Research

(Irish) Crime Thriller

Codes and conventions

Low key lighting
Quick cuts
Shadows
Tense music
Changes in angles of shots
Diegetic sound of breathing
Montage of shots.


The Guard

Titles

The titles appear with the sound of a gunshot and the screen freezes for a second or two. This creates the sense of action and conflict. The title appears over the officer's head on a backdrop of the seaside. This immediately links back to the tranquility of the Irish seaside.

Music

At the beginning the music is a laid-back hiphop beat and this contrasts with the tranquility of the Irish countryside. The music then abruptly stops when there is a car crash and this gives the impression that something terrible has happened.

  



Shot Types

The camera switches between an ariel shot and a close up shot on the faces of multiple youths in a car, drinking. This immediately establishes a sense of criminality amongst the individuals and shows them being a danger to the other drivers on the road.
 

The camera then pans up form an ariel shot to show the landscape of the Irish countryside.










Mise en Scene

 The costume and props selected in the opening scene depict the characters as stereotypical "chavs". They are seen to be drinking whiskey and wearing tracksuits. 

All the characters are seen to be wearing similarly styled clothes and have similar haircuts. 

The white car with the yellow stripes automatically give the impression of a police car.

The officer's uniform instantly reinforces the idea of power and responsibility.  









Recurring Themes and Character Types

In the opening of this movie there are two main character types, the stereotypical 'chav' and the stereotypical cop. 

The cops in this film are shown not to care about their job and are usually drunk. 









Intermission

Titles

The titles appear with the sound of a man talking in the background. This creates a calm and non-threatening atmosphere. There is a plain black background and the titles switch slowly. This gives the movie a slow start and this contrasts with the extreme action that happens a minute or two into the movie.

Music

At the beginning the music is a laid-backslow tempo guitar beat. The music then begins to increase in tempo and volume when two police men walk into the cafe and a police chase begins. The loud, high tempo rock music compliments the action happening in this scene.

   


Shot Types

The camera switches between a close up shot on the faces of the man and woman in this scene. There are also over the shoulder shots used during the dialog between the two character

There is then a tracking shot of the main character running along a busy street. This shot is used to show the mayhem and chaos caused by this man along the busy street.











Mise en Scene

The  characters in the opening scene are wearing normal clothes for the time and this creates a sense of normality and familiarity with the characters.












Collin Farrell's character is shown to wear a gold chain and an earring. This shows that he may have some wealth.

Recurring Themes and Character Types

In the opening of this movie there are many different characters, all shown to be wearing similar styled clothing. They are wearing ordinary clothing and this creates a sense a of normality.

 The main character is played by Collin Farrell and he is portrayed as a typical thief. He has a shaved head, stubbly beard and golden jewellery. 

The other recurring character type is the police men (good guys). They are shown to wear typical police uniforms and ear-pieces. They are neat and respectable, creating a sense of securtiy.









In Bruges

Titles

The titles appear with a black background and the sound of two Irish men talking. This creates a slow, calm opening to the movie.

      

Music

At the beginning the music is a slow piano tune which creates a somber, depressed atmosphere. This piano music paired with the old buildings and dark night sky creates a spooky atmosphere.

  

Shot Types

There are close up and mid-shots of old buildings that set the scene and allow the viewer to get a sense of the surroundings.

The establishing shots create a sense of the surroundings for the viewers and give the beginning of the movie a relaxed feel. 

A close-up two shot shows the two main characters and allows the viewers to see them conversing. This creates a sense of familiarity with the characters.

Mise en Scene

The  characters in the opening scene are wearing normal clothes for the time and this creates a sense of normality and familiarity with the characters.

The characters are also shown to have backpacks which gives the impression that they will be in Bruges for a limited amount of time.

The surround area contains ancient buildings and cobbled streets and this gives an spooky feel to the movie.

Recurring Themes and Character Types

The 'bad guy' is smartly dressed with an english accent. He lives in a big house and is shown to be wealthy and portrayed as better than everyones else, creating an automatic dislike by the audience.

The main character is played by Collin Farrell and he is portrayed as a typical guy. He wears normal clothes and is always seen to want to go to the pub. This creates familiarity with the viewer and makes him likeable. He is the 'good guy' and this is reinforced by the attachment the viewer has with him.

50 Dead Men Walking

Titles

The titles appear with a black background and an ominous sound in the background. This creates a slow, spooky opening to the movie.

Music

At the beginning the music is a slow piano tune which creates a somber, depressed atmosphere. This piano music paired with the old buildings and dark night sky creates a spooky atmosphere.

Shot Types

There are close up and over the shoulder shots which show the conversation between the different the different characters.

The establishing shots create a sense of the surroundings for the viewers and give the beginning of the movie a relaxed feel. 

A mid-two shot shows the two main characters and allows the viewers to see them conversing. This creates a sense of familiarity with the characters.

Mise en Scene

The  characters in the opening scene are wearing normal clothes for the time and this creates a sense of normality and familiarity with the characters.

The surround area contains an orange glow which gives the impression of fire and destruction. This will make the viewers feel the chaos of the time.

Recurring Themes and Character Types

The 'bad guy' is smartly dressed with an english accent. He is an english soldier and this creates a clear divide between the Irish and english.

The main character is portrayed as a typical Irish guy. He wears normal clothes. This creates familiarity with the viewer and makes him likeable. He is the 'good guy' and this is reinforced by the attachment the viewer has with him.

After i did my research into Irish crime thrillers i was transferred to a new group that were filming a teen movie. Because of this i did some research into teen movies and their codes and conventions.

Teen Films

Teen movies are basically films which are targeted at teenagers/young adults. Most of these movies touch on themes that a majority of a teenage audience would relate to and or be interested in, such as first love, trouble, family conflict, teen anger and rebellion, and also in some teen movies, loneliness and alienation. Most teen movies would have some dramatic elements to them although they would be comedic and silly at the same time.

Juno

  The sketch in the opening scene immediately creates a sense of work and school which is relatable to most teens.

This is very suitable for this film as this opening credits style is  very hands-on and creative just like a teenager would be, this title sequence is a very good example for describing a traditional teen film.The bottle of juice gives a comedic twist to the movie right from the off.

 This establishing shot relates to teenagers as most teens would probably still live at home with their parents, dress differently from adults, and they don't usually care much about their diet, hence, the litre of juice.

The shot types to Juno are quite typical to the beginning of most movies, medium shots and long shots establish the character and setting, that being the main character Juno and her street. The main way of establishing that this opening is for a teen movie is the quirky cartoon sketchy beginning which has a very teen-like crafty aesthetic.

The close up shots throughout the title sequence are a traditional indication and method of showing who the main character is in this film.






The song used for the start of the movie is 'All I Want Is You' by Barry Louis Polisar. The song used is playful like the creative animation and has a happy uplifting melody played by a harmonica and a light guitar riff, this sweet song played at the beginning gives us the indication that the film is going to be easy going and puts us into a relaxing mood, most teen movies aren't extremely serious dramas so this music is well suited to the genre of the film.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

 Shot types are panning and following as Ferris opens with his monologue, these are basic establishing shots showing off the scenery and where Ferris lives, which again is a neighbourhood, which is a part of most teenager lives. 




Another one of the first things we see at the beginning of the film is the parents of Ferris, looking over their 'sick' son, this is another relation to teenagers with over concerned parents who won't let their son leave bed and let him rest, the close up shot of the concerned parents relates to almost all teenagers.

From the first shot we know who the main character is as the close up of his face creates an awareness of his presence from the outset. 



The opening titles and writing on the screen mentions parents which are a big part of teenage life, childhood rebellion, bunking off school for a day, most teenagers would have faked being sick for a day off school at some point in their lives so this will relate to them.







But the opening is key to knowing that it is a teen movie, it shows a messy room, yet one a young person would feel at home in. It has posters all over the walls and doesn't really have a continuous colour scheme.

The beginning of this film is very personal and quite one on one with the viewer of the movie, this would help to reinforce the connection with the viewer and help them relate. The main theme of this film is school, and the main story is all about a teenager bunking off school to enjoy a day with his girlfriend and his best friend, all things the average teen would love to do.


Who?

We think Film4 would be best to distribute our movie as they have distributed many films like these before such as The Inbetweeners Movie and Inbetweeners 2. Film4 have a history of distributing popular teen films and this means they have established a bond with this teenage audience and this is why we think it would be good to distribute ours.