Genre Research Summary

1. What do the titles tend to look like? Fonts, transitions, pace, contents?


The titles in crime films are often quite bold using a font such as impact. The transitions
are usually quite fast paced and clever, they give the film a different angle and help
it too flow better.

2. What kind of music and/or other non-diegetic sounds are used?

There are two main types of soundtrack used in crime films. When the criminals are
planning or preparing for a crime, the music will be a lot quieter and will be used to
build the tension, whereas once the action is taking place, we get much more fast paced,
louder music, this increases the excitement of the scene. There are also quite a lot of non
diegetic sounds used in most crime films, such as car tyre screeches and gun shot sounds.




3. What types of character do we see in the opening sequences? How are their characters established through technical features (e.g. costume, make-up, setting, cinematography, sound, editing ...)


We often see the main characters who are key to the plot, introduced early on to show their
significance to the scene, often the shot is freeze framed and there name is shown in the form
of a title, this character building style can be taken a step further by having different fonts or
music to go with each individual. Quite often, especially for the leaders / bosses, the camera
will be positioned at a low angle to them, so portray their power.

4. What kinds of mise en scene dominate? What are typical features of setting, lighting, props?

There are a few props that are almost always used in crime films, examples of these are:

guns, balaclavas, get away cars/vans, blue prints/maps and possibly a hostage. The films are

usually done in low light as this helps create a dark atmosphere. The settings vary, but often the

planning is done in an inconspicuous room, such as a cellar or warehouse, and the action often takes

place in a bank or on the road in chase. 

5. What narrative codes are employed and how?

Crime films often follow Barthe's enigma theory, in which the film stars in a situation that the

viewer can not understand, they need to continue to watch so that they can understand. Some 

examples are when the criminals are executing the plan, the viewer does not know how it will

be executed so they must continue to watch to find out, or perhaps once the crime is over and

the film starts in the aftermath or consequence of the crime.

6.Is there a particular form of cinematography or editing that is specific to the genre your working in?

Crime films often use low angle shots to show power and control and high angles to show weaker more

insignificant characters. The editing is often fast paced and quite clever, with use of in depth transitions and

special overlay effects.