"A Very British Gangster" by Donal MacIntyre
In the documentary “A Very British Gangster” By Donal MacIntyre he uses conventions that mix in film and the target audience of documentary. To start the opening sequence the journalist uses an establishing shot of the city of Manchester in an evening setting, this is used as a stereotype of ‘gangsters’ because people like that are known to come out within this period of time to cause trouble, etc, also with the setting was the ambient sound of the surrounding environment to create atmospheric feel of typical Manchester. Captions begin to be revealed, bold white colour. He then uses a sound bridge to create tension to the documentary and the diegetic sound of the train across the tracks, but when the 'gangsters' appear on screen there juxtaposition is purposeful. They are arranged by order of dominance, the main person, Dominic Noonan, is put in centre to show hierarchy above the henchmen which are at the same distance away and to the left and right of him.
It then continues into its caption of the title, which are a clear white colour to stand out above the rest of the footage behind it, and show mystery. We i found interesting was that the clear text makes it look like a projection of light, somewhat from a helicopter, this is to imply rebellion towards the law and that this stereotype can do what they want. The scene is shot at a low angle and is established as a alley way setting this is because 'gangsters' are the top dogs in the yard per say and this is where they usually are found due to the rough atmosphere, also the non-diegetic music is some sort of rap which is a stereotype for 'gangsters' trying to make themselves well known. The director then cuts to a setting that looks like the centre of Manchester this is where most action goes down within the area, all the fights, pubs, clubs, etc are found here. MacIntyre uses slow motion to create tension in the documentary and he uses a voice over narrative because that is the stereotype for this kind of media production, to inform people about the theme is on, giving people extra information that is not shown. Next shows a hand held camera shot which is used to, again, show tension for the theme and uses archive footage from a cctv camera to imply a prison/ danger feel to the gang, which is stereotypical for people with there background, stealing, robberies, fights, etc. From this point he begins to interview the "head gangster" Dominic Noonan and wants to know more about his past life and the stories that came along with it. To start the interview we are shown a hand held/ close up shot of his hands this is used to show mystery to him and that he has wealth in some way via his gold jewellery on his fingers. It then cuts away to his head showing his facial expressions implying his confidence and power within the city of Manchester.
It then continues into its caption of the title, which are a clear white colour to stand out above the rest of the footage behind it, and show mystery. We i found interesting was that the clear text makes it look like a projection of light, somewhat from a helicopter, this is to imply rebellion towards the law and that this stereotype can do what they want. The scene is shot at a low angle and is established as a alley way setting this is because 'gangsters' are the top dogs in the yard per say and this is where they usually are found due to the rough atmosphere, also the non-diegetic music is some sort of rap which is a stereotype for 'gangsters' trying to make themselves well known. The director then cuts to a setting that looks like the centre of Manchester this is where most action goes down within the area, all the fights, pubs, clubs, etc are found here. MacIntyre uses slow motion to create tension in the documentary and he uses a voice over narrative because that is the stereotype for this kind of media production, to inform people about the theme is on, giving people extra information that is not shown. Next shows a hand held camera shot which is used to, again, show tension for the theme and uses archive footage from a cctv camera to imply a prison/ danger feel to the gang, which is stereotypical for people with there background, stealing, robberies, fights, etc. From this point he begins to interview the "head gangster" Dominic Noonan and wants to know more about his past life and the stories that came along with it. To start the interview we are shown a hand held/ close up shot of his hands this is used to show mystery to him and that he has wealth in some way via his gold jewellery on his fingers. It then cuts away to his head showing his facial expressions implying his confidence and power within the city of Manchester.
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