Analysis of 'A Very British Gangster' - Documentary

MES

The gansters are wearing suits which represents the gangsters known as 'The Mafia'. This shows that they are trying to copy their lifestyle. There is then a cut away to the main gangsters hands. This shows his jewellery which is a clear indication of his wealth and the fact he wants to show off to the public he is wealthy. This reflects on his personailty as he likes to show off his power. After the clip of his hands it then shows a clip of him whistling while walking. This symbolises the passing of time and could therefore reflect the passing of time when he is in prison. in the next scene the audience see's him in the barbers. This is known as iconography of gangster films. After this there is a montage of clips showing clippings of newspapers with the gangsters in them. This could show how dangerous they are as they have appeared in the newspaper for crimes. There is also black and white CCTV footage of him which is good archive footage of him. This shows that he is under surveillance from the police which reiterates his power and also his past.


Camera angles

There is an establishing shot of Manchester at the night time. This is a connotation of danger and represents the fact that bad things happen at night. The juxtaposition of the biggest gangster in the middle is important because it shows which one of them has the most power and autority. There is a low angle shot of the gangsters in Manchester which not only shows who has the power in the city, but also it shows the perspective of Manchester and how they fit in with the environment. There is a close up of the main gangsters face which shows his expression and gives an indication of how he is thinking. Another shot used in this documentary is a crane shot. This shot isn't really conventional in a documentary.

Sound

In the opening scene there is a sound bridge. Following this there is street gang music. There is also hip hop in the background which represents urban. As well as this there is also the ambient sounds of Manchester which is sounds such as; cars moving in the background, people talking. This gives a clear indication to the audience of what Manchester is like at night. There is some dialogue in the opening scene of this documentary too. This breaks the 4th wall as one of the gangsters is talking to the audience while the scene and location is being set.

Editing

The titles at the beginning of the documentary fade in and out. This could symbolise the gangsters as they dissapear slowly and appear quickly.



Below is the trailer for 'A very British gangster'

Analysis of 'Dead Island' - Game adverts

The intro of the trailer is like a film as it has the logo's at the start of the film. The logo at the start of this particular trailer is 'Deep Silver'. This is presented in the same way as a movie logo too as it has a slow animation for it's entrance and it also has sound too. There is also evidence of a zoom into the logo. The logo is black and white which makes it stand out very clearly. It also gives a sense of professionalism to it.
The titles that appear before the trailer starts fade in and then fade out. These are all good editing techniques which give the trailer that bit more quality. This is important as it reflects what the actual game will be like when it is released.

The trailer footage starts with an extreme close up in a characters eye which slowly zooms out while turning clockwise. This is similar to a scene in the film 'Physco' which uses this same effect. There is some debate to whether this game trailor is linear or non-linear. The trailer looks to be played in reverse rather than having fast cuts to events before. This effect is good as it makes the audience want to know how and why the character is thrown out of the window. The only way to find out is to watch the whole trailor as it shows how the young female character is thrown out of the window. By watching the whole trailor it means that the company that made the trailor has achieved its objecive by making the audience watch the whole trailor.
A clever technique that is used in this trailor is the fact that it doesn't actually show how the zombies came about. It only shows the effect of the zombies. This creates mystery, or an anigma, By not showing how they came about it means that the audience wants to know more and the only reason they can find out is by purchasing the game. If this is done then it means the trailor has achieved it's purpose which is to sell copies of the game and ultimately make money.

Craig Dean Divine - This is the life (Analysis)

MES

The main character is Dean which is the middle name of the producer of the film. This could mean that the short film symbolizes his life or a past chain of events which have taken place. The opening part of the film is set in a working class area. We know this because of the houses in the background of the opening scene when Dean's dad returns. We can tell that the family which Dean lives with are more than likely in the D class of social society. This is because of the age of the car that Dean's dad is driving. Also the fact that the family are eating their tea on trays in the front room suggests they are in the working class, because the upper class tend to eat at tables in dining rooms. The uniform that Dean is wearing also suggests that the family are working class because it looks scruffy. Dean is also wearing trainers which either symbolizes he is lacking a fatherly figure in his life or the fact his school don't care about the appearence of their students.

Dean's sister takes a motherly role in the family. We can see this when she does Dean's tie. She also collects him from school. The reason for this could be because Dean is lacking two parents and his Mum needs help with basic everyday jobs. This is emphised when later on in the film the Mother says "I thought it would get easier now he is back".

We also know that Dean's Father has been in jail. This is confirmed by the fact that he is in an office claiming his innocence and revealing he is fed up with talking to lawyers. This backs up different bits of evidence throughout the film suggesting he has been away for a while. Some of this evidence includes when Dean's Dad tells Dean he has missed him. This is done a few times in the film as it shows repetition and shows how sincere his Dad is. It also makes the audience remember that he has been away for a while, almost as if it is a huge significance to the plot.

Camera Angles
The maority of the film is shot with a hand held camera. This is clever as it shows a sense of realism. It also gives the film a documentary style to the film which shows a view point of Dean's lifestyle. Another camera angle which is used is a shot reverse shot which is good in the scene when Dean meets his Dad again becuase it shows the contrasting emotions in each characters face. This is important as it sets the mood of the scene as we can see the happiness in Dean's Dad's face and the confusion in Dean's face. We can also see the emotion in the face of Dean by the use of an extreme close up.

Sound
There is quite a lot of evidence of incidental music in the short film. On more than one occasion there is a gradual build up of someone playing the acoustic guitar which sets the mood of the characters in the particular scene. There is also diegetic sounds such as ambient sounds which include; cars passing, wind in the background,

Editing
Seemless editing is present in some scenes. However there are some cases of a fade in scenes which shows the passing of time. There is also a fade in the titles at the start of the film.

How to structure a short film

A short film is different from a feature film because it needs a beginning, a middle and an end.

What kind if movie?
Experimental
Genre

Length
Should be around 4-10 minutes
A feature film is classified as a film over 30 minutes long

Plot
Not a complete plot
Beginning, middle and an end. There should be no lead up to story. It should go straight into the action
Characters - Who are they? What is their problem? How will the audience recognise this?
Think of a world a character and a problem

Overall
Many short films can be made into a long film
Keep it simple

Research
Use existing short films for inspiration, not only for the plot but for the structure of the film too