Reaserch: Genre

 This is my Research: genre for comp 1

Typical conventions from the Crime/Drama genre.

- Films from this genre usually include..

Godfather (1972)

Produced by: Albert S. Ruddy

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures, FilmFlex

Genre/Subgenre

-Drama/Crime

What Conventions Did It Conform To:

-First of all, the movie is set from the year 1945-55, the year during which organized crime has reached its height. Crime movies commonly takes place during the course of those years as it is popularly known as the era of mobsters. Secondly, it takes place in New York City, which was known as the Capital of Organized Crime during the course of those years, which is one of the reasons why majority of mob films takes place in New York City. In this opening scene, we can see a person of little significance having a conversation with the head of the mob family "Vito Corleone" begging him to avenge his daughter who has been brutally beaten up by her boyfriend. This conversation implicitly tells the audience that the character "Vito Corleone" is a significant and a powerful character to the plot, it is also notably clear the mannerism of the two characters and the neat formal outfits of the characters in this scene conforms to the way mafia were back then. Finally the mise en scene in this scene: the slightly dim amber lighting, the props, the outfits, and the moody environment which evokes a sense of seriousness in the crime world conforms to the genre.

What Conventions Did It Subvert:

--Firstly, the movie starts off with a conversation between two characters, which builds the narrative of the film; this subverts traditional conventions of a crime genre, and instead of starting with action and conflict, the movie starts off with a wedding event which was explicitly said by the mob boss. This joyful event contrast the dark theme of the crime genre which is usually associated with violence and power. 

What representations are there (places/events/people):

-Italian mob boss, Italians, wedding, office

What Technical Elements Are Used To Represent Them:

- The Italian mob boss "Vito Corleone" was portrayed as a man with composed and courteous mannerism as well as a tidy, formal, and luxurious appearance that implies that he is a rich and wealthy man. He is also portrayed as a man with power through the camera angles and the way others regard him. On the other hand the other Italian was portrayed to be a less significant character and notably a weaker character because he was desperately asking for the mob boss's help and the camera focuses more on the Godfather giving us a sense that the Godfather is a more major character. At the end of the opening scene it is explicitly stated by the "Godfather" that there is a wedding happening outside, specifically his daughter's wedding. The people in the scene can also be seen wearing a formal outfit for special events.

Finally, the location of the scene was filmed in an office, which seems to be the Godfather's office. The dimly- lit, warm, amber lighting illuminates the room, evoking a warm and comfortable feeling across the room. It also features dark wooden furniture, the walls are filled with elegant decorations and family pictures, the gradient in the room is a perfect blend of amber tones and rich shadows which creates a mysterious atmosphere, this office embodies the powerful and authoritative nature of the Godfather aka Vito Corleone. 

Taxi Driver (1976)

Produced  by:  Bill/Phillips Productions Italo-Judeo Productions

Distributed  by: Columbia Pictures

Genre/Subgenre:

-Crime/Noir/Drama/Thriller

What Conventions Did It Conform To:

- The movie is set in the year 1976,  a lonely, alienated protagonist, Travis Bickle, can be observed driving around the gritty urban New York City, establishing the setting of the film. The portrayal of the nightlife in New York City shows the danger, vulgar, and grim nature of New York, often associated with places in crime films. The film uses inner dialogue, giving us a vocal narration of the protagonist to create more depth to the story and establish motivation, which helps develops the character. The inner dialogue also gives us hints that the protagonist is slowly having a mental breakdown with all his dark and violent thoughts, which makes the audience contemplate whether or not the protagonist would turn these violent thoughts to violent tendencies further into the film, and these are common character trait of the protagonist or antagonist in a crime film.

What Conventions Did It Subvert:

- First of all, the movie begins with our protagonist "Travis Bickle", who is depicted as a lonely, disturbed veteran instead of a charismatic criminal. This challenges the typical portrayal of protagonist in a crime film who are often depicted as ruthless, charismatic and ambitious. Secondly, the opening scene mainly focuses on internal conflict, rather than jumping into immediate conflict and dramatic action- packed sequence, it focuses on building an atmosphere and exploring the city, focusing on Travis's character and the problems he is facing internally. The opening scene also did not give us a clear idea of his character morals, making it hard for us to classify whether he is a villain or a hero. Finally, rather than glorifying crime or making it look normal, the opening scene evokes a sense of dread and unease, and how grim society is, which is expressed by Travis Bickle in the opening scene when he said, "all the animals come out at night", implying the people are like animals, it also highlights the darker aspect of the city, which is unlike the typical depiction of crime in crime films.

What representations are there (places/events/people):

- Travis Bickle (protagonist), city dwellers, New York City, Driving at night

What Technical Elements Are Used To Represent Them:

- The use of low-angle shots of Travis conveys his vulnerability and isolation. The camera follows the protagonist perspective, making the viewer see the city through his eyes. We also get close-ups of his face that captures his inner conflict allowing us to see what he is feeling. The high contrast between the bright neon lights and the dark shadows of the city creates a moody atmosphere that highlights the city's danger. The pacing was also rather slow which allows us to absorb the city's atmosphere. The city dwellers through the eyes of Travis Bickle is portrayed as animals, this reflects the nature of his character and his thoughts towards the people which emphasizes how disconnected he is from society. The moody jazz used in the film adds some emotion weight to the scene and also creates tension as the protagonist drive around the city. We also get to hear ambient sounds like car honking, chatters, the couple talking in the cab, while the protagonist is silent. We can however, hear his inner monologue, giving us further insights on his thoughts about the city, which could represent his isolation from his environment and further exaggerate his feeling of loneliness. As he drives at night in his cab, it is as if we are there in the cab with him, because the set designs of the gritty environment and his confined taxi space, it feels as though we are the one driving.

Here are some other texts I will look at a little broadly to see how they appeal to audiences and how they can inspire me.

Title: Goodfellas 

Year: 1990

Target Audience And How Are They Appealed To:

- I would assume that the target audience for this movie is mainly young males and males above the age of 18, as it contains masculine themes like power, and loyalty, which resonates amongst young males. The movie also contains fast-paced action and catchy dialogues which could appeal to most young males as they are more likely to be interested in these type of films. It also includes violent and mature scenes which would not be suited for younger audiences. People who enjoy crime films would also be appealed to by this film, as it is portrays the crime world very well and shows the typical life of a mobster.

What Would You Like To Use In Your Opening From This:

- My team and I would like to include an inner monologue which was also used in Goodfellas to build exposition for our opening scene. We would also want to replicate some of the dramatic action sequence from this film and the way they build tension in the opening scene. Also, we would love to use catchy and quotable dialogues in our films, which Goodfellas has a lot. We also plan to use formal clothing for our characters, similar to the suits they wore in this film. Lastly, we would like to include compilations of the mafia life and action similar to Goodfellas.

What Would You Like To Avoid In Your Opening From This:

- I think my team would like to avoid the setting which was set in the city, and would rather film our scene in a more secluded and darker area such as the inside of a house, inside a car, and even an underground or abandoned area. Secondly, instead of having a slow narrative opening scene, we would rather start our opening scene with a short inner monologue similar to Goodfellas, then showcasing a dramatic crime action packed sequence with music in the background.

Title: Donnie Brasco

Year: 1997

Target Audience And How Are They Appealed To:

- The film is targeted towards adult audiences, desirably people over the age of 21, due to its mature themes such as violence and other explicit scenes, therefore it may not be suited for audiences under the age of 21 or 18. It is also focused more towards storytelling and narration rather than simple action, which would demotivate younger audiences to watch this film, and appeal more to older audiences. It could also be targeted towards crime movie lovers, particularly those who enjoy movies like the Godfather, as this film belongs to the same genre, and has great dialogues and crime.

What Would You Like To Use In Your Opening From This:

- The scene begins with a conversation between two main characters in a bar. This is something we would like to use in our opening scene to establish the relationship of our characters. We also want our dialogue between our characters to be interesting and grabs the viewer's attention just like the scene in Donnie Brasco.

What Would You Like To Avoid In Your Opening From This:

- Instead of filming in a bar, we plan to film our scene in a diner to create a brighter and a more joyful atmosphere, which subverts the conventions of a crime genre. We would also like to have more than two characters having a conversation, and instead of it being a serious conversation, we would like to have a less serious and playful conversations and dialogue to show the warmer side of a crime family.

Title: Pulp Fiction

Year: 1995

Target Audience And How Are They Appealed To:

- This film is targeted towards young adult mainly age 18 and above, as it has an edgy theme, multiple pop culture references, and also a gritty dialogue, which could resonate with younger audiences. It is, however, may not be suited for young teens and children as it contains mature scenes and harsh language. This film could also be targeted towards crime or thriller movie lovers, as this film belongs to that genre. This film is packed with fast-paced action sequences and catchy dialogues, and crimes, which would definitely appeal to them.

What Would You Like To Use In Your Opening From This:

- We would like to film some of our opening scene in a diner that looks similar to the diner shown in Pulp Fiction. We have found a place in Bali that looks very similar to the diner in Pulp Fiction, it is a retro American diner where we will film our dialogue scenes. We would also like to use catchy dialogue trade-off between our character in the diner to grab the viewer's attention.

What Would You Like To Avoid In Your Opening From This:

- Instead of having a dialogue trade-off between two characters, we plan to have more than two characters having a conversation in a diner. We would like our diner scene to be a dialogue-heavy narrative as opposed to an immediate action.

Title: El Camino A breaking bad film

Year: 2019

https://youtu.be/elUzbYPoyFE

Target Audience And How Are They Appealed To:

- The film is targeted towards young adult, as it is unsuitable for young audiences due to featuring violence, substance, and harsh language. It is also a dark, action-packed crime film with gritty narratives, and a complex protagonist which would be appealing to most young adults. It is also targeted towards fans of the popular series, "Breaking Bad, with this being a spin-off movie of the side character in the series, the movie would certainly appeal to the die-hard fan of the show.

What Would You Like To Use In Your Opening From This:

- I would like to replicate a scene where two character is walking in the hallway as shown in the scene, which would create a dramatic and thrilling scene.

What Would You Like To Avoid In Your Opening From This:

- Rather than shooting in a hotel, we would like to shoot our hallway scene somewhere more accessible. Secondly, the scene was just two characters walking normally in the hallway, on the other hand, we would like to create a dramatic and tense scene with two characters walking in a hallway with an intention to harm someone. Lastly, the color grading used in the scene is too bright and too dull for me, which creates a boring atmosphere, so we would like to implement a darker tone in our hallway scene to build a darker atmosphere and build tension.

Title: Breaking Bad S8 E5

Year 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbbm2-Xt59g

Target Audience And How Are They Appealed To:

- The show is targeted towards adults age 18-50, as the show is full of complex characters, gritty narratives, and moral dilemmas which these age group tend to appreciate. It is also targeted towards people who enjoy a gritty crime drama show that challenge our viewpoint on certain subject like morality, and transformation.

What Would You Like To Use In Your Opening From This:

- The scene shows a series of murder edited into a compilation, with a lighthearted music playing in the background, as opposed to having a dark and serious music playing. We would like to create an opening similar to this idea, where we film the life of a criminal and a series of criminal acts with a joyful music that contrast to the grim situation happening in the scene.

What Would You Like To Avoid In Your Opening From This:

- We would prefer to film our series of crime scenes in multiple different settings, rather than filming it in one setting like the prison shown in the scene. We would also like to avoid showing graphic explicit violence as much as we can, but rather imply violence. We would also like to use a different background music,

Title: The Outfit

Year: 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIXMdHbhWEE&t=114s

Target Audience And How Are They Appealed To:

- This film is targeted primarily towards adults who appreciates heavy and gritty dialogues, and a character-driven narrative. This movie is also targeted towards people who enjoy noir, thrilling crime films, and appreciates the dark themes and styles found in these kind of genre.

What Would You Like To Use In Your Opening From This:

- The lighting and the ambery, moody color grading is something we would like to replicate, as it helps create a noir atmosphere to further exaggerate the crime genre, and also to create tension in our scenes. We would also like to use formal, neat vests or suits for our characters, similar to the scene above.

What Would You Like To Avoid In Your Opening From This:

- We would like to avoid the slow pacing of this scene, and would prefer a faster-paced action sequence to create a blast of excitement immediately catching the viewer's attention. We would also like to avoid a dramatic dialogue trade-off between our characters, but rather use a more playful, unserious and gritty dialogues.

Here is some other videos I watched to help me in my project

.

Reflection

We watched this video during one of our lessons. This video will surely help me in my movie opening project, as it gave me a better understanding on how to create a good opening scene