The first opening sequence I looked at was called 'South Paw'. It was about a boy who is split between being a good Muslim and being a boxer, in the short amount we saw I think he is the lost boy from the archetypes which are usually seen in British Social Realism. I think that South Paw was good because the location was very urban which is the usual setting for BSR, the music was also suitable; I liked how it began simple and then as the story line progressed it got more complicated and upbeat. It was also successful as it did not have a lot of dialogue and was minimalist in this form-this is important as less dialogue is usually seen in opening sequences and not a lot actually happens. This was also the case in South Paw-all that literally happened was a boy left home and went to boxing and on the way had doubts on attending the mosque. The rebel against religion is a theme which is often seen in British Social Realism so the idea of the battle between boxing and Islamic faith is relevant to the genre, it also fits in with 'the Lost Boy' archetype very well.
There were however some weaknesses to South Paw. There were sound level issues as at the start we were unable to hear what was happening at home because of the music so maybe the audio levels could have been adjusted individually to fit each clip. I also found that there were many long shots and mid shots one after the other and barely any close ups which could have made it boring for teh audience to watch. The closeups usually make it look more different and can also help the audience to focus on one thing. The last criticism is that typical BSR films do not have credits which are on black backgrounds-they typically have credits on transparent backgrounds which run along the bottom at the same time as the opening sequence.
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| Taking off religious cap |
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| One of the many long shots, although they did show location very well. |
I gave South Paw 30 marks and the actual marks given were 34. I marked this a bit harsher than I should have as I believed that the audio and credits were very important parts of the project which didn't work well, I gave it a good mark because I felt that it had a realistic representation by using stereotypes which are usually seen in BSR.
The second opening sequence we looked at was called 'Fast Life'. This one had a boy who got chased down an alleyway by two thugs and then went home. I liked this opening sequence because the music fitted very well with the BSR genre and I could denote hoodies and joggers which connote they are thugs so the music is also relevant to that image. The characters look like normal everyday people and not hollywood stars which relates to usual actors seen in BSR. The titles were also done in the BSR fashion-transparent and in black and white at the bottom of the screen.
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| Costume in Fast Life is very stereotypical |
However there were some faults in 'Fast Life'; the music was incredibly loud throughout and espeically loud over the dialogue which made it hard to hear. The credits were done in the correct fashion but they went very quickly which meant I was not able to read them quick enough. I also think that some of the shots could have been varied more; the long shot of the boy walking through the alleyway was shown for quite a while and I think if they cut into close ups it would have been more effective. My last criticism is that the story line was a little confusing-I did not understand why he was getting chased and I feel like that last part after the title is shown is irrelevant and has no actual meaning.
I gave 'Fast Life' 25 marks and they were awarded 32 marks, I was quite far off and I think I underestimated it as it finished on a bad note so I assumed it wouldn't get very high.
The third film title was 'Damaged Goods' this one was about a prostitute who goes into several houses a week. i liked the idea of having loads of shots of the same action happening but on different days, I think this emphasized how this is her everyday life and it shows that she does the same thing every day which is key in BSR as the characters are normal people who have to do continuous boring jobs just to survive. I also liked the titles as they were unnoticeable and the timing was correct on them so we were able to read the names. The third thing I liked was the mise-en-scene which was very relevant. The urban settings especially during the evening looked relevant to the genre and the red lipstick, hoop earrings and heels are all stereotypical costume pieces for a prostitute. The last strength was that the entire story line was quickly given in 2 minutes and there was no confusion about who she was.
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| Stereotypical red lipstick and hoop earrings |
The weaknesses I found in this opening sequence were that at some points it was very dark which meant I was unable to see what was happening so I think they could have filmed a little earlier to avoid this problem. The only other criticism I found in Damaged Goods was that at times the music was too loud which meant I couldn't concentrate on the actual opening sequence itself-the music was a little distracting too which after a while stole my attention away from the footage. I am not sure whether the music matches the BSR genre but I believe personally that it did fit the story line as it was slightly urban but had a feminine touch.
Overall I gave Damaged Goods 47 marks when it was actually marked as having 57 marks-I highly underestimated this opening sequence and I think this is mostly because of the lighting I found the story line confusing as I couldn't see as I was watching it on a projector; but when viewed on a laptop I could see a lot more and the lighting wasn't as terrible as I had initially thought.
The fourth opening sequence is called Suffocation, the strengths I found in this piece were that the titles were good and suited the genre well; I also thought that they were very imaginative as they weren't presented normally at the bottom of the screen. For example some of the credits were placed at the top of a stack of piled books and as the stack grew more credits were shown. I also liked how the characters were represented as they were easily distinguished and within the two minutes I understood what role they each played. From those two minutes I think that the main man is the 'failing man' as he goes to work and is very stressed but comes back to ignore his family and to drink alcohol. I also liked how they had a range of shots in their work; the shots were never all long shot or all mid shot and a range of closeups etc were placed in there to make it more interesting. 'Suffocation' was also good because it emphasized the struggle element of BSR films and this is a very key aspect.
On the other hand there were also a couple of weaknesses' I found from 'Suffocation'. The first one was that there was some confusion during the last couple of shots where the female stood at the sink staring at a beer bottle; I was unsure about what she was doing and I think that this one shot had a negative impact on the whole sequence as it is the last shot the audience is left with and it happens to be a confusing one. The other weakness I found was that the costume and location was not the stereotypical BSR mise-en-scene. The male character was wearing a suit which did not appear to be over-sized or grubby and the house it was placed in afterwards did not look run down or isolated at all; I feel that this takes away from the negative aspect as they do not look as if they are living in poverty which is usually the case in British Social Realism.
I gave 'Suffocation' 45 marks as I thought they had used many of the technical skills including using the titles correctly, shooting material appropriate to the task set and more. The actual mark given to their work was 42; I think some marks might have been deducted because the music may have not fitted the BSR genre for some people although it fitted the situation.
The next opening sequence I analysed was Bridges, this was about a religious barrier in a relationship and explores the Indian ethnicity. This is a very common theme which is explored in British Social Realism. I liked how the music was at the start of the opening sequence however I feel that as there was no music for the rest of it it was a bit awkward and sounded unfinished; I understand that this was because he took his headphones out. The other strength I found was that they filmed on scene when the shop was in use which must have been hard for them.
The weaknesses I found in this work was that the title was very small at the beginning which made it difficult to read and the credits were also small in size and dissappeared quickly which made them very hard to read; although they were presented correctly the time shown and size of them were not correct. Another problem I found with 'Bridges' was that the story line was very confusing; I did not understand what was happening as there was not enough dialogue to explain the situation and as they had broken the 180 degree rule several times this did not help the confusion as it also visually looked wrong. The last weakness I found was that there was no mise-en-scene that realted to the BSR genre; this meant it could not be distinguished as a British Social Realism film from the opening sequence.
Overall, I gave 'Bridges' 25 marks as I believed that it did not show the storyline well and I could not think of many positives, the exam board gave it 29 marks which was close to my guess.
The sixth opening sequence I watched was called 'Drained' and this was about a girl who was getting ready for work and then got to work where it seems her manager is abusive in some manner. I liked this piece of work because they had a good range of shots and although not a lot happened they managed to keep it interesting by changing shots frequently to keep the audience hooked. Another strength I found was that the music was very catchy and suitable for the genre; the urban beat was typical for the BSR genre. I also thought that the credits were simple which were good and unnoticable; they had a transparent background and were on for the correct time to allow the audience to read what they said. I also think that the situation the characters were in were very realistic for the genre as they showed a working class female and a male who seems to be angry which makes me think he is 'the weak but aggressive man'. My last strength was that they managed to film on scene in a warehouse which must have required skill to film quickly and ensure nobody changed anything; they also managed to film many different locations without making it look too jumpy.
However there was also one weakness I found in this work; I thought that at times the story line could have been seen as a little confusing and it was not revealed where she was going for a while so it left the audience a little confused.
Overall, I rated 'Drained' 50 marks and they were actually given 58 marks; I think I did not give them such a high mark because I felt the actor looked very young when actually he was probably trying to act a middle aged man so I think this would be an improvement for them to make if they wanted to. I also liked this one and gave it a high mark because it had realistic dialogue at the end from the manager; his slang used was language which is usually seen in this particular genre.
The last opening sequence I looked at was called 'Maze', the strengths I found in this piece of work were that the music suited the genre, the rap links to areas of Britain where BSR are based which linked well and the lyrics 'O-V-E-R' connoted that the film is about a relationship which has ended badly. I also liked how there were a range of shots in the work and although she was only walking/travelling somewhere they kept it interesting, I also found it amazing how they had filmed in so many different locations but made it seem as if they were all close together; if someone who lived outside the area watched this they would not have realised this. I also thought that the theme of broken relationships and fights was relevant to the genre, the mise-en scene was also there as she had a bloody nose, wore a hoodie and hung around on buses and through subways. These are all very stereotypical things for a British Social Realism. The credits were also on transparent background which meant they were relevant to the genre; I also liked how the title of the film was kept on a transparent background too instead of a black background.
The weaknesses I found in this work were that the music needed to fade out a little more subtly than it did as it was very sharp and unexpected which didn't make it sound very professional, I also think that the music at times was distracting; although the lyrics were good at hinting the storyline I think that the lyrics could have been taken out for some parts so the audience could concentrate on the footage too.
Overall I gave 'Maze' 55 marks and it was actually awarded 56 marks; here I was very close, I think it got such a high mark because it included everything a BSR opening sequence requires and the only weakness was the audio-if this was improved I think it would have got full marks.
I am now going to look at two of the opening sequences in more detail and analyse some of the shots from each specifically, I have chosen to further look at 'Drained' and 'Fast Life'.
Drained
Here is the full opening sequence of drained:
British Social Realism Themes and Situations
Realistic Representation
Mise-en-scene
Music, sound effects and realistic dialogue
Camera work and Editing
Appropriate opening sequence graphics
Fast Life
British Social Realism Themes and Situations
Realistic Representation
Mise-en-scene
Music, sound effects and realistic dialogue
Camera Work and Editing
Appropriate opening sequence graphics
Overall I gave Damaged Goods 47 marks when it was actually marked as having 57 marks-I highly underestimated this opening sequence and I think this is mostly because of the lighting I found the story line confusing as I couldn't see as I was watching it on a projector; but when viewed on a laptop I could see a lot more and the lighting wasn't as terrible as I had initially thought.
The fourth opening sequence is called Suffocation, the strengths I found in this piece were that the titles were good and suited the genre well; I also thought that they were very imaginative as they weren't presented normally at the bottom of the screen. For example some of the credits were placed at the top of a stack of piled books and as the stack grew more credits were shown. I also liked how the characters were represented as they were easily distinguished and within the two minutes I understood what role they each played. From those two minutes I think that the main man is the 'failing man' as he goes to work and is very stressed but comes back to ignore his family and to drink alcohol. I also liked how they had a range of shots in their work; the shots were never all long shot or all mid shot and a range of closeups etc were placed in there to make it more interesting. 'Suffocation' was also good because it emphasized the struggle element of BSR films and this is a very key aspect.
On the other hand there were also a couple of weaknesses' I found from 'Suffocation'. The first one was that there was some confusion during the last couple of shots where the female stood at the sink staring at a beer bottle; I was unsure about what she was doing and I think that this one shot had a negative impact on the whole sequence as it is the last shot the audience is left with and it happens to be a confusing one. The other weakness I found was that the costume and location was not the stereotypical BSR mise-en-scene. The male character was wearing a suit which did not appear to be over-sized or grubby and the house it was placed in afterwards did not look run down or isolated at all; I feel that this takes away from the negative aspect as they do not look as if they are living in poverty which is usually the case in British Social Realism.
I gave 'Suffocation' 45 marks as I thought they had used many of the technical skills including using the titles correctly, shooting material appropriate to the task set and more. The actual mark given to their work was 42; I think some marks might have been deducted because the music may have not fitted the BSR genre for some people although it fitted the situation.
The next opening sequence I analysed was Bridges, this was about a religious barrier in a relationship and explores the Indian ethnicity. This is a very common theme which is explored in British Social Realism. I liked how the music was at the start of the opening sequence however I feel that as there was no music for the rest of it it was a bit awkward and sounded unfinished; I understand that this was because he took his headphones out. The other strength I found was that they filmed on scene when the shop was in use which must have been hard for them.
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| Filming on set in indian cloth store |
Overall, I gave 'Bridges' 25 marks as I believed that it did not show the storyline well and I could not think of many positives, the exam board gave it 29 marks which was close to my guess.
The sixth opening sequence I watched was called 'Drained' and this was about a girl who was getting ready for work and then got to work where it seems her manager is abusive in some manner. I liked this piece of work because they had a good range of shots and although not a lot happened they managed to keep it interesting by changing shots frequently to keep the audience hooked. Another strength I found was that the music was very catchy and suitable for the genre; the urban beat was typical for the BSR genre. I also thought that the credits were simple which were good and unnoticable; they had a transparent background and were on for the correct time to allow the audience to read what they said. I also think that the situation the characters were in were very realistic for the genre as they showed a working class female and a male who seems to be angry which makes me think he is 'the weak but aggressive man'. My last strength was that they managed to film on scene in a warehouse which must have required skill to film quickly and ensure nobody changed anything; they also managed to film many different locations without making it look too jumpy.
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| Suitable credits for BSR |
However there was also one weakness I found in this work; I thought that at times the story line could have been seen as a little confusing and it was not revealed where she was going for a while so it left the audience a little confused.
Overall, I rated 'Drained' 50 marks and they were actually given 58 marks; I think I did not give them such a high mark because I felt the actor looked very young when actually he was probably trying to act a middle aged man so I think this would be an improvement for them to make if they wanted to. I also liked this one and gave it a high mark because it had realistic dialogue at the end from the manager; his slang used was language which is usually seen in this particular genre.
The last opening sequence I looked at was called 'Maze', the strengths I found in this piece of work were that the music suited the genre, the rap links to areas of Britain where BSR are based which linked well and the lyrics 'O-V-E-R' connoted that the film is about a relationship which has ended badly. I also liked how there were a range of shots in the work and although she was only walking/travelling somewhere they kept it interesting, I also found it amazing how they had filmed in so many different locations but made it seem as if they were all close together; if someone who lived outside the area watched this they would not have realised this. I also thought that the theme of broken relationships and fights was relevant to the genre, the mise-en scene was also there as she had a bloody nose, wore a hoodie and hung around on buses and through subways. These are all very stereotypical things for a British Social Realism. The credits were also on transparent background which meant they were relevant to the genre; I also liked how the title of the film was kept on a transparent background too instead of a black background.
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| Typical location for BSR-subway |
The weaknesses I found in this work were that the music needed to fade out a little more subtly than it did as it was very sharp and unexpected which didn't make it sound very professional, I also think that the music at times was distracting; although the lyrics were good at hinting the storyline I think that the lyrics could have been taken out for some parts so the audience could concentrate on the footage too.
Overall I gave 'Maze' 55 marks and it was actually awarded 56 marks; here I was very close, I think it got such a high mark because it included everything a BSR opening sequence requires and the only weakness was the audio-if this was improved I think it would have got full marks.
I am now going to look at two of the opening sequences in more detail and analyse some of the shots from each specifically, I have chosen to further look at 'Drained' and 'Fast Life'.
Drained
Here is the full opening sequence of drained:
British Social Realism Themes and Situations
This gif is successful as it shows the typical situations which are seen in BSR, the female employee is being physically abused to an extent as her manager has his hand around her neck, this is a typical situation in BSR as usually men have the power and abuse or some sort of problem is seen in this genre. In this opening sequence the main character's problem is that she has a violent boss. To improve this I would follow it with a close up of her facial reaction or a close up of his hand tightening around her neck to draw the audience's attention to the act which is going on and to emphasize how wrong it is.
I like this shot as I think it has a very realistic representation of what the main character is like and what area she is from. It is realistic as the girl does not look glamorous in any way as she is wearing joggers, trainers and a coat and doesn't even have a handbag-she has a JD carrier bag style bag. The fact that she is at a bus stop also connotes that she cannot afford to drive and is a poor urban teenager; it could also connote that she has no family or friends to give her lifts to work and cannot rely on anyone leaves a very negative feeling. This shot is very realistic as it shows a normal typical working class person which no flashy items.
Mise-en-scene
This shot shows the Mise-en-scene which is very typical from the BSR genre as it displays terraced houses in a very mundane looking area; there are no expensive cars or many bright colors and the whole area looks deprived of happiness and lonely, this is the main feeling which is in BSR films and the setting helps to create this atmosphere. If I was to improve their work I would maybe concentrate on costume a bit more to build the mise-en-scene; I understand that the male boss is a manager but his suit could maybe be a little shabby or ill fitted to make it look more relatable to the genre.
I think that this shot again had realistic dialogue as the male said 'This ain't acceptable', his tone of voice and the word 'ain't' made it seem very urban and fitted the genre well, he didn't sound posh or upper class which is important as in BSR there are only under class or working class people. The music in the opening sequence was also very effective as there was a sad sound the whole way through which made the audience feel sympathy for the girl and set it up to be a sad movie and BSR movies are usually sad and don't usually have happy endings.
I liked the camera work that was used in this shot as it was a close up of the manager saying 'She's late'; I feel that the close up allows the audience to see his frustration and therefore gives them a feeling that when she arrives he will not be pleased and tells us a bit about his character.
I also liked this shot as there was a pan across the location where she worked which allowed the audience to figure out her job and where she worked, it helped to set the scene. If I was to improve their work of camera work and editing I would maybe include a couple more close ups of the main female character as I did not see many of her.
The graphics throughout the opening sequence looked like these; I liked them as they were on a transparent background and all BSR movies have them like this so it was relevant to the genre, the simple colour of white was also visible and again relevant to the genre. Sometimes people got the timing of the graphics wrong but in this piece of work this was not the case and they were left there long enough for the audience to read.
Fast Life
British Social Realism Themes and Situations
I think that this shot successfully shows the main themes which are in BSR, I can connote three teenage boys in hoodies which connotes the theme of gangs and because they are in an alleyway this connotes that there is either going to be a drug dealing or a violent act which are both themes relevant to the genre. The situation also could be that the boy facing the camera could about to be provoked by the other two which is also common and a very realistic situation in Britain. To improve this I think that they could have added some dialogue as it would a little confusing about whether there was a drug dealing happening or a violent act as the next shot displayed the two boys with their backs to the camera chasing the other which did confuse the storyline.
I think that this shot is a realistic representation of the types of people that are seen in BSR films, their is a black male teenager who is wearing unbranded everyday casual clothing which is typical for a working class/under class person. The location which he is in is also a realistic representation of what East London is really like, it is very mundane and boring and not a lot of happiness is shown. The fact that he is black also shows the typical stereotype of a black guy being related to crime and being known and a criminal. To improve this they could have added some close ups of his face to exaggerate that he is black to the audience or had him kick something out of the way or spit on the floor to emphasize the stereotype of black people.
I chose to analyse this shot for Mise-en-scene as it shows a police station and a police car, I think that this is suitable for the BSR genre as it shows that legal enforcers are very important to Britain and are needed regularly which then looks back at the fact that Britain is a violent country. This representation of Britain has been shown through the mise-en-scene which includes a police car. However, I did not see many props used for mise-en-scene in the opening sequence, I think that some actual props like knives and cigarettes or packet-ed drugs would have been a good idea to show why law enforcers are needed.
Music, sound effects and realistic dialogue
The dialogue in this shot 'man I need some food' is related to BSR as it shows that the character remains hungry which connotes that he is poor and cannot afford to fend for himself, this looks at classes and represents British people as working class or even unemployed so they go hungry. I think that there were some improvements which could have been made, I would have added some more dialogue before when the boys were chasing the main character and I would have maybe had them swearing at him to represent the genre. I also could have had the music a little quieter when the dialogue occurred as it made it hard to hear but the music itself was good as it was rap which is related to London and urban areas.
Camera Work and Editing
I liked the camera work that was used in this shot as they followed the fridge as if the camera was the character eye's; I thought this was effective as it looked different and allowed the audience to view the location from the characters eyes. However, I think that if I was to improve this work I would not have kept this shot on for so long as I think after a while it got a bit boring and the audience would lose their attention. I also think that throughout the production there needed to be some close ups or extreme close ups to exaggerate some points and there needed to be some camera movement as for the majority of the time the camera was stationary on a tripod.
Appropriate opening sequence graphics
I think that the graphics were suitable in their appearance as they had a transparent background and were in the simple color of white so this related to British Social Realism typical graphics, however I think the opening sequence lost marks because they were not there for long enough which meant the audience would not be able to read them properly, they vanished too quickly so this was a small problem.
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