Media Conventions & Film Analysis

Media Conventions - Film analysis

In the films we have watched that are linked to the genre that we want to create, I have noticed that all have some sort of relation to urban crime, we discovered that the mood is usually very tense and unease due to the shots taken of the tower blocks and estates.

Shank

Atmosphere

We noticed two great examples of this used in 'Shank' and 'Attack of the Block'. In the opening sequence of 'Shank' we were shown very quickly various images of tower blocks, typical estate areas, barbed wire Etc. This however was also all shown in black and white with music that was accelerating in pace as every image passed by. This emphasises the mood of tension because of the very unease feel of the music and the black and white colour scheme giving the audience quiet a breath taking feeling and in a way it's like you're expecting a death. What I have learnt from this section of the opening and will use in my film is by using music that is slow and has quiet abit of suspense can give the audience the effect that “something is about to happen very soon” and by accelerating the music pace impacts the audience by making it feel like this “something” is getting closer.

The opening to the film also  brings out the stereotypical view from the setting of barbed wire that gives us the idea that people in this film have been in jail, most likely will go to jail or will do things inside the film that will get them in jail. Furthermore it also gives us the sense that the characters in this film have “no escape” because in a way it makes the characters seem isolated from the rest of the world and they cannot escape the life styles that they live if they were able to “hop the fence”.

Genre

The way we identify crime is in the title screen where we see a white silhouette holding what it appears to be a knife or "a Shank" as so called "hood rats" would say in the title itself. Just by this strongly suggests that this film will include knife crime therefore it being an urban crime film. What I have learnt by this is by giving a strong indication whether it’s a prop or in the title screen can establish the genre of a film.

Introduce Main Character /Genre

In the shot where we are shown the first character in colour (which will make us assume that he is the main character) we see him running through an alley which is full of rubbish and pollution. This also emphasises the uneasy atmosphere because we get the idea that this certain area is extremely rough because of the amount of rubbish that is dumped around every while we watch the film progress. From this setting we can also identify the genre of this being and urban film due to the roughness of the area and all the tower blocks.

We also notice that the main character is running away from a person on a motorcycle who we as the audience believe to be one of the foes of this film due to his identity not being revealed until the main character escapes by jumping off the bridge. This also has an uneasy atmosphere because the combination of costume and tracking. It also makes the atmosphere quite tense as the main character is running because we can decode that he is in a huge amount of fear by the way he is panting while running and also has a lot of adrenaline by the pace of his breathing and also by how the music is synchronised with all the actions this main character and the quick cut camera movements, it makes it seem like we are also running away from this situation that no one would want to be in.

Narrative

This whole situation is also gives us a slight idea of the narrative; what I can gather from this first scene is supposedly our main character either did something to provoke the person on the motorcycle or his "gang" if he has one, he went in to the person on the motorcycle's "territory" or the generally just don't like the main character therefore they gave chase. (We are shown later in the film what exactly happened when we are sent 3 hours back in to the past). We as the audience wouldn't normally see a person running away from a person on a motorcycle and it puts an effect on us because it makes us think what is going on in this unlikely circumstance where we have a guy on a motorcycle chasing a young teen; it makes us wonder what has the teen done to get himself into this. What I have learnt from this is that by having a scene where you someone has been provoked a certain way and gives chase because they want “their justice” can establish the narrative of a film quite well depending on the setting and costumes of the chase.

Attack of the Block

Atmosphere

In the opening sequence of ‘Attack of the Block’ the atmosphere is quite peculiar and confusing. The film starts off with a tilt shot from the sky to a busy road and a train station with fireworks going off in the background giving us the indication that its bonfire night or just" hooligans" are setting fire works of due to this being a urban sci-fi film. The music is quite slow paced and somewhat electronic from how the bass's pitch distorted and also how it gets louder and eerie. This emphasises the mood of the film for being somewhat uneasy and it also gives the film suspense from how slow pace the music is; it makes us think that something is about to happen.

Introduce Main Character

The way the main character is introduced to us is instantly (just like ‘Shank’ or ‘Bad boys 2’) as she is the first person we notice as she walks out of the train station. We can also tell that she is the main character because of how the focus on the camera is on her compared to everyone else, the chiaroscuro lighting used on her which makes her seem like a nice character and the dialogue used "Hi mum" makes the character seem very innocent and shows the audience that she is harmless and is most likely not going to go on a terror attack of mass destruction. What I have learnt by this is that the type of dialogue a character says in a film can determine what type of personality that character has so I think if I was going to create a film and I wanted to introduce the foes first, I would want them to say things that are quite shady and intimidating.

Genre

When the character is walking down what it seems to be a long alley way, the camera slowly turns where it shows off graffiti which instantly gives us the indication that gangs are hanging around this area. To further empathise that gangs are about the graffiti flashes and with each flash there is a gunshot sound and there are shadows that are also revealed to us which we can identify that the main gang members are about to do something to the main characters. From this section of the opening scene we are able to establish the genre of this film for being an urban crime due to the stereotypical factors of the graffiti, gunshot sounds and alley ways. What I have learnt from this is that the use of props or scenery in shot can establish a films genre and if I were to create a film related to urban crime, I would use props that have strong relations to drugs due to it being stereotypically obvious.

Narrative

We aren't exactly introduce to the main narrative till later on in the film where aliens invade the earth however from the opening scene we as the audience would think that the film would continue on as "hooligans" just cause havoc on a day to day bases then eventually would get caught due to them being the "main bad characters".

Bad Boys 2

Genre

In the opening scene of ‘Bad Boys 2’ we are startled by very fast electronic music and just by this reveals the genre of the film which is action because the pace is very “in your face” and electronic / metallic music is quite masculine, it gives us the image of heavy machinery which the majority of males are quite intrigued by. The shots taken are very fast which mysterious such as the shot of the coffins that looked like they were being shipped. This further suggest that this film is going to be quite fast paced and filled with a lot of “action packed” situations that will have some sort of relation to all the props shown.

Introduce Main Character

In the opening sequence of this film we aren’t introduce to the main characters that we would want to side with. Why I’ve said this is because the film is called “Bad Boys” suggesting that the main characters that we would often follow throughout most of the film are going to be the most heroic for others.

The first character we see in this film is not the main character; we are first shown a guy talking on a pay phone talking about something completely irrelevant to all the shots taken like the heavy machinery and drugs. We can also identify that he is not the one of the main characters because when he is being shown the camera tracks right passed him which suggest to the audience that he is just a random citizen.

The real main characters can be identified by the combination of costume and dialogue. In the shot where we have a guy who is leaning his head on an object, we can tell that he is a main character however not a character that we would see as on the likable side from his white suit and greasy hair and from the tone of his dialogue “15 million dollars and my dope (a drug) is gone”. He says this when a character who looks like he works for the guy in the white suit due to how costume being a lot less flashy. From the way he says this and also how he doesn’t give eye contact to the work suggests to the audience that this character is one of the main bosses of the film. What I have learnt from this is that the costume that a character is wearing can determine whether that they are a good or bad character, it can also show off what type of class this character may be in which would further establish the narrative of the film.

Narrative

The way the narrative of this film is shown is at the start of the opening sequence where there has been post production text telling us that they are in an “ecstasy lab”. It is also seen where we are shown the main boss character if the film where he quotes “15 million dollars and my dope (a drug) is gone”. From the combination of the post production and the main bosses character’s dialogue, it seems that the narrative of this film that this organisation sells ecstasy for their own benefits (e.g money) and because the title is named “Bad Boys” it gives us as the audience that two or more characters are going to get themselves in to a situation that involves this origination thus leading them to whole action filled scenario.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of the opening sequence of this film is quite thrilling due to the fast pace music and it is very unease due to the shots that have been edited with an unnatural colour scheme. We are shown this when there are close up shots of heavy machinery and most importantly the drugs that are seen in the machines. This gives us indication that the rest of the film is going to have some sort of relation to drugs and the colour scheme puts an effect on the audience because it makes us feel like we have just consumed or ejected drugs in to our body thus making our vision disorientated and unnatural especially as well as the scene cutting really quickly which would make us almost feel dizzy in a way. What I have learned from this is by using colour can establish the feelings of something or be used to place a representation of something (E.G the colour red can be used to resemble blood, the colour green can be used to resemble good health or nature) and can place an effect on the audience.

Conclusion

To conclude this essay I have discovered that in urban crime or action crime the main characters are always instantly featured first (good or bad), the narrative and genre are also very straight to the point and they do this through mise en scene and the atmosphere of the film is almost always very tense and uneasy due to the music used and the pace of the film.