Meet My Audience

credit to lachlan (loominaty on tumblr) for the selfie.

Vox Pops // Researching Our Target Audience for our BSR Opening Sequence

Production Log 9

This week we explored the use of shooting script in the production stages of a film. 

All the scenes and shots of a shooting script are numbered and each scene and shot are broken down into all the component pieces required to film it. The production assistants and director can then arrange the order in which the scenes will be shot for the most efficient use of stage, cast, and location resources. The shooting script includes both dialogue, and key instructions: sound fx, cues, character actions and camera movements.

A good example of a Shooting Script.

A good shooting script will include:

• A shot number to clearly identify each shot, to help film crew keep on track.
• Shot Type. e.g. Mid Shot, Establishing Shot, ect.
• Camera Angle. e.g. High, Straight On, Low, Canted.
• Lighting. e.g. high/low key, artificial/natural.
• Shot Movement. e.g. pan, tilt.
• Shot Duration in seconds.
• Location where the scene will take place.
• A list of Actors present in the specified shot.
• Stage Directions/Actions carried out in the shot.
• Dialogue spoken in the shot.
• A list of props needed in the shot.
• Music/Sound FX. e.g. Sountrack,
• Voiceover ect.

Shooting Scripts are easy to read, and good for all the different film crew that will be using them. But some drawbacks are that sometimes they have unrealistic durations for each shot, as the makers of the script don't have a realistic sense of time, as they are not filming the shot, ect. The script is a shared vision, which is hard to bring together, as everyone has different ideas per shot, so it is hard to bring one vision together. 

We had a go at following a shooting script made by a previous AS group a few years back and this was the outcome:

Strengths of our work: 

• There was a good variety of shot types to use, which focused on each shot and gave it a different meaning, which created a good sequence in the end.
• The setting was easy to create, and the simplicity of the location was easy to re-enact. 

Weakness of our work:

• WE BROKE THE 180 RULE MULTIPLE TIMES. Our lack of continuity was ridicuous, and it was hard to remember to be continuous. 
• The durations over ran for each shot, which caused our shots to be longer than they had planned to be.
• Technical difficulties regarding zooming the wrong way and not being able to turn the camera off after filming the scene. *INSERT EMBARASSMENT GIF*

Another thing we did this week was think about audience research into our idea for our opening sequence. We have decided to use Vox Pops to undertake our research, as it gives opinionated people to voice their opinions on our idea. An example of Vox Pops is:

 

We will use these vox pops to find out:

• What BSR films they know and like.
• Why they like BSR - including Uses and Gratifications to explain their points.
• What they think of our ideas.
• Ideas they have for a BSR film.

McKee's Narrative for our BSR Opening Sequence

Ideas For Opening Sequence

Narrative:

Brief Synopsis: The film follows the lives of two friends living in a racist run down area, who are segregated by issues of race and discrimination.

Opening Sequence Synopsis: The first scene is group of white boys omitting racist comments and  intolerance to a Muslim boy of the same age, who lives in the local area we then  go on to establish that one of the white boys begins to change his racist ways, which differs from his friends, and starts a close friendship with the Muslim boy, and he learns that the boy is genuinely nice and the white boy reforms his ways.

The film will use a omniscient narrative and have a it from the perspective of different characters but the main character will be the white boy trying to change his ways. It will also follows the perspective of the muslim boy and the group of white boys more specifically the leader. There will be no narrator as it is not a typical convnetion for most BSR films as it takes away from the realism of it and will affect the verisimilitudinous of the piece. It will follow a linear structure as most BSR films do.

Our film will use many opening sequence conventions and will introduce characters, themes, setting and narrative. It will have engaging music and be a smash mouth opening to keep the audience interested and make them want to watch the rest.

Conventions:

We want to recreate the colour pallete used in fish tank

The conventions that we will use are: themes of violence, racism, discrimination, friendship and childhood, which will be subtly hinted throughout to go along with the typical BSR conventions. We will use Super Imposed Graphics to show actors names, production companies and film crew, which are a typical opening sequence convention and are found in every film. Also in this sequence we will use natural lighting to further establish and reinforce the themes which connote realism, so natural low key lighting establishes violence as dark li
ghting connotes danger, which is a key aspect to uncover in our opening sequence. Also in this sequence we will use a blue colour pallet, which connotes the realism and harsh nature of the film, like the pallet in Fish Tank.

Title: 

We are currently working  on a title to grab the audiences attention, and fit the film. The title will be typical of the BSR, genre, as it will be 1 or 2 simple words, and be powerful, giving subtle hints to the narrative.

Target Audience: 

Age- 16-24

Gender - Male

Interests -  Violent films, Political and Racial issues.

Location - East London // Hackney // Stratford & surrounding areas.

Ethnicity- White and Asian backgrounds

The target audience's other media consumption will include; TV, Social Media and The News.

Our film will appeal to them as it includes issues of race and hate crime which are found in everyday situations and be seen on the news and are political issues. The main characters in the films are aged between 16-18 so the target audience will be interested in watching the film as the characters are a similar age to them. This film will appeal to a male audience as most of the characters are male, and typically, males have an increased interest in violent topics. We have said most of our target audience would live around East London, as they would have a specific interest in the film if it was set in a place they are familiar with, and live near. Like, Gone Too Far, was set in Peckham, South East London, which appealed to teenagers who live in Peckham, and the surrounding areas because they recognize the locations used. 

The films that we'd say the Target Audience would watch include Ill Manors, Green Street,  Bullet Boy, The Football Factory, which are all films set in London, and include violence, hate crime, and racism. Also short films set in East London such as Tight Jeans and  Music that the target audience would listen to include London based rappers such as Giggs, Kano, Skepta & Sneakbo, which are typical Grime artists, which London based teens like. The film's uses and gratifications help the audience 'personally identitfy' as the target audience may identify with some of the characters in the sequence, connoting a successful sequence, drawing in the audience's attention.

Instiution:

The production company for our film will be Film 4 this means our film will have to conform to the usual conventions of Film 4 films and stick to their ethos. We are lucky to be backed by such a commissioner who are passionate about films, and helping young film makers kick-start their film making journeys, providing us with support. By having this production company on board, this means our film is going to be played at independent cinemas like the Picturehouse cinemas in Hackney, Greenwich, Stratford and Clapham, who exhibit other British Social Realist films like Gone Too Far. Our film would be shown on the Film 4 Channel and based on it's popularity and box office earnings, and may be shown on sister channel, Channel 4. Possible exhibition/premiering of the film at a London film festival, would open the film up to a new audience, attracting many other members of the public. Using new media technology and the fast growing online streaming services, I will show it on Netflix as many other BSR productions are shown on there like the This is England 86 series, Bullet Boy, Shifty and Sweet Sixteen. Possibly, an event held premiering the film, at the film festival could include local musicians and artists helping promote the film by making a special appearance. This could help promote the film, and also be a marketing technique that is inexpensive, as the budget is small.

The range of current British films on the UK & Ireland's Netflix accounts available to all users.

Style and Iconography:

We will use lots of wide and long shots to establish the derelict, run down setting of the film and accompany this with an establishing shot to further imply the idea of the deprived setting, in which the narrative takes place. This is a good use of these shots as the audience get to explore the setting through certain shot types. For the editing of the sequence, we will use straight cuts which will add to the sense of realism created by the film as transitions like fades could take away from the realism we will create. Also using fades in an opening sequence can connote that time has passed and as we will be using a linear narrative, so we don't want to mislead the audience into thinking time has passed, or there has been a significant change in setting/ location.We will use costumes as a visual signifier in this film to help connote to the audience the various ethnicity's and religious insights of the people explored this film for example, the Muslim character in this film when we see him for the first time he will be wearing the jubba/thobes as he is on his way to the mosque. This enforces the convention of the exploration of characters, and connotes he is a main character in the film. We will use music to help convey the tone of the film, such as a song with lyrics that link in with the storyline. Possibly a song on par with I Need Church by Professor Green, as he is a London based rapper, in which this songs lyrics are: ''And I'm tryna figure out who I favour, who, Made me do the things you made me do?'' - which could relate to our storyline as the the white boy who is with his friends is peer pressured into being racist to the Muslim boy. We will use the natural sound created during filming and not use any Foley sound as Foley sound takes away the realism, and we are trying to make the film as real and genuine for the audience as possible, as the situation our film entails is a common one, so it is only fair to reflect the reality of the situation through the filming and sound caught on camera whilst filming. The music we will use in our opening will be non-diegetic and be only audible by the audience as diegetic music is not a typical convention of British social realism. The typography we will be using will have to relate to the British social realism genre and our particular film, as our film is set in a run down deprived area we thought that we should use typography that has a similar style to some graffiti that you would see in those areas here is an example of one we had in mind.

Representation:

The key characters in this film are the Muslim boy and the white boy who decides to reform his ways and abandon the group of white friends who are not tolerant of the friendship. The protagonist of this film will be the white boy who decides to change his ways as it will be from his perspective as he tries to become a better person and stop the racism in the scene. The audience will be able to root for this character as they can see a good side to him and be on his side when begins to reform himself to an unprejudiced character. The antagonists of the film will be his former group of friends and more specifically the leader of this clique, who is the main person in the group who doesn't accept the Muslim boy, and who pushes his racist views on the remaining members, and the rest of the group conform to the peer pressure. I will be able to follow Propp's character types as there is a prominent villain character in this film who attempts to stop the protagonist. The helper could be the Muslim friend who helps the protagonist become a better person, who educates the reforming boy, to the ideology that Muslims are not bad people. Our film will challenge the stereotypical representation branded upon Muslims in Britain and show them for how they really are, in every day situations and British culture. I will also challenge those people in Britain who feel Britain should be a purely white country and to deport all of those who are not white and represent them to be closed minded. 

Technology:

The technology used in our production will be predominatly used in the filming and post-production stage of creating the opening sequence. We will use the cameras and tripods from our media department to film all of our footage we need. The quality of the cameras could be better, but my having a low quality and grainy picture, can connote the realism we are trying to capture. We will use iMovie on the iMacs to edit our footage and create the opening sequence, which enables us to add music, our chosen colour pallet, and add super imposed graphics, and other conventional BSR opening sequence conventions. If it was possible and unrealistic, we think that a helicopter with a camera on it, filming a birds eye, area view of the whole of London, and then zooming in to focus on the street where the film is first set, would be good to establish locations and make it a realistic opening sequence. Also in the production we will use real phones and gadgets to create realism, and real text messages being sent.

Production Log 7

this week our main focus was to be creative.

creative task one: 

step one: we were asked to go on to wikipedia and asked to click the random page button. and the page we were given, was our band name

step two: then we were asked to go to a random quotes page and asked to go to the last quote on the page which was our album title.

step three: we were then asked to go on to flickr and use a random picture, the last on the second row, and that was to be our album cover.

step four: use any photo editor of our choice to make the album cover, with a time limit of only five minutes.

aim of the task: to be creative and work with what you have. 

the finished product:

creative task two: 

we were told to go on to http://now-here-this.timeout.com/tag/overheard-in-london
and find some of our favourite things overheard in london. these are good ideas which a film could stem from, or be inspired by. also these phrases could be used as dialogue for a character, and simple conversational comments. 

creative task three:

we were then asked to go to postsecret.com
and choose 2/3 postcards and create a bsr story out of them.

 









story one:
there are two friends. one is a prostitute who falls pregnant, the other, can't get pregnant no matter how hard she tries. the two friends drift apart. once the baby is a toddler, the reformed-prostitute asks the best friend to babysit,and then the friend smothers the baby and walks out. the mother then falls back into her old ways and becomes a drug addict & dependant on alcohol.

story two: 
there is an 18 year old who has moved to london, he's been here for six months. he left his home country because he was abused as a child, so he wanted to get away. he's been in london for 6 months, he's homeless, has no friends. he plans to jump in front of a london underground tube, and kill himself.

i felt this week, this lesson helped me think outside the box a lot more and opened my eyes up to a lot of different ways to get ideas from, for my british social realist film. i feel i have created a lot of good ideas, and the secrets on postsecret.com can be applied to a whole range of different films, and situations  for characters can be easily applied.

What's In The News?

STORY ONE
LINK TO THIS STORY
This story is about a 21 year old boy who was beaten by homophobic thugs wearing pink tutus outside a YMCA building at 1 in the morning. If I based my BSR on this story, the possible themes would be sexuality combined with coming out, and discovery, which aren't really themes that I have discovered in BSR films I have previously watched or analyzed, so my film would be a niche film. I could set this film on a council estate, which is a location where people are very judgemental, and lots of rough people live. The boy would be younger than Robbie, about 16 or 17 and he a topic of conversation for lots of families in the estate, and everybody would know if he publically came out, or a rumour was spread about him. The protaganist for this film would be his best friend, of the same age, who fought back against the bullies, and took him to a LGBT youth group for support and help. But this does not stop people bullying him, as the boy gets suicidal thoughts and self injures. This could be a very real idea, as it does happen to *LGBTQAIP* teens, and in Britain, homophobia is still rife. 

 *Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transexual/Transgender Queer/Questioning Asexual Intersexual Pansexual*


 

Story Two
LINK TO THIS STORY
This story is about a 35 year old, married teacher who had sex with a 16 year old student in her car, 3 times. The boy had agreed to keep the relationship a secret but had then gone and told his friends. I think this could be a good idea for a British Social Realist film as it is a story that has been in the news many times in Britain, and has yet to be made into a BSR film exploring a teacher/student relationship. Themes I could explore in this film include Sex and Corruption of Youth. The relationship between them would be intimate, and the student around 16/17 could grow up to have some mental health issues because of the relationship, and grow up to develop severe depression. The film could have a non-linear start, and start with an older 21/22 year old male, who had the relationship when he was younger, then he has severe depressive thoughts, and then the film goes back in time to discover why the man is feeling that way. Possible protagonists could be the boy's friend who knows something is wrong, and the boy who is in the relationship is starting to realize that the relationship is a bad idea. The friend then tells him to confess, and finish the relationship, and he tries to but the teacher doesn't let him end it, and ends up sexually abusing him. Which ends up coming out and she is arrested and sent to jail. This is a very realistic story which does happen behind closed doors in the UK.

Story Three
LINK TO THIS STORY
This story is about a group of teenagers die in a car crash, they were aged from 16-18, one of the girls was named Prom Queen at her school prom. I could use this story as a BSR film idea, as there is a car crash on a prom night, in which 3 friends who have been friends since they were babies, and they are traveling in a taxi to prom together, and there is a collision between the taxi and another car. Two of the girls are seriously injured and die in hospital, and the other girl is left on her own. The film could be about the struggle the girl faces to overcome the death of her two best friends, and she results to drugs to help her forget the pain of that night, losing her two best friends. Themes could include death and drug abuse/drug experimentation. The film could be set anywhere in Britain, as the film applies to all cultures and all locations. The protagonist in this film could be a therapist the girl sees as she is trying to get clean, and go through drug rehab, and the therapist makes her see sense.