Individual research into genre - Crime films

Crime films are films that focus around crime story's. However there are two main types of crime films. One focuses on the criminals side and how they live there lives, and the other focuses on the policing side. Both engage in many subjects including policing, criminality, gender, race and social and cultural values. To be effective they need to use many key elements that contribute to them including resolution to a mystery, question of morality and debates about innocence and guilt. They also often show two sides of main character lives, their criminal/policing lives and their private lives and how they affect each other. Crime films often tend to be male orientated genre's. The main criminal and police detective characters are often similar however have large aggravation towards each other.

Detailed story line (first two minutes)

All seems well as Lewis Lock meets a shady anonymous character at a café, which is located on the side road of the calm Barnsley town centre. After the two characters briefly exchange a few words (camera angle from outside the shop window looking in so the conversation can't be heard), the anonymous silhouetted character hands over a suspicious bag, filled with unknown contents. Lewis then leaves the café and heads over towards his car, which is parked in a dark isolated alley way located close to the café.


Although the sunny weather and smiling faces may represent a vibrant uplifting mood, the atmosphere soon takes a drastic change when a disequilibrium is introduced. This is represented by a floating, red balloon (inspired by the 'party scene' in Sixth Sense when Cole, who is wearing a red jumper, approaches a floating red balloon which represents danger). Just as Lewis reaches the far side of the alley and approaches his car, he is struck by a metal object by a character dressed in all black. As his body plummets to the floor like a lifeless doll, the bag that Lewis held is taken as he lay unconscious and lifeless on the floor. The character then jumps into the side of a getaway car, before speeding away from the scene.

Red balloon in Sixth Sense 

Cole from Sixth Sense approaching a red balloon

The camera zooms into Lewis's head before fading to black. After this elliptical transition, D.C.I Bloor is briefed about a young criminal who was caught intoxicated in a speeding vehicle the refused to pull over after being confronted by a police car. After the car was searched a large bag containing large amounts of high class drugs was found. Bloor becomes aggravated with the conversation as he knows this is a good lead into the big case that he has been trying to crack for nearly a year, but the suspect is withholding vital information which would help Bloor crack the case, leading him to the king pin drug lord.

Storyline idea

Storyline
Its just an ordinary day. As two young are girls walking down the street exchanging conversation about their drunken night out the previous night. As they pass a café they see a man laid on his back in an alley way, presumably asleep. They decide to ignore him as they do not know the man and would rather not get involved. They later discover, due to information on the news, that the man is dead and the police are launching a murder investigation. As the girls enjoy a quite night in they are disturbed by a knock on the door. Its the police wanting to talk to both of them as CCTV from the café shows the girls in the vicinity late that night. They are taken to the station for questioning but later released as neither girl can give much information due to them being drunk.The rest of the film flits between the girls  at the party showing what happened on the night, and present day investigations.(all leading us to think that the first girl did murder the man) Later revealing that the police have found evidence that links one of the girls to the crime scene. . .
The girl is arrested, questioned and later released on bail.
 

As the trail day looms and tensions are running high the other girl confesses to the murder. As the girls are sisters the DNA is similar and it got mixed up. She explains what happened that night (shown to us through flashbacks , from the girls perspective and the use of voice over )


The beginning, when the two girls find the body is similar to the book Paper Towns by John Green, soon to be made into a film.

This storyline could also be linked to Memento as he believes one person killed his wife but it turned out to be someone else. The film gives you little clues and messages throughout to try and make you believe who killed her.

Story Idea

Story ideas:  

My first story idea is a film based around the genre of a horror/ thriller. Many movies which are popular within these genres are based around people or things being possessed. I decided to focus this around my idea of a movie. The movie will start with a flashback of a 12 year old boy. It will look back to his younger years with his mum, dad and twin sister. This flashback will then cut back to the present time where the boy is stranded om his own as he has been abandoned by his family as his parents believe he is part of the devil. Unknown the real culprit is his twin sister who made her parents push their only good child away. The movie will see the struggles the boy faces against his family and sister in attempt to persuade them he's normal. 

My second idea is a crime based film around a robbery which takes place in many locations throughout a small town. The crimes all seem to have a connection in that they are performed by an organisation. The movie follows a group of police officers who try to solve the mystery behind the crimes. However, their is a plot twist the robberies have been set up to test the officers who work within the district. The criminals try to corrupt the officers in order to see if they are worthy of their position.

Media storylines

Mangled bodies have been turning up all over Barnsley and the inhabitants are scared. Ten murders in ten weeks, all committed with a blade, and still nobody has a clue who the vile killer is. 

DCI Daniel Bloor is a tall and intuitive detective with a fondness for mechanics. He doesn't know it yet but he is the only one who can stop the deranged killer. 

When his sister, Charlotte Parker, is kidnapped, DCI Bloor finds himself thrown into the centre of the investigation. His only clue is a blood covered shirt. 

He enlists the help of a brave doctor called Chloe Thomas.  

Can Thomas help Bloor overcome his fear and find the answers before the ruthless killer and his deadly blade strike again? 

Whilst investigating the death of a local teacher, a selfless private detective called James Barker uncovers a legend about a supernaturally-cursed, peculiar necklace circulating throughout Barnsley. As soon as anyone uses the necklace, he or she has exactly 45 days left to live. 

The doomed few appear to be ordinary people during day to day life, but when photographed, they look translucent. A marked person feels de-energised and frustrated. 

James gets hold of the necklace, refusing to believe the superstition. At night he has weird dreams of a dull crow balancing on a tattered old man, people in silly accidents, a hooded figure ranting which can't be made out in a dark room. 

When James notices these changes, he begins to realise that the curse of the peculiar necklace is true and calls in his friend, a actor called Chloe Blackman, to help. 

Chloe examines the necklace and willingly submits herself to the curse. She finds that the same thing happens to her. She joins the queue for a supernatural death. 

James and Chloe pursue a quest to uncover the meaning of the visions, starting with a search for the hooded figure. Will they be able to stop the curse before their time is up? 

Group photo