Production Log 10

Q1. What decisions did we make about our content of the BSR treatment?
Well we made the decision of including everything that we will use in the production of our opening sequence, also we included the whole narrative of the film so we don't get confused when making it, it gave us a better idea of how long the opening sequence can be and the maximum amount we can include without giving away the whole plot. Also we decided to show regular conventions that would be seen in a BSR film.

Q2. What did I learn from my primary research?
From the primary research we learnt that the idea of the Hangover was good most people said that we should implement these ideas in to our production, they also thought overall our name was good but some thought it could be changed to give more meaning. Overall people enjoyed the main concept and some of the boys found it relatable and one girl said that the boys suit the production as boys in the UK stereo typically get involved with the situations.

Q3. How did it influence our planning?
It influenced our planning as it gave us better ideas on what we could do and also we saw what was good about are planning pre-interview it also influenced our planning as we saw how the plot could be improved and how we could entice the audience by using something like a plot twist or a flashback to not only entice the audience but create a sense of mystery.

Production Log 9

What did you learn about narrative last week?

• I have learnt that there are different types of narrative, such as linear and non-linear. Linear meaning if the story of the film goes in order, from start, middle and end. Non-Linear meaning the story is not in chronological order. I also learnt about the McKee’s classic narrative structure, which gives a better insight of how the story of a film is structured instead of the simple, start, middle and end.

How did you use it this week?

• I used what i learnt last week about the McKee’s classic narrative structure to help develop on our BSR film story, then made my own diagram for our film story using the trmplate. I also used what I learnt about what narratives BSR films usually use to develop our story. So the film was more realistic and so it could fit the criteria of an average BSR film.

What decisions did you make about the content of your BSR treatment?

• We decided to talk about some equipment we could have used instead of the ordinary camera and tripod, such as microphone that are attached to each characters clothes. We also gave a summary of some of the locations which we was thinking about recording at and also added images of the locations for a better view and understanding. We only gave a summary 

Production Log 8

This week we have created a concept for what our opening sequence will be about we have decided to take inspiration from another movie and input parts of the film in to our opening sequence, as most ideas can not be completely original.

Q1. How did we develop the concept of our BSR film?
We developed the concept of our BSR film by using another movie we decided to look at American movies which have good reviews and in their films they themselves implement themes which we could include in this BSR film. We used these films to see how the characters were portrayed, we also tried to use normal everyday people as in BSR films they are usually working class.

 Q2. What were your key influences of our BSR idea?
We decided to use The Hangover as inspiration for our idea as they use features throughout the movie that could be used to make a BSR film mas they have themes such as drug abuse and violence, even though they are adults we have decided to change it and make them teen to be more unique and we want to show how hard life can be for some teens dealing with situations such as the ones present in The Hangover.

Q3. How did we decide the group you're working in?
Well at first we created the encounter together and realised that we worked quite well together also, we are both friends and we thought it would be quite interesting to put our ideas together and see if we could create a good opening sequence together.

Q3. Do we foresee any issues with our partnership?
We don't think that there will be many problems as we have worked quite well in a previous task together and we did not have any problems then.

Production log 7

What have been the key issues for your research this week?

• The issues of my research was figuring out the narrative of the opening sequence. This took us a while as we was trying to think outside the box away from the Kidulthood and Adulthood stereotypes.

What decision did you make about the issue and why?

• We researched some films with an iconic narrative so we could use it as inspiration and put our own twist on it to make it into a BSR film. After a while we came up with Hangover, because it was different and had not been done before. 

Production Log 6

This week we have been looking at opening sequence devices for example sound, it can be used in a smart way to create a effects. Also the shots used should be effective as this is the part that builds up the whole movie and entices the audience.

Q1. What have you learnt about opening sequence devices?
Well we have learnt that sound can be use in a way to create tension and allow the audience to pay more attention to the screen, if there is silence it takes away the detail from the sound and adds it to the screen so it helps the audience establish other things such as location of social class from what the characters are wearing. Also sound can be used as the faster the music it could create tension in the opening sequence which could be combined with shaky hand movements to make the opening sequence seem less professional, meaning it is most likely working class.

Q2. How will this impact your production?
This will impact our production as we could as it has given us ideas on how to change it so the audience can pay more attention to certain themes. We will have to be very smart in using these techniques so that we can carry out what we want to do properly.

Q3. What methods might you use in your opening and why?
In our opening we will  implement it in to our opening sequence as silence could be used to could be used to allow them to pay attention to clothing and location. The music we are going to use will be quite fast to build tension and match some themes that feature throughout the film such as violence and drug abuse.

Production Log 5

What have been the key issues for your research this week?

The key issues of my research has been analyzing the editing in BSR

films as there is a minimal amount of editing in most BSR films other

than cuts.But I found it easy analyzing the camera work and editing

for most BSR films, such as Bullet Boy and Kidulthood as these

films use a lot of camera techniques such as match on action, pans and tilts.

What decisions did you make about the issues and why?

I made the decision that there isn't a lot of edits in BSR films as realism

is a significant part of BSR films so there isn't much editing such as CGI.

This would spoil the realism of the film, which would not be a BSR film.

Production Log 4

In this week we went through title devices, we learnt how they can be used to establish certain things such as themes and ideology or even the actors. We also learnt how effective credits can be because they can reveal parts of the story without revealing too much.

Q1. What we have learnt about title devices?
We have learnt that we can input super imposed graphics, they are good as they allow you to show the audience the credits without wasting any time with a black screen in the background. It also helps to establish actors who play characters in the movie as they might know the actors/ directors and they would know if they have been in good movies before. It also allows us to introduce location and settings in the first few moments of the film.

Q2. How will this impact our production?
This will impact out production as we will implement these graphics in to our work as they waste less time also as the audience can focus on both the title and the shot in the background it gives them detail in to our story. We will use location and settings in few of the shots as we want the audience to understand what type of places are in the film without actually seeing too much. The audience can gain this detail without giving away too much, so for example we will put alleyways in the background of the credits to introduce some of the places that will be seen in the film.

 Q3. What methods might you use in the opening and why?
In our opening sequence we will use methods such as super imposed graphics to give detail and we will introduce themes through the clothing that the characters wear through the opening sequence. We may also use a flashback shot as it will give away what happened before we can skip to the main part of the plot.

Production Log 3

Production Log 2

Production Log 1

Location Recces

Call Sheets 1,2,3 & 4

Cast List

Location List

Shooting Script

Production Schedule

Evidence Of Audience Research

Q1. What do you think about the plot of The Hangover and why?
 Most people found the plot of the Hangover amusing and entertaining whereas a few people had not seen it or found the plot quite repetitive. Some found the plot quite interesting and it included a lot of detail.

Q2. How do you feel that the main characters in the film are male and throughout the film there are few female characters?
There seem to be a pattern of all the males who was answered this seemed to not really care if there was no female characters in the film, whereas the females who answered this said that there should be more of an oppitunity for a female character. One female said that the male characters match the stereotypical situations and said that they are mainly for boys.

 Q3. Do you think 'Remedy' is a suitable title if not what would be a better title, and why?
 Most people thought the title was very suitable for the film after hearing the plot. They thought it was very short and to the point which was positive. Only a few people thought that the title could give more of a hint to the plot of the story. Also some thought it could be changed to the name of the drug for example to give away a bit more of the story.

 Q4. What do you think could be improved about our plot and why do you think this would be better?
Most poeple liked the plot and couldn't think of how it would be changed but some thought that we could either add a plot twist or maybe even some flashbacks to give the audience a better idea on the story of the film before they go back to London.

 Q5. If the characters are meant to be working class how would you portray them in terms of clothing, where they are located and how they behave?
Everyone said the characters in the film should wear casual clothing and not anything like designer, which fit our descriptions of the characters. They also said the location should be somewhere like a council esatate and not anywhere rich.

Qualitative Data Analysis Remedy

Vox Pop Questions

Q1. What do you think about the plot of The Hangover and why?

Q2. How do you feel that the main characters in the film are male and throughout the film there are few female characters?

Q3. Do you think 'Remedy' is a suitable title if not what would be a better title, and why?

Q4. What do you think could be improved about our plot and why do you think this would be better?

Q5. If the characters are meant to be working class how would you portray them in terms of clothing, where they are located and how they behave?

My Audience

Credits analysis

BSR Visual Representation

Treatment

Narrative

For our production we gained inspiration from 'The Hangover' this deals with various themes that we have decided to emulate some of these themes, a way in which we changed this is by dealing with teenagers instead of adults, also as the movie 'Hangover' is quite comical we would like to change the plot and make it more serious and hard-hitting as it is within the genre of BSR. Our film deals with themes such as drug abuse, corruption of youth and violence. The two brothers, Jerome (Romeo) and Kayden (Kay) who live in Liverpool, but used to live in London. They come down to London for a weekend to go to a party where they will meet their childhood friends, the lifestyle in Liverpool for them is much more different compared to the lifestyle in London for those within the same age range. On their first day back they explore different drugs e.g Marijuana, this leaves them hungover till the next morning where they wake up with no money and no way of getting home. The two brothers end up stranded in the worst parts of London where they are forced to make money, they end up trying to rob shops and people during the night, they do not make much money as at the same time they are trying to survive. They meet new people who help them make money illegally by selling drugs, they get caught up in the lifestyle and eventually one of the brother dies, the brother that dies wanted to stay in London because he got addicted to the money and gets killed by another drug gang. The other brother goes back to Liverpool after his brother has died. The narrative is linear as it follows the story of the two boys who go from London to Liverpool then back to London.

In the opening sequence it will start with the two boys walking out the train station as they tap their oyster cards, they then look at an invite of the party which they are going to later that day, whilst walking back to their friends house they are offered drugs and they eventually end up buying them even though they were weary of them at first, all the audience sees is the transaction, they then knock on the door of their friend who opens the door, then they begin to get ready for the party later that night, they keep looking in the mirror whilst getting ready there are switching shots between both brothers. They are then in the car and one brother does a line on the dashboard which is an extreme closeup and then the other takes a pill which is also an extreme close up, they then knock on the door of the party, whilst they are high then the music changes and it just blacks out. Between each shot it pans then fades out with a black screen, then the next shot fades in with the black then going in to the shot. We also have decided that we won't include much dialogue as the music and the on screen super impose graphics will create detail for the audience to understand what is going on.

Target Audience

Our target audience is from the age group 16-25 as the characters throughout the film are within the same age range so people would be able to relate to the characters who are the same age as them, even though the themes may not be relatable. The main gender represented in the film is male as most of the characters are male so the female audience may not be able to relate as well as male viewers. The interests that the characters will have are things such as social media, drugs and partying, these interests are important as it shows that they are within the older teen bracket, this also gives the target audience an idea of how dangerous all these 3 things could be. A few locations which will be implemented in to the film are the school, houses, parties and drug residence, these are some places which would be familiar for the target audience.There will be more than one main ethnicity as there will be a range of white, Asian and black people throughout the film this will mainly target these ethnic backgrounds for the audience.

The themes that will be relatable for some of the target audience are, violence, school life, drug abuse, friendship, sexual abuse and revenge these themes are good as they do not only relate to the target audience but they help to create the story as the themes show how each point such as drug abuse has changed the characters it is effective as it shows the consequences of each of these themes.

Title

The title 'Remedy' is short like other BSR films it also has a meaning behind it and it relates to situations within the film, a remedy is a medicine or a treatment, this relates to the idea as the movie progresses there is a lot of drug abuse and they use it to drown their problems and the characters believe that their problems are being fixed with the drugs. The title has a strong link with the film does not really give away too much but it introduces the idea that there is a problem that need to be fixed with a 'remedy'. Remedy could also mean to remove something evil, connoting that there is a sense of evilness in the film and there is not much morality as the films progresses, it shows that a remedy is needed to get rid of the evil.

Technology

The technology we are going to use is the camera and the tripod, the tripod will be useful as it allows us to get rid of the shaky movements and make the shots seem more realistic, if we wanted to make the scene filled with a sense of panic we could remove the tripod, but this will allow the shots to look better also the tripod will allow us to pan, tilt and overall just create smoother shots. We could improve our production by each character having their own individual microphone so they could be heard better and the wind would not really effect the sound quality when recording, this is why we have decided to not use much dialogue. That equipment is not accessible so therefore we will have to figure out a way in which wind will not effect the production, but as there is not much dialogue this will not really be a big problem.

Representations

A typical representation in most BSR films is that women are usually oppressed and not really treated fairly, but we have decided to use a counter-type for most of the female characters as they are more equal to men and they have an impact with what they say, although they are not superior to males throughout the film they are not inferior and they share an equal role. There are not really many women in the film as it is targeted mainly towards the male audience, so males could relate but there is still a portion of females.

Another representation is where the young teens work for the older leader, this representation is shown later on in the film as when they have to start selling drugs they have to work for an older teen to survive, they begin to not only work to survive but they work to impress him so they begin to change their ways from how they were before, this is how it typically is in BSR films, for example in Kidulthood the boy Trevor has to impress his uncle by cutting a mans face. This connotes that the teens will go to extremes to impress their older influences, this convention is also brought in to our production as the boys are forced in to the lifestyle and end up being trapped and one of them never really gets a chance to escape as he dies this shows the audience the consequences of these type of lifestyles.

The locations used are also quite gritty and unpleasant as they do not really have much money to start with and then it gets even worse when they lose all their stuff, they live in a council house which connotes that the characters are quite poor. This brings in the theme of poverty and also as they are living in a council house to begin with it connotes that they are most likely within the working class or maybe even underclass as some situations throughout the film deal with extreme cases of poverty. Usually in most films which include council houses they use and establishing shot to connote that the area is not very nice, if the area is not very nice it also connotes the type of people that are going to be living there, the people would most likely not be very nice and most of the people deal with similar themes of violence, drug abuse and poverty. In our opening sequence we hope to achieve a clear understanding from the audience of what type of people are living in these areas, also we want to portray these character in the first two minutes of the film. Overall the location helps to connote the quality of life in these areas.

Style and Iconography

The camera work throughout BSR is very important as it can create the mood for a certain scene, if a tripod is removed from the camera it can be used to make panicky scenes as the hand movement on the camera is more shaky and it makes the whole situation seem more realistic to the audience this would be used to connote personal identity of what type of person they are.Also the locations are very important for example recording in alleyways, train stations and around council houses it seems regular in terms of a BSR film connoting that the people are just everyday people who can't escape the lifestyle and they are just doing things that (in our perspective) an average person would do. Places such as a train station can connote that they do not have enough money for  a car or maybe they are not old enough so it connotes how young they are. Also the alleyways could be seen as quite scary and intimidating so this could have a connection to what type of people are living there and it would have relevance to the local people. The shots used also help to create the tension in certain places, for example a high angle shot could remove the power from any character and gives the audience a sense of power over the character, this also makes the characters seem vulnerable and powerless. Also when they are taking drugs there is a close-up of their eyes showing the effect that the drugs have had on them, and it is followed by a high angle shot to take away the characters power.

Conventions

The conventions of a BSR mise-en-scene we will use to make our opening sequence are common, working class locations, a dark and dull colour palate and also real lighting such as street lights to give it that orange tint. This is so we can make our opening sequence successfully look like a real BSR film and also create a real atmosphere for the audience when they are watching. If we was to set the house party scene in a big expensive house this would take away the realness of the film as the characters in the film are in a working class part of London so a more suitable place to set a house party might be a block of flats of maybe a common working class house. Some locations which we have thought of already but not yet confirmed are Goodmayes station and a local alleyway. We would use Goodmayes station to record the two boys arriving at the station in London from Liverpool. This scene will show the two boys walking up the stairs of the station and tapping their tickets and going through the barrier. To make these shots successful we will have to record at the station at a suitable time so it is not very busy and when there is minimal sound so the camera does not pick up any unwanted sound. This could be hard as if we was to retake any shots we would have to get the lighting exactly the same from the previous shots and there is also a lot of background noise from trains and people. We would use a local alleyway to record the scene of the two boys buying drugs. This is a good location as it gives the audience a sense  that something bad is going to happen or taking place, it also gives out mysterious tone. Normally in BSR films when a scene is set in a alleyway, something bad takes place so by using an alleyway in our scene this will fit with the realness. To make the shots successful we will have to get the lighting right so it gives off a scary sort of mood, we will also have to make sure there is not to much people around and minimal background noise. 

Institution

The production company is Film 4. Throughout the research we have done on Film 4 we have seen that they have a regular pattern when they are producing BSR films. We have found that the actors/actresses that they use are untrained, as they are untrained this makes the production seem more genuine as the characters may have come from a similar background as the character that they are playing, they give actors/actresses a chance to become bigger and this is a big acting opportunity for example John Boyega played in 'Attack the Block' he then later was given an opportunity to play in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' this shows the opportunities that Film 4 can create for an actor/actress. As Film 4 deals with similar films in the BSR films that they make such as violence and drug abuse these are some of the themes which we wish to implement in to our production as it will match and keep the consistency of other Film 4 films. Also as one of the main themes is the addiction to drugs/drug abuse it will make the audience think about these topics in reality and think about the consequences of drug addiction/drug abuse. Also this film is different as it has taken inspiration from 'The Hangover' which is a big movie and by Film 4 producing and distributing this film it could show the reality of the situations. Also the film could be distributed by Netflix which teenagers tend to use a lot, so they would be able to watch the film on there as not many people watch television as much as there are things such as Netflix. Netflix would also reach a wider audience as it allows people to watch it on different technology such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops and even on TVs. 

Developing Ideas for My BSR Film

Duran Williams
A boy who was stabbed in Dagenham, he was stabbed in the night time at around 23:00, he was know to be quite humble and very helpful , could be used potentially to show adolescence within these type of areas, could be revolved round a killing and the effect it has on family and friends. This deals with themes such as corruption of youth and the aftermath, it could also deal with the repercussion of murder, either by there being revenge or ending up in jail.

 Felix
A boy who faced a huge amount of bullying over a course of 7 years he was bullied until he committed suicide, he stepped in front of a train. 'The most hated person in the school', he became a target because he was not allowed to play call of duty. People who never even knew him started to bully him online. He was bullied over social platforms like ask.fm. This could be used in my production as it uses themes such as school life, corruption of youth and adolescence.


Patrick is a man now who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar, he became homeless from drug and alcohol abuse. He refuses to get help as he believes the system has failed him. I could use this as it has themes of poverty and drug abuse. He also faces mental problems which could introduce themes of disability. As he refuses help it cannot be forced upon him but his sister is also trying to deal with this problem of his, this could explore the theme of family life and drug abuse.

This post has to do with the addiction towards drugs and alcoholism, which can be a very sensitive topic for some people, it could also bring in ideas of poverty as people are so addicted all they spend their money on is alcohol. The effect of alcohol can have a very negative effect towards children as the parents may have been mistreating them or neglecting them as they were not in the right state of mind. This could be used in my production to show the true effect of alcohol abuse not only on the person drinking but the effect it has on everybody else around them.

Sound Analysis Kidulthood

Commsioner Factfile Film 4

Who is the company?

Film 4 is a production company as it had produced films such as suffragette which was released in 2015; Film 4 could also be classed as distributor as it distributes films that they have made such as ‘Inbetweeners 2’ they were responsible for the marketing and releasing the film in to cinemas and on the television, Inbetweeners 2 was also exhibited by Film 4 as they put it on their TV programme and made it available for the audience.

Film 4 is a production company who is parented by Channel 4, it has been responsible for creating various films made in the UK. 

Channel 4 owns More 4, E4 and Channel 4 HD.

Being owned by a parent company allows the company to have a bigger budget to produce these films, the company is also allowed to the use the name and image of the parent company as they most likely have been well established even before they start marketing, they also have a higher advertising budget so they can advertise their film in a better way in order for the audience to be intrigued to watch the film.

What do the company produce?

 Film 4 invest around £500,000 on each film and they make around 10-20 films a year, for example in 2013 they produced 13 films.

 Specialists in co-production- traditionally contributing 15-25% of and independent films’ budget. 

Film 4 has recently created very successful films such as ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ the budget was $15 million and the box office was about $377.9 million. Another film is the ‘The Last King Of Scotland’ the budget was about $6 million and the box office was about $48.8 million showing that these films are quite successful even though before they had a huge downfall in losses.

On average film 4 contribute 15-25% of the films budget 

Film 4 also produces films such as comedy, drama lifestyle and sport films such as Inbetweeners 2.

Where Is the Company Based?

Film 4 is funded in the UK, although it is funded in the UK it funds films all around the world such as Slumdog Millionaire which was made in India.

Film 4 have co-produced with BFI, West End Team and Rising Stars to make the film ‘Old Boys’  Film 4 were very pleased to have taken part in the production of the film.

The big successes for Film4 in recent times are Slumdog Millionaire, Inbetweeners 2, 12 years a slave, these films have been very profitable and their box offices have been very big.

Why is the company important to the UK Film Industry. 

To develop new British talent and be the leader of innovation in the British film industry. To support international (including American) independent film-makers by co-investing in innovative and interesting foreign films. To offer a platform for British and independent cinema on terrestrial television by committing to showing each one of Film Four Productions films on Channel 4 and it’s sister station Film Four.

Films like Shaun The Sheep have become successful. Also films like  The King’s Speech and Philomena have also put British filmmaking in the spotlight. Film 4 has helped actors such as John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Adam Deacon and Noel Clarke who play in films such as Attack The Block and Adulthood, in recent times John Boyega become a well known actor who has played in star wars

British Social Realism Mise-En-Scene

Mise-En-Scene of Fish Tank

(1:09) In this shot there is a council flat denoted in the background this connotes that they live in a really bad area and it gives the audience and idea of what social class these characters are, it shows that they are most likely working class. As there are houses around it shows the contrast from people who are not as rich to people who have about enough money to own a council flat. It displays the British social realism genre as these flats are usually seen in the UK and it is a stereotype that working class people live there.

(2:03) In this shot a girl in a tracksuit is denoted the tracksuit connotes that she is probably not very rich, the tracksuit also connotes that she is not the stereotypical girl in the sense of the way she dresses, this shows that  she does not really care about what people think about her, it also connotes that she is like a 'Tomboy'. The also signifies her social class as she might not be able to afford anything better to wear.

(2:41) The shot denotes a girl walking near some cheap cars compared to other cars, although it connotes that the film is most likely set in the modern day it also connotes that people around the area do not have a lot of money, this brings up themes of poverty as people are struggling to live, these cars surround the council flats connoting that the people living in the council flats own the cars, therefore it shows the characters have a lower social class.

(2:55) This shot denotes 4 boys, in this shot we see the first colored person connoting that this film includes mainly Caucasian people who are living in Britain. The clothes they are wearing also connotes that they do not have much money, the clothes are quite casual and baggy connoting that they are working class. Also as they are boys it connotes that the film deals with themes such as adolescent life in the UK, this film uses generic conventions of BSR films as it shows people who are within working class.

(3:19) In this shot 5 girls are denoted again they are Caucasian connoting that the film deals with mainly Caucasian people. The girls in this shot are wearing more stereotypical girl type clothing, this connotes that these girl are stereotypical girls, but the clothing still connotes that they are working class as it is quite casual clothing and does not really seem like it costs much. In this shot we can see that it deals with themes such as teenage life. It displays generic conventions of BSR as they are most likely working class.

(4:09) In this shot the girl is walking away from the group of people, this connotes that she is probably lonely and does not have much friends, her facial expression connotes that she is also depressed, also the clothes she is wearing is different to the other girls connoting that she might be left out because she is different from the other girls and might be seen as an outcast. This relates to typical themes in BSR because it signifies the theme of loneliness.

In my work mise-en-scene in a smart way in my work to help the audience understand what type of characters are in the opening sequence, Also i will use the location to help the audience what kind of class the characters are within.

Conventions of Institutional Credits

An Education -http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/an-education/

In the opening sequence of this film we can tell that main themes of the movie are friendship, teenage life and school life, the girls are also wearing school uniform connoting school life. The props such as the Lacrosse sticks connote that the school is quite modern and more posh compared to everyday schools. As the girls are dancing with other girls this connotes that it is an all girls school as no boys are denoted in the opening sequence. The titles also include backgrounds which relate to the theme of school life as there is a background with yo-yo. 

The institution logo and the other titles both have the same type of typography, The typography is quite bold and slick to connote that it is quite modern, there is also a skipping rope which connotes school life and fun it allows the audience to get an idea of what the film is about before it starts , it relates to themes of school life,also the image on the left is the name of an actor which is near the start of the titles. This may also connote that he is a more important actor, he also has his own title connoting that he is important compared to other actors.

Timeline

I have learnt that institutional logo does not really have to have 

a lot of detail, it could be plain and simple, it could match the typography

that is used within the other credits but it does not have to, also the 

institutional  credits give the audience and idea on what type of film it is going to be

Social Realism Timeline

Social Realism Timeline

 Look Back In Anger (1950's)

People in this movie are working class as Jimmy goes through his wife's handbag to see if there is any money in it, but in those times as women did not work as frequently as the present day she most likely would not have much money and all the income would come from a man. The dialogue is also quite posh this shows that the actors and actresses are trained as it does not really match genuine social realism. The train going past at the time connotes that it is quite an urban city, the factories also connote that it is quite industrialized and there is a lot of pollution. The woman is also oppressed by the man as she is scared of him as when she notices that he went through her handbag she does not say anything.

 Poor Cow (1967)

In this movie the man is having bath in the tub in his living room which connotes that they are quite poor. The house is near an alley also connoting that they are working class as someone who is richer would not live near an alley. The man punches woman this connotes that one of the themes of this movie are abuse. The man from the window is also laughing as if it was funny and acceptable , and the language throughout the whole movie is not as posh meaning most likely that these people are real genuine working class people and not trained actors and actresses.

 Bronco Bullfrog (1970) 



The language used throughout the film is not as posh showing that the actors and actresses are most likely genuine and they originally talked in the way that they do. The men are doing a lot of labour showing that they are working class and have to earn a living. The houses shown throughout the scene are also quite simplistic showing that they do not really earn much money. There is also a lot of crime as people are believing the labour they are doing is too much so they go out and steal things, it is located in Stratford where the docks were.

My Beautiful Launderette (1985)

This movie deals with themes such as racism and issues with homosexuality. It is evident that the Asian man is working class as he lives near a train station, as there are trains you can tell it is quite urban. He is also running out of money he also used to do a job which included labor ( Worked in a car wash), he then falls in to alcoholism and he very quickly loses his money this movie helps to show usual struggles within British Social Realism. Also as they are Pakistani in the UK they were beaten up also connoting the racism.
Trainspotting (1996)

This film deals with themes such as hardcore drug abuse such as cocaine, it is quite serious as he is addicted and it portrays the struggles of British Social Realism as he keeps having withdraws and becomes dependent on the drugs and everything keeps getting worse as he then receives a STI. The house that the 15 year old lives in is quite average connoting that most likely she is working class and it signifies that most people in the movie are working class as well. The accents seem quite genuine connoting that these are most likely not trained actors.

Kidulthood(2006)

This film deals with themes such as drug abuse, crime, violence and adolescent life in West London for a teen. The teens are portrayed as antisocial and reckless. The clothes that the teens are wearing connotes that they are working class and also the council flats that they live in also connotes they most likely don't have a lot of money as they can't afford to live in  a house. Another theme is teen pregnancy as the girl is pregnant at 15 years old, this deals with British Social Realism as this is quite common in Britain. The actors are also quite young and there language and accent does not seemed forced this connotes that they were most likely working class before they started filming as they could play a roll which is similar to them or which is portrayed around them in everyday life. Girls are also fighting girls showing there is less stigma of being like the outdated common housewife. 

Ill Manners (2012) 



Throughout this film there is a vast amount of drug abuse as in the start the woman is doing crack cocaine. The skinhead Nazi also confirms that this film includes themes such as racism, also as he abuses the young boy because he is black. Young children are also selling drugs to get money this shows that they are working class, it connotes that the drug life is hard to escape as he is an adult and still selling drugs. The language used is quite explicit and the language is not as posh connoting that they are not trained. The music is also quite upbeat making the film seem urban.

British social realism in the past 60 years has changed dramatically as it has been updated with modern themes, as time went on the themes changed, for example in the film Bronco Bullfrog people had to do a lot of manual labor, they were not happy so they started stealing things, compared to the film Ill manners where they did not have to do much but sell drugs for money, better money than if they were to get a normal job, there is not really a big amount of work. Some of the themes remain the same such as abuse but they are represented in a different way to match the time period. Also before women were quite oppressed but in the more modern films they are not as oppressed as over time things have changed for women and this is portrayed in these films. Although some people are still living in a backwards society and fail to accept the fact that women can do more than just clean, cook and look after the children.

An Analysis of Representations In The Selfish Giant

Regional Identity

The film is set in the North of England, it is filmed in Bradford as most British Social Realism films it was filmed on location, Bradford is stereo-typically known for having  a vast amount of 'chavs' who wear tracksuits, are aggressive and are uneducated. The colour in this shot is also quite bland setting the mood as quite sad and it gives the audience an idea of how the mood is going to be throughout the whole movie. The car denoted in this image shows that the area is not very well looked after and the horse also connotes that they are not very rich as they need horses for travelling and to help them maybe look after their land. Even though this is in quite a poor area the houses denoted signify that it is a modern as the houses are quite modern, not modern as is in the present day but in the 2000's. This establishing shot gives the audience an idea of the setting and the type of lifestyle that people are living in, in this area. In the second image quite grimey images are denoted, the boy Arbor is also wearing a tracksuit and the cars in the back are quite low priced cars.

The location and Mise-en-scene denoted in both of these images connote that people are living quite a horrible lifestyle and they do not really have any money for luxury items, also as there is Arbor in the shot carrying a horse this connotes that he lives a very different lifestyle compared to an average boy in the city but he is living in the suburbs, also as he is a boy out in the middle of the day with a horse, instead of being at school it connotes that school life is not very important, it is stereotypical as Northern 'chavs' would not usually attend school.

Age

Age in this film is represented through the contrast of the young boys and the men, the boys are still at school as the image above denotes Swifty wearing school clothes. Characters such as Swifty and Arbor are the younger boys who are trying to do jobs, which are for the grown men, this is where adolescence is evident as the boys are trying to provide for their family, this is very stereotypical as it is said that men have to work to get the money for the family. Also the children are trying to get money making them seem helpful, but the contrast is where the men are using the children to get what they want for a very small cost. When they bring the wire to Kitten he takes 30 pounds off the final price this makes the children seem very vulnerable and it makes Kitten seem very evil and un-pure as he is taking money from children who need it, Arbor is still happy to have the money showing his innocence. The fact that they are trying to get money for their parents shows that they are very caring and gives the audience a sense of sympathy for them and it targets an anger at Kitten. The second image denotes all the men being reckless they are also making a young boy race a horse showing that the men are evil as they just want to use the children.

The film connotes a negative representation towards older men overall it shows the innocence of children and how they can be manipulated for a small price, the men treat the children like slaves to make money. The boys are also happy to work also Swifty looks forward to riding Kittens horse showing that he just wants to please the older men and gain their respect.

Disability

Disability is denoted through Arbor as he suffers from ADHD this is one of his weaknesses, ADHD caused him to be removed from school permanently, also the film starts of with him under the bed screaming and hitting everything, the film does not try and cover up his disability but tries to enhance it by using some hard-hitting scenes, such as the scene where he is hitting the bed. Swifty does not get permanently excluded from school because he is seen as a more 'normal' compared to Arbor , but Arbor has ADHD which stops him from acting in a civilised fashion. There is also a a scene in the film where Arbor is throwing all of  the stuff off of the table, his mother tells him to take the tablets as that is the best she can probably do as there is most likely not a large amount of counselling available for Arbor as he is poor and his mum does not realise that he needs better medical attention. Continuous sadness is denoted throughout the film not only in Arbor's brother but in Swifty's mum, Arbors brother is in serious trouble and cannot afford to pay his debts and Swifty's mother is oppressed by Swift's dad who treats he like she is a slave. Throughout the course of the film the depression only gets worse as Swifty dies, near the end of the film the depression is denoted and it seems to be even worse which is commonly how British Social Realism films are.

Arbor is seen as the character with the most disabilities as he is trying to juggle various tasks at once, school life, earning money for his mother and also impressing the older men.

Social Class

Social class is represented strongly in this film as working class is denoted heavily, most of the film is about children trying to earn money just so they can look after their family when in reality the parent should be looking after the child, this is a counter-type of an average child. There is a scene where the bailiffs all come to the house to take the sofa this connotes that they have borrowed money which they cannot pay back and they in a continuous cycle of debt. This seems to be very common as even Swifty's family struggle quite a bit as they do not have much money to feed all the children properly, the house is filled with children screaming and shouting connoting a big mess. Arbor's brother is also a drug addict who needs money to pay off his debts that's why he even try to take money of Arbor to pay his way out, the denoted facial expression that he has connotes that the struggle is real and money is a very rare thing for these people. Arbor's mum tries her best to keep Arbor in school to try and get an education and be smart so he can get a proper living, but he is focused on keeping his mum happy connoting that he is quite caring. This part of British Social Realism takes away the saying ' You do not need money to be happy' as these people are struggling for money and if they don't get money they know they could possibly be in danger. Arbor knows the struggles of an adult at such a young age and he has learned to realise the value of money better than other children as growing up he probably did not have the best things. The school also connotes that they are working class as Arbor just swears in front of the teachers this connotes that many people in the same area deals with similar struggles as Arbor and Swifty. This gives the audience an idea of the social class and the struggle.

Gender

Throughout the film very stereotypical scenes are shown where the men are quite masculine and violent, Kitten is quite violent and negatively portrays men through the film this connotes that he is evil and very selfish he makes himself feared to the children and he seems very powerful. Gender equality is not present as Swifty's Dad and oppresses Mrs Swifty and she is overpowered, even the young boys can go out and do what they want but most of the time Swifty's mum is inside the house doing housework or cooking for the family, she is the main one who looks after the kids as the dad seems quite threatening and selfish. There is a part where Arbor tells Swifty to make sure his dad does not find the money this is because Arbor knows that his dad would take it away from him to use on himself, whereas there is another part where Swifty can trust his mum to take the money as he knows she is more caring for the children. Most of the women in the film just work at home except the woman in the scrapyard and the woman at the school this connotes that women are still oppressed even in the modern day this shows that people in these areas are still living in the past and it shows they were brought up to believe that women did all the housework and looked after all the children. Swify's dad blames Mrs Swift for the lack of money but she does not work and is forced to look after the children so there is no chance of her earning any , Mrs Swift also does not respond this connotes that the relationship is uneven and they are living in a backwards society.

Sexuality

Finally throughout the film there is a constant repetition of the word gay, this is used as a cuss towards the other boys connoting how in this type of society being gay is frowned upon, or as they are children they do not realise that they are using it in the wrong context and their ignorance denoted connotes that they are not well educated and do not understand what they are saying.  From this the audience is able to either tell that the children are uneducated or being gay is hugely frowned upon in this modern day society within Bradford.