PITCH – Gangster Crime Celina, Jasmine, James and Chandler

The Bonsai Tree

Emphasis on the family bond

Betrayal, retribution, trust, coming of age and loyalty are key themes

Plot Sypnosis

Kaya Maki is the only daughter of Kato Maki, the head of the family and leader of the crime syndicate. In an attempt to protect her from the underworld so she can lead a crime-free life, he instructs her to stay away from the family yakuza business and is expected to fulfil the gender role of being an ideal housewife. However, she finds herself drawn to the gangster life and disregards her fathers wishes by convincing her older brother, Kazuo, heir to the family business, to introduce her to the gangster life. Things go wrong when she accidentally leaks vital information to a rival gang and gets her brother assassinated. Her life turns into secret one as she lives in fear of the consequences for betraying the family.

Yakuza – organised crime

USP: Subversion of gender role – female protagonist instead of male

Cultural background

Tagline: How deep are your roots?

Drug cartels, international relations, murder, money laundering, fraud

Characterisation

Main Characters:

The Daughter (Kaya Maki) – Main Protagonist

Young adult, ambitious and inquisitive, expected to be a ideal housewife, 19 years old

The Father (Kato Maki) – Head of the family

Elderly, late 40s early 50s, most powerful figure in the household, in charge of the family crime organisation

The Son (Kazuo Maki) – Heir to the family business

Influential, family orientated, right hand man, in his late 20s

Side characters: Yakuza members (All male adults, aged 30-50) Outsider – Weapons dealer (female secretary) Kaya’s Best friend – Female, late teens, 18-19

Mise-en-Scene

Props: Guns (pistols) Katana (Japanese sword), tattoo sleeves, bonsai tree

Location/setting: High rise buildings in the city, China Town, business rooms/conference rooms, household with elaborate furniture, urban streets

Costume: Dresses/Kimono, all black outfit (leather jacket, boots), western suits, casual clothing

Hair/makeup: Men will either have slicked back hair or short hair, whilst the women will have some neutral makeup

Lighting: Low lighting, Natural/ambient lighting,

Performance: Foreign accent for the Father and family/yakuza members, conflict between siblings but older sibling gives in to younger sibling’s request, anger, confidence,

Ideas about Cinematography/Photography

Shots: Low angles to show dominance and

authority Over the shoulder shots Back shots Forward/Backward Track Upward/Downward Tilt Shot-reverse-shot Mid-shot Longshot Establishing shot Zoom

Photography: Close up/Extreme Close up Chiaroscuro Group shots

Conventions of trailers/posters/film magazine you plan to reinforce or reinvent?

Trailers: Soundtrack, climax (slowly building up tension from the start of trailer) trumpets, hip hop music, montage and sequences in chronological order, voice over, one liners that are indicative of gangster crime GANGSTER SQUAD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VyLSw9qKwc

Posters: Main image focusing on character/’s (mid shot), right use of colour to establish our genre (dark, mysterious colours), date and day the film releases, list of actors starring in the film

Film magazine: Tagline and heading/subheading of other films in the same genre, images of the yakuza, barcode, price