longest operating major studio in Hollywood, The Studios at Paramount has almost a century of experience providing the finest production services from development through post production. Along the way, we’ve only become better at everything we do. Today, we’ve emerged as an international leader in the production of film and TV entertainment. We engineer partnerships with projects large and small in a ceaseless effort to create celebrated movies, television shows, and commercials.

Scarface

  

 

 

Produced by: Universal Pictures

                                                                   What is Universal?..   

 

Universal Studios Inc. (also known as Universal Pictures), is an American film studio, owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal,[1] and is one of Hollywood's "Big Six" film studios. Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City. Universal Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour. It's the world's third oldest major film studio, after the French studios Gaumont Film Company and Pathé. Three of Universal Studios' films—Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993) (all of which were directed by Steven Spielberg)–achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film at the time.

Common Production companies:

The Gangster genre consistantly throughout it's history has had producers such as Universal Pictures,

I feel that this task has vastly increased my understanding on distributors in general. It was interesting seeing how different companies' history differs and to be honest I expected them to be a lot different. It was the sort of thing that I used to overlook but now I realise the importance big distributors have, especially in the Gangster genre. Through this I can now make an educated prediction on what type of company would distribute my film.

 

 

Inspiration and Influences

My Opening Inspiration/Influences on PhotoPeach

 

I also draw inspiration from...

Inception (2010)

Personally, I feel that this psychological thriller is one of the best films ever made. It has all the components of a great film and combines that with an engaging draw which never lets the audience feel like they've got to the bottom of it all.
In this particular intro, it introduces us to the idea of dreams and reality. It is a simple concept that is unique to this film so it's instantly more interesting for us as viewers.


I feel that overall this task has helped to develop a wider sense of creativity. All the films in my Photopeach collage have differences both in style and genre, this will go a long way in making my opening as unique as possible. Watching some of the films shown in my collage has allowed me to further appreciate the differences in style between different directors, this was interesting for me to observe and compare. Specifically looking at Inception, I was able to look at a different approach to an opening sequence as opposed to the standard chronological one, this is something I am really considering doing. This task has also made me consider how I will challenge some of the conventions of the stereotypical British Gangster.

Narrative Structure Theorists

Tzvetan Todorov 

"All narratives follow the basic structure of Equilibrium-Disequilibrium-Equilibrium."

 Or more specifically...

1) Equilibrium

2) Disequlibrium

3) (Acknowledgement of disruption)

4) (Attempt to repair disruption)

5) Equilibrium

For example 'Bad Neighbors' (2014)


Equlibrium: New couple move into quite estate. They have a newly born baby, happy together, steady job. All is well as they see potential buyers of another house for sale next to theirs, they see for example and old couple go to buy the house and aren't at all worried about the future.









When they finally meet the new buyers, it is a ferternity house. Although at first cautious, they go over to greet them and everything is fine. The students are very nice welcoming the baby and the couple, and they also importantly promise to keep the noise down. Peace is maintained at least for the time being.

 









Disequilibrium: The new family soon realize that the students have no intention of 'keeping it down' and start being disturbed by wild parties all night long with no regard for their situation.

 The disturbance culminates in them calling the police, which they were specifically told not to do by Freddie. This breaks their short friendship and leaves the Frat house seeking revenge.

Acknowledgement of Disruption: Both sides of the dispute acknowledge that there is now a war and it is just a question of who drives who out. 







 Attempt to repair disruption: A series of plans, pranks and tricks start from both sides in an effort out ultimately win their battle with neither willing to budge.



Equilibrium: The protagonists being the family, come out on top in the end as the Frat house is made to move. However, the antagonist, Freddie, accepts his wrong doings and makes up with them forming a friendship once again. Everything is peaceful and the situation is resolved.

Vladimir Propp's and Tzvetan Todorov’s Narrative Theory from SathMan1

 Vladimir Propp

His Theory essentially stated that in any story you will only ever have 8 types of character.









1) The Villain - Fights the hero in some way.
2) The Dispatcher - Character who makes the villain's evil known and sends the hero off.
3) The (magical) helper - Helps the hero in the quest.
4) The Princess or prize - The hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain and resulting in a 'Happily ever after' moment. 
5) Princess' Father - Gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero.
6) The Donor - Prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
7) The hero or victim/seeker hero - reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
8) False hero - takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess. 

Vladimir propp's and tzvetan todorov narrative theory from Branahvan Rajasooriar

Claude Levi-Strauss 

He suggested that all narratives are based around conflicts of binary oppositions. 

For example...

Good vs Evil
Black vs White 
Peace vs War
Democracy vs Dictatorship
Man vs Woman 
East vs West
Man vs Nature
Protagonist vs Antagonist

Claude levi strauss[1] from Raj1992

This is a brief verbal look further into is theory.

Roland Barthes 

Codes Theory

"Text is a Galaxy of signifires, not a structure of signifieds; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it through several entrances..." etc. etc. 

So pretty much, in English, what Barthes means is: 

•  The text is similar to a tangled ball of threads 
•  Naturally, the thread needs to be unraveled
• Once unraveled, we encounter a wide range of potential meanings
• You could start by looking at a text/moving image in one way. But there will inevitably be another interpretation or viewpoint to see it from
• This raveling and unraveling process is endless

Or alternatively we can look at a brief, but more in depth view of the theory...  

This task has given me a good insight into just how I will structure my narrative. I found it really interesting researching into what these people had discovered about the majority films. A lot of them being fairly accurate almost encourages me to it very differently, but having looked into some of the successful films that use this structure I'm fairly sure I will follow it for the most part.

British Gangster Research

The More Successful Gangsters

The Conventions of the Openings
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels:

Here is an example of how they utilise the key British Gangster conventions in this film...

Opening Sequence Analysis - Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels from AStamatiou

Get Carter:
 (Focus on the 'Get Carter' section)

Get carter, layer cake and the italian job from lgettings

Costumes

  
Original 'Gangster look'
In terms of the stereotypical gangster look, this is it. In the majority of films made between the 30s and 80s, the top hat, full suit and long coat are all prime factors that make up the type of costume we all recognize.The clothing is one of the main conventions of the genre, it symbolizes power, style and material wealth. All three being on the forefront of any gangster's mind.

 Modern day Gangster look
Nowadays, the old-fashioned smart style we know and love is virtually non-existant. Instead we have become used to seeing city/urban based film with 'snap back' hats, baggy clothing and jewelry. It's as if the way the modern day gangster is portraied is more laid back. In my opinion this is down to a cultural shift which has seen smart clothing to be viewed as too 'old fashioned.


My Approach
In my costumes I will be a lot more like the modern gangsters of today (being set in a modern day Bristol) but I will consider using hints of the more old fashioned look. For example I could feature an older 'boss' character with the conventional clothing of an older MOB gangster. However the modern style will be most relevant to my British Gangster genre."> Gangster moodboard on PhotoPeach Gangster moodboard on PhotoPeach

Audience Research

A visual example of my target audience:

My Opening Questionnaire:

 

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

What is the BBFC?

1. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), before 1985 known as British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom.
2. In English, they are the ones that rate our films U, PG, 12a, 15 or 18. It essentially stops children of a young age from being exposed to scenes of sex, violence, drugs, bad language or any other content of an explicit nature.
3. 

1. The majority of gangsters however are rated 15 and 18. This is because the conventions of Gangsters is generally materialism, in which drugs violence and sex are main themes. For example, a film like Goodfellas has extremely graphic, racist and offensive language used throughout. As a result of this there is no way younger audiences can be advised to watch them.

Conventions of a Gangster Film

Conventions of gangster films from jo3lgriffiths

I think that my understanding of Gangster conventions has improved because of this task. Some of the key ones being; materialism, loyalty, betrayal, appearance vs reality etc. I have noticed through watching various Gangster films that these themes are very apparent and will be a key thing to remember when making my own opening. Also by watching and analysing real British Gangster openings I was able to appreciate some of the areas to concentrate on most (e.g. the mise en scene).

Influential Gangster Director Research

Martin scorsese gangster history from jo3lgriffiths


I feel that I have a much deeper understanding of the style that Scorsese adopts when making films, this will influence me greatly when I'm making my own opening. By seeing some of the genre's leading gangster films were made by him I have been encouraged to use elements of his style to improve my own work. I especially like the way he incorporates effective soundtracks into his films and I hope to do the same in my opening.

The History of the Gangster Genre

Gangster basic history from jo3lgriffiths

Through this research I was able to really get an idea of how the genre has changed over thee decades since it first started. For example how details like the clothing has evolved. Consequently I have a better understanding of what is expected in the today's gangster movie. I will take what I have learnt through this process into the planning stage of my own Gangster opening.

Thoughts on previous work grading...

I feel this process has been very benficial as I've gained valuable knowledge through watching their videos and also looking at their planning and research. For example, this has encouraged me to use multiple resources to present my work (e.g. video clips). Another valuable lesson I learned through this past work was the survey aspect of the audience research which I hadn't previously considered. Hopefully thus will improve my mark as a result. The presentation of some of the higher candidates' work was very good and I will look to match this standard in my blog. I was also