I have done many things to represent the particular social group of young teenagers who are involved in the drug world and how certain situations can be within that social group. In my production i did this by using some of the conventions for a BSR film.
Camera, Angle, Shot Movement and Position
I had used a variety of camera shots in the opening sequence, one being a low angle shot seen at 1:39.
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| Low angle shot of the boss. 1:39 |
The low angle connotes the superiority that the boss has in this scene. You can denote everything he is doing from the waist up which is good as you can see the gun and his facial expression. This all shows his authoritarian figure within the opening sequence. Also the low angle shot shows that he is dominating the camera as he takes up most of it and he looks bigger than the camera. This conforms the conventions of a BSR film because in the majority of BSR films the 'bully' is seen to be the one with the authority.
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| 360 pan showing all three characters including protagonist Chas |
At 1:30 a high angle is shown of the protagonist and the supporting actor. This connotes to the audience that they are the victims and they all look patronised . This can represent the social group of what impact the drug boss has on the little minor drug dealers. It also shows all the characters in a way to anchor what position they stand it when it comes to authority.
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| High angle shot of the protagonist and supporting actor. 1:30 |
This 360 pan shows three characters. It shows two supporting actors and the protagonist. The 360 pan allows the audience to see the characters one by one and let them have insight into each of the characters. There are two characters that are represented as typical drug dealers as they are happy in their lifestyle and then you have the protagonist who subverts the stereotype of a typical drug dealer as he is trying to get out of the situation. This is a representation of the character in a way that it is showing us that there are people that want to change who they are even people are pressuring them.
Editing
When we were doing the editing, it came together quite nicely. There were some bits that really flowed well whilst some bits were not so good but it still had that fluidity. Towards the end when the action sequence began, the editing became consistent and this was when the intensity increased. At the end everything matched properly such as the sequence and the music. The pace of the editing at the end represented social groups in a way of how intense things get when you get on the wrong side of people. Teenagers are normally seen to be going through these sort of things in the experimental age when they get on the wrong side of the law. So these frequent cuts that occur at then end show the intensity of that situation. This can then relate to the teenagers on the wrong side of the law. At the beginning however everything was a bit slower as there were longer takes and they lasted around 20-30 seconds long. Also at the beginning we did not just cut all the time as we did in the second minute of our opening sequence. In the first minute we had used fades. The fades however are only to be used in different time periods which we had. These transitions that we used were the only ones we could have used as no other transition would have fit. We also implemented match on action which gets the audience more immersed into the production. This makes it more fluent. Up on the right you can see two shots which we linked together to make it fluid.
Iconography
When we did the editing we had a time lapse in the first minute of when a conversation happened and then a rich item was shown and then another conversation then another item. The items being shown were iconic items as it showed the status of the character. This also represent the teenage social group, especially the ones in gangs.
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| Gun and money |
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| Hugo Boss watch |
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| Louis Vuitton belt |
These three things are the main iconic pieces we have in our opening sequence which can really represent teenagers in this day and age because at the moment all teenagers really want is to look the best and above everyone else so they will buy all the most expensive things to get their status. The gun and the money icon can relate to the teens involved in gangs because they may actually have to deal with that and there is a huge danger being involved in this sort of business.
Mise-en-scene
The two supporting actors are wearing jogging bottoms and hoodies which is typical of characters in a BSR film and typical of teenagers in this day and age. This contrasts with what the protagonist wore which was jeans and a jacket which is very generic. This shows him as a outcast. The boss however wore designer watches,belts and t-shirts showing his status and his worth. This relates to the social groups of higher class people who can afford and wear designer clothing.
Sound
When the sound came into play we were quite pressed for time and we ended up with just downloading copyright free music which actually worked with our production. It portrayed different moods throughout the production from beginning to end. We had to put it through the whole thing otherwise it wouldn't be as interesting and it drags down the mood. There was only one section where we took out the music and that was at the end. This worked because it made more suspense and drama making the audience ask more question. We did however add music later that was diagetic and then turns into non-diagetic sound which worked amazingly well. The type of music we had to use was upbeat grime music because this will then relate to our target audience.
When it came to dialogue there was a lot of things that was said that could relate to the social group of teenagers. They use slang and they talk down to people that they think are beneath them. This is what the stereotype is for youths in this time period. You can tell this is meant for that social group as no one else in any other class would understand the slang being used. An example of this is when Jay said "You hear about that ting i was doin?" This shows his view upon women as he refers to women as 'tings'. Also the fact that everyone didn't question what he said shows they understood his slang.
Typography
The typography we have chosen can actually say a lot about our production. The colour is very important as it contrasts with the background but also as it is called 'Class A' , the white can represent cocaine. Also the fact that all the letters are cracked is like the powder being cracked up and even shows foreshadowing and metaphors of how life is after doing drugs which is the main theme of our opening sequence. This represents the same social class of teens as this is when they are experimenting really with drugs and other things in life.
Expressionism
We had to use ambient lighting which added realism 'to the production. It adds to the gritty side because if some place is dark then it will be dark. There would be no artificial lighting. This is typical of a BSR. Thecan relate to any social group.
