SHOTS OF LOCATIONS

Our film will include a variety of locations. These locations will differ from one another depending on how we intend to portray our characters and parts of the film. Isolated scenes will be used for the kidnapping scenes and also when looking at Ben and Aaron's lifestyle; dirty, isolated and unhygienic spots such as alleyways, old warehouses and in the street urban areas will be used to emphasise their low social class and also to emphasise  their motive of needing money.

This picture is of the location we intend to use for either the kidnapped holding spot or the interrogation of a helper that will feed information to Johnny to the whereabouts of Ruby. As you can see the room is compact and will be effective when shot in the dark.

 

This is the house we will be using to portray the gangster's lifestyle. The house is big and modern and will emphasise everything the gangster has earned. A mansion like house will work well to emphasise the money and power earned by Johnny. We will most likely be using the inside and outside of the house for different clips.

Although this image is blurry, it is the image we wish to use at the start of the scene. This scene will include Johnny looking out over the mass of the lake knowing he has a long journey ahead of him if he wishes to see Ruby again. The scene in front of him is large and emphasises how far he has to search in order to succeed. The scene will also emphasise his struggle and will bring a saddened tone to the trailer.

FILM TITLE PRODUCTION

One of our group members has designed 3 different film title productions for our film and we have analysed the 3 and discussed which one we feel is most suitable. My original idea was to spell the word SNATCHED in kidnapped note letters which i will demonstrate below, however it was difficult to design specifically how i wanted. The productions created are all extremely clever and suitable but we have picked the one we feel is most effective for a gangster/thriller hybrid genre...

This is the type of writing I wanted to use for the title however one of our group members has progressed on this and created a more unique title which includes this style also.

STYLE ONE

This is the first style we considered. It is bold and block letters and therefore very straightforward and epic. This style is good however it does not include the kidnapped note theme.

STYLE TWO

     

 This is the second style created. this style is reasonably smaller than the first and has a more futuristic theme. Because the title is only one word, I feel it should be of a larger font than this one. Although this style is good I personally do not think it fits our film genre. 

STYLE THREE                                                                                                                                      

 This style is in between the two fonts and is perfect for our film. The letters slightyl differ in size and are slightly funkier than normal letters. This font includes the kidnapped note theme and is also large, bold and gives off an impact. This title in my opinion is most effective and was also chosen by the group to be our film title production.                                                  

THE PLOT OF 'SNATCHED' & MEET THE STEREOTYPES

We have finally formed a solid plot for our movie 'SNATCHED'...

Our story revolves around an English crime boss, controlling parts of the country through drugs trafficking and many other illegal activities. Johny (crime boss) is in his element, he is one of the most powerful gangsters in England and not many people would attempt to cross his path. Ben and Aaron are two youths from Nottingham who have found themselves stuck in financial debt with the wrong people, including Johnny; this situation has put both their lives on the line. As Ben finds himself drinking his problems away in a local club, he over hears a girl talking about her gangster boyfriend, Johnny. Thinking on the spot, Ben and Aaron kidnap Johnny's girlfriend (Ruby) inorder to hold her hostage with the intentions to receive a ransom for her safety. This causes a vicious spiral of violence as Johnny attempts to do whatever he can alongside his right hand man (Mickey) to reassure the safety of his beloved girl. The two begin a journey of the streets filled with drugs, violence and chaos inorder to track down the kidnappers and to bring back Ruby and for Johnny to regain his power and seek revenge on those who have crossed him.

TYPICAL STEREOTYPES OF THE CHARACTERS:

JOHNNY-              

'Hard' appearance, weapons, stern look, overcoat etc.

Connotations of Johnny- Strength, power, aggression, determination

MICKEY-                        Younger than Johnny, not as classy, slightly more flashy, 'cheeky' look

                            Connotations of Mickey- Confidence, aggression, naive, loyalty

RUBY-                         Classy, sexy, wearing red to indicate danger, tall, blonde and helpless

                                                Connotations of Ruby- danger, love, romance, vulnerability

BEN-                                                                chavvy, tracksuits, messy hair, young and clumsy

                                                  Connotations of Ben- fear, violence, reckless, desperation

AARON-                                                             very similar to Aaron, tracksuits, caps, young

                                                  Connotations of Aaron- Loyalty, vulnerable, naive, dangerous

NARRATIVE STRUCTURE OF SNATCHED

PROPP’s THEORY
PREPARATION	A community or family is in an ordered state of being	This is shown in our trailer by flicking through shots of everything Johnny has earned. E.G. money, cars, women, drugs. This shows Johnny in his element.
COMPLICATION	The villain harms a member of the hero’s family	This is done through the kidnapping. Johnny is obviously hurt by the kidnapping of his girlfriend.
	The hero plans action against the villain	Johnny sets out to find his girlfriend alongside his right hand man mickey. Johnny has all the connections on the streets so he attempts to use them to find out Ben and Aaron.
TRANSFERENCE	The hero receives a magical gift	Not necessarily a magical gift, however Johnny stumbles across the information he is looking for. Johnny finds out the location of the kidnappers.
	The hero arrives at the place he can fulfil his quest	Johnny and mickey have made their way to the hideout of the kidnappers and attempt to get her back without paying the ransom fee.
STRUGGLE	There is a struggle between the hero and the villain	Ben holds Ruby as a hostage as he and Mickey both hold each other at gun point.
RETURN	The hero escapes	Johnny and Mickey have secured Ruby and they’ve managed to escape the hideout without anyone dying or being shot.
	A task is set for the hero	As they escape the hideout they realise the police have been alerted and seeing as Johnny is the driver it is up to him to escape the police
	The hero accomplishes the task	Johnny escapes the police and returns back to his mansion with everyone safe
RECOGNITION	The hero is rewarded	Johnny’s reward is that Ruby is safe and that he and Mickey managed to save her without dying or giving the ransom.

TODOROV'S NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

EQUILIBRIUM- The film begins by showing Johnny as this powerful gangster figure with everything he desires E.G. money, women, drugs, mansion etc. This is the equilibrium because everything is calm and collective and Johnny is living his perfect life.  

DISRUPTION (DISEQUILIBRIUM)- Ben and Aaron are introduced as the lower classed youngsters who have found themselves in alot of financial problems with the wrong people, including Johnny. They feel they can solve this by kidnapping Ruby (Johnny's girlfriend) and demanding ransom money back if Johnny wishes to see her alive again.

RECOGNITION OF DISRUPTION- Ben and Aaron find out that Johnny and right hand man Mickey are roaming the streets and talking to Johnny's connections inorder to hunt them down and take the girl. Because of this, Ben and Aaron contact Johnny and up the ransom money and also provide a shorter deadline, if not they will kill Ruby.

ATTEMPT TO REPAIR DISRUPTION- Johnny and Mickey find out the location where Ruby is being kept and make their way to the hideout. They break in and find Ruby held hostage by Ben. They manage to save Ruby and escape to the get away vehicle. However when escaping they notice that the police have found out about the ransom and Johnny has to escape them which he does successfully.

A RETURN OR RESTORATION OF NEW EQUILBRIUM- Ruby has been saved and everyone is safe. Johnny Mickey and Ruby are all back at Johnny's mansion and also the ransom money has not been used. Everything is back to normal.

LOGO PRODUCTIONS

After considering different ideas for the name of our production company, we came to the conclusion of 'tommy-gun productions'. We chose this name because it includes conventions of the dated classical gangster image and relates to the genre of our movie.

One of the members in our group took the production to the next level and designed several different logos which we then analysed and decided which fitted our film most. These were the three productions:

  

                                 ^^^We decided to go with the production including the gangster figure holding the tommy gun because it includes a character similar to the one in our movie and therefore connects the two to eachother. Also the title was orinigally 'tommy gun productions' and this is the only one which includes the full title.

NARRATIVE THEORY

TODOROV and PROPP are two theorists which have constructed theories on narrative and character theory. Both have constructed narrative methods inwhich allow them to construct film narrative.
TODOROV'S NARRATIVE STRUCTURE

A NARRATIVE- typically, a narrative begins with one situation; a series of changes occurs according to a pattern of cause and effect; finally, a new situation arises that brings about the end of the narrative.

I have constructed my own NARRATIVE STRUCTURE by using the movie LET THE RIGHT ONE IN(2008)

1. EQUILIBRIUM-  The film starts with Oskar, living with his mum in a flat, being hassled by school bullies. Nothing extremely drastic happens to him.

2.DISRUPTION(DISEQUILIBRIUM)- The disequilibrium is when Eli moves in next door. The man who is looking after her kills a young boy in order to provide blood for her to drink. Oskar's bullies also get worse.

3.RETURN TO EQUILIBRIUM- The climax of the film is when Eli sees his bullies trying to kill him, then Eli comes in and kills them for him. This brings the chaos to an end and restores the equilibrium. The film then ends with Oskar and Eli leaving town on a train, calm once again.

PROPP'S SEVEN CHARACTER TYPES

Propp said that every character in a story could be put into one of 8 broad character types, I have divided the characters from LET THE RIGHT ONE IN into the correct catorgories to fit Propp's theory:

THE VILLIAN- struggles against the hero - the bullies that harass Oskar.

THE DONOR- prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object- Hakan              

THE HELPER-  helps the hero in the quest- Oskar            

THE PRIZE-  the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain- Oskar

THE DISPATCHER-  character who sends the hero off- Oskar

THE HERO- reacts to the mentor, weds the princess- Oskar         

FALSE HERO- takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess- Hakan

 

 

MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE

 
This is our groups questionnaire which we intend to give out to various people and hopefully receive some satisfying results that will help us adapt on our ideas for our plot. Most of the questions revolve around our genre so hopefully other people perceptions of GANGSTER/CRIME genre movies will help develop ours. Results will be posted soon!


 

Media questionnaire

1.    How old are you? ……….

 

2.    What gender are you?    Male               Female 

3.    Have you watched any crime and gangster films? Yes          No            If yes, what

crime and gangster films have you watched?     ………………..

 

4.     Do you like the crime and gangster genre?   Yes           No            If yes,

why?      ..............

5.    What conventions do you expect to see in crime and gangster films?

6.    How often do you go to the cinema?

 

7.    What sort of cinema do you go to?     Independent              Multiplex/IMAX (e.g. Cineworld)  

8.    Who is your favourite director?  ……………….                Why? ………………….

9.    Why do you choose to watch films at the cinema instead of at home?

10.   What location would you expect to see a crime and gangster to be set in?