Evaluation question one

How does your film use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My opening was crafted to follow generic structure, form and feel to a generic crime film. Based heavily off existing successful crime films and TV series Fidelity really was just a blend of as many elements a crime film would contain. 

Depiction of characters was a main theme I focused on when planning the way the opening would pan out. I instantly began centring every element of the sequence to fit around how these protagonists would be projected to the audience. The opening shows 2 seemingly high rank characters (Jason and Reggie) and one aspirational sideman (Arthur) who will stop at nothing to get to where he wants to be despite the way loyalties lie. I felt the opening really presented the corruption and uncertainty of gang life and this was a key message I wanted to voice through the film. That below the law nothing is safe or appears as it seems. I felt the intended twist to the opening would really set this in stone for the audience and present the irrationality present in gang life and how things could change and become dangerous very quickly which is a very generic presentation of gang life. 

I carefully crafted a location as often gang films are set in secluded and dangerous areas away from the lavish luxury life which is also presented with gang crime. I had the privilege of using a very nice car which presents the money involved in crime and how often the higher ranked people possess a large amount of money. I felt the car was perfect and another key way to present Jasons personality. I used editing techniques to make the driving in the opening seem erratic which linked greatly to the personality I wished Jason and by using sweeping shots far from the car it helped present a calmer side to Jason yet hinted at the more irrational and enraged personality he later possesses. I didn't introduce Jason till the abandoned factory scene to create narrative enigma as there was no clues as to his destination or intention during this sequence. This links to a more generic representation giving the criminals a more mysterious and innocent appeal at first and then revealing their darker undertones later on in the scene. 

I used low angles to represent the characters in power so initially a lower angle was used to depict Jason quantifying his power at the beginning, gradually this angle became less and less emphasised until we get his final shot at eye level showing his loss of power over the other two characters. This element of the film  I feel was less generic as its not often in crime films where a lower rank almost guard decides to betray his superior due to fear of fate should this be done. 

Sound I had also planned to follow general trends of a crime film introducing a rock and bass sound track to create a high energy level and adrenaline to the film whilst introducing suspense. I took inspiration from Peaky Blinders for my soundtracks as I had liked the way they introduced emotion through a soundtrack implicating the characters mood and intended actions without any dialogue. I wanted to make my tracks predominantly percussion based so I tried to find an intense drum track which would suit the "in your face" nature to the video.

Editing built up in speed as the scene became more intense I used an increase of cuts to create a sense of discomfort and also removed the static elements of the shots creating disorientation as Jason gets betrayed which links to generic trends through current existing crime films and TV series.

Overall I feel Fidelity was a very generic film suiting the genre and was purposefully based on existing crime successes to secure a relative success of the film due to its low budget limitation as well as run time allocated in the brief.

I decided to introduce Jason through time showing initially his feet as he exited the car, this was done through a crab left as the door opened which presented a very slick feel to this introduction almost as if the world moved with his actions showing immediate power and by not showing his face initially this created a mystery surrounding him. Through the shots eventually his face was revealed from a low angle which depicted him as a very strong and powerful man. It is very generic in crime films to introduce a mysterious character indirectly to create narrative enigma surrounding them and giving them a sense of power also.


As well as incorporating many generic factors of a crime thriller film I felt there were elements of the film which made it stand out from other generic crime films. For example the colour grade I was using was tinted towards a more blue colour palette which gave a very raw and exposed look I also desaturated the colour to reinforce the grit and rawness which would be prominent through the scene, this almost modernised the crime genre in my opinion as often colour grading in crime films is very understated and is often incredibly contrasting crushing the shadows in the image to surround the scene with mystery. I also managed to shift the colours of the sequence from a surprisingly vibrant grade for the first scene which I then shifted to the desaturated grade in the industrial estate. This I wanted to do to throw off the viewer and create a more poignant mood shift that was sure to hint at the nature of the events that follow. This I felt was an example of me developing and defying typical conventions of a crime opening.

Another example of developing conventions was the use of the arc shot during Jasons speech which I felt worked really well as often in crime films not much is displayed of the location and very often I found through research an establishing shot is completely removed from the sequence to create secrecy however the arc shot in which I used my camera mounted on a glidecam was intended to create a calmer environment surrounding Jason showing how he is almost reluctant to people seeing him as he has so much power the world is almost revolving around him. I feel by using extensive camera movements I was able to really portray power held through the characters and at the same time I was able to show the depth of emotion surrounding each individual character.