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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
