Production log Eleven

Production log 10

Production log 10

What decisions did you make about the content of your BSR treatment? What did you learn from your primary research? How did  it influence your planning?

-This week we finalized the locations we will be filming at.We emailed locations in Canary Wharf and City Hall who have given us permission to film around the perimeter.I am still inquiring head offices if we are allowed to film inside any office environments.

-From my primary research I learnt how Sexual Harassment is a strong taboo subject because it is hardly represented in any films.This theme will easily work with my BSR genre because it connotes a daily struggle within our soceity.My findings this week also helped me learn about the gender roles within sexual harassment and how men are equally effected as women.

-This week I also learnt more about vox pops.

For video and television vox pops, the interviewer approaches people "in the street" and asks them simple questions about the topic. These people will be new to interviews and will often be nervous, flustered, giggly, etc. It's therefore important to make them feel comfortable and relaxed.

When asking people to participate, fast is best - don't give them time to worry about how they look or what their friends will think. Use a short, sharp standard question such as "Would you mind answering a couple of quick questions about genetically modified food for TV3 news tonight?". (Note: Everyone will want to know what channel you're with and when the programme will be broadcast, so it helps to get that out of the way quickly.)

As always, ask open-ended questions and avoid leading questions. At the same time, you must be specific enough to obtain brief answers.

Camera shots are usually framed as an MCU or close up. It's important to think about the guest's looking direction, and get an equal number of left-facing and right-facing subjects. These can then be alternated in post-production. Some producers go so far as to get all answers with a particular opinion facing one way, and answers with an opposing opinion facing the other way. Whether or not you think this is effective is up to you — you may feel that it is too contrived.



-Based on my audience research I found that majority of the public found that sexual harassment predominately occurs in urban areas ,but we have decided to portray the protagonist within in working class society in central London rather than a 'ghetto'.To ensure realism in my film I want to stay within the working class margin.

Production log 8

Production log 8

Production log 7

PRODUCTION LOG 7 

• What did we do this week?

This week we learnt about different aspects to creativity.In lesson we combined different ideas to make one big idea.I will be using a creative mindset when it comes to my own production work so my opening sequence is unique and can pull my audience in.

An interesting site we got to learn about was POST SECRET.This site was full of different little post it size notes that were from quirky to heart breaking to absolutely hilarious! Here are some of my favorites I have inserted for you to enjoy :

All of these post-secrets are from real everyday people,which is why I find them interesting because they reflect the hidden secrets within our society.You would never know who posted them, it could be your neighbour,your best friend or even your own parents.Combining all these secrets I could make a British Social Realism film because some of these secrets are relatable for the audience to find personal identity; for example, the last postcard could be about a man finding his sexuality whilst struggling with his marriage.This fits in with the BSR genre because it exhbits conflicts in the daily grind and represents people who may be struggling with similar problems in Britain.

Our lesson on creativity also meant we had the opportunity to make a quick album cover.

I used the random article Wikipedia page to get my Band name.We then use the flickr website to find an album picture and we got to create our typography ourselves.This task was fun because it allowed us to make use of what we had but we got to make them interesting.

Production Log 6

Production log 3, 4 and 5 !

Production log 2

Hey everyone!

This week we got to watch the enthralling film 'The Selfish Giant' . Whilst watching the movie ,we analysed different areas that were represented to fit British social realism conventions.
We also looked at archetypes in BSR films such as;

• The lost boy
• The failing man
• The weak but aggressive man (bully)
• The downtrodden woman
• The saviour
• The follower
• The female with a conscience

This helped me think of ways I could explore storylines that fit the BSR genre through the characters and how my characters will be presented in my work.

So far, I am planning to use a teenage boy as the lost boy who is from an urban area which was inspired from the grisly estate from Fish tank , which is a BSR film I watched in my spare time. The follower could be the lost boy's bestfriend or brother and the failing man could be the father.When I think of how a bully would be denoted with certain wardrobe traits, I think of a drug-dealer.I still am currently planning further how my characters will be represented amongst the mise-en-scene.

In class we also got to discover different camera shots that we could use in our production, one shot I am interested in particular is DOF.

Depth of field

-Depth of field is used in both photography and filming. DOF is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear more sharp , for example if two people in my footage were having a conversation , I would apply more focus at the person closest to the camera and have the second person out of focus or vice versa.

What else did I focus on this week?

Location

This week I learnt how different locations were used to represent a characters social class as well as their regional identity.Most BSR films use run-down estates and broken building establishments to set the scene.

For my production work , I am thinking of having the establishing shot used first which will be a track around a dirty estate.

In BSR films ,the people who would be in the background were just ordinary people from the area which gave the audience some surveillance as to how these estates and urban areas are really like.This is something I will also consider when filming,instead of worrying about background noises and extra background characters,I will leave it natural to keep the realism and to really represent the location than having it fixed.

Influential Texts

My favourite British social realism film is Ill manors.The actors were just ordinary kids from the surrounding area and the settings and locations are not far from where I live.Ill manors is an inspirational film because it represents different characters of different ages suffering in their daily grind.The film was written by Ben Drew (Plan B) who isn't a professional hollywood director, he is actually from the East London area, so his experience and personal attributions really gave the film more heart. Ill manors tackles political and social struggles.If you are interested in this film , feel free to watch the music video from Plan B himself which summarises the film.

Further research

In class we learnt about different social realist codes and conventions , but I have done some further research on how particular film directors have given their films a gritty representation.These conventions I will use in my own production.Here is a list;

Aesthetic conventions

• Handheld camera - an almost documentary style- I will do this when filming around the location.
• Gritty settings - I will be using urban areas such as an estate or flat.
• Naturalistic lighting - To keep my work real, I will use natural lighting and no artifical lighting , but I will be using a blue overcolour to create a much more somber tone.
• Improvised elements to script - The dialogue between my actors will not be scripted and will be improvised. If  I film a conversation , I will film a few times to get different shots to keep my audience interested.

Functional conventions

• Real life issues tackled - I will create a beginning scenario in my production , because I am only working on a two minute clip, I will only hint at a storyline.
• Characters with depth - I want my audience to feel personal identity with my characters so I will ordinary people as BSR films hardly ever use hollywood actors.
• Usually have a political message - raising the concerns of the time - I am thinking of using actors around my age to represent the youth and how they are seen from a different perspective to link to the news we often see about riots and asbo behaviour today.

Week one - Production log

SOCIAL REALISM FILMS - Films that are associated with real life situations featuring everyday working class people who suffer in their daily grind.

This week in class , we were introduced to the concept of 'British Social Realism' films and what was needed to make them successful.We were given a chance to look at some past work from a previous year so we could interpret how this genre of film should be presented.

After watching the previous year's work ,I picked up on the typical features I would need.

• Polysemic title- A title with more than one meaning.
• Gritty graphics and titles with no background - This was seen to be very common with BSR films.
• Somber music - This added to the unhappy mood that was to be portrayed.
• Lowkey and blue correction lighting - BSR films are gritty and pessimistic and don't usually have happy endings , so the lighting needs to reflect this.
• Unvarnished editing

From the introduction to this topic , I also discovered that actors would not be famous in BSR films and instead, be everyday people or unknown actors to add to the realism of the film and so the audience could find more personal identity with the characters if they were played by your average person rather than a high payed hollywood actor/actress.

I am looking forward to learning more about the brief and working with this particular genre of film as it represents the everyday British lifestyle and could be used to portray a message.

Below are some BSR films that I have found and will be watching in the next few days.