This film opening uses many codes and conventions of the social realism genre. It features dual protagonists preparing for a night out. Its set in a council estate in the north of England. This is at the equilibrium stage of Todorov's narrative structure as it is at the start of the film.
Mise-en-scene is used in this clip to create verisimilitude in the digetic world for the audience. The digetic world is established at the start as being located within a council estate. The overcast weather connotes the reflection of the current economic status, this is an example of prophetic fallacy.
The setting then progresses up the stairs with the mum into a female teenagers bedroom.
There are a number of different props used in this clip that create various meanings for the audience. When Linda's sat on the bed shes reading a magazine juxtaposed to Jen sat on the floor reading a text book; this starts to establish a binary opposition between the 2 characters. Whilst in conversation with Shannon, Linda is using a mobile phone which helps to establish the diegetic world being set in present time. Near the beginning of the montage Shannon tides up a magazine, feather bower, toy blocks, lamb rattle and calculator this signifies how she attempts to juggle herself around her baby, social life and her presentation.
The denotation of the 'baby pink' lipgloss is its a symbolic sign which helps to create the narrative enigma revealed at the end that Shannon has a baby.
Both characters start off the scene wearing school uniforms which connotes their innocence, however they change into more revealing outfits for their night out this transition signifies their sexual activity as they get made up, starting to age their characters appearance. This creates the preferred reading encoded by the producer that the two characters want to be older than they are.
In the shot of Linda and Shannon laughing as a result of smashing a glass, Shannon's dress is low cut showing some cleavage this connotes femininity and maternity.
The dominant colours in my film opening are where Linda wears a gold dress which connotes happy go lucky tack trying to look expensive. At the beginning Shannon's wearing a white and green uniform which connotes that shes good innocent and sensible, juxtaposed to the binary opposition of herself where she changes into her black dress that signifies a more irrational and uncaring side to her personality.
The lighting used is low key which is a common convention of the genre social realism also reflecting the current economic state.
A shallow depth of field is used throughout with the characters in the centre signifying importance, while keeping the conversation obvious to the audience.
Both objective and subjective camera work is used in this clip creating meaning for the audience.
The first shot is an establishing shot which establishes the digetic world; being in a council estate. A close-up shot of Shannon's lips is used during the montage, this connotes femininity also making it obvious to the audience that the characters are attempting to age themselves. A long shot is used on Shannon and Linda's conversation incorporating the rule of thirds which shows the literal separation, connoting the binary opposition of the gap between the two personalities. A mid-two shot is taken of the two girls having a shot of alcohol connoting the the influence of how Shannon is influenced by Linda. A high angle shots used to highlight Shannon's vulnerability, juxtaposed to the low angle shot of Linda which connotes her power and dominance in the relationship between the two.
Theres a tracking shot followed by a tilt of the characters putting on their heels and fishnet tights. This shot follows the action so that its positioned centrally therefore obvious to the audience. A head-cam was used to reinforce the effect of a first person perspective whilst filming Shannon tidying up, this shot was shaky which is a common convention of social realism films. At the end of the film opening theres a zoom into the baby which adds impact after creating tension to the sudden realisation that Shannon is a teenage mum.
This scene follow the generic editing conventions of social realism films. Continuity is maintained in this scene by following the 180 degree rule and also the 30 degree rule is mostly followed apart from in one shot. This shot was the jump cut during Shannon and Linda's conversation this detracts the audience from the film by making editing obvious to them however this is only for a short time.
Theres a shot reverse shot with both characters looking into the mirror and then the camera looking back with a close-up as the mirror, which helps to anchor the binary opposition. This also gives the audience an idea of spacial continuity between the two characters.
The head-cam shows a point of view shot whilst Shannon is tidying up which connotes her struggle to balance her busy life of motherhood, social life and appearance.
An example of temporal editing in this clip is when a montage is used. The montage was used to speed up time of Shannon and Linda getting ready for a night out, this montage connotes an ellipsis of real time within the film.
We used quick cuts throughout our film in keeping with the common conventions of social realism keeping it simple, also so not to detract the audience from the social issue within the film and helping not to attract the audience to the audience which would take entices off the issue in hand.
Sound is used to create verisimilitude, continuity, and to engage the audience. A number of different forms of external digetic sound are used, the first example of this is the ambient sound of footsteps as the mum walks up the stairs this creates realism and also the volume of the footsteps connotes power over the teenagers. Dialogue is also used throughout this scene to help convey the relationship between the two girls. 'I'd been up a few times the night before', this example creates an enigma for the audience asking the question what had kept her up the night before. A sound effect of a smashing glass is used to add verisimilitude as Linda kicks it off the table, which signifies that the girls are care free.
Non-digetic music is also used in this scene, as the montage begins dance music is layered over it, this is incidental music as it builds up the audiences expectations of whats going to happen on the night out.Incidental music also occurs at the end of the scene with the sound effect as the camera zooms into the baby. This creates tension for the audience as the realisation that she is a teen mum becomes apparent. All of the editing in this film opening is synchronous because as something occurs visually, it also occurs aurally e.g. the the door closes you hear it close creating realism and continuity for the audience.
Monday, 6 April 2009
Friday, 3 April 2009
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Evaluation
In our media product we have used developed and challenged forms and conventions of real media products. From our research we found that often in social realism films that location is a working class environment, this convention is also seen in films such as 'Bullet Boy' and 'Kidulthood'. This often entails mise-en-scene such as run down buildings and un-kept surroundings. We demonstrated this in our product the opening establishing shot is of a council house in the local area which helps to reinforce this convention whilst also establishing the genre.
We also found that social realist films are usually set around a current issue in that area like in 'Billy Elliot' with the miners strike, however we felt that a prominent issue for today's working class society was teenage mothers, of which we included in the form of our central protagonist. Although we decided to go against the stereotype of the teenage mother being an outgoing, confident, and presently active but instead is introvert, academic and sexually inactive, meaning that we developed it from its typical form.
This was included to attract our target audience as it enabled to associate with the characters more easily.
Finally our media product challenged the convention of 'dry humour' in British films in the scene where Linda's reaction to Jens final choice of clothing attempts to create visual humour, facial and physical reaction, which could almost be classed as 'slapstick'. This form of humour could though entertaining to the audience could detract them from the genre.
In our film we have focused on one main social group. The general term for this group is 'youth' but in the media they're perceived as 'hoodies' and 'chav culture' which are both negative generalisations of the youth age group. An example of this can be found in the following newspaper headline:
We attracted our target audience by using a similar aged cast of characters and tackling similar issues to those which affect the target audience. Such as Shannon and Linda the main characters in our film opening are playing 16 year olds, one of which is a teenage mum. This is one of the simple ways in which we have been able to attract the audience. We have also used a number of different props such as make-up, straighteners and clothes to signify their age group and help the audience to relate more easily as they'll be familiar with these props most of which having their own as they're in fashion, which keeps our film opening up to date.
We also found that social realist films are usually set around a current issue in that area like in 'Billy Elliot' with the miners strike, however we felt that a prominent issue for today's working class society was teenage mothers, of which we included in the form of our central protagonist. Although we decided to go against the stereotype of the teenage mother being an outgoing, confident, and presently active but instead is introvert, academic and sexually inactive, meaning that we developed it from its typical form.
This was included to attract our target audience as it enabled to associate with the characters more easily.Finally our media product challenged the convention of 'dry humour' in British films in the scene where Linda's reaction to Jens final choice of clothing attempts to create visual humour, facial and physical reaction, which could almost be classed as 'slapstick'. This form of humour could though entertaining to the audience could detract them from the genre.
In our film we have focused on one main social group. The general term for this group is 'youth' but in the media they're perceived as 'hoodies' and 'chav culture' which are both negative generalisations of the youth age group. An example of this can be found in the following newspaper headline:
'Our nation of obsessive teen-haters must wake from its complacency. This Labour government has stayed silent while public attitudes to the effects of poverty on children have hardened' The Guardian, Friday 3 November 2006 (accessed online: 01/04/2009). This headline shows how the media representation on teens is has slowly been absorbed by the audience over time, this links to cultivation theory. This headline is contradicting this representation in a way similar to our film.
Our media product represents the 'youth' social group as being; sexually active, underage drinkers teens to appeal to the age group of 15-19years old.
Although our representation of social groups supports those of in the media, later in the film as the the characters cope with caring for the baby and also relationship issues the characters are represented as far more responsible than that of media representation, which is first signified by Shannon's personality as the opposite to what the audience may have perceived her to be.
In relation to this social group we have both attempted to 
reinforce and dismiss media representations, this gives the audience a chance to empathise with the characters, what would later in the film after gaining the stereotypical representation of them in opening.
However we didn't use a multicultural ethnic cast because our location Northern working class Britain is traditionally associated with Caucasian as majority.
The kind of media institution that may distribute our product would be 'The UK Film Council' which branches off into 'EM Media' and 'Screen Yorkshire', 'Screen Yorkshire' would be the most likely to fund our film because it usually funds regional films.
It would be most likely to be firstly distributed on the Internet at www.channelfour/film , and shown at film festivals such as 'Leeds young peoples film festival',if its such a film festival our film was to receive awards or become critically acclaimed it would mean that distribution could become more widely spread for example to be shown on E4.
'Film four' have the ability to distribute both online and on television which opens to vital distribution paths if i were to choose an institution such as that.
All of these media company's including Warp-x focus on producing and distributing British film, so would better know how to target my target audience.
Our media product represents the 'youth' social group as being; sexually active, underage drinkers teens to appeal to the age group of 15-19years old.
Although our representation of social groups supports those of in the media, later in the film as the the characters cope with caring for the baby and also relationship issues the characters are represented as far more responsible than that of media representation, which is first signified by Shannon's personality as the opposite to what the audience may have perceived her to be.
In relation to this social group we have both attempted to 
reinforce and dismiss media representations, this gives the audience a chance to empathise with the characters, what would later in the film after gaining the stereotypical representation of them in opening.However we didn't use a multicultural ethnic cast because our location Northern working class Britain is traditionally associated with Caucasian as majority.
The kind of media institution that may distribute our product would be 'The UK Film Council' which branches off into 'EM Media' and 'Screen Yorkshire', 'Screen Yorkshire' would be the most likely to fund our film because it usually funds regional films.
It would be most likely to be firstly distributed on the Internet at www.channelfour/film , and shown at film festivals such as 'Leeds young peoples film festival',if its such a film festival our film was to receive awards or become critically acclaimed it would mean that distribution could become more widely spread for example to be shown on E4.
'Film four' have the ability to distribute both online and on television which opens to vital distribution paths if i were to choose an institution such as that.
All of these media company's including Warp-x focus on producing and distributing British film, so would better know how to target my target audience.
There are a number of different groups that could be classed as being part of our broad target audience. we have been able to split these down into smaller groups to see how they directly apply to our media project. The groups that can link into a broad target audience are teenagers, the working class, females and parents.
Our primary target market, the one we encoded the product to target are female teenagers. This is our main target audience due to the social issue in the film being centred around this group. we have been able to target this group by encoding the film with a number of different things ranging from props to characters. We selected this as our primary audience because we felt that because we are in this audience we could work out how best to gauge their attention. By selecting the social issue of teen pregnancies we were able to transmit our target audience. By also incorporating props such as the bottle of Archers we again we using a social issue often covered by the national media of teen binge drinking. Again by doing this we were able to identify with female teenagers. Finally the two main protagonists in the opening two minutes of the film are in this group. Along with the social issues, props and characters we have been able to encode our product to identify the primary target audience.
We also have a few of secondary target audiences. Though the film is not encoded to attract these audiences, we feel that they may still be attracted due to the genre and social issues. These three audiences are the working class and also parents of teenage girls and also male teenagers. These audience will be attracted to the film because it looks at issues that they may deal with in their lives. This film also looks at the relationships between the teen girls and characters within these target audiences. These relationships give the audience groups something to relate to in the film which may help them identify and engage with the film.
Our primary target market, the one we encoded the product to target are female teenagers. This is our main target audience due to the social issue in the film being centred around this group. we have been able to target this group by encoding the film with a number of different things ranging from props to characters. We selected this as our primary audience because we felt that because we are in this audience we could work out how best to gauge their attention. By selecting the social issue of teen pregnancies we were able to transmit our target audience. By also incorporating props such as the bottle of Archers we again we using a social issue often covered by the national media of teen binge drinking. Again by doing this we were able to identify with female teenagers. Finally the two main protagonists in the opening two minutes of the film are in this group. Along with the social issues, props and characters we have been able to encode our product to identify the primary target audience.
We also have a few of secondary target audiences. Though the film is not encoded to attract these audiences, we feel that they may still be attracted due to the genre and social issues. These three audiences are the working class and also parents of teenage girls and also male teenagers. These audience will be attracted to the film because it looks at issues that they may deal with in their lives. This film also looks at the relationships between the teen girls and characters within these target audiences. These relationships give the audience groups something to relate to in the film which may help them identify and engage with the film.
We attracted our target audience by using a similar aged cast of characters and tackling similar issues to those which affect the target audience. Such as Shannon and Linda the main characters in our film opening are playing 16 year olds, one of which is a teenage mum. This is one of the simple ways in which we have been able to attract the audience. We have also used a number of different props such as make-up, straighteners and clothes to signify their age group and help the audience to relate more easily as they'll be familiar with these props most of which having their own as they're in fashion, which keeps our film opening up to date.
Our location is in a working class area in the North of England, this is a common convention off social-realism films, this is further anchored by the iconic sign of the casts northern accents. This attracts regional areas to the film as they're familiar with the surroundings, as well as a girls bedroom which helps to address the teenage girls audience. We have used simple locations and signs that help the audience to relate to the text which in turn attracts them too it.
We tackled the issue of teenage pregnancy and the stress of coping with juggling baby and social life, for both the mum and those around her. However the teenage mum wasn't stereotypical in her personality, as she wasn't that confident or slack off work. However she is hard working, quieter girl this attracted a wider social audience within female teenagers.
The speech was spoken in a northern accent which is a typical convention of social realist films, also the vocabulary was crafted to identify with the target audience, by using slang terms such as 'erugh no what a minger'.One of the props we used was a babies cot, of which we borrowed from one of our media teachers, as before this all we had was a wash basket stuffed with a pillow which didn't look realistic at all.Although the cot was a vast improvement from our innovative wash basket it still wasn't quite suitable for our genre in that a common convention of social realist films is the form that they're often set in underprivileged areas so wouldn't have much money for a new cot so would probably be a handed down cot.We tackled the issue of teenage pregnancy and the stress of coping with juggling baby and social life, for both the mum and those around her. However the teenage mum wasn't stereotypical in her personality, as she wasn't that confident or slack off work. However she is hard working, quieter girl this attracted a wider social audience within female teenagers.
From using technologies through the construction process of my product i have learnt how to use Imovie6. This was done during the construction of my microdrama, preliminary task and film opening in which i found out how to; cut, edit, add sound, transitions and titles. All of these were used in each of the three projects however I was able to progress and develop these skills through each of the projects. An example of this is in the cutting of each of the separate clips. In our microdrama we found that when cutting down clips we were taking a large amount of time and still leaving sections of the clip on that we didn't want. By the time we were reaching the end of the film opening I was able to quickly cut clips to a more precise point saving time and eliminating unwanted footage.
As it was the first time we had used these technologies we made a mistake during filming, we shot the scenes the first time 4:3 however the second time we shot in 16:9 giving the impression of a wide screen, due to time we were unable to re-film any of these, however next would obviously film it all the same way probably being in 16:9.
I also learnt how to use a SONY camcorder; where by i demonstrated my practical skills in cinematography. i have shot a number of different framing's, angles and movements. Through the three projects i have been able to develop my skill in each of these three areas. I have learnt how to use the camcorder to more precision whilst also developing my own skill and innovation away from the screenplay in both angles and framing's. The main areas I have improved with the camcorder is in zooms, pans and tilts. When shooting both the microdrama and preliminary task I found that I always made these shots quite jerky which would distract the audience. In our final production i had become more competent with the technology and found that i was able to shoot each of these to appear steady and smooth.
For our film opening i made a head-cam using a bicycle helmet and securing the camcorder to the top of it, it was then worn by myself as i played the character of Shannon for the shot using the head-cam whilst picking up a magazine and building blocks amongst other things, tidying them away.
For our film opening i made a head-cam using a bicycle helmet and securing the camcorder to the top of it, it was then worn by myself as i played the character of Shannon for the shot using the head-cam whilst picking up a magazine and building blocks amongst other things, tidying them away.
This helped the audience to feel empathy with the character as it gave them a first person perspective of Shannon's life. This was also an unusual shot compared to the rest of the shots used in the film which gave us another opportunity to further engage the audience.
The disadvantages of using a head-cam were that it was hard to keep the camera secured tightly to the helmet compromising its movement, also the movement s had to be emphasised to increase the apparent effect to the audience.However the advantages were that it allowed us to include an unusual shot in the film which helped us to engage the audience. It also meant that i had free movement of both hands making it easy to create the effect. It also meant that we did not have juggle two people during the shot, with one person shooting and one using their arms as Shannon.
Since producing the preliminary task there are a number of different areas in which I feel I have progressed and improved in. These include areas in editing, directing and cinematography. Ive learnt how to construct shot sequences more smoothly by achieving invisible editing. In the preliminary task we used a large range of transitions. This made it look disjointed, unprofessional and also distracted the audience. In our final production however we were able to choose transitions to make the film run smoothly and appear professional. Although we only used simple cuts, this was chosen for a reason, this being that it fitted with the conventions of the genre. Though i have improved my editing in some ways i feel there are places where i could further improve, such as half through the conversation between Shannon and Linda where a jump cut occurs.I was able to direct my casts speech and movement quite easily as they both take drama so were both great actresses, when compared to the preliminary task where the actors were other media students so untrained in acting.In the preliminary task i found it hard to converse my thoughts directly on the actors speech and movement to the actors themselves, which made it difficult for the audience to understand the plot of our film.The dialogue was also quite incoherent at times, which we improved on in our film opening by experimenting with numerous takes of the same shot varying the volume of the actresses voices each time, we also had a rehearsal which included the actresses reading out the lines in a loud clear voice.In our preliminary task our shots weren't very subjective in that the camera wasn't focused enough on the characters and their reactions but taken too far back so that neither emotion or speech could be seen nor heard clearly, making it difficult for the audience to follow.However in our film opening we discussed and planned cinematography thoroughly beforehand so that our filming process was efficient and backed up for most eventualities. We were also able to achieve objective filming more clearly in our film opening by using shot reaction shots combined with invisible editing and a head-cam, which provides the audience with a first person perspective of the film , encouraging empathy to be felt with the characters, in particular the central protagonist (Shannon). When Linda passes the phone to Shannon you can see that there is no text on the phone. If we were to produce this again this is one of the things along with the jump cut that we would improve. Though i feel i have improve vastly throughout the tasks, this shows that there are still areas i can develop in during my next production, particually paying attention to small details such as this.
Final synopsis/the pitch
Final Synopsis and Pitch: Girl coping as a teenage mum.
'This is England meets Mean Girls'
Distribution:Our film would be likely to be distributed by a media institution such as 'Screen Yorkshire', 'Warpx', 'Film Four' or 'Working Title'. As they all specialise in unique social realist films, a lot of which are set up north as ours is.
The Internet and film festivals will be the main source of distribution. This is because as first time producers it would be hard to gain funding for any other type on distribution. The Internet would allow us to distribute to a wide audience and easily receive audience feedback this could be done on www.channel4.com/film. Film festivals such as Leeds Young People's Film Festival would allow us to distribute direct to our target audience whilst also having a low cost.
'This is England meets Mean Girls'
Distribution:Our film would be likely to be distributed by a media institution such as 'Screen Yorkshire', 'Warpx', 'Film Four' or 'Working Title'. As they all specialise in unique social realist films, a lot of which are set up north as ours is.
The Internet and film festivals will be the main source of distribution. This is because as first time producers it would be hard to gain funding for any other type on distribution. The Internet would allow us to distribute to a wide audience and easily receive audience feedback this could be done on www.channel4.com/film. Film festivals such as Leeds Young People's Film Festival would allow us to distribute direct to our target audience whilst also having a low cost.
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Genre research and intertextual links
Our media product uses the form of wearing uniform to anchor age and put across pre-conceived thought of teenage girls, from the films; 'Kidulthood' and 'ST Trinians', it further develops this by changing the pre-conceived thoughts of the central protagonist as shes not loud and outgoing continually sexually active care free teenager as first thought but a quiet introvert loving teenage mum which unknown until the end of our film opening.
We also intertextually used the theory of narrative enigma by Levi Strauss from the film
'Collateral' as at the start of the film its unclear to the genre of the film, other than the suspicious 'bag drop', this incorporated into our story by the audience not knowing that Shannon is a teenage mum until the end of the opening apart from the conversation between her and Linda where Shannon says 'Oh, i was just tired, been up a few time the night before'.Our genre (social realism) needed simple low key lighting which is more plain and mundane, as oppose to Hollywood which is high key lighting so more glitz and glam.
'Collateral' as at the start of the film its unclear to the genre of the film, other than the suspicious 'bag drop', this incorporated into our story by the audience not knowing that Shannon is a teenage mum until the end of the opening apart from the conversation between her and Linda where Shannon says 'Oh, i was just tired, been up a few time the night before'.Our genre (social realism) needed simple low key lighting which is more plain and mundane, as oppose to Hollywood which is high key lighting so more glitz and glam.We saw this convention of lighting in 'Wish you were here', so tried to mimic the same lighting effects in our own film and did so successfully, using various lamps.
Another form used intertextually linking to 'Wish you were here' is the character name as (Sarah Jepson) as named Linda as the central protagonist in 'Wish you were here' is called as they have very similar personalities in the sense that they're both sexually active, confident and outgoing.
The location of the bedroom where the girls are intertextually links to 'Donkey Punch' where a group of girls are getting ready to go out together drinking etc in a bedroom, we therefore had our location in a girls bedroom with similar events taking place.
The location of the bedroom where the girls are intertextually links to 'Donkey Punch' where a group of girls are getting ready to go out together drinking etc in a bedroom, we therefore had our location in a girls bedroom with similar events taking place.
Our media film also needed the correct shoot style which is often more like documentary as oppose to Hollywood e.g. having shaky movements emphasises the realism as the audience can relate t it as if they were there as if it were them, our shaky movement were taken using a handheld camera as the she walks up the stairs in the second shot.
We then then use a headcam when the character Shannon is picking up toys a magazine etc which helps to connote and reflect her struggle as a teenage mum to do everything never having a spare moment for herself, this works well as the shot is seen by the central protagonists point of view.
We considered the possibility of making our film opening into a hybrid genre however decided it wasn't suitable for our particular story within this genre but could be moulded into a hybrid of social-realist/horror as carries on.
Genre Research: I felt that to be able to understand the genre of realism and to be able to use it effectively in media studies i had to do some research on the genre. For this i have used 'The Media Student's book, Third Edition' By Gill Branston and Roy Stafford. There is a huge chapter in this book and it focuses on realism's alone. 'Realism is a concept which writers and producers fight over- a politically charged term with an apparently obvious meaning, but also a long and varied history, which needs to be understood if it is going to be used effectively in media studies' Many reality TV programmes have developed from realist film, TV shows such as the channel 4 Big Brother. For genre research we also watched and analysed some social realist films, most of which were old so it was slightly difficult to link them to our film because our film is actually set in the 21st century but we did manage to pull out some links. One of the Films we analysed was 'Wish you were here' and one of the links we pulled out of this was that in this film there was a teenage girl who ended up having a baby and the same happened in our film, one of the teenage girls has a baby at a young age. Another one of the films we analysed was 'Bullet Boy' this had a link in with our film because it was actually set in a council house and our film was set at a council house. As well both our film and 'Bullet Boy' are aimed at a working class audience (C2DE).
Sound and music
We needed a soundtrack to go with our film when it got to the montage stage because at other times the characters use dialogue. For this we had to use Copyright free music and i did some research into which sites on the Internet to download the copyright free music from although i had to be careful of the royalty free music. i did however find some very useful websites of which i was able to download some music and some sound effects for as our film does also include sound effects of a door shutting and a glass smashing, some of these websites are :
htpp://freeplaymusic.com
www.Akmmusic.co.uk
www.soundzabound.com
www.Audio.lgfl.org.uk
www.Audiojungle.net
www.trackline.com
http://phlow-magazine.com
We needed music to fit in with our genre, the time/ century the film is set in and the age and the personalities of our characters so for this we needed fast paced hip music which was quite tricky to find.
In the end we hired a music specialist to produce us a piece of music as we couldn't find anything on the Internet we felt appropriate and that would fit in with our film.
htpp://freeplaymusic.com
www.Akmmusic.co.uk
www.soundzabound.com
www.Audio.lgfl.org.uk
www.Audiojungle.net
www.trackline.com
http://phlow-magazine.com
We needed music to fit in with our genre, the time/ century the film is set in and the age and the personalities of our characters so for this we needed fast paced hip music which was quite tricky to find.
In the end we hired a music specialist to produce us a piece of music as we couldn't find anything on the Internet we felt appropriate and that would fit in with our film.
Locations, mise-en-scene, costume, props
Our establishing/mastering shot is used to set the scene at the beginning of our film opening, we chose to take this shot of a house in a council estate because it best reflected the characters socio-economic group(C2DE[working class])/status of the characters, which also helped a wider audience identify with the characters, as they would now have pre-conceived views of the characters next on screen, it also helps to set the tone of itself and future scenes.
Both girls wear school uniforms at the beginning which provides anchorage for their young age (being underage drinkers)
They then change into more revealing provocative clothing which reflects their loose morals whilst under the influence of alcohol and others.
Make-up;lipgloss- the 'baby pink' lipgloss is used because its tacky so reflects age/maturity, low economic wealth and therefore working class, its also a signifier of whats to come, that Shannon (Jen Roberts) who uses the 'baby pink' lipgloss is actually a teenage mum and has a baby girl.
Linda staring into the mirror generously applying mascara connotes the pressure and struggle to look good in society today as well as metaphorically reflecting the struggles of life to cope with to come.
Alcohol;(wine glass/shot glasses/archers)- were all used as Linda (Sarah Jepson) drank from the wine glass, the wine glass is seen to be used by an older more sophisticated female, Linda drinking from this connotes that shes mimicking this ideology (possibly her mother) as she wants to be seen as grown up like this, however the opposite is achieved when she accidentally kicks and smashes it metaphorically smashing her ambitions for the night into pieces, it can only go downhill from here.
Linda is a more stereotypical character this is reflected through the shot of her using GHD straighteners as most girls with her age/older and status would use them everyday.
We used my sisters room to shoot the vast majority of the filming as it perfectly reflected our target audience and characters in the scene as their all generally of the same age, gender, ethnicity etc...
Within this room there are 4 walls, 3 of which are cream which connotes purity, with 1 being dark pink this last wall reflects the bad influence in Shannon's life despite being girly and pink its dark signifying a dark side to herself and life.
The duvet is white again reflecting purity but with multicoloured hearts on it which signifies Shannon is trying to please all that she likes/loves, but these hearts aren't coloured in reflecting her love is thinly spread and she needs help.
The pink feather bowers on the wardrobe door behind Shannon's (Jen Roberts[central protagonist]) head whilst shes sat talking to Linda (Sarah Jepson) connotes her fun and feminine side which led her to her downfall before the film (getting pregnant and having a baby), and that this crops up there and a lot in different shots reflects that its always there and will be forever just like the problem of being a teenage mum.
The fact that Shannon is sat on the floor in her own bedroom at a lower level to Linda who's on the bed reflect their statuses and the relationship between the 2 that Linda is in control and free because despite being a non-academic isn't tied down with a baby. It also connotes that Linda's more confident than Shannon.
This is mirrored in the film 'Bend it like Beckham' where Jules is in bed and Jess stood on the floor in this scene Jules has power as Jess comes to ask for forgiveness.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Hardware
We used a handheld SONY camcorder and DV tapes. On this we had a testing procedure where we checked; the focus setting because we used it in our film opening in a zoom of the baby in the last scene.
However we didn't altar the the white balance setting as we felt that the level it was already on reflected our genre well.
However we didn't altar the the white balance setting as we felt that the level it was already on reflected our genre well.
From pre-productions we learnt how to transfer footage from the camera to the macs via a leed this ensured no footage was lost during our final production.
In the shot of Shannon (Jen Roberts) tidying up we wanted to show the struggle of never having time for herself but always having to tidy up for other as well as herself, from her perspective, so we innovatory worked around this by designing a head-cam, this was done by sellotaping the camcorder to a bicycle helmet and worn by me, the shot then looks as if its from Shannon's eyes despite being worn by me and my arms in the shot still worked, as our arms looked very similar and didn't have any distinctive marks or nail varnish on.
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Group scenario
We incorporated Levi-Strauss' concept of binary opposition into our film opening with the character of Shannon (played by Jen Roberts) being a binary opposition of Linda (played by Sarah), as Linda who's a more outgoing sexually active, nonacademic character is the binary opposite of her best friend Shannon who's a quieter more well behaved character, this is established in the beginning of our film opening but later contradicted as its revealed Shannon is a teenage mum so effectively a binary opposition of her past self.
We also can loosely apply the narrative theory of Propp to our media film; in terms of the characters section, this is ideal for our target audience as we're all mainly indoctrinated from a young age to naturally follow props theory of 'fairytale'.
Social realism is our chosen genre and effectively a modern/21st century fairytale, also including small sections of post-modernism through using a montage of quick action cuts, as oppose to long continuous shots used in 'Wish You Were Here' and 'Halloween'.
1 The villain-Tom
2 The donor-mum
3 The hero- Mitch-nerd
4 The helper- Dave(Mitch's best friend)
5 The princess- Shannon
6 The dispatcher -Linda
7 The anti- Shannon dad
The idea that we have chosen to develop on is a social realism film following how a teenage girl and her friend cope with the first being a young mum. These girls both come from a working class background in the north of England. The opening of this film focuses on revealing to the audience that Shannon is a mum and is not just a normal teenager. The continuation of the film would follow Todorov's narrative structure. Above are the characters from the film set into Propp's character roles. This film mainly follows Shannon and Linda as the central protagonists. It follows how the two cope with Shannon being a teen mum and how they cope with it, it also looks at how the two try to regenerate her social life. With the introduction of Tom to Shannon's love life, he gives her the choice between him and her baby. This situation is resolved with the emergence of Mitch and his friend Dave. Shannon and Mitch fall for each other creating a new stable equilibrium.
The primary target audience for this film is females teenagers. However it may broaden beyond this.
We also can loosely apply the narrative theory of Propp to our media film; in terms of the characters section, this is ideal for our target audience as we're all mainly indoctrinated from a young age to naturally follow props theory of 'fairytale'.
Social realism is our chosen genre and effectively a modern/21st century fairytale, also including small sections of post-modernism through using a montage of quick action cuts, as oppose to long continuous shots used in 'Wish You Were Here' and 'Halloween'.
1 The villain-Tom
2 The donor-mum
3 The hero- Mitch-nerd
4 The helper- Dave(Mitch's best friend)
5 The princess- Shannon
6 The dispatcher -Linda
7 The anti- Shannon dad
The idea that we have chosen to develop on is a social realism film following how a teenage girl and her friend cope with the first being a young mum. These girls both come from a working class background in the north of England. The opening of this film focuses on revealing to the audience that Shannon is a mum and is not just a normal teenager. The continuation of the film would follow Todorov's narrative structure. Above are the characters from the film set into Propp's character roles. This film mainly follows Shannon and Linda as the central protagonists. It follows how the two cope with Shannon being a teen mum and how they cope with it, it also looks at how the two try to regenerate her social life. With the introduction of Tom to Shannon's love life, he gives her the choice between him and her baby. This situation is resolved with the emergence of Mitch and his friend Dave. Shannon and Mitch fall for each other creating a new stable equilibrium.
The primary target audience for this film is females teenagers. However it may broaden beyond this.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Target audience and BBFC
The age group that our media product is targeting is about 15-19 years old, as our film has a similar aged cast of which this age audience (youth culture) will easily be able to relate to whilst sticking within the BBFC ratings.
When we compared it to the film 'Adventureland' on the BBFC website our film had much the same criteria for the classification of a 15 which were that it 'contains strong language and soft drug use'(directed by Greg Mottola) as did 'The boat that rocked' which 'contains strong language and moderate sex references' (directed by Richard Curtis)
After this comparison with other BBFC rated films we felt confident in labeling our short film opening as a 15, as our film 'contains strong language and soft drug use'.
Our film opening does only include a Caucasian cast however we feel it'll appeal to a wide range of ethnic groups as many mainstream productions continue to sideline mainstream talent, but don't seem to suffer commercially for this, its therefore gained a hegemonic status.
This film is primarily aimed at the female gender as the cast are all female and our genre is social realism which usually appeals to the more educated viewer (ed reading) which females generally are when looking at GCSE grade statistics http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=1892
'Film has been called an instrument of the male gaze, producing representations of women, the good life, and sexual fantasy from a male point of view' (Schroeder 1998, 208). We took the male gaze into account in having 2 different representations of women 1 appealing more towards females (sensible) the other more towards males (sexually available) i.e. an attractive girl wearing a low cut top or short skirt.
'Film has been called an instrument of the male gaze, producing representations of women, the good life, and sexual fantasy from a male point of view' (Schroeder 1998, 208). We took the male gaze into account in having 2 different representations of women 1 appealing more towards females (sensible) the other more towards males (sexually available) i.e. an attractive girl wearing a low cut top or short skirt.
The class profile of our characters is generally C2DE, meaning that it will appeal to those classes as they're more likely to be able to relate to the issues tackled but without ignoring the more sophisticated ABC1 audience as they will find it easier to watch without being boring as it may require some partial ed reading.
Our cast are from Yorkshire so do have Northern accents which may make it difficult in the box office rating as theres not much cross-over appeal, so we would at least aim for the UK-wide audience, as we don't maintain a hegemonic status.
Distributors such as 'Working Title' would be a good company for distribution of our film as it maintains strong brand loyalty after the success of films like, 'Billy Elliot' and 'The full Monty', which are both set ,up North with Northern accents and of the genre social realism. However if distributed by Warp-X we would probably only do well up North where the audience can relate easier to the film such as that fate of the film 'This is England', (set up,up North, with Northern accents, genre:social realism).
Some films that could be linked to our film, to help communicate the ideas behind it are; 'Kidulthood' in that they're both social realism films , with the same aged cast and both aimed at the youth culture, we could also refer it to 'Wish you were here' as both films have females as the central protagonist, both include a teenage pregnancy, aimed at the same audience and are social realist films, all these features from the 2 films will help the audience to identify to ours in that their fans will want to see our film.
Some films that could be linked to our film, to help communicate the ideas behind it are; 'Kidulthood' in that they're both social realism films , with the same aged cast and both aimed at the youth culture, we could also refer it to 'Wish you were here' as both films have females as the central protagonist, both include a teenage pregnancy, aimed at the same audience and are social realist films, all these features from the 2 films will help the audience to identify to ours in that their fans will want to see our film.
Unfortunately we were unable to directly target the 'pink pound' besides the revealing clothing worn by the girls as it wasn't applicable for our particular social realism film.
Our typical would-be-punter is likely to be a typical female teenager (aged 15-19), under age drinker, sexually active, within the socio-economic group of C2DE, likely to be placed by the media in 'hoody' or 'chav' stereotype/culture.
'Maslows hierarchy of needs' as its basically a pyramid system hierarchy for motivation, it has many levels and all levels must be completed before a state of self-motivations reached.
This links to my target audience as psychologically my consumers are likely to be in the 'safety/love and belonging levels of the pyramid, as they may not be in a loving satisfying relationship or be in steady employment. My film relates to people in this level as the characters in the film are also in this level and deal with similar issues relating to 'Maslows hierarchy of needs', so the audience are more likely to feel empathy with and understand the characters and their story.
The characters in our film and a lot of our target audience therefore lack self motivation so are unable to move on emotionally grow or mature they're in a mental state of paralysis.
'Maslows hierarchy of needs' as its basically a pyramid system hierarchy for motivation, it has many levels and all levels must be completed before a state of self-motivations reached.
This links to my target audience as psychologically my consumers are likely to be in the 'safety/love and belonging levels of the pyramid, as they may not be in a loving satisfying relationship or be in steady employment. My film relates to people in this level as the characters in the film are also in this level and deal with similar issues relating to 'Maslows hierarchy of needs', so the audience are more likely to feel empathy with and understand the characters and their story.
The characters in our film and a lot of our target audience therefore lack self motivation so are unable to move on emotionally grow or mature they're in a mental state of paralysis.
Microdrama
From the process of constructing our microdrama ive learnt how to use the technology;apple macs and the software imovie in which ui learnt how to cut and edit a short film whilst incorporating transitions, sound and title sequenceing.
I also learnt how to use a sony handheld camera and tripod, all of which are demonstrated in our microdrama, preliminary task and film opening.
For our microdrama we used Todorovs narrative theory;
Stage 1A state of equilibrium is defined.
Conor has a magic lipgloss once applyed gives him magical powers such as the ability to fly.
Stage 2Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or crisis.
Tom and Toby steall the lipgloss fromConor and use it
Stage3The Character(s) recognition that there has been a disruption, setting goals to resolve problem.
Toby becomes addicted to using the lipgloss meaning the powers now in the wrong hands
Stage4The Character(s) attempt to repair the disruption, obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.
Tom Amelia and Conor try to reteive the lipgloss from him to stop the madness
Stage5Reinstatment to the equilibrium. Situation is resolved, a conclusion is announced.
Toby dies after falling from a great height
A breif explanation of the terms:
omniscient narrator- a narrator that knows about everything happening in the story ie plot, characters all perspectives etc
linear narrative- like a story organized in a linear sequence literally goers from begining to middle to end without any deviation eg tracing relationships with cause and effect, as oppose to a non-linear narrative- is where events arent in chronological order so the stories mixed up eg to mimic the structure and recall of human memory
Friday, 13 March 2009
Genre: social realism
BBFC: 15
Target audience: 15-19 mostly female teenagers
Narrative: The film starts with 2 teenage girls around 14-15 getting ready for a night out, both of which are from a working class background (C2 or D) living in a council estate.
As they leave the house its made apparent to the audience that one of the girls is a teenage mum.
I'm going to use a variety of different shot types in my film opening, each of which will help connote meaning and portray the preferred reading to the audience. These will include shots such as low angle of girl 1 sat on the bed connoting power within the girls friendship, once the girls leave, a panning shot from the door to the baby highlights the issue of teenage pregnancy which in turn helps identify the genre, rule of thirds is used when both girls are using the mirror to connote a binary opposition between the 2, a range of close-ups are also used to help identify the narrative e.g. a close-up of the girls applying make-up. An eyeline match is used when the 2 girls are looking into the mirror, I've also used the 180 degree rule throughout to maintain continuity. For my transitions simple cuts will be used to further anchor the genre of social realism.
Sound and music- Near the beginning of the scene digetic incidental music is used to reflect the change in mood.At the end of scene I'm going to use non-digetic incidental music as the door closes the music slows to an almost sombre level as the camera pans across to the baby to create sympathy for the baby.
The location used is outside a house in a council estate, and my sisters bedroom. In the mise-en-scene we are going to use natural lighting in the bedroom, use a number of props the main ones of which will be a bottle of alcohol, the make-up, homework and magazine. For costume the girls start off in school uniform to anchor they're ages, then change into more revealing outfits for going out in, which matures their look.
Characters/casting-We considered what our main characters would look like but due to availability we are going to use 2 of our friends, but who do meet some of the character requirements needed. Both of the characters link into the 'chav' culture, this stereotype is reinforced with the under age drinking and teenage mum. However a counter type is created with girl 2 completing her homework as you wouldn't expect a girl within this culture to be concerned with the aspect of education.
Our film opening can be intertextually linked to 'Kes' and 'Wish you were here' because both use teenagers as the central protagonist.
BBFC: 15
Target audience: 15-19 mostly female teenagers
Narrative: The film starts with 2 teenage girls around 14-15 getting ready for a night out, both of which are from a working class background (C2 or D) living in a council estate.
As they leave the house its made apparent to the audience that one of the girls is a teenage mum.
I'm going to use a variety of different shot types in my film opening, each of which will help connote meaning and portray the preferred reading to the audience. These will include shots such as low angle of girl 1 sat on the bed connoting power within the girls friendship, once the girls leave, a panning shot from the door to the baby highlights the issue of teenage pregnancy which in turn helps identify the genre, rule of thirds is used when both girls are using the mirror to connote a binary opposition between the 2, a range of close-ups are also used to help identify the narrative e.g. a close-up of the girls applying make-up. An eyeline match is used when the 2 girls are looking into the mirror, I've also used the 180 degree rule throughout to maintain continuity. For my transitions simple cuts will be used to further anchor the genre of social realism.
Sound and music- Near the beginning of the scene digetic incidental music is used to reflect the change in mood.At the end of scene I'm going to use non-digetic incidental music as the door closes the music slows to an almost sombre level as the camera pans across to the baby to create sympathy for the baby.
The location used is outside a house in a council estate, and my sisters bedroom. In the mise-en-scene we are going to use natural lighting in the bedroom, use a number of props the main ones of which will be a bottle of alcohol, the make-up, homework and magazine. For costume the girls start off in school uniform to anchor they're ages, then change into more revealing outfits for going out in, which matures their look.
Characters/casting-We considered what our main characters would look like but due to availability we are going to use 2 of our friends, but who do meet some of the character requirements needed. Both of the characters link into the 'chav' culture, this stereotype is reinforced with the under age drinking and teenage mum. However a counter type is created with girl 2 completing her homework as you wouldn't expect a girl within this culture to be concerned with the aspect of education.
Our film opening can be intertextually linked to 'Kes' and 'Wish you were here' because both use teenagers as the central protagonist.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Feedback
When we asked our class (which are our target audience) what they thought was the target audience for our film, they said they thought it was they're kind of age i.e. teenagers.
Emily Outerside: Thought we attracted the teen target audience through the music used which is quite stereotypically girly dance music.
Sophie Gannon: Thought the fast pace editing identified with the target audiences way of life, and was intertextually liked to many other films aimed at our target audience.
Laura Beck:Thought that having the title 'Thursday Night' over the scene of the council house at the beginning of our film helped to establish the time and setting of our film, as well as the socio-economic group of the characters.
She also liked the narrative enigma, Alex Snowden agreed saying that the twist kept the audience on their toes wanting to watch more of the film and find out the story behind the baby, also signifying the socio-economic group of the central protagonists being C2DE helping to attract a wide target audience who were able to relate to the issues in-hand.
Georgi Cooke: Thought that the cuts being in synchronisation with the music worked well as it enthisized the actresses movement, keeping the audience interested, although using actress with more common accents may have helped anchor the location more thoroughly, including the genre of the film being social realism a more deliberate Northern accent would be a common convention.
We did take this into account (despite both actresses being from up North) requesting the actress's to speak in a more deliberate Northern accent when we re-filmed certain shots and added in others, however if we'd had more time we'd have filmed it all in this way, as making they're accents quite obviously Northern is a key convention to social realist films however may have narrowed it down to a more regional target audience.
Tom Copland: Thought although the actresses age connoted the target audience for our film including slightly more stereotypically central protagonists at a slightly older age may have helped further anchor the prefferd reading of target audience for our film.
If we had enough time to do this we would have done, as it would help to attract a wider target audience.
George Needham: Enjoyed the choice of shot angles we used however thought it may have worked better if we'd filmed the whole film on the same setting i.e. all on wide screen.
If we were able to re-film the film we would have done so in this way, as it would have improved the depth of field giving a wider view to our audience and looked more presentable throughout, however we didn't have enough time to do so.
Rough cuts
These first two shots were intended as two separate over the shoulder shots to show facial expressions and reactions of both of the characters through their conversations. However after we had filmed the first shots we put the conversation together and realized that throughout the conversation we didn't actually have many shot varieties and they were all the same over the shoulder shots so we wanted some variation and we re-shot the shot as a two shot with both the characters in the same shot. Even though i thought the second shot of jenny saying 'its in for tomorrow' was a good shot we changed it due to shot varieties.
The first of these two shots is of Sarah (Linda) telling Jenny (Shannon) that she doesn't really need to do the work as she is getting high grades anyway and to get the party started! We chose to re-take this shot for a number of reasons. one of these reasons is because when Sarah saying to Jenny ' what do you care your getting A's anyway' this doesn't signify that Jenny is from a working class background because stereotypically working class teenagers don't so as well at school as middle and upper class teenagers do. So we didn't feel that this was appropriate and that it didn't fit in with our genre or story line for that matter. Another reason why we chose to re-take this shot is because wee felt that 'lets get the party started' also didn't fit in with our genre of realism because when your at a friends getting ready you don't usually say that its slightly unreal and more fake we wanted something a little more casual. So really we didn't feel that this shot fit in or was appropriate for our approach.
There were many reasons why we did a re-take of the next shot. when we did a re-take we shot the exact same, the dialogue was the same it was just a few things that we changed. One of the things we didn't think was right with this shot was the fact that we wanted to show that jenny (Shannon) did actually care about her baby as we find out at the very end of the opening few minuets that she has had a baby although there are things that signify this throughout the opening few minuets. We didn't think that even a mother at a young age would go out not thinking or caring about her baby, she is still going out but just showing she cares. Another big problem we had with this shot is that we could find a babies cot in time for filming so we used a washing basket in this shot to put the baby in but when we put this shot in with all of the other shots we realized that it didn't look realistic at all so we knew we had to change it because of that, i think that was the main factor why we changed it.
There were many reasons why we did a re-take of the next shot. when we did a re-take we shot the exact same, the dialogue was the same it was just a few things that we changed. One of the things we didn't think was right with this shot was the fact that we wanted to show that jenny (Shannon) did actually care about her baby as we find out at the very end of the opening few minuets that she has had a baby although there are things that signify this throughout the opening few minuets. We didn't think that even a mother at a young age would go out not thinking or caring about her baby, she is still going out but just showing she cares. Another big problem we had with this shot is that we could find a babies cot in time for filming so we used a washing basket in this shot to put the baby in but when we put this shot in with all of the other shots we realized that it didn't look realistic at all so we knew we had to change it because of that, i think that was the main factor why we changed it.
The group
There are two of us in our Group, myself and Amelia Crossley. I decided to work with Amelia because she is one of my good friends and we work well together. We both had similar ideas which meant it was easier to come up with our final idea and we both live near each other so this was perfect for filming purposes and organising things. We both put in the same amount of work so we haven't split things up we just work together on everything.
Cinematography and editing
We decided to use the shot of Linda saying 'That's sorted then, lets get ready' as a link to our quick cut richly filled montage, as oppose to Linda saying 'Lets get this party started' as it better suited our genre and appealed more to the target audience, as the 2nd option could be described as cringey not managing to get the point across.
We also decided to use a mid-angle 2 shot near the beginning of the conversation between Linda and Shannon, to better establish the location and status of the characters, it also provided us with a wider variety of shots and helped create spacial awareness and the relationship between characters. As oppose to more close-ups and shot-reaction-shots as we already had a lot of these.
We used many close-ups within shot-reaction-shots to convey the emotion felt from the speech in conversation, seeing the characters direct reactions helped the audience to relate to the characters emotions more easily.
We chose to use quick cuts as our transitions because, this is an editing convention in social realist films so not to distract the audience from the social issue. In other genres fancier transitions e.g 'dissolve' are used to engage the audience in a less impacting storyline. Or maintain continuity as a transitions like 'warp out' links to the theme of sci-fi which is a film genre.
Software
From the process of constructing our microdrama I've learnt how to use the technology;apple macs and the software Imovie6 in which ui learnt how to cut and edit a short film whilst incorporating transitions, sound and title sequencing.
I also learnt how to use a Sony handheld camera and tripod, all of which are demonstrated in our microdrama, preliminary task and film opening.
I also learnt how to use a Sony handheld camera and tripod, all of which are demonstrated in our microdrama, preliminary task and film opening.
When using Imovie6 i found it easy to pick up and develop my skills efficiently so was quite simple to use once shown how and exploration of the software had taken place.
Once i was able to use it well i found that it contained a very useful wide range of editing tools;cut, transitions, opening titles, ending credits and sound effects, which were suitable for a variety of genres.
However it was sometimes difficult to navigate, and i was unable to have multiple layers of films or sound.Also using the same clip multiple times proved difficult.
Casting
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Jenny Roberts (Shannon) Ellen Page
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Sarah Jepson (Linda) Amanda Seyfried
I consider my cast appropriate as they're of similar age and look similar to already famous actresses who play similar roles.
Jen Roberts and Ellen Page share the same body type, facial features, ethnicity and hairstyle/colouring. Also Ellen Page acted as the central protagonist in a film called 'Juno' in which she played a teenage pregnant mother, which relates to Jen developing that convention in our media product further as our films about coping with the baby once born. The character of 'Juno' is also less outgoing and a bit nerdy, which is how Jen plays her character of Shannon.
Sarah Jepson and Amanda Seyfried also share the same body type, facial features, ethnicity and hairstyle/colouring. Amanda Seyfried stared in a film named 'Mean Girls' in which she was both a bad influence to friends and had been badly influenced by friends, she was also portrayed as a ditsy non-academic all these features were included in Sarah's character.
Our media product represents the particular social groups of youths/working class by showing characters within the same socio-economic group (C2DE)dealing with the same common issues and acting in stereotypical ways for this group, e.g underage drinking, sexually active etc..., however does have a slight binary opposition for comparison as Shannon despite being a teenage mum in this group isn't portrayed as a outgoing 'tart' but a more introvert nerd, this would therefore address a wider audience.These issues provide something for the audience to relate to.
The convention of 'tartyness' is reinforced by the girls wearing uniforms at the beginning which is used from the media products of films; 'ST Trinians' and 'Kidulthood', however developed by Jens personality which doesn't match the common stereotype although her past actions of being a teenage mum do so, this is anchored by her making her self up (hair and make-up) and wearing revealing provocative clothing.
The form of outgoing was used by Linda being a louder and more outgoing, sexually active character used from the media product of the film 'Wish You Were Here', where the central protagonist is also like this as well as intertextuallity having the same name.
We also attracted our audience by having a the same gender, ethnicity and similar age cast whilst including 1 minor role which was a middle-aged character (Shannons mum), this could possibly give the chance for mothers and daughters to watch along together as they may be going through similar issues as they do in the film.
Production schedule and production notes
Week commencing: 16th March
Monday 16th march
master establishing shot of house (external)
Hand held camera, point of view shot tilting up the stairs (internal)
Tuesday 17th March
mid shots, mid angles (conversation) (internal)
mid shots, high angles (conversation) (internal)
two shot, mid shot, slightly high angle (conversation) (internal)
high angle shots (conversation) (internal)
Wednesday 18th March
close up shots (montage) (internal)
Extreme close up shots (montage) (internal)
Head cam (montage) (internal)
Walking away from camera (montage) (internal)
zoom shot (montage) (internal)
During shooting we did however have to make changes and editions to the screenplay which meant scheduling re-shoots. We noticed the need for these shots during our initial editing of the opening. By arranging these re-shoots we were able to increase our coverage whilst also giving extra time to create new content both in the screenplay and also spontaneously during the shoot. We did the re-shoots the following week so that we were able to incorporate the new shots quickly.
Monday 16th march
master establishing shot of house (external)
Hand held camera, point of view shot tilting up the stairs (internal)
Tuesday 17th March
mid shots, mid angles (conversation) (internal)
mid shots, high angles (conversation) (internal)
two shot, mid shot, slightly high angle (conversation) (internal)
high angle shots (conversation) (internal)
Wednesday 18th March
close up shots (montage) (internal)
Extreme close up shots (montage) (internal)
Head cam (montage) (internal)
Walking away from camera (montage) (internal)
zoom shot (montage) (internal)
During shooting we did however have to make changes and editions to the screenplay which meant scheduling re-shoots. We noticed the need for these shots during our initial editing of the opening. By arranging these re-shoots we were able to increase our coverage whilst also giving extra time to create new content both in the screenplay and also spontaneously during the shoot. We did the re-shoots the following week so that we were able to incorporate the new shots quickly.
Screenplay
Name: Thursday Night.
By Amelia Crossley and Josie Mears.
Pre Productions Script. 06.03.09
AJ Productions
1. EXT-OUTSIDE COUNCIL HOUSE IN A DEPRIEVED AREA.
2. INSIDE HOUSE.
One MOTHER in her late 30’s is walking up the stairs towards a room where GIRL 1 and GIRL 2 are situated. Mother opens the door.
MOTHER
Just off out for a bit girls … see you later!
3. IN THE GIRL’S BEDROOM.
GIRL 1 is sat on the bed reading a cheap magazine wearing a tight bright top and jeans with lots of makeup on. GIRL 2 is sat on the floor ahead of GIRL 1 doing academic homework, wearing jeans and a plain, dull, loose top. GIRL 1 looks up.
GIRL 1
Stop being so boring.
GIRL 2
What?
GIRL 1
Seriously you need to get out more!
GIRL 2
But its due in tomorrow.
GIRL 2
Its not that easy you know, especially for me.
GIRL 1
you can let your hair down once in a while you know! Oh My God did you see Vicky's skirt today, how short it was?!
GIRL 2
Oh right yeah. so are you excited abut seeing tom after Dave's last weekend?
GIRL 1
Eurgh no what a minger that was a total mistake! Anyway what was up with you that night?
GIRL 2
Oh i was just a bit tired, been up a lot the night before.
(looking over to her right)
Anyway i thought you liked tom?!
GIRL 1
Not half as much as i like his mate!
GIRL 1 texting on her phone while GIRL 2 rolling her eyes.
GIRL 1
Whats wrong with that? I'm only having a good time.
GIRL 1 passing her phone to GIRL 2. GIRL 2 gives GIRL 1 a slight smile.
GIRL 1
That's sorted then, lets get ready!
GIRL 1 pouring alcohol in shot glasses. GIRL 2 stood behind wardrobe as she hands out a skirt and then comes out of the wardrobe herself. GIRL 1 stood in front of the wardrobe and puts her thumb down. GIRL 2 stood just out of the wardrobe nods her head and throws the skirt onto the bed. GIRL 1 looks into a mirror and is layering mascara, already has eye shadow on. Head cam used showing GIRL 2 picking magazine, calculator and baby toys up. GIRL 2 gets up from the floor and walks over to the bed and puts the things she has picked up under the bed.GIRL 2 puts lip gloss on as if she is looking into a mirror. GIRL 1 is stood in front of the mirror straightening her hair. Both GIRLS in the shot facing each other taking a shot of alcohol. GIRL 2 walks out of the wardrobe with a dress in her hand and faces the camera with a smile on her face. GIRL 1 stands in front of the wardrobe with a glass in her hand drinking out of it and put her thumb up, enthusiastically. GIRL 2 puts her shoe on while GIRL 1 is putting tights on who then lifts her leg up as she is reaching for the bottle of alcohol and knocks a glass over which then smashes. Both GIRLS are now in the shot, take a look down to where the glass is and then look at each other a laugh. Still with both GIRLS in the shot they again take a shot of alcohol. Both GIRLS looking in the mirror fixing their hair. Side shot of the girls still looking in the mirror. GIRL 1 walks towards the door and looks back as she is going through the door.
GIRL 1
Come on then Shannon lets go!
GIRL 2
Coming!
GIRL 1 has left the room and GIRL 2 is walking towards the door, turns the light off but then walks towards baby in cot, kisses her hand and places it on the baby's head. GIRL 2 then continues to walk out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Camera then zooms into the baby sleeping in the cot.
By Amelia Crossley and Josie Mears.
Pre Productions Script. 06.03.09
AJ Productions
1. EXT-OUTSIDE COUNCIL HOUSE IN A DEPRIEVED AREA.
2. INSIDE HOUSE.
One MOTHER in her late 30’s is walking up the stairs towards a room where GIRL 1 and GIRL 2 are situated. Mother opens the door.
MOTHER
Just off out for a bit girls … see you later!
3. IN THE GIRL’S BEDROOM.
GIRL 1 is sat on the bed reading a cheap magazine wearing a tight bright top and jeans with lots of makeup on. GIRL 2 is sat on the floor ahead of GIRL 1 doing academic homework, wearing jeans and a plain, dull, loose top. GIRL 1 looks up.
GIRL 1
Stop being so boring.
GIRL 2
What?
GIRL 1
Seriously you need to get out more!
GIRL 2
But its due in tomorrow.
GIRL 2
Its not that easy you know, especially for me.
GIRL 1
you can let your hair down once in a while you know! Oh My God did you see Vicky's skirt today, how short it was?!
GIRL 2
Oh right yeah. so are you excited abut seeing tom after Dave's last weekend?
GIRL 1
Eurgh no what a minger that was a total mistake! Anyway what was up with you that night?
GIRL 2
Oh i was just a bit tired, been up a lot the night before.
(looking over to her right)
Anyway i thought you liked tom?!
GIRL 1
Not half as much as i like his mate!
GIRL 1 texting on her phone while GIRL 2 rolling her eyes.
GIRL 1
Whats wrong with that? I'm only having a good time.
GIRL 1 passing her phone to GIRL 2. GIRL 2 gives GIRL 1 a slight smile.
GIRL 1
That's sorted then, lets get ready!
GIRL 1 pouring alcohol in shot glasses. GIRL 2 stood behind wardrobe as she hands out a skirt and then comes out of the wardrobe herself. GIRL 1 stood in front of the wardrobe and puts her thumb down. GIRL 2 stood just out of the wardrobe nods her head and throws the skirt onto the bed. GIRL 1 looks into a mirror and is layering mascara, already has eye shadow on. Head cam used showing GIRL 2 picking magazine, calculator and baby toys up. GIRL 2 gets up from the floor and walks over to the bed and puts the things she has picked up under the bed.GIRL 2 puts lip gloss on as if she is looking into a mirror. GIRL 1 is stood in front of the mirror straightening her hair. Both GIRLS in the shot facing each other taking a shot of alcohol. GIRL 2 walks out of the wardrobe with a dress in her hand and faces the camera with a smile on her face. GIRL 1 stands in front of the wardrobe with a glass in her hand drinking out of it and put her thumb up, enthusiastically. GIRL 2 puts her shoe on while GIRL 1 is putting tights on who then lifts her leg up as she is reaching for the bottle of alcohol and knocks a glass over which then smashes. Both GIRLS are now in the shot, take a look down to where the glass is and then look at each other a laugh. Still with both GIRLS in the shot they again take a shot of alcohol. Both GIRLS looking in the mirror fixing their hair. Side shot of the girls still looking in the mirror. GIRL 1 walks towards the door and looks back as she is going through the door.
GIRL 1
Come on then Shannon lets go!
GIRL 2
Coming!
GIRL 1 has left the room and GIRL 2 is walking towards the door, turns the light off but then walks towards baby in cot, kisses her hand and places it on the baby's head. GIRL 2 then continues to walk out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Camera then zooms into the baby sleeping in the cot.
Common codes and conventions of film openings
'Wish you were here'
Released in 1987
Produced by Sarah Radcliffe
Written and directed by David Leland
Music by Stanley Myres
Film 4 Zenith production in association with Working Titles
image of young blond girl connotes innocence wearing gas mask reflects time frame of 1950's after the war, edited shot in black and white further anchors the preferred reading of the time it was set, non-digetic wave sound is played which turns into digetic sounds it fades into establishing shot panning along screen of location-typical British seaside (cold weather) also using a grey filter over the scene which anchors the preferred reading of the genre social realism, as this makes it look dull typical of most social realist films juxtaposed to the sunny glamour of hollywood movies.
The red text of actor/actress's names fades in and out giving a sense of unease when mixed with a dull scene and upbeat music, which creates tension.
The rule of thirds suggests that humans naturally read from left to right, the actress who plays the central protagonists name appears on the left so that the audience is drawn to hers first, creating importance before reading the co stars name, as we read a picture in the same way, this is accompanied by digetic asynchronous sound of the waves and seagulls along with the postcard style title incidentally named further anchors the preffered reading of the location being by the seaside, along with the iconography of a broken pier to reflect it being past its 'glory days'.
Something else social realist films use as a common convention to anchor their genre is to show typically British day to day mundane tasks, such as walking the dog as this film does with a man walking his dog along the beach, this enable the British audience to relate to the film more easily as they've found something in common forming a kind of relationship between the 2, therefore symbolising that its a social realist film.
The camera then slowly pans towards the left of the screen whilst zooming out at the same time , probably done by using a crane, this give the audience the bigger picture to look at.
A woman's voice now starts to sing along with the music her lyrics being incidental (also ironic) to the film, also using exposition as the style of music is typical of the 50's, so helps to inform the audience of the time in which it was set.
The camera is then zooming out partially subjectively from the deck chair which stuck in the railing this is a symbol which signifies somethings not quite right including an element of paralysis linking into conventions of tragedy as its an omen foreshadowing the central protagonists future as there is then a visual bridge to her from here on we know shes going to be different from other characters at the time as she rides her bike into the shot creating more association between the 2, as the other deck chairs stand orderly not paralysed but able to be moved and moulded by society.
As she does this she the central protagonist rides past a woman wearing yellow pushing a pram this is a prophetic visual bridge to her for and the3 end of the film, as she ends up having a baby pushing the pram wearing yellow in the final scene, anchoring the theme that she never really grows and moves on.
The central protagonist is blond and wearing a pink dress connoting femininity but a binary opposite of her character being a strong woman riding a bike so fast.The camera zooms in on her face shes wearing little make-up and has short messy hair reflecting her up front personality and although shes blond she still has short hair which is a male like tendency making her less of a binary opposite as looks slightly like a boy.
The blue windmill attached to the front of her bike connotes innocence, as its a childlike tendency to customize your bike in this way, the blue windmill is a symbol of her demise out of control as she rides faster it spins faster which represents her getting her self deeper and deeper into trouble not being able to stop-loss of control.
The sound then turns digetic as she rides past a dancing woman on a box, who's old tanned and in a short orange dress this signifies the the seediness of the town but that they keep hope till the end.
The British flags are an iconic sign, by the side of her are an example of iconography, helping to anchor the location and even genre as Britain is famous for social realist films, the scene then fades out to black along with the music.
Train Spotting:Genre of this film is social realism. Train spotting is aimed at a specific
audience and that is youths. In the opening few minuets there is fast paced music-Iggy pop- which then goes into a sound bridge. The first thing you actually see on screen is the main character running towards the camera. There is then a voice over so there is an internal narrative. The film starts off with young people dealing with drugs and a baby in the room. The first few minuets show this which make the audience want to carry on watching it because they want to know what happens to the characters.
Released in 1987
Produced by Sarah Radcliffe
Written and directed by David Leland
Music by Stanley Myres
Film 4 Zenith production in association with Working Titles
image of young blond girl connotes innocence wearing gas mask reflects time frame of 1950's after the war, edited shot in black and white further anchors the preferred reading of the time it was set, non-digetic wave sound is played which turns into digetic sounds it fades into establishing shot panning along screen of location-typical British seaside (cold weather) also using a grey filter over the scene which anchors the preferred reading of the genre social realism, as this makes it look dull typical of most social realist films juxtaposed to the sunny glamour of hollywood movies.
The red text of actor/actress's names fades in and out giving a sense of unease when mixed with a dull scene and upbeat music, which creates tension.
The rule of thirds suggests that humans naturally read from left to right, the actress who plays the central protagonists name appears on the left so that the audience is drawn to hers first, creating importance before reading the co stars name, as we read a picture in the same way, this is accompanied by digetic asynchronous sound of the waves and seagulls along with the postcard style title incidentally named further anchors the preffered reading of the location being by the seaside, along with the iconography of a broken pier to reflect it being past its 'glory days'.
Something else social realist films use as a common convention to anchor their genre is to show typically British day to day mundane tasks, such as walking the dog as this film does with a man walking his dog along the beach, this enable the British audience to relate to the film more easily as they've found something in common forming a kind of relationship between the 2, therefore symbolising that its a social realist film.
The camera then slowly pans towards the left of the screen whilst zooming out at the same time , probably done by using a crane, this give the audience the bigger picture to look at.
A woman's voice now starts to sing along with the music her lyrics being incidental (also ironic) to the film, also using exposition as the style of music is typical of the 50's, so helps to inform the audience of the time in which it was set.
The camera is then zooming out partially subjectively from the deck chair which stuck in the railing this is a symbol which signifies somethings not quite right including an element of paralysis linking into conventions of tragedy as its an omen foreshadowing the central protagonists future as there is then a visual bridge to her from here on we know shes going to be different from other characters at the time as she rides her bike into the shot creating more association between the 2, as the other deck chairs stand orderly not paralysed but able to be moved and moulded by society.
As she does this she the central protagonist rides past a woman wearing yellow pushing a pram this is a prophetic visual bridge to her for and the3 end of the film, as she ends up having a baby pushing the pram wearing yellow in the final scene, anchoring the theme that she never really grows and moves on.
The central protagonist is blond and wearing a pink dress connoting femininity but a binary opposite of her character being a strong woman riding a bike so fast.The camera zooms in on her face shes wearing little make-up and has short messy hair reflecting her up front personality and although shes blond she still has short hair which is a male like tendency making her less of a binary opposite as looks slightly like a boy.
The blue windmill attached to the front of her bike connotes innocence, as its a childlike tendency to customize your bike in this way, the blue windmill is a symbol of her demise out of control as she rides faster it spins faster which represents her getting her self deeper and deeper into trouble not being able to stop-loss of control.
The sound then turns digetic as she rides past a dancing woman on a box, who's old tanned and in a short orange dress this signifies the the seediness of the town but that they keep hope till the end.
The British flags are an iconic sign, by the side of her are an example of iconography, helping to anchor the location and even genre as Britain is famous for social realist films, the scene then fades out to black along with the music.
Notting Hill
Released:1999 Directed by:Roger Michell
Written by:Richard Curtis
Produced by:Duncan Kenworthy
Executive producers:Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Richard Curtis Production companies 
involved:Universal, Polygram, Working Titles
Genre:Romantic comedy
cross-over appeal:-big names such as Hugh Grant (stereotypically British, e.g accent, floppy hair, which is what USA familiar with when think of Brits) Julia Roberts (US fan base-loyal USA as they know shes a good famous actress, therefore will think the same of the film and pay to go see it)-despite being set in Notting Hill in London provides USA audience with familiar stereotype of Britain just on a smaller scale.
Rhys Ifans brings an element of comedy to the film obviously Welsh brings in a wider audience as signified by his accent.
Starts off with news like dialogue, whilst non-digetic music weaves into it punctuated by the female protagonists first shot on the word 'shes' being creating a visual bridge, whilst shes being photographed by the paparazzi connotes her importance and implies her celebrity status ironically in and out of the film.
The camera constantly pan/tracks possibly by crane across the screen the showing a montage of pictures of her in a range of different looks which connotes a range of possible moods and personalities portrayed by the media, although shes always smiling looking comfortable implies shes used to the frame
Longer shot of her kissing male shows her private love life and connotes the genre of romance, further anchored by her name in pink text and mise-en-scene of her wearing a heart necklace.
Long high angle shot of her sat on the pavement heightens her vulnerability and 'normalness' so that working class are able to relate easier with her despite playing the character of a celebrity.
Main actress has pale skin representing purity implying shes a nice truthful not sexually active girl.
Train Spotting:Genre of this film is social realism. Train spotting is aimed at a specific
audience and that is youths. In the opening few minuets there is fast paced music-Iggy pop- which then goes into a sound bridge. The first thing you actually see on screen is the main character running towards the camera. There is then a voice over so there is an internal narrative. The film starts off with young people dealing with drugs and a baby in the room. The first few minuets show this which make the audience want to carry on watching it because they want to know what happens to the characters.Kidulthood 
This film is a drama. In the very opening we can here a sound of a gun shot and a knife this could signify what the film will be about. The camera is used as a handheld camera to give the effect as though you are actually there, it also gives the film a realist effect. We can see that it is filmed in a working class area by the scruffy uniform the characters wear. One of the characters is a stereotypical girl we can see this by the big earrings she is wearing and they way her hair is done. There are blurred shots which show the sexual content and this then targets the audience. This film was released in 2006 and the budget of it was £800,000. Kidulthood has had a few bad reviews.
Pirates of the Caribbean
This was released in 2003, 3rd August. Director was Gore Verbinski, Producer was Jerry Bruckheirmer, Production companies- Walt Disney. Many A-list stars in this film such as J
ohnny Deep. This film had a Hybrid Genre, you cant state just one genre. The titles are in golden writing which signify treasure and money. There is fog in the opening few minuets with a ship coming into the scene slowly which could signify adventure. There is a low angle of the boat which signifies upper class. There is a point of view shot when the man is stood behind the young girl and then there is the umbrella which is a visual bridge. Then when the other boat is on fire this signifies conflict and fighting. When they rescue the boy from the water the young girl finds a necklace on him, the necklace is iconography. There is non-digetic music- a heart beat rising. The dialogue in the first opening minuets shows who is in charge (exposition). The flags are total opposites as there is the British flag and then the flag with the skull on it.
Bullet Boy
Director: Saul Dibb Released: 2004 Starring: Ashley Walters, Luke Fraser, Clare Perkins and Leon Black. The first opening minuets start with a big fire explosion with smoke which then forms itself into the BBC Films title. This could signify what they film is going to be about, gun
s and violence it could also suggest the genre of the film which is Realism. The music slowly starts as very quiet and slow as we fade into a close up shot of a young African boy who is one of the main characters and who looks as though he is in a small confined, dark space as he shines a light the light gets brighter and we fade out of that and into a shot of a African man who is the second main character and he is in a prison cell. This could also help signify what the film is going to be about. The music starts to quicken and gets slightly louder but then starts to slow down and get quieter as the female police officer comes to release the man. There are then two police officers signing the man out of prison who are actually both White British. This could possibly signify cultural differences and status. The music then starts to quicken and wipes into a point of view shot as though you are looking out of the front window of a car. We then go to a shot of another character that is driving the car and lighting a cigarette. We start to hear banging, the man stops the car gets out and finds that the young boy from the very beginning is in the trunk of his car and he pulls the young boy out. This is filmed using a long shot so we can see the surroundings which is countryside so the characters are in the middle of nowhere this could perhaps suggest mystery. Throughout the opening few minuets there are many close ups of faces showing facial expressions of the characters. The dialogue that the man in the car and the young boy in the trunk of the car use is very stereotypical gangster. The editing of the first few minuets is very slow and longer shots have been used. This gives the film a realist effect.
Collateral
Plot- Max Durocher is a night-shift cab driver in Los Angeles. Hes planning a limo company called 'Island Limos', but has been a cab driver for 12 years. One night, he picks up a
character named Vincent who seems like another ordinary passenger. But when he drops Vincent off at his location and waits for him as asked, a body falls on his cab, and it becomes clear that Vincent is actually a hit man. and hes got 4 more stops to make.Set the scene in LA with western faces and the dialogue coming from Jason Stathams character.
-Taxis signifier of working class men trying to make a living, with the chaotic surrounding, when Max closes the door this goes away, his escape from everyday stressor's in life.
-Multi cultural references of the foreign newspaper and the bloke speaking french provides anchorage for this.
-The white men watching over the taxis connotes power (boss). Sticking to the stereotype of white men leading and other races working for them.
-Majority of the faces seen in the first 2:40minute clip are male. Aiming towards a male audience.
-It also give an insight into the crooked underworld of LA where foreigners call the shots, with a pre-meditated bag swap.
-Its very much placed within multiracial harmony and hegemony throughout with La being a multi-cultural city. This is hinted at during the short 2minutes with people from all backdrops.
-The opening 2 minutes of 'Collateral' had various signifiers of target audience and appeal.
-Michael Mann chose to present Los Angeles as being very multi-cultural with different nationalities from French, British, Spanish, Asian, not just American.
-This signified by the people in the frame but also the props used such as the foreign newspaper.
-All of the adult men in the opening sequence are male, which is a strong signifier of male interest as the audience but also in the film itself, with LA being a mans world.
-The US and UK movie posters differ as the US posters contains both Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx both big names in the US.
-Whereas the UK poster only has Tom Cruise as he is more well known here providing cross-over appeal to the UK.
-Its a 'Paramount Motion Pictures' film
-Distribute by 'Dream Works SKG'
-Both belonging to 'Viacom'
-Budget of $65,000,000
-Made in the opening weekend: $24,701,458 (USA)
-Made in the opening weekend: 2,238,200 (UK)
-Its not unusual for Paramount to take on different types of movies like this, as they produce a large amount of movies ranging from 'Jimmy Neutron' to 'Jackass the movie'
-Michael Mann has also directed films such as 'Ali' and 'Miami Vice' both in the same style as 'Collateral'. All starring Jamie Foxx, but under different conglomerates.
-In the opening sequence the genre isn't clear for a persons first viewing, unless the plot is known. This creates narrative enigma
-However we're orientated towards Jamie Foxx and the theme of taxis and different races, with the documentary-esque style of filming, it hints at social realism.
-Michael Mann as a director, uses the same methods for each film he does especially in recent films, such as 'Miami Vice' and 'Ali'.
-Michael Mann follows Levi Strauss's theory of the narrative enigma at the start of the film as its unclear to the genre of the film, other than the suspicious bag drop.
-Mann also uses Todorovs theory of conflict-conflict-resolution. Which is apparent as the movie progresses
-From the outset its clear as to the antagonists and protagonists will be as special attention is given to them.
-The film itself takes roughly 19 minutes to get the plot and situation crystal clear to the audience.
Exposition is quite key in the opening 2 minutes but not essential as can be picked up as the film progresses, we considered it by learning the central protagonists name (Shannon) in the 2nd to last scene when Linda says to Shannon 'Come on then Shannon, lets go'.We also employed Levi Strauss's theory of narrative enigma by the conversation between Shannon and Linda where Shannon says 'oh, i was just tired, was up a few times the night before', this creates a question for the audience as they're not quite sure what shes on about until the end of the film opening, when its revealed to the audience the reason why she was up the night before was because shes a teenage mum, so was looking after her baby.
Some of the common conventions for the genre of our media film are;
Lighting which is low key which is more mundane and plain which differs from Hollywood which is high key glitz and glam. Characters are usually working class, northern, single parents, focused around male protagonist, with the socio-economic group C2DE. The location is usually in a working class area, which is usually run down. The shooting style is often more documentary style as oppose to Hollywood, and more shaky (possibly handheld/headcam). It tends to highlight current social issues within those areas. Costume is plain dull and may include uniform/working clothing as seen in 'Kidulthood'.
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