HOW DOES MY BRITISH

GANGSTER FILM BLOW

REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL
GROUPS?

In the very first scene of my opening it

begins with a close up of Tonys face.
His face is in the centre of the screen
and fills up most of the screen. His
eyes are facing down in concentration.
The fact that a close up of his face is
the first thing that the audience sees
suggests that he is the main character.
The lighting in this scene is quite low
which makes his blue sweater stand
out. During this first scene there is a
voice over which is accompanied by
non - diegetic slow music. Whilst these
two shots are on screen Tony says in
his voice over this is me which shows
that this is him in the present day and
suggests there could be a flash back to
follow. The close up of Tonys face stays
on screen for barely two seconds
before cutting to a side view of tony
rolling a cigarette whilst the camera
vertically pans up. The low level
lighting creates quite a dark
atmosphere and the slow motion
shows Tony to look relaxed but makes
the audience feel like something is

After the first introduction to the main

character, Tony. The camera cuts to a flash
back of tony. The audience knows it is a
flash back because the voice over says
this was me. Also, Tony is wearing
different clothing as he is now in a red
adidas hoodie with grey joggers. These
clothes stereotypically make him look
chavy and that he hangs around on the
streets a lot. He looks happy and
comfortable at home which is backed up by
the voice over saying life was good and i
was the top boy. The phrase top boy
suggests that he is the leader of some kind
of gang and is very successful especially
with making money. This is shown through
the expensive Ciroc vodka that he is
casually drinking whilst smoking a
cigarette. This mid-shot of tony is effective
in making him look like a dominant
character because the low level lighting
makes his clothing stand out and he fills
most of the screen. The camera in this
scene vertically pans up slowly whilst his

Here, the camera cuts back to the same shot as in the

beginning and it is back in the present tense. The
lighting is still quite dark and the non-diegetic music
continues to sound more tense. The voice over on this
scene says Trust meant something to people where i
was from, well at least i thought it did. The phrase at
least i thought it did suggests that someone has been
un-loyal to Tony and something bad is about to
happen. The tone of his voice in the voice over is very
strong and confident throughout but towards the end
you can begin to hear a tone of disappointment in his
words. Although, someone has just intruded his home
which is indicated by the loud diegetic door slam Tony
remains to look strong and dominant with a slightly
confused look on his face but he is not in a huge
panic. This shows the ideas of a modern
representation of men. This represents his character
as being fearless which contributed to his great
success as a gang leader. The person behind the
After Tony gets shot and the production
trigger remains unknown but could suggest this is
company titles come on screen the camera
because it is someone he knows. As tony turns back
cuts
to the
an extreme
up ofwhat
Tonys
as to do
around
audienceclose
is unsure
he eyes
is going
he
dead
onchest
the floor.
camera
butlays
thenthere
he grabs
his
while The
the loud
diegetic
tracks
out
to reveal
slight bit of
gun shot
goes
off andhis
hisface
bodyand
flysa forward.

blood coming out the corner of his mouth. This

shows that his unknown enemy has defeated
him and here he is represented to be the
opposite of what he was and now looks like a
weak character which is the opposite to a
modern representation of men. The music has
changed to fit the dark mood and becomes
louder as the camera tracks out. The audience

Tonys best friend Max is introduced next. Time has been

reversed 24 hours earlier and is the time before Tony got shot.
His body is positioned in the centre of the screen and only
reveals his legs as the camera is at a low angle. The opening
then cuts to a long shot of Max walking down the lane.The
audience can immediately associate him with Tony by the
similar looking clothing he wears which is stereotypically
chavy and could be quite intimidating to people. He is
wearing dark black and blue clothing with a Nike bag and hat.
The high level of lighting in this scene makes his bold dark
clothing stand out. The hat he is wearing suggests that he
doesn't want himself to be recognised by people as he
wouldn't normally be wearing a hat in the sunny weather. The
bag he has over his shoulder reflects some femininity within
him which could potentially mean he is a weaker character
compared to Tony and has less authority. This contributes to
the film well as there are no main female roles in the film and
in order for a successful story line there is always a weaker,
less dominant character which is potentially a female.
However, in contrast to this the fast pace non - diegetic music
and his strong posture whilst walking reflects a strong
representation of a male figure and his heavy steps links to
the way a confident gangster would walk. Sprayed graffiti on
the wall of the lane also emphasises the gangster life style.
The audience can tell he doesn't hold as much authority as
Tony because he has his back to the camera the whole time
and his face isn't revealed fully.
This two shot of Tony and Max reveals that they indeed do
have a close friendship. This shot is taken from a low angle
and shows how Tony is welcoming him into his house. The
lighting in this scene is at a high exposure and their similar
blue clothing stands out. Maxs back is still all we can see of

Here, we meet a new character Mitch. By watching the

opening it isn't revealed how tony knows him or if they are
supposedly friends. His body language makes him come
across very intimidating and some what aggressive. He is
wearing dark clothes with his hood up and he is facing the
floor. This suggests that he doesn't want his face to be seen
and possibly doesn't want Tony to recognise him. The lighting
in this scene is quite bright and is filmed at a low angle to
make Mitch look bigger and more threatening. This could
suggest that he is a possible enemy of Tony if he is portrayed
by the camera in a negative way. I edited Mitchs movements
walking towards Tony into jump cuts so it looks like he is
walking towards him even faster. His sudden change in
movements creates power and suggests he holds a lot of
power and may take control in this situation. During this scene
there is a change in tempo within the non-diegetic music
signifying a new character and the opening coming to an end.
Again, the fact that this scene is filmed in a lane again
portrays the inner city, rough, gangster life style. His arm
movements at the end of the opening shows that something
physical is about to happen creating a lot of suspense.
However, the audience get left on a cliff hanger.
Absence of women:
I have deliberately not included any main
female roles in my film opening. However, if I was to create
the whole film I would include some minor female roles but
not so much that they hold any dominance. My opening is
aimed at mainly a male audience and as a full film it is clear it
would involve a lot of violence, drugs and weapons.
Stereotypically, you wouldn't see a main female role in a film
based on these particular themes. The male characters in my
opening very strong and hold a lot of power. A female role