Case Study - Italian Job 2

Poster Analysis

The quote “Get in, Get out, Get even” suggests their will be quite a bit of action as probably the group of characters on the poster will be involved in some plan. They will have to get in, get even suggests they may want something back that has been stolen from them and then get out. All characters appear as if they are posing and don’t look to happy, they look as if they want to get a person back for something that has happened.

The two yellow lines down the middle may mean the two sides come together as one to get that someone back or they come from completely different backgrounds and work together on this one. The title is all in caps lock but the word “JOB” is in yellow which really stands out from the black background and is eye-catching. It appears that the two main characters are the two at the front on the poster. They are all wearing casual clothes so this must mean its nothing business related it is something they may well be doing or planning for in their own time.

Case Study on Italian Job 2003

The thriller film I have chosen to research is Italian Job 2003 this film follows on from the Italian Job original. The director of this film is F. Gary Gray an American director. The production company is Paramount Pictures. The release date for this film in the UK was 19 September 2003. The film was made and filmed in Los Angeles and California in the USA. The gross revenue was $176,070,171. The genre of this film is action, crime and thriller. It is preceded by Italian Job original.

The type of target audience I think this film is aimed at is an audience that enjoys action packed films with car chases and thrilling fights, which entertain them. An audience that enjoys all action sequences. Using the IMDB (internet movies database) website I found some user ratings mainly ranging between 6 to 9 out of 10 quoting “non – stop action film” and “special effects are stunning”.

Technology is constantly changing all the time which enables the user to access and watch the film easier when ever they desire. The audience can watch the movie on DVD or Blu Ray or can watch or download the movie online. Using new technology you could download it on to an iPod and can watch it on the move.

Camera movement/angles in the opening of Italian Job 2003
The opening begins with credits and various shots of maps and a location. The first shot we see is a close up of a sparkling necklace the purpose of having this shot may suggest to the audience that the buyer is rich and has plenty of money to spend. It then cuts to a medium close up of the phone the purpose of this is to show that someone is trying to contact Stella (the women in bed.) the effect of this shot is to show the audience that maybe the person who is buying the necklace is contacting Stella.

We then see a medium shot of Stella in bed having answered the phone and we find that it’s her dad on the end of the line, so the audience can gather from the dialogue that the necklace he has just bought is for his daughter Stella. The effect of this camera angle is the audience will be able to see her reaction to their conversation. The next shot (medium shot) cuts to John (Stella’s Dad), throughout the conversation as each character talk the camera alternates and cuts to each character the purpose and effect of this is so that the audience can see who is talking and can see their body language and their reaction to what is said throughout the conversation. As John then reveals he is in Venice the long shot fits in with the dialogue as the audience will then see his surroundings.

A new character is then unveiled the camera begins at the floor then pans up revealing who this new character is, it then zooms in so it ends up being a medium shot of his face this new character known as Charlie. The effect of this shot is it builds suspense as the camera pans up because it is unknown to the audience who this other character is and they would want to know who he is. It then cuts to a close up of Charlie’s face which is an over the shoulder shot from John’s side. As John and Charlie talk the camera alternates so when one of them is talking the shot is from over the shoulder of the opposite character.

The last shot in the opening is a long shot of both John and Charlie walking the purpose off this shot is so that the audience can see their location.

Throughout these shots only natural lighting has been used. Digetic sound has been used in the film when John is walking through the square whist on the phone to Stella there are conversations in the background from the public and also the sound of pidgeon’s wigs flapping as they fly away. There is also non-digetic sound most of the opening has quiet music in the background.

The soundtrack – while the credits at the beginning are being played there is quiet music in the background, the music seems as if a mystery is about to be unfold, it builds tension as the audience would want to find out what will happen in the film. The music makes what ever will happen is a secret. The music that is playing in the background when John and Stella are talking fits in well with the dialogue ad example when Stella finds out John is in Venice and isn’t in the USA the music rises up a note as she jumps out of bed over the news.

The music is constantly playing throughout the dialogue but fades out at the end. There is a new type of music being played when Charlie is then revealed in the opening. This type of music is more upbeat and as if the plan of what ever they are now about to do is now going to be revealed to the audience. The audience found out the location (Venice) through the dialogue.

Character Types
John Bridger comes across at first as a bit smug because he has just bought a necklace which looks very expensive as it was neatly being wrapped in a special case. He is wearing informal/casual clothes which appears at first if he is on holiday appearing as a tourist. Through the dialogue the audience discover that he is the kind of person that doesn’t play by the rules and he is his own person and does what he wants, where and when. An example of this he didn’t notify his parole officer he was leaving the USA hence not abiding by the rules and doing what he wants which probably means he has past criminal activity.

Stella Bridger, the audience can see she is a cautious person from when she responds (from her having found out she has got a necklace being sent to her) “does it have a receipt” and also when she finds out her dad is in Venice she suddenly jumps and said “your parole officer approves of course?” the audience cant really tell her true personality from just this piece of dialogue but they can gather a little information from the conversation on the phone.

Towards the end of the opening Charlie appears; he is more formally dressed; business type dress he is wearing black trousers, blue shirt and a black leather jacket. He appears at first laidback and calm but he doesn’t reveal too much about himself, so the audience will have to see his true personality come out in the rest of the film, so for the time being his personality remains a mystery towards the audience.

The audience can discover what type of genre(s) the film may be. They could gather it may be about crime because it has been revealed John should have notified his parole officer he is currently in Venice therefore probably meaning he has past criminal activity. Throughout the opening the music and dialogue builds suspense and tension which may give a clue that there will be action to be revealed later on.

The narrative structure strengthens the appeal of the film. It does this by having point of view shots and over the shoulder shots which seems to let the audience get more involved and understand the plot of the film easier.

The characters in this case represent the different social classes. Both Charlie and John represent the upper class because John has the money to spend on what appears to be an expensive necklace for his daughter and Charlie is more formally dressed and looks smart. I think a message that appears through the film is you only have one shot at life and shouldn’t waste time John proves this point by doing his shopping before what ever is to happen next and also through his dialogue and attitude towards life.

As John and Charlie talk the camera alternates so when one of them is talking the shot is from over the shoulder of the opposite character. So the audience almost have a point of view shot from each character.