Product Research Into Short Films/Gangster Films

I am researching for ideas for a short gangster films to further my understanding of the genre. i intend to look into not only gangster films but also films by other british directors.

First off I took a look at Jamie Thraves, who has directed such short films as 'I just want to kiss you'



and the video for 'Coffee and T.V.' blur.

I liked a few things about 'I Just Want to Kiss You'. I liked the very British feel it had to it, this film oozes working class England, with its rough settings and jazzy music and that’s really the kind of film I’m hopping to create. I also found the editing style interesting, the way it cuts sharply between scenes is something I could see being a stylish way to edit our groups project, which is essentially going to be a British gangster film.

I found the 'Coffee and TV.' music video less helpful as it was a film based around a carton of milk. Having said that it still had that very English atmosphere about it and that is something I have become interested since taking a look at some of Jamie Thraves work. Though I didn't find much to take from 'Coffee and T.V.' I still found it interesting to look into as my initial idea was to create a music video.

After looking into Jamie Thraves I moved onto another more obvious director, Guy Ritchie.

I’d seen a few of Ritchie’s main classic gangster films such as; ‘Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, ‘Snatch’ and ‘Rock n Rolla', but the film I wanted to take a look at was one of the first Guy Ritchie made called 'The Hard Case'.

What interested me more about ‘The Hard Case’ than other Ritchie productions was that it was one of his firsts and also it was a short film (it only runs for twenty minutes). I found it interesting to get an insight into where one of the most successful English directors in the world started out.

Watching ‘The Hard Case’ was very useful to my research. It clearly had a lot smaller budget than you’d expect from a Guy Ritchie film, yet it still showed the class and griminess that he often brings into his work. It also had a very British feel akin to Jamie Thraves work. Though this piece was closer to what I would like to create than ‘I Just Want to Kiss You’ it was still a bit too heavy for my liking. I want the film my group creates to be slightly more light hearted and humorous.