Individual Case Study

1. Individual Case Study Henry Akakpo

2. Summary of Film Neil McCauley and his professional criminal crew steal money from large money targets (banks, vaults, armoured cars).Hot on their trail is Lt. Vincent Hanna and his team of cops from the Robbery/Homicide police division. A failed robbery attempt puts Hanna onto their tails while they regroup and try to put together one last big 'retirement' score. Neil and Vincent are similar in many ways, they both have troubled personal lives. At a crucial moment in his life, Neil disobeys the main rule taught to him long ago by his criminal mentor--'Never have anything in your life that you can't walk out on in thirty seconds flat, if you spot the heat coming around the corner'- as he falls in love. As the investigation continues. The two meet at some point and have a tense conversation. McCauley goes on to rob a bank and goes into hiding. Upon mentioning his “girlfriend to the detective. The detective finds his whereabouts after finding his girlfriend in a car waiting to flee the country. This fatal mistake causes him to make rash decisions and ends up with McCauley dying.

3. Trailer Analysis The trailer was directed by Michael Mann. It starts off on a cold night with a train moving slowly. This may emphasize the detective being driven in one direction only. It also emphasizes the fact that Hanna works on his own despite the ups and downs throughout the film. “Heat” remains at the bottom left corner of the trailer for a duration of time. This helps the audience remember the name of the film. “He is here..I can feel it” symbolises the close ties the two characters have despite the fact that one person is a criminal and the other is a detective. The voiceover gives a slight over view of the film. This changes to recorded dialogue between the detective and his wife. The tense moment between the two shows that the detective is somewhat troubled during his search for McCauley. During the conversation with his wife, she says “You search for the scent of your prey, and then you hunt them down”. He then replies “It keeps me on the edge, where I'm meant top be”. As he continues to talk there is a fade to another scene where he is chasing the criminal with a gun. His disregard for a proper family life is shown when he seems to put his work life before married life. The quote and transition in shots describes him almost like a driven hunter. The director uses close up shots to emphasise the tension and urgency surrounding the detective. There is a close up shot of Val Kilmer saying “The bank is worth the risk” . This shot shows the stern and cold nature of the criminals. It also shows the audience that the mean business and will stop at nothing until they leave with money. During a chat between de Niro and his partner in crime, editing is used to emphasize excitement. An example of this is, as soon as de Niro’s friend says 12.2 million there is a quick cut showing de Niro saying “your on” as a form of agreement. This is followed by a series of action packed shots to show the audience what will happen later in the film. All of this builds to a climax with the voiceover saying “Heat”. Due to the lack of music and the voice over continuing, the climax does not has a a very strong impact, however you can sense a build up of excitement

4. Poster Analysis Form & Style: At the bottom of the poster are a few characters. The distance between them shows that the characters lead different lives and probably know nothing of each other. The effect this has on the audience is that they gain interest in what is happening, they may also want to live the glamorous life. The title does not explicitly give away the plot of the film. However , the centre character (Kilmer) is seen in an action shot with a machine gun. His actions show that he is in a moment of desperation. This tells the audience that the fill will be action orientated and will involve. Connotations: The use of colour connotes a lot of meanings. The posters has a dull tone with a grey filter over the characters. It also has an icy blue feel. This symbolizes the cold and callous behaviour and feelings the criminals and detectives share and have for each other. The main characters are well dressed in suits. This elaborates the luxurious lives criminals may live. It also symbolizes the formal nature of a detective and his work. The characters in the middle and top of the poster are placed together to signify the close ties they have no matter how much they hate each other Technical Aspects: The poster is centre framed. This gives the audience a proper view of the character in the middle. However the shots of the main criminal (de Niro) and detective (Pacino) are taken at angles. This symbolises the contrast between the characters. It also emphasizes on which side of the law the two characters stand. The lighting used is chiaroscuro and low key lighting. this gives the poster a dark tone. The chiaroscuro effect allows the sides of the characters faces to be darkened, This gives a sense of mystery to the characters.