Evaluation

I used the internet to research crime films before I started planning mine, I found this very useful as I could find lots of different types of crime films, ratings, dates and pictures for them. I used google the most as this led me to finding more websites. It brought me to Wikipedia which had loads of information on each film, film descriptions, dates and a little bit about the type of film it was. Wikipedia also helped me to define the different types of crime films, this is where I found the pictures for analyzing crime film posters and where I checked to see if the firms id chosen were classed as ‘crime films’.
I found www.blogger.com easy to use, the layout was simple and so I got on with it well. I had slight problems with uploading my preliminary but after being shown how to upload it I was fine and uploaded my crime film without any help.
In my group we gave different parts to each of us, this meant that the person who was best at a particular skill would do that bit for our film. We all used the digital camera to see how it worked and so that we could say we’d tried but in the end we gave this job to Lauren. This worked well as Lauren didn't appear in the film. I found that the camera was quite easy to use however I struggled keeping it still so the tripod came in handy.
Again for editing everybody had a go but some of us found it easier than others. I edited all of my preliminary myself however I did find final cut hard to get used to, eventually I did start to learn with it and think that it looked well. However I didn't do as much editing as my other group members. I found that final cut was good for cutting parts out and piecing new bits together, for changing out film to black and white at parts and it was also good for slowing down parts. The only problem I had with final cut was that it wasn’t easy to use and I found it very hard to do things.
If I was to do my film again I would try to do more of the editing. I would ask for more help on how to use final cut rather than sitting back and watching. I think the filming of the film couldn’t have gone any better so I wouldn’t change that, all parts joined well, were filmed well and the camera worked well with us. I also found the internet easy and so I wouldn’t change anything about that as I got all the research that I needed.
Our crime was similar to other film noir films as it features a wife poisoning her husband for his money. She does this in a simple way by putting tablets in his drink. The filming of the film is also like a film noir as it brings in the black and white and the main characters in our film are both females, which is an obvious factor of a film noir to have ‘femme fetal’. However our film is a modern film noir so it differs slightly to other film noirs.
In our film we used lots of codes and conventions of a crime film. The film itself features a crime taking place- a murder of a husband and the storyline is of the mans sister trying to prove that the wife was responsible for his murder which again is crime related. The props used in the film were ‘criminal’ as he gets poisoned and so we had to use tablets and a bottle of alcohol.
In our film we portrayed characters differently, our male is the victim, which is unusual for a crime film to have a female as the criminal and the male as the victim as the male is usually seen as the ‘stronger and more dominant gender’. Our victim is not seen in the rest of the film as he is killed in the first three minutes, he’s seen as the weak and innocent party as he has no idea his murder is going to take place.

Crime genres

Crime Genres

There are lots of different types of crime films. A lot of crime films cross over into other genres, which then become harder to find conventions for. The three main types of crime films are the ‘Gangster’, ‘Detective’ and the ‘Film Noir’.

The gangster film would usually contain a ‘criminal/villain', lots of gangsters, guns, business men and money. Usually the film would be about the police or another gang chasing or fighting other top business men and their 'mobs'. It may also feature woman as girlfriends, strippers or victims, however they would not be the normal house wife type of woman. The story is usually told in the criminals view and follows his/her life.

I analysed the poster of True Romance, a film I have watched which ticks all the boxes for a gangster film. It involves the stripper female, the guns, the money and the chase.

Another type would be the detective, which to me is

rather boring as it’s a whole two hours of the police trying to chase and capture a criminal. It would usually feature such things as car-chase's, police stations, and your Sherlock- Holmes type of character. The story would be through the views of the goodies, and the

criminal would be the baddies. The closest film I have watched to a

detective film would be Star-sky and Hutch, which is a comedy

version of a detective, also known as a spoof. This contained all the things I thought a detective film would have, the police, the car

chase and the two main characters were the goodies trying to find the baddies.

The noir is the last of the types. It’s the oldest of the three and

started back in the 1940's - 1950s. It’s the typical Hollywood film. It’s

the hardest to find conventions for as it overlaps into other genres to make its own genre. This name ‘Noir’ came from the word ‘black’ in

French, which shows us that the films are dark and eerie. They came after the World War Two, where the world was a dark place and the films were dark themed and the contents were dark too. They were often action films and usually low budget.

Some people may see ‘To kill a mockingbird’ as a noir as it dates back to the decade after the noir came out. It has a dark theme to it as its racist and full of depression.

The crime genre is aimed mainly at men. A few of the newer gangster crime films are aimed at the teenage males,

such as Greenstreet or Football factory which features football hooliganism which hasn’t been seen as a crime for too many years.

A lot of the actors in these ‘hooligan’ films are young males however

in other crime films such as ‘The Usual Suspect’s or ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ would be aimed at the middle-aged to older male.

This is because of the content in the film and the crimes in which they feature in the film.

Location report

Satan Is A Lady Opening Scene

prelimanary task

Story Board

Film Poster

Production schedule

Satan is a lady production schedule

Monday 1^st Feb 2010: Start filming at location (Gemmas house) Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Thursday 4^th Feb 2010: Continue filming at location.(Gemmas house) Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks. Add any scenes that haven’t already been filmed.

Monday 8th Feb 2010: Continue filming at location.(Gemmas house) Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks. Repeat filming of scenes to ensure there is enough material.

Thursday 11^th Feb 2010: Start editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Monday 15^th Feb 2010: Continue editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Thursday 18th Feb 2010: Continue editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Monday 22^nd Feb 2010: Continue editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Thursday 25^th Feb 2010: Continue editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Monday 1^st March 2010: Re-record any scenes that may need to be re-done. (Gemmas house) Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Thursday 4^th March 2010: Continue editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Monday 8^th March 2010: Continue editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Thursday 11^th March 2010: Finish all editing in Mac suite at college. Gemma Frankland, Gemma Harborne, Kelly Perks and Lauren Elcocks.

Satan is a lady script.

Janet:

(lights cigarette and inhales smoke)

When you start to accuse someone of murder, especially someone of high status, people think you’re unstable. Your family shun you and you end up losing everything.

But I know I’m right.

I know she poisoned him. With those crocodile tears, she had them fooled. I always knew what she was like, but my brother just couldn’t see it.

I found him. Slumped in a chair, glass shattered.

(Tear runs down face)

Why wont they listen to me?

(Begins to get hysterical)

I’m not unstable. I’m right. I wont forgive, I wont forget. She will pay, with her jewels and Prada; she’s not above us.

Wrapped around her little finger, I’m not taking the bait.

She can go to hell.

Equipment list

Equipment list

Before starting to film we needed to figure out the equipment that we would need.

· Camera : The choice of :

a Sony Hc-5

a Canon MD- 205

Canon MD 101

Canon MD235

Tripod ( to hold camera still)

Props :

Wine glass - ( for poisoning)

Bottle of alcohol (to pour into the glass)

Small tablet bottle ( for poisoning)

Dissolvable tablets or sweets (for poisoning)

Cigarettes ( to give the impression the lady is 'bad')

Tape ( for recording )

Cast list

Douglas Reeves. Played by Gemma Frankland.

By using a female for a male role, we are concealing their identity. We are only going to show the back of them, slumped down in a chair.

Gemma will wear a cap with her hair piled underneath, trousers, a short and a blazer to complete the look, and concealing the fact that she is female.

This will also happen with the black and white tone of the scene, hiding any obvious signs of the character being a woman.

Janet Reeves. Played by Lauren Elcocks.

We are only filming the mouth of this character, so only minimal makeup will be used. By just filming the mouth, this conceals her identity and adds to the mystery of the film.

Coco L’etale. Played by Gemma Harborne.

We are only filming hands and feet of this character, to again conceal the identity of the murderer, and add the mystery to the opening scene.

She plays an important role as she is the cause of Janet’s breakdown, creating a plot for the film.

The Opening Scene

Using the genre of Film Noir Satan is a lady is a typical example of this genre and uses many factors of the Film Noir mise-en-scene.
It plays on the mind of the audience with a sense of the detective genre, whilst still creating the menacing aura of a 50’s crime. It makes you think, re-analyse your view on it and follow the characters through the story.

Satan is a lady begins with a simple opening. Femme fatale is introduced straight away; clearly showing the audience that the film is going to be female dominated. The lips of a woman are shown, emphasising the seductive nature of women in Film Noir. By hiding her face, this adds mystery and you are left unaware of her part in the film.
The shadowed lighting and black and white picture is typical of Film Noir mise-en-scene and can hide a lot from the audience, only to have it revealed at the end with a sudden twist.
During this characters monologue, we cut to small scenes of a crime taking place. As this film is of the crime genre, it brings the film together. The crime involves an estranged wife poisoning her husband in order to gain insurance money, but by filming it in a certain way, the identities are hidden from the audience and keep them guessing.
We are going to mainly film hands and legs of the characters in these small scenes, as you can never identify a person from these body parts, and with the use of props we are going to be able to make it look like a classical Film Noir.
As the woman talking is shown in colour, showing a sense of modernised filming, the scenes of the crime taking place are going to be in black and white to show the past occurrence, as the female talking is describing it in the present tense.

Through the opening you are unawares of who is speaking due to the mise-en-scene of the film, and the dialogue isn’t going to give anything away, in order to maintain the mystery and suspense.
The end of this opening finishes with the woman going silent and blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. This would suggest foul play, but you don’t see what happens next or who did it.
By filming this section in colour, you get the full effect of the red of the blood and lipstick, as you would in the modernised Film Noir, Sin City.

Throughout we maintain suspense, and the ending draws you in and makes you want to find out what happens to the woman or ‘who-dun-it’.

Target Audience of our crime film

Satan is a Lady

As we are basing our film around the Film Noir genre, we have decided to make our film’s certificate a 15, due to the subtle violence, but no gore, and no explicit sexual scenes. The main reason we have chosen to certificate it as a 15 is due to the swearing that will be involved, and older scenes such as the murder the film is based upon, and more violent murders throughout the film.

The target audience of our film is mainly young adults from 15 to 25years of age, but the content and storyline are appropriate for older age groups, and it won’t be find boring or too immature for the older audience.

The femme fatale will appeal to the male viewers, whilst the plot and oth

er aspects of the film such as scenes of romance or female dominance over the men will appeal to the female viewers.

Name of film.

The name that we’ve chosen for our film is Satan is a lady. This is because we researched past crime films and found that a lot of them had quite intense names such as ‘Each dawn I die’, ‘Angels with dirty faces’ and ‘Stranger on the third floor’. We originally opted for a single word title but we felt that this was more successful in capturing the film Noir essence without giving too much away. The title Satan is a lady refers to the strong female roles in our film, which is typical of the film Noir genre.

What would happen in the rest of the film?

As the beginning of the film leaves the audience asking a lot of questions such as who killed the husband Douglas Reeves and who shot the sister Janet Reeves, the rest of the film starts to unravel the mystery. It is mainly focused on Janet Reeves, who is determined to prove her theory that Douglas was killed by his French wife Coco Le’tale. It follows her as she investigates the lead up to the murder and tries to outwit her enemy Coco. However, there is a twist in the story which leaves the audience questioning who they believe when Coco claims that Janet is mentally insane. Due to her irrational actions, you are left wondering whether she is just a concerned sister desperate to bring the killer of her brother to justice or a mentally disturbed woman who has developed an idea in her head and will go to any lengths to prove that shes right. This all comes to a climax at the end of the story when it seems that Janet has finally been proven insane, the scene of her talking about the death which is shown as the opening scene is again shown from a different angle as this time so is the person who fires the bullet. It is none other than Coco, who has been the murderer all along. Her unremorseful laugh demonstrates how cold hearted she is and it turns out that she killed her husband in cold blood, to get his insurance money!

Age certificates

'15' – Suitable only for 15 years and over

There may be regular use swearing (for example 'fuck'). But worse words will only be accepted where justified by the situation. Regular use of the worst words is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity can be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail.

Sexual activity may be shown but without going into detail however strong spoken references to sex is okay.

Violence can be strong but may not focus on the infliction of pain or injury. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and short.

Dangerous techniques (hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not focus on detail. Weapons that can be accessed should not be glamorised.

Strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug abuse.

Its very rare for a crime film to be a certificate ‘15’. However two I found were ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and the more modern ‘Gran Torino’

'18' – Suitable only for adults

In line with the past research involving the public of the BBFC of the '18' certificate. The BBFC's thinking about what an 18 film should include will not compromise the desire of adults to chose their own films, aslong as they are not illegal. However some exceptions in the following could be possible..

· Where it appears to the Board to danger or harm individuals or, through their behaviour, to society. That means any detailed violence or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use,which could promote drug use. The Board may also intervene with portrayals of sexual violence which might, e.g. eroticise or endorse sexual assault.

· Explicit images of sexual activity – unless they can be exceptionally justified by context.

Some examples of an 18 certificate film are The Godfather, Reservoir Dogs, Scar Face and The Postman always rings twice.

Gone in 60 seconds

The opening scene starts with a flash of green lights shining onto red writing. Actors, producers and directors names take it in turns to flash around the screen fast paced in the colours red, amber and green. The backing light also changes between these colours. The choice of colours are that of traffic lights which suggests the film will feature cars, this is then backed up with pictures of cars. However the scene so far has not given any evidence of being a crime film. The screen the fades into green and the camera turns showing photos of people and shots of cars and car parts. While the pictures are showing the sound of a ticking stop watch can be heard and it shows a brief picture of one. This suggests that the film maybe features a race against time or someone being timed. It then shows three people in a car pull up at a car show room. One gets out a smashs the window with a brick out of his car. The fact that he had the brick in his car shows he had the intention of breaking in. He runs into the showroom, searches the keys to top of the range porche and drives it through the glass doors, smashing them into pieces. This shows us that the films going to be a crime film as a crime happens in the opening. As an audience we dont find out much from the opening scene, is it just a normal guy stealing an expensive car or is there more to it? Alot of crime films start there opening scene with enigma codes to keep the suspense up and for the viewers 'excitement' in not knowing.

The Shawshank Redemption

The film starts with an enigma code, a view of a house and garden at night. Who's house we dont know. The sounds of insects buzzing creates eeriness. A man is sitting in his car holding a gun and drinking alcohol, an action code that somethings going to happen as he's got a gun. Straight away were given the clues that this is a crime film. To start with we only see the side of his face while hes loading the bullets into the gun which creates mystery. The screen then changes quickly and shows the same man standing in court being quizzed by a lawyer. Hes being accused of shooting dead his wife and her lover. The man looks very upset as he pleads his innocence. As a viewer were left wondering whether he did shoot them as all the evidence seems to lead to him and we saw him sat in his car with a gun. This makes the viewer feel like there in the court and are a witness. It then has a flash back of him in the car drinking again. The camera turns to the window of the house and you see the wife and her lover. It turns back onto the man again as he gets out of his car, stumbles a few steps and drops his bottle which smash's on the floor. This is important as it shows him leaving evidence and linking himself to the crime scene. It then flash's back to the court again and hes charged with the murders and given two life sentences. The whole of the first scene shows that this is a crime film, it features a crime, a court and a gun.

Kill Bill Opening.

In the opening scene it starts with a black screen, the darkness creates mystery as we cant see whats going to happen. The sentence 'Revenge is a dish best served cold'. appears in white, a contrasting colour to stand out. Straight away it tells us the film is about revenge. The dictionary definition for the word revenge is the retaliation for injuries or wrongs. This is typical of crime films such as Kill Bill where violence is the main theme.
The first sounds we hear are a woman panting and crying, she sounds in pain. The black screen then fades and focus's on the womans face. Shes lying on the floor covered in blood and cuts. The camera moves down slightly and shows her wearing a wedding dress. This leaves us with lots of questions. Who is she? What has happened? Why has it happened? and Whos done this? These are enigma codes. They are small clues which keep the viewer guessing and wanting to watch on. The next thing we hear are footsteps. The camera moves quickly to show someones boots, the boots have a small heel so at this point the gender of the person is unknown. The boots walk across the floor for a few seconds to create suspense. This is an action code, it shows us that somethings going to happen. A male voice then speaks over the womans wimpers. Were left asking more questions. Who is he? and Has he done this to her? The camera focus's back on the womans face as the man wipes the blood off her face with a hanky. On the hanky is the name Bill. At that point were given the clue that this is Bill and hes the bad guy as the title of the film is 'Kill Bill'. The scene ends with the woman speaking her only sentence 'Its your baby Bill' leaving us wanting to watch on to find out more.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

1. Do you enjoy watching crime films?

Yes ( )

No ( )

2. If you answered yes why do you like them? (If you answered no please go to question 3.)

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Now go to question 4.

3. Why do you dislike them? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………….

4. Which type of crime film do you like best?

Film noir? ( )

Gangster ( )

Suspense thriller ( )

Detective ( )

Horror/crime ( )

Heist/bank robbery ( )

Other ( )

5. Explain why you like this type of crime film?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………….

6. What’s your favourite crime film and why?

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7. What would you like to see in a new crime film?

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8. What sort of things do you think make a crime film an 18 rather than a 15?

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Target Audience for a crime film

Target Audience

I think that crime films are aimed at males from teenage to adults. The fast car chases’, guns, murder and drug raids are all things that would excite males. Many crime films have a male main character/s with a ‘sexy’ female not too far away. This suggests that the female is some ‘eye candy’ for the male viewer. The main part is usually played by a young - middle aged male which also suggests its aimed at an audience of the same age. The fast cars would also keep the viewer watching and keep the attention of the male. Females would rather watch a ‘chick-flick’ or ‘romcom’ which doesn’t contain murder or criminal activities. Teenage males would enjoy watching a crime film because it’s a ‘fast moving’ film with lots going on to keep them entertained. The crime film is for the type of viewer who gets bored easily because it’s a genre full of enthusiasm and keeps the adrenaline going.

film poster three.. True romance

True Romance

The cover to the film True Romance gives nothing away and so we can only guess what’s going to happen from the small captions and the one picture. The man in the picture is pointing a gun at something or someone that the picture doesn’t show, he is also keeping eye contact with whatever it is. Very close behind him seems to be his wife. I get this idea as he has a ring on his wedding finger and the film is called true romance. Her eye contact his fully on him, as if she’s watching his every move for her protection. Neither of them are looking at the camera so we are given the feeling that there are in action at the time and so this may be a scene in the film.

The colours used in the main picture are mainly black, red and grey. Black and grey are both dull, mystery colours and red the colour of blood and danger. The title is in a red bold text which makes it stand out and catches the audiences eye.

The target audience for this film isn’t made to obvious in this film as it is made of one middle-aged male and one middle-aged female, both attractive looking. It doesn’t show what social class they are from or what the films going to be about.

The use of captions on the front cover of the film are the only hints we are given 'stealing', 'cheating' and 'killing'. All three of these are crimes. That’s how we can see that this is a crime film, and the last caption 'who said romance was dead?'. This is a hint of sarcasm as none of these things would be seen as 'romantic' and so we get the idea that they may be a weird, dangerous couple.

Film poster two..To kill a mockingbird.

To Kill a Mockingbird

The poster for this film shows that its a crime film, it features three pictures which have been merged into one big picture. One picture features a court which is very much crime-related. The picture is of a man addressing a court, which shows he has legal status about him so we can tell he’s a lawyer. This shows us that the film consists of something that is against the law, also known as a crime. The man in the main picture looks an intelligent, older, white man which shows that the target audience is that of a mature man or woman rather than a child or teenager. The way he is dressed portrays a middle-class image of the man, which also determines the target audience. The sky on the cover is dull and cloudy, which shows the mood of the film. The last picture on the cover is of a man carrying a small child along a path way in the dark, which doesn’t give too much away.

The title 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a phrase used in the book and it comes from 'its a sin to kill a harmless animal that only lives to bring happiness and song for us to enjoy'. However for someone who hasn’t read the book it may have connotations of death or murder.

The front cover also shows that its not a modern film as it was made in 1962. The old-fashioned court room and the old-fashioned glasses that the man is wearing show that the film is set a long time ago.

Film poster one..Kidulthood.

Kidulthood

The film poster to the film 'Kidulthood' doesn’t give away much about the film. However in the picture a young lad is holding a baseball bat . In a normal picture this could look harmless, as someone could be going to play a sport, however the lad holding this bat is wearing all dark with his hood up, standing on the walkway of what looks like a city. The picture also appears in dull black and white with some hint of colour in things such as clothing, however it gives a 'sad' or 'gloomy' feeling as the sky and walls are grey. The picture features seven young teenagers which gives away the target audience for this film. The title also gives this away as 'before adulthood comes ... kidulthood' this is the expression given to the time in someone’s life when they are maturing from children into adults usually known as the teenage years. The word 'Kidulthood' is neologism, which means a word or expression made up from existing words and added to the English language. It’s used because it sounds better than the word 'teenagehood'. All seven youths look like working class and from state school education as they all have a 'rough' look about them. Out of the four lads only one is white, two black and one mixed race. In the media, black and mixed-race boys are stereotyped as trouble-makers and gangsters, which is what this film is about. All four lads are wearing hoodies, which is another type of clothing worn by 'gangsters' and is an ideal type of clothing to cover there faces in times where they don’t want their identity known. The expressions on all of their faces also shows the mood of the film as all seven are either scowling or have a solemn look about them.