Picture used for poster.

After a lot of thought and consideration, we decided to use the photo below as it was the most arresting. We liked the way in which they all look so serious and the run-down mise-en-scene makes the characters look even more sinister, conforming to the typical gangster conventions and stereotype. However, we will be editing it to get the best out of the picture and I will upload a new blog on the process of it.

I am hoping that the spectator will notice that one of the characters is not wearing a tie so it would create an enigmatic feel. I want to achieve the spectator's curiosity so it would make them want to find out more as to why he is different from all the rest, even the leader. 

We used the gaze theory and chose to use the direct address. This is where 'the gaze of a person (animal or object) shown in the text looking out of the frame as if at the person watching the film or reading the magazine'. This would immediately achieve direct contact with the spectator and the characters, making the spectator feel as if the poster is targeting/made just for him/her (although it is not true, it usually works). With the gaze theory that I looked back to, I noticed that we had to target the female audience somehow as the Crime & Gangster genre lends itself to the male audience, making outr target audience limited. This is why we chose to use a neutral shot where all of them are wearing neat suits looking serious and (maybe) handsome. This is to grab the female spectators' attention so our target audience will slightly expand.

Although the run-down location in the background conforms to a gangster's typical secret meeting place. We decided as a group to try out new backgrounds with photoshop and choose the best one. Again, I will be uploading and going through the process on another blog with detail.

Poster Pictures.

We took numerous photos of our characters that would be used for our poster picture/film magazine front cover and these are some of the shots I took with a member. This was an enjoyable task as it was not too demanding nor time consuming. However, we did have to take quite a few as the characters were not serious at times and were 'messing around'. We attempted a variety of postures and positioning, and we even attempted to take shots that were from serious to light-hearted ones. Although it seemed like it was an easy task, we did not know which pose would look the most effective and striking, therefore we (as a group) agreed that using an eye-level shot was the most prominent as it would catch the spectator's attention. When it came to positioning, we placed the two coloured boys and the two tall boys to go on opposite sides so it would look evened out.

Here are some of the pictures we took of the characters:

 This photo was taken during a scene when acting. I like this shot as it was taken from a scene therefore it has a sense of authenticity to it. This also reminded me of the Reservoir Dogs poster as they used a picture of the characters walking but in black and white. However, this photo would not be used for the poster as you are not able to clearly see all of the characters and you can not immediately distinguish who the main leader/character is as they wear similar suits and standing in a line.

 This photo goes without saying that it is not going to be used. Not only does this shot look amateur, but it also makes it obvious that the characters were not ready (I took random shots of them hoping I would achieve an authentic shot). Therefore this photo will not be used.

 This is also another shot I took randomly of the characters without their awareness. I like this shot as it creates a sense of authenticity to it as they are laughing, looking at each other and relaxed. This could suggest that they have no remorse to their actions and very laid back about it all. Although there is quite a lot of meaning to this picture, it will not be used as it does not conform to the recognisable gangster codes and conventions i.e. lighting (although it could be solved via PhotoShop).

This shot was probably the best shot. Not only do they look serious, but the way in which they are positioned, makes them all stand out and you can also tell who the main leader is.

This shot is very similar to the one above. 

This photo will not be used as the character on the left has his eyes shut and the way in which the character that is positioned (second on the left), he is covering the one on the far left making him look insignificant which is not what we want to achieve. We had a discussion as to whether we liked the idea of the character sitting on the wall as we wanted to reflect his age and that he is 'little man' which emphasises his lack of seriousness, but we came to the conclusion that gangsters would not act like as they are wearing expensive suits.

This photo is unfortunately unusable. Although you can immediately identify who the leader is and that the prop is used that relates to the title (Grow Your Own), the character on the far left was not ready.

Chosen Gangster Names.

From the blog I’ve already uploaded about gangster names, I have gained enough knowledge to identify what would and what wouldn’t be good when it came to giving the boys a gangster name. We had to think of names that would suit the characters best and it was not time consuming at all. 

Below, are photos taken of the characters holding the mug shot cards we made and their made up names beside them. The boys lined up and were told to stand in front of the green screen one by one so that we could take photos with them and edit the background if needed. We wanted to create a mug shot background with the height marking in order to create an authentic effect on the spectator. We took an eye-level and side profile shot (conforming to real photos that would have been taken in reality). These photos will be considered to be used for our magazine cover or film poster although we have already taken good photos. By doing more than we should, it allows us to have more choice and variety and allow us to obtain the most effective photo that reflects our genre well.

Tony 'Don' Milano

(Jimmy Gore)

Jimmy Gore has been given the name Tony Don Milano as he looks the most fierce out of all them. He is also extremely tall which makes him stand out too. The way in which he has a clean cut face and slicked back hair is that he conforms to the recognisable gangster leader.

Neko 'Little Man' Brown

(Adil Yaqub)

We have given him this name for two reasons. One - He is the smallest and his skin tone matches the surname. Two - It's also made to create a light hearted effect.

Vinnie 'Mad Dog' Smith

(Michael Mowbray)

This name was given to Michael because the way in which he has long scruffy hair, it slightly resembles the fur that belongs to a dog - thick and scruffy. The name Mad Dog also conforms to the Crime & Gangster genre as it suggests violence and brutality.

Charles 'Pretty Boy' Floyd

(Tazzy Mazikana)

Here, Tazzy is named Pretty Boy. You can see that as he cares about his appearance as his hair style is very neat and he is wearing an earring. Initially, he was going to be called Neko 'Little Man' Brown as we thought he was the smallest but when we measured him and Adil, we noticed that Adil was slightly smaller and the name suited him better too.

 Johnny 'Machine Gun' Doyle

(Liam Fitzpatrick)

Finally, we have Johnny Machine Gun Doyle. A machine gun is one of the most expected props in a gangster film so we thought it would be good if we related it to a character. This would automatically force the audience think that 'Johnny' will be a very malicious character who thrives to kill with his (supposedly) machine gun.

Development of the mug shot cards.

The pictures shown are the mug shot cards that were made and used. In the process of making them, we had to start on PowerPoint to find the most effective font, size and style – plain and bold. The background was made black and the font white, conforming to the typical mug shot cards. We had to ensure that it was all consistent and similar therefore the size and the positioning of the font were crucial. Once we approved of all of the mug shot cards, we printed them out on A4 paper and were glued onto a big card so they would be easier to hold, look better on screen and look more professional. To make sure that it would look good on screen and that the font would be legible, we did a quick test on the camera and the result was positive.