CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

‘Dodging A Bullet’ introduces a group of female criminals, directed by an anonymous higher authority to steal a painting from a renowned, affluent art collector. 

 We represent the lawless social group of criminals through our chosen mise-en-scene. For Stuart Hall, although stereotypes cause negative controversy, they are also useful in indicating character roles. We dressed our criminals in black, with hoodies and balaclavas concealing their faces, clearly signposting audiences towards the conventional stereotype of criminals not wanting to be seen. Low lighting and dark, heavy black curtains on the set create an ominous ambience, adding to the criminal representation. Through the construction of ‘Sebastian Windsor’, a famous art collector and aristocrat, we represent him as art literate and wealthy, creating the issue of his vulnerability to theft. We show Sebastian as a victim to an unknown shooter whom the audience can assume is motivated by the value of his art and stately home. Stuart Hall notes that there is no fixed meaning of any media representation, in the context of Dodging A Bullet, although we represent this social group as vulnerable, the interpretation may not be consistent across all audiences.

Our production represents the female demographic as equally capable, partaking in stereotypically masculine activities such as a heist, robbing an important male figure. We wanted to challenge the issue of female underrepresentation, by ensuring that our film passes the ‘Bechdel Test’ - casting more than 2 female leads who interacted and held a conversation on something other than the opposite gender. Our female criminals are positioned as 'post-feminist icons' according to Angela McRobbies theory, exhibiting both stereotypically feminine and masculine characteristics, including strength, courage, control and logic. They are determined and independent. Through this, we aim to extend our audience reach beyond the conventional male dominated audience of the crime/thriller genre. We also challenge the common theme in heist films that jewellery/banks is the object of interest. This was inspired by some background research on the 1990 theft of the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum where 13 pieces of art were stolen, with a loss of $500million. Each of the 4 criminals is represented differently – a convention seen in similar heist films, such as Oceans 8. ‘Breach’ assumes the role of hacking the security systems, while Millie plays the director. We signposted this through mise-en-scene and positioning, with Millie wearing a professional suit and often standing at the front inferring her higher status and authority.  Our final representation was of the big boss threatening and demanding retrieval of the painting. We framed the figure with rim lighting in a darkened room, helping us represent her as a faceless, ominous figure. With this, we followed the stereotypical hierarchy of heist films, where criminals work under the direction of a powerful figure or body, getting them to do the dirty work.

Our independent film company, Silverscreen Productions, have a unique production company logo used as branding in all of our productions, building positive associations of our brand. For our trailers, we ensured the elements within each worked together to create a sense of branding. In both, we used fast cut editing paired with popular music (‘pump it’ and ‘jump around’) so the comedic, upbeat effect created was synchronous across both trailers. We used similar shots in each, signposting clear brand identity. Similarly, a sense of visual branding was created across our promo package, with the same bold yellow font used for our title across all posters and the same visual codes of the posters across social media posts. I used a warm, saturated colour scheme with the primary colours yellow, red, blue and green reflecting the painting we steal in the heist. Our tagline ‘this much fun should be criminal’ was used cohesively throughout our products, on social media, posters and in the trailers, shaping strong expectations of the film, whilst linking back to the crime genre. A wide variety of social medias (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tiktok) have allowed us to showcase talent across all platforms, as well as behind the scene clips and sneak peaks of our film posters. By including links to social medias in the trailers as well as on film posters, we gave audiences a chance to further connect with our brand, the consistent links reinforcing our identity and building customer loyalty. We created merchandising, which I cohesively promoted on my social media platform - twitter. I hoped our products would contribute to a sense of brand identity and thus build customer loyalty as they consume our film through various promotion elements.

My products are designed to engage the 15-25 demographic; however, the mainstream production values extend this age bracket. We have a young cast, naturally attracting younger audiences however the set grants our products extremely high production values, with scenic shots of a beautiful National Trust site. Our teaser trailer and main trailer engage with audiences through recognisable modern soundtracks underpinning the action, audibly engaging audiences through music that they know and love. Comedic editing evokes positive emotions within our audiences, with star talent and accolades working to engage film literate audiences with associations of prestige. Social media content is fundamental to modern day marketing, allowing audiences to connect further with characters and the actors behind them. We did this by posting character profiles and behind the scenes footage, allowing audiences to feel part of the production journey. My twitter page engaged with my audience through giving them opportunities to retweet and comment, making their engagement interactive and personal. I tried to make my film poster engaging, with bold primary colours and compelling shots of all of our characters. I included the mansion in the background, the distinct historical setting creating an image of grandeur and status that engages audiences looking for high production values and cultural value. Crucial information such as the release data and social medias inform my audience on where to find the film, creating maximum brand awareness. I found merchandising to be a useful tool to promote Dodging a Bullet, acting as a hook to engage audiences and further immerse them in our product.

I wanted to make sure my products were well-perceived, fitting with the wider codes and conventions of promotion packages. I therefore did research and analysis of packages associated with other films. I found intertitles to be conventional within trailers, including accolades, awards and insights into the narrative. During editing, we reflected this with our tagline ‘this much fun should be criminal’, informing audiences that they should expect fun and excitement. Another convention of the crime/heist genre in particular, is a voice over depicting a figure of authority who orchestrates the heist. The creation of enigma is conventional of all trailers, which we created via the introduction of the boss. Rim lighting created an ominous silhouette round her head, the concealed identity helping build intrigue. Research into similar films, for example Oceans8, informed the USP of our film – an all-female cast of criminals. Oceans8 is a spin-off of Oceans 11, a group of male con-artists. This female representation inspired us to challenge the male-dominated conventions of heist films. Through research I learnt the importance of a striking poster, so with my own I emphasised this unique representation through impressive shots of our female-cast outnumbering Sebastian Windsor. I positioned the criminals standing proudly with the stolen painting, depicting the unequal power balance. I also learnt the technicalities of film posters, such as the importance of the billing block in communicating the required institutional information.