Week Two Production Log

What did I do this week?
This week in class I watched a well known British Social Realism film-'The Selfish Giant' and then analysed it too looking at how different aspects of the film are represented to the audience. I also began to study the mise-en-scene which is in Adulthood to look at how I can show the typical mise-en-scene in my own production. This week also included me assessing previous students' work and looking at the mark scheme to I could become aware of what is expected to achieve each level. The last lesson I had this week looked at sound in general and concentrated on all the different types of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds in film and media in general.


What have I learnt about social realist conventions in relation to audience?
Listed below are some of the codes and conventions that are related to BSR and what I learnt about them in relation to audience:

• Location Shooting (not in a studio)-I learnt that most BSR films are shot on location in local estates, deserted urban areas and parks-this creates a real effect and nothing looks fake for the audience. It makes it believable and in some cases the audience may also be able to relate to the places that are shown. For example in 'My Brother the Devil' the locations are real and not on set like in Hollywood Movies. (shown below).

• The second convention I have learnt are wide shots, these are commonly used in British Social Realism to show the audience what the area is really like and to emphasise the bad state or the poverty the people are living in. The loaction of BSR is very important as it represents the characters social class and this is a main theme. Shown below is a wide shot from Kidulthood to show the location of the characters to the audience so they can understand the film more.

• Another convention I explored was that BSR films have unprofessional actors who have no experience in acting at all; sometimes they are even ordinary people that directors have found in the local area. This is because BSR productions do not have the money to hire Hollywood famous actors but mainly because these real, ordinary people actually have life difficulties that are explored in the film so this allows them to act very realistically and has a positive effect on the audience as it makes them believe the story line more. The audience also has a stronger sense of belief as these ordinary people look like normal people they would see everyday and do not have 'Hollywood faces' so it is very realistic and accurate. Below is the actress who played the main role in 'Fish Tank' as Mia Williams, her name is Katie Jarvis and she was spotted in Essex arguing on the train with her boyfriend and was chosen for the role.

How will the conventions inform my production?

The conventions will shape my production as I will use them as a guide to produce my own opening sequence for a British Social Realism production. I will shoot on location and find places locally which look like they would have crime problems as this is common in BSR. I will also film during the evenings if my story line fits this as crime is associated with night time.

I will also use many wide shots in my work to show the audience the location I am filming in, this is important so I can exaggerate the poverty my characters live in. I think that I will use a lot of wide shots at the beginning so I can set the scene at the same time as showing my characters from a far distance. There is a short film called 'Tight Jeans' which I think successfully shows how wide shots can  be used to represent the location to the audience. Below is an example of a wide shot that is used.

What texts did you find particularity influential and why?

In particular I found Fish Tank very influential as it was filmed in my local area and I found this very inspirational as it shows how much can be brought out from the area surrounding me; they filmed in areas which I never would have thought of and also because they used Katie Jarvis who has never acted before it also showed me that professionals are not needed so I myself can make something very good.

I also found 'A Room for Romeo Brass' very influential as the actors were young which showed that I could use people my age or even younger and still get a good effect; usually I would avoid using younger kids as they wouldn't be able to read a script but one convention of BSR is that there is a limited script so this is very useful. This film was also influential as it wasn't filmed in the countryside which I found odd for a BSR film but then I also liked the idea a lot as it made the film very different; I also liked it because it showed me that not all BSR films have to be set in the current era; some shots of this film showed cowboys shops and men in very bright shell suits which showed me that you can still show the BSR conventions in different era's and I think this was very smart.

Two young actors from 'A Room for Romeo Brass'

Will you conform to conventions or subvert them?

In my work I think that it is very important to conform to the conventions as they are all traditional in BSR films so if I do not conform to them the opening sequence I make will not be able to be distinguished as one which is not my aim. 

I think that I could make a hybrid film so it is BSR and thriller to emphasize the crime but at this point I am not sure but that is as far as I would go to subvert the conventions of a BSR film. All of the conventions are useful and all have an impact so I am reluctant to change any as I do not want to lose the interest of the audience and ruin their expectations.