Pre-production: Voxpop [Audience Research]

VOXPOP

For part of me and partner's research, we wanted to gain some qualitative data which can help us find out the interviewees opinion and reason why on a series of questions. By using a voxpop, this has heavily influenced my final production idea seen as the "voice of the people" are my target audience. Therefore, the aim of this was to acknowledge their needs and put them into pratice when producing a "good storyline".

I will now analyse what my inteviewees said as this will help influence me to make my british social realist opening sequence.

Question 1 - What British social realist films have you enjoyed watching in the past and why?
Interviewee 1- They are quite gritty and enjoyable as you can relate to them.
Interviewee 2 - They are quite funny and they put on regional accents. It's quite realistic too.
Interviewee 3 - They represent adults and children.
Interviewee 4 - It shows you how children are but some can be too stereotypical.
Interviewee 5 - They are set in England, and it's quite informative.
Interviewee 6 - They really show how Britain acts socially.
Interviewee 7- They represent British society.
Interviewee 8 - They are easy to relate to, in terms of social issues.
Interviewee 9 - They are easy to relate to, for example, the time period.

From question one, most of my interviewees what these type of films because it is representative of real life and so it is easy to relate to in terms of their everyday lifes. Therefore, my opening sequence will need to show the themes and characters in a realistic way in order for them to feel satisfied whilst watching it.

Question 2 - What social issues are becoming a growing concerns in the UK and why?
Interviewee 1- There is a growing trend for alcohol and gang culture.
Interviewee 2 - There is a growing trend for gang violence.
Interviewee 3 - Drugs and alcohol is an increasing problem.
Interviewee 4 - Young people not having a voice, for example, the London riots.
Interviewee 5 - Underage sex, alcohol are quite big issues.
Interviewee 6 - Drugs, alcohol and sex as it goes around in Britain a lot.
Interviewee 7- Teenage pregnancy is common for young people.
Interviewee 8 - Teenage pregnancy and crime because people.
Interviewee 9 - Drugs because young people are peer pressured.

This tells me that there are a variety of common issues in Britain today. One of the popular issues were drugs and alcohol. This suggests that my film will need to tackle a range of issues in order to make it seem representative of everyday life.

Question 3 - What attracts young people to take drugs, smoke or consume alcohol and why?
Interviewee 1-  It helps young people to lose their mind.
Interviewee 2 - They get addicted by their mates, so it's down to peer pressure.
Interviewee 3 - It's down to peer pressure, especially school gangs, or they could be forced to take them.
Interviewee 4 - In one way it is peer pressure however, it could be because of the influence of popular films that glamourise it.
Interviewee 5 - They get stressed out, and it's because of family issues at home. They also can use it to open up their feelings.
Interviewee 6 - It's down to how the young person is socialised, because they are influenced by people around them.
Interviewee 7- It's because of TV programmes and movies as they gain influence from the messages. They also do it to "fit" in with social groups.
Interviewee 8 - It's down to school, they need it as a means of escapism from the bad things around them.
Interviewee 9 - It's because of peer pressure as they feel it's cool.

This tells me that there are various reasons why young people take drugs or consume alcohol. This shows that the influences come from various people or places. In my British social realism opening sequence, this implies that maybe the different type of issues explored can happen for a range of reasons (as long as they are realistic).

Question 4 - What is your view on teenage pregnancy and would this be suitable to explore in a film?

Interviewee 1- It's a real issue and controversial.
Interviewee 2 - It's very common in society today and controversial.
Interviewee 3 - It can help demonstrate young teenagers how to look after a child if they have a baby.
Interviewee 4 - It's becoming a big crisis and people need to be informed about this issue.
Interviewee 5 - It should explore the consequences of teenage pregnancy and should be presented well.
Interviewee 6 - It's quite common and would help show the audience that this is a growing problem.
Interviewee 7- It can help show the effects of it, for example, the impact it has on the family.
Interviewee 8 -Teenage pregnancy is not a good thing as it wastes Government's money and the film should show the disadvantages.
Interviewee 9 - It would be quite suitable.

This was interesting and we asked this question because we felt this issue is quite common with young people today which the result indicates. It has helped us understand that if we were to explore it, it would be quite difficult, because it's not an easy issue and young people experience this quite differently, depending on the individual. This suggest it would be a great theme to explore in our opening sequence.

Question 5 - Do you think young people are deprived and why?

Interviewee 1- In working class areas, young people are quite deprived, for example, some live in council estates.
Interviewee 2 - Working class children are deprived because of alcohol and drugs.
Interviewee 3 -  Young people aren't deprived; they have an education.
Interviewee 4 - It's hard to judge.
Interviewee 5 - Young people don't get praise, they are out partying and doing rebellious things.
Interviewee 6 - It depends what area they are from.
Interviewee 7- Young people think they are deprived because society has changed in a sense that there's better technology, for example mobile phones.
Interviewee 8 - It's hard to tell.
Interviewee 9 - It depends on the area, for example, sometimes there's not as good facilities.

This was interesting as my interviewees shared a mixed view regarding young people's deprival in society. However, most said it depends on the area they live in, for example, if they live in working class places then it is likely they may experience poorer circumstances. For our sequence, it would be quite useful to explore this further by portraying the gritty experiences some working class teenagers face in life.

Pre-production: Voxpop [Research Method]

I will need to carry out some primary research for my treatment, therefore, me and the person I'm working with will need to carry out some findings. For this, we have decided to use a voxpop as it will give us a qualatitive response from our interviewees which can help inspire us to create an appealing British Social Realism films for young people who are our target audience.

Things to remember:

• We plan to ask five questions to five of our target audience at our school.
• We will need to make sure they have a knowledge of what a British Social Realism film is as one question I will be asking revolves directly around this.
• We will need a functioning camera to record our voxpop.
• We will need to enough time to edit the clips and merge them together so we can intrepret them easily.
• This needs to be done before Thursday 30th. 
• It should be done in a informal environment in order for our interviewees are more likely to feel comfortable answering the questions truthfully.
• The sound should be clear.

Our questions 
What British social realist films have you enjoyed watching in the past and why?
What social issues are becoming a growing concerns in the UK and why?
What attracts young people to take drugs, smoke or consume alcohol and why?
What is your view on teenage pregnancy and would this be suitable to explore in a film?
Do you think young people are deprived and why?

Pre-production: Production Log/Reflective Analysis - Week 4

Week 4

This week was interesting because I learnt that the target audience for my British Social Realism film will be young middle class and working class people aged 16 to 24. This means the opening sequence should conform to the various conventions such as "representing real teenage lifes" to make it realistic for them to watch. I also learnt that in order to keep the sequence interesting, there should be a minimum to dialogue, the themes and characters should be introduced, and it should create an enigma. This means that it will draw the audience into the overview of the film in a believable way. Therefore, I've learnt that my sequence should create a verisimilitude for my audience if these points are taken into consideration.

I have also learnt that the institutions involved in the production of  social realism films varies. Many existing production companys often deal with specific genres, for example, the independent production company, Lions Gate who helped fund for the film "Reservoir Dogs" usually focus on Thriller based films. Therefore, it is important to pick the right distributors with similar values as my "British social realist" genre.


For my production, I need to make sure that the production companies I use is relevant to the values and type of films they specialise in. For example, Film Four, specialise with producing British Social Realism which is a genre I am using for my film.

Pre-production: Inspiration for Ideas

INSPIRATION

In my freetime, I went around working class areas, taking pictures of what I saw. It has helped me to be more aware of the type of location I want to shoot the clips and the type of props that will work well in my British social realism film.

Pre-production: Production Log/Reflective Analysis [Week 3]

This week has been a useful as I learnt about opening sequences and title devices. I looked at an opening sequence from the film 'This Is England' to see what sort of acts as a foundation stage for the film's plot/story-line and creates an enigma. The different titles also help to introduce who the cast, crew and production company.

From doing this task, I have realised that the titles have a formulaic way of being shown in terms of duration and transitional effects for opening sequences. They help create a rhythmic feel for the film. For example, in 'This Is England' the clips were shown for no longer than 6 seconds and used a great amount of fades which helped with the continuity and reflect the casual historical events in the 1980s such as the rioting and Princess Diana's wedding and creates the colloquial mood of the film. This has helped recognise that the editing should have an artistic element to it which in doing so creates a connotation related to the topic of the film.

I have also realised by looking at the titles that they are arranged in a logical way that complements the film. For example, the major cast, crew and production members often come at the start or the end whereas the less significant members are denoted somewhere near the middle of an opening sequence.
In my opening, I think that I am going to use this so that the cast are credited in a reasonable way in terms of their contribution/significance for my film.

I also believe that my clips in my opening sequence needs have a creative feel to it in order to make it seem innovative and not cliche. This means that the titles should connote my film's storyline by reflecting the themes and topics. For example, in This Is England, it uses an urban typography which connotes the gritty and rough experience we are yet to witness.

Pre-Production: 25 Word Treatment Task

25 WORD IDEAS
Boy of 16, realises that his dreams of becoming a world class boxer is unreal and decides to rebel against life and turn to crime.

Pre-production: Sound Analysis - Opening Sequence

The  film which I will be looking at is the first two minute of.... 'Attack The Block'.

It is produced by Joe Cornish, and unlike most British social realism films, it uses hybrid conventions from Hollywood too, in order, to make it seem unique and appeal to a wider young audience.
         
           

The clip starts off with by using a non-diegesis soundtrack which has a science fiction feel to it. This connotes that something strange is going to happen in the film. This helps to build up suspense and create an enigma because we don't know what to expect. This is further emphasised by the use of an establishing shot of the sky with a strange unknown looking object which signifies that something 

We can also hear some diegetic, ambient sounds of cars moving and of British people talking. This connotes that the the life is very busy. This represents the character to be a normal everyday woman.
Similarly, the use of foley sound of the woman's representative of British people, and their everyday  rushing from and to work.

By the use of dialogue, we can tell that the woman may be middle class as she has a posh British accent. This connotes that she is rich and stable which is representative of the wider set of British individuals.

Pre-production: Production Log/Reflective Analysis [Week 2]

This week involved me looking at generic conventions used in social realist opening sequences and how they allow the audience to relate to the production of the film. Many have a gritty storyline or and the cinematography is very raw which helps engage the audience into the progressing narrative. Moreover though, these codes and conventions help to create to setup the enigma and subtly get the audience to understand the topic/subject of the film.

By looking at the codes and conventions in British Social Realist opening sequences, it has enabled me to understand that my production should introduce the storyline in brief and focus more on the characters in the film. This will help to setup an enigma, which means that the audience will be challenged in many ways, which helps attract interest for my sequence/film. In addition to this, I have observed that the technical codes such as the camera techniques use a lot of basic transitions like cuts which helps conform to the gritty style of British Social Realism films. The symbolic codes such as the setting in 'Happy Go Lucky' (the film I observed for my opening sequence) uses a very ordinary and raw setting is also typical of this genre and style to British social realism sequence. This conforms to the everyday British life which these type of films use to create a verisimilitude for the audience In doing so, it makes the film seem real which is also another typical trait for this genre (in opening sequences).

The type of text which have influenced me is 'Happy Go Lucky' as the opening sequence is has a very unique way of introducing the protagonist. She is made to look like an everyday type of person yet we aren't given much information about how she plays a significant role in the plot. She becomes mysterious as she can denoted riding a bicyicle and this sets up an enigma as we don't know where she her journey is going to end at. Therefore, it has influenced me by setting out what is typical of a realist opening sequence in terms of what to expect - codes and conventions.

By doing this task, I have decided that I should conform to the typical conventions of a British Social realist film by making sure that there are titles, some insight into the storyline however, Id like to subvert to the formulaic way of introducing my film titles. For example, I would like to create my own designs which conveys my gritty style to British social realism films for the actual title of my film or production logo which help my sequence appear unique and artistic.

Pre-production: Themes & Ideology analysis

THEMES AND IDEOLOGY 

I have looked at themes and ideology in a great detail and seen how it relates to British social realism films. I have also made it relevant to how I can go about constructing my opening sequence by gaining ideas from current affairs.

Pre-Production: Exploring the institutional information in a British Social Realist film, opening sequence

Analysing the opening sequence: This Is England

Pre-production: Generic Conventions Of British Social Realist Films Task

The film I looked at was Happy Go Lucky, I looked at how it conforms to the British Social Realist genre.

Pre-production: Beachcombing

Ideas

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Pre-Production: Project Log Week 1/Reflective Analysis

As part of my research and planning, I was set a task to critique two past student's media blogs (named Ellie and Gemma) which consisted of their media coursework. This meant I had to mark it against the requirements the OCR board were seeking. Therefore, I observed the strengths and weaknesses to help me understand what is expected in my work.

If you would like to visit their blogs click here -

Blog One - Ellie's blog

Blog Two - Gemma's blog

(Click the image for a bigger preview)

Here is the mark scheme which I based my critiques upon regarding their media coursework:

Overall, by looking at the Ellie and Gemma's coursework from last year, it has helped me to understand that the work needs to consistently meet the mark scheme's requirements. For example, the various use of ICT such as video, is one factor that should always be taken into consideration. Another observation I have taken into account is that excellent time management and organisation is vital for my coursework as there is a great amount of work which needs to be published. Therefore, I will aim to meet the requirements always when posting a segment of my coursework by judging whether I have met what OCR want me to do in order to strengthen my chance of successfully completing my coursework.