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.