Essex Boys Opening Scene Analysis

Essex Boys Opening Scene Analysis

By Jake Bromley

In Essex Boys, the first thing we see is a lockup door being opened by the protagonist to reveal the inside of the lockup containing a car and various other objects hidden in the shadows. The only light source in this image is the street light on the wall opposite the lockup and high intensity of the light utilizes the concept of chiaroscura which is present in most thriller films.

In this shot we are first introduced to the character: Jason Locke and were given a brief background on his character by the voiceover, which is narrated by the protagonist. We see this character through a dirty car windscreen and he has half his face engulfed in the shadows implying that there may be sinister qualities to his character and as explained in the voiceover we learn that his character is involved with crime and has recently been released from prison.

This shot shows a car entering a dark tunnel, the same car we saw earlier that is now containing the two characters that we were previously introduced to. This long shot shows the car from a distance giving the effect that it is small and unimportant compared to the wide tunnel, this could imply the long journey that the two characters are embarking on.

In this shot we see the protagonist and Jason sitting in the car, the lights on the roof of the tunnel are reflected on to the windscreen of the car, this image is significant because it could be foreshadowing the fates of the two characters, implying that the characters are to be involved in life of crime.

This shot shows the car emerging from the dark tunnel out into a dull and mundane atmosphere representing typical British weather, this gives the audience the impression that the tone of the film is very gritty which is shown commonly in British gangster films.

The shot here shows the brutality of the character Jason, when he mercilessly beats a man to the ground in full view of many fish market workers and gives the audience more knowledge on his character and give them a negative opinion on his character. This image also gives the impression that the film is going to contain a lot of violence steeped in crime.

This image is the first shot taken from the point of view of the protagonist, which allows the audience to identify with his character. This shows the man Jason has just beaten on his knees whilst Jason opens a container of acid as he is about to throw it in the unsuspecting man’s face.

This shot is an extreme long shot, showing a vast landscape where Jason and the protagonist have left the severely injured man. The purpose of the extreme long shot shows the insignificancy of the events that just took place. The image focuses primarily on the location which relates back to earlier views on the atmosphere showing the dullness of the weather by the grey clouds. 

Men/Heroes in Film noir

Men/Heroes in Film noir

By Jake Bromley

The characteristics of men or heroes in film noir are usually conveyed in a dark way, they are usually portrayed as desperate characters trying to survive. These men are most often morally ambiguous, paranoid and involved with violent crime. Throughout the course of these films, most of the men undergo a huge character development starting off as conflicted, insecure loners and continuing down a path to ultimately become disillusioned, obsessive socio-paths. Morality is a key theme in film noir; most of the characters are morally corrupt and often find it difficult separating good from bad and do what needs to be done to survive. Their roles were essential to the progression of the story, storylines were usually twisted and complex, one of the techniques used to tell these stories were a series of flashbacks with background music to add to the suspense of the atmosphere. An Anti-hero is a protagonist that lacks the attributes or characteristics of a typical hero but with whom the audience can identify, they are often morally conflicted but the audience sympathizes for. Some examples of Males/heroes in film noir are as shown here: Private Detective Philip Marlowe (The Big Sleep), Sergeant Dave Bannion (The Big Heat), Aging Boxer, Stoker Thompson (The Set-Up), Harry Fabian (Night And The City), Frank Bigelow (D.O.A).

Websites that is useful for researching Film-noir:
http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html
http://www.filmnoirstudies.com/home.asp
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/filmnoir
http://www.filmsnoir.net/
http://www.filmnoir.com/

Thriller Film Audience Research - Proposal Form

Thriller Film Audience Research-Proposal form

By Jake Bromley

What I want to find out:

1. The audience expectations of Independent/mainstream film.
2. Popular actors in mainstream/unknown independent actors.
3. Different music.
4. Setting difference.
5. Different plotline.

How I am going to find out:

1. Interview.
2. Questionnaire.
3. Survey-favourite thriller films.
4. Reading film reviews.

What I expect to find out:

1. Key themes in thriller films.
2. The attraction.
3. The age range.



Cosmetic Advertisment Analysis

Cosmetic Advert Analysis

By Jake Bromley

My Product is called Unlimited, and it is a men’s deodorant cosmetic. The advertisement shows a picture of me standing in the fore ground wearing a white shirt and black trousers, standing with my left arm pointing to the floor away from me whilst holding the product in my hand. In the background of the advert it shows a dark alleyway and fog surrounding me. The image has been edited so that the whole image is in black in white for the purpose of the genre. The advert incorporates the use of chiaroscura, the way the whole image is a dark grey colour with the exception of the white shirt which shows the strong contrast between the colours. The positioning of the camera facing the character emphasises the boldness of the character and the importance of his presence in the advert. The tagline for this advert is; No Limits. No Fears. Just Unlimited, this tagline is similar to other taglines you may find on poster’s advertising action films; this is to create the effect that this product may give the customer the feeling that they are an action hero, playing on the ambition that every man wants to be an action hero. The character is represented as a mysterious character and because of the black and white effect, it links to the character showing signs of moral ambiguity, these elements give the audience the impression that the character is shrouded in mystery and may have a morally ambiguous quality. In order to appeal to the target audience I utilized the narrative by the use of the representation of action in the advert. In this advert I applied the concept of Intertextuality, this is because the advert is making references to espionage/action films such as; James Bond films, this was so that the audience could identify with the advert and the product and to appeal to the target audience relating to popular culture that is associated with action film genre and the audience.

The representation of this advert shows that it is targeted at young males aged 14-17 from the blue collar social class, it tries to communicate with the target audience trying to advertise a lifestyle filled with action that appeals to the target audiences values and beliefs that they have towards the action genre. The advert shows the ideology that young men wish to live the action filled, dangerous life and be a hero; this is reflected well by the use of lighting, costume and the simplistic nature of the image.
The advertisement is appropriate for the target audience because it primarily focuses on the target audience’s interests and aspirations, this because young males that are fans of the action film genre can identify with similar elements of the advertisement to that of the action film genre. The advertisement appeals to the aspirations that young males have, wanting to lead an adventurous and dangerous life, in doing this the target audience would be attracted to nature of the advertisement because they find aspire to be the character in the advertisement.

One of the strengths of this advertisement, is its simplicity, the visuals are very bold and eye catching and easier recognisable to the target audience seeing familiarities with the advertisement and action films due to the intertextual link between the advertisement and the already well known action film genre, however its weakness may also be the advertisements simplistic nature, not providing the target audience with enough information on the product.