How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Through our media product, we were able to represent particular social groups.
Camera, Angle, Shot Movement and Position
For example, at the start we used a 360 pan to show the whole conversation and show the reaction from each character about the topic of speech. We are shown the three characters having a conversation about a drug deal and are shown that one of the character is subverting from the typical stereotype of a drug dealer and wanting to get out of that life. This representation of him to to show the audience that there are two choices that can be made and the consequences of both. Also shown, is the reaction of the two other characters who are also drug dealers and we see how they react to this individual and his choices. Also this then is the comparison as conforming to the typical drug dealer who only worries about himself and this representation shows how young adults are and what money can be like but also what the consequences to it are.
Also another example is the use of a high angle shot of the drug boss talking to the drug dealer. This was used to show the superiority of a drug boss and to show his authority over the others. This representation of the drug boss is shown the create an atmosphere of suspense for what will happen to Chas, The main character. He is there to show to the audience what a drug boss is like in reality and how serious he can take things.
Editing
An example for editing was near to the end of our production and we had the final shooting scene, the editing pace picked up towards the end where we cut down the clips to make them short but to keep the flow fast and consistent. This is to show the struggle of a drug dealer and for people to relate to it and then be able to talk about it with friends and family. Also we kept all the transitions to fades as this kept it more serious than using all the other animated effects which would take away the true realism of a BSR.
Also another example is that we had used the precision editor to do alot of match on action on the shots as this also speeds up the scenes to make it faster flowing and this keeps the realism there to show the grittiness and also the show the life for the drug dealer that wants to get out of that life style and is subverting from the typical stereotype of a drug dealer who wants to stay in the lifestyle.
Sound
The music that we used was copyright free and we also found that it went well with our production. As you can see at the start we had used the music in the background but kept it quiet so that it wasn't the main focus of the production and then we also used different music towards the end. We had to try make sure that the music was all upbeat and grimy as that would represent the youths nowadays as that is usually how they socialise over. Also a good song for a production will make it easier to memorise and then it is associated with the production being a success. This can therefore represent a particular social group of youths in East London as they all generally enjoy listening to grime music so this would represent them as the youth nowadays.
Also another example of sound is the dialogue used in the conversations. In the 360 pan, we are heard talking about a "ting" and in a way, the dialogue used downgrades women and this is not how the society should be portrayed as women, but in the production we have represented them from the eyes of how young urban males think about women and what they are to them.
Mise-en-scene
An example of this is that, as we see Kieran the main drug boss hands out cocaine to the other drug dealers and the use of this prop is to show the typical stereotype of youth nowadays and what they get up to and it also represents the youth as the trouble who do all the drugs which creates a negative look on all youth when that is not true.
Also another example is clothing where we see a contrast in how Kieran the drug boss is clothed compared to the other drug dealers. As we see in some close ups, The main drug boss is shown with expensive clothing and items that make him stand out from the rest and compares the lifestyle he lives with the money he earns in comparison to the drug dealers and represents the youths as people of their own who can choose their own path in life and don't have to conform to a stereotype.
Expressionism
An example of the expressionism in this is that we have used natural light instead of adding any other types of artificial light and this was throughout the whole production and this was to truly portray the social realism to the target audience. This represents the social groups of youth in East London nowadays and how they think but this is to show the negative consequences of their actions so in a way, the characters are conforming to the stereotype and then one that subverts and shows the reality and difficulty of trying to escape.
Typography
An example of the typography is our job roles is plain, white and bold. This is to keep the seriousness about the genre and to not make it too animated. Also the use of having white text suits the theme of the film, which is cocaine so we use it for the target audience to understand what the theme is and this would be more easily spotted by the youth as they are familiar with cocaine as they have grown into a society which is built around drugs and crimes everywhere.
Also as you see the title "CLASS A" is plain white and the font for it is broken down gives it that effect of cocaine powder and the use of it being plain colours, represents the seriousness and how some people use it and it ruins lives. This is denoted in the title with crack lines and represents the youth in East London that use or have taken drugs to show them the aftermath of using.
Iconography
A distinct example of iconography is the use of the close up objects in between each of the conversations. We see an expensive watch, an LV belt and a cigarette burn to show the authority and status of this guy in comparison to everyone else. It is also easier to identify this as being the authoritative figure and shows his power over everyone else. Also these items show the target audience what drug money can get you when you are high up which would intrigue the audience and this represents what alot of youth in gangs want to become and these items are to anchor.
In this part of my evaluation, I will be looking back at my preliminary task, The Encounter and discussing how i have progressed from doing that to my final product. I feel as though, from the start of Media A level when we did the encounter, my knowledge was basic but i feel as though, back when we did that task, our creativity to make it was succesful as we used the correct shots at the right times and the shots were filmed well. Also our editing skills when we were doing this were basic, but were were still able to put match on action in there but when i look back from when we used match on action in our final production, it is easily visible to see a huge difference in the flow and consistency of the match on action and you can see how the skill has improved a lot. Also our preliminary task wasn't very original whereas in our final production, we kept to the brief but made sure our narrative was original and unique. In our preliminary task, we made sure that we didnt use pointless transitions and made sure it had a good flow and i think that was a success as we had that mind set from then and in our final production, i kept that in mind when we were editing and as our project was a BSR, we had to make sure it was as real to life as possible so using transitions wouldn't have done this and wouldve ruined our production. One thing that we didnt do there that was a good improvement this time round was we didn't change the speed of the production then but it didnt really make a differennce but we couldv'e used it and made it faster so that it creates more tension on the stare off scene. In our current project, speeding up some scenes woould create a more tenser atmosphere and for this genre, to show the grittiness hard lifestyle, this was an essential to the BSR genre.
If i was to improve this next year, i would like to try working more on match on action to make it flow better with a range of different shots and not just for a film production, but i would like to try it in the music video we are making next year as i would've had a better knowledge on match on action and i would have clearer ideas on where to use it effectively.
