2. There are usually three parts to a heist film
•The gathering of the team and planning
•The robbery takes place
•The escape
The team is usually labelled as crazy.
The majority of these actors are very popular, some more than others. All of
them are portrayed to be a little bit crazy as they are about to do a job that
most people wouldn't even dream about. Reuben says 'you're out of your
minds' and also 'you're gonna need a crew as nuts as your are'. This conforms to
the convention of having a crazy team.
Then there is a love interest Danny Ocean's ex wife, Tess is a huge part in the
heist as she eventually turns out to be an accomplice where Danny puts a
phone in her jacket and that ends up as a way for him to communicate with
Benedict. (the guy who is getting robbed)
The protagonist must have a personal reason to rob this precise location
As seen above, Tess is in a relationship with the owner of the three casinos which
will get robbed. This is the personal reason for Danny Ocean to attack these
specific locations.
There will be an amazing piece of technology (the pinch)
The pinch is a piece of technology which during the film, cuts out the power
of a whole city, one of the cities which uses up the most power in the world,
Las Vegas.

3. Cinematography:
• An establishing shot is used to show where the heist group
are – Las Vegas, to get a sense of the atmosphere, which is
essentially hot spot which would intrigue the audience as to
how the group would complete a successful heist.
• Close up/mid shots are used in the film to capture the
expression on the characters face. In the close up of Brad Pitt
to the right, he is on the phone with slightly raised eyebrows,
looking away from the camera which could connote
worry/fear.
Sound: • The film uses an array of jazzy instruments such as
saxophones and bass guitars when the group are in
action/plotting their robbery, with an up-tempo beat Editing:
as the music score. This gives a 60’s/70 feel to the
film. Whenever the group are in action the shots
Mise-en-scene: become fast paced and when there are emotional
or breaking of the equilibrium moments the shot is
• Many of the scene’s are shot in darkened rooms with still or very slow to catch the reaction and
minimal lighting in areas to signify privacy and possible symbolise its importance in the film to the
and illegal activity. This is in contrast to the flashing audience.
bright lights and gold coloured décor of the casino to
show wealth and that they are in Las Vegas.
• The characters are dressed in smart suited clothing
which could connote their seriousness and dedication
to the heist.

4. The character’s portrayed in Ocean’s Eleven both represent stereotypes and stock types. At
the start of Ocean's Eleven, Danny the protagonist played by George clooney gets paroled from
prison and after less than a day, he breaks his parole by going to another state to find Rusty
who is played by Brad Pitt. This conforms to stereotypes of criminals in that they inevitably will
commit another crime and usually for economic purposes such as getting rich or stealing
money for revenge. In this case Danny is presented as a professional criminal who with the
help of others is skilfully trained to carry out risky heists. Usually in films criminals represent
the opposition to the law and are viewed as the bad guys versus the good guys. However this
film subverts this convention by portraying the characters as intelligent masterminds who use
their skills to their advantage. Every story has a range of personalities we recognise from other
stories for example in heist films there is always a leading man who is in charge of the group.
In this case Danny is presented as the front man of the group and his fellow partners in the
group reflect unique assets that will help in completing the heist successfully. This can be seen
by the Chinese gymnast who is known as the amazing yen in the film and he uses his flexibility
to overcome obstacles in the films The film also adheres to conventions by placing the
protagonist as a white middle aged man and having a seductive woman who threatens to add
complications to the heist. Julia Roberts plays this woman and we can see that Danny is in a
dilemma which sees him have to choose between her or the money. Finally the ending of the
film which sees the group emerge victorious also complies to conventions as the audience
know that this was an ideal ending.

5. The narrative for this film is linear as the plot begins with Danny in prison
and when he is let out he begins organising the heist. From here onwards
we see him recruiting members for the group and then we see in
chronological order the aspects of the heist in detail. It ends with the group
overcoming the odds and emerging successful.
Heist films reflect a great story because it presents a mystery which we get to see
lots of trouble along the way, and usually a satisfying end, with the crime
often, but not always solved. The film takes us on a mysterious journey and we
can play an active part in working out if they will get caught out or not.
There are different themes in this film such as conflict for example between
Danny and the casino owner, suspense for example when the Chinese
gymnast misses his step and also dramatic irony for example we the audience
know what the characters are planning to do whereas the other characters in
the film are oblivious to this.
Finally, the ending presents an optimistic resolution in which
Danny gets the girl and the money.