How my film presents specific social groups

In my film i have represented particular social groups very stereo-typically. For example one of our main characters (Don), as shown on the right is shown to be in his late teens and is a very troublesome young man. The clothing of which he wears is derogatory and supposedly known to be used by people who are 'up to no good' we specifically chose the clothing of which we did due to the fact our film is a Crime and Gangster film and it helps us create a more authentic look. As you can see from the image on the right our character has a very laid back and comical attitude, although when it comes to acting he becomes much more focused. This allowed us to work well with him as an actor as he followed our instructions easily and did not make a fuss. With Brook's clothing that he wears outside of his role we could tell he would be a major asset, along with his flat-peak caps and tracksuit tops he becomes a major part in playing the role of a young 'crimester'.


Our other main character is Sam Northmore, is also portrayed as a 'hoodlum' we do this in a very similar way of which we did with Brook with the costume and facial expressions although we did add one extra attribute to it as we scripted that he sparks a cigarette. This adds to the genre as well as creating another stereotype in our film as in our generation teens are known to be ' hoodie wearing smokers'. It also gives off a question of which the audience can answer which is if it is illegal drugs or not? We did not create the look of a 'joint' or 'spliff' as we didn't want the films BBFC rating to be increased to an 18.


From looking at how we have represented the particular groups in which we have it has allowed me to reconcile the fact that we are focusing on the genre Crime and Gangster and therefore understand some of the concepts of which this bring.
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Conventions of a Real Media text

The conventions of a Crime and gangster film usually consist of guns, crime and violence. We have kept to the conventions of our chosen genre to keep the authenticity to high level. Another convention of the genre Crime and Gangster is to have troublesome 'crimesters', our actors are both dressed like a typical teen but are not chosen to perfection as are both groomed very well, therefore creating a classy look of which we did not want to portray in our film. We did try to stop one of our main actors from shaving for a week or two to try and make him look like a more ferocious actor but he could not handle the upkeep.

The images on the right are of our two main actors, we have chosen them because we know that they do obtain very high quantity wardrobes and knew that they would have something which could be applied to the genre of our film. They are both wearing hoodies, as we know teenagers are very commonly known to wear hoodies and stereo-typically known to be 'up to no good'.


The setting of our film is very well kept to the generic conventions of the genre of which we have chosen as it is based around an old abandoned building where there is graffiti'd upon walls and smashed windows, thus creating a scary look to the setting. This is also good for the audience as it adds to the authenticity of the film making it a more believable text and links to the conventions of a traditional crime and gangster film.


Along with all of these attributes coming together to form a good crime and gangster film we have also kept with the conventions by keeping the lighting very dull and given it a sinister look, also adding to the tension as it seems as if night is coming and this is always when 'shit goes down' as said by many actors in crime and gangster films. We have also introduced a quiet song to the film  as there has always got to be sound throughout the film, it also creates a sort of mood to the opening of the film to label it as a 'gangster film' the song of which we have chosen has a beat of which is in unison with the footsteps of one of our  main actors thus leading the audience into the film along with the main character. The elements, i think, come together very well in our two minute opening as from watching it myself can create tension and its always the best thing for someones own film to make them feel as if they've done well. 


We have challenged the attributes of the genre by adding our own 'twist to the scene, to do do this we have focused a lot more on the plot of the story line other than the action and fight scenes. We think this helps us a lot as some major crime and gangster films seem to dwell on action and therefore lose viewer interest. By focusing more on the plot it allow us to create a sort of tension and allows the viewer to become involved with the film and feel more as if they are a part of it instead of just watching from home. 

Costume Board

Our main characters have been given the choice of wearing jeans or tracksuit bottoms. We gave them these two options as both of them are stereo-typically known for being worn by teens. Don and Mani both chose to wear baggy jeans as they thought it would add to the theme of crime and gangster as they both thought that tracksuit bottoms, if not worn correctly can either look tacky or amateur.


Both of our main characters both went with the decision on Adidas trainers as they thought they had recently been seen as a teenager branded shoe. This adds to the authenticity of the film and can make it look more believable, especially if all the characters wear them because it could then be called a 'trend'.


Mani, when first introduced is wearing baggy jeans, Adidas trainers and a blue Sergio Tacchini hoodie. The hoodies play a major role in our film as we all know that teenagers are also stereo-typically known for being 'hoodlums'. When seeing a boy of 15-18 with a hood up walking when there is no weather issues you tend to think that he is trouble straight off.
Don, is also portrayed as being a so called 'hoodlum' with his baggy jeans, Adidas trainers, black hoodie and Red cap. All of the items of clothing we have used in the film we helped our actors specially choose to come together as being an authentic looking crime and gangster film. From doing this i learnt how big time directors and script writers make there films look more realistic and how they use Mise-en-scene to create a realistic,  good look.

Settings board

The setting in which we have chosen is behind an abandoned building, the floor is plain dirt and you can see the side of the wall, to show what the building was like. In this case the wall is dirty and the windows have fencing on them to stop people getting in, also giving off a dark feeling. One of the main reasons we chose this setting is because it looks like a place of which crime and gangster scenes are set, it is just off of a main road so there will be background noise of cars and lights flashing through the bushes as the cars go past. The angle of which we have filmed it makes it look like the building is set in a dark and sinister place where nobody would ever think to look. This makes it easier for fights and gunshots to happen with it seeming more realistic.

The other main setting is around the corner from here (to the right of the shot) the reason of which we have chosen this is because of the graffiti'd upon walls. This adds to setting the scene as a crime and gangster film as it looks as if they are used to hanging around in places like this. It makes the audience think that it is a place of which they like to hang out making them look like troublesome teens. We placed the camera towards the wall to make sure that the audience gets the type of setting that we are in. Whick also gives a good view of the grafitid upon walls.

Storyboard

storyboard, voice over complete NEW from Elliot Blatchford on Vimeo.

Here is our storyboard, over the top of the images i have produced a voiceover which explains what is happenning in each shot and what type of shot it is. From doing this i have learnt that i can plan my own film through split shots, this is important for a film as you can then plan how you are going to lay out the shots and help to find a similar setting.

Prop Description

The image above is of the BB gun we used as a real gun in the film. We needed this as basically all Crime and Gangster films have gun fights and just a general use of guns in them. The gun is used as a dramatical device and adds to the film being a more believable Crime and Gangster themed film. The gun is used by Mani and when shot has edited in sound effects of a real gun shot. We chose this specific BB gun as it looks more realistic than most others, this makes sure that the flm does not have a 'taccy' sense to it.

The picture above is of the phone used in the film. Don pulls this out of his pocket when recieving a message from Mani, this is a good prop and is used well as most teenagers communicate via mobile phone nowadays.

We use this prop as a set up to a part in the intro that creates suspence. We use this prop as he recieves a text message, the message creates a sort of build of tension and is used well in our film by having a close-up shot on the screen so you can read the text.

Audience Research

Audience Research complete from Elliot Blatchford on Vimeo.

From doing this task i have learnt that our film needs to contain some of the things the interviewees included in there replies to our question 'What would you expect to see in a crime and gangster film?'. We would do this because if people expect to see certain things in a crime and gangster film then we would have to cater for this to create a believable film which creates the same mood of which the best crime and gangster films have done in the past.