This week I have been taught the BSR themes and conventions.
I am now more aware of what conventions are suitable and are approved for the British social realism film and what goes well with this genre. For example it has now brought to my attention that i should include more of diegetic sound rather then non-diegetic as it creates a better sense of realism.
Learning about the themes in a British social realist film has had a huge impact on me as i have got a better idea and knowledge on what type of themes i should consider. Now i have a range of ideas compared to what i had in mind before. I will try my best to include a high sense of realism within the conventions in order to have a better appeal to the audience.
The theme of 'Dysfunctional families' is clearly portrayed in Fish tank.
The theme of 'Dysfunctional families' is distinctly portrayed in this scene and throughout the film. Mia the main character has a tough relationship with her mum as she doesn't want alot to do with Mia or her younger sister. The mother doesn't seem to care that the daughters are out in the streets daily, facing a lot of danger and trouble.
(05:55) A clear denotation of the theme 'Dysfunctional family' and violence is displayed here. As soon as Mia enters the house Her mum pushes her in a very aggressive manner to talk to her. This also clarifies the fact that the family function in this film is extremely violent.
(06:02) Dysfunctional family and violence is represented in the sequence as the family communication is done by screaming and shouting along with foul language used, a bad amount of swearing.
This physical abuse and offensive behavior connotes an unhealthy, hateful relationship between the both.
The dysfunctional relationship causes Mia to turn to drinking which lets her relieve stress and anger.
connoting that she doesn't really have anyone to go to as well as struggling through life.
I may explore the theme of 'Dysfunctional families' within my film as it may touch and appeal to the audience considering that it can be quite sensitive specially to teenagers.They will be able to get a sense of what it would be like having an awful relationship with a parent.
Anuvahood
The theme of Rebellion is clearly displayed in this scene from 'Anuvahood'.
The theme of Rebellion is evidently shown in this scene when Tyrone gets a parking ticket he intimidates the parking Warden as he refuses to obey the rules. This is denoted when Tyrone Grabs the parking warden by the throat and uses violence to threaten his authority.
The theme is represented in this scene when Tyrone speaks to the authority in a loud tone of voice and uses body language to connote that he's superior. Another way that its represented is when Tyrone mannages to disobey the authority and get away with his ticket he calls the parking warden 'an illegal immigrant'.
I may explore the theme of rebellion in my film, something similar to this situation where a character abuses the authority. This is a common action which takes place in reality, especially from teenagers. By including the rebellion theme it will allow me to make my bsr film more believable.
Trainspotting
The key theme in 'Trainspotting' is Drug abuse/Drug experimentation.
The theme of drug abuse and drug experimentation is distinctly denoted as we see many points in the scene where the main character Renton, is smoking heroin. In the opening sequence he declares that he chose heroin instead of 'life'.
The way the theme is represented in Trainspotting is in a positive way they indicate that Heroin is more important then life itself. They use Heroin as a normal relaxing everyday aspect as most of the characters are drug addicts they display it to be a soothing calm substance. From the audience's point of view this can be seen as Drug abuse.
This theme may be explored in my film by showing an extreme use of drug abuse and addiction. it will let me aware people on how drug abuse/drug experimentation can have serious bad end results and not only ruin the individuals life but people around them.
Yasmin
The key theme in 'Yasmin' is Religion.
(00:49)
The theme of religion is quite obviously denoted, straight from the beginning of the opening sequence. We see a man dressed in a religious gown and hat entering a mosk followed by a young boy. While the sound bridge is used for the call to prayer we see that the head character 'Yasmin' ignoring the call and completely going against it by changing from the religious clothing to modern English clothes. This connotes that she is avoiding and disobeying the rules of her religion to be apart of the general society.
(01:58)
The way the theme of Religion is represented in this sequence is, Insignificant and something that is not needed. It represents society and culture to be more important then faith and religion. This is signified by ignorant behaviour from characters towards the call of prayer (Azaan). I may explore the theme of 'Religion' in my film by including ignorant behaviour from people towards religious/holy aspects and situations.
London to Brighton
Isolation/exclusion is used as one of the key themes in this opening sequence.
Isolation is denoted in this opening sequence as we see a young girl trapped in a unsafe public location without her parents. She is extremely frightened as you can tell from her worried facial expression, this misery leads her onto bursting out into tears in a lonely situation. The theme is represented as horrifying and daunting as it shows the serious damage it can have on people. I may explore this theme in my film by creating an intense effective storyline of isolation to an extent where a person commits suicide.
Definition of British social realism
social realism is a genre in films which represents real life situations, such as; Domestic abuse, Drugs, Crime, Poverty, social and racial justice, economic hardship etc, all difficulties. The people who are seen in these films/stories are everyday characters, they're portrayed to be from working class or underclass backgrounds as it creates a sense of realism. The setting of social realism is typically located around gritty, urban areas such as; council estates, alley ways and parks rather then made up sets in studios like big Hollywood films would use. British social realism has really developed from 1960's to the current time were living in. This has been shown in many ways, for example; more sound/effects used, more appearance of teenagers and children, different races rather then just white British people appear. The camerawork and editing is also advanced now as we are able to see alot more shots and effects used.
This lesson we analysed the mise-en-scene in British social realism.
The word 'Place' is parted down.
P = Production design - (sets,props and costumes.)
L = Lighting - (Ambient / Artificial / Natural)
A = Actors - (Performance)
C = Colour design - (Through production)
E = Era - (How is the time and place represented.)
Here is the combo fight scene from 'This is England'.
I'm going to analyse how mise-en-scene in 'This is England' is used to represent the films characters and how it displays the British social realism genre.
Production Design: From these two shots we are able to tell the production design such as the costumes which are very basic and displayed in a casual form, For example the skin headed man is wearing a plain white vest and an ordinary pair of blue jeans. The theme of poverty is clearly established as the setting is displayed to be gritty and rough, A cramped room which contains nude magazines whilst a child is there connotes corruption of youth, stained walls with broken down curtains. This lifestyle connotes that they are the underclass people who are struggling through life, along with lack of hope. The fact that the skin headed man has alot of tattoo's and is bald can can make him seem threatening or aggressive.
Lighting
Lighting: The Dull, dark lighting here is associated with the horrific fight scene that has just occurred. Dullness represents horror and violence and goes well with the situation. The darkness also emphasizes seriousness and the cruel reality of their lives. It is also able to create a depressing atmosphere, which reflects on their misery.
Actors
Actors: The actors are casual British people, underclass with informal language.
The fact that their typical, everyday people makes it more realistic and believable for the audience, It is also able to fit in with the BSR genre/theme in a better form.
As you can see above one of the main characters is skin headed and has a tattoo placed on his forehead. This physical appearance makes him seem aggressive along with a thuggish nature, Which was clearly denoted through his extremely violent behavior and harsh language. Colour
Colour: The colour of this scene is shown to be unsaturated which creates a dismal effect adding onto the depressing atmosphere. The artificial lighting of the light bulb highlights the fact that there's no natural lighting, which seems almost as if these people are just trapped in this depressed cramped up room. The dark surroundings such as the bed covers and flooring connotes that there's not much brightness or joy within their dull, daunting lives.
Era
Era;The Era this was set in was not recent , I would say its bound to be round 1980's.
This is indicated by the props used as its nothing too special or modern. The characters are portrayed as if their finding it really tough to cope, which was quite common for the people back in the days during 1980's when society in Britain was going through a rough stage.
Looking at the mark scheme this week i have realised that to get the best grades,Level 3 and 4 you need to show great skills of creativity throughout the opening sequence! Creativity lets the audience enjoy the film without getting bored.
This week was really helpful and a real eye opener for me as we got to peer assess previous students work according to the mark scheme. From watching previous work it taught me to pay much better attention on the editing,creativity and filming as you can easily make silly mistakes.
This will have a huge impact on my production as it made me more aware of looking out for every little detail, seeing that everything is taken into consideration. This includes; Material being appropriate for the target audience and task, Using titles appropriately according to institutional conventions, Controlled use of camera, close attention to mise-en-scene and various other concepts.
In the process of making my production i will try my best to avoid jumpy sounds and the random switching from shots. Watching previous peoples work taught me not to make these mistakes as it can lead to a terrible continuity flow, which is possible to leave the audience uninterested and bored.
I personally thought this opening sequence was extremely successful as i think all editing, sound, language and use of camera were great and fitted really well with the genre. In my opinion there wasn't much weaknesses about this piece of work.
This shot is really cleverly done as the text is placed on a close up shot of the toilet which appears as a white background makes the black text more noticeable. Although the text is observable it doesn't overpower anything else that is in the shot which is pleasing for the audience because their attention in the film doesn't get disrupted. The opening credits are shown on the screen for a fair amount of time which enables the audience to read and be aware of the cast members and directors without missing any of it.
This is a significant establishing shot from the opening sequence because its very clear at authorizing the location for the audience which is crucial to include as they can relate to it according to the area/country it is set in. This shot denotes that it is set in Britain at a council estate/Flat therefore it will appeal to the British audience. The natural lighting shown in this shot carries out throughout the whole sequence which gives out a vivid feeling of realism
The protagonist (main character) in the opening sequence is a young female teenager which appeals to the target audience who are aged around 15-19 or in their early 20's. This again includes personal identity within it as teenagers aged around 16-19 will be able to relate to it as they may be experiencing what she is in their day to day life.
The editing of these 3 shots is done exceptionally well the continuity in the movement flows consistently without it looking unusual or sudden. At some points it has some fast editing of the character jumping from one side to another which is a clever way on keeping the audience's attention rather then just dragging it on.
Another good thing about this is the title of the film appears again just to aware the audience and remind them on what they're watching yet it doesn't seem to disrupt the scene because you can still see what else is happening within the shot.
The editing of this opening sequence is unnatural and jumpy, which makes it not flow fluently this remains from start to finish. Along with that ive spotted many other weaknesses throughout. However i
have to say the storyline is quite clear for the audience to understand.
This is one of the first shots from opening sequence, which includes alot of poor aspects about it.
The main weak point is that the opening credits are almost hidden, as you can see, it is very hard to notice.
The text is way to small and stiff which makes it hard for the audience to spot and identify what it says. Along with that the colour of it also clashes with the background connoting that the audience might not even see it as their attention is on the film.
In between these two shots the editing was extremely jumpy which can almost shock the audience as it is quite unexpected. This was a huge fail in editing and seems to portray the opening sequence as being less professional.
This shot is very blurry and unclear, In my opinion they should have used a close-up instead of a long shot so that the audience can have a better perception on what the girls facial expression is. This shot leaves the audience puzzled on what is going on and doesn't intend to engage them to the film.
The background sound changes from one shot to another, On the first shot there's distant music playing consistently and then it suddenly switches to just chatter which leaves the audience with a different atmosphere. This group required to pay better attention on sound when editing the shots together.
