Analysis of Mise-En-Scene in Spike Island

Spike Island is about a group of 16 year old lads in a band, who love the Stone Roses and will do anything to go to Spike Island and see their favourite bands play live.

Era - 00:00
In the first scene of this trailer, there is a cassette tape, which tells the audience that the film is going to be based on music, and especially from the 1980's-1990's when cassette tapes were used music before CD's were invented. These cassettes were used as the main source of music, and often recorded favourite songs on the radio, instead of forking out for the actual full album.The sound for this scene is the cassette tape is being rewound, leading to the opening of 'She Bangs The Drum' by The Stone Roses, who were a big Madchester band in the 90's. This connotes the film is going to be music orientated and especially the Stone Roses. Also in the film, the characters don dodgy Ian Brown/The Gallagher brothers style Manc haircuts, which were popular amongst music-struck teenage boys in the 90's. This displays the British Social Realism genre by being about a bunch of young, mardy band members in the 90's being passionate and not giving in.

Actors - (00:52)

In this shot you see 5 typical northern looking boys, who are in school uniform, with their own 'fashionable' 90's trendy jackets over the top. The boys look of a suitable age for 16 year olds, and they all don the typical Manc haircut and accents. They look like typical BSR characters, as they are slightly scruffy looking, and look like they've had a hard life. The casting for the boys has been a good choice as Elliott Tittensor (Tits) appeared in Shameless, which is also set in Manchester. Elliott casted alongside Nico Mirallegro (Dodge) and Jordan Murphy (Zippy) both appeared in both series of My Mad Fat Diary recently, which again is set in Northern England, and has the same 90's Madchester vibe. These relatively unknown actors allow the audience to focus on their current roles, instead of focusing on previous roles the actor has established in the media.

Lighting / Colour - (00:18)
In the film, the lighting is mostly natural lighting used, apart from the artificial strobe lights used at the gig. The artificial lighting creates a sense of a realism for the audience and makes the audience get a real perception of how the 90's era actually was and looked. The natural lighting in this scene illuminates the bedroom in the early morning. This also gains the audience's focus on the old style 90's radio beside Dodge's bed, and the guitar behind him, representing him as a music orientated teenage boy, who struggles to get up early. Most BSR's use natural lighting to make the scenes as realistic as possible, especially if the films are set in an era which is not the present day. The blue colour pallet in this film creates an enhanced feeling for the audience, the blue in this part of the film creates an almost tense atmosphere, as the boys are sneaking in to a gig, this way, the mood of the film will stay with the audience after the film has ended.


Production Design (00:16)

The location where this film is set, are real houses and it is a real street in Manchester. The houses are all identical and this creates a very real atmosphere for the audience. As this scene cuts to Dodge in his bedroom (used above) this is almost an establishing shot, showing the audience that the houses that the boys live in are these. The scenes are very realistic, as all the locations are very real, like the all back streets the lads walk down and the school they attend, and look very realistic and genuine as they would in Manchester in the early 90's. The clothes the lads wear reflect the sorts of houses they live in. They wear white wash jeans, over sized old 'Adidas' jackets, fake Louis Vuitton hats which reflect the 90's era in a nut shell.

Spike Island, The Selfish Giant and A Room For Romeo Brass have all inspired the ideas i have for using Mise-En-Scene within my opening sequence. For my production design, I will use a run down, real life, location, where lots of underclass families live. There will be graffiti on the walls, and I want to to look as gritty and raw as possible. The lighting I will use will be all natural, even if there are scenes in the dark, it will create the realist possible atmosphere and feeling for the audience. Also, I will use a blue colour palette to create emotion in the opening sequence, and to help the audience sympathise the troubled, social misfit I will go on to create.  I feel like actors who have had previous first hand experience with the issues i go on to explored in my sequence will portray the role well, and create realism. A Room For Romeo Brass & The Selfish Giant both use actors from the local area in which the films were filmed in, which means they have some type of connection with the morale of the film, and may have experiences with the themes explored in the film, which helps them portray their character roles accurately and naturaiistically. The Era i will use is the present day, as social issues are as diverse as ever, and there are lots of themes to explore and will be easy to intertwine into my piece of work.

British Social Realism Themes

Film: Submarine (2010)
Theme: Sex
Synopsis: Socially awkward 15 year old Oliver Tate plans to lose his virginity before his next birthday, he then falls in love with Jordana while his parents relationship becomes 'rocky' because of his mother's ex-boyfriend.

The main theme of this film is sex, and this is denoted by the dialogue between Tate and Jordana. ''Are you asking me to come have sex with you?'' connotes a young love between the two, and maybe a first love for both characters. Tate talks about intimacy between the couple, connoting they are very much comfortable when they're together but also helps the audience see the characteristics for each character. Sex is an uncomfortable subject for most teenagers to talk about to their partners and in general, which is heard through Tate's uncomfortable tone of voice and the fact that he stammers and repeats himself when he talks about having a free house. The juxtaposition between the two characters is close, connoting the comfortable relationship they have, which is also ironic because the conversation they have is an uncomfortable topic to talk about. The theme is  typical of the BSR genre, as it has been touched upon in other films like Spike Island between 'Tits' and Sally, as a first love and losing their virginity for the first time. I could use this theme in my opening sequence to show the love and relationship between young British teenagers and the struggle with parents and peers have with sex and being in love.

Film: Yasmin (2004)
Themes: Religion/Rebellion
Synopsis: Yasmin lives two lives in two different worlds: in her community, she wears Muslin clothes, cooks for her father and brother and has the traditional behaviour of a Muslin woman. She marries illegal immigrant Faysal to facilitate the British stamp in his passport, and then plans to divorce him.

There are two main themes to this film, as Yasmin rebels against her Islamic religion. The themes are denoted by the establishing shot to two Muslim men in their traditional clothes walking towards the audience. This connotes the film will be about religion. At 0:31 there is a glimpse of a sign with Arabic writing on it, connoting the building is a place of worship, which is a mosque. The shots of the location where this film is set, all contain Muslim characters who wear religious clothing, connoting the area is a very Islamic area of Britain. Rebellion is seen when Yasmin is in the middle of changing her religious clothes behind a big stone wall in the middle of a field where nobody can see her. Yasmin dresses in tight boot cut jeans and wears generalised 'western' clothes, she then takes her headscarf off and chucks it in the backseat of her car. This connotes Yasmin feels trapped inside her religion, and once she is away from her home, she can be free and wear/dress in whatever she wants. I could possibly combine these two themes, like in this film, and have a young teenager who feels pressured by their community and parents to lead a sacred religious life tied down to one religion, but truly they feel they feel connected to a different religion, and so this causes rebellion.


Film: Billy Elliot (2000)
Themes: Aspiration & Escape
Synopsis: Billy is an 11 year old boy, fathered by a widowed minor and his brother and grandmother. He doesn't like his boxing lessons in school and love to ballet dance. When his family find out,  Billy gets in trouble, but Mrs Wilkinson carries to work with Billy on his ballet, after realising his potential, and then bags him an audition with the Royal Ballet School.

The main theme in this film is aspiration and escape. Billy loves to dance and he aspires to be the best he can be. He wants to escape the boxing life his dad encourages him to lead, and he wants to dance. Everything in Billy's life revolves around dance and he won't back down against his father and brother. Dancing is what makes Billy happy and his secret lessons with Mrs Wilkinson pay off, to help improve his skills. Billy's best friend Michael, calls out from on top of the wall of his backyard, 'OI! DANCING BOY' which connotes Billy's love for dance, that he even is nicknamed as the dancing boy. Escape comes into the film, because Billy gets on the bus and travels all the way to London to pursue his dream, and escapes his hometown of County Durham. Billy's opportunity like this in a British Social Realism film is rare, as happy endings aren't always a thing. I may explore these themes in my opening sequence by having a passionate teenager, who will do anything and everything to fulfil their dream and escape the daily grind of their wasteland hometown life.

Film: Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
Themes: Violence
Synopsis: Richard returns home from military service to a small town in the Midlands. He has one thing on his mind: revenge. Payback for the local bullies who did some very bad things to his brother.

The main theme of this film is violence, and this is shown as Sonny gets out of the car and walks up to Richard in a patronising manor and the juxtaposition between the two characters establishes bad blood between the two. One denotation for this scene is when Richard says, 'If I were you, I'd get in that f**king car and get out of here, man' in an angry tone, with an angry facial expression. This connotes that there is an increases in tension between the two characters, and that Richard is about to do something dangerous and violence, so the violent tendencies are shown through facial expression and tone of voice. Richard talks about 'slicing his neck' when talking to Sonny, and he imitates this with his finger, hence the violent theme. Both of the men are very angry. The theme is represented as an every day, normal occurrence, as the conversation talks about threatening, and as they are located in almost an alley way, which is roughly where gangs and violent criminals hang out. I could possibly explore this theme, by having a leader of a gang, and showing their past and childhood as flashbacks, and how that has impacted them to be who they are today.

Film: London To Brighton (2006)
Themes: Parenthood/Prostitution
Synopsis: Joanne and Kelly are mother and daughter, at 3:07am they burst into a toilet which is covered in graffiti. Kelly then goes out and sells herself for a train fare to start a new life down South with her daughter. 

The main theme of this film is Prostitution. You can see this when Kelly leaves Joanne locked in the graffiti covered bathroom. They have
both bruised and battered faces, connoting they have been involved with a dangerous person, and they have been assaulted which is a common situation around the prostitution theme. Kelly then goes to a chicken shop and gets cheap food, connoting bad poverty, and relating back to why this mother sells herself. She does the prostitution to get money for a train fare to Brighton with her daughter, Joanne. The opening sequence of this film is in a connotes a rough area which is covered in graffiti and it's a dirty. Joanne is left on her own, in which connotes a bad mother, which is not necessarily true, as Kelly does anything to protect her daughter, and prostitiution is the only way the two girls will ever get any money. The theme is explored in this film as if it is a normal, everyday standard for underclass women to do it to support their children, and try to create the best life possible. I could potentially use these themes to show the psychological effects prostiution has on a young woman, and how she deals with the effects.

Defining British Social Realism

Social Realism through the decades. 

Decade: 1950's

Film: Look Back In Anger

In this clip, it is established that Jimmy is a jazz musician, who plays in a jazz club. So one of the themes is aspiration because his wife wasn't in the club after he finished playing, and we know this because the next scene was Jimmy walking into their bedroom and his wife was in bed. He also checks in her bag, which could be seen as a paranoid husband, who is very controlling, this could arouse suspicion of a domestic abuse storyline. He also starts kissing Alison while she's asleep, which could connote Jimmy is a dominating man, and sexually abuses his wife. The characters in this clip, Jimmy, Alison and Cliff all seem of an upper class and religious background, hence all the neighbours coming out and going to church on Sunday and the old lady saying 'A little read before church'. The posh, upper class British accents of the husband and wife establish this, and Cliff, their lodger, seems to be a working class Welshman. The broadsheet newspapers are something man upper class people read, even today. The location of the film is set in 3 storey houses, which connotes wealth of the main characters. The houses look like inner city houses, which connote a London vibe. The rooms in the house look very dark and cluttered but also very homely and lived in. The juxtaposition between Jimmy and Alison at 8:02 connotes they do not have a very good relationship and that Cliff is a peacemaker between the pair. The jazz club Jimmy played at looked very dark and the paint on the walls looked chipped and scruffy, this could connote this is Jimmy's haven even if his peers do not fully approve, and he will do anything to play music. Most of the sound in the clip is diagetic, and the audience can fully hear the footsteps, and every breath and sigh Jimmy makes. Non Diagetic sound follows Jimmy out of the jazz club and is played to the audience until Jimmy starts playing again. There are many close ups in this clip, especially of characters faces, which is good for showing facial expression. The editing was mostly cuts, and i spotted a cross dissolve between the bedroom scene and on to the raining street. This would not be used in modern day BSR, as it looks unprofessional. The films is shot in Black and White and I feel this makes the film more realistic, as you can capture more than just footage in this colour palette. The lighting was natural throughout, and a clear example of this is Alison laying in bed with light shadows on her face (4:05).


Decade: 1960's
Film: Kes
The theme running through this clip is bullying. The audience can see this because everyone in the class laughing at Billy. The teacher is not remaining one bit professional and saying, 'and so did you, Casper, just come out from under a stone'. The fact the teacher makes Billy stand up is also a form of punishment. Billy could be a troubled child from a troubled and broken home, which is why he is so un-attentive to the class. I think the teacher is of an upper class background and Billy and the rest of the class are from Working / Under class backgrounds, so there is the social class barrier between the class. The teacher is very strict and disciplined who has a posh yet northern twang to his accent. He has a clean cut suit, and prim and proper hair and glasses whereas Billy has an uneven haircut, grubby looking skin and a shabby looking jumper. This film is set in the North of England, as every character that speaks dons a thick Yorkshire accent. 'Guv' says he can't go nesting with the rest of the boys as he's 'taking girlfriend t'Sheffield', which is said with shortened words and Sheffield is in Yorkshire. Also, all the boys seem to have nicknames, which is a very common northern thing to do. There is no music or non-diagetic sound in this film, and all of the sound the audience hear is dialogue. The editing used in this film is very simple, and contains lots of cuts. I have noticed that in this classroom scene there is no reaction shots (0:29-0:54) is just Billy standing up and all the audience can hear is the teacher and class mates laughing. 


Decade: 1970's
Film: Quadrophenia

In this film the main theme is a culture clash between the Mods and the Rockers. The clash between the two 'minority' groups is a brutal one. Jim is a typical mod, with his vespa with lots of mirrors and his shabby hair cut, whereas Kevin drives a 'proper' motorbike with all his leather jacket and boots and is a rocker with his quiff-ed hair. On Jim's bedroom wall there is a The Who poster, who were idols for the mods in the 60's. The culture clash is seen when Jim can barely sit next to Kevin in the cafe while he eats pie and mash, and quickly goes back home. The film is set in London, as all of the characters have cockney accents, connoting the East London area, and the fact that Jim is eating pie and mash, is common 'cockney grub'. Also, the other area the film is set in is Brighton. This was a common place for the Mods to go and be who they are every weekend. This location is established before the film is even in Brighton, when Jim puts a cut out magazine article on his wall which says 'RIOT POLICE FLY TO SEASIDE'. On the radio, it also talks about 'shopkeepers in the Brighton area are putting down shutters...' which 'foreshadows' in a way that Jim and his mod friends are going to be going down to Brighton later on in the film. As soon a Jim enters his room, non-diegetic music can be heard, and the majority of the film is diagetic, containing dialogue and the radio speaking. The shot types in the film vary, and when there is the pan of Jim's bedroom wall, the music increases in volume and there is a close up of Jim's face which connotes his excitedness for Brighton and how he loves his lifestyle and culture. The props and costumes for this film are very realistic for both minority groups, the parka jackets, suit and ties and slick hair connotes the mods perfectly. The leather jackets, quiffs and skin tight army jeans connote the rockers perfectly too. The lighting for this film is a mixture of artificial, like the woman and her UV tanning light, and natural, the majority of the film

Decade: 1980's
Film: My Beautiful Laundrette

In this film, the main themes are culture clash, sexuality and ethnicity. The film is set in the era of Margaret Thatcher's hold over England, and there was a lot of prejudice around minority groups. Johnny is a working class, white man who runs Powder's Launderette with Hussein's son Omar. Omar and Johnny met years before and re-kindled their love affair. Hussein is of Pakistani decent and is of a rich, upper class background. Johnny gets asked if he's still a fascist by Hussein connoting Johnny was once a racist and believed in nationalism. Hussein makes fun of Johnny's profession, and is prejudice against his class and the fact that Johnny is rather uneducated and he's dating his son who he's basically saying 'could do so much better if he wasn't with you'. Johnny has a cockney accent which connotes the film is set in London, and also Hussein mentions the launderette feels like a hair salon in Pinner, which is in North West London, also areas with launderettes connote poverty, because upper class people can wash their clothes in their own home as they can afford a washing machine, unlike less fortunate working class people. The sound in this film is diegetic, the sounds from the washing machines, the opera music and all the noises made, the actors can hear. The shots are varied, and over the shoulder shots really make the scene act like one big conversation, which it pretty much is. The juxtaposition of Hussein and Johnny is quite far apart, connoting tension between the two characters. The props on the set are good, and they make the launderette feel like a real one, with lots of washing baskets and bags dotted around. The lighting is artificial, as they are inside the shop at night, and this makes the scene really feel like 3am, with the man sleeping while he waits for his washing, connoting homelessness, in the poverty stricken area of London.

Decade: 1990's
Film: Trainspotting

The main themes in Trainspotting are Violence and Drug Abuse and possibly Alcoholism. The scene is set in a busy pub and all the lads upstairs in the pub have a pint of beer. At one point, Begbie takes a knife out of his pocket, connoting a violent character. Most of the scene is violent, an Begbie seems like a violent man, who goes around starting fights with everyone. The characters look like working class people, who are regulars in the pub, which is their meeting and hang out place. Begbie is probably the character who exaggerates his story, as there is a cut to a scene where Tommy tells how the story actually went, connoting Begbie as a compulsive liar. Begbie's violence comes out when he hits an innocent boy with his snooker cue and accuses him of putting him off taking his shot, in which he then gets out a knife. The film is set in Scotland, and you can tell this because of the strong Scottish accents and all the swearing both Tommy and Begbie do. Also, Renton picks up a '100 greatest goals' VHS tape, which is about Cetlic football club, also Scottish. After establishing the fact that the film is Scottish, this could back up some of the reasons why Begbie is so angry. The sound is mostly diegetic, with dialogue being the main sound the audience hears, apart from Renton's voice over as the talks about Tommy telling the truth and being innocent. The shots in this scene vary, and there is a flashback where the scene is a still and Renton's voice over plays, which is very affective. The lighting in this scene is mostly artificial as all the locations established are inside


Decade: 2000's
Film: This Is England

The themes in This Is England consist of racism and violence, Combo is a white, nationalist man, who dressed like a mod, with his white shirt, braces, white socks and rolled up jeans. Combo's forehead tattoos, a cross on the center of his forehead, and the tear drop next to his right eye suggest he's served time in prison (the cross) and he has been in prison for manslaughter (the teardrop).  The fact that Combo has red and bloodshot eyes suggests he is involved in drug culture and takes illegal substances. Combo is of a nationalist, British background, and Milky is of West Indian decent. The accents suggest that the film is set in Northern England, in Nottingham. Most of the sound in this clip is diegetic with lots of dialogue, a piece of classical music starts (1:08) and creates emotion as Milky is telling his story. The music reflects the mood and atmosphere. As Combo starts a fight, there is an increase in the sound of the music is at its loudest when Combo is beating Milky and the other men in the shot. The low angle at 5:17 connotes that Milky is vulnerable and the camera view is like Combo is looking down at him, making him look vulnerable and small. The blood on his face looks realistic, and the fact that there is a piece of fabric covering his face makes it look realistic and the fight was real. The fact that Combo goes over to see if Milky's OK, connotes the spur of the moment anger which Combo holds in.

Decade: 2010's
Film: ill Manors

ill Manors explores lots of different themes and situations. Drug culture and supply is explored as the 'drug den' is underground and the audience see the drugs being bagged/rolled up by the drug suppliers and given to dealers. The establishing shot of this clip is the main drug dealer, who is surrounded by prison walls, on his release from prison. Another theme explored is motherhood, as one of the drug users is a pregnant, expecting mother who never thought to give up her heroin addiction when she found out she was having the baby, because she said it wasn't planned. Another theme is violence, as the skin head ties up the child (1:22) and then there is a close up of a bloody razor blade (1:28), and the skin around the child's face is all bloody and cut open. Death is explored briefly when the skinhead's mother dies of a heroin overdose (2:05). The skinhead is connoted as a racist man, he injures and possibly kills the little Asian boy, and holds an England flag above his head. The attic where the drug den is set is messy, dirty and full of junk, which connotes the drug business may be a very messy and dirty job. The film is set in London, and you can tell this because of the cockney accent, when the main dealer says 'f**king little c**t, what do you think you are doing?', this connotes an angry, on edge drug dealer.  The song is based on the storyline of the film, and as the song sings about the issue occurs, there is a visual for the audience to see. The prison alarms at the beginning show the audience that the drug dealer has just come out of prison. Close ups in this film are very powerful, having close ups of weapons re-establish the violent themes explored. The long shot pan of the room helps the audience see the characters and gives a basic view of the drug den. The lighting of the den is artificial, but the death of the mother is in a dark, naturally lighted room.  

British Social Realism: A Definition

British Social Realism / Production Log 2

kes

This week I learnt that actors in BSR films are mostly unknown actors who manage to get roles. Directors and producers do this to create a better sense of reality in their films and they're also on a tight budget. Most BSR is unscripted, to help the actors get into the role, say an argument scene would look more realistic and natural if it was unscripted. The producers and writers want the dialogue to be as natural and as real as possible. Ken Loach believed this as he wrote Kes. Also locations used to film are real houses/flats that have an already established 'home-ly' vibe, unlike hollywood films, which are filmed on a set. 

This will help my production by influencing me with locations to choose from, as I am very lucky to live in East London which doesn't have the best reputation for nice houses/areas to live in. And I'm also priviliged enough to have local public transport links which go into Central London, making it easy for me to find a proper stereotypical BSR location to film. 

This week we went on a Cinema trip to see 'Gone Too Far' in Hackney Picturehouse and were lucky to have a Q&A with the director and writer. Gone Too Far was written in 2007 by playwright Bola Agbaje. It has influence from her Nigerian background and living in London as a teenager. Bola then met director Destiny Ekargha who agreed to create the play into a film. The film explores the trouble of a Nigerian family who live in a Peckham council estate and the surrounding youths that aggrivate the main charachter, Yemi because of his Nigerian brother's way. This film has inspired me to do my two minute opening sequence on a council estate in the local area as the location is vast and has many different aspects to it. My favourite part of the film was where 4 kids of different races were rollerblading together showing unity on the estate. 

Also this week I watched Tight Jeans, also by Bola Agbaje. This short film is about 3 guys sitting on a wall of a council estate waiting for their friend to come down, who is always running late. Then a sterotypical 'emo' walks past wearing a pair of skinny jeans. This then sparks a conversation between the guys. This was very inspirational, as there is constant camera movement in the short film which means the audience are aware of everthing that is happening and going on in the film. It was aslo inspirational because it shows how effective short films can be, and how easily they can engage an audience.

Archetypes in BSR

• Lost Boy - A boy/girl who comes from a broken home, who has a good heart but a troubled mind.
• Failing Man - They have no hope and they can't provide for their family, and yet they carry on trying.
• Weak but Agressive - They usually bully the protagonist, and are of a low status, they're ever sympathetic for any character.
• Downtrodden Woman - Usually a mother who has not had the best experiences, she is old and haggered looking, who constantly struggles through life.
• Saviour - They turn up half way through the film, they seek to help and change someone's life.
• Follower - They go along with the main charachter.
• Female With A Concience - A strong woman, a matriarch, who is proud of who she is and doesnt take nothin' from nobody.

An Analysis of Representation in 'The Selfish Giant'

The Selfish Giant is a British Social Realism film directed by Clio Barnard, and was released in 2013. The film was produced by 3 companies: BFI, Film 4 and Moonspun Films. The film was inspired by an Oscar Wilde novel of the same name, and was filmed in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Two 13 year old boys, Arbor and Swifty both come from underclass families and both families struggle to make ends meet, so the boys undertake work at a local scrap yard. 

Regional Identity

Electricity masts (1:12:16)

Run down shops (19:38)

The Selfish Giant is set in modern day Bradford. The first thing you hear when watching the film is a strong, thick northern accent, which is carried through out all of the characters. Yorkshire natives always shorten words, such as when Kitten says to Arbor "make self useful,lad", as it is in the Yorkshire nature to speak in such prose, which creates a sense of the true nature of the characters in the film, helping the audience experience such a grasping reality of the characters identity. Also, when Swifty asks his mum, "Did you lose the baby or Dad sell it". This shows the poverty and the struggle of the family, who sell all their furniture, just so they can eat and have a life. There is lots of swearing in the film, which connotes Northerners are generally more angry, and you can see this angry nature portrayed through the actions and dialogue of Kitten, the angry, brash scrap merchant. By making these characters angry, the director truly shows a realistic underclass community, and that these characters have not been as in depth-ly explored in other media texts, which creates a true identity of the region of England, as she is able to depict certain qualities of the characters to explore. In the film the houses look very run down, and poverty stricken, with most locations used to film, connoting that Bradford is an almost desolate town, along with the lives of the people that live in there. The long shot of the run down shops connote this area is very poor, as the graffiti shops, and shutters down on shops which are open connotes a rough area. This long shot is particularly powerful, as it captures the desolate and isolation of the local shops which should busy with lots of people, and instead it is empty and cold looking. This also connotes that  A scene of a domestic wasteland, has the backdrop of cooling towers and the wasteland if overgrown and riddled with weeds and unwanted growth, which reflects the industrial town Bradford once was. Also, the telephone and electricity towers in the fog and a blue colour palette is almost a pathetic fallacy, as it reflects the harsh realty of life up north, and how unemployment has affected these underclass famailes. The fight Arbor gets in at school brands all northerners as a fighting type, which also relates back to the angriness explored through character identity. 

Age

Arbor hugging his Mum (49:44)

Arbor feeding the fish (52:17)

In this film, young people are looked down upon, and taken advantage of mentally. Arbor and Swifty should both be at school pursuing an education, but instead they are out grafting to help their underclass families. The two boys act like adults, in order to create a better life for their families, but are downtrodden by Kitten and the scrapyard men until they see the boys could actually work and actually do a half decent job of grafting. The boys look up to Kitten, and i think because of Arbor's fathers absence, Kitten is almost a father figure to him. The fact that Kitten 'taxed' the boys by 20% of their grafting earnings because they were working under the age of 16 shows that there is almost a barrio between older and young people, and that young people are just a group of social misfits. The scene where there was a brick thrown through Arbor's front door is emotionally draining for the audience. Arbor's mother is stereotypically down trodden woman. She's the doormat to her sons, one with a dirty drug habit, and Arbor with ADHD. This scene is particular hard-hitting seeing Arbor's mother crying and Arbor telling her it's going to be alright, and holding her close, comforting her. This shows that Arbor tries to be the main male figure of the house, and the fact he is still just an innocent young boy at heart. The close up of the mother and son hugging connotes the bond between them, and creates significant emotion for the audience. Also, as this scene is going on, Swifty is cleaning up the glass from the broken window, which shows younger people have respect for the older characters. The scene where the police come over to speak to Arbor about the copper wire incident, Arbor's innocence is clearly justified as he feeds the fish in the tank. I found this a very powerful moment in the scene, as it reflects the young boy he really is, underneath the thick 'adult' skin and persona he portrays all through the film. The director has shown this because of the psychological affects that poverty stricken and underclass families have to go through every day in this country behind closed doors. Arbor's mother should not have to be comforted by her own son who's 13 years old, and she should definitely not be left to suffer through her depression on her own. This really to show the raw and half deal of which the underclass have to survive through. 


Disability

Arbor under his bed after Swifty's death (1:22:05)

There are various types of mental health illnesses explored in this film. Arbour has an extreme case of ADHD. Arbor's ADHD is definitely not sugarcoated in any way, shape or form. Arbor's brother, has taken to selling Arbor's Ritalin pills for money, so the pills never actually help suppress Arbor's ADHD. The representation of mental illness in the community is to mask the problem, not solve it. The 'take pills an you'll get better' attitude is one conveyed by Arbor's mother as she is physically and mentally not able to cope with his illness. Arbor is known for being aggressive and dangerous, which ended up him getting kicked out of school, connoting his illness prevents him from learning and gaining and education. There is a high lack of support in school and at home to help Arbor and his family. This shows Bradford is not as privileged as say suburban London, in which families would have support workers and child psychiatrists a phone call away. The death of Swifty agitates Arbor's ADHD and he spirals into the lowest, most depressed state we have seen. He becomes withdrawn and hides under his bed. The close up of Arbor staring straight up really creates a grieving emotion in the film. The light is natural and the only glimpse of Arbor's face is established by the natural light. When Arbor comes out from under his bed, his mum holds him and comforts him. This also shows, the unity of the family when things go wrong, at the end of the day, they are there for one another, no matter how hard it gets. This is a very accurate representation of mental illness in young people, and shows the very worst of the illnesses, to show the audience that no two cases are the same, and especially when provoked in such an underclass area of Bradford, they are dismissed significantly. Both mothers in this film, Swifty's and Arbor's suffer in silence from depression. They try so hard to make a better life for their family, but it never happens. The two downtrodden women are weak and can't stand up for themselves, and easily susceptible to dominating men, who make them feel fragile and mentally weak. This leaves them vulnerable to domestic violence, because of their weak and fragile states, and yet again, their mental illnesses take over, but are still forgotten about and brushed under the carpet. This is another prime example of life behind closed doors in British Social Realism, that there are many different situations going on domestically, which are never explored.

Social Class

Swifty & Arbor looking down on the railway workers (02:23)

The Establishing shot in this film is of a railway track. Arbor and Swifty are seen to be drinking energy drinks out of cans at midnight/early hours of the morning, which is surprising for 13 year old boys to be out that late. This connotes that the boys are from underclass families and they have a dysfunctional family life at home, which is why they are playing on the railway tracks. The characters are generally dressed in dirty, grubby old clothes and cheap tracksuits, which look unwashed, because the families are too poor to afford washing powder. In Swifty's household, there is no electricity or heating and the room is very dark and almost derelict, and Price Drop sells their sofa, just to pay the electricity bill. The natural light shine faintly through the window, which is almost pathetic fallacy in a way. The light coming into the room also reflects the lives of the people in the film. Education is overlooked significantly in this film, as Arbor doesn't have any intention of going to school, even after his mother receives a truancy fine, which she wont be able to pay. Both of the mothers in this film realise that education is the only thing their boys have, and the only chance they will get to change their life, and not be another run of the mill, underclass group of adults. These situations happen everyday in real life and i think the director has used this to illustrate the mother's cry for help in real life situations. The scrap yard run by Kitten is one of the main places of employment in this area of Bradford, it's for men who want cash in hand, and for the less educated. This proves that school life and education is not an important part of living in an underprivileged area, it is scarcely encouraged to attend. This connotes Bradford is a town of grafters and not office workers. The underclass get their hands dirty and try to earn a living as best as they can. The poverty is so low, and it is reflected in the houses, the dirty doors, broken gates and the cello tape to fix broken window panels. This shows the underclass will do anything to get a source of income, and will spend wisely to make sure they can afford to provide for their children and families.


Gender

Mrs Swift & Pricedrop (12:37)

Arbor's household and the majority of the film is predominantly male dominated, which causes conflicts. Men are conveyed and strong individuals who are the breadwinners for their families. The men have jobs and the women are housewives. Pricedrop calls Mrs Swift, his own wife 'useless' which stereotypes men as domestic abusers in mos cases.There is no opportunity for women to work in this area, as the only real, basic employment is the Scrap Yard which needs strong men. Women are weak, and are derogatory beings to males, they are undervalued and are only really used to for comfort. Mary, Kitten's wife is a strong traveller woman, who has a good heart, and is kind to Arbour and Swifty, I think this establishes her maternal instinct as traveller families are usually very large, and women are also second best to men, but still remain strong under their husband's thumb. Mary is very affected by Swifty's death, and she cries as she uncovers the tarpaulin. This proves, even the strongest women in this community can be weak. Kitten is a very stereotypical northern man, and threatens to cut Arbour's hand off for stealing, before he attempts to do it. This portrays men as heartless and cold. Swifty breaks this male stereotype as he is very affectionate with the horse, and towards Arbor. Swifty's love for horses is very different to Kitten's view, a ho

Majority of the scrap workers are male
(26:22)

rse is for work and money, and not to pet and love. This is shown during the racing of the horses, Swifty is devoted to how the horse is feeling, and knows when the horse is spooked, and endlessly shouts at the racers to slow down. Kitten's only hope is to win the bet and get all his winnings. This proves that Swifty is not the stereotypical man, and Arbour tells him to 'toughen up', this shows Bradford men should be strong, cold hearted and if you're not strong, you're barely a man.

Sexuality
Casual homophobia is used throughout the film. There are no LGBT characters explored during the film, but the word 'gay' is used as an insulting term. It is ingrained as part of the underclass northern culture, that being gay/lesbian/bisexual or transgender is not at all accepted, and there is no option to be a member of the LGBT community. This proves there is little acceptance to minority groups in the community.

Ethnicity

Explores traveller culture through horse racing (29;26)

There are two predominant races explored in this film. White people are represented as 'chavvy' scroungers, who steal and will do anything for money. The whole film is set around a scrap yard atmosphere, in which stealing and illegal deeds are done. These characters are born and bred to hate the police and legal authorities. Mary commented that the government were cracking down on scrap yard laws, and warned Kitten he'd have to stop doing illegal deeds. These qualities represent white people as unlawful British citizens, who are risk takers and will do anything to make sure they have social security. Traveller culture is also examined during the film. Kitten was branded a 'pikey' and 'wannabe traveller' by many people in the film, even though his wife is a traveller, Kitten is a 'gorjer' (non-traveller), but portrays himself as one, owning a horse and scrapyard, and traveller activities, such as horse-racing on the motorways, just after sunrise, so the police don't catch them. This shows that travellers in the Britain intertwine themselves into the general community, like Swifty's family, who are a stereotypical large 'traveller family' but they're actually gorjers, and break the mould, by being poor, even though Swifty loves horses and offers to race for Kitten. 

British Social Realism / Production Log 1

So this week was our first week looking into the BSR genre, which seems really interesting and I cant wait to create my own 2 minute opening sequence. Looking at the mark scheme out of 50 has really helped me find out what I need to do to do well in this piece of coursework, which looks very interesting but also very hard to get a top mark in. There are lots of different aspects to consider when thinking about ideas for 16-24 year olds, and a storyline that will full on grab the audience's attention.

Out of the opening sequences we looked at in class, only two really caught my eye and stood out: Damaged Goods and Maze. These were two of the highest scoring pieces which was unsurprising, but they undertook a lot of work to make a good piece. They both contained good story lines, a good range of shots and help set the basics for ideas for my production. Looking at both the mark scheme and previous students work has opened my eyes to see what different things people have done, and what they've lost marks on because of their silly mistakes. 

A Room for Romeo Brass

The British Social Realism genre looks interesting, and there are lots of films we have discussed that have caught my eye and want to watch to kick start my brain thinking about creative ideas for my own production: Kez, A Room for Romeo Brass, Bullet Boy and lots of others have caught my eye, and I will watch them to get in touch with how BSR portrays different types of characters and how the story lines play out and different shot types they use. 

Mise-En-Scene in BSR (Examples based on A Room for Romeo Brass)

• PRODUCTION - The production in a film is the props / settings / costumes  that the actors will wear in the film. e.g. The filming is done on location, and the houses that the people / families live in are real locations that real families live in. 
• LIGHTING - All the lighting in the film is natural. A perfect example of this is when Romeo is talking to his mum and there is light pouring in the room, lighting up everything in the room.
• ACTORS - The characters in the film do not look like actors, they get into role very well, and the majority of the scenes go unscripted, helping the actors get into character a lot more, and have more natural reactions. 
• COLOUR - The film has a sort of a blue tint to it which denotes a 90's type of film. The tint is to establish era and also it's set up north.
• ERA- The film is set in the 90's. This is shown when Morell and Romeo are in the Y reg van, and they are parked opposite a video shop. Videos cease to exist in current times, therefore this shows the film is set in the 90's era.

Past Students Work

Drained

The short pan of the road is the second 'establishing shot' in the opening sequence. This is good for establishing the suburban area in which the sequence is set. Also, the music is very appropriate, as it is almost a 'pathetic fallacy', because the sky is dark and grey.

 This shot helps establish the storyline somewhat. This Mise-En-Scene is very good as it's dark and connotes it is the morning and something wrong might be happening to the character. By this shot you can tell something wrong is going to be related to the time it is. As this is the first glimpse as the camera pans, this creates suspense as there is yet to be a person seen in the sequence, so it also gives the audience an idea of where the person is, connoting a bedroom setting, creating setting awareness.

 In this shot, this shows Chanel flipping her hair back and sighing as she is in a rush, and she woke up late. This shows the social struggle of the character in everyday life, as she sighs to tell the audience how she feels and how 'DRAINED' she is by everyday life, so a perfect depiction of British Social Realism.

 In this shot there is the 'down trodden woman' character type Chanel portrays, who is walking slowly to work with a sad look on her face. She's wearing a big puffy jacket, connoting the cold and she's wearing everyday clothes, which look like they can be bought on the high street. She also has a JD looking bag on her shoulder, which proves that she like generally decent / modern clothes. She lives in a poor area, and the trees make it look wintry and the weather reflects the characters mood. The spikes on the gate connote this may be a very troubled area of youths who go on to the railway lines, and graffiti and cause trouble.

This shows the boss portrayed by Joe is very angry. The lighting is natural and creates a very dark atmosphere, also pathetic fallacy. This connotes he is a very angry man, who may have significant anger issues, that the staff that work the laundry place encounter. The fact that we see him through the laundry bins hides up his pent up anger on his face, creating suspense for the audience. 

This two shot shows the boss grabbing the woman by her neck with a tight grip. This connotes Lateral violence in the workplace and clearly the staff morale is very unconventional in the company, no wonder why the woman didn't want to go to work. This is a clear representation of the British Social Realism genre, as generally, nobody is aware of what goes on behind closed doors of homes or the workplace.

This piece of work was given 58/60 by the exam board, and I gave it around 50, which both scores were a Level 4 on the exam board's mark scheme. I chose to evaluate this piece of work because it flowed all the way through and the editing was very good. But i do believe it took a while to get the story line and it was confusing at the start, but as the story progressed, it was very good and could lead to a very interesting movie idea. 

Bridges

In this establishing shot, there is a lot of walking without a meaning which means that the audience could be confused as to what is actually happening in the scene, and there are no narrative clues as to what the story line will entail. The music doesn't start straight away and the background noise is also very distracting which takes away from the mood of the sequence. Also, the graphics which come up with the cast names, are very small and transition very fast, and they seem to be lost within the scene. But there is a very good Match On Action, as Joe enters the shop.

In this over the shoulder shot, it is filmed as a track of Joe walking around the fabric shop. This track continues on for way too long, and the audience at this stage would get bored, as still, there is yet to be a narrative structure 30 seconds into the sequence. The editing of this scene is very shabby and the camera is not exactly straight. 




This production logo graphic is placed unconventionally in the middle of the sequence, as it looks very messy. This graphic should be at the beginning of the sequence, in order for it to be conventional of a title sequence and the British Social Realism genre. This graphic should be at the beginning with the Film 4 logo, also with a comment saying 'In Association with... Film 4' to make it look like a film especially made for Film 4. This may confuse some of the audience, because its made my two different companies, when in fact it was made by two in conjunction with each other.

In this two shot, the dialogue being spoken is very unclear and there is still yet for a story line to be established. There is more background noise of other customers than focusing on what the two are having a conversation about. Also, there is no other interactions with other 'stars' of the sequence yet. This was a good sequence as it was filmed on location, but they could have made a voice over, to sync to the actual dialogue recorded making sure it was actually clear what the two were having a conversation about.



This shot has a very bad use of the 180 Degree Rule, it has drastically been broken and now Joe is on the other side of the screen which could confuse the audience majorly. Yet again, the dialogue is very unclear, and without the dialogue, i feel the audience could be confused. The talking is fast and unclear which makes it harder to even understand the story line. The group could have used the voice over idea, but they should have positioned the camera closer to the actors to get the conversation and the 180 degree rule wouldn't have been broken. This could help the audience see more facial expressions as they are talking, helping to develop character identity. 



This shot is a perfect example of bad editing. They could have used a match on action shot to show where Joe stepped back and then when the shop worker grabbed him and turned him around out of the shop. The door then opened and he was just chucked out of the door and there was not even a reaction shot at the end to show the disappointment on Joe's face as he was ushered out the shop. This was the perfect opportunity for a close up / reaction shot.



This piece of work was given 29/60 by the exam board, and I gave it around 20, the exam board marked this piece of work as a mediocre level 2, and i marked it as a high level 1. I chose to evaluate this piece of work because it has really bad editing and a bad story line which doesn't flow at all. I am still unclear of what actually happened in this piece of work, and the story line is majorly confusing. One strength of this sequence is the part where Joe takes his headphones off and then the music stops, which is very effective.