PROP SHEET FOR FILMING- MAIN PROPS ONLY

Throughout our filming we obviously had to use different props that would help create iconography for a gangster genre. The props we used helped develop our characters and also help create stereotypically 'gangsters' and 'chavs'. I have attached several images below which just shows you our main and most important props:

 
This is the knife used by Ben in the final scene also. Ben is cold hearted just like Mickey however the choice of a knife as a weapon works to create Ben's low social class image. A knife can murder just as much as a gun can however it doesn't create as much powerful imagery. The knife is also just a kitchen knife, it shows Ben lacks professionalism and is unclear with what he is doing. A hand gun can be used by all types of characters like special agents, soldiers and police men; this is because these men are all proffesional and skilled. However, a kitchen knife in a movie would only be used for killing normally by someone who has killed last minute or a chav of some sort. This is because their motives and ideas are unclear, this is why it is a good prop to use to show Ben's desperation.

This is the gun we used, owned by Mickey throughout the film. The gun connotes crime, power and murder and is also a clear enigma code. The gun helps create to the powerful status of a gangster by providing them with authority. As you can imagine, not many people confront a man holding and poiting a gun; this is what makes Mickey the stone cold gangster we want him to be. This prop was used in the final scene when coming face to face with the kidnappers Ben and Aaron.

The final main prop is the bundle of cash used in the house scene. Money connotes power, respect and hard work and this is exactly how we want our audience to picture our Johnny character. Our trailer includes a close-up shot of Johnny counting through his money, this shot is simply used to show that whatever Johnny does for a career, he does it well. With regards to codes and conventions of a Gangster genre, money is a key element because without lots of money, a gangster cannot live his flashy lifestyle or even employee his team of killers. Also Ben has targetted Johnny because he assumes he has alot of money, therefore we had to prove this was true; it makes our trailer seem more realistic.

TWEEKING WITH OUR PROPS

As we have decided to include a gun into our trailer we had to locate a realistic looking toy gun that would fit into our scenes correctly. The gun we discovered was orange and therefore we had to spray paint it black. A close-up look at our gun looks rather unproffesional however we used it today for filming and also in our photoshoot and it worked perfectly!

As you can see from our poster, the gun has worked perfectly through editing skills created on the computer. The Gun has been added in to create an enigma code and also to simply include more iconagraphy into the trailer and poster.

REPRESENTATION IN THE MEDIA

There are different definitions for the word REPRESENTATION :

- 'something was already there and has been re-presented by the media'

-'standing in for us, being somewhere we couldn't be' e.g. society being represented by political figures.

PROFESSOR RICHARD DYER

  Entertainment and representation and the relations between them as well as music and film (including melodrama), Italian cinema (especially in its popular forms) and gay / lesbian / queer cultures.

 Dyer said: 'How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat  others is based on how we see them. How we see them comes from representation'.       




 -What this quote is saying and the point Richard Dyer is making is that how social groups are treated in cultural representation is part and parcel of how they are treated in life.

•   EXAMPLE:

- HERE, is the feedback after Google searching 'teenage girl' on Google images. As Dyer explains, the way the media portrays groups of people such as teenagers for example, determines the public's opinion of how they portray them and treat them.

-Due to the media constantly focusing on the exaggerated ASBO behaviour of ALL teenagers in the modern day, teenagers as a whole are now portrayed as the well analysed image above. Factors such as good education, voluntary work and sporting achievements are put to side and forgot about by those who are injected by newspapers, magazines, tv etc.

INJECTION THROUGH THE MEDIA AKA 'THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY'

The hypodermic needle theory was a theory that has was devised and has been developed over the years, its main influence was based in the 1930s and the 1940s. The basic idea of the theory is that whatever is put in the media is then automatically believed by its consumers. The needle is a metaphor that is used to suggest that those who create the media 'inject' their ideas into audiences.

EXAMPLE: if a newspaper article claimed that a footballer such as David Beckham was having an affair, the hypodermic needle suggests that this information is automatically believed by those who read it due to it being commercialised.

The hypodermic needle plays a massive part in representation and to a certain extent is true. However people or situations are portrayed in the media depends on a wide range of naive people's views.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF OUR FILM POSTER PHOTOSHOOT

As said before we decided to visit the photography teacher of our sixth form and request permission to use their equipment to create a much more proffesional looking image that would look more powerful and more eye appealing for our audience. Below is just a quick behind the scenes image of this taking place, just to give you a quick loook at how we created our film poster image and the equipment involved:

ACTORS LIST AND CHARACTER PROFILES

I've decided to create this post to give you an insight on which actors will be playing which roles in our film and also a quick briefing of each character and their back story. We have assigned each character with an actor and i have attached an image of each character below to:

Johnny Teece (Michael Foreman)
Johnny Teece was brought up in the streets of Nottingham; with no father around he took it upon himself to fend for him and his mother. Johnny has always had a rough and ready attitude that managed to lead him down the wrong paths. Johnny had a thirst for crime and always knew he'd make himself rich one day through it. Johnny became invovled in a drug gang as a teenager and eventually worked his way up to the top; he is now the most respected drug baron in the whole of the UK. Money, power and respect all the only factors that cross his mind.

Mickey     (Alex Wright)             

Mickey is Johnny's right hand man, he controls the aggressive side of the business and deals with Johnny's problems so that Johnny doesn't have to. Mickey was born in London but spent 3 years in Nottinghamshire prison where he came across a friend of Johnnys. Whilst inside Mickey was introduced to Johnny when visiting and this is where Johnny first offered Mickey work when released. Johnny labels Mickey as his most trusted employee and keeps him by his side at all times. Mickey's ultimate loyalty lies with Johnny and he would do anything for him.

 

 

Ruby (Alice Kerry)

Ruby his Johnny's pride and joy, if there's one thing that compares with money, power and respect to him its her. Johnny met ruby 2 years ago in a local nightclub in Nottingham. Ruby has always had an act for getting herself into danger although since being with Johnny, not many people would be foolish enough to cause trouble with her. Ruby knows she is protected by Johnny and because of this she has developed a confident personality who feels she can get whatever she wants. She is seen by many as a gold digger.


Ben (Tom Teece)
Ben was born on a rough council estate in the inner city area of Nottingham, it is here were he developed his low social class and chavvy approach. Bens matching tracksuit and baseball cap allow you to understand his chavvy ways and intimidating attitude. He is a regular drug user and client of Johnny's and has managed to work himself up a substantial debt problem. Theft and drug abuse are Ben's main attributes and are found upon his outstanding criminal record. Most of his life is spent in desperation and he has now found himself in his most desperate situation yet.

Aaron  (James Noble)

Alongside Ben is Aaron, as the film will portray, Aaron is Ben's metaphorical pet. Aaron is the perfect example of a dead end and has never been capable of thinking for himself. Aaron has worked alongside Ben in many crimes and has found himself taking blame for most of it. Although he hasn't found himself in prison yet, the most likely routes for Aaron are either jail or death. Simuarly to Ben, Aaron also developed an addiction for drug use and is also dodging Johnny. The two do not think before acting and this constantly leads them into trouble with the wrong people.

KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE ON THE FILMING

Just to keep you up to date on our filming progress I am uploading some shots taken of our second day of filming. We used the other night to film our kidnapping scene. We introduced a new character to the camera this time by including Bens partner in crime, Aaron. This filming was successful and we managed to include the range of shots we wanted.

• This was Ben, Aaron and Ruby devising a plan before filming of how exactly to insert Ruby into the boot of the car without causing to many injuries! Although we want the scene to look real we did not plan on causing any actual damage to our actors.
  

•  This is a shot of the kidnap vehicle just pulling up behind Ruby and blocking her into the alleyway. We used the headlights of the car to blind Ruby and took close-up shots of her reaction to the blinding lights to create a sense of confusion and danger.
  

• Once again this is another shot of the car beginning to block Ruby in the isolated alleyway. The clips show Ruby walking straight into the darkness which almost suggests she is walking into her own danger being as naive as she is. The audience know that her walking into a dark alley way can only connote danger.

THE FINAL FILM POSTER

We have taken our ideas and old film poster and constructed a new poster. We decided to take our main character through a photo-shoot and and add a tone of proffesionalism to the poster. Through the use of new image, lighting and adding iconography we have devised a new poster which works progressively better at grabbing the attention of our target audience.

 

WHAT WE HAVE CHANGED

•  The image- as I said we used a proffesional photo shoot of our main character Johnny Teece. Throgh the effect of lighting we have managed the lighten one side of his face and darken the other side; this creates a yin/yang effect. The light and dark tones connote good and bad, this works for our character because although he is a gangster and a fellon, he is the character the audience sympathises for because he is feeling the pain. His story is the one we are concerned with and we feel pain as he does.
• Clothing- Although the character is bearing the same clothing, we have have a clear view of his suit and overcoat this time. The last film poster only showed the back of Johnny which only gave us a view of his overcoat. Showing our audience his full outfit gives them a clear understanding of his power due to his dress sense. A black suit and overcoat are clear indications and conventions of a modern day english gangster; they provide him with an important and powerful look and add a sense of proffesionalism and seriousness.
• Iconagraphy- The last image lacked iconagraphy; as well as the suit and overcoat, we have added in a massive give away to our genre, the characters gun. Although at the start of our filming journey we frowned upon using guns, they are massive key elements to a gangster genre and would be impossible to leave out; we do not plan on using a wide range of gun clips in the trailer but it is a good idea to include one in the poster. Not only is the gun iconograpy, it can also act as a major enigma code; the gun connotes murder and will leave the audience wondering about the purpose of the gun.