Production log

Week One

From looking at the mark scheme and peer assessing previous work, I have been able to highlight the flaws in the work of other students and think carefully about how they could be improved. This will prevent me from making the same mistakes and hopefully aid me in achieving a much higher grade. As well as this, I have been able to pick out positive things and assess how effective they were, which has given me a better idea of some things I could include in my work to gain the top grades.

This will make my production easier and less time consuming as I now know which things to steer clear of whilst making a BSR opening sequence. For example, in one example I watched the storyline and concept were fairly good but I felt the actors did not show enough emotion and emphasis therefore making it less enjoyable. Now when making my BSR opening sequence I realise that choice of actors can make a vital difference in an opening sequence and I will now take more careful consideration when picking mine.

I will also try to avoid making my sequence too long and overcomplicating the themes, this can make the storyline and themes unclear and will cause confusion for my audience. Another thing I will avoid is using too much or too little dialogue. I will use enough so that the audience and examiner have a good understanding of what is happening but not too much that it becomes impossible for the audience to comprehend the scene.

Week Two

In regards to the codes and conventions in British Social Realism films I have learned that; use of non professional actors give a more realistic and natural feel,  British social realism films tend to be filmed on real, actual locations such as schools or council estates. British social realism incorporates serious and relevant themes but often adds quite a humorous tone. They also use appropriate accents, correct settings and local issues within the region where it is set.

This impacts my production as I now understand which conventions to include in my film to make it a clear British social realist film, instead of just a film which could be of any genre. I can now use the information learned to make appropriate decisions regarding setting, location, actors, themes, scripts and more. I have learned that within all these things I must decide carefully so that the film appears as extremely realistic.  

The text I found particularly influential was the Selfish Giant. I was captured by the harsh and gritty reality of the film and the story that follows two isolated school kids struggle through school and work life. I was particularly aware of the regional identity in this film, it was set in Bradford and lives of those living in Northern England were portrayed realistically.

I think I will be most likely to conform to the conventions. This is because it will make production faster and easier and enable me to make quick, reliable decisions based on what I have seen in other films we have been shown. The conventions have proved to be used effectively in several social realist films particularly in the selfish giant, which I enjoyed. The conventions also give me a clear set of guidelines as to what a typical good social realist film should include hence my reason for conforming to them.

Week Three

This week I have learned that my commissioner, film four productions is a company run by channel four productions. Film four productions is a producer, distributor and exhibitor of films and have exhibited some big social realist films including popular film This is England. They fund production for up to 20 films a year contribution on average 500,000 per film. Film Four Productions have built a reputation for producing social realist films, often referred to as kitchen sink dramas. These films portray the domestic hardships of working class Britons, as realistically as possible.

I have learned a great deal about sound this week, particularly about diegetic and non diegetic sound, music and dialogue which makes films more successful. Sounds can help connote various themes and messages to the audience as well as aid them in understanding what is happening throughout. Music can also add emphasis and excitement as well as add tension to certain scenes if and when it is needed.

This will help my production because I now have a good idea of which sounds are used in british social realist films and how effective they are for the audience.

Week Four
This week I've learnt that title devices are very useful in BSR opening sequences. The titles usually include: Production company name and logo, institution name and logo, Main characters names, producers name and name of the film. They appear in any order.
This will impact my production because it helps me decide which titles and credits are appropriate to include and what fonts and graphics look good.

Week Five
The key issues regarding my research this week have been trying to decide which sound I would use for my film. BSR films are often harsh and rough, so I would have to be careful to select music that reflects the mood of the film. However I do not want the music to be very sad and depressing so that it is off putting for the audience. Also, the choice of music is limited because a lot of music is copyrighted.
The decisions I have made based on this is to use instrumentals to songs instead of songs with lyrics. If I were to use songs with lyrics, the lyrics may connote certain things that do not fit in or fall in line with my film. Also, I decided I would have ask for permission for music I want to use.


Week Six
This week I learnt that the conventions of an opening sequence are: Super imposed graphics, Production company, producers, Directors, actors, Engaging music, Minimal dialogue, Introduce characters, Introduce setting, Introduce narrative slightly, Non linear start, Smash mouth opening, Intrigue/enigma, Montage and Establishing shots. A smash mouth opening is where a film begins right in the beginning of fast paced action and this makes the audience want to watch it and leaves them with clues. A non-linear start is where a film does not start at the beginning of the film.

This impacts my production because I have learnt it is good to use as many conventions as possible and I will attempt to do this. I have seen how these conventions have been used in other films and how they have made it interesting to watch so I will use the same guidelines in my production. Especially the smash mouth opening, I would like to consider using this as I have seen it this week in London to Brighton and it has been effective in creating an enigma and making me question what is going on and what is going to happen next.

Some methods I might use in my opening are Establishing shots. I would use an establishing shot because it means that the audience will be fully aware of the area and location that the film is set before the characters even appear, this will create clues about regional identity. I might use a fast paced montage, and cut between various scenes because this will make it interesting and engaging for the audience to watch without giving away too much of the storyline.

Week 7
This influenced my planning because it made me think about the questions I need to ask and the types of responses I will receive. I used the information learned to create five questions based on my film that I will ask people. After receiving these answers I will write a conclusion about the results I have received.

Week 8
This week I developed a concept for my BSR film based on; news articles, films that I've seen, past student work and looking at typical BSR films. Using these resources, I was able to come up with several original ideas for an interesting concept for a british social realism film. I looked at things that had been done before as well as things that hadn't and thought about how they could work and if it would make a good film or not.
The key influences were the newspaper articles. I liked these because I could envision them fully and it adds a sense of realism to my film if it is actually an adaptation of a real life story. The newspaper articles gave me a numerous amount of ideas and were relevant as most of the stories were based in England.
I decided my group because I thought could use the strengths and skills that I have, along with the strengths and skills my partner to produce a good, well-thought movie. We decided that we would be good at different aspects in the production process which would be helpful as we could do divide work and get multiple things done at once which would help to reduce production time and also we thought we would be able to work efficiently as a group.
I didn't foresee any issues with our partnership

Week Nine
This week I learned that narrative is one of the key things in any film. This week we used a shooting script made by another group and tried to re-enact the scene using the script. We found this very difficult and time consuming because the script was not clear and neither was the dialogue. The actors names were mixed with the characters names and so we could not tell who the characters were talking to. Upon finishing recording the scene, we realized it was unclear, confusing and not very interesting to watch.
We also learned about todorov's narrative and how to plan each part of our film so that it is exciting. We split the narrative into parts; Exposition, Agents of change, Elaboration, Coda, Climax and resolution, Coda and conflict.
I used this during my production and split my narrative into these parts. It helped me think about my narrative from start to finish instead of just planning the opening. I wrote a detailed paragraph for each section so that the narrative is interesting but not too confusing to follow.

Week Ten
The decisions I made this week about the content of my BSR treatment are that, each aspect of my film should be planned in detail. I decided I needed to include pictures and or videos/articles of each thing that I describe. E.g; If I decide a location, I need to include a picture of it. I also decided that I should include previous ideas, things that I have considered even if I have now disregarded them, and explain why I think it wouldn't be effective to use them.
I used these decisions to create my treatment, I described each thing that I wanted to do in detail from start to finish, even if it wouldn't be possible. I talked about props, setting, locations, budget and many more things.

This week I learned primary research is effective when creating a film. There are two types of responses, Qualitative and Quantitative. Qualitative are answers about opinions and judgments, usually longer and more detailed answers whereas Quantitative responses are those that can be statistically analyzed, data including numbers. Qualitative answers tend to be the result of open questions whereas quantitative are usually the result of closed questions (yes/no questions).

This influenced my planning because it made me think about the questions I need to ask and the types of responses I will receive. I used the information learned to create five questions based on my film that I will ask people. After receiving these answers I will write a conclusion about the results I have received.

Week 11
This week I did my production paperwork including my call sheets, location reccies, location list and production schedules. This has helped me plan each aspect of my filming including,where i'm filming, who i'm filming with, dates, times, costumes, props and more. This is so it is my filming is more efficient and less time consuming.
There were some problems when making my call sheets because of upcoming exams and also the availability of my actors, however we quickly found replacements for the actors who were unavailable/had little availability.




Week 12


This week, we didn't do much because of mock week.


Week 13
This week, we finished finalising sound. When looking for sound, we had to refer back to our treatment so we could remember which genre of music we decided on. We also had to take into account that we hadn't filmed yet, so instead of picking one soundtrack, we picked various ones so that if the first one didn't fit with the film we had other options. Also, we did graphics including a title screen and a production company logo which were both designed on fireworks. On film cut pro, we designed  some ooe

Sound Analysis

The opening sequence starts with a soundtrack. It consists of instruments only and a repetitive drumbeat. The music is very tense and begins to sound more dramatic, faster and more repetitive as the characters appear on screen which connotes that the main drama and events of the film will unfold around them.

The sound denoted is dialogue. The police officer says "C'mon sleepyhead, time to go home." She says this as she unlocks the prison door, which gives a sense of freedom and connotes he has previously committed a criminal offence, because he is being released from prison. This demonstrates to us that one of the themes may be crime, which is typical of a BSR film.

The sound denoted is dialogue. The police officer says "Thats a good start, your not out yet are you?" The tone at which this is said at is extremely patronising and sarcastic suggesting that the officer may not be fond criminals and is looking down on this one. Also it demonstrates a sense of inequality, the officer is allowed to be quite rude and in this situation is taking advantage of the fact he has more authority.

The sound denoted is dialogue. The man says "what the fuck !" when he hears a strange rattling noise at the back of his car. The use of foul language may show that he is of a low background, most likely working class.

The sound denoted is dialogue. "Man..., get outta my car man." His tone and choice of words may show he is of a urban background and he addresses the child with a lot of attitude. His slang and use of the word "man" show he is probably not from a rich area.

BSR Timeline

Look back in anger (1959)
The themes denoted are abuse, violence and relationships. The lighting throughout is dark as it is set in the night. Some of the settings denoted include a house, a bedroom and a ballroom. The costumes are very basic with most male characters denoted in a shirt and jeans and females in a dress. They are most likely working class characters.

Poor cow (1967)
The settings in the Poor Cow are a bathtub in a house and on the street. The rooms are all quite brightly lit and the scene takes place in the daytime. There is no music, just heavy use of dialogue.The streets are very grey and dull connoting it is a deprived area, especially as violence occurs between two characters and no one tries to stop it. Characters are dressed very basic in shirts with cardigans because of their accents it is evident they are working class.

Bronco Bullfrog (1970)
The characters are dressed in jumpers and shirts. There is music which is a soundtrack. It is set in London, somewhere near a river. The characters are mostly male.

My beautiful Laundrette (1985)
This is set in a brightly lit Laundrette. There is no music, just dialogue. They are working class because one of the characters is disappointed that the younger boy did not end up with a higher job such as a politician or journalist, and describes being working class as a disappointment. A main theme is poverty and aspiration and escape.

Nil by mouth (1997)
The scene is set in a dark room, in a house. The house is quite basic and shabby, and the woman is wearing a basic cardigan and a shirt. Their accents suggest they are of lower class; their words are abbreviated and sentences not properly structured as well as heavy use of swearing and foul language. A theme includes abuse and we see Ray beat his wife to death. Their is no music, just dialogue between the two characters.

Kidadulthood (2006)
The three characters are dressed in hoodies and jumpers, with jogging bottoms and large jackets and hats. They use slang and foul language. There is dialogue and well as music, which is upbeat with no lyrics. The setting is in london, in a room on a council estate. Some other locations include street corners, there is also a corner shop. Themes include crime, gang violence and sex.

Ill Manors (2012)
Themes include drug use/experimentation, racism, sex and violence. There is mainly music and some dialogue, the music is a rap which follows the story of a drug dealer. It is set in a dark cellar, which is used as a drug factory, and another location is a bedroom. There is also use of swearing and foul language from the characters, showing they are low class.

Mise-en-scence Analysis

In the screengrab, denoted are several characters standing around in a playground laughing, talking and selling drugs.They are dressed in some form of uniform with all characters denoted in a white shirt and red tie with black cardigans.
From the costume choice it is clear to see, that the characters denoted are all schoolchildren who attend the same school. They are dressed in typical working class manner, suggesting that they are not from rich backgrounds. The majority of students have also tampered with their uniform, adding chains and accessories, wearing large coats, and having scuffled ties, which gives them a poor appearance and suggests they may be rebellious. It conveys that this may be a comprehensive school in a deprived area.


In 3:38, in the opening scene the colours denoted are mainly grey, black and green.
There is very limited use of a range of colors for the lighting in this movie and as an effect the scene appears quite grey and bleak. This may be a reflection of the harsh surroundings and is used so that their lives are represented as dull. This is typical of a movie of a BSR genre because BSR films usually are those that portray the lifestyle of a working class individual in a rough and harsh light.


At 3:06 denoted is setting.
In the screen grab denoted are lots of trees, grass, gray pavements with leaves scattered around them and large green fences.
This gives us a strong idea of where the movie is set and which themes may occur because of this setting.
The chain link fence and the muddy grass again suggest a harsh environment. It also suggests that this is a low income school in the city, again suggesting that the characters parent's are most likely all working class and that the area surrounding the school probably isn't a good one.

At 1:19:51 denoted is a prop.
In the screen grab denoted is a hand laying on the ground reaching for a long wooden bat. In the scene, as violence is taking place the bat could connote violence as it could be used easily as a weapon. This demonstrates that the characters in the film are those who are often involved in fights and violence and they live in a society where they could be easily attacked again showing the audience that their lives are rough and difficult.

At 3:32 denoted are actors.
In the screengrab we see several pupils standing around in a playground, several girls and a boy. The boy denoted is dressed in a blue hoodie.
The boy is taller and has a more mature face suggesting that he may be older, as well as the fact that he is not in school uniform which corresponds with this idea. Because of the age of the actor, we can assume that maybe he is not a student like the rest of the characters and may either be a former student or just a local bully.

At 49:39 denoted are costumes.
We see three boys, all three are dressed in baggy clothing and all are wearing large, baggy hoodies with either jeans or jogging bottoms and large jackets with trainers. Two are also wearing a cap.
The use of the clothing choice makes the actors appear scruffy and connotes them as individuals who do not care about looking smart or presentable. The use of baggy clothing and large jackets may be used so that the actors feel and look "bigger" than they actually are which could be helpful if they live in an area with lots of crime as it could prevent them from not being attacked if people think they are "big" and dangerous.

Comissioner Factfile

Who is the company ?

Film 4 is owned by the Channel Four Television Co-operation, they produce, distribute and exhibit films. Channel Four Television Co-operation also own 4seven, Channel 4, E4, More4, 4Music, Box Upfront, The Box, Kerrang!, Kiss, Magic and Box Hits.

What do the company produce ?
Film 4 are co-producers and aim to fund 20 films a year, on average contribution £500,000 per film. Some of film 4's big successes include 12 years a slave, The Iron Lady, Slumdog Millionaire and This Is England. Film 4 contribute to the development of British Social Realism films by producing films that deal with controversial and relevant themes and portray the lives of working class Britons as realistically as possible. For example a popular film funded by Film4;This is England. This is England is a overtly political film which deals with themes such as youth culture, racism and immigration.
They produce any genre but do not produce films for family audience.

Where is the company based ?
Film 4 fund co productions in the UK and America.

Why is the company important to the UK ?
Film 4's Ethos is to offer a platform for British and independent cinema on terrestrial television by comitting to show each one of Film Four's production films on Channel Four and Film Four. Also, to develop new British Talent and be a leader of innovation in the British Film Industry. Some key successes are Trainspotting, The full Monty, Brassed off and my beautiful laundrette. Film 4 has also helped launched the careers of these directors; Allan Clarke, Shane Meadows and Michael Leigh.

BSR last credits

The title sequence begins with "UK Film Council" denoted in blue and purple on a black screen. This then fades slowly into a birds eye view of london at night. It is dark and the only visible feautures are the Big Ben, the river thames, and lots of streetlights and lights from buildings, there are also moving cars. The sound denoted is a hiphop soundtrack which is repetitive and upbeat. This continues as the names of the different productions and film companies appear in white writing. Then the title "Adulthood" appears with the union jack as part of the typography and the whole background transforms into a busy, daytime scenery in london. Denoted are busy crowds of people walking, streets, cars, and big red buses as well as traffic lights. As the scenery changes, the music becomes more upbeat and lively. After this the names of the actors begin to appear in red and white writing.

The typography is denoted in white with a red outline. The use of white and red may connote it is set in England as it corresponds with the colors of the England flag.
The writing denotes 'starring' in smaller writing, and 'Noel Clarke' in larger writing. This connotes he is either a main, significant character or he is a big name in the film industry.
The background behind the typography is a scene in the day, with a big red bus, several buildings and traffic lights. This tells us in is set specifically in London.

Regarding institutional in opening credits, I have found out that institutional logo must always be included as well as the names and logos of any additional funders, co-exhibitors, distributors or producers. The title can appear at any point during the sequence. The names of main or big characters almost always appear. I will use the information learned in my own work.

BSR Themes

Drug use/Drug Experementation

The film I will analyse for drug use/experimentation is Ill manors.
In the opening sequence at 2:06, Trevor is denoted helping someone sort out some drugs on a table. There is a non-diegtic sound which is rap music playing and the lyrics denote "It's the new drug everybody's going crazy for."
The use of drugs is very evident during this sequence in Ill manors, not only through what is seen on the screen but also through the soundtrack which is a rap by Plan B, describing the life of the main character as we watch him "grow up". The rap is used as a narrative to describe the life of a young boy who grew up with his mum as an addict and consequently meant he was constantly surrounded by drugs. He now operates a drug business in the cellar where he spent most of his childhood. In the opening sequence at 2:28, we also see that his mother has passed away from a drug overdose again supporting the idea that the main theme throughout is drug use.
 Drug use/experimentation could be explored in my movie, through the use of a character who is an addict and I could use the character to demonstrate to the audience the impact and consequences of drug use.

The film I will analyse for gang crime is Kidadulthood.

At 1:17:50, denoted is a black figure who comes up behind Trevor, pushes him to the ground before stamping on him multiple times whilst a teenage girl screams in the background for help. He then also strangles and beats him with a rounders bat, causing Trevor to die.
The theme represented here is gang crime, the movie shows an ongoing rivalry between Trevor and his friends versus Sam and his friends.The two rivals commit various crimes against each other including robbery an assault as forms of revenge. The ongoing gang rivalry eventually leads to the death of main character Trevor and demonstrates the devastating consequences of gang crime and gang culture and how it impacts society.
This can be explored in my film by using use of one or two gangs and showing their daily activities and the hard-hitting reality of their lifestyles which could lead to the death of the character.

The film I will analyse for aspiration and escape is Adulthood.
At 14:32, a boy dressed in black denoted on a bicycle watches his friend rob a car whilst watching guard with his other friend. He is denoted saying "What don't get it twisted, just because I'm on the road with you man, don't think I'm stupid you know, man's got plans."
This shows how aspiration and escape is explored in this movie. The character and his friend are denoted committing a crime, presumably to make quick cash. However in the conversation, he tries to convince his friend that he is actually intelligent. Through this phrase he demonstrates that he desires a life for himself beyond street hustling and crime and there is a sens of wanting escape.
In my film, we could see the life of someone who tries to their life and aspires to be someone greater

The movie I will analyse for Childhood is selfish giant.

At 00:27 denoted we see a young, blond-haired boy in his school uniform with his friend in a factory surrounded by older men. One of the older men in a flourscent jacket tells him "You should be at school, you." to this he responds "I hate school. I'm a scrapman, me."
This demonstrates Isolation and Exclusion. Earlier on, we see Arbor get excluded from school and make the decision to work illegally for money. Arbor isolates himself from the other schoolchildren and decides to exclude himself out of the normal activities of a 13 year old boy and instead attempt to be a scrapman.Throughout the film, Arbor is seen to be separated from the other children as he is described by everyone as a "bad influence" again showing a sense of isolation.
This could be shown in my film through use of another theme for example, a character could have a mental illness which could lead to them feeling isolated.