Ideas for filming locations

During my train journey I realised that there were a lot of locations that I was passing through that would be very suitable for British Social Realism, the places had run down flats and buildings, graffiti and I think the overall mise-en-scene was very stereotypical for BSR so I decided to take some primary pictures to analyse and maybe I could use some of these locations to film for my BSR opening sequence. My train journey was from London Liverpool Street to Highams Park so the location is not hard to reach if I decide to film there. The main stops which had the best mise-en-scene were; Hackney Downs, Clapton, Walthamstow Central and Wood Street.

This first picture is of the back of a building and there was also a site opposite it which looks like it has not been very well looked after. I can denote graffiti on the building which connotes that there has been vandalism from teenagers which suggests the theme of corruption of youth and petty crime if this was to be used in my opening sequence. I also think the grey sky is suitable as if I used this location for a shot were the mood is meant to be negative it could be used as a pathetic fallacy; the mood of the opening sequence will be portrayed in the weather of the shot too. I think this location is also good as there are no people around and it looks deserted and deprived.

I took this picture as it surprised me how between all the other pictures of run down buildings there was a park for children, this looked very out of place and I think I could use a location like this in between all my others to show the contrast in locations and also this is a typical park in Britain so could be used to represent regional identity. I could also denote many children who were in the park alone and of quite a young age which connotes the theme of a deprived childhood-as although they are in a park they are alone and if this were to be used in my opening sequence it would make the audience question the location and state of their parents; which could also represent the theme parenthood/single parents.

 From this picture I can denote a very grey and mundane looking building, the lack of colour in this shot makes it look very negative and depressing, I also think that because none of the windows have proper curtains or bright items inside them this could denote to the audience that the people who live there are poor or nobody lives there at all. The building also doesn't look very clean which could connote what social class live here.

 I took this picture as it has many buildings, the skyscraper in the back and all the different height of buildings in front of it and I think this image displays London as the very built up and urban area that it is, it emphasises this idea very well. There is also some street art on the right side of the picture which is not typical street art; it looks like it has been done by somebody who is extremely talented and this could help me build a storyline in my work-the creator of this could be someone who has high dreams and aspirations in art which could hint to the theme of escape. This art also looks very out of place as from it I can denote a smiling child and bright colours but the location it has been placed in is very dull and looks like a sad place to live in; it is almost like the artist created this as a dream or as a way to escape from the mundane, grey area they live in. The clouds and grey skies also could be used as pathetic fallacy as they look depressing.

I took this picture as it was one of the estate's which actually looked like it definitely had current residents, I knew this as I can denote clothes hanging from the railings and there were also kids bikes left outside of flat doors and people's washing. This image would show to the audience how people of a lower class lack space and the amount of doors in this one small block portrays how many people live in one area, it also doesn't look like the happiest place to live so is suitable for BSR.

I took this picture as it is a different location of a river where canals go by; I could use this location to show a family who live in a canal instead of a house/flat which is an unique idea I have not seen before, the thought of a canal and boats in the mind would usually be quite pretty but this image contradicts that image in the mind as the water looks very grey and dirty and the graffiti along the entire wall represents the corrupted youth. The number of buildings around the canal also represent how London has destroyed every natural beauty by creating man made buildings around it which all look grey and depressing. This whole image has a negative aurora and therefore I think it would be good to use in my opening sequence.

 I really like this picture because it is so filled up and so much is going on yet there are no people, I can denote industrial machines and a building site at the front of the image which looks like it has been abandoned for quite a while. I can denote broken windows from the building on the left which connotes nobody lives there and it has now been taken over by homeless people or youths messing around which displays the themes of poverty and corruption of youth. 

 I think that this location would be very suitable if I wanted to make my opening sequence appear as if it were in a rural area instead of London, as I live in London I thought it would be very difficult to find a rural looking area and although it may be impossible to actually film in this area I could film an establishing shot from the train and then have the rest of my opening sequence in a flat/house. Although this shot is very green the tiny edge on the right of the picture has an electricity box which has graffiti all over it which is related to BSR and hints to petty crime which is very common in BSR films. The shot also doesn't look very happy as the sky is grey and cloudy which could be used for pathetic fallacy in my sequence.

This last picture I took at Wood Street is because there was a whole road of shops but most of them seemed to be closed; this surprised me as it was 1 pm on a Saturday which is usually a very busy time, there was also a lack of people which connoted to be the area is isolated. The different types of shops and ethnicities are also what are seen in BSR films so I think it is relevant and also an area which I could reach easily if I wanted to film here.