Creative project presentation

The genre is action and it will be reflected through the use of props in mise en scene and quick cuts in editing. We choose to do it as a short film because it ha a lot of detail and a full storyline. The target audience is British teenagers because it reflect the youth of London and most other countries wouldn't understand the vocabulary, are focus points will be mise en scene and editing we will show these main points through detailed props, relative location and a lot editing and cuts. The location will be purley car park. 

Our performers will be:

Callum

Grant

Alex

Patrick

Connor

Khari

Luke

Luke

Christoph

Beth

What are the similarities between 'fish tank' and the first part of 'sket'?

There are many similarities between the two British crime films 'fish tank' being the most subtle crime film and 'sket' the more obvious crime film. One of the main similarities between the two films being the location, both based around a working class estate. The costume in both films are in someway similar with some characters wearing teak suits to make them look like youths, along with costume, the hair was actually similar because Mia in fish tank had a gelled back pony tail similar to some of the characters in sket. Some of the props were similar aswel, because in both of the films they have alcohol bottles used as props.

There's also similarities in the characters between 'fish tank' and 'sket', for example Mia and the leader of the girl gang, there's similarities in these two because they commit similar crimes like assault when they're insulted or threatened, they also show a part of a good side in them, Mia in saving the house and the girl from sket in looking after kayla and taking her in. There's also similarities between Mia and kayla as the both get sexually harassed, Mia by pickeys and kayla buy boys on the bus. They both in some way want revenge to what people have done to them, and both of them either have no mother or a bad mother.

Also the performances are similar in both 'fish tank' and 'sket' as in most of the the actors mainly all use colloquial language or slang. The actors also act and walk or move in the same way, this is because both films show the life of working class youths and they try to show this in similar ways. 

The cinematography in both films were similar as they mostly all used the same camera shots, mainly all being eye level shots or low shots. Both films also mainly use medium close ups or medium shots.

The editing is roughly the same on both of them aswel they both go around medium pace, fish tank sometimes a lot slower though. They also both only really stick with one line of action rarely ever using two lines.

Coursework

The film me and christoph are going to make for our coursework is going to a tine of illegal racing film based around the genre of action/crime. The conventions of the genre that we are going to be focusing on are mise-en-scene, editing and sound, this is not yet are final decision though. The micro features we are going to be focussing on are the location because we want a good location for it to make it look like a real underground race. The films or directors that have influenced us into doing a film like this was 'the fast and the furious'.

ill manors

How does mise-en-scene, performance, cinematography, sound and/or editing construct meaning and provoke response in ill manors?

The film I am analysing is Ill manors which was released in 2012, written and directed by ben drew. Ill manors is a film based on the  lives of four drug dealers Kirby, Chris, Ed and Arron; a gang Marcel and Jake; and two prostitutes, Katya and Michelle all living around an estate in London. The lives of these people all interlink through the course of drugs, gang troubles and pimps. The genre of ill manors is crime/drama. The extract I have chosen is 8:06 minutes in and is 4 minutes long, in my extract it goes back in time and shows Kirby’s life as a drug dealer and the childhood of Chris and how he grows up to become a man. The extract have chosen barely has barely any dialogue and is narrated by the directors (plan B) song. I am using Mise-en-scene, sound and editing to analyse my extract. My main themes for this extract are how the switch of power from Kirby to Chris is shown and how Chris’s harsh upbringing is shown throughout the film.

Mise en scene constructs meaning and provokes response in ill manors in many ways. One of these ways being the costume and hair used, especially for Trevor, he is dressed in a shirt with braces and rolled up jeans and a shaved head giving us the understanding that he is a skin head, provoking a response as we worry about Chris when he is left alone with him. Mise-en-scene is also useful as when Kirby is coming out of prison the prop used, which was the mini disc player Is a very old belonging to have, showing he has been in prison for a long amount of time, constructing meaning because we start to think that Chris has had a long time to gain power over the drug game.  Mise-en-scene is also used to provoke a response through the harsh upbringing of Chris, through the setting of the basement. The link between the basement and the props used in it for example all the drugs and the razor blade, provokes a strong response that Chris has had a harsh upbringing. Also the use of drugs give us a clear understanding of the switch in power from Kirby to Chris because at the start the drug props are twigs and seeds that are given top Chris showing Kirby’s in power but then at the end of the extract he then gives him real drugs because Chris stands up to him showing Chris becomes more powerful. Also the make-up used on Chris to show his scar constructs meaning that Chris was mistreated and constantly reminds the audience of jakes harsh upbringing. The use of body language in mise-en-scene shows the switch in power and makes us think that Chris has taken over control when  he stands up right and holds his head up high looking over Kirby making him seem more important and over powering Kirby.

Sound is also used throughout the extract to construct meaning and provoke response. One of the ways in which this is done is through the use of non-diegetic sound, as there is music playing throughout the whole of the extract. The music in the extract acts as a narrative because there is no dialogue, the narrative explains what is going on throughout the piece and guides us along what is and has happened. This gives us a strong understanding of Chris’s harsh upbringing because we get a detailed and in depth narrative of what is happening to him.  Another important aspect that sound brings to the extract is when the music changes from a non-diegestic sound to a diegestic sound. This happens when it starts to play through the stereo making the part of the extract stand out and draws are attention, the stereo then starts to cut out building up tension and then we get our first bit of dialogue which constructs meaning in the switch of power between Kirby and Chris. The sound helps us understand this because through the change of non-diegestic sound to diegesstic it makes it stand out, making the change of power more noticeable.

Editing is used in my extract to construct meaning and provoke response I many ways. Editing is used we to show the child hood and bringing up of Chris, the editing is good at this because it manages to show a wide spread amount of years on Chris’s changes in a very short amount of time. Slow motion is used in the extract when Kirby leaves prison this is good use of editing as it makes us see Kirby serious, and latter makes us worry for Chris because we feel sorry that he had to grow up around a man like Kirby. The fade out used from the black space Trevor was in back to the basement brings us back to the harsh reality and makes us realize that Trevor is in the basement while Chris is there making us worry for him. Editing is also done well in the extract because it shows a change in time clearly making it easier to understand the growing up of Chris. This is done by having the image of the wall in between the two shoot too make it look like its going to a separate room even though the room stays the same.  Slow motion is used again in the editing of the extract when Chris finds his mother dead of an overdose, this makes us pay attention and makes the moment more sad and deep, provoking a response from the audience making them feel sorry for Chris and worry about what is going to happen to him next. The fade out from the clip of Chris’s scar to another clip of his scar but of when he’s older is a good way to show the audience that Chris is growing up and gives them a clear understanding of what is happening. The shot that the editor chooses to keep mainly throughout the extract, always shows the hole of the basement which gives us a proper view of the location and analyse what is in the shot, this gives the audience an understanding of what kind of environment that Chris grow up in. the cut to the stereo before and after the dialogue also helps improve the effect of sound making the switch in the power stand out even more. There’s mainly one line of action used in this extract so that we are constantly concentrated and understand the harsh bringing up of Chris and the switch of power between Kirby and Chris.

The use of Mise-en-scene, sound and editing are used in many ways to construct meaning and provoke response. Sound is mainly used as a narrative to give the audience a strong understanding of what is happening in Chris’s life. Mise-en-scene is mainly used through costumer and props to give us an idea of the switch of power and too make us worry for Chris.  Editing is used through the cuts to just give an overall understanding.

Ill manors

The clip I have chosen from ill manors is 8:05 minutes.

The theme of this is sadnes and fear 

I am choosing to analyse this using mise-en-Scene because I can comment on that fact that there are drugs usedase props, giving us an understanding that he's a drug dealer, I can also comment on the costume of Trevor which shows is he Ida skin head and promotes fear in the audience. 

I am also using sound to analyse the extract as there is a part in the film when the music starts to come from the stereo and then it cuts creating tension and bringing you back to the harsh reality, also creating worry and fear in the audience.

use of camera

An extract i have chosen is from snatch. One part in this extract at the end creates fear in the audience when they use a long shot at low angle when showing brick top bill standing over tyrone, his makes us feel fear because the low angle is used to show he is in power and in control and also because they use a long shot to show the whole of his crew standing behind him making us feel intimidated. Another  clip in this sequence is when jason statham says he's not buying some "tart" a caravan. The camera lens zooms from a medium shot to a close up at eye level angle, this produces us to feel thrills because its zooms in to a close up and we get to see the intensity on the pikey's face.

the second clip i have chosen is from lock stock and two smoking barrels. a clip in this film that makes us laugh is when they use a long shot with and eye level angle, this clip makes the audience laugh because we just see the man open the door and then blood just splatter all over him so the fact that they don't reveal much in the camera makes it funnier. another part in this sequence is when the back men are in the van there is a close up at eye level of the black men this makes us feel fear as we see the anger in his face making us fearful of what is going to happen.

How does ‘In Bruges’ use mise-en-scene to reflect and develop the characters of Ray, Ken and Harry? How do the performance styles of Colin Farrell, Brendon Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes also reflect and develop the character?

Mise-en-scene is used a lot throughout the film to develop the characters of ray, Ken and Harry and there performance styles also reflect and develop the character. Ray is developed through mise en scene mainly by the props and locations used; Colin Farrell also develops and reflects Ray by his performance style as he acts sad and guilt. Harry is developed through mise-en-scene through location, props used, costume and his hair, ralph Fiennes develops and reflects harry by his acting aggressive changing his accent and changing his appearance. Ken is developed through mise-en-scene by the location and costume, Brendon Gleeson also develops and reflects ray by acting calm and natural.

Ray is developed in ‘In Bruges’ through mise-en-scene. This is mainly through location because the fact that he doesn’t like sightseeing and looking round Bruges as he asks if Ken thinks if its good “going round in a boat looking at stuff” and just wants to get drunk showing the character as being immature and childish. The prop used in the film also develops Ray, this prop is a gun which develops the character showing that he has a darker side to him and it distinguishes him from being a normal person.  Colin Farrell also develops Ray through his acting style because he acts normal however he makes it seem like there’s something on his mind all the time, developing the character showing that he regrets things and feels guilty about something, which we later find out is the shooting of the boy. Colin Farrell also develops Ray by acting suicidal showing that Ray is unstable and insecure in himself as he says “I’ll kill myself in a fortnight anyway”.

Harry is developed throughout the film by the use of location because the first scene Harrys in, he’s in a massive house, developing his character by showing that he’s rich and that he must be a good and experienced criminal to have earned this much money. The gun used when he first comes to Bruges develops the character as it shows that he is well connected and an important person, it also shows that he’s a ruthless cruel man.  His costume is smart and he is always wearing a suit showing that he is a smart business related criminal and this conveys to him always saying that it’s just “good business” to ken.  Harry’s hair develops his character because it is all shaved off showing that he is a tough brutal man and links to him being a London gangster. Ralph Fiennes performance relates and develops Harry is he is serious and aggressive, he give this impression by swearing all the time especially in the scene when he’s on the phone to harry and swears unnecessarily for example he says “it’s a fairy tale fucking town”. Ralph Fiennes changes he’s accent to a coutney accent to develop the role so we know he’s a London gangster he also shaves his hair to show this.  Ralph Fiennes rarely blinks throughout the whole performance developing on the fact that harry is slightly crazy. Ralph Fiennes also reflects the fact that Harry does have a bit of a heart when he chooses not to kill Ken.

Ken is developed through the use of mise-en-scene by location and costume. Location develops Ken as a normal everyday person as he enjoys looking round the sight of Bruges which isn’t usual of the typical gangster or hit man.  Ken’s costume is the traditional suit of a gangster showing that he is experienced and has been doing what he’s doing for years; it also shows he’s clever and knows what he’s doing. Brendon Gleeson’s performance is very calm and relaxed, showing that he’s experienced and expressing the difference between Ken and Ray as ray is new to it and agitated and panicked, whereas Ken is used to it so is the opposite. The way Brendon Gleeson shows the change in Ken from him being calm and wanted to be professional and not draw attention to himself to him not caring when he finds out he has to kill Ray, develops Ken’s character as it shows he really cares about Ray and is protective over him. Also the fact the Brendon Gleeson is so still and peaceful when he’s about to be killed and accepts this, develops Ken showing that he is fearless and always expects death.

Mise-en-scene is used a lot to develop the characters mainly through the location of Bruges and the guns used showing there all ruthless people. The costume also develops the characters as it can show some of them as being experienced and knowledgeable. The performances of the actors help to develop and reflect the characters and show the human side to gangsters and hitman.