Initial Screenings Feedback

From my feedback I had only got a level 1, however this is because I did not use my time as well as I could have, and only produced a 13 seconds long film. This is because the person who I wanted to be in my film had to cancel, so I had to change the day I was recording and change the person, which was time consuming. I got all the filming done before the initial screening, however I didn't have enough time to put the clips together or edit them before the screenings. From my feedback, I was told to add music which I will do when I edit to fit the clips in with the music, and told to make it longer. This has inspired me to try harder and make sure I use my time effectively.

Alterations Made Along the Way

I have made a few alterations along the way. When filming, I have decided to not use parts that were in my storyboard, for example I did not use the shots of newspapers, and replaced it with a shot of everything that is on the table, to give the audience an idea of what the antagonist is doing on the table. The mid shot shows photographs of victims, and cut up newspaper words which the antagonist will rearrange later on in the film.

I also had to change who I was going to have as the antagonist in my film opening, as the people who I asked to do it before cancelled. I ended up getting a female, which I did not originally want as I wanted my antagonist as a male, however in the film opening the audience cannot tell if the antagonist is a female, which creates suspicion to what gender the antagonist is.

Editing Software

For my film opening I will be using Adobe Premier Pro and Adobe After Effects. I will be mainly using Adobe After Effects as I plan to be creative in my opening, by having the film clips cutting from one another quickly, and editing the colour of the clips to make them dark.

Storyboard

Health and Safety Evidence

Film/Editing Schedule

Planning of Music

I have a few ideas for music. The music will last throughout the whole opening, and the music is the only thing that will be heard. I have chosen to do this because of the research I have done on my survey shows that having music for an opening was popular. The four songs I got down to where as follows:

- Detective Danger
- Double Crossed
- Home Invasion
- Only Human

I think I will use 'Detective Danger' in my opening, however I will have to make the sound longer as it is only 1.40 minutes long, and the shortest time my film opening can be is 2 minutes. I will loop the music a bit to make it 2 minutes long.

Planning of Titles

My titles will be very important in my opening. I plan to make my titles appear on the screen, similar to the film I done most research on; Se7en. I will use a creepy font, and I plan for my credits to stay up 3 seconds long, because this is how long they stayed up for other Gangster film openings I have researched. The titles will be on a black screen in the colour white, and on the actual footage. The titles will be edited to flash up on the screen, similar into Se7en as I think it’s a great way to add extra effect to the titles. I have also chosen the titles to be white as other film openings I have done research on such as Gosford Park has used white titles, making it stand out on the screen. There are 20 titles in the film Se7en, however I will only use 13 of these titles for my opening, as I think some titles are inappropriate. The font I will be using is Chiller, as I think it links to the film opening Se7en the most, and looks spooky. I plan for the titles saying what the person has doing to be in capitals, and the name of the person to be in lower case (while starting with a capital letter).

Se7en's opening titles.

Structure of my Narrative

My film opening will start with lots of different small video clips edited together to form an opening. Some ideas I had for shots were a close up of a knife or a gun, and a guy writing words on paper, and cutting words on the paper out, and placing them in order. Each shot will be around 2 to 6 seconds long, so I will need lots of different shots for my opening. The antagonist will be preparing/making stuff on the table, and there will be various shots of paper saying ‘wanted for murder’ and a close up of a knife, to show that he is the antagonist. It also foreshadows something bad to happen later on in the film, as the film Se7en has done too. The antagonist is also cutting up paper and replacing it, this is done to make the opening seem more realistic, as it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t follow through. My opening will not have a particular story, just the antagonist preparing stuff on the table, and the reason for it will be unknown.

I have also made a timeline to show where my credits will go, and how long each clip will last on the screen for.

Props List

Highlighter - to either cross out words or highlight them, highlighter colour is either black or dark purple.

Pen and paper - to write words on that could link to murder.

Scissors - to cut out paper, so they can be replaced in order.

Photographs of victims - to show that this is the antagonist, and that the photographs of the people are the ones that he will murder, or has murdered. Creates suspense.

Fake blood - to add the effect of horror of him killing people. It could help symbolise that he has killed people before, or is the antagonist. The fake blood will be placed on the knife and on pictures. I will make the fake blood out of icing sugar and red food dye.

Knife - foreshadows that something bad will happen.

Black blanket - to put on the table, to cover up any background, and to put the props on for the film.

Photograph of Location

I will be filming my opening in my kitchen at my house, as I think the lighting is good and it's an open space, and it'll be easier to re-film anything if needed.

Costume Planning

I only plan to have one character in my film opening, which is the antagonist. His clothing may not be shown, however I will have the actor to wear dark clothing. The clothing may not be shown as I will be doing a sequence of close up shots, just revealing his hands. The antagonist will wear a black t-shirt and black trousers, as this reflects that he is evil, and gives the film a spooky feel.

Initial Planning Ideas

Moodboard

Mood Board by Leah__Riley

Audience Research

My target audience for my gangster films is going to be young adults, from 19 years old and over. I will try to make it appeal to both male and females, as I think detective who done it appeals to both genders.

There are age restrictions of films, especially on gangster films.
U - means it's suitable for all.
PG - Parental Guidance.
12A - Cinema release for 12 years and over.
12 - Video release suitable for 12 years and over.
18 - Suitable for only adults.
R18 restricted - Adult works for licensed premises only.


I made two Voki to show the target audience for my genre.




I have decided to use a young man 23 years old of age and a woman 25 years of age. I have decided to put him as 23 and her as 25 as I think that detective gangster films are for all ages over the age of 15 / 18. This is because most gangster films are 15 or 18 and over because they contain strong scenes of violence, swearing and inappropriate things for under 18s. Most gangster films are over 18 because normally there are lots of scenes of violence, so I think I will keep my audience for over 18s. I decided to do two voki to show the range of different ages, however not keeping a big age gap between the two. I have also chosen the girl and boy to be of this age because in my survey, most people were from the ages of 17-25, proving that this is the main age gap that watches Gangster films.


My Survey

Answers:




My survey consisted of 10 questions. From this survey I tried to see what people thought about gangster films, and from what they'd expect from this. From what I can see, males are expected to be the protagonist and antagonist however not everyone wants male to play both, some chose both female, or even female for one role and male for the other. From my survey I can also see that I should introduce 2-3 characters in my opening, as this is what is expected. I can also see that most people like the opening to start with characters talking, however narrative and music are a close second.

Task 11 2 by Leah__Riley

I thought that technology would stand out to my audience.

Analysis of previous students work

Roses are Red
www: I like the variety of shot types used I think that their freeze frames are good.
I also liked how the titles are displayed.
EBI: The camera was shaky at some bits during the opening, a tripod should have been used.
The camera should have been focused when the camera was pointing at the laptop.
I would give it a level 3, 48 marks because I think this opening was very creative, especially how she displayed her titles.

The Edge
WWW: Good shot types used.
Very good opening titles, how they are placed on the screen.
Good editing when he was nearly caught, the camera shook and effects were used.
Music was suitable and well chosen.
Good compositions.
Good editing for the tint.
EBI: Tripod should have been used as it was very shaky.
Jump cuts should fit in with song.
Could include a voice over.
I would give this opening a level 4, 58 marks because I really like how this opening is edited, and especially how the titles were placed.

Karma
WWW: Good variety of shot types.
Mixture of diegetic and non diegetic sound.
EBI: Tripod should have been used.
Camera was out of focus.
Doesn't look like an opening, looks like a short film.
Titles should be better as they didn't go with the scenes.
I would give this a level 1, 20 marks as I don't think that this opening was thought through very well, and the camera was out of focus and shaky, making the opening harder to watch.



Deception
WWW: Good use of tripod.
Good editing - use of tint.
Good costumes.
EBI: Too much happened in the opening - two people being shot.
Didn't think about the background, people who weren't supposed to be in the film were there.
Should have more titles, there was only one.
I would give this a level 3, 37 marks because I like the style of genre and editing and the places they filmed, however the characters were not introduced by titles and there were people who ruined the shots in the background.



Born from the street
WWW: Good range of shot types.
Diegetic and non diegetic sound used.
Good composition.
EBI: Credits didn't go with opening.
Introduced too many characters.
Too much narrative. I would give this a level 2/3, 35/36 marks as I think the range of shot types were good however the acting and what was going on wasn't too good, it was three characters walking, they should have kept to two or one characters.



Made man
WWW: Voice over helps the audience to understand what is going on.
Good use of props.
Freeze frames were used.
EBI: Voice over lasts for too long.
Tripod was moved in jump cuts, should have re-filmed that scene so it was fluent.
Too much happened/was done in the first two minutes, it should have been cut out of the opening as it didn't look like an opening.
Too many characters were introduced.
I give this a level 4, 48 marks because I think it was well shot and I like how the freeze frames and voice over connected with each other.




From watching these student film openings I can see what they have done wrong and try to avoid this in my opening. I will use a tripod as a lot of these didn't, ruining the quality of the film overall. I am inspired by The Edges's title credits, as I think they are really creative and I like how they go with what's on screen. I will try to do something similar when I create my opening of a gangster film.

Inspiration and Influences

Preliminary task

Theory

From doing this powerpoint, I fully understand what the four narrative theorists have to say. In my gangster film opening, I could try to challenge a theorist, such as Tzvetan. I could try to challenge his theory as he thinks everything is fine at the start, I could do the opposite on my gangster film opening. I think this would be effective as it shows I have understood what he has to say, and taken it into account and tried to challenge it.

Research into the relevant gangster genre

From this Prezi I made I fully understand what detective gangster films are the best and why. I can see that Gosford Park is very popular, and have won a lot of awards. I can also see that the film Se7en is popular too, with the big profit the film made. I am inspired by Se7en's opening credits and Gosford for my opening of a gangster film.

Influences of Style

I like the idea of the characters (detectives) wearing suits and hats, as I think it makes them look formal and like they're smart and on the job, to find out who done the crime. I think Doctor Who is a great example, as the audience is shown what great things the Doctor can do. I think costume affects the way the audience see's the character, as the more formal they look, the audience will really believe that they are smart and know what they are doing for the job. This is really important in a detective film, and I will take into consideration of having suits for costumes.

Research into a director

From this I can see how much of an inspiration Quentin Tarantino is, going from 'my best friend's birthday' to a massive hit; Pulp Fiction. I can see how his directing has changed over the years, and how he has improved in time. I can also see that Pulp Fiction is his most famous movies of all time, and am inspired by Pulp Fiction's opening, as the audience don't know what's going on and didn't expect the two characters to pull out a gun. I like the sense of mystery this film pulled at the start, and am inspired by 'mystery'. I will take this into account when making my own opening.

Analysis of gangster films

From these timelines I can see how long the credits have lasted and when they come in, inspiring me for when I make my own gangster film. I can see that the credits last 3-5 seconds long on screen, and fade in or either go to a black screen and just having the credits on the black screen. I have also learnt from this task that sound bridges are quite popular, and music is also popular to use in an opening of a gangster film. I will take this into account when making my own.

Research into existing companies that produce and distribute gangster films

Se7en

Cecchi Gori Pictures and New Line Cinema are the production companies of Se7en.

New Line Cinema has distributed in many film makings, and is a common company, producing a lot of films and distributed in making films. The company has distributed in 500 films, and made 380 themselves, including popular films such as Hairspray, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Notebook and the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. From these films I can see that this company make a variety of films, ranging over the genres. New Line Cinema was founded in 1967.

Cecchi Gori is a much smaller company, and only produced 6 films, including Se7en. The company has mainly made films that are in the genre of romance, drama and comedy, such as Life is Beautiful and Man Trouble. However there is one film, like Se7en called A Bronx Tale which is to do with crime and drama, showing that Se7en wasn’t a one off film in the genre. They are planning to make a new film called Silence, which will be realised in 2015.

New Line is very popular, and became a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment in 2008. It is an American film studio, and is very well known, large profit organisations. The film Se7en alone made $316, 400, 000 Worldwide, while its estimated budget was $33, 000, 000. Another film made by this company; The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, made $303,003,568 just in the USA by 2013,  and $11,601,538 in the UK by December 2012, after the film was released in 2012.

Cecchi Gori Pictures originally came from Italy, and have produced and developed ‘some of the most creative and talented films to come out of Italy.’ He isn’t as well known as New Line Cinema, but has made some good money out of films. Apart from Se7en, the film Cecchi Gori produced; Life is Beautiful made $57,598,247 by October 1999, 2 years after the film was released.

American Gangster

The film American Gangster has a couple of production companies who helped make the film. Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Relativity Media (in association with) and Scott Free productions (in association with). American Gangster made $265,495,454 worldwide.

Universal Pictures has distributed in 5623 films and produced 3487 films, including fast and furious. This company is a massive company, and has been around since 1920s, founded in 1912. Universal Pictures is well known worldwide. This is such a big company, they even have their own website.

Universal Pictures in an American motion picture studio. This company is very well known worldwide. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (made in 2006) made $62,514,415 in the USA by September 2006, the same year it was released! It made a final of $158,468,292 worldwide in 2006.

I looked at a couple of films from Universal Pictures, such as Forbidden, Mamma Mia, and the Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. These films range from the genres: crime, drama, romance, comedy, musical and action. I can see from these films that this company might not do horror as much, and just make films for young adults, however I found out later that Universal Pictures helped produced Scarface, which is another Gangster film. From this I can see that Universal Pictures do create Gangster films.

Imagine Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded in 1986. They have produced 104 films, including Curious George and Katy Perry: Part of Me. The film Katy Perry: Part of Me made a total of $32,151,701 worldwide in August 2012, the same year the film was released. Imagine Entertainment are quite known, but not as well known as other companies.

I looked at a couple of films from Imagine Entertainment; Take Me Home Tonight, Flightplan, Psycho, and the Nutty Professor. These films ranged from comedy, drama, romance, horror, mystery and thriller, showing me that this company works over a range of different genres. I can see from this that this company like to do horror.

Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is produced by the companies Miramax Films (presents), A Band Apart and Jersey Films. Pulp Fiction made $213,928,762 worldwide.

Miramax Films have distributed in 586 films and produced 238 films, showing that this company is pretty big and well known. This company is big, and was founded in 1979. Miramax is an American entertainment company known for independent and foreign films. Miramax also have their own website.

I looked at a couple of films made by Miramax Films, including Birthday Girl, Muriel’s Wedding, On the Line, Last Night, and The Boys Are Back. The genres of these films are; drama, romance, comedy, family, crime and thriller which was Birthday Girl. Birthday girl seems a bit different from all of the other films, as the others are mainly to do with romance and comedy whereas birthday girl seems on the dark side.

A Band Apart is a smaller film company who have produced 29 films, created by Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender, which has been active since 1991. They have made films such as From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996, which was very popular. It made a total of $33,500,000 worldwide when its estimate was only $18,000,000.

Snatch

Snatch was produced by the two companies: Columbia Pictures Corporation and SKA films. Snatch made a total of $30,093,107 in the USA by March 2001 and $12,137,698 in the UK by October 2000. The film came out in 2000.

Columbia Pictures Corporation have produced 2901 films and distributed in 23. This shows how well known and big this company is, as they have produced a lot of films and are well known anyway for good film making. Columbia Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution studio, that is a party of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which are all well known. Columbia Pictures got founded in 1924, which shows me that this company is a good company as also it’s been around for so long.

I have looked at some of the films Columbia Pictures have made, including Ghost Rider, The Legend of Zorro, Hero, Stealth. From these I can see what type of films this company makes, ranging from action, adventure, sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, comedy, drama. I can see this company mainly likes to release adventure films.

SKA films have produced only 12 films, meaning they’re quite a small company. This includes; lock, stock and two smoking barrels which is also another Gangster film, they both full under the category of thriller and crime. This company has also produced other films such as Mean Machine and Slept Away, which are comedies and dramas. This shows me that this company mainly work with Gangsters and comedy. 

The departed

The departed is made by Warner Bros. (presents), Plan B Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group, Vertigo Entertainment and Media Asia Films (in association with). The departed made $289,847,354 worldwide in 2007.  The film came out in 2006.

I think that Warner Bros. is the biggest or one of the biggest film making companies. They have made many Gangster films such as Bullets or Ballots, The Public Enemy, White Heat and Angels with Dirty Faces. They have made many more, too. This company is a very well known company, and makes all sorts of different genres for movies too such as adventure and comedy. One of these examples is  Harry Potter, which is much different than the departed however it is well known throughout the world. They have their own website, and got founded in 1918. This company is based in America.

From this I can see that the Warner Bros are the biggest company and most popular. I could link this to my gangster film as it is a very big company.

Conventions of a gangster film

Media Task 2

History of Gangster Genre

From this Prezi I made, I have more of an understanding of what gangster films are about, and how they have changed throughout the years. I can see that gangster films nowadays include more technologies such as guns and mobile phones to contact one another. This is because technology has been improved over the years. Better editing softwares are around nowadays too, so gangster films nowadays are better edited than they were, thanks to new programmes such as Adobe After Effects. I will use this programme when editing my film, to increase the quality and editing skill.