Research on Diamond day

Themes

There are many themes surrounding the idea of Diamond Day, one of the key ones is the idea of criminal behavior, mainly aimed at this idea reflected in a gangsta's lifestyle. The MOB life, the dangers that can occur when you mess with dangerous people in the business. This can be linked to themes within the film Snatch. (2000)  a Russian gangsta and two incompetent amateur robbers, the theme of defying someone with great power over society. Showing the situations that can occur when you involve yourself with people in this type of lifestyle. A theme of dark humor can be portrayed through the events that happen, it can be based on actual events that happen in day to day life.



Another theme that we would like to include is the theme of friendship, in Diamond Day there are two men who seem to get themselves in a pickle, accidentally stealing from a Big Boss and not realizing what they have done, until they come face to face with the effects of their actions. They are in it together and have a clear bond when they made the same mistake, they need each other in order to achieve the task set by the boss to repay their debt. Similarly to the friendship between the main two protagonists in the film Bad Boys 2 (2003) They are placed in a difficult situation and they need each other. We would like to portray this theme and add some comical element to it because it keeps the characters down to earth and the audience can relate to a friendship they may have with a friend, even if they are not criminals.

Diamond day takes inspiration from many different gangster films, for example Snatch (2000, Guy Richie), London Boulevard (2010, William Monahan) and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, Shane Black).

First of all the short will most likely resemble Snatch and other Guy Richie films with it being British gangster comedy. Much of the humour will emulate that of Guy Richie films with it being dark and satirical. Below is the trailer for snatch.

Another Guy Richie film that I took inspiration from is RocknRolla (2008, Guy Richie). Again the film appeals to a similar demographic and also focusing on a small group of criminals trying to make it big. Like many of Guy Richie's films there is comedy through out in the form of us the audience laughing at the predicaments the protagonists get into. Such an example can be seen here from RocknRolla (2008, Guy Richie).

We also see in this clip the idea of a criminal duo, friends who work together committing crimes to make money. This was an idea I wanted to use in Diamond day, and so the idea of Graham and Paddy developed.

Another film I took inspiration from is London Boulevard (2010, William Monahan) This also tells the story of a criminal protagonist under the thumb of a criminal king pin, this was also an idea I wanted to explore, an omnipotent criminal that control our protagonists.

Here is a clip below. 

Lastly Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, Shane Black) which explores the idea of an amateur criminal getting entangled in the criminal underworld and more importantly with a criminal boss. This film is American and is perhaps more of a noir, however still implements the elements of humour I wanted to in Diamond Day.   

Linking to Society. 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/30-mobsters-
nabbed-connection-italian-mafia-article-1.1609347

Looking into the media it is evident that organised crime by mob gangs still lingers in the media. Even though this is not about crime that they have committed, the media almost sounds surprised that the mob haven't committed this. Most of it is under wraps and the conspiracy is that some police may be handed a salary by the mob to keep quite. We still see current workings of the mob existence when it is in the media of arrests of members for crimes that were committed years before. The idea of diamond day would work well because these are current events that are shaping day to day lives, and people what to see how these organised crime groups work and what life it like for those involved.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1827163/?ref_=ttmd_md_nm

There is even now a TV series dedicated to the lives of the wives of these Mob gangs, telling their story of events they have witnessed. As we can see this series took off and became a success with a record 6 seasons airing, this tells us that programmes/ films that give information about the gangs, the mafia, the mob, audiences want to know about it. These are the inspirations that help us structure and think more about the screenplay Diamond Day which we are creating.



Locations 

When considering the location of the film I knew I needed to feature an area that was secluded, somewhere that the audience would believe a criminal deal would take place. The place I immediately thought of Fritton woods. Having been there many times I am familiar with the area and believe it would offer some great shots for the short. Here are some examples of locations that could possibly be used in the short. Specifically the opening seen when see the two protagonists entering the forest, and the opening in which the deal takes place.

After reading the script it was evident that we needed the correct location in order to make it look cinematic and create the desired atmosphere. The location is very important for us as we need to find a place to make it look believable and also somewhere where we will be allowed to film with guns. Due to the majority of the film being shot within the woods as well we need to make sure that it is close by so we can access it easily and that will also mean that we can go backwards and forwards to allow us to have a lot of time there.

As you can see above forests look really nice due to the warm colours and shadows that are created. We will be filming this in April as well so the leaves will be nice colours and the shadows will look great on the protagonists to create that eerie, mysterious look.

As well as a forest we need a room where some of the characters will meet and have a conversation that will lead to the action that takes place later on in the film. This room needs to have a look that is once again believable and that will fit into the style of the film we are trying to create. We want to try and avoid using the college as it's an environment that is seen every day and not very aesthetically pleasing. We need a location that will fit 4 people in and where we will have time to shoot some lengthy conversations and still make it look nice. This could be done in a house with some lighting - that's our best option.

Above there is a helpful video of how we can film this dialogue and shows what we need in order to make it look good. By filming in a spacious house we are more than able to do this and will be possible.