Tuesday, 17 December 2013
Monday, 16 December 2013
Production log elevennnn.
Choosing what days too shoot was very difficult due to christmas and new years so we wanted everything done before christmas so after that we can revise for our exams in January. The shooting script was also another issue as we needed the n between shots to make things clearer for our audience but finding what shots would suit what such as to show the pregnancy stick would a close up suit that better or a mid shot.
Taking images of our locations was very hard as it would get dark so quickly but also the rain prevented us from having good shots.
Production log week ten.
We made many decisions about our content for our BSR film. Such as having a smash mouth opening which will grab the audiences attention. We also decided we need extra shots in case the shots we have are not needed such as we are adding the in between shots in order to make sense of what is happening in our film. We used our vox pops as research which was asking ten people five questions in order to get research on what they think of our film storyline and generally find out what sort of things they like. This influenced our planning as we knew what our target audience would like too see and create something similar to what they would like. Such as many people would like too see drugs and violence. So we know to include this within our work.
The treatment was diffcult as my partner and me had to decide on what our actual storyline and we decided on the teenager who is pregnant which is very common throughout the UK.
The treatment was diffcult as my partner and me had to decide on what our actual storyline and we decided on the teenager who is pregnant which is very common throughout the UK.
The vox pops was also one of the key issues and helped us know what our target audience is intrested in but also what they think of our idea. We found out from our vox pops a lot of infrormation which could help us with our work. We found out that many people did like our ideas and that most of our target audience have seen BSR films such as kidulthood and adulthood.
Thursday, 5 December 2013
vox pops.
After filming our Vox pop we collected all our feedback and based on our results we made a summary.
First thing was 10/10 people like our idea for our BSR film.
8/10 people have watched a BSR film and have enjoyed watching it.
6/10 people want the character to be unique and 1/10 said they want the characters to subvert the ideas society has of teenagers.
3/10 people would want to use the theme of drugs and violence in their own BSR films if they created one.
1/10 people's favorite film was a BSR film.
Some of the people we asked gave us suggestions and improvements we can make to our story-line for our BSR film. One of the main feedback we received was not too focus as much on the pregnancy but to focus on the drug dealing and taking and the abuse from the mother. As these subvert the ideas of society. I believe we can subvert the common stereotype that surrounds us about society. Most people would include drugs and violence into their BSR films which is common within the BSR genre. Within our film drugs will be included as it is one of the main themes. most of the people we asked have watched kidulthood and adulthood and enjoyed it as it was full of action. So for our BSR film we are going to go involve many dramatic scenes as that is what the audience wants too see.
i created a powerpoint on who my audience will be.
The vox pops developed our knowledge of the concept of BSR films. This has been developed as asking our target audience which are 16-30 year olds we have gotten too know there interests but also what they like about our idea.
One thing that has really helped us was what our audience would include if they were to create a BSR films. Many agreed to involve the usual violence and drugs and gangs and this has really helped us as in our film will have decided to involve drugs. This will be shown by the girl taking drugs and the violence will be shown by her mother who abuses her. another factor which has developed our concept is that not to create our film to be generic the usual to do something else. Such as not having the usual gang who kill people but doing something different and unique which our audience want too see.
I found that my target audience have seen the usual BSR films such as adulthood, kidulthood and shifty. This connotes too me that many people are interested in the BSR genre but also have some certain knowledge of the genre. But one other thing is in these sort of movies the main character is usually teenagers such as kidulthood so they can personally identify with our main character as she is a teenager in East London.
Many of the people we asked had a clear understanding of the BSR genre so this connotes that they are familar with BSR genre but also like so our film will be ideal towards them as its a genre that many working class british citizens have watched.
The feedback we recieved for our film was genreally very good. Many people said they would watch it but also that it was different from the usual BSR films. But also many said not to focus most of our attention on the girls pregnancy but also on the drug taking as it is not as common for a female. Everyone said they would watch our BSR film so this connotes that many can rwlate to the struggles of life but also watch it as entertainment.
The feedback we recieved was very helpful as it helped us as a group to improve our work and listen to what the audience would like too see as it will be more entertaining for them. the feedback also helped us improve our work on what our audience would like too see.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Production log nine
Last week I learnt about the different types of narratives that can be used in films. Such as linear where there is a start middle and end or non linear where there's are flashbacks and flash forwards. I also learnt new words such as restricted and verisimilitude which means how true to life is it. I used it this week for one of our course works but also i used it too see what sort of narrative we are deciding to do and which is highly common within the BSR genre. Linear is very common however non linear is not so we decided to go with the linear. My partner and me split the tasks in the treatment so each one of us had four to do. I done the technology, representations, institution and the storyline. We have decided to subvert some of the representations society has of some people such as the mother always being loving and caring she have changed it to the mother not being loving and caring. I also learnt about Mckees's narrative structure and have made sure to include it within my work. 
McKee's classic narrative structure
I have decided to use Mckees's narrative structure in my work. The first thing he has involved in the narrative structure is the exposition which involves the protagonist. In our case the protagonist is a sixteen year old white teenager and her name is becky. She attends secondary school. She will be shown wearing jogging bottoms and jumpers very basic clothing. This is typical of the BSR genre as the characters are always shown to be wearing basic clothing and nothing flashy. This will be a linear narrative where everything is in order and has a start middle and end.
Agents of change
The mother is the antagonist and will disrupt the normality for her daughter. The mothers main motive is to make her daughter miserable as she blames the daughter for the father leaving. The mother will be shown to be hitting the daughter several times when she finds out she is pregnant. Fishtank influenced this Mia's mother abuses her daughters which subverts the stereotype of the fatherly figure for being abusive. This will be shown in a restrictive narrative meaning the narrative will be shown my the protagonists point of view.
Conflict complication.
Conflict has been shown throughout the whole film. The boyfriend Roy who becky meets later on during the film messes around with her. Meaning he leads her on onto thinking he was the one for her and helping out with her pregnancy. However he was just using her for drugs as he could not afford them himself.
Summary.
Becky will be shown taking a pregnancy test which comes out positive showing that she is pregnant. Frustrated by the result she smashes up her room the ring everything everywhere and leaves her house. She's walking down and feels as if everyone's eyes are on her. She comes home and starts drinking and smoking effected by her test. The next day she wakes up and burst into tears her mother comes in to her room and says "shut up you little slut" and hits her across the face. She runs to the toilet as she feels sick. She realises she's living in poverty and decides to go back to school to educate herself so she can support her child. She goes to back to school and meets Roy who is in her schools sixth form. She begins to talk too him and and develops feelings for him. Her mother finds out she is pregnant and hits her daughter severely injuring her. Becky meets Roy and they decide to begin a relationship. They share everything together including drugs. One day she sees Roy with her another girl kissing which makes her very angry she storms home. Her mother starts to have a go at Becky. Becky has had enough so packs her stuff and leaves. With the spare cash she has she lives in a flat and works part time after school. She gives birth to a girl and her mother visits her at the hospital. This will be all linear but also a restricted narrative where all the events will be shown by her point of view. This is quite verisimilitude as these events do occur on daily basis , teenagers being pregnant but also having abusive parents.
Climax and resolution.
The ending is of Becky giving birth to a baby girl at the hospital. Her mother arrives to congratulate her and apologises to her for all the abuse she did towards her daughter. They go back to the flat. There's a knock on the door and the mother opens it and says "what are you doing here" this creates enigma as the audience do not know who the Person is and will want to find out who it is.
Monday, 2 December 2013
treatment.
Target audience.
The target audience for our work is British 16-24 year olds as it has been written in the brief we receieved. The gender we have chosen is both females and males as both of them can relate to what we are planning on showing. The audience will be British as it has been stated within the brief. Their interests would be violence, and BSR films. Class would be working or underclass as it relates more and BSR films are made around the average working/underclass life. Other media consumption the target audience would use would be the radio to listen to music and also the T.V to watch programees such as Eastenders.
Our film will appeal to our target audience as it is different compared to all the other BSR films. As in most of them it is about boys doing drugs and containing the common theme of violence. However our one is about the main girl suffering from abuse from her mother which is not as common as abuse by the father or a male man. My film will also appeal to them as some may watch the film as personal identity and can relate to it. Suh as boys can relate to the violence and the girls can relate to the theme of aspiration.
Technology.
Too make our production realistic we will use a camera without a stand and make it seem shaky because in most BSR films the footage is shaky but also makes the film seem even more realistic as it seems rough and fits in well with the genre. Also using very basic cameras as it would make it realistic and rough. This technology would be suitable as it would create the film to seem more rough than perfect and make everything seem even more realistic. There are no limitations.
Representations.
The key characters are Becky who plays the role of the protagonist the main girl and the antagonist is the mother who abuses her daughter and is always out to get her. I can apply Propp's character types for the characters in the film. Becky is the protagonist the main girl and the antagonist is the mother who is ruining everything for her daughter. Roy is the helper who later in the film helps Becky and they fall for each other. The blocker is the mother as she ruins many things for her daughter. Our film will subvert typical reprsentations of society as the father figure has always been portrayed to be the abusive family member however in our film the mother will be the abusive one not the father.
Institution.
The production company is Film Four which is a leader in British cinema so the films musical style, editing and graphics must conform to the conventions of the Social Realist genre and meet all the exceptions for the type of film. This also impacts our film as all Film Four films are original.
This will effect the distribution of my film as it is a British film so it should be distributed in england as well. This will effect the distribution of my film as the company will produce, distribute and exhibit everything but also will only shown within England as it will not be a mainstream film.
Our film will be exhibited in independent cinemas such as Piccadilly cinema, west-end cinema and also the independent cinema office. The film will be exhibited in independent cinemas as the film will not be as mainstream but will also have a low budget so many mainstream films will not agree too play such films in their screenings. This will also be shown on the internet such as youtube as anyone can access it but it is also free so anyone can watch it without money being an issue.
The title of my film is called 'Cornered'. The title cornered has many connotations. For example the word cornered means being forced into a situation or place from which it is hard to escape. This could connote that in the content of the film Becky the main character may want to escape her mothers abuse and drug addiction Also it connotes that she is being pushed into the corners of society and not being able to be set free to reach the middle and that thoughts and her journey will be hard. The title connotes themes of neglect and abuse. The word Cornered also connotes struggle so instantly it creates a feel of sympathy towards the main character.
I believe that my title choice of 'Cornered' is definitely conventional of the BSR genre. The title is short, simple and sharp. Most BSR film titles are short and are usually one word. However some BSR films have very abstract film titles that don't really seem to have any connotations or relevance to the film for example; Fish Tank and Trainspotting.
I believe my title will appeal to my audience because it is so abstract it will confuse them and make them ask questions. Ultimately it will intrigue them to want to watch the film. It is very different to any title of a film and is short and snappy so it can stay on their mind easily.
Representation-
When creating my film I had to ensure the characters I created were as realistic as possible however I wanted them to have a sort of rough edge to give them a unique identity. My main character is Becky who is also the protagonist. She is aged 16 and is an aggressive, hot headed, violent girl who is not afraid to start a fight. She is however withdrawn from the society and gang culture so is very quiet. In the start I want to represent her as violent but in fact further in the film the viewer will start to discover that the cause of Becky's aggressive nature is due to her mothers abusive behavior. She starts the film as an immature girl but grows up to be a strong, mature woman. Another key character is Becky's mother who is also the antagonist. She is a very aggressive, rude and abusive woman towards Becky and her baby bump. I wanted to represent her as a cold and stone hearted woman so the viewers feel disgust and anger towards her, therefore emphasizing the sympathy towards Becky. Another key character is Roy who Becky meets later on in the film. He is 17 years old and looks like the generic urban, street guy with his tracksuit and over sized chains however when him and Becky start talking the viewer see's a different side to him. He has realised his mistakes in the past and he is also on a journey to rectify it and create a better life. He helps her with her addiction and her journey with her pregnancy.
I can apply Propp's character types to the characters in my film. Becky the protagonist is the heroin of my film as she is a victim of the villain and she has an aim and story to fulfill. Becky's mum is the villain in my film as she struggles against the heroin (Becky). This is easily represented through her aggressive nature and is seen to stop Becky from finding happiness in her pregnancy. Becky's baby can be seen as the princess as she is the reward and positive outcome of Becky's troubles and journey through abuse. The aim and quest for Becky is to overcome her drug addiction to be a good mother to her baby, and to be a better mother than her own so her baby is her prize. However one could argue that in fact Becky is the princess because in Roy's eyes Becky is the prize that he needed to start getting his life on track and have a family of his own, Roy is the doner/helper as he prepares the heroin by helping Becky on her journey with drug addiction and her pregnancy. I believe that including Propp's character types makes my film more professional as I have a good base of characters that all have an aim and role to play in the film.
When creating my film I wanted it to easily fit intro the British social realism genre however I wanted it to subvert some character stereotypes yet still remaining realistic and believable. Firstly even though it exists there are not many BSR films that have the protagonist of a girl. Some of a small number include Yasmin and Fish tank. However I thought using a girl as the protagonist will make the film more interesting and also realistic as BSR films apply to all the underclass people who live in the gritty urban areas of Britain. Also the girls in most BSR films are represented as 'sex seeking' girls who have to sell their body for money, and are loud and mouthy however Becky subverts this representation. Even though she is loud and mouthy at times and has some aspects that fit into the representation, she has an aim in her journey to become strong and be able to raise her child well. She also dreams to have a stable future with a family which many girls in other BSR films lack. Their aim is to either become a prostitute, marry a footballer or become a pole dancer. Her mother also subverts the usual representation of how a much should be. In usual society a mother is usually, loving, caring and understanding towards their children however Becky's mother is the exact opposite. She is cold, violent and abusive towards Becky. I think the subversion of the stereotype makes her a more interesting character as it creates a shocking attitude that a mother can be like this. Even though it's a dramatic change in the usual representation it does happen and is real, so I believe many people can relate to it as kids do get abused by their parents. Roy is another character who subverts the stereotype. Ib BSR films, the guys who wear baggy tracksuits, with tattoos and chains are seen as aggressive, rude and thuggish. However even though Roy was like that he has changed his ways and what we see of him in the film is that he is caring and understanding towards Becky and is willing to help her. This is very different and something we wouldn't necessarily expect however again there are many guys in Britain who are deceived by their looks and I think the film would be a great example to show don't judge a book by it's cover.
Narrative-
I will aim to make my narrative as engaging and informative as possible. As we are only filming the first 2 minutes of the film I need to aim to not reveal too much but to allow the viewer to understand the situation. I want to create some enigma for the viewer to feel as if they are interacting with the film and ask questions. My opening sequence will be linear and in order without any flashbacks to make my film more realistic and believable. It will also be a restricted narrative as the story is only from one characters view (Becky). This allows the audience limited access to narrative events. A brief summary of what will happen is that Becky the teenage pregnant 16 year old will find out that she is pregnant. Throughout the film we will follow her life and her decisions where she has to balance her drug addiction with her pregnancy and domestic abuse from her mother. Her mother becomes increasingly aggressive towards Becky as her bump gets bigger as she can not afford another mouth to feed. Becky attends a drug addiction class and meets a guy called Roy aged 17. They both help each other to cope with their addiction and become close. Becky feels like she can confide in Roy and they get together. Becky's mum is very unhappy with Becky's decision and in a burst of anger pushes Becky down the stairs. Roy takes her to hospital and pleads her to stay with him.
A more detailed description of what will happen in my first two minutes of the production is a dramatic scene of Becky finding out that she is pregnant through her 'positive' pregnancy test. She flies out in a violent outburst chucking her pregnancy test away and swearing and cursing loudly 'This is the last thing I fucking need' to connote Becky as an aggressive person. This scene will be set in her dirty, small room with very dim, dull natural lighting. She storms out the house taking a bottle of alcohol and smokes cigarettes and drinks to drown her anger away. The deep, mysterious music drum beat starts to create a dense atmosphere.This will be set in the gritty graffiti area in a park. This next scene She stumbles her way home, aggressively drunk. The next shot will be Becky waking up in her bed in the morning in a flood of tears. Her abusive mother in anger storms into the room, slamming her door open. She will shout "Shut up you slag, Get the fuck up". Then I aim to finish there.
I had to ensure that when creating my opening sequence that I include as many opening sequence conventions as possible. I will include super imposed graphics of the director, editor and actors name. I aim to make the graphics engaging and powerful to match the style of the film but not to take away the actions from the scene. I will include the production company Logo to give an identity for our production company. I will include music that will create an atmosphere to match the action but not something that is too loud and 'messy' which will make the film look less interesting for example just a solo dramatic drum beat. I will also include minimal dialogue because I believe including a full blown conversation in the opening sequence will spoil the story and make it boring. Minimal dialogue teases the viewer and allows the actions and shots to tell the story, ultimately making them pay more attention to what is going on in the shots. I will also include my themes that are portrayed in my film. For example the theme of corruption of youth and drugs will be shown through Becky smoking and drinking. The theme of domestic abuse and violence will be portrayed through her mother trying aggressively to wake her up. The theme of poverty will be shown through the state of the household. I will also introduce the setting with an establishing shot of her house, the characters through a bit of dialogue and long shots to see their clothing, and introduce the narrative by displaying her finding out she is pregnant, and taking drugs right after. I will also include a smash mouth beginning. This will be evident when the first shot will be of Becky finding out she is pregnant and flies out in a violent outburst. I think the use of a smash mouth beginning creates a dramatic start which engages the viewer more instead of it being boring.
Conventions
In order for my film to fit into the BSR genre I need to ensure I conform to the conventions that are common in the films.
Mise en scene- This includes everything that is in the shot, from lighting to costumes and props. I aim to include as many conventions as possible. I will include as much natural lighting as possible to make my film more realistic and believable however if the lighting is too dark to film I may use dim ambient lighting. I will use a real location, maybe the estate area in seven kings or Barking because it is very gritty and vandalised with graffiti. I aim to use a dull colour palate, with unsaturated colour to create a tense, glum atmosphere to emphasise the poverty and struggle of the characters in the film. I will definitley use authentic props and costumes. For example my main character Becky will wear either a tracksuit or a hoody and jeans to connote the theme of poverty. This will emphasise the reality of the film because this is how underclass girls dress. I believe I have chosen good working class locations to shoot my film, such as grafitti covered garage shutters, vandalised parks and maybe the odd off license. The actress I chose to act out Becky's character is Charley. She is an A* GCSE drama so I believe she has the talent to adapt to any character I throw at her. I have watched her perform as a similar character to Becky in another performance and I can't think of anyone else who will pull it off as good as she could. I believe she will make the performance realistic.
Camera Conventions- I will aim to use a handheld effect to the camera shots to give the film a more gritty documentary effect. I may use some jerky camera movements to connote the harsh living conditions of the characters and to emphasise the action. I may use this at the dramatic start to my opening sequence when Becky chucks her positive pregnancy test. I will also include some establishing of the location to introduce the setting of where our characters live, The location will be in horrible conditions so it will emphasise the theme of poverty. I will also include many mid shots and close ups of the characters. I believe that close ups are a good way to express the emotion of the character well so the viewer has a clear idea of how the character is feeling to clear up any ambiguity. I aim not use any 'flashy' camera work because I want to make the film seems as real and documentary as possible.
This image of the protagonist in 'Fish Tank' is a close up. This shot allows you, the viewer to interpret the characters emotion. For example in this shot, we can see through her facial expression that she wants to escape the life she is living now. I intend on using many close ups.
Editing Conventions- I aim to use a lot of long takes without editing. I think a high use of editing will take the reality away from the film so I want to keep it to a minimum so I will use simple editing such as abrupt cuts. I might use camera movements such as tracking instead of editing to keep it at a minimum. If there is a moment in my film where it is action packed I 'might' add some music to add to the tension and drama to emphasise the action.
I don't think my BSR includes any hybrid elements. Even though many films including 'Attack the Block' have a hybrid genre of sci-fi. However I believe creating the film with a hybrid genre will be much harder as it would take time and skill to design effects. Also even for a hybrid genre of comedy is difficult to achieve. It is hard to be funny and comical for the audience. An example of a film is 'Anuvahood'. So I think to make my film as real and believable as possible I will not have any hybrid genre elements.
Style and Iconography
When it comes to the camera work I want to make the shots as simple and basic as possible because it is a common convention in a BSR film. In my film I will use a lot of rough, handheld holds to connote a realistic and documentary feel to the film. This will make the film seem more believable towards the viewer.
Again as said before I also want to make the editing as simple as possible because in the generic BSR films they do not have a lot of budget to splash out on fancy special effects. I will use a lot of cuts when transitioning shots. I will make sure that these cuts are abrupt and sharp to connote the harsh lifestyle of these characters in our film. Therefore making our film more believable towards the viewer.
I will use my costumes to represent the type of person the characters are. Most characters will be wearing a plain, casual tracksuit. This already connotes the poor wealth of the characters. It also gives the idea that these characters are not very friendly but a bit thuggish and violent. The characters won't be wearing anything fancy, just casual, basic clothes to connote their poverty and emphasise the reality of our film.
We are considering on using a deep, mysterious drum beat very similar to Lorde- Royals (Click video below to play).
I believe that this beat is simple so it won't divert the viewers attention from the action in the shots. It is deep and dense which creates a tense atmosphere making the viewer more interested in the film and wanting to know what happens next. It's not a completely Urban sound but I believe that it matches well with our film and emphasises the emotion we trying to portray well.
Me and my partner considered using a voice over like in the opening sequence in Trainspotting but we thought a lack of dialogue would keep the audience thinking and wanting to watch more, creating enigma.
Our film will be exhibited in independent cinemas such as Piccadilly cinema, west-end cinema and also the independent cinema office. The film will be exhibited in independent cinemas as the film will not be as mainstream but will also have a low budget so many mainstream films will not agree too play such films in their screenings. This will also be shown on the internet such as youtube as anyone can access it but it is also free so anyone can watch it without money being an issue.
The title of my film is called 'Cornered'. The title cornered has many connotations. For example the word cornered means being forced into a situation or place from which it is hard to escape. This could connote that in the content of the film Becky the main character may want to escape her mothers abuse and drug addiction Also it connotes that she is being pushed into the corners of society and not being able to be set free to reach the middle and that thoughts and her journey will be hard. The title connotes themes of neglect and abuse. The word Cornered also connotes struggle so instantly it creates a feel of sympathy towards the main character.
I believe that my title choice of 'Cornered' is definitely conventional of the BSR genre. The title is short, simple and sharp. Most BSR film titles are short and are usually one word. However some BSR films have very abstract film titles that don't really seem to have any connotations or relevance to the film for example; Fish Tank and Trainspotting.
I believe my title will appeal to my audience because it is so abstract it will confuse them and make them ask questions. Ultimately it will intrigue them to want to watch the film. It is very different to any title of a film and is short and snappy so it can stay on their mind easily.
Representation-
When creating my film I had to ensure the characters I created were as realistic as possible however I wanted them to have a sort of rough edge to give them a unique identity. My main character is Becky who is also the protagonist. She is aged 16 and is an aggressive, hot headed, violent girl who is not afraid to start a fight. She is however withdrawn from the society and gang culture so is very quiet. In the start I want to represent her as violent but in fact further in the film the viewer will start to discover that the cause of Becky's aggressive nature is due to her mothers abusive behavior. She starts the film as an immature girl but grows up to be a strong, mature woman. Another key character is Becky's mother who is also the antagonist. She is a very aggressive, rude and abusive woman towards Becky and her baby bump. I wanted to represent her as a cold and stone hearted woman so the viewers feel disgust and anger towards her, therefore emphasizing the sympathy towards Becky. Another key character is Roy who Becky meets later on in the film. He is 17 years old and looks like the generic urban, street guy with his tracksuit and over sized chains however when him and Becky start talking the viewer see's a different side to him. He has realised his mistakes in the past and he is also on a journey to rectify it and create a better life. He helps her with her addiction and her journey with her pregnancy.
I can apply Propp's character types to the characters in my film. Becky the protagonist is the heroin of my film as she is a victim of the villain and she has an aim and story to fulfill. Becky's mum is the villain in my film as she struggles against the heroin (Becky). This is easily represented through her aggressive nature and is seen to stop Becky from finding happiness in her pregnancy. Becky's baby can be seen as the princess as she is the reward and positive outcome of Becky's troubles and journey through abuse. The aim and quest for Becky is to overcome her drug addiction to be a good mother to her baby, and to be a better mother than her own so her baby is her prize. However one could argue that in fact Becky is the princess because in Roy's eyes Becky is the prize that he needed to start getting his life on track and have a family of his own, Roy is the doner/helper as he prepares the heroin by helping Becky on her journey with drug addiction and her pregnancy. I believe that including Propp's character types makes my film more professional as I have a good base of characters that all have an aim and role to play in the film.
When creating my film I wanted it to easily fit intro the British social realism genre however I wanted it to subvert some character stereotypes yet still remaining realistic and believable. Firstly even though it exists there are not many BSR films that have the protagonist of a girl. Some of a small number include Yasmin and Fish tank. However I thought using a girl as the protagonist will make the film more interesting and also realistic as BSR films apply to all the underclass people who live in the gritty urban areas of Britain. Also the girls in most BSR films are represented as 'sex seeking' girls who have to sell their body for money, and are loud and mouthy however Becky subverts this representation. Even though she is loud and mouthy at times and has some aspects that fit into the representation, she has an aim in her journey to become strong and be able to raise her child well. She also dreams to have a stable future with a family which many girls in other BSR films lack. Their aim is to either become a prostitute, marry a footballer or become a pole dancer. Her mother also subverts the usual representation of how a much should be. In usual society a mother is usually, loving, caring and understanding towards their children however Becky's mother is the exact opposite. She is cold, violent and abusive towards Becky. I think the subversion of the stereotype makes her a more interesting character as it creates a shocking attitude that a mother can be like this. Even though it's a dramatic change in the usual representation it does happen and is real, so I believe many people can relate to it as kids do get abused by their parents. Roy is another character who subverts the stereotype. Ib BSR films, the guys who wear baggy tracksuits, with tattoos and chains are seen as aggressive, rude and thuggish. However even though Roy was like that he has changed his ways and what we see of him in the film is that he is caring and understanding towards Becky and is willing to help her. This is very different and something we wouldn't necessarily expect however again there are many guys in Britain who are deceived by their looks and I think the film would be a great example to show don't judge a book by it's cover.
Narrative-
I will aim to make my narrative as engaging and informative as possible. As we are only filming the first 2 minutes of the film I need to aim to not reveal too much but to allow the viewer to understand the situation. I want to create some enigma for the viewer to feel as if they are interacting with the film and ask questions. My opening sequence will be linear and in order without any flashbacks to make my film more realistic and believable. It will also be a restricted narrative as the story is only from one characters view (Becky). This allows the audience limited access to narrative events. A brief summary of what will happen is that Becky the teenage pregnant 16 year old will find out that she is pregnant. Throughout the film we will follow her life and her decisions where she has to balance her drug addiction with her pregnancy and domestic abuse from her mother. Her mother becomes increasingly aggressive towards Becky as her bump gets bigger as she can not afford another mouth to feed. Becky attends a drug addiction class and meets a guy called Roy aged 17. They both help each other to cope with their addiction and become close. Becky feels like she can confide in Roy and they get together. Becky's mum is very unhappy with Becky's decision and in a burst of anger pushes Becky down the stairs. Roy takes her to hospital and pleads her to stay with him.
A more detailed description of what will happen in my first two minutes of the production is a dramatic scene of Becky finding out that she is pregnant through her 'positive' pregnancy test. She flies out in a violent outburst chucking her pregnancy test away and swearing and cursing loudly 'This is the last thing I fucking need' to connote Becky as an aggressive person. This scene will be set in her dirty, small room with very dim, dull natural lighting. She storms out the house taking a bottle of alcohol and smokes cigarettes and drinks to drown her anger away. The deep, mysterious music drum beat starts to create a dense atmosphere.This will be set in the gritty graffiti area in a park. This next scene She stumbles her way home, aggressively drunk. The next shot will be Becky waking up in her bed in the morning in a flood of tears. Her abusive mother in anger storms into the room, slamming her door open. She will shout "Shut up you slag, Get the fuck up". Then I aim to finish there.
I had to ensure that when creating my opening sequence that I include as many opening sequence conventions as possible. I will include super imposed graphics of the director, editor and actors name. I aim to make the graphics engaging and powerful to match the style of the film but not to take away the actions from the scene. I will include the production company Logo to give an identity for our production company. I will include music that will create an atmosphere to match the action but not something that is too loud and 'messy' which will make the film look less interesting for example just a solo dramatic drum beat. I will also include minimal dialogue because I believe including a full blown conversation in the opening sequence will spoil the story and make it boring. Minimal dialogue teases the viewer and allows the actions and shots to tell the story, ultimately making them pay more attention to what is going on in the shots. I will also include my themes that are portrayed in my film. For example the theme of corruption of youth and drugs will be shown through Becky smoking and drinking. The theme of domestic abuse and violence will be portrayed through her mother trying aggressively to wake her up. The theme of poverty will be shown through the state of the household. I will also introduce the setting with an establishing shot of her house, the characters through a bit of dialogue and long shots to see their clothing, and introduce the narrative by displaying her finding out she is pregnant, and taking drugs right after. I will also include a smash mouth beginning. This will be evident when the first shot will be of Becky finding out she is pregnant and flies out in a violent outburst. I think the use of a smash mouth beginning creates a dramatic start which engages the viewer more instead of it being boring.
Conventions
In order for my film to fit into the BSR genre I need to ensure I conform to the conventions that are common in the films.
Mise en scene- This includes everything that is in the shot, from lighting to costumes and props. I aim to include as many conventions as possible. I will include as much natural lighting as possible to make my film more realistic and believable however if the lighting is too dark to film I may use dim ambient lighting. I will use a real location, maybe the estate area in seven kings or Barking because it is very gritty and vandalised with graffiti. I aim to use a dull colour palate, with unsaturated colour to create a tense, glum atmosphere to emphasise the poverty and struggle of the characters in the film. I will definitley use authentic props and costumes. For example my main character Becky will wear either a tracksuit or a hoody and jeans to connote the theme of poverty. This will emphasise the reality of the film because this is how underclass girls dress. I believe I have chosen good working class locations to shoot my film, such as grafitti covered garage shutters, vandalised parks and maybe the odd off license. The actress I chose to act out Becky's character is Charley. She is an A* GCSE drama so I believe she has the talent to adapt to any character I throw at her. I have watched her perform as a similar character to Becky in another performance and I can't think of anyone else who will pull it off as good as she could. I believe she will make the performance realistic.
Camera Conventions- I will aim to use a handheld effect to the camera shots to give the film a more gritty documentary effect. I may use some jerky camera movements to connote the harsh living conditions of the characters and to emphasise the action. I may use this at the dramatic start to my opening sequence when Becky chucks her positive pregnancy test. I will also include some establishing of the location to introduce the setting of where our characters live, The location will be in horrible conditions so it will emphasise the theme of poverty. I will also include many mid shots and close ups of the characters. I believe that close ups are a good way to express the emotion of the character well so the viewer has a clear idea of how the character is feeling to clear up any ambiguity. I aim not use any 'flashy' camera work because I want to make the film seems as real and documentary as possible.
This image of the protagonist in 'Fish Tank' is a close up. This shot allows you, the viewer to interpret the characters emotion. For example in this shot, we can see through her facial expression that she wants to escape the life she is living now. I intend on using many close ups.Editing Conventions- I aim to use a lot of long takes without editing. I think a high use of editing will take the reality away from the film so I want to keep it to a minimum so I will use simple editing such as abrupt cuts. I might use camera movements such as tracking instead of editing to keep it at a minimum. If there is a moment in my film where it is action packed I 'might' add some music to add to the tension and drama to emphasise the action.
I don't think my BSR includes any hybrid elements. Even though many films including 'Attack the Block' have a hybrid genre of sci-fi. However I believe creating the film with a hybrid genre will be much harder as it would take time and skill to design effects. Also even for a hybrid genre of comedy is difficult to achieve. It is hard to be funny and comical for the audience. An example of a film is 'Anuvahood'. So I think to make my film as real and believable as possible I will not have any hybrid genre elements.
Style and Iconography
When it comes to the camera work I want to make the shots as simple and basic as possible because it is a common convention in a BSR film. In my film I will use a lot of rough, handheld holds to connote a realistic and documentary feel to the film. This will make the film seem more believable towards the viewer.
Again as said before I also want to make the editing as simple as possible because in the generic BSR films they do not have a lot of budget to splash out on fancy special effects. I will use a lot of cuts when transitioning shots. I will make sure that these cuts are abrupt and sharp to connote the harsh lifestyle of these characters in our film. Therefore making our film more believable towards the viewer.
I will use my costumes to represent the type of person the characters are. Most characters will be wearing a plain, casual tracksuit. This already connotes the poor wealth of the characters. It also gives the idea that these characters are not very friendly but a bit thuggish and violent. The characters won't be wearing anything fancy, just casual, basic clothes to connote their poverty and emphasise the reality of our film.
We are considering on using a deep, mysterious drum beat very similar to Lorde- Royals (Click video below to play).
Me and my partner considered using a voice over like in the opening sequence in Trainspotting but we thought a lack of dialogue would keep the audience thinking and wanting to watch more, creating enigma.
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