'A Very British Gangster' - directed by Donal Macintyre.
It is about one Manchester's most notorious gangsters. The documentary begins following the codes and conventions of an actual film, with the use of an establishing master shot of a city scape at night in a working class area. There is the noise of a train at the beginning of the documentary, which shows that the setting is urban. With the use of street gang music - Hip-Hop represents the urban nature and criminality within Britain.
The train noise is used a sound bridge, while the titles fade in and out.
The gangsters are shown at a low angle which gives perspective of the surroundings and gives the gangsters authority as they are seemingly positioned higher than the audience who are watching. The gangster standing in the middle is the 'main' guy, with is support men at his side, however it is clear that he is the leader because he is in the main focus. They are all dressed in suits, which is taken from the traditional italian/american gangster style, but not as 'slick' or posh-looking because they in a lower-class area than those gangsters in other countries.
The fourth wall is broken as the gangsters talk to the camera, addressing the audience. This moves away from the idea that what we are viewing is like a film, because this is a convention of documentaries because it makes the on-screen image look realistic. The gangster culture is romanticised as slow motion is used.
When the main gangster is talking, there is a cut away to his hands, showing his jewellry which emphasises his wealth. However, this doesnt appear to be an aspect of the working class, or even of a sophisticated person as the jewellery looks somewhat 'over the top' as it is very 'blingy'. This does show prosperity however. There are cuts to a close ups of his face showing his emotion and expression, which is sincerity and shows he is thinking. He appears to be a bit of a psycho as he talks openly about someone being decapitated, but shows no signs of compassion whatsoever.
The use of the handheld camera shows realism, the documentary is supposed to be like a 'fly on the wall' view.
A crane shot is used within the documentary which is unconvential because it takes a great deal of preperation, but gives the documentary a professional look, similar to a film, making it look legitimate.
The location of a barber shop is used, which part of the iconography of gangster history.
Within the documentary, it does not appear to be real time, the cuts used suggest a jump in time
The main gangster who is whistling is a juxtaposition to the idea of a violent man appearing to be cheerful.
There is a montage of black and white images, they are grainy which resembles undercover cctv surveillance footage. It also looks like newspaper pictures, this montage idea is taken from Quinten Taranteno's Pulp Fiction film. This furthers the idea of this documentary appearing to be like a proper film as opposed to a 'normal' documentary. Many people may associate traditional documentaries with being boring, perhaps the directors intention for this particular documentary is to create excitement and professionalism as it doesn't appear to have been rushed.
The gangsters appear to be enjoying being filmed perhaps because this gives them kudos, identity and respect within their community.
There is a transition effect which show black and white stills turning into colour.
The use of a handheld camera shows how things are happening in reality as opposed to using a tri-pod. Because of the nature of gangsters, the cameraperson cannot afford to have full on camera equipment because if the time comes where they need to run away, they would not have time to dismount and carry the equipment.
Within the documetary, it is shown to be real, as the gangsters have an argument, which is not seemingly scripted, thus reinforcing the sense of verisimilitude.
Oasis music is used which is typically associated with the manchester music scene
Sunny weather and happy music is a juxtaposing idea to gangster culture that is being documented
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