Pictures - Mugshot Cards

We initially made mug shot cards with the intention that in some part of the trailer we would show snippets of the actors holding there mug shot cards to indicate that they had been put in prison. We decided instead of filming this we would take pictures to give it a more realistic effect, we took individual shots of the actors and asked them to hold the card infront of them and look as if they had commited a crime. We took a front view eye line shot and a side profile shot. We took the pictures on a green screen as wanted to add a mug shot background into the shot with the height marking in it to make it look more realistic.

Neko 'Little Man' Brown

Charles ' Pretty Boy' Floyd

Tony 'Don' Milano

Johnny 'Machine Gun' Doyle 

Vinnie 'Mad Dog' Smith

Chosen Gangster Names

Whilst researching typical gangster names my group and i found that most stereotypical gangsters in films have very powerful and memorable names or they have nick names, these nicknames normally relate to something that has happened in their life or something they are well known for, for example a gangster that is known for being a ‘lady’s man’ he might be called Barry ‘ Lady’s Man’ Smith. As a group we decided to base our gangsters names on things such as; there height and personalities etc. We had to be careful that the names that we chose had not been used before in previous films. Getting the names perfect was important for us as they audience would be able to put things together just from their name and have their own outlook on what they think each character will be like, it’s like giving the audience a cliff hanger as such.

The names we have chosen are:

·         Tony 'Don' Milano

·         Charles 'Pretty Boy' Floyd

·         Vinnie 'Mad Dog' Smith

·         Neko 'Little Man' Brown

·         Johnny 'Machine Gun' Doyle

Small Changes

In todays lesson as a group we came to the decision that our film will no longer be set in the 1950's, We thought it would be best for us to set our film in more modern times as it would be easier as we would be able to find a lot more suitable locations, also the correct props, clothing and hairstyles would be easy to be able to keep everything consistent.  By producing a modern trailer, as a group, I think we will find filming, editing and producing the trailer more enjoyable.

Gangster Film Poster Research

Conventions Of A Gangster Film

Settings and themes-  

The themes behind a gangster film are violence, guns, lots of swearing, death, rise and fall of people in and out of power, and dark comedy. They are usually set in large, crowded cities to show the way they operate in the shadows of the busy streets. The smaller settings within the crowded cities are nightclubs, bars, streets; the locations crimes are committed for example banks, and other secretive location.

Mise-en-scene

Props are extremely important in gangster films to symbolise a number of things such as wealth, power, status, etc. For example, guns, fast cars, cash. Secondly, the characters in gangster films are usually materialistic, immoral, street smart, aggressive, and violent. These characters fit into the dark criminal underworld perfectly as they suit the setting they are in which is dark, cruel, and very violent. 

Narrative-

The story in British gangster films is usually about different gangs fighting over control of something such as area. In addition, in British gangster films the story can also be the one from original American gangster films where a young gangster or gangsters try to climb the criminal world hierarchy

Sound and camera

There are a lot of diegetic sounds such as gun shots, blood splatters, car sounds, and many more. Also, in American gangster films the background music is usually religious. The camera is used to show the different statuses of the different characters. For example, the characters who have a high status will be shown through low angle shots when talking to characters who have a lower status who will be shown through high angle shots.

After doing this research my group and i are clear or the main conventions of a gangster film and we know have a clear guideline to follow. 

Pre Filming Decisions

As a group we decided it would be easier to start filming in the half term as this is one of the only time we had no other commitments and time that some of us could take a day off work and the actors could keep this day free. We hope the filming will be finished as expected, as this will allow us to start editing when we get back to school. We can start adding in the soundtrack to the clips, we would know when to add intense music and when the music needs to be calm and relaxing. 


We have decided to meet on the wednesday in the half term quite ear;y, around 10 and be filming up until around 3pm. We have also planned to film again the following sunday so that we can get a range of shots.  

Equipment, Costume And Props

Today in class we decided to make sure that we where fully prepared for filming, We made this list so that we could make filming as efficient as possible. Before filming we will ensure that all of the group have a copy of this list so they can highlight the key things that the need to bring when attending the first filming session.

               Equipment;

- Video Camera

- HD Flip Camera

- Digital DSLR Camera

                 - Tripod

Costume 

- Suit

 - Smart shoes

- Tie

-Shirt

Props

- Weapons e.g. shovel

- Toothpicks

- Matches

- Cigarettes

- Mug shots

Props- Mug Shot Card

One of the main props for our media trailer are the ‘gangster’ mug-shot cards for the main characters to hold, to make it seem as if they have been arrested. To make these cards we simply used Microsoft PowerPoint and researched real mug shot cards and recreated our own using the same font, colour’s and layout. In order to ensure the cards would be as realistic as possible we did test shots and played around with the layout of the card. Our mug shot props will be used in our trailer in one of the main shots and may also be used in the film magazine and poster. 

For our mugshot cards we had to come up with a realistic name of a prison, after trying out a few idea's we came up with 'HMP CHARTER WOOD' . 

To make our mugshot cards we used Microsoft powerpoint, black sugar paper, card, scissors and glue