Media Photoshoot

Survey monkey

Poster analysis

The posters i have analyzed are in the genre which I will be making my movie trailer, I like the aspect of ill manors main poster as there is a lot of information included in the poster and we have also based our film around that idea, however i also like the American gangster poster, although its quite dull in colours the ideas behind the posters such as the characters wearing suits and the mystery behind the two characters creates that suspense

magazine analysis

Linking back to the idea of my movie, I am more likely to take the concept of using empire or total films magazine, the reason being is because as you can see from the image they are based more on gangster crime films where as sight and sound is very dull and doesn't have a lot things going on in the magazine, where as the other two both characters in the main image are holding guns which links back to the idea of gangster crime

Al pacino case study

Martin Scorsese case study

film case study

historical genre reseach

Historical Genre Research- Gangster crime thriller

Gangster Crime


Gangster films are a sub-genre of American crime films dealing with organized crime, often specifically with the Mafia.

The American movie The Black Hand (1906) is thought to be the earliest surviving gangster film. In 1912, D. W. Griffith directed The Musketeers of Pig Alley, a short drama film about crime on the streets of New York City  rumored to have included real gangsters as extras.Even though gangster films had their roots in such silent films, the genre in its most successful form was in the early 1930s.
In 1931 and 1932 saw the genre produce three all time classics: The Warner Bros produced Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, which made screen icons out of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney, and Howard Hawks' Scarface starring Paul Muni, which offered a dark psychological analysis of a fictionalized Al Capone and launched the film career of George Raft. These films chronicle the quick rise, and equally quick downfall, of three young, violent criminals, and represent the genre in its purest form before moral pressure would force it to change and evolve. Though the gangster in each film would face a violent downfall which was designed to remind the viewers of the consequences of crime, audiences were often able to identify with the charismatic anti-hero. Those suffering from the Depression were able to relate to the gangster character who worked hard to earn his place and success in the world, only to have it all taken away from him. Despite the genre reaching the decade before dying out, some argue that the gangster film in its purest form only existed until 1933, when restrictions from the Production Code led to films that did not have the same power as the earlier ones.

Many of the 1930s crime films also dealt with class and ethnic conflict, notably the earliest films, reflecting doubts about how well the American system was working. Many films pushed the message that criminals were the result of a poor moral and economic society, and many were shown as having foreign backgrounds or coming from the lower class. Therefore the film criminal is often able to show sympathy and admiration out of the viewer, who often will not place the blame on the criminal's shoulders, but rather a cruel society where success is difficult. However the hype of gangster crime films had died down in the 1930's and only picked up once again in the 1970's where there was a revival of gangster films with novels such as the godfather part 2 etc. The 2000s continued to produce box office gangster films with high profile actors. 

 he 2010s continued the 2000s trend of bringing new movies featuring both prohibition and post real life gangster incidents into the box office. Examples of this would be lawless and the more famously known one 'gangster squad.' It is the story of a group of LAPD officers and detectives called the "Gangster Squad" who are attempting to keep Los Angeles safe from Mickey Cohen, a real life example, Los Angeles gangster that became a powerful figure in the criminal underworld, and intended to continue to expand his criminal enterprise and his gang during the 1940s and '50s. The film was released January 11, 2013.



Thriller


Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as its main elements. Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods, giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and terror. Films of this genre tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, and fast-paced.
A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement that drive the narrative. It keeps the audience on the "edge of their seats", as the plot builds towards a climax. Techniques such as cliffhangers are used quite often. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.


in 1926 a man called Alfred Hitchcock released his third silent thriller called The Lodger which was a Jack The Ripper Story filled with suspense. In 1929 he released another thriller film called Blackmail which was not only the first sound thriller film, but also the first sound film to be made in Britain. In 1928 Fritz Lang’s Spies was released and were one of the earliest spy films and was the directors first independent production. The film anticipated the James Bond film’s of the future. In 1931 the film The Chilling German by Fritz Lang was released and starred Peter Lorre in his first ever film role. The film was based on the life of a serial killer. In 1933 another crime thriller was released called Murder’s In The Zoo and was about a murderous zoologist, played by Lionel Atwill. This film was directed by Edward Sutherland. There were also other directors that made many thriller films within this period of time, such as Walter Forde made nine2. Vorhaus seven between 1932 and 19353. George A. Cooper six in the same period4. and Michael Powell also made six.

Until this very day, thriller films have shared ideas and themes and have similar elements within them. However, in the recent thrillers that have been made, directors try to maintain an aspect of individuality by making them stand out from the rest. They do this by adding more gore, horror, violence, blood and brutal behavior. Thrillers used to be a lot more psychological but have now started to have horror aspects within them. Examples of thriller films that have added the above elements in them are: Eden Lake, released in 2008. The Last House On The Left, released in 2009. P2, released in 2007. Captivity, released in 2007. Funny Games, released in 2008. Spy thrillers contain a lot more action within them and have done for the last few years of thriller films. Films such as Hostage and Joy Ride were very much action filled but more so thriller.

I have researched the history of gangster crime and  thriller genre to give me an insight of how it has changed over years and in what ways. It also gave me an indication of how the styles and story lines have adapted and improved throughout the years. I learned about specific directors and how they made an impact on thriller films over the years. It has helped me with the planning of my own film as I now have a good idea of what type of storyline to do and how to make my film stand out from the other gangster crime thriller films. I have also adapted the knowledge of gangster crime thriller and what to include.

MoodBoard

Moodboard from Kevin Avila Escobar

Changes made to the pitch

the pitch first draft

THE PITCH

FILM PROMO 

THE FINAL PITCH 

Group members: Suhail, Kevin, Hayyat

Chosen genre: Gangster crime thriller

Title of film: A Hounds Prey



OUTLINE OF IDEAS


Tagline of film: Money leaves a BLOODY trail.


Basic plot synopsis:
An innocent outsider discovers that he has a massive debt to pay within a week and has no money to pay it off. He decides to go for a walk one day in the park/forest to stop thinking about it and whilst walking he sees a dead body on the floor and next to the body he sees a briefcase so he decides to open it and see what is inside, when he sees there is money he has the choice of taking the money or reporting the police, however he decides to take the money to pay his debt off. He tells his girlfriend about the money but she is against the idea and tell him to report it to the police, he says no and walk away from her but she still ends up telling the police. The police go to the crime scene and from the ID find out that it’s the underground boss right hand man that was killed. So there was an indication of a drug deal gone wrong. The police who is corrupt works for the underground boss and tell him about his right hand man being killed and the money being taken. It becomes a cat and mouse chase between the underground boss and the innocent man, with the innocent guy getting away. Until his girlfriend was traced and held captive. He now has the choice of giving the money or seeing his girlfriend dead.

What type of characterisation will you have? 
The innocent guy will be a black guy, who is going to be a teenager. We chose a black guy as we are subverting the conventions of a movie as the black guy is always shown as being the bad one however this time we thought of showing him as the innocent one. His also been shown as a teenager as there are shown as being more innocent and also to see how a teenager would react to the situation. The underground bosses: Asian guy who is the leader behind all the drug dealing Right hand man: the guy who is dead with the briefcase in the beginning scene Girlfriend: against the fact of the innocent guy going ahead with his plans Corrupt detective: who is part of the underground bosses crew The underground bosses army: the guys who will be after the innocent guy to get hold of the money.

Describe the Mise En Scene to be used or any visual motifs? Our main scene would be in the forest where the innocent guy finds the briefcase so we will have some scenes shot in the forest such as Epping Forest. Then we also have the urban areas such as street corners which is controlled by the underground bosses, and an office where the underground bosses meet up and have discussions Suits will be worn by the bosses or more smart clothing to show they are more superior then the others. Normal clothes to be worn by the innocent guy to show that he is a normal civilian who doesn’t have a clue about what is happening.

What are your ideas about Cinematography/ photography?
Pan shots of the landscape of the forest showing the scenery High and low angle shots showing that the underground bosses have a higher status than the innocent guy this also makes him look less superior. Close up shots of facial expressions Fade-outs during scenes

conventions of trailer/posters/film magazines you plan to reinforce or reinvent? 
for our project we will be sticking to the conventions of each publicity format with regards to it layouts such as logo, title of film, age certification, website, and social media links, character inductions, music, tagline, release date, and time of trailer conventions being reinvented: black guy being the innocent guy and white guys and asian guys being drug dealers which will subvert the conventions.

What resources will you need?
Benjamin- protagonist (innocent black guy) underground boss will be an asian guy props will be things such as guns knives and fake blood costumes will be suit for the underground boss to show his more superior then others and normal clothes for the innocent guy.

Film influences:
the films we were influenced by was true romance and no country for old men due to the briefcase of the gangsters and being chased down by powerful criminals The other film we were influenced by was ill manors due to a modern depiction of crime in London

 Unique selling point: looking at organised crime from the perspective of an outsider similar to the raid. Also having a black male as the protagonist which in traditional cases they tend to be the vilian