Pre - Production VOX POPS!!!

This is part of our research, where we went around to people asking them specific questions to help us with our planning for our idea.




Questions asked in VOX POPS!!!

1) Do you watch British Social Realism films, if so why?
2) What kind of issues would you want dealt with in films?
3) What character would you relate to most in a film?
4) What do you think of an abusive father?
5) How would react to strong domestic violence?
6) What would you do if you were being abused by your parents?
7) What do you think of this synopsis,
“15 year old girl is abused by her father, but she keeps it to herself, the pain gets bigger, the scars get worse, she gets pregnant”


From this research I have gained a lot of ideas that we can use in our opening sequence. Firstly a lot of people would want drugs, sex and alcohol in films. Which can be dealt with and is a good idea for a British Social Realism film, but, I think it is too common because it is already in most or every other film. Secondly, all the people that we interviewed said that they like the idea of an abusive father. I also think this idea is really good, because it is uncommon, you do not see it much in films. Also because many people, especially children would have been through this, so it is something they can relate to, so I think it is a good idea, which we will stick with. When they were asked, what would they do if they were being abused by their parents, they said they would either call child line or tell someone. However, people actually in this situation, I think would not tell anyone, because they would be too afraid, so I think that is something we can linger on for our idea. Finally, everyone liked the synopsis, because they thought we could do a lot with it and because it would be a great controversial topic to deal with, also because many people can relate to it. Although, one person said, that because we said that she becomes pregnant, it gives too much away, they said the story has already been told. Yet I think that because we are only filming the opening sequence of a film, we will not have to portray or even include that she is pregnant. I think for the opening sequence, all we need to show that is, the girl is being abused by her father, so what will she do about it.

I think this research will be very helpful for when planning our idea, and for the actual video. But most importantly it was a lot of fun.

Pre - Production Log (week 3)

This week with Miss Severn, we looked at sound in opening sequences and how they are used to grab the audiences’ attention and give a sort of theme to the movie. For my analysis, I chose Nowhere Boy; this opening sequence had a nice uplifting song at the start, which also suited the era of the film. It also gave a theme to the movie, since the film is based on the Beatles.

In Miss Bain’s class we found out that for our opening sequence coursework, we had to include a 750 word treatment, so in that lesson, we made mini 25 word treatments for British Social Realism opening sequence ideas. I and my partner Aran came up with one for our idea of sex abuse:

“15 year old girl gets sexually abused by her father, she cannot handle the stress, the pain eats her, the scars get bigger, she becomes pregnant…”

Even though there is one more word extra, it still counts. We will also be using this for our vox pops; vox pops are like short snappy interviews, asking a few questions. We will be taking a camera around to people, so that we can ask them a few questions for research on our opening sequence. We will also include a fragment of this in the treatment.

Pre - Production Log (week 2)

This week we looked at opening sequences and their credits, we looked at where they were placed, how important they were and the duration of each. For my analysis I chose Happy-Go-Lucky, this opening sequence had a lot of credits at the start. We also learnt that Hollywood films have more credits at the start then independent films.

In Miss Bain’s class we learnt about the different techniques that opening sequences use to grab the audiences attention. We learnt a variety of techniques, for example, enigmas, which means it, makes a mystery or a question in your mind.

So now I understand, that we need all this we have learnt this week, to make the perfect opening sequence that are audience will enjoy.

Pre - Production Sound analysis of (Nowhere Boy)

In the beginning there is a sting/theme tune for the film 4 title. This maybe because it is the main production company, or just because this is there mark. There is a 1960's song, to suit the era and it is light hearted, to show the liveliness and the mischief of these young teenagers. It also ensures, the film starts of on a happy note. Their accent is, what is called 'scouse', the kind of northern accent. Also the most important aspect I think is that, whenever there is speech, the music quietens down, this is important if you want your audience to understand what is going on, also, so they can follow the story properly.

Pre - Production Analysis of film conventions in an opening sequence

For this analysis, I have chosen the film (Hunger)

Open publication - Free publishing - More analysis

Pre - Production Analysis of Themes and Ideology

It is important that British Social Realism films have a theme and ideology, because they try and tell the audience the truth through their films. So they need a theme and ideology to push the beliefs even further, without the themes and ideologies there would not be any emotion behind the truthful message they are trying to get across.

The themes and ideologies are unique in a British Social Realism film, because they concentrate on the hard and gritty part of life. It is not always a happy ending, that’s what these films are putting across to the audience, that life is not fair all the time. Unlike Hollywood films, where you always get a happy ending, these Social Realism films represent real life, that’s why they are unique.

There is a pattern of the themes and ideologies in British Social Realism films, because they focus on the truth of life and what it really is. The main topics they would focus on are, alcohol, drugs, underage sex and pregnancy, gang violence and the struggles of families. All these themes and ideologies mostly represent the life of the working class, which is what mainly Social Realism films concentrate on.

My Synopsis

Since alcohol is a problem in Britain, with people consuming alcohol and doing illegal things like drunk driving. I thought it would be a great idea for a British Social Realism film.

My story will be about a 12 year old boy whose father drinks all the time. The boy’s mother died, so the father tries to bring up the only child, but he cannot. The story will be about how this boy looks after his father, by feeding, washing him and taking care of him. With the stress at home, he also has to go to school and make sure he concentrates. But one day, he gets in trouble in school, so he has to stay back and explain to them that it was not him. He’s in school for a long time and when he comes home he finds out that is father is dead…

Pre - Production Analysis of Opening Sequence

For this analysis I have chosen the opening of Happy-Go-Lucky, directed by Mike Leigh. As the opening credits are being played, we can see the main character riding on a bicycle through town; this is almost like an establishing shot, to let the audience know the location of the film and where it is set.



The production companies were very basic and look like they haven’t been spent much time on, to show that this film is very simple. The typography of the opening credits are very girly, to show us that the audience for this film are mostly girls and women, this also looks very plain and simple.

Open publication - Free publishing - More analysis

Pre - Production Evaluating Past Students Work

This week we were given two past students’ blogs to analyse, we were also given the mark scheme to guide us. We had to use the mark scheme to give them a score on planning and research, construction, and evaluation.

Mark Scheme:

Blog 1 (Ellie):

Ellie’s blog showed that she put effort into her work, because her planning and research were quite detailed. However, her final video did not show this, because her video was very boring and the story line was quite confusing. It lacked the knowledge and the effort she had put into her research. I think this is because she lost interest in the project, it also showed in her evaluation, because it was not detailed and too generic. But, I think she was being honest.

Blog 2 (Gemma):

Gemma’s blog also had a lot of detail and her blog was well structured, so it was easy to understand. Her blog showed that she had done a lot of research and planning, which is useful for making the final video. Gemma’s final video, was good and I especially like her credit placement. Furthermore, she also used real footage from protests, which was very interesting. However, the only criticism I have is that she used a common beginning, “waking up from bed”. Her evaluation was very detailed and had an in depth analysis of her own strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, I thought both blogs were excellent. However, it was Gemma’s blog that stood out, because she had more detail in her blog and it was structured better. Also, her final video was more interesting and you can kind of figure out the main theme of the film.

The things that I have learnt from this are that a lot of detailed planning and research is important. Also that a well structured blog makes it easier to understand, which will make it easier to get through to your audience. In addition to this, I have also learnt that time management is important, because the time must but evenly managed between the three main areas to get the best outcome. I will also try not to loose interest in the project, and make sure that my blog is not boring. I will not use common beginnings, but a unique beginning to grab the audiences’ attention. 

Pre - Production Analysis of a British Social Realism film

For this analysis, I have chosen the film (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels):

Pre - Production Log (week 1)

This week, we have started our coursework. We are only in the first stage of our planning process, and have been informed of what there will be to come. Our project is to make a 2 minute opening sequence for a film, based on British Social Realism. Since we are British ourselves, this might appear simple, but yet there will be some challenges ahead. But I know we will overcome these hurdles and finish this project to a high standard.

On Tuesday we went on a media trip to seven kings high school, where there were various workshops and talks by successful people in the media field. It was interesting to see, that there are lots of things you can do with media. We also looked at some other peoples work, which were inspiring. This trip helped me to recap everything that we have learnt and also most importantly, gave me a lot of ideas of what I can use for opening sequence.

On Thursday, we were given the level 4 criteria and the coursework mark scheme. We used the mark scheme to analyse 2 past students’ blogs;

Blog 1

Blog 2

Analysing and marking these blogs, gave me an idea of how my blog should be and how much detail I need to put in. Both blogs had their strengths and weaknesses, but I thought blog 2 was better overall, because she went into more detail with her planning and evaluation. These blogs have also helped me to realise that my blog is just one big scrapbook, and any ideas I get, I should just plonk them onto my blog, because it is all part of the planning process. When we were analysing the blogs, I noticed that they were extremely long; this is because they put in all their ideas. This is not just to get marks, when it comes down to the actual filming, we can look back at different ideas, which will help us make the most amazing 2 minute opening sequence ever.

So from my first production log, I say let the games begin…