Institutions

As part of our research we thought it would be good if we looked at typical institutions of film who make crime-dramas/thrillers. When looking at The Dark Knight wikipedia page we found that the producer was Warner Bros. This prompted us to research other crime drama/thriller films and see which production studios made each film, we therefore research The Departed, The Dark Knight and Swordfish. All of these films happen to be distributed by Warner Bros which made us consider using the Warner Bros logo within the introduction to our final project based on the fact that these 3 very famous crime-dramas/thrillers were all distributed by Warner Bros. We have also decided to use the questionnaire that we have just completed (see questionnaire blog) and ask members of the public about what they personally like to see in film. One of the questions in our questionnaire follows the idea that we have considered for our project, this means we should be able to see exactly whether the general members of the public will like or dislike our idea.

Film Questionnaire

As part of our research we have decided to devise a film questionnaire on our potential audience. Hopefully this will highlight the audience age range and gender that we should aim for. We plan to use this on general members of the public in order to discover as much as we can about our audience which should overall allow us to create a more effective opening sequence for our project.

Films of Crime Drama

The Departed
Oceans 11
Catch Me If You Can
Lucky Number Slevin
The Dark Knight
The Godfather (Part 1, 2 and 3)
Swordfish
Snatch
The 51st State
Casino Royale
Sherlock (episode 3, series 1)*

*This example is taken from a TV series, however the episode is structured like a film I.E each episode is 1 hour and 30 minutes (roughly) long etc. It also has a clear examples of representation being shown (see Crime Drama Analysis Blog further down for more information). The opening sequence of episode 3 is also the basis of one of my primary ideas for our final project.

Genre For Our Final Project

The genre we have chosen for our final project will be crime drama. The reason for this is because crime drama is a perfect way to highlight representation, more specifically in terms of social class as it will be easy to show the difference between regular citizens and detectives, criminals etc. It also means we will be available to highlight the the representation of age and gender as these are common factors in crime drama, most often women are shown in severely vulnerable situations whilst teenagers are often shown as disruptive and violent. This means it would be much easier for us to highlight representation using crime drama as our genre. Using crime drama subsequently means that there will naturally be elements of a typical thriller (slightly before and during a crime scene) and horror (also during the crime scene).

Our Schedule For The Final Project

Here is the schedule I have personally devised so that we know exactly what subjects to discuss per lesson before we have our Christmas holidays. please note we will also use our tutor time, free periods and social networking sites after school to discuss general idea such as titles, music etc. 

Monday 5th - descussion of concept, synopsis and target audience
Tuesday 6th - discussion of representation and different ways representation can be shown
Friday 9th - institutions
Tuesday 13th - drafted script and discussion of location
Friday 16th - final script and locations mostly decided

Analysis of a Crime Drama

Here is an analysis I made in order to discuss the representation which is shown in episode 3 from the 1st series of the BBC crime drama Sherlock. I thought it would be interesting to post this as I made it as part of my exam course and thought it may possibly help in my research as representation is a key element that would be included in the final project. Unfortunately I cannot find a direct link to the full episode, however I have provided a few screen shots to help you understand what I am trying to describe in the vital scenes. This is also very interesting because one of my many ideas for the final project could potentially be based on the first scene from this episode, however I still have not fully decided the basis for our final project.

Crime Drama Analysis (Sherlock)

The programme Sherlock is a crime drama that acts as a 21^st century interpretation of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. From the programme there are many different representations shown through various different ways.

Within this particular episode the first shot that is shown is that of a rundown prison within Belarus. This already highlights the representation that Eastern European countries are very deprived and therefore very rough and unhygienic. As the camera pans across the prison the audience can see Sherlock talking to a prisoner about his situation, shot/reverse shots are made during the conversation to reflect on the dialogue. Sherlock is wearing very dark but equally sophisticated and erudite clothing; this is done to highlight Sherlock’s character as he is a very intelligent person but can also be dark and malicious at times but remains heroic and good in order to find injustice. From the dialogue it is clear that Sherlock has a very posh and deep accent whilst the prisoner has a typical cockney accent clearly showing that the working class are undermined by the upper class. The use of the prisoner having a working class accent also represents that the working class are the criminals in society whilst the upper class are the detectives. Throughout the conversation Sherlock consistently corrects the prisoner’s sentences showing how the upper class are clearly more intelligent than the working class. Eventually the prisoner becomes so agitated about Sherlock he starts violently hitting his hand on the table clearly showing again how the working class are very violent, earlier in the conversation it is made clear that the prisoner is in prison because he murdered his girlfriend showing mans empowerment of women but also reinforces how the working class people are clearly more horrifically violent. From the lighting it is also notable that Sherlock is always shown with a brightly lit face whilst the prisoners face can be seen but is notably much darker than Sherlock’s showing how the working class are far more evil and sadistic whereas the upper class are much more calm and heroic. Sherlock finds out through the dialogue that the prisoner admits he stabbed his girlfriend repeatedly and thus leaves him in the prisoner where he is expected to be “hanged” as punishment, Sherlock clearly has a very prudish and cocky look on his face as he leaves, this clearly shows how the upper class has ‘won the argument’ over the working class.

There is then a jump-cut back to London where the audience can see Sherlock and his partner Watson's flat. Sherlock is relatively young whereas Watson could be seen easily as middle-aged. The difference between their ages becomes notable in this scene where Watson starts complaining about how Sherlock has left the flat in a “mess” which highlights how younger people are more reckless around the house whilst older, more middle aged people are more concerned about the conditions of the household. Watson starts walking across the flat and is clearly clueless about  all the experiments that can be seen going on around the flat showing how older people prefer to be in a much more stable and clean environment while the young people do not necessarily care about their environment.

In this episode the crimes which are committed revolve around someone who has placed bombs on innocent people in unidentified environments with the objective being that the man wants to see if Sherlock can discover where the innocent people are before the bomb ignites. The only method of communication Sherlock can have with the innocent people is through a mobile phone however the innocent people can only say what the perpetrator tells them to. The 4 people taken hostage throughout the episode include a young man (possibly a student), a middle aged woman, a very old lady and a child. These are all done to highlight the vulnerability in each character as all of these people’s characteristics show them to be vulnerable in some way. The young man is surrounded in a very busy city but no one notices the bomb in his jacket or him crying highlighting how young people are always ignored in society and no one questions them. The middle aged woman is in a car however the only shots that the audience see of her are close-ups and extreme close-ups highlighting how middle aged women are secluded and are very alone with no one around to save them. The old lady is said to be blind and is clearly shown to be the only person in her house highlighting how old woman are very alone and scared without any understanding of their surroundings. The old woman is also the only person out of the 4 to die which shows the likelihood that older people are more likely to die than young people. Nothing is shown of the child however the use of the child being taken as hostage highlights how children are vulnerable to anything. It’s also possible that the child is a girl as the child has a very child-like but feminine voice which could correspond with the rest of the hostages of which only one is a man. This could show the vulnerability of women and the empowerment of men, this theory is reinforced by the detectives as the vast majority of head detectives are men whereas there is only woman who is a detective and she is shown to be very arrogant and self-centred thus representing that men have clear dominion over women.

The man who is shown to be the ‘mastermind’ of the hostages being taken has a thick Irish accent and is roughly the same age as Sherlock which is done to show them as equals in an opposite spectrum. This could also have been done to represent England with Sherlock as heroic whilst Ireland is more evil and sadistic. 

Here is an image taken from the very first scene from the run-down prison, I discussed the setting and situation in the analysis.

Here is the lighting shown in the episode of the prisoner (during the first scene), I discussed this in the analysis.

Here is the reverse shot on Sherlock, again taken from the first scene, you can clearly see the difference in the lighting, showing Sherlock as clearly heroic whilst the prisoner is very dark and malicious.

Here is an example of one of the hostages taken during the episode, as you can see there is clear claustrophobia in this shot, this is also the only shot you see the woman in highlighting and emphasizing the claustrophobia further.

Opening Sequence Analysis

http://vimeo.com/32365995

Here is a link to the opening sequence of the 2004 film Dawn of the Dead. The actual film replicates zombies attempting to take over and infect the world. The opening sequence is clearly very effective in terms of conveying horror and horrific imagery in order to shock the audience and make them feel frightened. There is also many techniques in regards to the camera work, mise en scene, editing and sound which all highlight a typical representation in regards to cultural aspects as well as gender and ethnicity.

The sequence begins with a  high angle mid-shot focusing on the upper section of a large group of trees which could be done to symbolise nature, peace and beauty. The beauty element is implemented by the noise of birds. This creates a larger effect on the audience later as the sequence begins peacefully but then becomes much darker, more graphic and more horrific later. However it is also possible that the shot replicates to the audience the notion and feeling of desertion as nothing other than the trees can be seen. The next shot is shown very quickly in the sequence almost as though peace is being passed through quickly replicating how peace is over quickly. The next shot is simply a black screen with some of the opening credits written in dark red. The use of red is done to replicate blood, a typical image for zombie films. This is also the first time horrific imagery can be seen in the sequence. Slightly before the next shot is shown very gruesome and gushing-like non-diegetic sound which replicates bodily fluids being eaten. Again another typical characteristic of zombie films which also emphasizes the horror aspect. The next shot is then shown which is a low angle long shot of a large group of Islamic men bowing down. This helps replicate how the human race will be, in essence bowing down to the zombies and also helps bring forth the theory that religion (in this case Islam) brings the community together and ignites passion. It is also notable that all the Islamic people bowing down in this shot are men which clearly shows a typical representation that men are superior to women as there is notably little to no women in this shot. Throughout the clip there are brief but graphic clips shown which is then cross-cut amongst the credits, all the credits have the same font and transition to the next shot emphasizing how the zombies repeatedly kill. Clips are then shown  of the actual zombies with blood across their mouth clearly showing that they have just killed, the clips of the zombies at first are all extreme close-up almost as though the camera is taken a P.O.V shot of the victims, again making the situation more frightening. The use of very quick, rapid editing help convey to the audience that no one can understand the situation around them, which in turn reflects the characters in the film as no one can fully understand how the zombies became zombies or if they actually have come from somewhere. It is clear that no one understands what is happening as a voiceover taken from a press conference about the zombies is being played during the brief extreme close-ups of the zombies, from the voiceover the audience are able to hear journalists asking questions about the zombies and the response from the man is always "we dont know" or is incredibly blunt as though he is unsure of his answer. The use of the word "we" shows that he is speaking for the people and therefore the whole human race. This could overall show how humans never understand their surroundings and are always reluctant to admit it. During one of the questions the camera zooms in from a mid-shot of the man responding to the question to an extreme close-up as he begins to answer, most likely this is done to show how the questions are being dawned upon the man and how he is very scared about the situation. It is notable that the man has a lot of sweat across his forehead clearly showing that he is either severely stressed or scared or maybe both. Before the man answers the question he shakes his head as if he does not want to answer the question showing man's reluctance and vulnerability to things they do not understand. The journalists which ask the question are both men and women, this corresponds with the earlier shot of the Islamic group in which there is no equality shown and men are superior which represents the different cultural aspects of the Middle-East and Western Society. Very incidental, typically western music is played in the background amidst brief clips of mostly men fighting the zombies across the world whilst women cater for their young children. This highlights the masculinity of men as the strong, powerful and warrior-type figures while the women are shown to be more maternal and emotional. The use of the incidental music helps highlight a sense of a duel between the humans and the zombies, the music notably does not match the imagery being shown which could be an indication that nothing is normal anymore and does not make any sense as everything has changed in society because of the zombies thus creating a very helpless and depressing atmosphere amongst the audience. This continues to be cross-cutted much more frequently with the title sequence reinforcing that the zombies are taking over, the use of using even faster editing amongst a different variety of clips also help conjure up the sheer scale of the zombies to the audience as completely different images are shown from across the world however they all share very distinctive similarities mostly interlinked with the notion of carnage and destruction. Previously the majority of the shots shown were extreme close-ups of zombies which highlighted how they were taken over, whereas at this point the majority of the shots shown are showing humans (most typically men) fighting amongst themselves as though they cant understand which people are zombies. This highlights the theory that men turn against eachother in desperate times of need just so they as individuals can survive. The notion of carnage is clear through the brief clips such as trucks exploding, people fighting against police (which also shows how authoritive figures can be seen as the enemy by people in desperation to survive). As the sequence carries on it is notable that the editing becomes much slower using longer clips which aren't as brief as the previous clips, these clips include a low angle shot of a few office chairs. This specific shot could correspond with the very first shot of the sequence as they both highlight a feeling of desertion by people and reinforces the sense of helplessness amongst the audience. The army is also shown near the end to shoot what looks like a very innocent man, this shows the theory that authority turns against its on people just because the people get in the way. Once the man is shot the soldiers continue to shoot which indicates that there probably were zombies near the area however no one begins to help the man and they simply leave him to die, again reinforcing the sense of hopeless and helplessness. The final shot shown shows zombies taking over a news broadcast whilst the camera takes the point of view  of the reporter who sees all the people around him die very graphically right before a zombie jumps on top of him and seemingly kills him. The music stops soon after this point which could show how the zombies have effectively won the duel against man subsequently showing the notion of helplessness for the final time. Since the humans all seem to die horrific deaths it is clear that this is trying to show how man can essentially never win and will always die whilst the zombies (ironically) live on.