Evaluation question two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My product presents one main social group being upper class British criminals. I achieved a very typical presentation of these characters through various conventions. 

SOUND

Sound became a very poignant way which I used extensively to present the social groups. Firstly I ensured all cast members to perform with a strong and gritty accent. this linked to typical gangsters being from the south and gave a more convincing portrayal of the characters involved. I felt the accents helped to present social class as often southern people would be more wealthy which linked to my idea of presenting the criminals as being upper class. I also chose these accents as they contained very gritty and raw elements to them which gave a more convincing presentation of strength through the characters. 

The soundtrack also became a main focus for presenting an upper class criminal social class. I chose to use slow paced soundtracks as oppose to high intensity more fast paced tracks to help present the social classes. The slower pace presents the higher class as being more in control and and having a more relaxed approach to the environment they face. I cut the soundtrack at dialogue when characters begin to speak to further portray the importance surrounding the characters showing the upper social class as being dominant and incredibly important. 

MISE EN SCENE

Mise en scene was truly where I could present the target social class fully and most obviously to the audience. Firstly props were a huge portrayal of the money involved in modern crime and the upper social class. I was able to have access to a luxury car in which Jason - one of the protagonists - was driving in addition this depicted the "gangsters" as very wealthy and powerful and most definitely not humble about their money obtained unlawfully. I wanted also to really push the idea of the obtainment of "dirty money" to the audience so chose to shoot the confrontation sequence in a very desolate and run down area which almost juxtaposed the lifestyle presented through clothing and props giving the social group a very shady and false feeling surrounding them projecting the social class as hell-bent and fake. All characters were dressed in formal attire projecting them as wealthy still and being figured of importance, the formal wear correlated to that of a business man which of course it is a common projection for gangsters to see themselves as businessmen. This presented a very out going and independent feel to the characters. I Dressed my main protagonist who holds power throughout the majority of the scene in the more formal wear which portrayed him as the most important and also correlated to the power which he held throughout the scene. The other two characters were then dressed down further with the lowest ranking character dressing the least formal and I found this to reflect the power in which each character had and wanted this to reinforce the impact the twist would have.

EDITING

Editing in Fidelity was quite simple and slow paced I wanted the editing style from the beginning to be very understated for the majority of the film drawing more emphasis to the characters interaction with each other and putting a greater focus on dialogue and the story elements of the sequence. The lack of cuts when more important characters were speaking put greater emphasis on their speech reflecting them as being a more important social group. The lack of cuts created however a more orientated feel and presented a much calmer feel to the visuals of the film. This once again helped to reflect the mind-set of the upper class characters presenting them almost being in a routine and used to these dealings but also presenting them as very collective people which I felt differed from many of the films in which I looked at which presented the more irrational side to criminals and their acting. I wanted to present a sense of urgency in the opening credits so only used straight cuts and didn't want to use fades as I still wanted that rough edge to be presented to the social group throughout creating a very raw and real feel to the sequence. The colour grade I used was also very muted and gave a more raw feel which became gradually more raw as the location changed which once again gave this juxtaposing feel from the false luxury and money.

CAMERA WORK

Camera movement and cinematography required the most in depth planning in order to subtly hint key aspects of social groups portrayed and highlight their power and tendencies. Firstly I used varying angles to give a sense of power to the characters using a low angle to project importance and dominance something which is commonly portrayed about this social group giving them a very strong presence in the shot without "glamourizing" them. Most of my shots were static takes giving a very calm and clean feel to the scene reflecting on the social groups calmer and collective side of their personality and also giving a more luxurious and prominent feel to the characters as our focus is purely on them during dialogue as the shots force us to focus on the motion of the character rather than that of the camera. However as action and tension increased throughout the sequence I used similar shot types for all characters showing the shift in power leading up to the shooting which presented a more turbulent and unpredictable side to the social group I aimed to present. The shot I was very happy with and I had crafted and used to really reinforce the power and importance of Jason - protagonist- was the act shot. I felt by rotating around the set really quantified the power Jason held showing that all around him belonged to him almost as if the world (audience) was revolving around him. it gave a very self centred portrayal to the social class showing them as being very stuck up and self obsessed.

Overall I feel my media product presented the desired social class in many different ways through different aspects of the film giving for a very uncertain feel surrounding all characters towards the end of the sequence presenting the criminal lifestyle as unpredictable yet high rewarding however a very dangerous lifestyle to be involved in and shouldn't be aspired too.