Production Log: Week 8

This week, We was developing our ideas to find 3 planned ideas that we could possibly use for our final ideas and then had to choose one out of the three. I really liked my second idea, which was about a teens aspiration to become a footballer but is held back due to his gang life. I think that this was a bery original storyline that would be easy to shoot and also would have a big impact on my target audience as having typical BSR conventions included in the production. I mainly got this idea from. Tv programme, Top Boy which showed a scene similar and i was really intrigued by this narrative and it really interested me so i thought i would try use it. We were the. To decide what groups we would work in and, for my group i chose Niraj and Kieren as i felt confident to work with them and this may seem like less work for me, but as i really am aiming for a higher grade i know i will be pushed to do well to match my groups grades. We are now to finish writing up our final idea for our final idea and i see no problems that i could possibly have with my geoup as i feel very confident to work with them and we should get along just fine.

This here was the main character in the football scene in Top Boy.

Presentation Of Initial BSR Idea

Three Initial Ideas

For my three initial ideas that I would base my production on, I was to think sensibly and came up with three reasonable, budget ideas that I am able to use.
The first of these three ideas was that I would have my protagonist as a 16 year old male, who is mixed race and is named Jordan as this is a typical BSR type character to do with racial stereotypes. The main story behind this would be that Jordan is struggling to survive and with him having no parents, he is to live in a council estate by himself and sell drugs to survive but one day does business with the wrong people and then has to survive for his life with a big gang after him. I think this would be a really good idea as it sounds intriguing and shows the struggles in real life. I would base this in Flats in Barking and maybe have scenes from a park and my themes would be drug experimentation, corruption of youth and violence as these are typical conventions of a BSR style film.
My second idea was to have another 16 year old male as my protagonist, but he would be Asian and his real name would be Ryan, but his gang name would be "Boost" and this is used to add authenticity. This story would be about his aspiration to become a footballer as he is really good, but he is also part of a gang and this is holding him down so he must find a way out of the gang life to continue his career in football. This would be based around Beckton, Barking and Ilford as these are typical style BSR settings that are gritty and my main themes would be aspiration, corruption of youth and gang culture as these will represent his life and show his 2 sides of life, football and gangs.
My third and final idea would be to have an 18 year old male as my protagonist, whose name would be Nathan but his rapping name would be "TK" and this adds authenticity as all wannabe rappers have a stage name and the story behind this is that he is a young rapper who is trying to make his way to the top, but is killed due to enemies he has made and this leads him to a death as such a young age and this shows the reality of the gritty BSR genre and the real life situations some people so young have to go through. This will mainly be based in hackney as this is a really gritty place and shows the true side of real life struggles and I would like to also add a cheap studio as this adds realism to the fact that he is a rapper and the main key themes will be aspiration and corruption of youth.

Production Log: Week 7

In this week, we have been finishing all our work up for our previous unit, about sound analysis and BSR genre as a whole and I feel that we were not given enough time to finish this piece of work. I feel as though time was crapped and working from home was difficult so I feel as though in class we did not have enough time to complete the work. Except for this I got my improvements done to the best of my ability and got the section finished on time with as little trouble as possible. I also had to make changes, such as what images to include in certain pieces of work.

Whats in The News?

Joshua Ribera's Death
This is a story about a 18 year old rapper, from birmingham who was stabbed on his mates year death anniversary outside a nightclub in birmingham.
This would be a good story to base my BSR film on as it links tot he theme of gang culture and violence and kidulthood as he was 18 years of age, on his way to becoming a successful rapper and was killed due to enemies/ gang rival. Also it is set in Britain so is a possible setting for a BSR and the possibility of a protagonist, as he is a typical BSR character as he is just an ordinary working class person, so fits right in. This could be a possible storyline where i have an upcoming rapper, who gets involved with the wrong people, and as he gets successful, he gets killed and this could be a possible storyline.

Joanna Dennehy admits three murders
This is a story about a women, who killed 3 guys and then dumped their bodies in 2 different locations.
This would be a possible story to base my film on as it is a violence based theme film and it is set in Britain. Also the main character in this article is the villain and the victims/protagonists are the ones who get killed. This could be a possible storyline where there are tenants in a house and the owner/ women goes after them to kill each and everyone one of them and they struggle to survive.

Child Rapist Jailed
This was a story about a rapist who made a seven year old girl smoke and take drugs from the age of seven while abusing her. This shows the severity and horrific stories that happen in everyday life and represents the BSR genre. This could be a possible theme for my film as it shows Sexual Abuse, Drug experimentation and corruption of youth which are typical themes of a BSR. Also it is based in Blackpool which is in Britain and the kid is the protagonist in the situation which makes us see the struggles from the little girls point of view. This could be a possible storyline, having a young girl who is being abused and drugged and it can follow the girls life and show her escape from this horrific lifestyle.

Beach combing For Inspiration

I would like to set my film in an area like this where it is all gritty and run down and i feel as though this creates a tense atmosphere for BSR genre movies. This is an image of the gascoine estates in barking where i would like to film my production.

I would like to have costumes, where it is black and masked out so the individuals identity is not shown but as a group, it shows that they are part of a gang and this represents them as this when we see a group in matching clothing.

In my production, i would like the use of guns and knives as it symbolises danger and risks. Also the main meaning of a BSR is to show the everyday struggles and this is a very serious one that will create a lot of tension.




I would like for this to be my song throughout my presentation as it relates to a lot of the themes and conventions i would want in my production.




I like the use of having color effects to show a flashback as it gives an insight into the characters past so this is an aspect i would like to look into as it doesn't require much but can have a big effect on the audience.

I like this concept of using a tracking shot as it gives a clear idea of what is going on in the whole room and you get different angles and i think this gives a clear idea of the point of view of all the characters in the room and we get a full view of what is going on and looks really impressive.

 I would like to use the concept of having graffiti as it symbolizes urban, gritty streets which is what defines my characters and their backgrounds through the setting.

 Drugs are used by a lot of youth and so i would like to reenact this with tobacco but make it seem as drugs as that is what youth nowadays are interested in. Also i would like to base my production about drug corruption as i have many ideas to do with it.

 I think that bandannas are an essential prop in a BSR as it is something a lot of youth wear to symobolize their gangs and this would make it easier for the audience to establish which characters are part of which gangs.

 I would like to have my antagonist as a rival gang member and include this feature inside my production as it is typical for people to get into gang wars and this will represent the struggles in every day life.

I would like to include a concept of this shot in bad boys two where the camera does a full 360 view of the whole room but goes through doors to see two sides of the room and i think this looks really creative and is hard to pull of but i would like to look into an aspect of it and include it in my production.

I would like to have natural lighting in my production, as it keeps the scenes serious but also sticks to a typical BSR film. But i would like to have the natural lights, such as street lights as it adds realism to the production.

I would like to look into basing my character about a young teen who has been involved in the wrong business as it is typical of a BSR but always seems to impress and is always a good theme to go for as it is easy but effective.

 The reason why i would include alcohol is that it influences their behavior and changes the way the react and this needs to be shown as a lot of people are underage drinkers so they need to see the effects.

I would like the majority of my production to be filmed in a council building as this will show the true gritty urban areas of Britain and will represent the genre BSR in its true colors to the audience.

I would like to look into having a police costume as the police represent the law and enforce authority on all but i would like to twist this around so the gangs have the authority but i feel as though police are necessary as they come tot he crime scenes, and are involved with the everyday struggles.

I would like to look into the aspect of having a bmx in my production as it is something all youths have in gangs and this is also a form youths use as a getaway once they commit a crime so will be used to add realism and authenticity.

3 BSR Opening Films Analysis

Production Log: Week 6

In this lesson, we have learnt a lot about opening sequences and the main devices, like the order of titles and how they come up. We saw a lot about how there is little story line told in the beginning and the effects and transitions use can have a very big effect and are very effective. This will impact my production as it gives me a clear idea of what i really should include in my opening credits, for example, in fast and furious 6, the previous story lines are being told whilst the credits are going on and i would like to use this concept where i have the action going on in the background while the credits are coming on as this is time efficient and looks really cool. Here is an example from the fast and furious
opening:


As you can see the action is still going on in the background, while the credits are coming up and it isn't confusing, but looks really eye catching and just is a explosive way to start of a film where the credits are usually boring and plain, here they have made it fun and eye catching.

I would like to use the montage concept of shots were its very quick and consistent as i think it would go well with my song choice and choice of consecutive engaging shots. Also the use of having a sound track in the background is particularly interesting as it flows with the beginning and it also will therefore be associated with the movie. Also it is better to have flowing music that matches the era.

Conventions Of Institutional Credits

Fast And Furious 6



In the opening, We are shown the story line from the previous movies that have lead up to this point. We are also shown all of the main characters that are part of the crew and we are shown individually of every character. It shows the story of how all the characters met and what they have had to do to survive. The locations shown in the start are set all over the world, as they are clips from previous movies such as Brazil, Mexico and United States Of America which offers the audience escapism to exotic locations but is also set in the urban streets where the car races and illegal business goes on. Also, through the expensive clothing they are wearing like their suits, we can tell that their illegal acts has made them rich.

For the Institutional Logo, the name came up by its self without the logo in the youtube clip so I added the actual logo in. The denotation of the world and company name is used to connote that it is a world wide company that it known worldwide for its success.
Also another feature is the use of bold simple text which connotes its professionalism and simplicity to not distract the audience.
Finally, the company name has a glow behind it which is used to make it stand out but connotes its importance for the audience to remember. The use of silver with a blue shine is to give an effect like a fast car has when the shine comes off the bonnet.

 The title has been left in plain silver, as it has done in previous movies to carry the sequel on but also this simplicity  denotes the title as serious as the movie is. Also silver and blue are very masculine orientated colors and this is shown with the fast cars, fighting and girls in bikinis.
Also the lack of creative fonts shows the seriousness of the film itself and shows an insight into the institutional background and what genre of movies they base on.

Finally the use of a plain black background makes the title stand out but the denotation of the black background and silver text is to connote wealth which is where each character is at in the beginning.
Here below is my Institutional Credits Timeline:

From watching the trailer, I have learnt that the companies involved go first as they are the highest contributors towards the making of the film so deserve most credits. From watching the trailer we see that the main contributors are Universal film. After the contributors, the actors and actresses come in from most important going down. I found out that the reason for this is that the ones who are most famous and have the most screen name go first due to their box office pulling power For example, Vin Diesel(0:28) is known from a lot of movies in comparison to Elsa Pataky(0:59) who is not as known. Then after this there is a casting director, Lucinda Syson who is the person who chooses who goes into the movie, they go next. After that is the music producer whose role is to create, choose and compose the music in the production. Then is the costume designer who chooses who wears what based on how the characters are to be represented, then the visual effects editors. Then finally is the editors, production designer, director of photography, executive producers, the producers, the writer of the script and then the director. The Role of the job order is typical to a Hollywood movie and the job role typography stay up for the same time to show that everyone is equal in the amount of work they put in. and this was used so that the audience become familiar with the names so they would associate the name with successful films.

I have found out through this time line the importance of certain roles in a movie and how long they have lasted on the screen for and i will take this into consideration when editing my production with the necessary credits. Also I really liked the use of having the previous movie parts in the background of the credits so it helps jog the audiences memory of what has happened in the previous prequels . Also it looks really eye catching and goes well with the music as it is a hip hop song with a big baseline drop which creates a fast paced flow. I would like to use a similar concept where my credits go into the production and its not just a plain black background as this looks too plain and not very appealing.

Weekly Production Log: Week 4 & 5

From this lesson, i have learnt about what is included in an opening credits sequence in a movie and of what importance certain roles are. We have learnt what most of the job roles in a movie are and what they actually have to do. Also we learnt what order the producers, company production e.t.c come in and the most important come first and the main reason for this is either they helped most throughout the movie or made the most contribution towards the making of the film. We were then to go analyse an opening credits sequence of our choice (fast and furious 6) and analyse the credits.
This impacted my production as it gave me a chance to see what the main key roles i will need to include and to see what they need to do during a production.
In the opening, i would like to use a montage of action shots as its very intriguing and goes straight into the action and will draw the audience right into the film and this is the effect i want to create on my audience. Also i think a good soundtrack to match my theme is a good idea where fast paced music can go with the scenes and it flows well.

Over the half term, this work was to be completed where we had to do the opening credits timeline and as well as this, we were given a copy of the film fish tank in which we had to evaluate and analyse the movie and all its features, such as the location, dialogue, mise-en-scene and other areas. We then had to prove the points that we made by taking screen grabs for each analysis we made. Also we had to do a sound analysis of the first 2/3 mins of a BSR film so i chose to do mine on adulthood and we had to nave annotations on the screen doing point, example, explain paragraphs for each sound example we found and we had to explain how it represented BSR themes and characters.

My key issues have been that for my opening credits work, there was no clip on youtube that had the institutional logo so my way round this problem was to jus add an image of what it is and then describe it. Also another problem i faced was i didn't understand some cast roles in the movie so i found it difficult to say what their job roles were and my way around this problem was to ask friends for help with some of the meanings so now i understand what the majority of the job roles are. Also another way i could overcome these problems was to go onto the school website which had all the main information that i needed to complete my work and it helped me understand what each job role was and the order they come in, which shows the importance of the individual/ company due tot heir status or their contributions towards the movie.

Fish Tank Case Study

In this, i will be analysing fish tank and all the conventions within it.

Themes And Situations

In this long shot, we are shown the young girl dancing and this shows her aspiration towards and passion for dancing and shows that no matter about the conditions she is living in, she wants to make it out of the hard life and make something of her talents. This keeps tot he BSR as one of the main themes is aspiration which is shown in this scene of the young girl dancing in an abandoned flat with nothing other than her iPod.

This is where the mother is having a party downstairs, whilst her kids are upstairs smoking and drinking and is showing the theme corruption of youth.. They are watching TV whilst swearing smoking and drinking and are aged younger than 10. This is used to shock the audience at how such young girls are corrupted due to their surroundings.

In this scene, we are shown the "father figure" who is now sexually abusing this young girl. She is 15 years old, and he is drunk so what he is doing is illegal and is morally wrong. Sexual abuse is also another key theme for a BSR as it shows the reality of how disgusting some people are and how their lifestyle is.

I would like to use the aspiration theme inside my BSR as it shows real courage and dedication towards something and this is what would really attract a larger target Claudine to see how an individual can achieve so much from such little help.

Representation

In this mid shot, we are shown Mia waling towards a group of girls, and on her way there, we see in the background the sort of area she lives in. We are shown the cheap gritty council estates in which she lives in and this suggests her families lack of wealth and their struggle for money. This shows how hard their day to day life must be for essential items, such as food and water and how they must earn their money. This reinforces the stereotype that people who live in estates do not have a lot of money and so we see this also through how her mother gets money and the way she dresses. She is not like a typical girl who has loads of makeup and clothes and the reason for this is her lack in money.

This is where Mia goes to to her secret flat and buys cheap alcohol off a friend. This also symbolizes their lack of money to have buy the cheap worthless alcohol and it also represents her character as the rebellious type as she is underage but still drinking which is illegal but she seems used to it and doesn't care about the law. This also reinforces the stereotype that teens on the estate are all rebellious and we are shown this throughout with her use of language, and her habits of drinking as we would not expect to see this from a typical 15 year old girl but how she has grown up, she has become a product of her environment.

In this shot, Mia's Mother is hosting a little party and does not care that her two kids are drinking and smoking but on top of that shes abusing her kids as she wants to party and life her life without caring for her kids and this shot represents her as the counter typical mother who is not caring for her kids but doing the total opposite and its disgusting to see a mother act this way but this shows the BSR genre in truth and also we see how bad the struggle for some is. This contradicts the stereotypical mother that you would usually expect to see.

I would like to keep my setting in a council gritty estate where the true difficulties in a character are shown as it creates an atmosphere of shock to see how some people live and i would like to use certain aspects, such as the struggle for money in my production as it connects with the BSR genre effectively.

Mise-en-scene 

In this shot, of Mia drinking and putting on makeup, we are shown natural lighting, not only in this scene but throughout the whole film, This is used mainly for Budget reasons but i feel as though it also adds a sense of seriousness and reality as there are no effects and this keeps to the BSR of being serious.

In this long shot of Mia walking away from her flat, we are given a real sense of the setting and area she is living in. We are shown the gritty conditions inside her flat and also outside with rubbish on the floor, graffiti everywhere and clothes hanging from the balcony. This shows the everyday struggles they must go through and how hard it is to get a council estate like this.

In this scene, Mia is trying to free the horse, but the horse owners stop her and we see through this, that they live in caravans. This leads to the judgement that they are gypsies and are very poor and have no money. This represents the BSR of all characters feel the struggle in an everyday life, not just the main ones.

I would like to look more into costumes and setting as these are 2 key concepts in a BSR and this makes a huge difference to how the movie will pan out as the setting and costumes will be typical conventions from a BSR.

Music and Sound Effects

In this shot, Mia is staring at a bunch of the girls from the estate dancing to Cassie- "Me and You" and this soundtrack used it to emphasize the dancing and also to associate the movie with the song as it is such a known song so as soon as it is played, everyone will know the song and this also gives a sense of the era.

Mia in this shot is dancing to a classical song which is a  lot older but shows that the movie has been constructed to fit all kinds of target audience and not just base it on the newer generations, but also have classical music.

In this shot, Mia is shown trying to break the horse free using a rock to try break to lock. This is where Sound effects are use to emphasize the struggle and the break for freedom and how hard it is but the use of sound effects over natural is that an atmosphere is created for the escape to freedom not only for the characters, but for the horse as well.

I think the use of Foley sounds/sound effects are really useful to a British social realism as it emphasizes the main objective of this genre which is lifes struggles and how hard day to day life is and i would like to use this in my BSR as it seems very effective.

Camera Work and Editing

 In this Establishing shot, we are shown a sign on the area, Tilbury which suggests the movie is based in and around East London and this is to emphasize where they live and to create a link with the area and the conditions the people live in.

 In this shot, we are shown another establishing shot of the countryside where there is peace and freedom and this lets the audience see the comparison from the gritty estates and shows how little things like a countryside helps the individuals get away from the struggle and shows the break for freedom that they wish to achieve and this links back tot he theme off aspiration to get out of the hard life and struggles to somewhere relaxing

This shot of Mia on the phone trying to call her mate shows, in the background her home and the lifestyle she is living in. This shot is very effective as the individual has been blurred to make the background stand out where the audience get to see the gritty typical BSR settings and conditions for the individuals.

I would like to use the concept of blurring out my main character to emphasize the background as this shows the conditions and the setting clearly for the audience to see that there are real life problems, and through the conditions they are living in, this is made very clear.

Dialogue

 In this scene, we are shown the Girl talking to Mia and see her call her a "Skanky Little Pie Head". This shows to the audience the sort of bringing up the kids on the estate have had where there parents do not care about their rude, disrespectful tone. Also it is used to establish where they are from through their accents.

In this shot, we are shown Mia's mum handing her a letter for a special unit and her mum saying to her "you can fuck as many asbo boys as you like there". This shows how disgusting a mother can be to her kids and shows that their own role models are shaping their lives in a wrong way. This is also to show how much the mother wants to get rid of her kids so she can have her single life back as she is having a struggle for money and does not care much about her kids.

This is the scene where Mia watches the girls dance and goes to start an argument with them as she says "Your dancing is my problem". Through this dialogue, we are given a clear idea that she is from East London due to her cockney accent and her disrespectful rude tone.

This is an essential part for the BSR genre and i must make sure that the accents are clear and also slang and swear words must be used to represent a lack of punctuality and to represent where they live just through their tones and accents.

Fish tank was produced by BBC Films, UK Film Council and Kasander Film Company but was distributed by IFC films. Their Budget for the film was $3 million and in box office, they got $2,357,852. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the 2010 BAFTA for Best British Film. IFC Films have also distributed such movies as "Looking For Eric" and "The Human Centipede" so this will attract a large audience due to their previous successes.

The age certification was given 15 so this movie has been targeted at teens to young adults, both males and females in England. This movie will also relate to anyone who goes throught similar problems on a day to day basis so having an age range is not suitable for this type of a movie as i think its open to anyone.

The movie having such sound tracks by Jay Sean and Cassie are really big names so this will attract a large audience of people who are into this genre of music. Also they used the actor Micheal Fassbender who has had many successes in the past, such as x men makes the audience want to watch a movie with such a successful background and this is what they use as their marketing strategies.

BSR Sound Analysis