Location Reccies for "Derogatory"

So that the locations of my BSR film are all exactly how I aimed for them to be from the start (representing the typical BSR conventions) I have created a location reccie so that I can evaluate the different aspects of our chosen locations. So that I am sure that I have not made much of a big mistake, I have compared a range of similar (but different at the same time) locations. This includes parks, streets and even libraries. This powerpoint slide can be seen below:

Shooting Script for "Derogatory"

In order to understand what needs to be recorded, my partner and I have created a shooting script that allows us to find out what each shot requires. This will enable us to stay on top of our work and to be certain of which aspects are important for the shots we have designed. This script can be seen below:

Treatment for "Derogatory"

TITLE -

"Derogatory" is the title of the film my partner and I have decided on after having a lot of suggestions. We came to this title from looking at synonyms of different words and we felt "Derogatory" was the best title that represents our narrative. We chose this because it connotes some of the themes in our film such as disrespect and bad reputations. When related to the characters, we can see that the protagonist will be derogative in the sense that he expresses things negatively and he has a bad reputation which affects his life story. This title is conventional to the British Social Realism genre, because it depicts the negative themes which are commonly seen in BSR films. This title appeals to my target audience, because the word is uncommonly used and this intrigues them to want to know more what the film is about.

TARGET AUDIENCE -

My target audience are mainly teenagers around the age of 15-18 and are both male and female, however the males are more dominant. They are interested in films with comedy or action. My film will appeal to them because the main themes my target audience are interested in are things such as:

• Violence

This is a very dominant theme seen in most British Social Realism films. This is something most people can relate to in their lives and tend to be interested in them as it is exciting. As other people of this age do not experience this, they may find it would be quite intriguing to be enlightened on this as this is something they would not be typically informed on.

• Realism

A niche market within this age range which is gradually growing, seems to be into films with verisimilitude. My film will contain this as it is a BSR film. As the audience have stated in this vox pop they like to see films with more realistic and unique storylines.

TECHNOLOGY -

We will not use artificial lighting so it will all be natural. We may add sound effects or produce our own sound for the opening sequence of the film. All source material will be non-copyrighted. We will record all the shots with a HD video camera so the scenes will look better in a higher quality. I will record wild track sounds with a sound recorder to use for my film. One or two shots will be recorded using "CamStudio" which allows the user to record footage from the actual screen. We can use this when we show the protagonist typing on a laptop and instead of using a camera to record what is on the screen, we can use the software. This way we won't have any shaky movements when trying to record with a camera when we can use a professional software to do it for us. All footage will be edited using iMovie, because it is a professional editing software and it is easy to use. There are limits to be able to use some camera language like using a dolly.

REPRESENTATION - 

The main protagonist is represented as a teenager with no friends. He sees the world in a pessimistic view as has a bad life and wants to inflict his oppression to others so that his life is more equal to them. He wears a casual hoodie with jeans and trainers. The bullies are represented as scavengers who would do any kind of job for easy money and they are not very bright. Jenna is very protective over her sister and is naturally a very sweet person. She will stop at nothing to get revenge on anyone against her family.

In my film, we won't apply Propp's character types as my film is about verisimilitude and does not follow the representations used in Propp's character theory.

My film will subvert the typical representations seen in many British social realism films, because I want to show new aspects of different people in our society as every person is different. The film will not challenge the typical representations of the British society, but rather the kind that is not usually seen. This way the audience can see further representations of Britain than the typical types you see in other British social realism films.

NARRATIVE -

SUMMARY OF FILM: The film denotes the story of a formerly troubled teen whom strives for recognition within his small community. He goes through the lengths of setting up dangerous scenarios in order for him to save so that he can finally be noticed. However, once love and the truth comes out, things are never the same again.

CONVENTIONS: I will use a select few conventions within my opening sequence. These will be things such as typical British locations to present the working class aspects, inexperienced actors to allow the film to appear as more believable, long takes so that the mundane lifestyle can be connoted and the exploration of serious issues so that the audience can relate/be informed about important things.

OPENING SEQUENCE: The opening sequence will include two scenes; one where the main character is shown runnning from police sirens etc. (this is the ending placed at the beginning). The other scene will be one that is denoted after the running but is chronilogically the beginning of the film. This is where the main character is typing up a diary entry about his current life. This diary entry scene mentions how he is proud of how he is given a lot of recognition for what he does, but he has a secret that he knows that if this is found out, his entire life will be changed immensely.

CONVENTIONS -

• British Location

The locations that will be used within my film will be places such as:

- Dagenham

- Chadwell Heath

Dagenham is a particularly cheap area that is within good reach from my partner and I as we both live close to the area. The location is evidently quite a dirty area and contains a lot of working class people. As well as being a dominantly white ethnic area, the BSR aspect of skin colour can be met there easily.

I am going to be using Chadwell Heath as this an area where we can use a house. As well as being a close location, the area is not exactly the cleanest of places. With this in mind, the scene within my opening where my lead character is running can express this negative outlook very well. This will be great for my film as the realism of the negative outlook can be portrayed believably.

• Long takes

As the time of my shooting may constraint me from taking my time with shooting, the use of long takes can solve this issue. In order to connote the mundane realism and ability of my actors, having longer running takes can help me to achieve this. This is because the longer the take, the less attention a viewer may be paying, and because the actors have to act for an extensive amount of time, it can be easy to depict that they are not exactly Hollywood trained, but are perfect for a British one. This has worked efficiently in many films before, such as This Is England (2006) and Fish Tank (2009). In Fish Tank, the lead actress (Katie Jarvis) did not initially intend to feature within the film, but was discovered at a train station.

• Inexperienced Actors

The actors within my film will be people that I know personally. This is for two reasons. The first reason is that due to my budget, I will not be able to afford well-known professionals, so must stick to those of a lower affordability. The second reason is that because most BSR films tend not to have many people that are professionally trained and popular, the believable aspect is more apparent. This will be incorporated within my film for the same reasons.

• Exploration of serious issues

My film will explore a variety of serious issues. This includes:

-Loneliness

-Family

-Death

As many teens face the negatives of being lonely within a society of people that may not treat you right, this theme can appeal to them as it can be quite relatable. Although the issues do not get too good in the end, it is however a BSR film, somewhere where happiness is not a typical convention.

The family issues explored are things such as protection of younger siblings. The most important female character aims to take good care of her younger sister, and this leads her to sticky and dangerous situations. Many people can again relate to this as the viewers may be in similar situations. Those with younger or maybe older siblings could find that this same thing is happening to them, or maybe it isn't, and they may feel inspired.

Death is a key factor within my film. Although it is not explored throughout much of the narrative, it is apparent at the very end, which is quite impactful. The audience can be quite upset by this or they may find that it is justifiable, so this issue meets the typical conventions of a BSR film.

I will not include any hybrid aspects to the film as I do not want to over complicate the situations. By only having a typical BSR outlook, the serious issues that are explored can be portrayed within a believable portrayal. This can aid the way in which people take the information provided.

STYLE AND ICONOGRAPHY -

CAMERA WORK: I will incorporate a small range of shots as I would want the realism aspect to be easily noticeable. The shots that I will use will be:

- Mid shots

- Long shots

- Hand held

- Tilting

The mid shots enable the audience to understand the expressions of the actors, face and body language. As my actors will be inexperienced, having shots that showcase their face will not be very beneficial as this may take away the believability due to their lack of acting, A mid shot is perfect as two aspects can be judged but they may not be done so within a harsh matter, so the believability can still be apparent.

Long shots enable the audience to see the actors body language as well as their surrounding location. I can easily denote props and connote feelings such as anxiety easily by using this type of shot. As it is so far away, facial expressions can not be seen in very much detail, as well as being easily incorporated aspects such as location can, thus helping the verisimilitude to be noticed well.

By using hand held camerawork, the audience can connote that the character is probably in a rush. Due to how these shots tend to be less fixed, the movement of it is quite evident, thus enabling the scene to portray more of a rough image.

To showcase where the scenes are, particularly the library scene, the audience can find out where about the scene is. For this scene in particular, the boy will be at the desk and will have the camera tilt from in front of him so that the audience can see the desk, laptop and him behind this.

EDITING: By adding in a few editing techniques, I can portray a believable aspect of BSR. This will include things such as:

- Long takes

- Short takes

By incorporating the use of long takes within my work, it can be clear to denote to the audience the mundane lifestyle of the characters. This editing style is quite a long lasting one so that can metaphorically connote the uninteresting day-to-day life of the personas.

Short takes will also be quite beneficial as they can help me to increase the tensions that would need to be incorporated. By having this, certain situations, such as the running scene, can be connoted as much more seriously and impactful as there would be a lot of shots, allowing it to increase in apprehension.

COSTUMES/PROPS: This will be an important aspect of the production process. By having particular costumes in my film, the characters can be connoted in a certain light for the audience. These costumes/props would be:

- Hoodies/Tracksuits

- Awards

- Laptop

The hoodies and tracksuits that the characters will be wearing would be useful to connote the lifestyle of the characters. As these characters are of a working class background, having clothing that fits their social status will be great as it can emphasise on the verisimilitude as well. This is a great positive as the audience who watch the film for the realism can have their wants satisfied.

The awards are a crucial prop for the film as this is the mise-en-scene that exemplifies Ben's success. With newspaper articles and more, the fortune of the character can be greatly exemplified, thus aiding the connotations of the storyline.

In order to write his blog entry, Ben needs a laptop. In the opening, and throughout a wide amount of the film, he is typing on his laptop in a library. The laptop is a crucial part of the plot as it enables the entire blog to occur.

SOUND: There will not be much music playing as this is a BSR film that aims to prioritise the realism of the film first, and music may decrease the amount of verisimilitude. However, in terms of sound, there will be:

- Panting/Footsteps

- Typing

- Voiceover

So that the running can be made more believable, having the sound of the footsteps as well as the breathing of the character, the tension can be increased. For the members of the audience that like the realism and tension, they can be quite fond of this, thus being a successful choice.

By including the sounds of the typing, there can be more apparent evidence that Ben is doing this. This emphasises on his actions, therefore helping the verisimilitude to be showcased.

A voiceover will be used whilst Ben is typing so that the audience can understand what is on the screen in greater detail. The audience will be able to get a great comprehension of the current activities.

INSTITUTION -

The film that will produce my film will be Film 4. In terms of the niche market of BSR films, this company is quite famous. They have produced many films such as "Looking For Eric (2009)" and "Nowhere Boy (2011)". This will have a great impact on the type of film that I will produce as it will enable me to stick to my initial BSR plans and to showcase this to the correct target audience. As the target market for many BSR films created by Film 4 are of the same market as mine aims for, my film can be quite successful.

The potential distribution of my film can exemplified by the film "Looking For Eric". As this film Ihas the same themes that I have (aspiration, violence etc.) and had made over £1million at the Box Office in the UK, I believe that Film 4 would be able to do the same thing with my film for the reasons of its similarity. The one USP of my film is that it contains younger characters, so the audience can range from youths who are in the situation and adults/elderly people who used to relate.

My film would initially be exhibited at the cinema, but not for a long while. In order to gain as much money as possible, I believe that Film 4 could put this film in the cinema for around a month so that it could be sent to DVD as soon as possible. As oppose to the 2009 film "Fish Tank" which only made a £100k gross after being in the cinema for over four months, I could allow my film to be there for only one, and then make even more income from the DVD asles whilst still being under the hype from the cinema release. This would enable quite a few people to see the film as well as making quite a bit of income.

Narrative Structure for "Derogatory"

In order to create an opening sequence that will lead on to the rest of the film in a suitable manner, the rest of the film has to actually be planned. With the help of my filming partner, Muhammad Rahman, we have decided on the final narrative structure for our British Social Realism film.

EXPOSITION

We are introduced to the main character whom is denoted writing an anonymous blog entry about his life. He speaks about how his life is not exactly the best and how he wants to gain his route up through immoral duties. We are also aware that he has a few friends, but nobody too close. This section also showcases a fight, a fight that he is involved in. His closest friend is a friend from school called Jenna, a girl whom he also has a crush on. To the left is an image of the type of character playing Ben. The exposition is pretty much a restricted point of view aspect, this has been chosen as it enables the audience to only see the film from the main character's point of view, thus only allowing one aspect to be viewed.

AGENTS OF CHANGE:

Within this section, the audience are presented with scenes of an anonymous call being made. This moment is done only on the side of the bullies so that a sense of tension of created. The bullies are then sent to go after the antagonist, Jenna's, sister. Before this we find out that Jenna is very protective over her sister. This is again done from a restricted view, but makes the overall film turn into being omniscient. The image to the right is the kind of character that would play Jenna.

CONFLICT COMPLICATION:

Once the bullies get into action, they threaten Jenna's sister with a knife and hold it to her face. Her sister is attacked. Jenna then finds out about what has happened and wants to get revenge on the bullies.

ELABORATION:

Jenna then realises from one of the bullies than an anonymous caller had set this all up, so she sets a goal of finding out who this anonymous caller is. Jenna and Ben get close due to Ben feeling as if Jenna is not acting herself. Jenna then allows Ben to hear her plan, in which he tells her it's a good plan but does not speak much of the topic. At this point, Jenna and Ben are now dating. One time around Ben's house, Jenna is there. He pops out to make a phone call in which Jenna goes onto his laptop and sees his blog open. She reads some of the things and finds out that he is involved in the fights as well as being the anonymous caller. This infuriates her. Once he comes back in, Jenna tries to get it out of him, but he acts casual and expresses no sign of admitting the truth. The audience are not aware that Jenna knows.

CLIMAX & RESOLUTION:

After not finding out the truth directly from her boyfriend, she storms in mid assembly, in front of the entire school in the afternoon and tells everyone, showing them the blog on the projector. After having everyone yell mean things to him about how they can no longer trust him, how shocked they are and how negatively they see him, Ben runs out of the school immediately. Once he gets home he throws things in his room around then heads out the door in a rush. He is out of breathe after running and realises that he has nowhere to go.

CODA:

This then leads him to run towards a lake in the park and jump in, fully aware of the fact that he cannot actually swim. This ends the film on a sad note by having the protagonist commit suicide. This section is done similarly to the opening sequence where the fight breaks out but it ends completely different so that the audience are surprised.

OTHER POINTS TO NOTE:

This film will be made from an omniscient perspective as we see views from Ben, the bullies, Jenna and others. This will help to allow the audience to see different perspectives as well as being able to pick up clues that may help them realise who the caller is.

The narrative will contain some form of non-linear movement as the first scene that is presented on the screen will be part of the last scene. This will help the tension to be increased as well as creating an enigma as the audience are unaware of what has just happened. This cut to action technique is also known as a 'smash mouth opening'.

The following themes are all encountered:

• Violence

The bullies are set up to do violent things such as knife crime. They must threaten, and in some cases actually do, bad things that may end up getting them into tough situations.

• Aspirations

The whole point of this is so that Ben can find a new life. At the start of the film he expresses his wishes for this 'new life' and the audience are shown the transition through his voice over. As a typical BSR convention, the aspirations have all corrupted and he loses everything.

• Family

Jenna and her sister connote a close relationship in the film as Jenna is quite protective over her. Also, Jenna risks getting into a lot of trouble in order to save her sister in the future

• Bullying

The people organised by the caller bully others into certain situations, as well as being bribed (a form of bullying) into doing this themselves. This can be a great way to dive into what many people, typically the youthful population, go through.

There are also many typical BSR conventions that my film contains. We explore the typical things such as having fights, rejected dreams, negative family situations and neglected from love.

Production Log FOUR

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.

BSR Film Audience Research [VOX POP + Meet My Audience]

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:

• Relevant issues explored
• Believable acting and storylines
• Hint of comedy
• Youthful actors
• Violence
• Poverty

Analysing Sound in the BSR film "Trainspotting"

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