WEEK 2: (PRE-PRODUCTION: MOCK-UPS & STORYBOARDING; UPDATE PRESENTATION)
How are you using media technologies in the planning and research?
Using a digital camera on the storyboard helped me to clearly plan what I wanted to include in my trailer and gave me a good perspective of what could work and what couldn't. Also, on the first couple of slides I have added on my storyboard the film production company logos which was created using Photoshop Software. This helped me design the production logos overall giving me a professional look of the trailer and it looking like an official trailer like the ones that appear on TV.
Here is my overall storyboard:
In what ways will your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
I have done some extra research on three London films: 'Bullet Boy', 'Fish Tank' and 'Anuvahood'. These three films were both chosen due to their similarity in racial class and ethinicity and also the obvious class division. After watching these films that were very similar to the idea our group's trailer for a film, I had made some essays to properly analyse these films in detail. They include my thoughts and ideas about the representation of youths and how it is portrayed in the film. Not only this but I show a full analysis of the maise-en-scene, sound, camera angles and effects in order to show this. My plan was to use a couple of their ideas and incorporate it into our own trailer, but exaggerating them considering that our idea is more of a spoof ( most similar to Anuvahood).
How the representation of teenagers is represented in ‘Bullet Boy’.
Bullet Boy tells the story of Ricky, a young black male, struggling to escape his criminal past, peer group, and most importantly his sense of absolute loyalty. This loyalty leads him to pay back a debt owed to a close friend, despite warnings from his girlfriend, mother, and a leader of the local church, himself a man with a past. The result is an escalating pattern of violence between two gangs, with the eventual loss of three young lives. The film is about a family in crime ridden east London, the eldest son's involvement in gun crime, and the effects of this on his younger
brother.
Bullet Boy portrays the stereotypical views of black youths throughout.
Statistics show that inner city black men between 15 and 29 are at greatest risk of involvement in violent crime, either as perpetrator or victim. The violence commonly occurs within known circles and near victims' homes. This also leads to the over-representation of black males in the criminal justice system and the prison population.
Poor economic conditions often force aggressor and victim to live in close proximity. This phenomenon is termed “tinder box criminal
aggression.” The film illustrates this point well, focusing on some of the reasons for the development of the criminal subculture, such as easy availability of firearms, violent role models, and early exposure to violence in children's games.
In conclusion, I believe that some of these representations are true, however their only true and accurate to an extent, as sometimes they are also exaggerated so that they seem more dangerous and interesting. That is done so it creates a moral panic about those places and maybe raises an awareness of the crimes that take places in there.
In conclusion, I believe that each representation has its negative and positive side. However, I think the media only betrays the negative side as they are more interesting and entertain able. Therefore, I believe representation of real people and real places are realistic to an extent.
How is social class and ethnicity represented in Fish Tank?
Fish Tank is a 2009 British drama film directed by Andrea Arnold, filmed in the Mardyke Estate in Havering. The film begins with the title name ‘Fish Tank’ in plain black and white centered and surrounded by the darkness. Already, this is symbolic of Mia’s lifestyle which we later learn that she is the fish trapped in this small tank.
This isn’t the only animal imagery we get that is symbolic to Mia, throughout the movie Mia creates a bonding relationship between a white horse that is trapped in the deprived surroundings, we also learn the similarities between them, and that they are both aged fifteen / sixteen, both are white and both are useless with no adequate carer’s.
The constant shadow that appears during the close up, over the shoulder shots of Mia creates an illusion as though she is fading in with the black background almost into nothingness. This shot gives Mia a sense of loneliness, emptiness and unfulfillment. The over the shoulder shot that shows the deprived area Mia is living in can also be a metaphor for this ‘bright future’ Mia has in front of her, however all that is shown are the endless symmetrical estates.
Towards the beginning of Fish Tank, the shots taken of Mia are handheld low angle shots to show Mia’s fierce personality and edgy behaviour. The high angle shots are what show the estates and Mia’s superiority over them.
But this could also be interpreted as a common teenager’s life of confusion and chaos. Notice that later on in the film however, we can feel Mia’s sense of vulnerability shown by the high angle shots over her and the low angle still shots viewing the estates. This lets us know that the deprived area has gotten the best out of Mia which is when her sense of false hope disappears.
Not only does this show Mia to be in her own little bubble, but also shows her unintelligence as the viewers could already see this coming which only builds to the tension. At this point of the film the audience realise that her fierce side is a façade for protection, and her core is revealed showing her emotional, loving side. Very rarely at the beginning we see Mia’s front, usually the shot is over the shoulder, the only times at which Mia’s front is revealed is during a time of argument or physical encounter.
The props that are used during the movie exaggerate the lifestyle of a lower class family. Props used such as cheap alcohol, loop earrings, Mia’s MP3, cigarettes and makeup only add to the façade of a rich and happy lifestyle. One that really catches the audience’s attention was a small cheap TV that viewed programmes such as MTV Cribs and Sweet 16. This huge contrast clearly stated the division between classes and the representation of them both. The size of the TV could also be a metaphor of how small their chances are of making it in the middle class world and how large, dark and gloomy their realistic lifestyle is.
The mise-en-scene is hugely relevant in Fish Tank as it shows stereotypes of the typical underclass and what it would appear like. Mia’s clothes are important from colour to size. The constant grey baggy matching tracksuits she constantly appears to be wearing shows her purity and young youthful age. However, this may also be interpreted as dusty and unclean considering she is coming from a poor background. Her loose garments illustrate Mia’s means of covering her inner feelings and being lost in her deprived surroundings, forced to hide the true her. We realise the real Mia when she interacts with her music, dancing alone, at these points do we see Mia’s hoodie put away.
What also creates this idea of the ‘American Dream’ in Mia’s lower class family is the use of sound. Constantly being played throughout the film is the song, ‘California Dreaming’, this again creates a façade image of what goals Mia is to reach which adds to the false hope leading to great disappointment towards the end of the film.
The representation of the lower class is the idea that there is only a cycle of how the underclass lives and this cycle is unbreakable. An example of this is the medium close up shot showing Mia and her mother at the same level and her sister behind her both dancing symmetrically.
Another example is when Mia’s sister, towards the end of the film, replies to Mia before she leaves to go off with the man she doesn’t love, “Say hello to the world for me”. From this we can instantly understand the underclasses mentality that freedom is rare if not impossible and that they must settle with deprivation or settle with what is on offer, which Mia accepted with open arms as it was the only way that she could be released from her ‘fish tank’.
Focusing on the representations presented in the movie Anuvahood.
Anuvahood is an urban comedy film directed by Adam Deacon. The film focuses around the life of Kenneth (Adam Deacon), a young man living on the Goonbred Estate in London. His full-life dream is becoming an MC. The representations demonstrated in Anuvahood shows a wide range of perspective of masculinity and youth. Both representations are negative towards the beginning of the film however revolve eventually.
During the first scene of Anuvahood, the Mise-en-scene is dark and creates a mysterious feeling. The shots are close-up to show the expressions on the characters faces. The fast shots make the pace rapid and edgy and the lack of colour hints to the audience that these characters are dark, aggressive and emotionless. This representation of masculinity that is exaggerated is shown to be something powerful and demanding. We later on realise that Kenneth is a representation of the weak masculinity attempting to be this ‘masculine’ person that he isn’t. How we can tell the great divide between the weak and strong masculinity is the great use of colour on the weak masculine characters.
There is a huge contrast from this and the stronger representations of masculinity. The use of dark colours like black and greys can be a metaphor for the dark image ruining the clear picture. The shots used also create a divide between representations of masculinity. For example, in the CD shop the shots taken of Kenneth and his friend are high angle, showing their vulnerability regardless of them being in their own society. What is ironic is that those from the lower-class doing the worst jobs have a high status and authority among the youth, this includes the CD shop man and even the Indian corner shop man selling Frutellas to Kenneth.
On the other hand, there seems to be a higher authority of men over women, regardless of their status. Women, particularly of the youth age are seen as ‘skets’ and ‘slags’. Shots of them are usually wearing gender dividing colours such as pink for the females and blue and a multi choice of colours for the males. The shots taken of women are usually from a distance in which they blend in with the establishing shot so that the attention is not brought on them but on the masculine men wearing eye-catching colours with close up rapid shots taken of them. A sociologist once said to be male or female is biological, but to be masculine or feminine is sociological. The use of derogatory language shows lacks of obedience and respect these youth have in which their parents have failed to teach their kids the simple norms and values.
Kenneth and his friends are often portrayed as unintelligent which is another representation of the youth. He is represented as a product of society and one who is too consumed into his surroundings. This is presented through music and ambient sound. Right at the beginning of the movie we hear the city’s white noise and the cultural music involving raggaeton / bashment. The catchy music played at the most hilarious point of the movie help to break the ice between the serious masculinity and the weak masculinity; this is also how we can tell the huge divide between the two.
Discuss the representations of gender presented in 4.3.2.1.
4.3.2.1 Is a British crime thriller film directed by Noel Clarke and Mark Davis, released 2 June 2010? It stars, Emma Roberts, Ophelia Lovibond, Shanika-Warren Markland, Tamsin Egerton, Adam Deacon, Ashley Thomas and Noel Clarke. The story focuses mainly upon 4 friends, Jo, Shannon, Kerrys and Cassandra. Throughout 4.3.2.1 there is juxtaposition between the male and female gender which is quite the opposite of what is often represented in the media. 4.3.2.1 clearly show their intention to challenge the stereotypical traits of gender which project a male / female’s false character and mannerisms. They aim to challenge the prejudice thoughts and ideas of the public ‘Western women have been controlled by ideals and stereotypes as much as by material constraints.’ (Naomi Wolf). How they do this is by using numerous media skills such as mise-en-scene, sound, shots, angles and character positions. 
The mise-en-scene is used to present the new image of a woman as sexual and revealing. For instance, Kerry who has a lesbian girlfriend seems to wear a small amount of clothing that is revealing and inappropriate. Justifying this is “Men act, women appear” (Berger) This regards her as impure but at the same time proud and careless of the world’s thoughts. Kerry seems to be holding powerful props like long swords and guns; this is symbolic of her personality which completely goes against the old fashioned elegant woman. Low angle shots of her shows her hierarchy especially above the men, shown by her positioning as she is always standing and the ‘masculine’ men are always sitting. The fact that the man’s status isn’t lowered just increases Kerry’s authority and power. 
It seems that throughout the film the females are chaotic and rebellious but only at time of purpose and do not cause harm or trouble unless absolutely necessary. This doesn’t go for the males however. For example, actor Adam Deacon is presented as immature and dependent on stolen goods along with his friends. Low angle shots and the dull colours worn show the economic status as well as their power and intelligence status. They unfortunately do not equal up to the four females as we later on learn when they are defeated e.g. Noel Clarke and Jo at the supermarket, and only appear at a time of trouble e.g. Shannon at the bar who is approached by a male.
A huge divide between both genders is also shown by the positioning of characters, very rarely are a man and female positioned close together. But however, when they are together this again is when trouble will arise, for example, Kerry and Kerry’s brother begins a confrontation in the corridor. Humour is also used to show the joking and loving side of females that is very rarely shown in other media products. Feminism having a sense of humour makes it seem as though work for these ladies is effortless which increases their superiority. The males on the other hand, constantly look oppressed and in anxiety which is whom we laugh at and not with. The low angle shots and constant fidgeting is a huge contrast from the female’s strong frame and grounded positioning.
Lastly, the sound used for the main music is often fast passed and edgy, which resembles the physical and mental speed of the female characters. Not much ambient/white noise is noticed from the females perspective which makes them appear to be almost superhuman and only notice the important noises. This is the opposite as when shots are taken from a man all surroundings are heard which increases the distress we feel from the character and we begin to sympathise for them, as they have no intelligence. Regarding the sound effects, swoosh noises are heard which increases the superhero effect for females which makes the audience believe they have this exciting lifestyle and we are consumed into their story. Even though parts are exaggerated we edge on the characters for their fierce representations and make ourselves believe it is realistic.
To sum up my analysis I believe that 4.3.2.1 has made an incredible turnover in challenging the common representations brought in by the media on gender. This is what makes the film original and innovative. Perhaps the hyperbole was added for sheer audience entertainment, there was still a more important purpose which was to show a side of both genders which could change a perspective or two.
My 2GB Sandisk Cruzer Slice Memory Stick also helped me save memory and transfer files from one place to another. This was important as documents that were needed for filming e.g. Filming Script, Storyboards, Example of trailer videos could be taken from one computer and printed / viewed in another so this helped a great deal when transferring files as it was compatible.
