This week I have learnt a lot about my target market. By recording teenagers in a vox pop format, I have been able to brush up on my skills in editing, questionnaires and obtaining information. In terms of my target market, I have found out that they tend to be fans of the films that showcase relevant issues with youthful actors. As a way of enticing my particular market that I am aiming my film at into watching the production, I would need to get similar conventions as seen in films such as "Kidulthood (2006)", "This Is England (2006)" and "Four Lions (2010)" as these were the most popular films that my respondents had allowed me to acknowledge.
In terms of the institutions involved in BSR films, I would say that they tend to focus their films in locations that give off rough and troubled. This is evident in companies like "Film Four" and "ContentFilm" whom created films such as "Looking For Eric (2009)" and "Fish Tank (2009)". These are particularly unvarnished films that represent the true representation of Britain.
This will all inform my production as it has enabled me to understand that my target market has a particular interest in issues such as depression and bullying. They also seem to like ghetto looking areas with a youthful population. In order to meet the wants of my target audience, I will look for locations that contain these aspects as well as incorporating actors and storylines that live up to the apparent demand.
From my results, I have found out a few different things about what my audience may enjoy and how I may incorporate it into my work.
DATA PRESENTATION
Above is a video of questions that I have asked other teenagers, members of my target market, BSR related questions. These questions were:
1) Have you seen a BSR film? Which one(s)?
- Kidulthood [2]
- This Is England [2]
- Four Lions [2]
- Adulthood]
- Anuvahood
- Looking For Eric
- Attack The Block
2) Why do you like these type of films?
- Believable and Accurate [2]
- Relatable due to age
- Humourous
3) What conventions would say makes it a good story?
- Violence
- Racism
- Poverty
- Good Storyline
- Establishing Shot
4) Can you think of any good ideas for a BSR film?
- Boy is abandoned by his family, which results in gun crime and ends negatively for him.
- Lawyer that fights cases for abused women yet abuses women himself.
- Teenage actors due to relatability
- Bullied kid
5) Have you ever experienced something that you would see in a BSR film?
- Violence [2]
- Gang Fights [2]
- Lost family members
- Slang
- Drugs
6) A teenage boy faces depression and has to deal with living in an unempathetic society. What do you think of this idea of a BSR film?
- Relates to young people [2]
- Believable
- Relevant
- Teaches good morals
MEET MY AUDIENCE
Here I have analysed the data that I have gathered from my vox pop as well as the ideas that I have in my head, and have put them into my target market. This is an audience member whom is completely fictional that I have organised the typical aspects that I would expect from them.
QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
From the research that I have gathered from my Vox Plots, there are many things that I am now aware of. This aspect of the planning work has really helped me to find out more about my target audience and has allowed me the opportunity to acknowledge more ideas that I could potentially incorporate within my own work.
One thing that I had found out is that the majority of my audience were fond of films such as "Kidulthood" and "Four Lions". These are films that have aspects that are both comedic and violent. If I were to incorporate these two conventions into my own production then I could potentially find a greater chance of meeting the wants of my target audience, thus creating a possibly successful film plot.
Something that my respondents typically stated about the style of BSR films is that they were fond of the verisimilitude that is apparent. They liked how they could all relate to it as the way that everything (performance, locations, actors etc.) was done accurately and gave off a believable representation. The fact that verisimilitude was a re-occurring factor on behalf of the likes of my respondents connotes that this is something that I should include in my own in order to gain audience appreciation within the correct market.
In terms of conventions, my respondents had stated a varied amount of answers. With reponses such as violence, good storyline, establishing shots and more, it is clear that there are a lot of things that I could incorporate in my work. As BSR films typically have violence, deaths and slang, these are also three things I may include. We see the theme of violence in "This Is England (2006)", death in "Four Lions (2010)" and slang in "Kidulthood (2006)". These three examples are also films that my target market have stated to be fans of.
In terms of ideas, the main theme that occurred during my vox pops was the theme of bullying. My target market seems to enjoy this theme a lot so it may be something that I would take into consideration. Also, the fact that this is quite a common theme in BSR films can connote that this is a typical convention, but also mean that this would not be very original. I may include this aspect but would add in another bigger one so that my film could have a USP. I might use the idea of the lawyer helping others but also contradicting his own words as this seems quite interesting, but would also add my own spin on the plot.
With the idea of bullying that I had pitched myself, the respondents seemed to be quite fond of the idea. As they like my current plan for the film, I may incorporate that in there. However, I may not need to stick to this idea but add something else that would still fit with what my audience had said. What they liked about it was that it was a believable and relevant issue that many young people could relate to, hence why they were fond it.
Overall, I have found that my ideas have been narrowed down. With many people contributing their thoughts I have come up with aspects that are to be considered to be incorporated:
In this clip of the BSR film "Trainspotting", I have added YouTube annotations that denote the notes I have made about what each piece of sound connotes about the film. I have discussed this within a formal manner and have also included why I may add this into my own production.
*NOTE* MAKE SURE THAT YOUR YOUTUBE ANNOTATIONS ARE TURNED ON IN ORDER TO VIEW THIS VIDEO THE WAY IT IS INITIALLY SUPPOSED TO BE VIEWED
I have looked at three different films in which I have analysed three screen shots from. By looking at a range of films I have also looked at three different technical aspects:
This week I have looked at a range of different opening sequences and what conventions they tend to contain. Every film's opening sequence tends to differentiate from each other as a way of making their film seem unique and interesting. I have also learnt that most opening sequences tend to use these few minutes to display the institutional information in particular orders. This order is different for every film, but it seems to typically be in a fashion of importance, for instance, the most popular actor would be presented first. A lot of BSR films tend to also follow this idea by having those involved listed in the same order. I have also learnt that not every film seems to have much institutional information, such as "Adulthood". This film literally has no written details in their opening sequence, which can connote how those involved may not be as well known as others. This can also be seen in the view; the view that the need for it may not have been necessary as the opening may have been quite important for the storyline and the audience would prefer to not be distracted.
As almost every single BSR film has appeared to have a bit of information within their opening sequence, I would also follow this suit. I may not list the actors in order of their popularity as the film may not have well known actors in the first place. I would list most of them in groups as none are entirely important on their own. I would also not include too much storyline as this is the time where the audience would try to get to know the people who will be appearing in the film. I have seen this in the opening of many films, but in particular "The Boat That Rocked". Here there is only an introduction to the context of the plot with a bit of institutional information.
Themes are a very essential aspect of British Social Realism film making. Without having these believable themes such as violence, childhood and others, BSR films would find great difficulty in creating a realistic representation actual issues within their films. This post is where I have chosen five BSR films in which display the use of a different theme.
1. Domestic Abuse - Nil By Mouth
In this scene from the 1990's film "Nil By Mouth" we see a scene that starts off with a gradual amount of yelling that soon turns into domestic abuse. This theme is established by the woman's husband beating her with his hands and feet. I would say that this is portrayed extremely violently as although we see the actions he is doing, we do not see what she looks like during or after the abuse takes place. This only leaves the audience to imagine what is truly happening to her, thus creating an even worse scenario in our heads. If I were to use this theme in my own film then I would possibly portray it the same way. As this decision decreases the chances of someone actually getting hurt, it also allows the scene to be seen as quite serious, which is what anyone involving this theme would typically want for their scene.
2. Bullying - Kidulthood
The main theme represented in this clip is bullying. Here we see that this film has established this theme by having scenes of a group of girls and a boy physically and verbally abusing another student by calling her names and hitting her. There is a moment where the identity of her virginity is emphasised on in front of the entire class, which can only be taken as an act of humiliation. Bullying has been portrayed as quite a dangerous thing as at the end of this clip, the girl commits suicide. We see the build up of this moment occur from this girl being tormented and uncared for by her fellow pupils as well as her family. As this scene had required excellent camera work, acting and build up to represent the bullying theme as serious as it did, it may be quite hard for me to denote it the way that they did. However, as I am only planning on creating an opening sequence, I may include the use of vocabulary and possibly physical actions that the kids from the school had done. I would do this as this not only represents the scenario in a negative aspect but can be easily achieved.
3. Childhood - This Is England
In this scene, there a little boy being surrounded by elder men, denoting the theme of childhood. The theme is established by having the boy being casually located in an area with negative behaviour around. For example, there is the uses of drugs and even a fight to the death occurs, connoting how this boy is in an area that is definitely not recommended to be in, particularly at his age. The theme is portrayed as quite influential towards the kid as he is denoted laughing during a time where someone is in pain (the start). However, towards end of the scene the boy's innocent is in some form restored as he constantly yells and cries for the violence to end. This is quite a dramatic scene and highlights how children can be easily influenced by others but will always remain to have a form of purity within them. I could explore the theme of childhood within my own sequence as I could have a little boy within a crowd of people using unnecessary words and actions, just like in this clip.
4. Illnesses - Looking For Eric
In this clip we see the main character from the film deal with his illness, schizophrenia, a mental disease that causes people to think that they are talking to someone, but in reality are only communicating with themselves. Here we see how the film has established the topic of illnesses by bringing in a famous footballer whom Eric idolises and incorporating him into Eric's schizophrenic imaginations. Illnesses have been portrayed in this clip in particular as influential but also somewhat comedic. From the words actually being spoken it is clear that Eric is being influenced by them, but from the tone and how Eric reacts to the appearance of this footballer, a form of comedy arrives with it. I could incorporate the theme of illnesses by allowing a character of mine to use some medication, e.g. an asthma pump. By having this in my sequence, it denotes to the audience that the character is likely to be dealing with this situation. 5. Gun Crime - Adulthood
In this clip from 'Adulthood' we see the exploration of the theme of gun crime. The theme is established greatly throughout the entire scene as the man holds a gun to an adult couple as well as a few other men inside the house. It is clear that this film portrays the act of gun crime to be quite violent and dangerous. Evidently, the use of guns has gotten these people into all sorts of trouble, as well as the gun being a symbol of authority. This authority is represented as whenever one man holds a gun against somebody else, the holder ends up having more control over the situation. This is apparent when there are only two people left in the room and the man in the hoodie puts the gun extremely close to the other's mouth. If I were to put this theme into my own sequence then I could possibly have some trouble with doing so. However, although it may be hard to obtain an actual gun, the mentioning of it could be quite attainable, in which can help me to portray a violent film.
For my BSR film I would consider quite a few different ideas in order to help me create the typical BSR representation. These areas must be considered to have the right conventions that would portray the correct ideology of a British lifestyle. Things that I would be looking for may include:
Racism
Unkempt
Unpopular
Not much to do
High population of ethnic minority
High population of white ethnicity
LOCATION ONE - Green Street, Newham
Positives:
Known for its crime so can be easily portrayed
Ethnic minorities are more apparent within these areas
Racism is quite a common occurrence here
Negatives:
Quite busy so sound may be hard to find
Also the busyness of it can cause the problems of getting in people's way
Would cost a bit to get there as it is relatively far
LOCATION TWO - Barking Market
Positives:
Dominantly white so the typical BSR representation can be apparent
Quite a rough looking area
Negatives:
Travel may be quite a lot as it is not very close
Can bump into trouble quite easily, especially with the expensive equipment
As the area is busy it may be hard to record sound/try to avoid staying out of other people's way
LOCATION THREE - Ilford Lane, Greater London
Positives:
Typical BSR shops (i.e. cheap fast food/clothing)
Rough looking (i.e. unkempt ground)
Usually see people wearing cheap outfits
Easily accessible (cheap and close by)
Negatives:
Quite a noisy area so sound made be hard to record
May bump into trouble
Might get in the way of people as it is quite a busy area
LOCATION FOUR - Parsloes Avenue, Dagenham
Positives:
At times it can be relatively quiet so filming can be quite easy
Can be a rough area as denoted by the amount of crimes that occur here.
Dominantly a white area so can have great BSR denotations
Negatives:
Can be quite a long journey to get here
At times trouble may be easy to find
Near a school so the sounds from here may be a problem
LOCATION FIVE - Dagenham Swimming Pool
Positives:
Has a typical BSR outlook as it is quite rough and unvarnished
Dominantly white ethnicity, which helps to have the BSR representation
Not too loud so audio recording can be relatively easy, in some form.
Negatives:
Depending on the time of day it can be quite noisy, depending on how many people are there.
I have analysed the opening sequence to the British Social Realist film "The Boat That Rocked". This is to help give me an idea of what actual BSR films have as their openings and how I can incorporate it within my own.
This week I have looked at particular conventions that are featured in a British Social Realist films. By looking at BSR films throughout time, from the 1960s to the 2000s I have found out that a lot has changed in terms of representations of British people/life. For example, in the 1969 film "Kes" there are a few unclear accents that were very common at the time, whereas in the 2006 film "Kidulthood" the accents are quite easy to understand. However, as "Kes" is set in the past and in South Yorkshire, I would probably find it harder to understand this as oppose to a London based film like "Kidulthood". These films appeal to those would typically either relate or understand the way that things worked in these times. I have found this out as by looking at the conventions such as cultural references, this would be a main target audience for this. I have also studied news stories that are a part of themes that appear in Social Realism films; these will help me with my production as they display attributes of a BSR film. This will inform by production as I may choose to have typical BSR conventions such as accents and iconic views in order to attract the correct audience. There is not much point of having a lot of different conventions that appeal to many people as BSR films in general do not tend to have that. One text that I found particularly influential was "Nil By Mouth" from 1997. This film had a scene where a wife experienced domestic abuse from her husband. What was so crucial about this scene was that the viewers were only denoted shots of the man hitting her and we heard her screams, only leaving us with an image that we had to make up. This is something I may consider as it is a common attribute to real life in Britain, connoting that this could be something good to have in my own production as it relates to many.
As I want to represent a typical BSR film I will try to conform to the conventions such as typical accents, iconic views and realistic situations as these are what many BSR films contain.
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This will all inform my production as it has enabled me to understand that my target market has a particular interest in issues such as depression and bullying. They also seem to like ghetto looking areas with a youthful population. In order to meet the wants of my target audience, I will look for locations that contain these aspects as well as incorporating actors and storylines that live up to the apparent demand.
