Deconstruction: Locations in drama films

Locations in drama film:

Shank:

The locations shown in the trailer of Shank tell us that this film is an urban crime drama as the location of the film is set in the suburbs of London. We can tell this through convention codes, such as abandoned buildings/council estates and alleyways.

• The trailer shows that there is large amounts of deprivation in the area which is iconography to show that the status of the characters is of a lower/working class. An example of this would be the medium close up of Junior running towards the camera being chased through an abandoned street where there is large amounts of litter and vandalism on the roads. Relates to Hypodermic needle theory because the audience are heavily influenced and affected by the media that London suburbs are derelict and high in criminal activity. As a result this tells us that through location uses in the trailer the audience are expected to believe that London is derelict with a large working class population.

• The location of shank also conforms to the common representations of lower class people and adds to the urban crime drama. We see this through the use of shots of camera shots of flats and council estates. This is shown in a low angle shot of a man jumping off a ledge/bridge by a block of council flats showing that the area is poor. However, we also see a unique London icon which adds to the heritage of the location. We see an old double decker London bus at the beginning of the trailer which is a key convention in determining the location of the film. They way in which the audience perceives this is through audience theory as it demonstrates how the audience will not be passive towards to the portrayal of London.

• The relevance of the setting location of the boxing ring also has an impact on the genre. Through the use of training and reference to boxing we can tell that there will be street fights, showing action as a sub genre. An example of the reference to boxing would be a low angle shot of Junior's brother punching the punch bag.
  
   

Shifty:

• In the film trailer shifty tell us that the film is an urban crime drama. We can tell this through convention codes because we see a block of flats, council estates and the police to show that location adds to the genre.

• At first, there is a long shot of the character sitting down and looking over them is a block of flats in the background. We also see the flats in a low angle shot of shifty and his friend in the council park with the flats overlooking them in the background. This tells us that the status of the characters is lower class through the use of flats signifying that the area is poor and through the use of audience theory we can tell that through the media the audience get an impression that all lower class people live in council estates.

• In the trailer we also see that there are alleyways with large amounts of derelict buildings, vandalism and overgrown plants. This shows that the film is being taken place in the suburbs. The fact that we see drugs and police adds to the urban crime drama genre as they are convention codes to show that the location is derelict. Towards the end of the trailer we also see an aerial shot of council estates and terrace housing which shows that the area is poor and working class. This links with uses and gratifications theory because the audience is consuming the lower class in a way where the media has represented them as poor and in a location where there is more crime.