Lawless – Crime and Drama
The film starts off showing the main characters with a flash back of when the three brothers from when they were kids. This straight away informs the viewer on the characters past and of their personalities. We will be using a flashbacks of our own within shots of the detective to introduce our third main character who is the killer as it would connect the killer with the audience help them understand the situation.
A prop which has been used in this is a gun. A close up of a shot is one of the very first thing which is shown to the viewer, again telling us that it is a movie packed with violence and criminal activities. Again the flashback is used to show the children playing with guns foreshadowing later events that they are experts with weaponries and have not had a normal childhood emphasising to the viewer
that the movie will contain a lot of action. In the film opening that we will be creating, we too will be using a weapon as a prop, however as we do not have the right budgets and according to safety regulation we are not able to use props such as a gun or a knife.
Another shot which is used within the movie is an extreme long shot, which is used to establish the setting for the viewer. The scenery is of a field of trees which tells the viewer it would be out in the open. As it is a film placed from years ago around 1931 according to IMDB, the director had used an open space which was realistic for the viewer as crimes were taking place out in the open, however we will not be using a open space as in modern day crimes are taken seriously and would look stupid and not realistic if a murder was to take place in an obvious place therefore we will be looking for a discreet location. Also by the looks of it, the shot was taken from up high so probably from a helicopter above, this would be an expensive thing to do, and as we do not have big budget as this movie we will not be taking an establishing shot like this, however may be thinking of taking one from a high building or something if needed to.
Furthermore the song which has been used in this film opening is pretty upbeat western music which may subvert the stereotype of a film opening, however as it is a movie set in the 1930’s it may
be used to present the country side and western people, telling the viewer it is a movie set from the 30’s. I think we will not be using any music as a sound option as it would not suit our type of genre as it is a modern day movie. Also I believe it may take away the serious tense mood which will be presented in the film. On the other hand we may be thinking of adding a sound which would add on to a tensed effect, something sounding cynical and pretty scary maybe to add on to the horrific act of murder.
The second prop to be seen within the film opening is a car driving through a road. This instantly tells the audience it may be a crime movie as there would be fast getaways involved and such. Again due to budget funds we are not able to use such a prop as we could not get hold of a car. We may have
needed it to use as a getaway or anything like that, but instead we will have to do something without it.
A narration by the main character is also used in the opening after the song has faded out. The narration in this film opening is used to connect the viewer with the main character as he is speaking directly to us. The director has done this to inform the viewer of the characters or the movie. We thought that similarly we may be using a voice over instead of a narration as we thought it is not necessary for the character to be speaking to the viewer. The voice over will inform be informing of what has happened in the scene as they may be left a little confused.
