Narrative Questions - Rock 'n' Rolla

1. Who is the hero, and who is the villain? How do you know?

At the beginning of the film we see a solitary figure in a dark room with a monologue ensuing in the background. We presume that the figure in the room is the one saying the monologue. We do not know within the opening scenes whether or not this person is a villain or hero, however, we see scenes of sex, drug and alcohol abuse so we can maybe believe he is the villain.

2. Where's the story set? What does it say about the genre?

The beginning is set in a dark room with the character alone. This shows the darkness of the genre and it shows the nature in which many of the people in the film live in. The main characters are undoubtedly unlawful, therefore they try to stay hidden and not be noticed, explaining the dark room.

3. How many principle characters are there?

There is lone principle character who we see in the dark room alone lighting a bung to smoke.

4. How is the story told? Chronologically? What is the effect?

The monologue tells us alot of what the film is about. We are told about the life the character leads and what it entails. This tells us what the film may be about, however, because we do not see the actor and because there is very little action we are still left with questions.

5. What questions are you left with?

We are left with question of who the man in the dark room is and whether he is actually the main character of the film. We also wonder about what could be in the bung and how hardcore the character may be.

Narrative Questions - Football Factory

1. Who is the hero, and who is the villain? How do you know?

We can clearly see that the villains of the film are the men that are walking in a big gang looking for another person/gang, which isn't yet revealed to the audience. There is no hero as there is no one who tries to stop the fighting.

2. Where's the story set? What does it say about the genre?

The story, like all other films within this genre, is set in an urban area. It is set in a council estate with high rise flats at the start. It shows the dark nature of the film and the violence that ensues and shows the nature of the characters affluence.

3. How many principle characters are there?

There are 3 very principle characters - we see the boy that does spying at the beginning and the two men who lead the gang to their intended targets. We see alot more other characters in the gang, however, they very rarely speak and so I have not considered them principle characters.

4. How is the story told? Chronologically? What is the effect?

The story isn't too chronological, we see a boy walking around a council estate and then talking down his phone and the audience aren't aware of what he is doing. However, once we learn he is spying for the gang, the story is told fairly chronologically in that we see them walking to another pub to fight a rival gang. The effect this draws up is that the audience aren't given all the answers to what is going on and we have questions to see what is going on.

5. What questions are you left with?

The audience are left with the questions of whether or not the characters involved in the fight are ok or not and why they were there in the first place. We also are left with the question of which gang these people belong to and why they are fighting another gang.

Narrative Questions - Snatch

1. Who is the hero, and who is the villain? How do you know?

The intro to Snatch doesn't contain any heroes. However, we see 4 villains who are all in the same gang and steal the jewels. The audience are stunned by this as we see the main villain acting as a friend to the man who owns the jewels. We know that they are the villains once they produce guns and rob the place, even hitting people around the head with their guns.

2. Where's the story set? What does it say about the genre?

The story is set in an office block. However, we get the feeling that it may not be an ordinary office block from the vast amounts of diamonds found in the office. It contained very strong security, and we see the 4 villains only via security cameras to begin with, which could show that they are thieves and should be kept an eye on. It says alot about the genre in that most characters in the films are indeed unlawful and could easily be arrested for what they do, whether that be gang fights, hustles or robbery.

3. How many principle characters are there?

There are 5 principle characters. The 4 who are the villains and the man that owns/is manager of the office company. We see this as they follow the 4 villains and the 5th owner is key as he holds the key as to why they are there.

4. How is the story told? Chronologically? What is the effect?

The story is told chronologically as we see the 4 villains first and we see that they are going to a certain place. However, as they are in disguise we do not know if they are actually criminals or not and we are left with questions as to who they are and why they are there. But once they pull out the guns we instantly see that they are actually in disguise to pull off a robbery. The effect of that is shock to the viewers and grips them to the scene.

5. What questions are you left with?

We are left with the questions such as why they pulled off the con? Who they are? And why they even dressed up as jews?

Narrative Questions - Trainspotting

1. Who is the hero, and who is the villain? How do you know?

We can see that the hero in this opening scene is the policeman chasing down the main character who is running away from him. This shows that the main character is a crook and someone who breaks the law. By seeing him run away it shows that perhaps he isn't that great at doing it and is maybe a rookie.

2. Where's the story set? What does it say about the genre?

The story is set in a urban area, as we see quite high-rise buildings, lots of shops and alot of people walking down the street. It instantly shows that it is quite a brit-grit and violent film as most are filmed in urban areas with gangs. We see many little avenues used and quite empty backroads, and that shows knowledge of the local area and that the villain knows his way around the area, such as most films as gangs usually fight for "their territory".

3. How many principle characters are there?

We see only 1 principle in the film, however there is a chance that there is another principle character. Two people are being chased by the policeman but the titles stop and show the name of only one of the character, who is the principle character. The other character runs off out of shot followed by the police and the main character stays in shot showing that he is the lone principle character.

4. How is the story told? Chronologically? What is the effect?

The story is told fairly chronologically. We start off with characters running away from the police and that leaves the audience with questions as to why they are running away. However, a monologue from the main character begins in the background and that tells the audience of the people in the gang and what their roles in the gang are. The effect of that is that the audience have initial questions in the head and some are answered but some are left unanswered and that makes them watch on to try and get the rest of the answers.

5. What questions are you left with?

We are left with the question of why the main character is running away from the police. We also are left with the question of who the man in the black van who knocks him over is. Another question is whether or not the other character who continues to get chased by the police gets caught or not.

Film Conventions

Sound/Titles - the films in the genre all contained quite contemporary and/or rock songs in the background. Rock 'n' Rolla had a rock song in the background, as did Lock, Stock. This is likely done to translate the fast paced life that many of the characters lead. The music is loud, brash and very quick, and makes the audience think the film itself could be the same. In Snatch, there is no singing, the background music is fast paced and is quite sneaky. It shows the deviousness of the hustle and cons the characters pull off. The production company comes first in all of the films and is followed by the main actors. Make-up artist, costume designer and then the music editor comes.

Camera Angles - nearly all of the films show a close-up of the main character, usually in the middle of an action shot. However, in Football Factory there is no close-up as the scenes of actual film are of a fight between rival gangs, usually of a large scale. This instantly tells the audience what the film will contain. In Trainspotting the film shows a close-up of both the main character and the police, and also shows the chase from the perception of both people, to give the audience the feeling that they are actually there. Long shots and panning shots are very uncommon, especially when showing a character in the film, they are sometimes used, such as in This is England, to show the area that the film is set in, which is usually in council estate to portray that the characters may be uneducated and involved in gang-life in a relatively poor area.

Mise-en-Scene - the films were all set in poor areas, such as council estates, i.e large blocks of flats. They usually had gangs of teenagers scattered around, and a recurring theme was that the teens had dogs with them. The people wore very informal clothes, such as jogging bottoms and branded coats, such as Nike or Adidas. The characters usually had a prop or something to draw attention to them, and in the case of Rock 'n' Rolla, that prop was a bung, showing the usual convention of substance abuse. Colour was faded and dull, such as in This is England where the use of blacks, whites, greys and browns were commonly brought about.

Mise-en-scene showing the rough area

poor estate the character lives in

emphasising his thug like background.

Actors Movements - the main actors in the films were all very assured, they knew full well what to do when, in films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock, hustle's were being done. Movements were taken in a violent nature, such as the intro to Snatch where a character was shown punching a punch bag. The way the characters talk is very assured and very strong, and their posture is always straight. Other people always listen to him and the level of their talk, and their volume is always lower than the main character.

Certification

Football Factory - 18. Some strong references to sex. No actual sex or nudity depicted in the film. Some occasional scenes of strong brutal gang beatings, hooliganism and street violence, and one murder. Contains frequent aggressive violent behaviour. 100+ uses of the word 'fuck' used, and 30+ uses of the word 'cunt' used in the film. Occasional strong cocaine abuse.

Strong violence makes Football

Factory an 18.

Rock 'n' Rolla - 15. Many rude jokes are made about homosexuals, including a couple blowjob-related hand gestures. A incredibly brief, quickly cut sex scene. Only faces are seen in close up. The word 'fuck' is used roughly 100 times and 'shit' is said 6 times. A man is seen taking a hit on a bong in one scene. Other than that, people drink casually and smoke. Several references to junkies. The child abuse scene may disturb some viewers, seeing as the kid is very young, innocent and doing nothing. The crayfish scene may disturb some viewers too. Some startling gunshots. Stabbing of the chest and neck of a bouncer. The wild bunch is driving their stolen sedan, which a large truck, occupied by russian henchmen, crashes into. One of the henchmen stabs a knife through the roof of the sedan, but it crashes, throwing the henchmen off. The Wild Bunch isn't seriously injured, but the henchmen jump back on, so the car crashes into a convenience store. One of the henchmen struggles with one two, but is then shot repeatedly (he survives since he has a bullet proof vest on), while another one is hit repeatedly with a golf club by Handsome Bob.

This Is England - 18. A 15 year old kisses a 12 year old, and asks if she wants him to "suck her tits?" (he doesn't). An older man talks about his past sexual relationship to a teenager. A pornographic magazine is featured (breasts visible). Several pornographic posters (breasts and rear visible) are displayed in a lengthy scene with a child present. There is only one visible act of lethal force, but the movie has an undercurrent of intensity that is absolutely unrelenting. The scene of lethal force revolves around a man beating an african man who previously claimed he was jamaican to death. He screams "N***er" repeatedly as he punches him countless times in the face while the victim can't get up because the attacker is holding him down. You see the victim's bruised and bloody face afterwards. Constant strong profanity, including 100+ uses of the word 'fuck', and around a half dozen uses of 'cunt', in addition to several abusive uses of the term "paki". The people in the group drink and smoke pervasively, while in one scene, they all share joints.

Adult nature within This is England

makes it an 18.

Snatch - 15. There are a couple brief scenes of nudity. In a flashback scene, multiple women's breasts are seen for a few seconds in the background. A few of the characters are playing a card game using adult cards, and some are seen for a couple of seconds. There is screaming, guns are shown off, and people are shown being punched, kicked, and, pistol whipped. Bricktop smashes a hammer or something like that into what is assumed to be somebody's face. In an unofficial boxing match, 2 men fight. Mickey gets hit several times, but then finally knocks George out. He is seen with his mouth wired shut for the rest of the film. There is an image of a dead dog, due to being in an illegal dog fight. About 145 uses of 'fuck', lots of anatomical and scatological references, lots of mild obscenities, several religious profanities, lots of insults, and several ethnic slurs. There are multiple scenes of drinking, mostly minor however.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - 18. The main villain (Harry) is a proprietor of a sex shop. Whenever we see Harry in his office, numerous sex toys are scattered onto his desk. He even comments on some of them. In a flashback, Harry beats a man to death with a dildo. In one scene, a topless woman is seen dancing in the background provocatively. A woman shoots up a room with a machine gun, killing a man. A man hits golf balls off another man's face, and hits a man who is tied up, gagged, and hanging upside down. The torturer then throws a large knife into the hanging man. Three of the main characters are marijuana dealers, so several scenes take place in an apartment where they are growing weed and smoking it. Eddie's dad, JD, owns the local bar where the boys hangout, so there are several scenes involving alcohol and them getting drunk.

Smokin' Aces - 18. In a hotel room, many girls are sleeping topless. The killers in this movie are absolutely vicious and will kill anyone and anything in their way to get to Buddy Israel before the competition does. It contains TONS of graphic violence, blood, and gore. Anything and everything are used as weapons including Sniper-Rifles, Axes, Machettes, Knifes, Chainsaws, Flamethrowers and Uzis. People die very graphic onscreen deaths. Pervasive R-Rated language/phrases including the word 'fuck' and strong sexual dialogue. Many people smoke. Three men drink beer at a bar. A man does cocaine and a child takes ritalin. Caruthers and Diego are shown several times in the elevator, bloody and bruised after they have shot each other to almost death. The Tremors graphically cut-up people with chainsaws.

Opening Credits Analysis

Titles - most British films I have studied have had the same style of title sequence. They're all very simple and orthodox, with the names of the producer and director coming before the names of the main actors in the film. In Football Factory, however, the names of the make-up artist, the costume designer, music composer and editor also appear. Another trend that is very common is the addition of scenes, usually to do with the genre of the film, within the credits. They mainly contain no sound, with the background music providing that. Usually, they are also of violence, such as in Football Factory, but in Rock 'n' Rolla it is about the film itself and gives the audience an insight into the life of the character.

Mise-en-Scene - nearly all of the films I studied were set in relative poor areas. They all in some way include blocks of flats in public estates. These estates are gang-ridden, such as in This is England and within all of these gangs we see organised crime. Most of the rivalry's are between gangs from different areas, and in the case of Football Factory, it is between fans of rival football clubs looking to be the best in their area. When the characters are inside, lighting dims down or colour becomes dull and it shows the coldness of the lives they lead - violence, lack of family or friends and an abusive social life (drugs and alcohol). The opening to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels also continues this theme and is set on the side of a road, with colour being very dull, and the two main characters pulling off hustle's which are illegal, and police then come and try, but fail, to catch them.

Dullness in shots in This is England (above)

and Lock, Stock (below).

Camera Angles - Nearly all of the films show a close-up of the character, this could be to try and get into the characters mind, in Lock, Stock the camera went in close to the main character maybe to try and see how he acts when trying to pull off a con. However, such as in Rock 'n' Rolla, there is a build up to the revealing of the character and that is to build up tension for the background music. In most of the films, we see the perception of a range of characters, such as in Lock, Stock where the camera shows the angle of the chase from the policeman and then the main characters running away. This scene also occurs in Trainspotting, where the camera trails two men running away from others. This is to show the audience the nature of the characters and which characters perform which roles. Long shots and panning shots are very uncommon within the opening titles, however, close-ups and medium long shots are frequent. Long shots are only used to show the nature of the region where the film is set, i.e showing blocks of flats in the background, showing how vast the mainly poor area the characters originate from are.

Long shot in This is England shows the estate

where the film is set - shows that most areas

where films like these are set are relatively poor.

Sound - nearly every film that I studied contained a monologue of some sort. InRock 'n' Rolla and Trainspotting the monologue was spoken in the background and another scene, usually depicting everyday life for the characters, was taking place to see. However, in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, the monologue linked into the scene taking place. He was talking in role to sell items he is hustling, however, submissively he was talking about the life he leads. He began by sorting out people's nature - "let's sort out the greedy from the needy" - which shows he doesn't want to be known as a normal person and wants to be his own man. All of the films had background music, mainly of a rock genre. The music in Rock 'n' Rollabegan straight after the monologue to show the fast paced nature of the life the character leads.

Opening sequence to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

where the use of a monologue is shown within the

trials of the main characters everyday life.

[Opening to Rock 'n' Rolla copyrighted, therefore unavailable]

Actors Movements - all of the movements of the main characters in Snatch were of a violent nature to show the nature of the violence in the film. They were all showing fight scenes or something to do with fighting - i.e punching a punch bag. This is similar to Football Factory where the opening contains fight scenes. In Lock, Stock however, there is no fighting, just a chase scene, very similar to Trainspotting. In Lock, Stock the main character is very confident in what he is doing, and seems to be very assured in doing his crimes. He talks in a

cockney accent but talks very quickly and is sharp, seems to be a bit of a Jack-the-lad.

Preliminary Task Evaluation Report

View more documents from Yasir Saleem.

Preliminary Task