British Gangster Films

British Gangster films are a sub-genre of the Thriller genre. Their settings typically tend to be dark, rough city streets, run down council estates, and old ware houses. The characters usually involve male leads, who are immoral criminals, who only care about making money, through the most dishonest of ways. violence is a theme that runs throughout British Gangster Films.

There are not many well know British Gangster Films. Apart from the famous, lock, stock and two smoking barrels (1998) directed by Guy Ritchie







Other British Gangster Films:
-Brighton Rock (1947) directed by Graham Greene
- Get Carter (1971) directed by Mike Hodges

Thriller

Thriller is a genre not only in film but in other areas of the media too, including; literature, Television, and advertisements. Thriller has many sub-genres too. For instance Film Noir, and La Noir, are sub-genres of the Thriller.

Thrillers are usually fast paced, with plots involving crime, and the characters normally consist of evil villains, and beautiful victimised women.

Thriller Films have been popular with audiences for many years. Most thrillers tend to be made in Hollywood and are extremely mainstream. Due to the large budget needed to make affective successful thrillers, as expensive lighting, and authentic props, and settings are needed.

Recent successful thrillers include:

- The Bourne Identity (2002) directed by Doug Liman.

- Seven (1995) directed by David Fincher

- The Godfather (1972) directed by Francis Ford Coppola

- Pulp Fiction (1994) directed by Quentin Tarantino

- Fight Club (1999) directed by David Fincher

The Opening of the Third man

"The Third Man" is a British film noir. It was Made in 1949, four years after World War Two ended. It was directed by Carol Read, who also directed "A Letter From Home"(1941), and "The Man Between" (1953). It starred Joseph Cotten, and Orsen Wells.

In the opening sequence, Read presents themes that are going to run throughout the film, Crime, War, Anger, and Death.

The opening is a montage of images representing these themes, bought together With a Voice Over. The Voice over pieces the images together, and adds a slight air of humour, as the character seems to be unusually fine with the criminal activity taken place in Vienna, as he mentions “The Black Market” in a fond way. The opening also uses enigmas, as it makes the audience question, “what type if man could this character be?”, “why has he come to Vienna?”


The film also uses binary opposites, to establish these themes. Such as, the detailed gothic architechture of vienna, and the war destructed poor peoples houses, shown in the opening images. Good and Evil, are also used as binary opposites. These opposites are used succesfully by Read in The Third Man.

Femme Fatales and Costumes (redone)

Femme Fatales:



A Femme Fatale is typical a seductive, beautiful, alluring woman, who uses her charm to seduce and manipulate men, to get what she wants. She often leads her male victims in dangerous or even deadly situations. Femme fatales are used frequently in film noir. Int the original Film Noir era, women's sexuality was often exploited, usually to sell a film or product.



Femme fatale is the french phase for "deadly Woman". A femme fatale usually has a hidden purpose, and she uses her feminine wiles to achieve it. In Film Noir, almost all female Characters are femme fatales in one way or another. They usually have Exceptional Beauty, and occasionaly large amounts of charisma.


Like the female character in the opening of sin city. Her red dress, exolits her feminine sexuality, yet to her advantage. Her dark eye make-up and bright red lipstick are typical of the film noir femme fatale. However, she does not get what she wants, as she is exploited and murdered for money.
still taken from the opening of "Sin City"




Just like in "Sin City", not all Femme Fatales get what they want. Some can be victims trapped in a world they dont want to belong in, this is also the case in "The Lady From Shanghai" ( a film noir made in1948)


Although Femme Fatales are typically Villians, in some films they have played heroines, or have began the film being evil, however by the end they have repented for their sins and become the heroines.

The Use Of Chiaroscuro Lighting In Film Noir

Chiaroscuro is a technique in cinemotography, where lighting and shade are used in the mise en scene. Chiaroscuro lighting is a common convention used in film noir.

It can be used as a sort of metaphor for certain characters inner personality, ie if a character was evil, or was about to do something bad, in film noir lighting would be used to create a large dark shadow behind the character, the shadow could be in the shape of a gargoyle.

still taken from "The Third Man"

The lighting can also be used to add suspense to a scene. For instance if it was very dark in a scene and something important or bad was about to happen, the lack of light, builds up suspense, and then when the situation happens, a bright light could be switched on. This technique is used in "The Third Man", the main character finally finds his friend that is apparently dead.

still taken from "The Third Man"

Lighting is very important in film noir, as it can be used to represent things, without using words. Light is something easy to work with on a low budget. Which is what most films were made using, in the opriginal film noir period.

London To Brighton (2006) Film Research

• London To Brighton was written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams.


• London To Brighton was released on the 1st of December 2006 in the UK.


• And starred Unknown actress Georgia Groome, as The main character Joanne who was tricked into prostitution, Georgia Groome later on went to appear in Angus Thongs And Perfect Kissing in 2008.

Plot:

Plot: In London, the pimp Derek assigns the prostitute Kelly that works for him to find a young girl on the streets to escort the powerful mobster Duncan Allen. Kelly finds the twelve year-old runaway Joanne in the train station and Derek proposes one hundred pounds for the service and the girl accepts. Kelly befriends Joanne and takes her to Duncan's mansion. When Joanne cries in the bedroom where she is with Duncan, Kelly runs and defends the girl. At 3:07 AM, the bruised Kelly and the tearful Joanne lock themselves in a public toilet. Kelly asks Joanne to stay there because she will raise some money for them to travel to Brighton. Meanwhile, Duncan's son Stuart Allen calls Derek and asks him to meet him in a night-club. When Derek arrives, Stuart tells that his father is dead and he wants the responsible; further, he cuts his knee sinew to prove that he is not kidding. Derek calls his associate Chum and they begin to chase the girls.

The Director:

• Paul Williams, Wrote And Directed London To Brighton.


• He has also directed:


• Royalty (2001)


• Its 0k To Drink Whiskey (2002)


• The Cottage (2008)


• He is currently directing Cherry Tree Lane, which is in post production stages.
  

Movie Info . . .

• The film follows on from Andrew’s previous short film which he directed in 2001, Royalty.


• Actors, Johnny Harris and Lorraine Stanley reprised their roles as Derek and Kelly from Royalty.


• Royalty is a short drama, and is only 13 minutes long.

Awards . . .

• In 2006, the film won a golden hitchcock
• In 2006, the film won a British Independent Film Award for Best Achievement in production.
• In 2006, the film won the new directors award.
• In 2007, the film won an Evening Standard British Film Award for most promising newcomer.
  
  
  

Film Reviews:

• 
  This review was from eyeforfilm.co.uk: Williams was once an actor, which may explain the exquisite performances from Stanley, Groome and Harris. Their contribution is immense. In the gangster genre, this film is right up there with Scorsese and Tarantino, except it's smaller and nastier
  

Induction Production: advertising campaign
Written Evaluation:

CODES & CONVENTIONS:

My advert for “SHOCK” perfume is aimed towards 16-20 year old females, with an interest in the “Gothic” genre. I feel my advert would appeal to my target audience.

The model I used is young, beautiful, stylish; wearing lots of rings, and slightly gothic herself, suggesting to the audience that by buying my perfume they are buying into her glamorous lifestyle, and becoming part of something, which interests most people, especially people who are interested in the “gothic” or “emo” culture, as it is suggested they are on the outside and want to belong, but to something they will be accepted in.

The model is the main focus of the picture, as i wanted all the focus to be on her, and her beauty. This is why i decided to place her on a plain background rather than having a setting. Also the dark background adds an air of mystery which is typical to the horror genre.

I also wanted a large amount of focus to be on the product, which is an orb shaped glass bottle positioned in the models hand. The products bottle is highlighted the most in the picture, making the readers eye drawn to it. This also adds contrast and texture to the advert. As does, the subtle use of colour tinting.

The slogan “The Power Of Shock” is strong, and would hopefully stick in the audiences head. I used electric blue as a colour in my advert, as i thought the “electricity” of the colour, went well with the words, “power” and “shock” as they are all to do with electricity. Also the use of the word “power”, might persuade the audience to buy my product, as it suggests that perhaps by wearing this perfume you will be stronger as a person, or have power over people, which are traits you may not of possessed before.

The model is staring straight into the camera, giving the impression that she is looking at you. This eye contact automatically draws the reader in. As does the rings she is wearing, which sparkle. The rings also help to draw the readers eye to the product, as her hands are positioned around the orb.

The text font used is quite gothic, therefore it supports the genre i chose for my deisgn. I used different fonts and sizes so that it was easy to differentiate between the product name and slogan. However the slogan could suggest that “shock” is the brand name, and “the power of shock” is the product name, therefore this perfume could be in a collection, which all have similar advertisments. It is beneficial having similar adverts for a line of products, as it is more likely to stay in the consumers mind, and thus you are therefore more likely to sell your product.

When designing my advertisement i chose the gothic/horror genre, as it is something that typically interests my target audience. I could have also choosen the video game genre, or a cartoon genre, as my product is aimed at teenagers who are stereotyped as “Goths”, “Scene Kids” or “Emos”. These groups of people are generally into comic book characters, such as “Spiderman” and “The Hulk”, or cartoons such as “Pokemon” and “Ben 10”.

REPRESENTATION:
The advertisement has a sort of fantasy feel to it. As the model looks like she could be a fairy or elf. The veins on her shoulders and arms that are made prominent, add to the fantasy genre, and make the model look like she could be a character from “Pans Labyrinth”. This is not a genre i intended to focus on, however i think it works quite well with the gothic/horror genre. This fairytale fantasy theme suggest to the reader that if they buy this perfume they can delve into their own fantasy world, and be who they want to be. This could appeal to my audience, as teenage girls like to experiment and change who they are, so a product that suggests they can be whoever they want to be, would appeal to them.

The social group represented in my advertisement is similar to that of my target audience. The model is perhaps late teens early twenties. The makeup used is quite “gothic” or “emo”. As are her dark nails. As the social group represented is the same as my audience, the audience is more likely to buy my product, than if i had used a completly different group. Such as; female sports players. They are also more likely to buy my product, as the advertisement suggests that it is something they can relate to. And teenage girls aren’t going to buy something, that doesn’t appeal to them.


TARGET AUDIENCE:

My advertisement for “SHOCK” perfume is aimed specifically towards females between the ages of 16 and 20. When designing my advert I kept in mind the lifestyle, interests and aspirations of my audience, so that I could make sure my advert was audience specific, and effective.

When choosing my product and audience, I focused on people who are interested in the rock/gothic genre of music, and who would probably be stereotyped as “Gothic” or “Emo”. People who are stereotyped this way tend to wear skinny jeans, band teeshirts and converses, or lots of black and long coats. I kept this is mind when picking an image for my advert, as I didn’t want to use an image that my audience wouldn’t like, or couldn’t relate to.

This made it easy to choose a specific type of genre for my advert. I choose the Gothic/Horror genre. I also thought it went quite well with my product name and slogan, as teenagers interested in this genre, normally dress and act the way they do, to rebel or to shock adults and other teenagers.

When designing my advert i tried not to use colous that are typically thought to be “girls colours”. As alot of girls in my target audience, don’t normally wear these colours, such as pink and light blue, and they can tend to be quite tom boyish. However i wanted to make sure that it was obvious that my product was aimed at females. So i not only used a female model but i used blue and purple, for the colour contrast.

EVALUATION:
I think one of the main strengths of my advertisement, is the image used. I think its quite a powerful image, as the girls eyes automatically catch your eye, and keep your attention. However i think that perhaps i could of improved my advert by focusing more on a better slogan. I think my slogan has meaning, yet with a product name like “SHOCK...” i could of come up with something better, or more memorable.
Also i could of improved my products bottle, by making the label on it more realistic, however i wasn’t very good at using photoshop. Originally there was no label on the orb at all, but i felt that this made it look like my advert didn’t have the product in it, which i didn’t think was very effective.

However i think my advert is good, as it looks like it could belong to a large advert campaign for a line of perfumes, which means this advert could be followed up by numerous others, which added together all tell a story.

On a whole i think my advert is effective and audience specific, however it could be improved.

FILM NOIR

Film Noir

what are the conventions, and techniques of a film noir?

what is film noir?

• Film noir is a term used in cinema to describe a genre used in the film business.
• Its french, and literally translates as black film.
• Hollywood's film noir period spanned from the early 1940s to the late 1950s.
• It was highly influenced by the war, with plots often being metaphors for the evil and corruption of Hitler and his followers.
• Film noirs were often low key, as they had small budgets due to the depression after the war.

Film Noir directors:

• Howard Hawks who directed The Big Sleep
• Fritz Lang, Who directed The Big Heat
• Robert Wise, who directed The Set-Up
• Jules Dassin, who directed Night And The City

Conventions of a film noir:

Film Noirs typically have a male and female main characters. The female is sterotypically a femme fatale, whose sexuality is in someway exploited, by either the male lead, or by herself. normally dressed in a red or black revealing dress, her body is used to get what she wants. however she is not always in need of help and can sometimes be a strong character who in the end triumphs.

the male normally dressed in a suave suit, with slick hair, and smoking a cigarrette, always has something to prove, whether its his innocence or his love for the female character. In film noirs one of the male leads, tends to be a dective.

shadows are used throughout film noirs, to create suspense, or can often be used to represent someones inner darkness, as a characters shadow could be large and looming, or look like a gargoyle.

Lighting is a big part of film noir. Whether its ambient lighting, or a gbright spotlight focusing on a character, film noir is dependant on light and the shadows its casts.

Film noirs are always set in big amercian cities such as; chiacago, new york, and san francisco. the camera often pans out to show the city scape, representing the characters insignificance in the big city.

Film Noirs:

• Gun Crazy
• D.O.A

The Opening Of "Sin City"

Analyse how the opening of sin city/ the third man uses film noir conventions and how it sets up audience expectations?

In the opening sequence of Sin City, the directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, use a number of conventions to establish the film, as a modern film noir.

The setting is that of a classic film noir, a big, dark American city. With sky scrapers dominating the sky line. Showing the characters insignificance in the large city. The night time setting, along with the rain, creates an unsettling atmosphere, making the viewer feel uneasy and as though something bad is about to take place.

The characters represented in the opening are stereotypically that of a film noir. The female in a red revealing dress, is straight away shown to be the femme fatale. The red dress is the only colour used in the opening scene, this red against that black and white background stands out, with connotations of danger, and inner anger. The male character in a suave suit, with a deep intriguing voice, containing an air of mystery, and deceit is that of a typical film noir character. This is confirmed later on in the scene, when he murders the female, after declaring his love for her. These typical characters instantly confirm Sin City to be a modern film noir.

The voice over is a convention often used in the opening of a film noir. The opening voice over used by that of the male character, to show his thoughts, and inner motives towards the female, are worded very poetically, “the wind rises electric”. By the end of the scene the language in the voice over changes, his words become less poetic and cold “I’ll cash her cheque in the morning”.

In this scene iconic props, that are stereotypical of the film noir period are used to represent the genre, and in some ways are used to show a connection between the characters, such as the physical contact between the characters, when the male lights her cigarette for her.

The characters are strategically placed outside, as though they are isolated from the rest of the party. This shows how they are cut off, and are in their own world.

The camera angles used highlight the sexual tension between the characters, with close up on their eye contact, and other physical contact such as the passing of a cigarette. The scene ends with the camera panning out over the city, showing how insignificant the murder that has just taking place is in the big dark city