Codes and Conventions of the Genre

Heist films.

A heist film is a movie that has an plot created around a group of people trying to steal something, the individuals that have created the idea to steal something often have individual skills which makes them in expendable to the rest of the team which helps them build a relationship and trust with one another even though they might have been strangers at the beginning of the "job".

Most heist films follow the typical three-act structure of:

1. The gathering of the "crew" in order to fulfil the job in hand e.g. Bank robbery

2. The job itself, often involves aggression, guns and violence. Sometimes there might be a kidnapping

3. The getaway, this is where the "crew" have finished the job and they have to get away from a rival gang, nemesis or the police.

In a heist film there are usually many plot twists, this could include certain characters turning against one another, one of the members who took part in the heist will have made arrangements with an outsider who also wants to get their hands on the loot so try and rip off the criminals or most of or all the characters involved in the heist will end up dead, arrested or without any of the loot meaning they have done a bank robbery with no benefit to themselves.

However, in modern heist films it is becoming increasingly popular for the conspirators to be successful in their robbery, particularly if the target in the movie is being shown with a low moral standing such as casinos, corrupt organisations such as rivals and nemesis’s / fellow criminals.


Another typicality of heist films is "one last job" - this is where all the criminals come together for one last robbery which is of particularly high risk but if it works then each individual will make a fortune before they walk away from their criminal lives for good to live in idyllic paradise. The thought of increased risk compared to other jobs combined with the thought of making a huge fortune and walking away from the life of crime forever gives an intense feeling of suspense throughout the film which keeps the audience engaged.

Our Film.

In our film we will be following the typical three-act structure. Me and my media partner thought it would be a good idea to do this as that’s what most other films of a similar genre do and we wanted to keep ours similar to this as the three-act structure helps build suspense.

We are also going to be doing the typical "One last job" during our film. The leader is going to gather up the crew members and tell them that this is one last big job before they leave the life of crime and gangs to live a more civilised and settled down life. We chose to do this because it makes the outcome whether they are successful or not will be a lot more dramatic which will help to get our viewers more engaged in the film.