Ill Manors (2012) Case Study

Ill Manors distributed in 2012 is a Social Realism film directed by Ben Drew and produced by Atif Ghani. The film focuses on eight protagonist characters and their journey struggling to survive in the streets. It also features 6 songs from plan B which is a form of star marketing which could attract Plan B fans to watch the film. Each story weaves into one another, painting a hyper-real gritty picture of the world.

The film also follows the stereotypical codes and conventions of a social realism film in terms of the mise-en-scene, narrative, low production values and the use of a male protagonists. The setting of the film is based around a council estate in forest gate which shows that the characters are from a low demographic class of D & E audiences. With the low film budget of only £100,000 the film was limited to a release of 191 cinemas in both Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. That budget range and limited film distribution is very typical of a social realism film as the film is targeted at people that can relate to it.

Camera Shots and Lighting

The usages of close up shots were effective because as it enables the audience to clearly identify the facial expressions of the characters which connote their emotions and represent what they are going through. Close up shots help to engage the audience to the movie and make them have a connection with the characters and have a sense of how their feeling, when it comes to social realism movies the most common theme is pain which results in a sympathetic audience. 

Tracking shots wee also used which give the imagery of the poverty which follows the male protagonists.

Another noticeable aspect of the film was the handheld camera work. Handheld camera work is very common in low budget social realism films. The Handheld camera work was very obvious as it was not as stylised as a big budget movie, the slightly shaky camera could have been due to hand fatigue which is completely natural in handheld camera work.

The lighting throughout the film is mostly dim bright so that the characters could still be seen, but also keep the scenes mysterious as the characters are up to something bad such as drug use. The dark and dull colour pallets may have been used to connote the characters struggle and the pain there going through, and also poor lighting are often used in low budget social realism films.

Completed by Sean Okpa

Edited by Abena Amoako

Menace II Society (1993) Case Study

Menace II Society’ is a film of the Social Realism genre, directed by Allen & Albert Hughes in 1993. Menace II Society illustrates the life of a few typical black teenagers growing up in the projects of LA, not knowing what path of life to take due to his upbringing. Menace II Society had quite high production values ($3.5million) considering it is a Social Realism film. This could be due to the fact that it’s an American movie involving high profile actors such as Jada Pinkett-Smith, Samuel Lloyd Jackson etc. Another noticeable factor was the amount made a box office ($27.9 million). It may also be fair to assume that Menace II Society reaped so much at box office as American is known for having an greater audience who enjoy Social Realism films because it relates to such a large majority of them. I believe that this film was targeted mainly to those of the 'E' socio-economic bracket however may also appeal to those for 'C2' and 'D' brackets.

Synopsis

Menace II Society is set in the Watts neighbourhood of Los Angeles, and narrated by 18-year-old Caine played by Tyrin Turner, a protagonist character within the film who is a drug dealer and car thief living with his religious grandparents. After graduating from high school, Caine shows no ambition beyond hanging out with his friends, so his grandparents kick him out. Among his other troubles are his best friend O-Dog played by Larenz Tate, who is presented to the audience as a vicious thug hunted by the police, and the friends and family of the girl Caine got pregnant and then turned his back on. Perhaps the lone positive influence in his sphere is Ronnie, played by Jada Pinkett-Smith, a single parent struggling to raise her young son without the boy falling prey to the 'hood mentality. When their friendship becomes a love affair, Ronnie tries desperately to convince Caine to move with her to Atlanta. He accepts Ronnie's offer, but tragedy strikes as they pack their van in preparation to leave. The theme of escapism is prominent throughout the film which makes it an identifiable Social Realist film.

Visible Representations
‘Menace II Society’ is set in South Central Los Angles to replicate the Watts projects which were a very deprived area mainly of the black ethic minority with high drug and crime rates. Some of the screen shots of the film show loads of graffiti on walls which has negative connotations the ‘hood’ or rebellion.

 Camera Shots

In the film there are numerous camera shots such as wide shots, establishing shots and group shots etc. The wide shots were used to show the audience the environmental state in which the characters were living in..

Two shots were effective in the film as they often showed the way in which O-dog had a huge influence on Caine. The shot below shows Caine taking a back seat approach when O-dog is being loud and offensive when in a store. This can be identified by the similar body gestures however O-dog appears more angry, facially.



Completed by Solomon Ssenyonga
Edited by Abena Amoako

Bullet Boy (2004) Case Study

The film Bullet Boy was distributed by Verve Pictures in April 2005 with a certificate of 15. With this beingcommon conventions of a social realism were evident through;
a social realism film and having such a specific audience,

The Cast – Ashley Walters, Clare Perkins and Curtis Walker

Budget funding – Funded by the UK Film Council and BBC Films

Gross profit - £81,183

Filming locations – Hackney and East London, on screen locations

Limited cinema release - 75 screens only, within the UK

Social realism is also known for always having a common escapist theme; with the protagonist or antagonist always trying to escape one life for another. In the film, this is evident through the representation of Ricky.

The narrative of the film was really basic, it’s a story of two brothers 12 and 19 years old. Ricky, the protagonist is released from youth custody and tries to start life on the right path but finds himself in the middle of confrontation within minutes of being back in his area. This confrontation begins a small feud which continues to escalate throughout the film. With his older brother well involved with the gang life it’s only a matter of time before the younger brother Curtis was dragged into the business. Curtis found a gun in his brother’s room and began to play with it in the woods with his friend; who he mistakenly shot and started a family feud.

The target audience for social realism films such as Bullet boy are usually very particular and niche. Nowadays, they are known for being targeted at a younger audience ofMainstreamers, aspirers and succeeders and people in the C2, D and E socio-economic categories. However, at the time of Bullet Boys release, social realism was targeted at adults. This is because of the conventions of a social realism film which usually contain a lot of adult themes such as sexual content, strong language, violence and drug usage. Also, these conventions really anchor the genre of the film and add to the drama it tries to represent.

http://www.vervepictures.co.uk/docs/bbnotes.pdf

The bullet boy film used mainstream music such as “Brave New World and Score” by Massive Attack and a song called Bullet Boy as part of their main soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJvGrXIm0oA&feature=kp&safe=active

Camerawork – The Bullet boy film ran for 89 minutes, filmed in colour using a super 16 camera and edited in the Soho Images studio in London, UK. There are many camera angles used in the film and trailer; close-up shots which reveal emotions and feelings, two shots which reveal information about the two characters in the shot, establishing shotswhich inform the audience of the film location. Also, the lighting used in the film is all natural lighting because the film was so low budget; it was all filmed on location, with light coming through windows, from an electric light or street lamps.

Mise-en-scene creates an understanding for the audience. Things such as shots, costumes, props and settings are included in the Mise-en-scene of a film.

For example, establishing shots (as pictured below) of the location allow audiences to know where the characters are and give them a slight idea of what is about to happen. As the one below includes a picture of the character, it also gives the audience the opportunity to read his facial expressions.

The costumes used in Bullet Boy have strong connotations of what social realism films are about. Characters that wear “hoodies” are usually intimidating and seen as the “baddie”. However, the little brother Curtis in the films is regularly (as pictured) wearing a shirt which maybe says that he is not following in his brothers footsteps.  These are common within the genre, and have been since it was first established because it gives the characters a better sense of realism in contrast to the characters wearing suits, which would not make the film seem as real.

Finally, the props used in the film are those that relate to the social realism genre as they tie in with some of the themes used. Such as Gun crime and poverty, which are commonly used in many British social realism films;  as they  really establish  the genre and the narrative of the film. Some of these themes are what we will try and incorporate into our trailer to get the meaning across to our target audience.


Casting within the social realism genre is relatively similar, as the genre is still small a lot of the same actors are used by the same companies for different movies. This makes casting easier for the casting team as the genre is small but there is more than enough actors for every film. Commonly seen actors within the genre are;

Ashley Walters (Who stars in Bullet Boy)
Noel Clark
Kane Robinson
Cornell S John
Riz Ahmed

Even-though all of the names listed above are male actors, who usually make up the majority of the cast in all social realism films. Female actors are also normally used in these films to show either an escape route or a culprit in the trouble within the film. Female actors include;

Clare Perkins
Jaime Winstone
Kierston Wareing
Red Madrell

Created by Kortney Hudson

Cloverfield (2008) Case Study

One of the trailers we watched was the Horror film, Cloverfield (2008).

Although this film isn't of the social realism genre we are studying we felt that some of the things they used in their trailer really worked well. The Mise-en-scene used in the first part of the trailer really drew the audience in and made it feel as if we were part of the party going on. 

The first scene was also shot on a handheld camera which  gave us as the audience the impression that it was just a normal party that a friend was filming on his hand-held camcorder. 

The trailer also contained quite sharp cuts towards the end which began to create some tension. this really worked because the audience didn't expect the trailer to suddenly become action and hyper-real. Whereas social realism films tend to rely more on non-diegetic sounds and music to create tension. For example, by inputting a simple fast paced instrumental whilst editing can create an obvious effect, whether that be, tension, excitement or fear that was non-existent without the soundtrack. 

One example of this comes from Kidulthood 5.56-6.24.

Another example of this from Kidulthood comes at 8.47-10.45
The use of two different soundtracks in this scene creates two different feelings for the audience, the first one creates suspense and the second soundtrack with speech creates more of an exciting affect for the audience as its fast paced and the character on the scene is on the move.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxtXbH-7v0k

They also used low lighting, this foreshadowed what was going to happen later on in the trailer. As later in the trailer it becomes more hyper-real by using CGI and special effects. Which is in complete contrast to the English Social Realism genre who because of their low production values, rely on natural lighting and normally just use what they have to create an effect. This is an example of the difference between the Hollywood industry and the British film industry, and how budgets divide them. An example of this would come from  the two films I have been comparing. The budgets speak for themselves in terms of the amount they had to work with and really anchors the difference between both Hollywood & British Film and also the Horror and Social Realism genre.

Cloverfield - $25,000,000
Kidulthood - £600,000

The trailer also used live sounds to create the party scene which made the scene more realistic; with very little use of sound effects in this scene. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=&safe=activeIqQzvfn_s30

Trainspotting (1996) Case Study

Trainspotting 1996 – Danny Boyle

The 1996 film ‘Trainspotting’ was distributed by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment as well as Miramax Films. Trainspotting was given an 18 certificate by the BBFC whereas the trailer was awarded a 15 due to the limited violence and other ’18 related themes’ that could be seen.

Film Specifics
The Cast – Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Johnny Lee Miller, Kevin Mckidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald
Budget – £1,550,000

Box Office – $72,000,000

Filming Locations – Although the film was set in Edinburgh, most of the filming was done in Glasgow and some ending scenes shot in London.

As a group we have decided to focus on ‘Trainspotting’ as one of our case studies as it reflects a different depiction of the social realist genre, however still manages to share the similar conventions of a social realist film.

Target Audience
The budget of $1,550,000 was one of the first features I noticed when analysing this case study. Although $1,550,000 is typically regarded as a lot of money, in terms of film production, the budget is very limiting. This is usually a common theme between UK Social Realist films as they are less likely to receive as much funding in comparison to a more commercial successful genre such as action because Social Realist films are targeted to niche audiences of a C2, D and E socio-economic bracket despite their increasing popularity.

Narrative Another feature that particularly stood out to me was the narrative. Trainspotting focuses on the protagonist ‘Renton’, who is greatly involved in the Edinburgh drug scene. His aim however is to clean up and get out despite facing distraction from drugs and friends. Cleverly this was not completed illustrated through the trailer which is common among teaser trailers as the aim is to entice the audience into watching the film. Although not all Social Realist films focus on drugs, Trainspotting shares the similar intention of a character in distress on dissatisfied with their current position is society, and trying to do better for themselves and/or those around them. This is also supports the idea of an escapist theme which we have associated with a film of the social realism genre.

Success
Trainspotting did really well in terms of critical success. After screening in Cannes as well as global cinema distributions the film ended up being the highest grossing film in Britain in 1996 and the fourth highest grossing film in British History at the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ZNKGrpnKM&safe=active

Camera Shots and Angles

 This image has been taken from a scene in Trainspotting. This can be described as an establishing shot which is common among all film genres but is usually significant to revealing the emotions of the characters involved as well as exposing the environment in which the characters tend to want to escape to or from.

The use of a close up shot is effective within a social realism film, especially at the beginning as it allows the audience to decipher the personalities of the characters presented within the film. The opinions of the characters tend to change as the movie proceeds but the initial connection between audience and characters within the film is necessary for the audience to fully connect with the film and therefore emote with characters.

 

Completed by Abena Amoako

Realist Production Pitch

Who We Are:

We are the ‘Realist Production’ media team. Together, we work to provide our audiences with high quality films of the Social Realism genre.  Our aim is to provide a thorough representation of society both hyper-real and honest in order to please our audience, creating fresh and excited ideas that are unique to us.

Why Pick Us?

In our successful attempts to deliver liberating social realism films, we are extremely efficient and offer high quality work. Our team consists of four dynamic individuals:

Kortney Hudson: has taken the role of producer. As producer, Kortney is expected to supervise throughout the production of the trailer and then finally present the product to a financing body such as our film distributor which we have chosen to be BBC films.

Solomon Ssenyonga: will be the director throughout the production of our film trailer. Solomon will be the voice of direction throughout our trailer making. He will be in control of projecting are vision onto the screen so that what we wanted to created can be seen by our audience.

Sean Okpa: Will be mostly focussing on sound design. This involves choosing the correct tracks which will be embedded into our trailer during the editing process which would give a better depiction of our film, as music can contribute to the formation of our characters emotions. Sound also involves making sure that characters can be heard and that there is no disruptive background noise.

Abena Amoako: and myself who will be in charge of editing, as an editor I will be assembling our recorded work into a finished product which will then be distributed. I will be working closely with Sean to make sure are short scenes correlate with are selected sound track. My post production role is key, as it is a big quality determinant.

We work amazingly in bringing something different to our company

Our Target Audience Focus:

From our research we noticed that most social realism films such as Menace II Society and Fish Tank were targeted at those aged 15 and upwards due to possible violent or sensitive scenes and foul language. For Similar reasons we have decided to target our films to those who are aged 15, however in addition to this we feel as though the prominent usage of slang would be most appropriate to people of the this age.

Although there are also various films of the same genre that are targeted to our audience, we believe that there is a gap in the market for our film as it reveals a different dynamic to social realism films because it is filmed from the perspective of the characters. Because social realism films are targeted to niche audiences, we feel as though our film will be successful once distributed as people will be able to watch situations that relate to them.

Film Synopsis:

Our film focuses on the our protagonist character Ramel who is a black male living in East London but aspires to become a rapper; however Ramel is constantly set back by distractions in his life such as friends and family.

Growing up in a more or a less poisonous environment with little motivation has led Ramel to mixing with people that are typically described as the ‘wrong crowd’ but are generally just misled teenagers who feel dependent on their friends as they have grown to be each other’s form of comfort. However this is depicted as being a burden to Ramel who is trying to better him and surpass boundaries that have been set for him.

After finding a leaflet on the train for a talent competition with a grand prize being a contract with a major record label, Ramel is eager to participate in the competition and receives support from his girlfriend, Stacey who acts as an inspirational character in his life.

However before participating in the talent show, Ramel receives a phone call from his friends Femi and Kieron asking him to come look for a boy who had supposedly beaten up Femi.

The trailer ends in great suspense as the viewers are left not knowing whether Ramel has left in a rush to attend his talent show or meet up with his friends.

Marketing Strategy:

We have decided to make a 1.30-2.30 minute trailer and strongly believe social media will make a great contribution to the marketing of our film. Independent social realism films don’t usually have teaser trailers as they have low production budgets and are therefore incapable of creating multiple film trailers, so we think creating a longer trailer will give our audience the information they need in-order to make our trailer and film a success. We feel that in the past few years the development of technology has enabled software’s such as Twitter and Facebook to be created. This offers us a free platform to distribute our media so that it will be accessible to our audiences. 

Created by Abena Amoako

Introduction

Realist Productions

This is the starting point of our groups A2 Media project which we shall be uploading onto this blog that we have created together. We will be regularly updating our blog on the development of our project symbolising our journey and progression leading to our final task. The main task is to create a teaser trailer which is approximately sixty seconds as well as an ancillary task, which is to create a film poster and new independent magazine front cover. The genre in which have decided to focus on is Social Realism, however before this can be done, research needs to be carried out in order to fully grasp the Social Realist genre. Nonetheless I believe it is important to introduce our group which consists of four members: Abena Amoako (Captain), Kortney Hudson, Sean Okpa and myself, Solomon Ssenyonga all from St.Bonaventure’s and Angelas sixth form in East London. We all share a common interest in Media Studies and believe the task of creating are trailer will be an immensely eventful experience.