Conventions of a Crime Film

Conventions of crime films from imogenmarsden

Research into the Genre of our Film

Psycho:

Alfred Hitchcock is well known for constructing films that consist of elements from the thriller genre, one of his most popular movies is the highly acclaimed, 'Psycho', is a film that inspires film makers to this day as it changed what was accepted in mainstream cinema because of the violence and slight nudity used.

During the shower scene, violin music was used to get the audience feeling scared and on edge. This form of music inspired the film jaws in terms of when there is a shark nearby, it was used in the same way as it was used in ‘psycho’, to create a sense of menace.

The Great Train Robbery:

The first ever heist film to be created is ‘The Great Train Robbery’ which was created in 1903, the film only lasted around 12 minutes but it changed our outlook on heist and robbery films as despite it only having 14 scenes, it consisted of many different camera techniques such as, parallel editing, small amounts of camera movement, filming on location (therefore saving on cost). 

The plot summary of ‘The Great Train Robbery’ is that a group of bandits decide to break into a railroad telegraph office then proceed to hold the operator at gunpoint until he stops a train for the criminals to eventually steal from the train and the people on the train then flee in a desperate attempt to escape without repercussions.

The Great Train Robbery

Film Mood Board

Continuity

Film continuity:

During the production of a film, continuity is key as it provides a smooth transitioning between scenes to allow for a more natural movie to be produced.

180° degree rule:

For the 180° rule in film, you have to only film one side of the line otherwise you will encounter problems in terms of continuity. For example, people will flip sides therefore making it confusing as it will show the people both talking in the same direction. Another example is if you change which side you film at whilst on a set, you would reveal the audience or the actual studio used.

Shot-Reverse-Shot:

Shot-reverse-shot includes filming one person talking or looking at another person then filming said person for a shot then going back to the original person using a closer shot. Whilst doing this technique, don’t use zoom because it doesn’t look natural for the reason that our eyes don’t zoom but instead we just move closer. When leaving a shot-reverse-shot scene a master angle is used.

Match on action:

Match on action refers to the editing technique which is used by editors to show the transition of a characters action. The two actions that are made by the character in that scene get cut together. An example of this would be when someone enters a room; there is a long shot of the person walking up to the door then a straight cut to their hand on the door handle pushing it down to open the door and a final cut to the person walking in but shot from inside the room.

Conventions of Our Crime Film

Conventions of Our Crime Film from GeorgeJohnsonMedia

History of Heist Films

The first ever heist film was The Great Train Robbery in 1903 Directed by Edwin S. Potter. It layed the groundwork for heist films as a whole but it changed the way the staories were told within a film. The film was only twelve minutes long and was one of the first narrative films. Edwin S. Potter used groundbreaking techniques such as cross-cutting and non-static camerawork which helped to tell the story of the film, the heist and its bloody aftermath. Overall, The Great Train Robbery is one of the most influential films in history and its final shot, a man firing a gun at the camera is one of the most used scenes, re-enacted in other films such as Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas.

One of the most well know heist films in history has to be the Italian Job. This is because it stars some very well known actors such as Micheal Caine and Benny Hill. The film, made in 1969 and Directed by Peter Collinson, is about a group of infamous criminals from the UK who plan to steal a shipment of gold from Turin, Italy. Originally, the job was someone else's idea but Charlie Corker (Micheal Caine) takes over and has the master plan of taking the gold by bringing the whole of Turin to a standstill and putting the gold into three Minis, which is one of the most iconic scenes in any crime film. After taking the gold and escaping the police the Mini drivers meet up and then transport the gold into a tour bus. A few moments after the bus has set off the driver takes a corner sharply and the film ends on a litteral cliff hanger as the rear end of the bus is hanging off the edge of a cliff and that is where the film ends. But for me it has to be one of the most inluential films in history as it is not only welll know for the use of Minis but the famous line 'You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off' spoken by Michael Caine. This line has been used in other more recent films due to it been so iconic.

A more modern heist film would be Point Break, originally made in 1991, (but re-made in 2015 but the original was the better film, critically). Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film is about an FBI agent who goes undercover into a group of extreme sportsmen who rob banks dicuised as ex US Presidents. As the story develops, Keanu Reeves (FBI agent Johnny Utah) becomes good friends with Patrick Swayze's character Bodhi. Eventually Bodhi involves Johnny Utah in the heists and Johnny blows his cover as he has a chance to take down the whole crew but insted he lets them go. One of the most recognisable scenes from the film is where Keanu Reeves' character Johnny Utah goes to shoot one of the criminals but he cannot bring himself to do it, instead opting to unload his bullets into the air, it has become one of the most iconc scenes of the film.