Production Log Two

This week in class I learnt about the different conventions needed in a British Social Realism film, for it to be classed under that genre. In one lesson we learnt all about the mise-en-scene for British Social Realism films. An easy way to remember the different categories of mise-en-scene is PLACE. Production design, Lighting, Actors, Colour design and Era. 

My notes about mise-en-scene in BSR.

Conventions in Relation to Audience 

Mise-en-scene - This is everything in the shot. In BSR mise-en-scene is very important as it helps determine the genre. The props, lighting, actors, colours and era all have to relate to the film, if one thing is out of place, it won't make that much sense. 

Screen grab from the Adulthood trailer

In the screen grab above you can see that the mise-en-scene fits perfectly with British Social Realism. First of all, the location is just outside an estate, which is a typical BSR location. The lighting is low key, which connotes the darkness of the BSR genre. The costume the character is wearing, is a tracksuit and trainers, a typical BSR costume and the colour design is very dark, it's not very bright. All of these aspects help the audience to figure out that it's a BSR film. 

Themes 

There are many different themes that appear in British Social Realism films, but the mains ones that come up all the time are; Poverty, Corruption of youth, Petty crime and 

Drugs. 

Screen grab from Attack the Block

This scene from Attack the Block is 'Ron's weed room'. This clearly shows the theme of drugs, but also the one of corruption of youth. The kids that live in the estate are mainly teenagers, yet they're in the weed room and through out the film, many of them smoke weed.  Themes are important in relation to the audience as it helps them understand that it's a British Social Realism film and that these themes are typical in the area where characters live.

Actors

All the actors in British Social Realism films are very unknown. Some of them have never acted before. This is so the acting of these characters is more believable, it isn't overdone and fake. 

Screen grab taken from The Selfish Giant

These two boys from 'The Selfish Giant' were casted from an open casting process, neither of them had acted before. It makes the relationship between the two characters more real. The actors are just ordinary everyday people, which is exactly what the characters are meant to be like, so it helps if the person you're playing is just another version of you, it's not that far from reality.  

Also, with BSR actors, they're mainly young actors. You're likely to see teenagers as the main characters as usually they're the ones that fit in with the BSR genres. BSR films that are dominated with teenagers are; Adulthood, Attack the Block, Fish Tank and Kidulthood. 

With having unprofessional actors, it makes the dialogue flow more. They don't stick to script word for word. They realise the parts that are important but most of the time they improvise. 

A Room for Romeo Brass

In this scene from 'A Room for Romeo Brass', you can tell that the conversation between Romeo Brass and his mother is improvised and not repeated again and again. It's important for the actors to look and feel realistic as it means that the audience can relate and sympathise with them more. If it looks like they're clearly putting on the character, than they won't sympathise as much. 

These conventions will inform my production as now I know what conventions to put in to clearly show the BSR genre.

For example, in my film, I will make sure that the mise-en-scene is perfect. The film 'Adulthood' uses mise-en-scene very well in the film as it is filmed mainly in an estate and the costumes and lighting all relate well to BSR. From watching this trailer, I already had a few ideas about where I would shoot my film. 

The location where I am thinking of filming - It has an alleyway and flats in the distance.

I will use the different themes of BSR, but mainly the one of Corruption of Youth as I am very fascinated by this theme in British Social Realism. Usually films that include Corruption of Youth, lead the character back on the right path after, but this is very unlikely in BSR, so I am excited to come up with a storyline that includes this. 

Regarding to actors, I am likely to get people from school to act, as they are going to be the age that the characters will be likely to be - teenagers. 

One text I found particularly influential was 'Tight Jeans' by Destiny Ekaragha. One of the main reasons I like this short film, is because for the whole 8 minutes, there isn't one static shot. In every single shot there is some action, be it a subtle zoom or someone talking.  Click Here to watch the film. 

Screen grab from Tight Jeans

Shown in the screen grab above are the three main characters of this short film. I like how this film, is based on just three characters having a conversation about a man wearing tight jeans. The conversation sees very real and effortless, which is something I hope to replicate when I make my film. I also like the choice of location in this film. In the background of every single shot, you can see a part of the estate, you can tell the director thought of every single shot and where the characters are positioned. 

Another text I found influential was 'My Brother the Devil'. I haven't seen this film as of yet, but watching the trailer in class made me really intrigued and I will probably watch it in the near future. Click Here to see the trailer. 
I really liked this trailer, as the story enticed me. It's about a man who does all the typical 'gangster' stuff, so his brother doesn't do it. He wants his brother to get an education while he's out making the money and providing for him. But it becomes apparent that the younger brother wants to follow the same path his older brother is on. I found this influential as it's different from the typical BSR films, it's not all about the crime and drugs, this film is about a man trying to get away from all of that and wanting better for his family. I hope that my opening sequence will tell the audience what the storyline is, like this trailer did for me. I want it to be different from typical BSR films. 

I think I will definitely conform to the conventions as I need them for the audience to realise that it is a BSR film. But I will be careful in how much I conform to them, as I don't want it to be very similar to all the well-known BSR films out there, I want it to have some originality. I will mainly conform to the actors and mise-en-scene conventions, but maybe steer away slightly from all the typical themes in BSR.