After researching other films with the same genre as ours it is important to look at the target audience we are trying to make the film appeal to. The core target audience for the film ‘Pulp Fiction’ is mostly males aged between sixteen and thirty years old (although the film carries an '18' certificate). Fans of action and violent films are also the main audience, especially fans of gangster films. I am hoping the audience for our film will also be mostly males aged 16 and over, as our film will be based on the same genre as that of Pulp Fiction.
A target audience can also look for actors to show that they might like the new film. They could look for actors such as Vinnie Jones who they already know plays lots of gangsters in films, and could choose to watch a new film because it has him in it. However, our film will not have any famous actors in it as we obviously do not have access to them, so we will have to focus on representations to show the audience what type of film it is. The same problem an audience could have is with the director. As we cannot have a director already well known within the gangster genre, the first two minutes of our film will be key to the audience knowing what genre the film is.
More research
As I know now my target audience I am comparing three movies in the gangster/thriller genre to find out any mutual choices of preferences to have in these types of films, or whether to try something different.
Phonebooth
Synopsis - A likeable business man is cheating on his wife, and calls her from the same phonebooth everyday. A mysterious sniper has been watching this and traps the businessman in the phonebooth, before telling him to tell his wife of his affair or he will kill him.
Conventions - murder, affairs, love, regret, insanity
Camera angles, lighting, colour and props - Lighting is always the same as the phonebooth where all the action happens is outside, so the picture is always very clear unlike most thrillers, however this only adds to the atmosphere of the main characters lonliness and helplessness. Camera angles are very creative as the action is just about always around the phonebooth in whch the main character is trapped. A lot of wide shots and close-ups, and when the action happens the edits are very quick and switch from medium shots to close ups oftenly.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Synopsis - A slick gangster film that centres on a group of friends that compete on a card game and lose, making them in debt to a gangster boss. This movie is full of comedy and different characters.
Conventions - black comedy, hard-edged gangsters, gritty london, violence
Camera angles, lighting, colour and props - The lighting for this film is unusual as it is all tinted a tiny bit in grey, probably to represent a grey london full of gangsters and violence. The camera angles are inventive and unique to this film, with a lot of care and consideration going into each frame. A lot of freeze frames are used to show different characters and give way for the narration of the film.
Rise of the Footsoldier
Synopsis - This film charts the life of one of Britains most feared gangsters Carlton Leach; his early days in football hooliganism, his career as a bouncer through the 'rave scene' and to how he became feared and respected , even after the Rettendon Range Rover murders of 1995.
Conventions - gritty gangsters, real life, violence, sex drug abuse, hooliganism
Camera angles, lighting, colour and props - Camera angles are not very unique, however a lot of wide and mid shots are used to show the action going on on screen. Again this film is tinted grey and dull, especially as these are memories of the main characters life. A lot of cut scenes of old fashoined footage of typical football games and violence, are used to cut up the action and make way for narration. The camera is not steady through all of the action scenes, probably to emphasise teh action and to make the viewer fell like they are there.
In conlusion, I can see that typical things included in gangster films these days include a tint of greythroughout the film to emphasise grittiness, innovative and creative camera angles, a camera that isn't steady through action scenes and freeze frames or cut scenes to allow place for narration of the film. In order to challenge these conventions I will not be using a tint of any colour, and I will be using a steadicam for all action scenes, especially in the opening credits of the movie. Also, I will not be using freezeframes to split up the narration, as I want this film to flow like others such as Lucky Number Slevin.
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