My Narrative Idea- Young Breed

My idea is based around the life of a small group of teenagers growing up around Manchester and the influences they face that may draw them down a dark path.

The film would focus on one main character and up to four supporting characters. The main character is a sixth former and trying to pass his A level exams but is a struggling student. His mates outside of school are dropouts who spend most of the day hanging out around their local area, drinking smoking and causing a bit of trouble. The main character gets drawn further into this crowd and begins to fail more and more as a result of what he gets up to in his spare time.

Eventually he begins to use drugs and is spending most of his money on getting his weekly supply. He and his mates don't work so in order to get the drugs they start doing favours for the local supplier. This brings the main character into the dark underworld of Manchester where he unwittingly becomes part of the local drug gang doing their work and being paid in cash and drugs.

Throughout the film the audience will see how easily wrong decisions can wreck a persons life both academically and socially as we see the character eventually be kicked out of school and distance himself from friends and family, eventually getting in trouble with the police and other gangs. We will see the violence around it and witness the breakdown of a human being.

I believe that this is a good premise for a British Drama as it has the potential to use all of the main conventions such as low key lighting, the use of drugs and alcohol as well as violence. I would rather avoid using discrimination in the film as I think it is a convention that we should go against as it appeals to a wider audience.

Review of The Focus Group

I feel that our focus group was a success and that we gained useful knowledge to apply to creating our own British Drama Trailer. Personally I feel that one or two people in the group could have committed themselves more to the discussion which could have been done via myself or another member of my group asking them a direct question.

On the other hand the rest of the group made some very useful suggestions. Firstly I have learnt that a trailer such as Legend is more engaging in terms of narrative than This is England because it is set in non-chronological order. The audience we showed the trailers to said that by showing us the chronological events of This is England in the trailer it made it a lot easier for them to predict the outcome of events. Therefore I believe we should use a non chronological trailer as it will keep the audience guessing on what sequence follows leads to each clip and so will find it harder to predict the events of the full film.

If we use women in our trailer the audience, especially females, found it more appealing if the women weren't just eye candy and instead had character to them and personality, as shown in This Is England and Legend, whereas in Bronson the trailer only showed one woman in barely any clothing. I think it would be good to have a narrative that included a female character as it broadens the appeal for a wider audience.

When asked if the audience preferred the film to be relatable or a more unique lifestyle such as Legend, the majority answered unique because they want to watch a film that will be more exciting than their everyday life. Although I agree it is on the whole more interesting to a larger percentage of people, I feel that we don't have the resources to make a trailer like that with the extravagant furniture and materialistic things which we can't afford, so it is more achievable for us to make a film that is more on the lines of Kidulthood because of budget issues.

Another subject of the narrative was whether or not we should have a focus on one character, a couple of characters or a group of characters. Here we got divided opinions. Some argued that the story structure won't be as focused with many main characters whereas a focus on one to three characters will help build a stronger character with a more interesting tale as more screen time can be devoted to them. Others argued that a group has more opportunities in it.

On the topic of music we asked if the music should fit the period in which the film is set. They said that to a point no because if it doesn't fit the narrative and tempo of the trailer then if will feel very jarring and off putting. It therefore has to fit the narrative for instance they liked how This is England purposefully used the music to make you feel emotional and feel sad for Shaun, whereas the more action focused Legend had music that matched the effects on screen creating a more exciting experience. Beth made a useful comment saying that when she watched the clockwork orange trailer it had a classical soundtrack that was the opposite to what was happening on screen and the effect it had was making the world seem crazy and that she felt it was one of the best trailers she has seen because of how effective it was. I feel that this is a good point to consider when making our trailer because depending on the narrative we choose it may help to represent a life that isn't really the true representation of the person.

Overall I believe that the focus group made some very useful points for us to consider when making and planning our trailer and that the advice they have given should be used because they are our target audience and to ignore what they want would be stupid.

Focus Group Video

This is our edited focus group video. We have split it up into three parts due to difficulty uploading onto YouTube and have had to repeatedly re-edit due to work being lost from technical problems with the macs.

Editing The Focus Group Video

Today we edited the focus group session we filmed. Chris and James started by uploading the video onto the Mac computer where we then began to edit using Final Cut Pro X. James and Chris took the first turn of editing by identifying errors in the video and cutting them from the clip as it didn't look good when trying to have a serious discussion. After this I proceeded to cut out the areas where the trailers were playing as we do not need to see their reaction only what their opinions were and feedback we can use in our trailer. Next I added a flash transition because I felt that the cuts were too jarring to watch and the transitions make the clip look smoother where we have edited out content. Finally I added in a title and finish scene which Chris then fine-tuned because the font size and angle was out of place.

Left: Chris George        Right: James Scott 

Left: Sam Warren                Right: Chris George

Focus Group Power Point

For our focus group I made a powerpoint to help bring some visualisation to the group to try and get them more involved with our discussion to promote more in depth responses.

Comparison of Trailers

                                                                                         

In addition to the similarities stated above, each trailer also made use of narration of some sort in the trailer, mostly from the characters themselves through using the dialogues of clips in the film. Most of the shots were in synch with the narration and so it helped drive the outline and basics of the story through the trailers.

Both Bronson and This Is England have their title at the end of their trailer and both use the main character in either a close up or medium shot as this helps reinforce the message being sent in the trailer that the story is about them. It also demonstrates the convention of British films using British actors as it helps target the niche audience of the film that would be Britain because only people in Britain will be familiar with most British actors as they star in films that are catered towards a British audience. Tom Hardy is an exception because since staring in inception he has become quite a big star in Hollywood.

All the trailers have some sort of soundtrack and it suits the mood that the trailer is trying to create. The This Is England trailer is very melancholy and fits in with the themes of loneliness and  anger that is felt in the various characters and helps push the story of finding a place to fit in and belong. The guitar and drum duet in the Bronson helps to emphasise the character whilst the classical music reinforces his insanity and the bombastic brass instruments make him seem like a celebrity.

Audience Theories- The Effects Model

As a group we have decided to research audience theories that relate to our film genre of British Drama. James is researching Todorov's theory whilst Chris is researching the reception theory by Stuart Hall. I am researching the Effects Model which links to the Uses and Gratifications Model .

The idea of the Effects Model is that any media texts has an effect or influence upon the audience and that the effect upon the audience is negative. The theory suggests that the audience is passive and so is powerless to prevent the films influence whereas the message of the film contained within the text is powerful.

Another name for the effect model is the Hypodermic Syringe Theory because the messages within the media text are injected into the audience by the media as a doctor would a drug. Because the audience are powerless to prevent it they accept the message as a patient would accept a drug.

This theory has a couple of studies to be used as evidence such as Frankhurt School theorising that the media was used to restrict the audience to what the government and corporations wanted them to see promoting a political or financial agenda in the 1920's and 30's. This can be linked to more modern times such as with the film American Sniper, released in January 2015, which misrepresented the events leading to the Iraq war making it appear as if 911 was Iraq's fault and so was the reason for the invasion, which would suit the governments agenda of covering an illegal war when in reality it has nothing to do with the events portrayed in the film. this would be important to note for our film as we don't want the audience to take one message from the film which could narrow their mid, instead I would want them to have differing opinions on what the message was to generate conversation, which would spread publicity through word of mouth.

Secondly, the Bobo doll experiment was conducted in 1961 to see the effects that viewing violence would have on a child. In the experiment children watched a video in which a Bobo clown doll was violently attacked by an adult. The kids were then taken to a room with toys that they were not allowed to touch then to a room with a Bobo Doll. 88% of the kids then proceeded to act violently towards the doll and 8 months later the kids were taken back where 40% of them repeated their violent behaviour. From this study we can take that if a younger audience is exposed to scenes of violence committed by an adult or someone of older age they are likely to mirror this violence in some form. British films and violence come naturally with one another as it is a convention of British Film. This means we have to consider the age range of our audience to be around 18-25 years of age to avoid young children being influenced by the themes of our film although it is likely that are actual audience will be lower than our intended audience as younger teenagers and children do find ways to watch texts that are not intended for their eyes.
However further research has suggested that it is unclear whether a violent text will influence a person to do violent things as many people watch violent texts however few people will exhibit violent reactions, leading to the Uses and Gratifications Model.

In the Uses and Gratifications Model the audience is active so they use the text instead of being used by it for their own gratification/pleasure. The power lies within the audience and not the producers meaning that the audience will use the text and interpret it how they see fit instead of reading what the producers want them to see and so the audience will reject or use the text depending on their interpretation of it. The audience will use texts to satisfy their needs which will range from:

• Diversion
• Escapism
• Information
• Comparison of Lifestyle

The most likely interpretation of a British drama would be a comparison of lifestyle as the conventions lean towards the film being dark and violent something which most people don't experience in their day to day lives. This theory completely contradicts the Effects Model as it suggests that the audience is not more likely to commit violence after consuming a violent media text but instead are less likely to. It states that the audience use the film to release their violence and so don't commit violent acts after watching the film. 

Audience Profile

Comparison of Posters

Poster Analysis- Mean Machine

Trailer Analysis- Mean Machine

The trailer starts with the distribution company logo, whilst the narration as to who the main character is begins alongside the non diegetic music that creates an ominous atmosphere throughout the first few shots which are in slow motion slightly and vary between low angle shot and close up shots of Vinnie Jones to establish that he is the main character of the film.

Sudden, rapid jump cuts to black during scenes of apparent police brutality from a first person point of view establish that the film may have quite a serious tone to it which is amplified with the woman asking whether he is dangerous. Sound FX are used to amplify the action with exaggerated sounds with the punches and the swoosh of the ball. This fits in with the convention that British films are violent as the added sound makes each impact sound harder and more physical.

In addition many of the shots are in low key lighting such as the shot of the prison from a low angle pan which makes the building appear more ominous and also inside the prison itself, again conveying with the established conventions that British films are generally shot in lower key lighting.

The jump cuts to the text is very hectic and fits in with the theme of the film, that a footballer has been sent to prison and his life has been turned upside down but from the narration we can gather that he is being given a choice to shorten his sentence by playing football with the prisoners against the guards. The jumbled nature of the text could be seen to represent Vinnie's mind being a mess because of all these sudden changes in his life.

Suddenly the tone of the trailer completely changes as it transitions via a cut to a wide shot of a
prisoner kicking a football as the song unbelievable plays non diegetically. In this section of the trailer we are introduced to the supporting cast of Vinnie Jones and each is introduced with their name and then what appears to be a mug shot using that scene which is a clever way of introducing characters and keeping to the prison theme of the film.

The second half of the trailer is all about the football action using rapid transitions with flashes and jump cuts from shot to shot of tackles, shots and punches, all of which have the same exaggerated sound FX of the first half of the trailer again conveying with the conventions of English films.

Finally the trailer finishes with an extreme close up of Vinnie Jones supposedly about to do something important. this emphasises the fact he is the main draw of the film as he is an ex footballer staring in a film about football, therefore the editors of the trailer managed to put Vinnie Jones in most of the shots used as he is the main appeal of the film.

In conclusion I feel that this is a successful trailer as it creates the appearance that it is a very serious film about a celebrity in prison, however it is an illusion as the second half uses a change in music and narration to take a more light hearted route that emphasises more of the action and humour of British films and not the gritty realism of other British films.

Poster Analysis- Bronson

Trailer Analysis- Bronson

Firstly the trailer opens using the green band rating informing the audience that the trailer is viewable to all ages and wont contain explicit content, however it also states that the actual film has been rated restricted which is the equivalent of an 18 BBFC rating in the United Kingdom, which also informs the audience that the actual film will contain scenes of violence, foul language and sexual content but it will not be shown explicitly in the trailer.

The screen then cuts to black followed by a mid shot of Tom Hardy's character, Charles Bronson, staring at the screen and starting off a monologue which would be used as a narration throughout the trailer. The dark background makes him stand out more as he is lit up by off screen lighting and this identifies him as the main character as he identifies himself as the name of the film and also is the very first actual footage of the film labelling him an important character.

Bronson throughout the trailer will go on to narrate about how he ended up in prison and the editing of the trailer matches what Bronson is describing in most cases such as his decent up bringing, however whilst he is narrating there is a guitar playing in the background that plays in synch with scenes where Bronson is fighting but saying he wasn't bad, highlighting that Bronson believed that his reactions were normal whilst the music intensifies the action making him seem even more violent. Each time we see Bronson punch there is a strum of the guitar and the screen slowly fades to black and to the next shot allowing the image of Bronson fighting to stay in the audiences mind as it is what he was famous for and it also highlights the convention that British films contain a lot of violence.


The production company logo is only on screen for a couple of seconds as it needs to be in the trailer to sell the company however it cant take up too much room as trailers must be short and snappy in order to make their point.


Sound FX are used when Bronson describes his robbery such as a gun shot on the close up of the shotgun and then a cash register sound on the tilt and zoom of the money. The effect of this is adding more depth to the character by making his crime seem more interesting as watching the trailer without the sound makes the crime seem dull as two of the shots of the sequence are just plain stills. However the use of stills makes it appear as if you are looking into Bronson's memory and not footage from the film.



Throughout the trailer the shots of Bronson are primarily from a low angle to emphasise his muscular stature and intimidation factor which he was famous for in reality. Low angle shots are used for the purpose of enlarging a character and so it fits the purpose of the film by conveying Bronson as a larger than life character.



The editing of the text informs the audience of how long Bronson was imprisoned for at the time of release and how many of those were spent in solitary confinement to avoid him being violent. The colour spilling out onto to the screen is representative of Bronson's personality as red has the connotations of anger, violence and blood all of which are central themes to the film and the main character. The actual text is made to appear like concrete which represents the cells that Bronson has spent the majority of his life in.

After the half way point of the trailer the music changes to a classical track which juxtaposes the text on screen which is used to imitate blood splashes on the wall. The effect of this is making Bronson appear violently insane reinforced with a dolly shot of Bronson in a cage singing loudly to himself to annoy the guards.


For the final sequence of the trailer a brass orchestra plays a triumphant tune as a montage begins of clips of Bronson fighting or showing off his intimidating stature through close ups. The sequence makes Bronson appear insane as we see him being dragged away by multiple men whilst he screams and other shots show him half naked pulling manic faces at the camera. All of this help to intrigue the audience into going to watch the full film to see why he acted the way he did and what happened to him because of his violence and insanity.

One of the last shots are of the title which is a mid shot of Bronson with the title of the film underneath him reinforcing the messsage to the audience that the film we solely be about Bronson and his life in prison as it is again set in low key lighting suggesting he is in a cell. The very last shot is of the websitelink for the film where the audience can learn more about the release.



To conclude I feel that the trailer was a success as it gives the audience a glimpse into the narrative of the story without giving too much a way of the plot whilst still being entertaining by containing scenes highlighting Bronson's humorous side and violent side, both of which stem from his manic tendencies.