Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Monday, 6 May 2013
Part 8 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
The strengths of our work, was the fact that we followed the rules and shots. We followed the 180-degree rule as well as match on action and the rule of thirds. These were all very important in out work. This is because, in our piece, two people were having a conversation. Therefore, we needed to make sure that we followed the 180-degree rule. This is because, the audience would of got confused, because if we crossed the 180-degree rule, then it would look like both the characters we sitting on the same side and wouldn't look like a proper conversation.
We also used match on action, and this is was when one of the characters was walking into another room. This was more difficult, as the door had to look like it was at the exact same place, at both sides of the door. We were successful in this. In my opening sequence, I stuck to all of these rules and that made it more successful. I think that if I never done the first task, then the opening sequence wouldn't of flowed as well, because I would of had no practice.
One thing I found quite difficult, was adjusting the sound. This was because the cuts were quite obvious, and the wind outside was hard to cover up. Though I hadn't used the new version of iMovie before, I found it easier to use that the version that I had used in GCSE. Using this technology, was good, as it prepared me for when I was going to be doing my main piece of work. In the final piece, I used iMovie very well, and learnt even more things on there.
During pre-production I done a storyboard. The storyboard, was quite difficult to do as I find it is hard to stick to it, as it doesn't end up being as easy as what you think it is going to be. For the opening sequence, we didn't have to do a storyboard, however we had to do a script. I found this more difficult, as there had to be a lot more detail. However, when it came to filming the shots, it became a lot easier as it was more precise.
Overall, doing the preliminary task, made things a lot easier, when doing my opening sequence, as it gave me an idea, that doing the main thing wouldn't be easy and would take a lot of hard work and effort to be perfect. I will take everything that I have learnt forward next year when filming my music video.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Part 5 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Camera, Angle, Shot Movement and Position
This is a two shot. I think that having this shot at this point is good as we see both characters and there emotions. I think that the audience at this point will begin to understand the characters automatically as they can relate to these types of situations, because these are two common people in the society that we live in. I think that it follows the stereotype of the people that would watch it because they would be people interested in violence as I found out when doing my vox pops, and they may even be violent themselves, or experienced it themself.
Sound
The sound used over the top of our opening sequence, is a piano playing. We chose this because we thought it made the whole thing seem a lot more depressing, rather than upbeat and feisty I think that the audience would feel more drawn in to this and possibly understand that the film wont involve ant excitement, which would result in them wanting know to know what actually will happen.
Mise-en-Scene
In this shot you can see the mise-en-scene and what the character is wearing and her bag. the bag is a JD Sports bag, and she is wearing all navy and black. This is what I think the audience would wear, and in my post, 'Meet my Audience,' I wrote that the audience would probably shop in shops such as JD Sports. So by having the character wear a JD Sports bag, it reflects back on what I had already researched. The fact that they would dress similar to this, if they were both male or female, I think it is more relatable, that if she was going to work formally dressed and perfect hair and make up.
Expressionism (lighting, colour)
In this shot, we can see that the lighting is dull, and the colours in the colour pallette is dark shades of blues and browns. I think that the audience would relate to this as they would most likely, typically dress in dark colours themselves, and live in conditions that are less homely. I think this follows the stereotypes of people in BSR films and the typical audience. I think that if the lighting in the room was brighter then it would of taken the whole effect away as the audience could potentially of thought that the girl is late for work, but the atmosphere would be different, it would seem like shes got a good perfect job and his happy with the way her life is going.
Typography
This was the typography that we used. We thought that it looked good, and suited the themes and situations, as it is bold and stands out, but also slightly bland, as the life of the characters with in the film, are boring and live depressed draining lives. I think our audience would probably be living this type of life style as well, so I think the typography was good for the audience.
This is a two shot. I think that having this shot at this point is good as we see both characters and there emotions. I think that the audience at this point will begin to understand the characters automatically as they can relate to these types of situations, because these are two common people in the society that we live in. I think that it follows the stereotype of the people that would watch it because they would be people interested in violence as I found out when doing my vox pops, and they may even be violent themselves, or experienced it themself.
Editing
During editing we used many techniques to make it look as effective as possible. As we had two main characters, we decided to cut from one character to another. This is because we thought it would be good showing both things happening at the same time, so the audience are aware immediately that they are the two main characters and this is part of there daily routine. When editing we had the cuts from the man to the girl fade into it, but from the girl to the man it was immediate. I think this was very effective as cutting quickly, made us see the mans personality and with the fade I think it showed the girls innocence. With the audience seeing this I think they would definitely feel the same as that because that was the aim.Sound
The sound used over the top of our opening sequence, is a piano playing. We chose this because we thought it made the whole thing seem a lot more depressing, rather than upbeat and feisty I think that the audience would feel more drawn in to this and possibly understand that the film wont involve ant excitement, which would result in them wanting know to know what actually will happen.
Mise-en-Scene
In this shot you can see the mise-en-scene and what the character is wearing and her bag. the bag is a JD Sports bag, and she is wearing all navy and black. This is what I think the audience would wear, and in my post, 'Meet my Audience,' I wrote that the audience would probably shop in shops such as JD Sports. So by having the character wear a JD Sports bag, it reflects back on what I had already researched. The fact that they would dress similar to this, if they were both male or female, I think it is more relatable, that if she was going to work formally dressed and perfect hair and make up.Expressionism (lighting, colour)
In this shot, we can see that the lighting is dull, and the colours in the colour pallette is dark shades of blues and browns. I think that the audience would relate to this as they would most likely, typically dress in dark colours themselves, and live in conditions that are less homely. I think this follows the stereotypes of people in BSR films and the typical audience. I think that if the lighting in the room was brighter then it would of taken the whole effect away as the audience could potentially of thought that the girl is late for work, but the atmosphere would be different, it would seem like shes got a good perfect job and his happy with the way her life is going.Typography
This was the typography that we used. We thought that it looked good, and suited the themes and situations, as it is bold and stands out, but also slightly bland, as the life of the characters with in the film, are boring and live depressed draining lives. I think our audience would probably be living this type of life style as well, so I think the typography was good for the audience.
Part 1 - Brief
In the brief, the aim was to produce a British Social Realist film aimed at British 16 - 24 year olds. The aim of this was to how Film 4 what will be carried throughout the film, through the use of editing, sound and themes. The idea had to be original, meet the audiences expectations and also meet the conventions of a British Social Realist film.
The title of our film is 'Drained.' This is because, the main characters life is depressing and boring, with what seems to be extremely long days. A person with this type of lifestyle, would describe there own self as feeling drained. This is the main reason but we also thought that it linked in with the fact that she works in a laundrette, and washing machines drain water out during the process of washing, so that's how it fits in there. These characters are shown in all BSR films, so we have met the aim of the brief. I think that our main theme, violence was portrayed well, as at the end of the opening, we see the boss, grab the worker with aggression. We made sure that we didn't give away the theme too clearly, as we wanted the audience want to see more as we thought they would want to see how bad her situation becomes within the workplace. The main theme the audience wanted to see more of, was violence, which is what we discovered when doing our audience research.
Overall, we met the brief, by choosing a title appropriate and showing the theme clearly.
The title of our film is 'Drained.' This is because, the main characters life is depressing and boring, with what seems to be extremely long days. A person with this type of lifestyle, would describe there own self as feeling drained. This is the main reason but we also thought that it linked in with the fact that she works in a laundrette, and washing machines drain water out during the process of washing, so that's how it fits in there. These characters are shown in all BSR films, so we have met the aim of the brief. I think that our main theme, violence was portrayed well, as at the end of the opening, we see the boss, grab the worker with aggression. We made sure that we didn't give away the theme too clearly, as we wanted the audience want to see more as we thought they would want to see how bad her situation becomes within the workplace. The main theme the audience wanted to see more of, was violence, which is what we discovered when doing our audience research.
Overall, we met the brief, by choosing a title appropriate and showing the theme clearly.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Production Log 9
What have been your issues for production this week?
What have you taken in to account peer feedback?
What decisions did you make about these issues and why?
This week me and Joe were putting together the laundry scenes with the others that we had already filmed. This was easier than having to do the first ones as all we had to do was put them where they needed to go. When we put together all of the shots we realised that it didn't make as much sense as what we thought it did when we was putting it together. The cuts were too rapid so we had to find a solution. We ended up putting in a fade to black transition each time it went from the laundry to Adriana's travel to work. We didn't put them when going from Adriana to the workplace and we thought that it would be more affective as we thought it showed whats going on at the same time as her journey and how each of the characters feel. The feedback that we got from everyone that watched our draft, we took to improve it, which made it a lot better, such as eye contact with the camera when Adriana is running down the stairs and also adjusted the sound completely so that it sounded a lot better. Me and Joe thought that the hardest thing was finding suitable music and we searched online trying to see what suited it best. We changed from fast and upbeat music to calm piano playing, just to make sure we would make the right decision. In the end we chose a piano song and think it suited everything, adding suspense.
Putting the graphics on at the end was quite difficult as I had done it before, so I had to learn to do it properly. I think that they looked really good at the end as they ran smoothly and I think that the credits appearred at the right time, and also because they didn't stand out too much, which is how they are meant to be in a British Social Realist film.
What have you taken in to account peer feedback?
What decisions did you make about these issues and why?
This week me and Joe were putting together the laundry scenes with the others that we had already filmed. This was easier than having to do the first ones as all we had to do was put them where they needed to go. When we put together all of the shots we realised that it didn't make as much sense as what we thought it did when we was putting it together. The cuts were too rapid so we had to find a solution. We ended up putting in a fade to black transition each time it went from the laundry to Adriana's travel to work. We didn't put them when going from Adriana to the workplace and we thought that it would be more affective as we thought it showed whats going on at the same time as her journey and how each of the characters feel. The feedback that we got from everyone that watched our draft, we took to improve it, which made it a lot better, such as eye contact with the camera when Adriana is running down the stairs and also adjusted the sound completely so that it sounded a lot better. Me and Joe thought that the hardest thing was finding suitable music and we searched online trying to see what suited it best. We changed from fast and upbeat music to calm piano playing, just to make sure we would make the right decision. In the end we chose a piano song and think it suited everything, adding suspense.
Putting the graphics on at the end was quite difficult as I had done it before, so I had to learn to do it properly. I think that they looked really good at the end as they ran smoothly and I think that the credits appearred at the right time, and also because they didn't stand out too much, which is how they are meant to be in a British Social Realist film.
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Production Log 8
What have been the issues for your production/pro production this week?
What decisions did you make about these decisions and why?
This week me and Joe edited the work we had filmed in week seven for our first draft. We knew that it wasn't going to be great as we hadn't filmed at all locations and therefore knew that it wasn't going to make sense to other people watching it. This is because the other location was the one we wanted to cut from one character to the other to show what is going on at the same time, so it made the final draft have loads of jumps in between them. We got feedback from other people in our group, but we made them aware of why it wouldn't make sense to them. They gave us feedback on what to improve on, things like eye contact with the camera and bad continuity. When putting the shots together, We did find it quite difficult as we took many shots of the same shot and we had to decide which we thought was better and it was hard to come to some decisions. This was mainly because the shots had to flow well, so even though some of the shots we put in weren't the best ones we had, we used them purely because it made the work flow better and make sense. At this time we didn't have any sound on it, so we could hear all of the cuts in between. At the time we didn't really have time to do all of that however the final piece will have the sound running completely smooth with no obvious cuts. I think me and Joe done reasonably well and didn't rush things but also got straight to the point.
We also changed our title name to 'Drained,' this was because we thought that the title was a bit too long. The meaning of this is linked with the washing machines in the laundry, and the main menaing is because the main characters life is slowly getting worse and she is beginning to get drained out with everything and feels no hope in anything.
What decisions did you make about these decisions and why?
This week me and Joe edited the work we had filmed in week seven for our first draft. We knew that it wasn't going to be great as we hadn't filmed at all locations and therefore knew that it wasn't going to make sense to other people watching it. This is because the other location was the one we wanted to cut from one character to the other to show what is going on at the same time, so it made the final draft have loads of jumps in between them. We got feedback from other people in our group, but we made them aware of why it wouldn't make sense to them. They gave us feedback on what to improve on, things like eye contact with the camera and bad continuity. When putting the shots together, We did find it quite difficult as we took many shots of the same shot and we had to decide which we thought was better and it was hard to come to some decisions. This was mainly because the shots had to flow well, so even though some of the shots we put in weren't the best ones we had, we used them purely because it made the work flow better and make sense. At this time we didn't have any sound on it, so we could hear all of the cuts in between. At the time we didn't really have time to do all of that however the final piece will have the sound running completely smooth with no obvious cuts. I think me and Joe done reasonably well and didn't rush things but also got straight to the point.
We also changed our title name to 'Drained,' this was because we thought that the title was a bit too long. The meaning of this is linked with the washing machines in the laundry, and the main menaing is because the main characters life is slowly getting worse and she is beginning to get drained out with everything and feels no hope in anything.
Production Log 7
What have been the key issues for your production/post production this week?
What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
This week me and Joe began to film our opening sequence. The first location was around Chadwell Heath. This was where we showed my routine to the workplace. We filmed near train rails and when filming made sure that we got a train going past me in the background, just because we thought it would make the shot more affective. This took a while to do as Joe was doing this handheld and we had to do it a few times to get it perfect as it was a bit shaky at times. Also on this day, we filmed me getting on the bus. We done this twice as we wanted two shots, one of the buses coming towards us and one of me getting on the bus. This didn't work out very well the first time round as the shots didn't seem to flow as we stopped filming before the bus even stopped so there was a big jump as the next shot was me suddenly getting on the bus. However we done this again and it was fine. The next day we filmed at out second location which was in a house to get the shots that we needed for that part of the script. We done all the shots we could in that space of time and it took a while to do. We found it difficult to do some of the shots we planned on doing as they were at awkward angles as the bedroom we filmed in was quite small. As we filmed while it was still light outside it was bright in the rooms we were filming in and we had to find ways to make them darker. The bathroom was the brightest so we ended up putting up a towel on the window so it got darker. As in one of the shots we were filming in the reflection of the mirror, we could see the towel over the window so it was quite good for our mise-en-scene. This shot was also slightly difficult to do as we had to try and do it so the camera wasn't in the reflection and also have me fixing my hair still. I found this was one the difficult parts when it came to continuity as my hair and hands needed to be in the same position. Overall considering it was the first day of filming I think we done quite well.
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Draft
This is mine and Joe's draft for our opening sequence. So far we have only filmed at one location so where it jumps from one shot to another that is where the things at the other location will be happening.
Monday, 25 March 2013
Monday, 18 March 2013
Production Log 6
What have been your key issues during your production this week?
The issues me and Joe came across this week was coming up with a better title. The reason for this was because, we began to design the title name and with more thought realised that it didn't sound that good even though the reason behind it made sense.
Another issue was deciding what font to use to suit the themes and genre. The software we used was Live Type and we had never used this before. This took a while to get used to it.
What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
Me and Joe discussed what other names we could come up with. We made a list of twenty words and phrases between us that we thought related to our film and then we narrowed them down. We changed it to 'Drained,' this was because we thought that the title was a bit too long. The meaning of this is linked with the washing machines in the laundry, and the main menaing is because the main characters life is slowly getting worse and she is beginning to get drained out with everything and feels no hope in anything.
The issues me and Joe came across this week was coming up with a better title. The reason for this was because, we began to design the title name and with more thought realised that it didn't sound that good even though the reason behind it made sense.
Another issue was deciding what font to use to suit the themes and genre. The software we used was Live Type and we had never used this before. This took a while to get used to it.
What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
Me and Joe discussed what other names we could come up with. We made a list of twenty words and phrases between us that we thought related to our film and then we narrowed them down. We changed it to 'Drained,' this was because we thought that the title was a bit too long. The meaning of this is linked with the washing machines in the laundry, and the main menaing is because the main characters life is slowly getting worse and she is beginning to get drained out with everything and feels no hope in anything.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Production Schedule
This is mine and Joe's productions schedule. This is showing whenand where we will be doing our filming and editing. It may take longer than what we predict so we may have to add some days, but hopefully this will be all we need.
Monday, 11 March 2013
Production Log - 5
What have been the key issues for your pre-production this week?/What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
During my pre-production this week, the main issue me and Joe had was that we needed to change our idea. We ended up changing the idea that we originally decided when we were doing out primary research to something different, which gave us something that we think will hopefully be more affective. We also did our narrative and treatment for our film, which took a while so that we could plan exactly what we wanted to do. After a lot of thought and effort we got to the point that we needed to be at. We made the main themes immigration and violence. This is because we found that violence was the main themes our target audience like, so we chose to put it in. Me and Joe stayed calm when having change the idea as we knew that if we panicked it may of been harder for us so we just took out time and planned it out as well as we could so that we were 100% sure that it was what we wanted to do. I think that we will do a lot better than we thought we would do and I’m definitely more confident. I want the work to be perfect so will try my best to make that happen.
Production Log - 4
What have you learnt about your target audience?
What have you learnt about the institutions involved in the production of BSR films?
How will this inform your production?
This week me and Joe done our primary research. We did vox pops, asking 10 people five questions about what they think of BSR films on a whole basically. We found out that the themes they preferred in these films were sex, crime and violence, which relates to the type of films they said they liked, such as Kidulthood and Adulthood, which almost all of them had watched. This showed us that because the people we asked were around the same age, that they like these types of themes in a BSR, maybe because they were of the same age range. We asked them what they thought of our rough idea, and most of the people said that it was a good idea, but said it was a bit dramatic.
This has informed us on our production, as we have been able to see exactly what our audience likes, so we can now aim to meet their targets, as we now know what they like to see so we can compare to make them enjoy the film.
This week I also made a PowerPoint slide, with information on the type of person I think my target audience is, based on what my research was on. It shows what their interests are, where there from and where the hobbies they do.
This was very affective with our production as we can now see more what our audience expect so that we can be more accurate.
I found that there are many institutions so I will make sure that I will use these in my opening sequence graphics.
What have you learnt about the institutions involved in the production of BSR films?
How will this inform your production?
This week me and Joe done our primary research. We did vox pops, asking 10 people five questions about what they think of BSR films on a whole basically. We found out that the themes they preferred in these films were sex, crime and violence, which relates to the type of films they said they liked, such as Kidulthood and Adulthood, which almost all of them had watched. This showed us that because the people we asked were around the same age, that they like these types of themes in a BSR, maybe because they were of the same age range. We asked them what they thought of our rough idea, and most of the people said that it was a good idea, but said it was a bit dramatic.
This has informed us on our production, as we have been able to see exactly what our audience likes, so we can now aim to meet their targets, as we now know what they like to see so we can compare to make them enjoy the film.
This week I also made a PowerPoint slide, with information on the type of person I think my target audience is, based on what my research was on. It shows what their interests are, where there from and where the hobbies they do.
This was very affective with our production as we can now see more what our audience expect so that we can be more accurate.
I found that there are many institutions so I will make sure that I will use these in my opening sequence graphics.
Location Reccies
Our second location will be the laundrey factory. It will alternate between the laundry factory and back to what Adriana's doing, before she gets in to work. This location will be better than any other location, as it fits perfectly into our storyline, as it is about immigration and exploited workers, so using a factory relates to these themes. The factory also looks very scruffy, as it is quite old, so the mise-en-scene, relates to the normal conventions of a BSR. This location is also very unique, as it was very hard for us to find, and to film in here, as it is always in use, so we had to find ways to work around this.
Or final location, will be the roads that Adriana is walking on her way to work, which will be around Chadwell Heath. This will be a good location for us as it is local, and it is a multi cultural area, which relates to some of the concepts of the film. It is a good location as the streets look rough, and the roads are busy, with buses and loads of people.
images will be added soon.
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Treatment
Title:
"Washing Machine" is going to be the title of our film. The reason for this is because the film is mainly going to be set in a laundrette factory. This is where the main characters work. The main meaning of this is because, the main character Adriana's life, seems to be just spinning round and round, like a washing machine. All washing machines come to a stop, and that is what ends up happening to her as the ending of the film, is basically her escaping from what happens during the film.
Target Audience: Our target audience is for 16-24 year olds. It is aimed at people living in Britain who are working class, and particularly foreign people living in Britain as our idea is based on a foreign person. They would be interested in themes like violence and sex when watching these films as seen from the Audience research post, and would watch channels like channel 4, E4, ITV etc. I think our target audience would appeal to our idea as it portrays real life situations in today's society, and portrays themes that are not seen a lot in BSR films which makes it more appealing, and would relate to people. From the blog post Audience Research people said that films they can relate to, (like Kidulthood as they are the same age) are more interesting and appealing to watch, so our idea would relate in many ways so they would be draw to watch it. The narrative I think is quite original as well, so it would be unique and something they haven't really seen this in the BSR genre which makes our idea more appealing to the audience as well.
Technology: For the technology, we will use a HD camera, and an iMac with iMovie on to edit the film. This technology will be good as it will help give the natural believable affect. We don't need to use lights as we want it to look real and if we add lights it won't. We won't need the use of a tripod that much, as handheld camerawork is much more realistic.
Representation: The protagonist in our film is a 19 year old immigrant from Albania. Her name is Adriana and she comes to England for a better life. Her life in Albania affected her deeply as she lived in poor conditions and her mum was a prostitute to feed her and her other siblings. She is uneducated and had no money so was unable to come in to the country legally. The antagonist is Adriana's boss, named Steve. He runs a laundry factory, but also does other illegal jobs inside the factory, such as hiring illegal workers and exploiting them by paying much less than normal wage. He is very abusive and does not respect the needs and wants of his workers. He takes them for granted to feed his own personal needs. The protagonist does follow the stereotype of an immigrant, as she has no money and came to get a better life, which is why nearly all immigrants come to Britain. However her stereotype of being a teenager in Britain does subvert from the normal British teenager stereotype because she isn't from Britain so has a different culture. The antagonist challenges the normal stereotype of middle class people in Britain. Because he runs the launderette but he is very violent, with no respect for other people. This challenges the typical representation of middle class people as they are usually seen as decent people, with nice families etc.
Narrative: Our film is about a young foreign lady, who is 19. She comes to Britain illegally to find some work and try to full fill her dreams. She finds a job in a laundry factory to get money so she can rent out a small place in a council estate and send money home to her family. So far she thinks everything is going to be alright, until she finds out her boss abuses the workers, and the factory isn't all that it turned out to be. She tries to find a way to get out of this mess, but cant. She doesn't know what to do as she doesn't know anything about Britain. Nothing is going to plan.
In the opening sequence of the film, there will be many shots being taken around a laundry, whilst switching to shots of the protagonist. The protagonist is getting ready for her first day at work, she is happy and excited and can’t wait to get there. There will be a shot of her running for a bus. When it is alternating shots between the character and laundry, a scene of her boss abusing another worker though a window will be shown to introduce a bit of the story line and create a bit of an enigma. Shots of the character walking to work will also be shown, this will give an introduction to the locations of where the character lives. The opening sequence will end with the character arriving at work.
We will use the conventions of an opening sequence of BSR films by trying to create enigma, so the audience gets interested into watching the film and so they want to find out what happens next. Also, the opening sequence will introduce the characters and locations, and get the storyline flowing. We will try to create a sense of mystery to get the audience thinking. This relates to BSR opening sequences because this is what they try to achieve.
Conventions: The way we will use the conventions of a BSR. We will conform to these by making the scenes and editing look rough, so it gives the dull BSR effect and makes it seem more realistic. We will also use the smash mouth approach, but subvert from the normal approach as it won’t jump straight into hectic action, however it will be very fast pace as Adriana is late for work so she is rushing. In our opening sequence we will conform to the sort of locations seen in BSR films, which are very poor looking areas that aren't well looked after. Sticking to this convention adds to the realism and makes it fit into the genre, as if we done nice looking areas it wouldn't relate to these types of films as they are meant to show hardship of life, and poverty. Also we will stick to some of the themes like violence, as Steve is the violent character in the film and hits his employees, however we are going to add some themes that aren't really seen in many BSR films, like immigration because we want our idea to be a bit more unique than other work.
Style and Iconography: When filming we will use a lot of handheld camerawork, so that the audience can a sense of the atmosphere and it will make it seem like they are involved in the scene. This use of camera work makes the audience relate more as it adds the effect as if they are watching it first-hand. When editing our film, we will take the saturation down on all the shots. Doing this makes the scenes look duller and less colourful, which sets a sad and dull mood. It also portrays to the audience how the characters are feeling and that their lives are dull and boring. When editing we are going to shot from scene to scene so that it more rapid and gives the audience a sense of knowledge that the character does not have, like when she will be walking to her work, then it shots to the workplace of her boss being violent which makes the audience know more about what’s going on, and also creates enigma and gets the audience thinking more and more involved in the film. With costume and props, we are going to make Adriana dress in cheap, tacky clothing to emphasis to the audience that she is in poverty and has no money to buy nice clothes. With her boss, he will wear a suit as he is the owner of the factory, so it shows the audience the separation of class and tells them he is not like the others. Using these costumes it portrays to the audience more about the character straight away as they start to stereotype them by what they are wearing. Will we use props like cigarette to show the audience that Adriana goes through a lot of stress and smokes to try and make her feel more secure, so it again portrays more about the character and their lifestyle that they live in.
Institution: One of the production companies we are using is film 4, as they make many BSR films. This will have an impact on the type of film, because they are well known for making this genre of films, so the audience will know what to expect from their reputation. This impact on the type of film we will make as we have to make it relate to what they have made before in the sense of conventions. This would affect the distribution of the film, as it is an independent film company, so they won’t have a lot of money to distribute too many cinemas. For example in their other films like four lions, they didn't show it at many cinemas because they didn't have the budget, and also BSR films take big risks by showing the themes like violence and petty crime etc. as it isn't very nice to see so the films could be a major flop. Four lions didn’t become very popular and didn't make a lot of money for these reasons. Our film would be exhibited on channel 4, as we were in associations with them, and also by using new media technology like 4OD as it is cheap and many people could watch the film this way in their own homes or on the go. It will also be exhibited in independent cinemas, because independent cinemas aim towards people who like to watch these genres of films, so the film would get watched more if we was to exhibit there. We probably wouldn't go into home release as the film wouldn't have a lot of money and this would cost a lot.
†
"Washing Machine" is going to be the title of our film. The reason for this is because the film is mainly going to be set in a laundrette factory. This is where the main characters work. The main meaning of this is because, the main character Adriana's life, seems to be just spinning round and round, like a washing machine. All washing machines come to a stop, and that is what ends up happening to her as the ending of the film, is basically her escaping from what happens during the film.
Target Audience: Our target audience is for 16-24 year olds. It is aimed at people living in Britain who are working class, and particularly foreign people living in Britain as our idea is based on a foreign person. They would be interested in themes like violence and sex when watching these films as seen from the Audience research post, and would watch channels like channel 4, E4, ITV etc. I think our target audience would appeal to our idea as it portrays real life situations in today's society, and portrays themes that are not seen a lot in BSR films which makes it more appealing, and would relate to people. From the blog post Audience Research people said that films they can relate to, (like Kidulthood as they are the same age) are more interesting and appealing to watch, so our idea would relate in many ways so they would be draw to watch it. The narrative I think is quite original as well, so it would be unique and something they haven't really seen this in the BSR genre which makes our idea more appealing to the audience as well.
Technology: For the technology, we will use a HD camera, and an iMac with iMovie on to edit the film. This technology will be good as it will help give the natural believable affect. We don't need to use lights as we want it to look real and if we add lights it won't. We won't need the use of a tripod that much, as handheld camerawork is much more realistic.
Representation: The protagonist in our film is a 19 year old immigrant from Albania. Her name is Adriana and she comes to England for a better life. Her life in Albania affected her deeply as she lived in poor conditions and her mum was a prostitute to feed her and her other siblings. She is uneducated and had no money so was unable to come in to the country legally. The antagonist is Adriana's boss, named Steve. He runs a laundry factory, but also does other illegal jobs inside the factory, such as hiring illegal workers and exploiting them by paying much less than normal wage. He is very abusive and does not respect the needs and wants of his workers. He takes them for granted to feed his own personal needs. The protagonist does follow the stereotype of an immigrant, as she has no money and came to get a better life, which is why nearly all immigrants come to Britain. However her stereotype of being a teenager in Britain does subvert from the normal British teenager stereotype because she isn't from Britain so has a different culture. The antagonist challenges the normal stereotype of middle class people in Britain. Because he runs the launderette but he is very violent, with no respect for other people. This challenges the typical representation of middle class people as they are usually seen as decent people, with nice families etc.
Narrative: Our film is about a young foreign lady, who is 19. She comes to Britain illegally to find some work and try to full fill her dreams. She finds a job in a laundry factory to get money so she can rent out a small place in a council estate and send money home to her family. So far she thinks everything is going to be alright, until she finds out her boss abuses the workers, and the factory isn't all that it turned out to be. She tries to find a way to get out of this mess, but cant. She doesn't know what to do as she doesn't know anything about Britain. Nothing is going to plan.
In the opening sequence of the film, there will be many shots being taken around a laundry, whilst switching to shots of the protagonist. The protagonist is getting ready for her first day at work, she is happy and excited and can’t wait to get there. There will be a shot of her running for a bus. When it is alternating shots between the character and laundry, a scene of her boss abusing another worker though a window will be shown to introduce a bit of the story line and create a bit of an enigma. Shots of the character walking to work will also be shown, this will give an introduction to the locations of where the character lives. The opening sequence will end with the character arriving at work.
We will use the conventions of an opening sequence of BSR films by trying to create enigma, so the audience gets interested into watching the film and so they want to find out what happens next. Also, the opening sequence will introduce the characters and locations, and get the storyline flowing. We will try to create a sense of mystery to get the audience thinking. This relates to BSR opening sequences because this is what they try to achieve.
Conventions: The way we will use the conventions of a BSR. We will conform to these by making the scenes and editing look rough, so it gives the dull BSR effect and makes it seem more realistic. We will also use the smash mouth approach, but subvert from the normal approach as it won’t jump straight into hectic action, however it will be very fast pace as Adriana is late for work so she is rushing. In our opening sequence we will conform to the sort of locations seen in BSR films, which are very poor looking areas that aren't well looked after. Sticking to this convention adds to the realism and makes it fit into the genre, as if we done nice looking areas it wouldn't relate to these types of films as they are meant to show hardship of life, and poverty. Also we will stick to some of the themes like violence, as Steve is the violent character in the film and hits his employees, however we are going to add some themes that aren't really seen in many BSR films, like immigration because we want our idea to be a bit more unique than other work.
Style and Iconography: When filming we will use a lot of handheld camerawork, so that the audience can a sense of the atmosphere and it will make it seem like they are involved in the scene. This use of camera work makes the audience relate more as it adds the effect as if they are watching it first-hand. When editing our film, we will take the saturation down on all the shots. Doing this makes the scenes look duller and less colourful, which sets a sad and dull mood. It also portrays to the audience how the characters are feeling and that their lives are dull and boring. When editing we are going to shot from scene to scene so that it more rapid and gives the audience a sense of knowledge that the character does not have, like when she will be walking to her work, then it shots to the workplace of her boss being violent which makes the audience know more about what’s going on, and also creates enigma and gets the audience thinking more and more involved in the film. With costume and props, we are going to make Adriana dress in cheap, tacky clothing to emphasis to the audience that she is in poverty and has no money to buy nice clothes. With her boss, he will wear a suit as he is the owner of the factory, so it shows the audience the separation of class and tells them he is not like the others. Using these costumes it portrays to the audience more about the character straight away as they start to stereotype them by what they are wearing. Will we use props like cigarette to show the audience that Adriana goes through a lot of stress and smokes to try and make her feel more secure, so it again portrays more about the character and their lifestyle that they live in.
Institution: One of the production companies we are using is film 4, as they make many BSR films. This will have an impact on the type of film, because they are well known for making this genre of films, so the audience will know what to expect from their reputation. This impact on the type of film we will make as we have to make it relate to what they have made before in the sense of conventions. This would affect the distribution of the film, as it is an independent film company, so they won’t have a lot of money to distribute too many cinemas. For example in their other films like four lions, they didn't show it at many cinemas because they didn't have the budget, and also BSR films take big risks by showing the themes like violence and petty crime etc. as it isn't very nice to see so the films could be a major flop. Four lions didn’t become very popular and didn't make a lot of money for these reasons. Our film would be exhibited on channel 4, as we were in associations with them, and also by using new media technology like 4OD as it is cheap and many people could watch the film this way in their own homes or on the go. It will also be exhibited in independent cinemas, because independent cinemas aim towards people who like to watch these genres of films, so the film would get watched more if we was to exhibit there. We probably wouldn't go into home release as the film wouldn't have a lot of money and this would cost a lot.
†
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Monday, 4 March 2013
Narrative
Exposition - ProtagonistWe are introduced to the protagonist who is a young immigrant girl, Adriana, from Albania and is 19 years old. She comes to the country to try and make a better life for herself and her family back home. Her life in Albania affected her deeply as she lived in poor conditions and her mum was a prostitute to feed her and her other siblings. She managed to find someone who could get her to Britain and a job, but this person ended up being her bosses’ colleague. She is uneducated and had no money so was unable to come in to the country legally.
Agents of Change - Antagonist
The antagonist is the girls boss's son, named Steve. His dad lets him run a laundry factory, but also does other illegal jobs inside the factory, such as hiring illegal workers and exploiting them by paying much less than normal wage. He is very abusive and does not respect the needs and wants of his workers. He takes them for granted to feed his own personal needs.
Conflict Complication
After a month of her working there, Adriana begins to realise Britain is nowhere near as good as what she was expecting. She feels as if she may as well of stayed in Albania as there she would have probably been treated with more respect. At this point, she is unknown and has no one at all to talk to. She is earning just enough to pay rent and feed her, but doesn't have enough money to send home. One day she is late for work and Steve starts to abuse her. This triggers off the main problem and Steve starts to show his true colours.
Elaboration
Now Adriana's aim is to get out of this workplace, however she won't be able to yet, because she is renting off of her boss's son Steve. As she is planning to try and get away, Steve realises and sets out to punish Adriana once again, but this time a lot worse to try and scare her so she does what she is told and so she doesn’t disobey him again.
Adriana starts to make some friends around the workplace, even though this is not aloud and tries to get them in on her plan to sabotage Steve and get rid of him. However, it isn't easy as they are unable to call the police, as they will be sent back to their country, and many of the workers are scarred of him and don’t want to get hurt so they try to stay in his good books.
As she doesn't get a lot of money, her mum gets angry at her and tells her how much she is struggling back at home. This puts a lot of stress on Adriana and makes her feel like she is letting everyone down. She tries to do little jobs, such as prostitution, every now and then when she was in desperate need of money, and sent what she could back to Albania so her mum was happy with her. All whilst this is going on Adriana gets really close to a colleague Blerim and he joins in the plan to try and get away. This relieves stress off Adriana as she no longer feels alone and has hope. She is also gaining feelings for Blerim, making her feel more secure as he is the only one supporting her in this time of need.
Climax & Resolution
After six months of working in the laundry, Adriana is close in succeeding in what she aimed to do. Steve started getting very cautious at this point as he couldn't afford to lose any workers. This is when hell breaks loose. Steve becomes very aggressive and demanding. She tries to argue back but Steve has none of it and keeps her behind when all the workers go home. Blerim realises Adriana is missing and goes in the laundry to look for her. When he walks in he finds Steve trying to sexually abuse her. This angers Blerim and he starts hitting Steve with a found piece of metal. They fight for a little until Steve falls on a bench side, cracking his head open that kills him. Blerim hides the body round the back of the laundry hoping that no one will ever find it.
Coda
Adriana and Blerim find work somewhere else where they get paid a decent amount, and start making better lives for themselves. The ending will show them moving into a flat together in a better area, and them living their normal, average boring lives.
Agents of Change - Antagonist
The antagonist is the girls boss's son, named Steve. His dad lets him run a laundry factory, but also does other illegal jobs inside the factory, such as hiring illegal workers and exploiting them by paying much less than normal wage. He is very abusive and does not respect the needs and wants of his workers. He takes them for granted to feed his own personal needs.
Conflict Complication
After a month of her working there, Adriana begins to realise Britain is nowhere near as good as what she was expecting. She feels as if she may as well of stayed in Albania as there she would have probably been treated with more respect. At this point, she is unknown and has no one at all to talk to. She is earning just enough to pay rent and feed her, but doesn't have enough money to send home. One day she is late for work and Steve starts to abuse her. This triggers off the main problem and Steve starts to show his true colours.
Elaboration
Now Adriana's aim is to get out of this workplace, however she won't be able to yet, because she is renting off of her boss's son Steve. As she is planning to try and get away, Steve realises and sets out to punish Adriana once again, but this time a lot worse to try and scare her so she does what she is told and so she doesn’t disobey him again.
Adriana starts to make some friends around the workplace, even though this is not aloud and tries to get them in on her plan to sabotage Steve and get rid of him. However, it isn't easy as they are unable to call the police, as they will be sent back to their country, and many of the workers are scarred of him and don’t want to get hurt so they try to stay in his good books.
As she doesn't get a lot of money, her mum gets angry at her and tells her how much she is struggling back at home. This puts a lot of stress on Adriana and makes her feel like she is letting everyone down. She tries to do little jobs, such as prostitution, every now and then when she was in desperate need of money, and sent what she could back to Albania so her mum was happy with her. All whilst this is going on Adriana gets really close to a colleague Blerim and he joins in the plan to try and get away. This relieves stress off Adriana as she no longer feels alone and has hope. She is also gaining feelings for Blerim, making her feel more secure as he is the only one supporting her in this time of need.
Climax & Resolution
After six months of working in the laundry, Adriana is close in succeeding in what she aimed to do. Steve started getting very cautious at this point as he couldn't afford to lose any workers. This is when hell breaks loose. Steve becomes very aggressive and demanding. She tries to argue back but Steve has none of it and keeps her behind when all the workers go home. Blerim realises Adriana is missing and goes in the laundry to look for her. When he walks in he finds Steve trying to sexually abuse her. This angers Blerim and he starts hitting Steve with a found piece of metal. They fight for a little until Steve falls on a bench side, cracking his head open that kills him. Blerim hides the body round the back of the laundry hoping that no one will ever find it.
Coda
Adriana and Blerim find work somewhere else where they get paid a decent amount, and start making better lives for themselves. The ending will show them moving into a flat together in a better area, and them living their normal, average boring lives.
Interview Stage
Video of interviews:
Summary of Interviews:
What British Social Realism films have you seen?
Almost everyone said they had seen Kidulthood, Adulthood and This is England. This shows that the target audience like films that include people of their age range as they can relate to these films.
What draws you into these films?
These people said the reason they were drawn in to these films, were because, they could relate to them as they included people that were their age range. They also said they like them as they are based on real life issues, which is what they like to watch as they find it more interesting. A lot of the males said they like them because of the violence too as they find it amusing.
What themes would you like to see portrayed more in British Social Realism films?
A lot of people said they would like to see violence. Someone said they would like to see more serious issues, such as sexism and racism. And others said they would like to have sex as a theme. Others said they would like to see life of how hard it is for people to get jobs etc, as you don't see that a lot.
Do you like our idea?
This is our idea: A teenage girl in year 11 doesn't have many friends. She lives in a rough area and doesn't have a very good family. Her teacher starts to sexually abuse her and she has no one to talk to, which results in things getting out of hand. She takes drugs and begins to self harm. she gets stalked by the teacher and got to the point where she couldn't take anymore so ended up killing him.
This was an idea me and Joe came up with to see what people would think of it and to see if it would be successful or not and whether to stick to it or come up with something different. Some people said that it was a good idea, but others said it was a bit dramatic and not very believable.
What characters do you expect in British Social Realist film/Does our character relate?
People said that our characters met the types in British Social Realist films, which was good. They said they would expect the girl to be terrified and basically not know what to do and the teacher to be a scary looking old man. They also said that in these films, they would expect, aggressive and bubbly characters, living in poverty.
He is my Audience:
Summary of Interviews:
What British Social Realism films have you seen?
Almost everyone said they had seen Kidulthood, Adulthood and This is England. This shows that the target audience like films that include people of their age range as they can relate to these films.
What draws you into these films?
These people said the reason they were drawn in to these films, were because, they could relate to them as they included people that were their age range. They also said they like them as they are based on real life issues, which is what they like to watch as they find it more interesting. A lot of the males said they like them because of the violence too as they find it amusing.
What themes would you like to see portrayed more in British Social Realism films?
A lot of people said they would like to see violence. Someone said they would like to see more serious issues, such as sexism and racism. And others said they would like to have sex as a theme. Others said they would like to see life of how hard it is for people to get jobs etc, as you don't see that a lot.
Do you like our idea?
This is our idea: A teenage girl in year 11 doesn't have many friends. She lives in a rough area and doesn't have a very good family. Her teacher starts to sexually abuse her and she has no one to talk to, which results in things getting out of hand. She takes drugs and begins to self harm. she gets stalked by the teacher and got to the point where she couldn't take anymore so ended up killing him.
This was an idea me and Joe came up with to see what people would think of it and to see if it would be successful or not and whether to stick to it or come up with something different. Some people said that it was a good idea, but others said it was a bit dramatic and not very believable.
What characters do you expect in British Social Realist film/Does our character relate?
People said that our characters met the types in British Social Realist films, which was good. They said they would expect the girl to be terrified and basically not know what to do and the teacher to be a scary looking old man. They also said that in these films, they would expect, aggressive and bubbly characters, living in poverty.
He is my Audience:
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Possible Locations
Peckham - South London:
Peckham is situated in South London. This is a very rough area and has a high level of crime. I have been there myself and there are many estates whcih would be a great place to film and they're very much like what you see in a Social Realist Film. There are all the typical conventions, such as the estates, estate parks where drug deals and fights take place, alley ways and tacky shops on the high street. Films like Fish Tank have most of these scenes and, such as the high street and the estate. On the news we also hear of high levels of crime in South London, so whatever would be filmed there would very much be British Social Realist. You would also be able to film there at any time of day, as the area is very dull and depressing with not much life at all.
Peckham is situated in South London. This is a very rough area and has a high level of crime. I have been there myself and there are many estates whcih would be a great place to film and they're very much like what you see in a Social Realist Film. There are all the typical conventions, such as the estates, estate parks where drug deals and fights take place, alley ways and tacky shops on the high street. Films like Fish Tank have most of these scenes and, such as the high street and the estate. On the news we also hear of high levels of crime in South London, so whatever would be filmed there would very much be British Social Realist. You would also be able to film there at any time of day, as the area is very dull and depressing with not much life at all.
Dagenham Heathway
Dagenham Heathway is a rough and tacky area and the high street and the people in the area are look it too. This would be a great place to plot a film, as there are many council estates and houses, and the area on a whole is just somewhere you wouldn't want to live, but people that are like the ones in British Social Realist films, live in this sort of area. I think that it would be easy to film, as there's never really a good day there it just looks bad all the time.
Hainult Forest
Hainult Forest would be a good location, as it could be a place where something like drug dealing happens, or a meeting point for groups of people to meet and something bad happens. If the theme was mental illness it would also be good as the person may go there to let out there emotions or even to kill themselves. Instead of it being on the streets, it would basically be in the middle of a forest. I think it would be effective as it would make the scene darker, and change the happy natural feel of it, to scary.
Mark Gate:
Marks Gate is quite a rough and tacky area, with loads of council. Naturally it looks like a bad area, so to film there would be a perfect spot. I think that a lot of people there in the background would help with the theme, as they all dress quite a lot like how people in British Social Realist films dress. The this would be a good place to have things like petty crime filmed, as the area seems to look like that sort of area, so it would be very believable.
Hainult Forest
Mark Gate:
Saturday, 9 February 2013
How British Social Realism Films are used
Violence
In this we see a man in a prison, who seems to be the main character wack a fellow prisoner over the head with snooker balls. Snooker balls are heavy and they can do a lot of damage, and he put what looked like 3 snooker balls in some material so they were together and knocked the man over the head with them. This somehow seemed casual as no one seemed to react badly. In real life this happens a lot. If people are used to seeing and experiencing violence then it becomes the norm to them and they don't seem to get as affected by it, whereas if someone see's it once in their life, they cuold be shocked for a long time. If my film involves some form of violence I don't think it will be something like this, but more like a fight of some sort.
Drug Abuse
This clip is a made up of parts of the film Trainspotting. Here we see drug use, and in the mise-en-scene we also see empty stacks of alcohol bottles. We see this a lot in British Social Realist films, as drugs and alcohol is a big problem in Britain, and most films don't want poeple to see what actually goes on in some people's lives. If I was to use this theme, I think it would be simple, as it's all props rather than physical acting, and the props on there own is enough to show the dark side of life.
Racism
In this clip from This is England, we see the ain characters, who are white, go in to an asian mans corner shop and rob it. They use very bad language to offend the man by calling him a 'Paki.' This is very racist and the fact that the little boy who is the main character says it, shows that this is serious, and it's not just adults who talk badly of other people. This is an extreme case of racism, as they're casually saying it and they don't seem to care, it seems like the normal thing to do in their lives. I wouldn't use the words in my script, but if I was to use this theme, I would make the things the characters say show that they are racist
.Domestic Violence
In this clip from Nil By Mouth a husband is beating his wife in the home, whilst their daughter is over looking. This is very common in Britain, but people don't really think of it. When we see this cvlip it is very shocking and we don't really know what to think. The fact that we don't see the wife afterwards makes us wonder what's happened to her, which makes the audience nervous. I think that it's a very good affect, even though it's a horrible scene, as it makes you want to watch more, and actually affects the audience, so if I was to do domestic abuse as a theme then I would do something similar, but possibly, have the woman beating the man, to break that stereotype and show that women can be the victim at times.
Poverty
In this clip from 'Looking for Eric,' we see the house, which shows how they're in poverty. It looks dirty and dull, with all tacky looking things on the wall, which makes it just seem that they live in a horrible place. Most houses in other genres of films, are bright, clean and perfectly furnished. I will find it easy to do this, as I will use all props to make everything look cluttered and dirty, and i'll hopefully get the same affect.
In this we see a man in a prison, who seems to be the main character wack a fellow prisoner over the head with snooker balls. Snooker balls are heavy and they can do a lot of damage, and he put what looked like 3 snooker balls in some material so they were together and knocked the man over the head with them. This somehow seemed casual as no one seemed to react badly. In real life this happens a lot. If people are used to seeing and experiencing violence then it becomes the norm to them and they don't seem to get as affected by it, whereas if someone see's it once in their life, they cuold be shocked for a long time. If my film involves some form of violence I don't think it will be something like this, but more like a fight of some sort.
Drug Abuse
This clip is a made up of parts of the film Trainspotting. Here we see drug use, and in the mise-en-scene we also see empty stacks of alcohol bottles. We see this a lot in British Social Realist films, as drugs and alcohol is a big problem in Britain, and most films don't want poeple to see what actually goes on in some people's lives. If I was to use this theme, I think it would be simple, as it's all props rather than physical acting, and the props on there own is enough to show the dark side of life.
Racism
In this clip from This is England, we see the ain characters, who are white, go in to an asian mans corner shop and rob it. They use very bad language to offend the man by calling him a 'Paki.' This is very racist and the fact that the little boy who is the main character says it, shows that this is serious, and it's not just adults who talk badly of other people. This is an extreme case of racism, as they're casually saying it and they don't seem to care, it seems like the normal thing to do in their lives. I wouldn't use the words in my script, but if I was to use this theme, I would make the things the characters say show that they are racist
.Domestic Violence
In this clip from Nil By Mouth a husband is beating his wife in the home, whilst their daughter is over looking. This is very common in Britain, but people don't really think of it. When we see this cvlip it is very shocking and we don't really know what to think. The fact that we don't see the wife afterwards makes us wonder what's happened to her, which makes the audience nervous. I think that it's a very good affect, even though it's a horrible scene, as it makes you want to watch more, and actually affects the audience, so if I was to do domestic abuse as a theme then I would do something similar, but possibly, have the woman beating the man, to break that stereotype and show that women can be the victim at times.
Poverty
In this clip from 'Looking for Eric,' we see the house, which shows how they're in poverty. It looks dirty and dull, with all tacky looking things on the wall, which makes it just seem that they live in a horrible place. Most houses in other genres of films, are bright, clean and perfectly furnished. I will find it easy to do this, as I will use all props to make everything look cluttered and dirty, and i'll hopefully get the same affect.
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Production Log Three
What have you learnt about opening sequences and title devices?
From looking at opening sequences and title devices, I have learnt that there are many more things involved in an opening sequence than I actually thought. This includes the number of credits that there are. I looked at the opening sequence of Happy-Go-Lucky and in this I looked at the number of credits there are and what jobs we see people do in them. I found out that the characters real names appear in order of importance, and with the jobs they do they also appear in order of importance. I also looked at the number of different cuts and edits there are and saw that there is a lot less that what I thought. The opening sequence of this was basically just a woman riding her bike through London and as this happened the credits appeared at the sides of her. In this opening sequence the credits were obvious and you was meant to pay attention to the, however in a Social Realist film they blend in more and are less obvious.
How will this inform your production? What methods might you use in an opening sequence and why?
This has made me very aware of the thought that goes into the opening sequence and that I should definitely follow what I see as this is how I will be most successful and will collect the most marks. If I don't put enough credits then I know that it will look very unrealistic as there has to be at least 20-30. The methods I will use will be good editing and cuts so that it runs smoothly and so that it doesn't give too much away. I may even make the opening sequence nothing like what the film is about so that I can create enigma, so I have the audience asking questions, as I don't want it to tell the story or seem like a trailer. The reason for this is because I want it to be interesting without giving the story, as people will be able to predict the rest of the film, and that isn't what an opening sequence is supposed to do. I will also make sure that the credits are in the correct place and begin straight away as if they're at the end it will look more like a trailer than an opening sequence.
From looking at opening sequences and title devices, I have learnt that there are many more things involved in an opening sequence than I actually thought. This includes the number of credits that there are. I looked at the opening sequence of Happy-Go-Lucky and in this I looked at the number of credits there are and what jobs we see people do in them. I found out that the characters real names appear in order of importance, and with the jobs they do they also appear in order of importance. I also looked at the number of different cuts and edits there are and saw that there is a lot less that what I thought. The opening sequence of this was basically just a woman riding her bike through London and as this happened the credits appeared at the sides of her. In this opening sequence the credits were obvious and you was meant to pay attention to the, however in a Social Realist film they blend in more and are less obvious.
This has made me very aware of the thought that goes into the opening sequence and that I should definitely follow what I see as this is how I will be most successful and will collect the most marks. If I don't put enough credits then I know that it will look very unrealistic as there has to be at least 20-30. The methods I will use will be good editing and cuts so that it runs smoothly and so that it doesn't give too much away. I may even make the opening sequence nothing like what the film is about so that I can create enigma, so I have the audience asking questions, as I don't want it to tell the story or seem like a trailer. The reason for this is because I want it to be interesting without giving the story, as people will be able to predict the rest of the film, and that isn't what an opening sequence is supposed to do. I will also make sure that the credits are in the correct place and begin straight away as if they're at the end it will look more like a trailer than an opening sequence.
Monday, 4 February 2013
Use of themes in British Social Realism
What is the link between British Social Realism themes and the real world?
The link between British Social Realism get their ideas from the real world and try to be as realistic as possible. The real world isn't all perfect and filled with happiness, with no issues. On the news we see situations that are themes included in British Social Realist films, such as violence, alcohol, petty crime etc... There are other things in real life that are included in British Social Realist films, such as religion. In British Social Realist films, we see people taking religion very seriously, such as in the film Four Lions, the Muslim religion is shown in it. Although in this film, there is slight comedy, the main factor of the film, is that the men want to blow themselves up in the middle of London. This is taken very seriously globally, and in London there were suicide bombings, so this is very extreme, but shown in a comedy way.
What is unique about how the themes are explored in British Social Realist film?
These films are aimed to be as unique as possible. Each one is a complete different storyline, however it uses the main themes, such as violence and petty crime. As well as the common ones, there are things like domestic and sexual violence, mental illness etc... In Nil By Mouth, we see a very traumatising domestic violence scene, were a woman is beaten by her husband. We see things like this in the news, but when you see it in front of you, it's hard to watch and we think about it more, which is what the writer wants us to think.
Are there any themes which are essential to all British Social Realist films? What are they? Why are they essential?
The most essential themes are, violence, petty crime and racial/religious issues. They are essential in virtually all of these films, as we see the rough side of life. The films aren't meant to be painting a pretty picture, they're meant to show you the problems in lives. If we don't see these types of themes then we won't see it as British Social Realism, as they're problems in the real world which we are meant to see in a bad light. If we saw everyone having a good time then it would be more like a British family film for everyone to watch. British Social Realist films are aimed at specific people and these poeple are the ones into life issues and are interested in what goes on around them, however other people that can connect to it, may not watch them as they don't want to be reminded of things that have happened to them, such as Nil By Mouth as that involves Domestic abuse, and if someone has experienced that then it is very unlikely that they will want to watch it, whereas someone who hasn't will be intreged to watch it.
The link between British Social Realism get their ideas from the real world and try to be as realistic as possible. The real world isn't all perfect and filled with happiness, with no issues. On the news we see situations that are themes included in British Social Realist films, such as violence, alcohol, petty crime etc... There are other things in real life that are included in British Social Realist films, such as religion. In British Social Realist films, we see people taking religion very seriously, such as in the film Four Lions, the Muslim religion is shown in it. Although in this film, there is slight comedy, the main factor of the film, is that the men want to blow themselves up in the middle of London. This is taken very seriously globally, and in London there were suicide bombings, so this is very extreme, but shown in a comedy way.
What is unique about how the themes are explored in British Social Realist film?
These films are aimed to be as unique as possible. Each one is a complete different storyline, however it uses the main themes, such as violence and petty crime. As well as the common ones, there are things like domestic and sexual violence, mental illness etc... In Nil By Mouth, we see a very traumatising domestic violence scene, were a woman is beaten by her husband. We see things like this in the news, but when you see it in front of you, it's hard to watch and we think about it more, which is what the writer wants us to think.
Are there any themes which are essential to all British Social Realist films? What are they? Why are they essential?
The most essential themes are, violence, petty crime and racial/religious issues. They are essential in virtually all of these films, as we see the rough side of life. The films aren't meant to be painting a pretty picture, they're meant to show you the problems in lives. If we don't see these types of themes then we won't see it as British Social Realism, as they're problems in the real world which we are meant to see in a bad light. If we saw everyone having a good time then it would be more like a British family film for everyone to watch. British Social Realist films are aimed at specific people and these poeple are the ones into life issues and are interested in what goes on around them, however other people that can connect to it, may not watch them as they don't want to be reminded of things that have happened to them, such as Nil By Mouth as that involves Domestic abuse, and if someone has experienced that then it is very unlikely that they will want to watch it, whereas someone who hasn't will be intreged to watch it.
Production Log - Week Two
What have you learn about social realist codes and conventions in relation to the audience?
I have learnt that there are many different types of conventions in a social realist film that are connected to the audience. It isn't just aimed at any type of people, people that wouldn't think they would watch it, would find that they can relate to these films a lot as they're based on real life circumstances and they would of seen things like this on the news, so they would probably like to see these films as they're not fake.
How will this inform your production?
This has made me aware of what types of things go on in these films a lot more, and I won't just use the typical themes, such as violence, as I want to make it as interesting as possible. I don't want the audience thinking that it's just a film with no meaning; I want it to be a film that attracts people even though it isn't going to have a perfect and happy storyline.
What texts did you find particularly influential and why?
I found that all types of news reports were shocking and made me realise that social realist films, include a lot more dreadful things that you wouldn't really want to see in real life, but they do happen. When watching a scene from Nil by Mouth I was very affected by it as it was a very brutal scene. I know that this happens in real life and it made it even harder for me to watch. I think that this was a great scene, as it actually made me want to watch the film, even though it isn't even something happy.
Will you conform to conventions or subvert them?
I will definitely take note on all of the conventions, so that I don't end up making my opening sequence looking not very realistic. I want it to seem as real as possible, so will make sure that I use as many conventions as possible. I will make sure the themes that I use are clear so that the film makes sense and that people don't get confused when watching it. However, I don't want to give too much away in the opening sequence so I will try to do it as subtle as possible.
I have learnt that there are many different types of conventions in a social realist film that are connected to the audience. It isn't just aimed at any type of people, people that wouldn't think they would watch it, would find that they can relate to these films a lot as they're based on real life circumstances and they would of seen things like this on the news, so they would probably like to see these films as they're not fake.
How will this inform your production?
This has made me aware of what types of things go on in these films a lot more, and I won't just use the typical themes, such as violence, as I want to make it as interesting as possible. I don't want the audience thinking that it's just a film with no meaning; I want it to be a film that attracts people even though it isn't going to have a perfect and happy storyline.
What texts did you find particularly influential and why?
I found that all types of news reports were shocking and made me realise that social realist films, include a lot more dreadful things that you wouldn't really want to see in real life, but they do happen. When watching a scene from Nil by Mouth I was very affected by it as it was a very brutal scene. I know that this happens in real life and it made it even harder for me to watch. I think that this was a great scene, as it actually made me want to watch the film, even though it isn't even something happy.
Will you conform to conventions or subvert them?
I will definitely take note on all of the conventions, so that I don't end up making my opening sequence looking not very realistic. I want it to seem as real as possible, so will make sure that I use as many conventions as possible. I will make sure the themes that I use are clear so that the film makes sense and that people don't get confused when watching it. However, I don't want to give too much away in the opening sequence so I will try to do it as subtle as possible.
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Monday, 28 January 2013
What is British Social Realism?
The genre British Social Realism carries themes of British culture throughout their films and involves normal everyday characters, shown in usually a bad light. They use simple and bland style of camera shot and use very plain simple editing.
They are based on very serious topics in life, such as violence, crime in society, and touches on things that are quite emotional that a lot of people can relate to. Their target audience is usually people that are around the ages of 16-24 so the topics they use are things that people of that age range can understand and relate to. They are also made for people that don't know anything really about things like that in life, so they watch them more as an entertainment thing, but people that experience things themselves can make them feel emotional.
Production Log 1
What have you learnt this week from looking at the mark scheme and peer assessing previous work?
This week I watched past candidates opening sequences and looking at the mark scheme I gave it a mark I thought that they would get. I wrote strengths and weaknesses about their work and then our teacher told us what they actually got. I gave some people a few too many marks and some I gave less, which showed that I didn't actually have a clear idea in what a good opening sequence is and what a bad one is. From this I found that there are loads of different ways that you can get marks and lose marks and noticed that it isn't going to be as easy as what I thought it would be.
How will this inform your production?
From the table that I done I can see all of the strengths and weaknesses so that when I go to do mine I will be able to see the mistakes that they made to make sure I don't make the same mistakes they did. The reason for this is because, I don't want a bad mark and I want to be happy with what my final outcome is. I don't want there to be any bad shots, bad editing or anything that looks like it has just jumped from one thing to another. I want it to run as smooth as possible, without giving away too much of the storyline and what is going to happen in the film. I want to create enigma, as the past candidates that done this, had a better affect than the ones that showed what the themes they were doing and involved them too much straight away. These candidates also got a better mark overall, so I think that I will use this affect.
What will you try to emulate/avoid?
I will avoid bad editing and I will copy positives, such as good shots. The reason for this is because the opening sequences with bad editing looked terrible and I don't want mine to look like that at all. From previous students work this week I have seen people with bad match on action, which lost many marks. I will make sure that my editing is perfect and that nothing goes wrong. Many people done well in their work, but some of them weren't as good as they just didn't come to the conventions of an opening sequence, and some weren't shown as clear that they were BSR films. This will make me aware of what to do and what not to do and I will make sure I stick to doing what all the positives of peoples work were. This will make me do well in my production.
This week I watched past candidates opening sequences and looking at the mark scheme I gave it a mark I thought that they would get. I wrote strengths and weaknesses about their work and then our teacher told us what they actually got. I gave some people a few too many marks and some I gave less, which showed that I didn't actually have a clear idea in what a good opening sequence is and what a bad one is. From this I found that there are loads of different ways that you can get marks and lose marks and noticed that it isn't going to be as easy as what I thought it would be.
How will this inform your production?
From the table that I done I can see all of the strengths and weaknesses so that when I go to do mine I will be able to see the mistakes that they made to make sure I don't make the same mistakes they did. The reason for this is because, I don't want a bad mark and I want to be happy with what my final outcome is. I don't want there to be any bad shots, bad editing or anything that looks like it has just jumped from one thing to another. I want it to run as smooth as possible, without giving away too much of the storyline and what is going to happen in the film. I want to create enigma, as the past candidates that done this, had a better affect than the ones that showed what the themes they were doing and involved them too much straight away. These candidates also got a better mark overall, so I think that I will use this affect.
What will you try to emulate/avoid?
I will avoid bad editing and I will copy positives, such as good shots. The reason for this is because the opening sequences with bad editing looked terrible and I don't want mine to look like that at all. From previous students work this week I have seen people with bad match on action, which lost many marks. I will make sure that my editing is perfect and that nothing goes wrong. Many people done well in their work, but some of them weren't as good as they just didn't come to the conventions of an opening sequence, and some weren't shown as clear that they were BSR films. This will make me aware of what to do and what not to do and I will make sure I stick to doing what all the positives of peoples work were. This will make me do well in my production.
Fish Tank Analysis and Secondary Research
Themes and Situations:
There are many themes shown throughout this film such as, sex, violence and alcohol. We see this throughout the film with virtually all of the characters.
Mia, the main character drinks throughout the whole film. She is a 15 year old and she shouldn't be drinking. She doesn't even hide the fact she drinks as she does it in front of her mum and basically everyone that she knows. At the beginning of the film Mia is also very violent to a girl as she headbutts her making her bleed, just because a girl asked what she was looking at and it escalated into something more serious. This happens in everyday life with people like this who live in these areas
Tyler, Mia's younger sister looks about 12 years old and there is a scene where she is smoking and drinking with her friend whilst watching the TV. Her friend even comments saying she likes the cider. At the same time of this Mia is in the same room next to them saying nothing at all which would never be seen in any other film other than British Social Realist ones.
Representations:
Throughout the film we see clear stereotypes and representations of all the characters.
The setting and location is set in council flats. We can see from this it's a rough area. The characters are all white and the other people in the film are also white. Most of them are trouble makers, which is very stereo typical for people who live in these types of areas.
The film also makes teenagers seem like the worst people in the world. It sticks to the stereotype that all teenagers are trouble makers and are going to attack you etc.. All the young characters in the film are rude with bad attitude, smokes, drinks and swears. These are all things that happen with certain teenagers however it ignores how those who are polite and normal.
Mise - en - scene:
Throughout the whole film, Mia is wearing a tracksuit. The colour palette was mostly blacks, greys and whites. This makes her seem very unclean and quite trampy, the typical stereotype of people living in areas like those. I think that the story would seem slightly different if she was wearing girly clothing and made an effort with her hair, as we see most of the time her hair is greasy and usually in a pony tail. Her clothes must be dirty as when we see Mia's mum hanging up Conner's washed white shirts we can see Mia's shocked face just watching what her mum's doing.
The flat Mia lives in, is very messy and untidy and from what we can see of the mess, it seems like it is also probably dirty. When Mia comes home after the social worker come to the flat, we see that the flat has been tidied and we see what Mia is looking at and from this we can tell that this isn't the usual thing for her to see and she must be quite shocked. In them areas, a lot of people have untidy and dirty houses stereo typically and this carried through out the film.
Music and Sound:
The sound throughout is diagetic, nothing isn't in the scene. We hear the normal things like what they are saying and what music they're listening to. I personally think that if they used sound effects it wouldn't be at all believable as the whole film is very much like an everyday life and that wouldn't be like that if there were sound effects. The genre's of music used were, R'n'B, Hip Hop and Dance music. This way all of the characters danced throughout the film was obviously linked to this as they wouldn't be dancing like that if it was rock music for example.
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Camerawork and Editing:
There are many establishing shots throughout the film. We see the scene a lot so we can see what time of day it is a lot of the time and what's going on outside. BBC have just simply used basic shots as they have a very low budget and cant really afford to use a lot of camera work, as this is also time consuming.
The films edit is non-continuity as so much happens in the film and we can see from the film that it goes over a long period of time as loads of things happen and they couldn't happen overnight.
Dialogue:
Like most Social Realist Films, there is a lot of bad language in Fish Tank.
The main character Mia has very bad language and is swearing all the time at anyone, showing no respect to who she's talking to. For example she calls her younger sister Tyler a "fuck face" and Tyler responds with, "If I'm a fuck face then you're a cunt face." A girl of Mia's age may be expected to swear, but not to her younger sister and we definitely wouldn't expect Tyler to respond the way she did. This makes it seem that all teenagers are rude and disrespectful and makes people think that even children as young as Tyler is, speak like that.
Conner, Mia's mum's boyfriend is a completely different person to all of them. We find out towards the end of the film, that he has a wife and child and has basically been having an affair. We see his property and the area it's in and it looks so lovely compared to the estate Mia lives on. Conner speaks soft and gently and says to Mia on numerous occasions that she needs sorting out. When we see his other family etc this makes us realise why he reacted to Mia the way he did, because he had clearly never come across someone like that before.
Secondary Research:
Directed and written by, Andrea Arnold
The production companies involved are:
BBC Films
UK Film Council
Content Film
Limelight Communication
Kasander Film Company
The target audience for this film, were young adults and teenagers, with British culture. The audience, was niche and was very realistic, but wouldn't of been able to be a mainstream film as only people of a British culture are likely to watch it. It involed the themes that are usually shown in BSR films, such as violence, agressive teenagers, alcohol and drugs. The actors are unknown and the camera work is all very simple.
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Past Candidates Strengths/Weaknesses
All of these had very different things that made them good. I was surprised with what some of them actually got marked and noticed that loads of things can make a big difference to how you are marked such as the camera work and making sure it relates 100% to the genre. I think that from seeing these, I have a good understanding of whats to come.
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