Repertoire of Elements

Police/crime thriller films

NarrativeThis refers to the structure and storyline of the film, and how the film is told. A trailer picks out key points in the narrative and presents them to the audience.Police/crime thrillers generally revolve around one single, complicated case that the involved police department have to solve against the clock. The law is sometimes bent a little bit, but these incidents are mostly overlooked as they were acted with good intentions. These films are likely to have a plot twist at the end that leads to a change in direction and the eventual solving of the case.The narrative is often dominated by the protagonist and told in their point of view. Characters may be forced to face issues and conflict that they don’t think they have the ability to solve. Towards the end or climax of the film the protagonist and antagonist commonly have a head-to-head/face off in a battle of wit and/or strength with the protagonist as the good side’s final hope of winning. The protagonist will, in most cases, outsmart the antagonist by pinpointing a crucial weakness and unraveling their plans piece by piece.The conclusion of police/crime thrillers is mostly shown as the antagonist serving a punishment for their crimes. This is juxtaposed with an emphasis on the protagonist’s success, usually by a shot of them living happily with their family and job both still in tact – or, if not, safe and relatively unharmed by the process of events.Our film will follow many of these narrative conventions but, keeping balance, will also subvert enough of them for it to remain unique. Conventions we will follow include:• The film will be focused on one case that has to be solved• The law will be bent and/or broken by multiple characters• A plot twist will occur midway that will affect the protagonist• It will be dominated by said protagonist• Characters will face conflicts that they will have difficulty overcomingConventions we will not follow are:• Not all of our characters break the law for good intentions or to solve the case• Our protagonist and antagonist will not have a major head-to-head in a fight for justice• Our antagonist will not serve punishment for his crime

CharactersCharacters are the part of the film that audiences relate to the most. They are a key element to making sure a film is realistic and believable. Characters are also used to develop the narrative of a film in different ways. Different types of characters bring out different parts of storylines, and this is needed for a well-rounded viewpoint to be told.Typical characters of police/crime dramas are generally polar opposites of each other. The protagonist tends to be a police officer or private eye who can be tough and resourceful. They are high in the ranks, often hardworking and work-oriented, however, have families and private lives of their own that can interfere. This can cause conflict between work and home life. They also generally have a partner or comic sidekick and a strong, male boss.The character of Lieutenant Vincent Hanna from Heat is a good example of this sort of character. He is an excellent leader and intelligent character who appreciates having a good villain to chase, but his home life catches up with him at exactly the wrong time. It causes him a delay that affects the outcome of the film without letting the antagonist escape. He has sacrificed the happiness in his relationship to do what he enjoys and does best.Other characters include the antagonist, who is generally just as smart as the protagonist. He presents a challenge to the protagonist that is both mental and physical and is often two steps ahead of him in the beginning. The plot twist in the middle of the film is when he begins to lose his power. This antagonist often remains hidden for the majority of the film and is revealed in the climax or at the end. He targets his victims not only for reasons of accessibility but also because of who they are and who they know.Our film will follow the majority of these conventions but, again, subvert some, too. We will include:• The protagonist as a police officer who is tough and work-oriented• Experiences of some conflict between the protagonist’s work and home life• The antagonist as presenting a physical and mental challenge for the protagonistWe will subvert by:• The antagonist will play a very obvious part throughout the film• Our protagonist will not have a sidekick/partner or a close family of his own• The boss figure is a woman

SettingsSettings are, quite possibly, the most underrated component of on-screen entertainment, whether film or television. This is because audiences are usually too distracted by the plot or characters in front of them to properly focus on what’s behind said plots or characters. ‘Settings’ refers to all the locations a film or television show uses to make everything seem more realistic, such as the park the old lady gets her bag stolen in. Often, it’s the minor details that really cement a setting as being appropriate and realistic, like that empty mug in the sink of the kitchen, or the ‘MISSING’ poster in the window of the vet’s.In police/crime thrillers, there are generally three main settings used: the police station, the protagonist’s home, and the ‘underground lair’. These are in addition to the overarching main setting of a busy city. Police/crime thriller films are often set in cities because of how much room they allow storylines to build up in, as the criminal has lots of places to hide and run. Cities also have a lot of crime, which make them a prime setting for a police-themed plot. Because cities do so easily hide ‘cubby holes’, nooks, and crannies, antagonists often have a dark, secret ‘lair’, of sorts. They are often in hiding for the majority of the film and only revealed when things begin to come to a head.The other two conventional settings – the police station and the suburban family home – are both centered on the protagonist. The station will be their workplace, where they meet their friends and spend most of their time, and the suburban family house will be their home, where there are family pictures on the walls and a wife/husband cooking dinner when they come home at night. This family setting is often disrupted by the presence of the antagonist. If the protagonist does not have a family, it’s likely that they’ll live in a high-rise flat in the center of the city, where they can gaze dramatically into the distance when they’re having difficulty solving a case.Hot Fuzz twisted expectations by setting their police/crime thriller in a country village. We will subvert conventions, too, by:• Having the antagonist on show the whole time• Keeping the protagonist without any close familyHowever, we will conform to conventions with:• A city setting• Having a protagonist that spends lots of time in a police station

IconographyIconography isn’t a word that many people are sure of, but it’s something everybody’s very well aware of. It’s a very important part of the marketing industry as well as the film industry, because iconography is similar to what the word ‘logos’ means. It’s a group of pictures or icons that connote one very clear meaning: the franchise they stand for. They’re used to advertise sequels a lot, as themes that are recurring between the first and other films become icons that fans will recognise. They become their own marketing campaign and bring the style and narrative together.One of the most famous and world-renowned icons is the lightening bolt that symbolises Harry Potter. In almost any country in the world, people will recognise the lightning bolt scar. In fact, it’s so famous that, instead of a full thirty-second teaser trailer for the eighth and final Harry Potter film, a graphic of the bolt was used. Accompanied, for a few seconds, by the famous Headwig’s Theme, it very clearly told audiences that there was another Harry Potter film on its way, and to ‘watch that space’, as it was. National treasure Doctor Who also uses a lot of iconography. As well as the ‘blue box’ TARDIS, and the ever-famous sonic screwdriver, each Doctor has their own iconography and catchphrase. If you know a Doctor, you immediately recognise their icons. Some of the most famous are Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor scarf, Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor cricket clothing, and Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor fez. As soon as the audience see these icons, they know what and who they’re looking at.However, icons don’t always have to be specific to one particular franchise or character. Lots of companies use iconography for certain genres to advertise their films as opposed to a particularly recognisable logo. If a film is the first of its series, audiences won’t know what they’re looking at straight away. In these cases, police/crime thrillers would have to use general iconography such as guns and sunglasses in order to give the audience an idea of genre.Our film will follow iconography conventions by:• Including guns and suits on our posters• Having sunglasses and a police badge introducing our trailer• Forming our trailer with very fast-paced editingIconography conventions will be subverted when we:• Have our main characters in plainclothes instead of uniforms• Don’t include a police car in our trailer

StyleStyles are sometimes difficult to consider with regards to conventionality, as there are so many different ones available and, at the same time, so many being created new each day. As well as overarching styles, there are also different styles within genres, and styles can have different effects on films and audiences when presented in different types of films. The majority of the time, styles are designed and chosen to specifically match the plot and genre of the film and make the audience think in relation to it.The police/crime thriller genre can be a mixture of thriller, terror, comedy, and action depending on which film you’re watching. Overall, police/crime thrillers tend to be very dark in style – both in the style of writing and regards to the colour palette. The sky is often overcast and grey, matching the dim, bland colours of the concrete in the city setting. This is reflected in the posters, as they are often either monochrome or black and white and have one key colour that stands out against the background – most commonly used for the title. This is the easiest way to combine the bleak setting and plot with the streak of excitement and danger. Quite often, the colour of choice is red or blue. Red because it stands out, connotes danger, and looks good. A blue tint is sometimes also used on posters because it makes it look more serious, adds a hint of something out of the norm, and does all of this without any noticeable colouring.When it comes to production, the films often have lots of big establishing shots of the city and the key settings. These are accompanied by countless close-ups and extreme close-ups that direct the audience’s attention to certain key objects and their meanings, for example, a significant name on a piece of paper, or a type of handwriting that an address had been written with. To go with the fast pace of the film, because of its many chases and the constant running that comes with an action film, one will also find many tracking shots. In post-production, scenes are edited until they are very loud and fast-paced, with quick editing and intense music.We will follow conventions by:• Keeping to a simple colour scheme on the posters• Making sure our trailer is very fast-pacedWe will subvert conventions by:• Trying to include more colour in our trailer from the setting• Attempting to avoid using blue tints or red streaks on our posters

ThemesIn modern times, themes are present in everything with a storyline, whether it be poems, stand-up comedy, or films. They also tend to overlap many different genres because of their universal use. The theme of the importance of narrative doesn’t just have to be there in a book; it can now be worked into a song, or a poem, or a TV show. In a similar way, themes can overlap many different genres of films. The theme of romance isn’t just applicable to romance films anymore, it can also be present in science fiction or urban drama. In police/crime thrillers, only one theme is still, essentially, ‘theirs’. All the rest seem to be borrowed.The crime theme is the only one that police/crime thrillers have left to themselves. Of course, this does span over into many different genres, from heist to science fiction, as it is a simple thing to incorporate or kick off a major plotline, but the root of the crime theme from films is police/crime thrillers. These are some of the only films we have left that are dedicated completely to solving a crime. This is because themes are usually in compliment to narrative. They reinforce the genre and often match up with the style of the film – in this case, a bleak action style.As well as the overriding crime theme of police/crime thrillers, there are themes borrowed from other types of films, too. More often than not, one major part of the story is dedicated to family issues. Perhaps a wife will be annoyed at her husband for spending so much time at work, or an antagonist will threaten the lives of the protagonist’s family in order to get him to do follow a rule or allow them a getaway. Quite obviously, this is often accompanied by the beginning of an issue to do with the theme of the mixing of public and private life. Protagonists may begin to bring their work home or ignore their families due to (yet another theme) an antagonist that is proving to be almost impossible to beat.Our trailer and posters will attempt to include some of these theme conventions and subvert others. We will include:• The center of our film will be the theme of ‘crime’• The mixing of public and private life will be a key part of the plot• The antagonist will prove very difficult to beatWe will try and subvert themes of:• Romance• Family issues

AudienceWhen planning and writing a film, it’s important to think of who your audience will be. Audience research is very necessary when considering the demographic you’ll be marketing towards. A questionnaire or interview may be necessary, as well as frequent evaluations and checks to make sure that, with every step being taken, the film is still appealing and suitable to the audience of your choice. Police/crime thrillers generally tend to have quite a narrow audience. In spite of this, there is an abundance of the particular demographic they target towards. It’s very common (if stereotypical) knowledge that males tend to prefer the more action-themed films and females the romance-themed films. Keeping in mind the bloody and violent themes that will likely accompany the distressing plots, it’s also likely that they’ll be older teenagers and, more likely, adults, but not too much older than fifty. It’s easy to assume that once people reach that age, they may spend less time going to the cinema and tastes may change to more low-key hobbies. It’s easy, therefore to assume that the target audience for police/crime thrillers is male 20-50 year olds.Although it’s easy to target towards male adults, it can be very hard to tailor a film to every viewer’s individual tastes. This means that the plots and themes must be much wider in their details. For example, instead of marketing a particular actor, the posters would, perhaps, market the mystery or action aspects of the film. Similarly, we cannot only assume that an audience of a police/crime thriller film will be exclusively male, so it’s important to add some more stereotypically feminine angles, too. In this way, other crime thriller films tend to write in a female protagonist that has a more sexual role to play, or will act as a wife or child. Female police officers are becoming more prevalent in the media these days, however, so this could change very soon.We will stick to typical convention by:• Keeping our trailer action-packed and police-themed• Keeping our main demographic in mind as male adults• Using actors’ names on our posters to encourage more viewersWe will subvert conventions with:• A female protagonist that is not there for sexuality but to play a real role as the boss• Having a lower rating to try and encourage more younger viewers