KJ
Conventions of Gangster/Thriller Films:
Click on the image to view and exit the mind map desplay!
Click on the image to view and exit the mind map desplay!
The Raid : Redemption - 2011
Outline of The Raid - Redemption:
A rookie member of an elite team of commandos, Rama (Iko Uwais) is instructed to hang back while his comrades-in-arms go ahead with their mission to take down a brutal crime lord called Tama (Ray Sahetapy). However, the team's cover is blown, and Tama offers sanctuary to every criminal in his high-rise apartment block in exchange for the cops' heads. Now Rama must take command and lead his remaining team on an ultraviolent charge through the building to complete, and survive the mission.
Director: Gareth Evans
This is a video clip of the main protagonist, preparing to use his martial arts to defend himself against a gang of murderous criminals. Click the arrow at the centre to watch!
Mis-En-Scene:
In the film "The Raid: Redemption", the story is set in a single highrise building, where the main antagonist (Ray Sahetapy), is a crime lord who has taken over the residence of the building. The protagonist (Iko Uwais) is a cop who is on a mission to defeat the gangster lord, using his martial arts to battle and survive.
The protagonist wears his black, police force uniform, which represents his confidence and the target audience that viewers want him to survive. The gang members wore casual clothes, such as plain t-shirts and plain trousers, carrying long, knife like swords which represents their urges for violence and the need to kill, matching to the conventions of gangster films.
The highrise building inside appear to be decayed, which represents the theme of urban decay and reflecting to the reality of victims who are involved in crime. Low key lighting also reflects to the gang members being too late to reform themselves, which further demonstrates their urges for violence.
Editing:
Short takes combined with fast cuts help creates this sense of action in crime films, as we see the continuous battle between the main protagonist against a group of gang members. These fast cuts also reveal the protagonists progression in fighting towards his goal, as this demonstrates that he still has morality in him and rather beats the gang members until they are unconcious than killing them (he kills the crime lord at the end of the film).
Sound:
From watching the youtube clip, continuous non-diegetic drum sounds in the battle between the protagonist and the gang group creates this sense of intense battle between life and death. However, the drum sounds are faintly heard, as we keep hearing the diegetic sound of men roaring and grunting during the fighting scene. The diegetic sound of continuous beatings further demonstrate the protagonist's strong martial arts and a fearless character.
Camera
 Medium ShotThis medium shot presents Rama (the protagonist), being cautious of an upcoming gang raid, where we can see his desperation of saving his friends from the gang lord. He still wears a black suit, representing his "ready for action" mode. |
|---|
 Over the Shoulder ShotThe over the shoulder shot is used to demonstrate the continuous martial art battle, as the minor villain appears to be not giving up against the tired protagonist. This shot is also used to convey how much stamina the minor villain has, which makes him more threatening than the main antagonist. |
 High Angle ShotThis high angle shot is used to present a single character battling against a group of serial killers. This also shows that the protagonist has to fight to reach to the villain of the film, matching to the conventions of gangster films. |
 Two ShotThis two shot is used to present two characters (the hero and the villain) fighting to the death. We can see the tension and the characters' straight face of wanting to stop each other from reaching their goals. It also presents a theme of survival of the fittest. |
Click the images to view the written text that explains about the use of these camera shots. When on image view, click the arrows that is displayed on the left/right screen to view the next slide.
Chronicle - 2012
Outline of Chronicle:
In the city of Seattle, Andrew (Dane DeHaan) is a socially awkward, reticient teen whose main form of escape and expression is a video camera. But things begin to change when Andrew, his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) and popular classmate Steve (Michael B. Jordan) discover a mysterious substance that leaves them with incredible powers. As their abilities become more powerful, the teens' lives spin out of control when their dark sides begin to emerge. Andrew's camera captures the unfolding events.
Director: Josh Trank
This is a video clip of Andrew (Dane DeHaan), talking about his thoughts of himself being an 'Apex Predator', before he telekineticaly destroys a rusted car. Click the arrow at the centre to watch!
Mis-En-Scene:
In the film "Chronicle", the setting takes place in modern Seattle in the State of Washington, where we are introduced to three characters, who are ordinary teenagers, experiencing their teenage life and their telekineticaly powers. The costume is everyday casual clothes, where the live camera that we are watching reveals the life of a teenager (the main protagonist), having his happy moments and struggles in his life.
The main protagonist (Dane DeHaan) follows his discovery of his new powers, his struggles from keeping it secret and his downfall of believing that he is superior from others, which he later becomes an antagonist of the film. We can even see the social class in this thriller/drama film, where the main protagonist is socially awkward and is frequently bullied by his classmates and gets abused by his father.
Editing:
In the film, CGI is used to present the characters' powers in different scenes, like the youtube video of Andrew (Dane DeHaan) telekineticaly crushes a rusted car and Andrew flying with his friends, as shown on this gif image.
Some scenes are also made into video recording frame, where cuts between scenes shows time already passed by or cuts between a troubled scene that the protagonist doesn't want to show, but the audience would already know what the troubling scene is.
Sound:
Background music is rarely heard in the film, except for diegetic sound like the youtube video of a bully having some of his teeth ripped out, the diegetic sound of the girls gossiping about Andrew and a car being crushed into a ball shape, demonstrates the strong power of the protagonist's telekinesis. Sound is also rarely muted, as shown in the film where the protagonist had an accident in stealing money from a local shop.
Camera
Over the Shoulder ShotThis over the shoulder shot is used to produce a sense of a found footage atmosphere, where the three friends are flying airborne with clouds surrounding them. This is to represent a sense of realism, where the teenagers appear to be showing off their telekinesis powers. |
|---|
 LongshotThis long shot is used to display the scene of the massive city of Seattle. The long shot is also used to present the lifestyle of the teenagers after they had their telekinesis powers, which they appear to be enjoying it from their shocked and smiley face. |
 Medium CloseupThis medium closeup shot presents Andrew (Dane DeHaan) levitating a spider, where he later kills it by ripping out all of its eight legs. This shot foreshadows the protagonist's later urges of killing people, as he thinks that he is an "Apex Predator". |
 LongshotThis long shot of Andrew (Dane DeHaan) crushing a rusted yellow car with his telekinesis powers, foreshadows his later threat of hurting other people, as we can see that he shows no sense of remorse in crushing a car, while proving his theory of being an Apex Predator. |
Click the images to view the written text that explains about the use of these camera shots. When on image view, click the arrows that is displayed on the left/right screen to view the next slide.