Location Reccie

Production log 11

This week was actually packed up with so many things to do. Pre-production can be very stressful at times. We had to make sure that all our actors are reliable and we had to fill it quite a bit of paper work.I think the most stressful thing i had to deal with was the shooting script. This was due to the fact that whilst everyone had all these long takes and such; my opening had to be more fast paced and as there is quite a bit of dialogue it obviously had to be dialogue that keeps the audience engaged. Even though in the group everyone had contributed i was doing parts of the dialogue and all the camera shots. This was hard because there had to be variety and there's only so much you can do in a back and forth conversation. Once this conversation ended everything became easier for me as i could now expand the ways on how to use the camera with all different shots. Everything else we had to do was easier but still a little bit stressful.

T overcome all this i had to ration my time out so i don't overload on all this work. Also i am happy with script that we all produced and we have now planned out everything including all dates we are filming and all the dates we are editing. As well as this we have all props set out and all equipment needed.

Cast list

Location list

Call sheets

Production schedule

Shooting Script

Prodction log 10

In this week we had looked at audience research. We had gone out and filmed vox pops. We had made 5 different questions and we asked these questions to 10 different people. Doing this helped us in our idea in the way that we now know what things we have done bad and good and also gave us more of a insight into who are audience actually is. 

Doing these vox pops was our primary research.We had found out if people were into BSR films and we had found out that a lot of people didn't even know what BSR films were but they had watched films such as Adulthood and Kidulthood. When asked what they liked about these films they had said the action, violence and the story line. When asked about our idea they had said that it was really good and if executed properly then it would look brilliant. There were some responses that had said that some aspects of our idea was exaggerated but this was taken into account and we have made improvements upon this. Also we had found that they really liked the idea of drugs and violence which fits into our idea perfectly. 

This has given our group some new thoughts on what to do on our idea and also it showed us what improvements to make and what things are good in our idea. We have also found out who our target audience really is and what their interests are. 

Audience research

In our group we had produced a 12 minute vox pop that as multiple people answering questions about our idea and things that are related to the BSR. Their answers had helped us gain more of a insight into how to improve our work and what things appeal to our audience.

After making the vox pop i made a table to show the data in a simpler way. This table shows all the positive and negative feedback that we had received.

I then made a page to show what type of people would be into the film that i am going to make. I have described this person in a lot of detail. 

The research that i had got from the audience has been very helpful in many ways. It has helped me have more of an insight into my own idea and what i can change within my idea. 

A good thing that i had got from all this research is that a lot of people said that they like to see a lot of action and violence combined with drugs in this films. This works in our favor because in our film the main themes revolves around drugs and violence. This means this will appeal to the majority of our target audience. Also this is sticking with the conventions of a BSR because drugs is a main theme in BSR films. 

In our vox pops we found out that the most watched BSR film was either Kidulthood or Adulthood. This can help the group out a lot as we can watch these films and analyse them in depth to look for any new ideas and to get inspiration from these films. 

We have also made it relate to the audience by making our protagonist a teenager. Our target audience is mostly teenagers so they can relate to this character more therefore they can feel more immersed watching it. This keeps with being a BSR because we had found out that a lot of people could relate to other BSR films. 

Also people had said that the story lines have to be interesting and grab the audience's attention. I think our opening does this well as it is a non-linear narrative and it is a smash mouth beginning. 

McKee's Narrative Structure

Exposition - Protagonist

My protagonist is a 16 year old Asian boy names Chas. He is brought up in a very abusive world as his father abuses him a lot when he is angry. His dad would lash out on him every other day while his mother would try to calm him down. He eventually becomes sick of this and leaves home and enters the drug world. Chas is represented as a stereotypical teenager of this generation who does what he likes and is associated with drugs and violence. He dresses in very casual clothing such as a tracksuit with air forces as his everyday clothes.

Agents of change
The antagonist is the drug supplier who wants the money that Chas owes him and is willing to do what it takes to get him back, there isn't any alterior motive to this just the fact that the supplier is an irretable guy who wants Chas to suffer for wasting his time with such a little matter.

Conflict complication
Chas eventually wants to get out of the drug world because he finds out its not what he thought it was going to be so he wants to get out and stops selling drugs but ends up owing his supplier money but he only ends up owing the supplier money because instead of selling he was taking the drugs himself which isn't apparent from the get go and is seen later on in the narrative as it is a secret kept from the audience.

Elaboration
The film starts with the protagonist named Chas, he is neglected in his house and in school. He has no friends and his dad beats him senseless. Due to this he keeps to himself and he reads magazines and see how drugs are associated with money and fame in some cases. He craves this attention and one day he decides to get involved with the drug world and befriends some dealers to get involved. Eventually he realises that he wants to get out of the drug business and get his life back to normal so he just stops thinking its that simple. Eventually his supplier gets annoyed that Chas hasn't got the money he owes him and goes after him. He finds ways of avoiding the supplier for a long time seeing as he decides to go back to his old life of just sitting in his room with no one to talk to, he becomes very paranoid and cautious about a lot of these things.

Climax - resolution
After hiding from these dealers and making sure not to get caught, one day Chas finds out that his friend that he used to deal drugs with is in trouble with the supplier as well. His friend comes to stay with him and finally they get seen by the supplier. They get chased and Chas gets away but his friend gets shot and dies.

Coda
A couple days later it shows Chas crying at his friends funeral and then followed by some shots of how he's got his life back on track, he gets back into education and the supplier now leaves him alone as he feels he got him back for killing Chas' friend.

Production log 9

I learnt a lot about narratives this week. I have learnt about linear narratives, non-linear narratives, restricted narratives and omniscient narratives. A linear narrative is a basic story line with a beginning, middle and end. It is a story set in chronological order.  A non-linear narrative is when it is not in order. These are things such as flash forwards and flashbacks. If  this is done really bad then it could be very confusing for the audience. A restricted narrative is when the audience see the narrative from the view of only one character whilst an omniscient narrative is looking at the story through multiple characters. The audience may enjoy this as then they can find out more and more about the story through different views.

Looking at all this helped me realize how to structure my film. What kind of narrative to use. I decided to use a linear narrative from the view of only one person. I chose this because a linear story will be easy to follow and BSR's are typically very easy to follow and i chose a restricted narrative because this way they won't get confused looking at different characters and they can actually empathize and invest with that one character getting the audience into the film.

We first chose to a non-linear narrative but then we saw that BSR's don't really do this and we didn't want to subvert from the conventions of a BSR.

Propp's narrative

Todorov's narrative

Mckee's narrative

Treatment

Title

In my group we decided that out title should be called "Class A". The title "Class A" connotes the main theme of the narrative which is drugs and because it is called "Class A" it also connotes that more serious drugs are involved in the story. As well as looking at the theme of drugs it could be looked at as being a reference to a social class which our protagonist is looking to reach seeing as he is a working class character and wants to escape in to a higher class of people. 

The title originated from the main theme of drugs because we thought that this was the main theme we wanted to be able to portray and the connotations of "Class A" i think do this quite well as a reference to "Class A" drugs. It connotes to the audience what drugs will appear in the narrative and also possible serious consequences may occur because class A drugs have a serious penalty by if you caught under possession of it. Also in the drug world where class A drugs are deemed to be the best and most expensive drugs where gang fights often happen over drugs like these and people get killed also offers another connotation for the title. For example In our production we will be looking to have our protagonist as a drug dealer, this denotation reinforces the connotations that our main theme is drugs as we will see Chas dealing class A drugs and ends up owing his supplier money because he didn't want to be involved anymore and having the supplier go after him backs this up.

I believe that the title being called "Class A" is conventional of the BSR genre, it is short, simple and has various connotations of the themes and content of the narrative. Typically BSR titles are short and simple with a reference to something that will happen in the film or either something that connotes something metaphorical like "Fish Tank" which is a girl wanting to escape like a fish in a tank. I think that the title is effective because it instantly establishes what the contents of the narrative is which i think is key to give the audience and idea of what the film will be about.

I think my title would appeal to the target audience of 16 - 24 year olds as it is simple, though it is unique it is obvious to be able to understand what it is about just from the title. Though the title is obvious when looking at it as about drugs but it could also have smaller, less clear connotations such as aspiration because people turn to drugs to escape from the world around them. Also something like drugs connotes addiction or experimentation and some people around that age being involved with things like drugs whether it be dealing or taking them, and this has a possibility of them being to relate and personally identify with this theme. 

Identify target audience

My production is aimed at very specific people. My production is aimed at people that are aged between 16-24. My production is targeted mostly for boys because of the stereotype that boys typically like violence and are more associated with the bad things in life more than girls. The fact that the age range is from teens to young adults is good for my production because this way the characters and the narrative will gratify them more than it would for other aged people. The narrative or even the characters may relate to the audience and this way they will be entertained and they will enjoy it. Also in most BSR's the jargon being used is more relatable to this age audience so if the audience can easily understand what is going on and every term used then it will be more likely that they will enjoy it. Also playing on the stereotype of boys are more likely to enjoy violence then it will draw in a wide male audience. Even though this can be aimed particularly at boys it will bring in girls as well and the fact that the age range is for 16 years old minimum then everyone will be allowed into the cinema and there wouldn't be any issue to watch it on TV such as parental controls because they will be allowed to watch it. This allows the movie to be certified as a 15 and also it allows us to use a variety of language, violence and sexual associations etc. into the production. If there is this variety then it makes it more relatable to people because in our production our main theme is drugs and in life it is typically seen that 16-24 year olds that are experimenting on drugs or even addicts therefore making it more relatable. My production will be targeted towards people that are interested in certain things such as what life is like with drugs and how it can be positive and negative on people even though it is mostly negative. Also for the audience to be interested in my film they need to be interested in violence because my film will consist of violence throughout. The main interest for the audience though is to see what life is like on the grittier, dirtier side of the UK and what things happen in these areas and how people are affected. This will gratify the audience in the way of them finding out more information about this side of the UK. It will  be targeted towards people of the middle class. These are the average sort of people that you see on the streets walking around. Also it will be good to appeal to these people because most of these people own televisions and do go cinema so it will bring in a wider audience this way and these people will have the interest of finding out how underclass people live and what their lifestyle is like. The themes that my production will use are themes such as drugs, corruption of youth and violence. These are normal for BSR films but it does have originality to it when it comes to the narrative of the film. This originality will appeal to the audience as it will be something that they haven't seen before. The narrative shows scenes of violence and drugs which is normal for a BSR but the way these themes are portrayed in the film are going to be unique. Also BSR films are known for being authentic and my film will be authentic and it adds the sense of realism for the audience. This will keep the audience watching the movie. 

Technology

The technology that will be used will be some simple technology such as iPods and old phones. This will be simple and be only used to establish the era of the film. This will also establish the class of the characters. This will be suitable for my production as old phones such as an old Nokia will establish that these characters are not very wealthy as it is a very old phone that they are using. Also using a old iPod will establish their class. It will set the era by showing that it is set in the modern age but not in an area that is very high classed. In terms of camera i will be using a lot of different camera language such as 360 shots and long takes. This will be easy as it conforms to the conventions of a BSR. The limitations of the camera shots is the 360 shot as it is going to be hard to do this shot without making it to shaky. BSR films consist of handheld camera movements but if there is to much shaking then it will make the film very unauthentic. I have many ideas of how i can do this 360 shot and still make it look authentic for the audience. Other uses of technology will be using fake syringes for any scenes to show drugs and the effect of them will be done by acting. The only limitation of this is actually finding this fake thing and making sure in the film we use the appropriate camera language to make it look as realistic as possible. In BSR films there are infrequent edits and abrupt cuts. I will use this but i wish to do a shot tracking someones feet when they are running. This will be a good shot if filmed properly and it will make my film look good. This is another hard shot because we do not have the technology to follow someones feet at that speed so we have to think of some other ways to be able to perform this. 

Representation

When coming up with our idea we decided on having one key character, a protagonist called Chas, a 17 year old male who has been kicked out of school and aspires to be rich through selling drugs, through him we see his lifestyle and the representation of a teenager who has grown up in working class conditions and how intends to escape from it.

Due to the fact that our narrative really only looks at life from his perspective which in a way is a positive aspect as it allows for the audience to be able to get to know and empathize with him. Also the fact that our character is representing a stereotypical, bad representation of youth of today it gets across the BSR genre and how it looks at showing real life as accurately as possible.

We are not really subverting from any representations of any social groups as we see that to not be accurate in relation to real life but we are subverting our protagonist in the sense that once he starts his drug dealing lifestyle he wants to get out of it as soon as possible and will do so buy any means. 

Narrative

The film follows the protagonist named Chas. He is neglected in his house and in school. He has no friends and his dad beats him senseless. Due to this he keeps to himself and he reads celebrity magazines and sees how  drugs is associated with money, fame and success. He craves attention and one day walking to school a group of thuggish boys, drug dealers approach him and invite him into the gang. Receiving the attention from these people he joins and from there on he becomes a drug dealer and becomes an addict until realizing what has become of him and he wishes to get out of this gang and get a job and money and does anything he can to get out. 

The opening sequence will start with 5-6 boys sitting around a round table talking and laughing. Every single guy sitting there is wearing baggy clothes and caps. This will show their personality in a way. One guy will be wearing jeans, a shirt and a jacket. This will show his status that he is a higher class. He is the drug supplier and he talks to all of them about stories that happened during the day of some violent act that he had done in  the day. Behind the drug supplier a trashy looking girl that is an addict and rubbing up against the drug supplier once again showing his status. The drug supplier will then start talking about how he wants all the money that everyone owes him from selling the drugs. Chas however doesn't have the money and gets all nervous. He had purposely done this due to the fact he wants to get out of the life he is living. The drug supplier asks him for his money and he runs straight out the door. From here the drug supplier stands up casually with a smile on his face, walks out and pulls out a gun. The screen will the fade to black and the title will appear. From here the next scene appears of Chas walking to school.

Conventions

In our production, we will conform to the typical stereotype of a drug dealers appearance of jeans and and a puffy black jackets. This we will do to represent the typical appearance of local drug dealers and for the audience to identify and compare them from the main drug supplier, who will be wearing expensive branded clothing, such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton items of apparel for the audience to be able to establish him as the top antagonist due to his social status and wealth status due to his expensive clothing. We will also make sure that we subvert to the typical stereotype of a father as our storyline includes a abusive father figure, instead of a typical role model father who takes care of his kid. This will be portrayed by the fathers tone and language towards his son, he swears and abuses him to connote the little relationship between the father and son and the real life everyday struggles the main character, Chas is going through and how he fights to get out of that life. Also, some of the audience may be able to relate to this stereotype of a father as they have seen it and, therefore, the audience are able to relate to the film more, and are therefore more engaged into the story and characters. Also there will be subversion from the mother character as a mothers job is to protect her kids, but she is failing to do this even with her efforts and I think this will be portrayed best in a BSR as the audience will empathize for the boy as he has no one to turn to and this results in the audience empathising for this young helpless boy. This would also add authenticity as not all mothers are perfect as they seem and act different alone so this is to see the true side of the family that have grown up with low wealth and not much help.

Style and Iconography

In the production, I will be using a lot of handheld camera shots as typical BSR films are handheld to give it that serious atmosphere and to really drag the audience in the real life situations in the film. There will be little amount of establishing and long shots, as these are used in other genres, whereas BSR films stick to mid shots and close ups as these are most used in a typical BSR and this is where we clearly see the emotions of the characters to see the real struggle about a BSR film. Also we will use natural lighting throughout as this creates no effect, and keeps it serious which will be based around our type of storyline which is a serious struggle for our main character Chas.

We will keep the editing to a simple, and just base it around cuts and fades as these seem to be most effective and work well in BSR's. For example, in adulthood, there are only fades being used throughout the whole film and it seems to work best as it flows well with the storyline and the show for struggle being shown and the audience to pay attention to this and not the fancy transitions which are unnecessary and don't flow as well.

I will keep the costumes for the drug dealers to a simple plain tracksuit with trainers and a hat to cover their face. This will signify equality of authority between the drug dealers and will signify the difference to the drug supplier showing he has more respect, due to his wealth and clothes. Also this will signify the drug dealers as low class thugs who commit criminal activities to make money but are just assuming without knowledge of their background. Also the drug supplier, will be using the latest gadgets and expensive jewellery to represent his wealth and social status in comparison tot he drug dealers, who wear cheap clothing and do not carry around much as they have no money and earn a living with selling drugs representing the everyday struggles of their lives. Also another prop I will use will be flour to act as my drugs. This is used to signify a life changing object and also to connote the dangers of the life some have to result in due to their struggle for money. Also this links back to one of the main themes being drugs, and represents the title, being Class A, it connotes drugs which makes the audience think about the consequences of this drug which is what the movie is based on.

In consideration to music, We will like to keep to having our own created soundtrack that fits the genre and themes of the film. Also the music will be flowing accordingly to the shots so it will look professional and the audience will be able to remember the movie and soundtrack and create an association. Also is creates authenticity. We have ideas of slow paced music during tragic scenes and fast paced music during the action scenes. Also the music will represent the movies era and also will signify who the film is targeted at. 

Institution

The Brief of film four was to create the opening of a British Social Realism. This narrows what themes would be most appropriate and what is most typical to a BSR. There is a lot to do with drugs and violence so we made sure that these were two of the main themes inside our production. Also we must make sure it is realistic as that is a key feature to a BSR genre so we made sure that the story line behind our production is realistic and believable. This will effect the distribution of the film as it is a BSR , so the majority of viewers will be from Britain and also would have to fit the target audience as that is who the film is based at. Our film will be exhibited on NMT as British social realism generally don't do too well in box office sells, so if it is available to the public on line, they are able to take full use of it and this will grab a larger fan base who enjoy the film. Also I would maybe have home releases, because if it becomes a success on line, people may want the DVD's as a collection so if it is available, they may be able to make a profit through this method as well.