Firstly, the first British social realism film in which i will be discussing the themes on is a film called Billy Elliot which is about a boy that takes up ballet classes. Below is the opening scene showing Billy Elliot lifestyles which involves looking after his grandma and dancing to ballet. One of the themes in which is used from this opening scene is Childhood. This is due to the opening scene of this film focused mainly on a child and the things he has to do every morning due to his dad working and leaving him on his own. This connotes that children do all the housework without their parents around and it also shows their living conditions which is tough and old due to the location and setting that this opening scene of Billy Elliot.
Moreover, another British social realism film in which i will be discussing it's themes is a scene from the film called Scum which is based on a British youth institution where they are treated poorly. One of the themes in which is used from this British Social Realism film Scum is violence. This is when Carlin ''Ray Winston'' uses a snooker ball in a sock and attacked a fellow member. This connotes that teenagers were seen as violent and dangerous which is why they film is filmed in a detention center to show violent teachers. The violence in which is used in this scene of scum is usual in a british social realism because they are various types of violence used in a variety of BSR's such as weapons, punching and kicking which is used in this scene of Scum.
Furthermore, another theme in which is used in a British social realism is gangs and violence. One of the British social realism film in which uses these two themes is a film called Kidulthood. Which is based on youths and the problems they have to overcome and what they have to face which leads to one of the main protagonists getting murdered. Below is a clip when three teenagers assault another character who is shown as the bully out of the other teenagers. This relates to the theme of violence which this film is based on.
However, another British social realism in which uses a different theme for their film is a film called four lions. Four lions theme is mainly based on terrorism which the plot of the film is based on. Another theme is racism which this film is about as it's stereotyping Muslims as showing that they are a threat and that they want to bomb whatever they can find. Below is a clip from four lions where it shows a group of people planning an attack. Four Lions doesn't take the theme terrorism seriously because they make it more into a comedy than something serious which can show that they think little about terrorism and how it affects the environment. The impact in which the audience would have from this film is a big impact comedy wise as they entertain the audience. More than they want to show what terrorism can do to people or places.
Film
Billy Elliot is a film which was made to show a young boy's story and the obstacles he had to face during the striking period which was the 1980's and how he became famous. He participated in a ballet class which at first his Dad did not approve of which led to him constantly getting told to do things he hated doing like boxing and wrestling.
Characters
Firstly, the type of people that are in the trialer are lower class people. This is due to the way they dress and their living conditions. Also, the trailer showssome stereotypical of the girls in ballet uniform and dancing which was pink and Billy Elliot boxing inhis gear which shows that these are the stuff that boys and girls do in their spare time which is stereotyping both Girls and Boys.
Lighting
Secondly, the lighting in which is used for some of the scenes from the Billy Elliot trailer is dark lgihting. One of the scenes in which use dark lighting is the one where he is reading a letter from his mum. They use dark lighting for this scene because it makes the audience feel sympathy for the boy because he never saw his mother sothis lighting creates sadness for the scene. Moreover, another one of the Mise-En-Scene in which i have to talk about are the actors which for this film is Billy Elliot. Billy Elliot is a countertype during the movie. This is due to him doing ballet instead of boxing which is seen as unusual because you wuldn't expect a teenager boy to be interested in something like ballet.
In addition, the main colours that are used in this trailer are dark colours. This is because the story is set in a dark time when people were protesting due to them not getting paid enough money which led to workers striking and protesting. So the director thought to include dark colours throughout the trailer to relate to the dark times of workers striking. Lastly, the final mise-en-scene in which i will be tallking about the era in which this movie was set in. The era in which the movie is set in is the 1980's i know this because it was at the same time when the workers had went on strike and protested when the workers didn't get enough pay. I think the director decided to film during the strike because he wanted the film to have another meaning of the story rather than it just about a kid who becomes a ballet dancer as it shows how the father is affected by the strike aswell as Billy himself.
Trailer Firstly, throughout the trailer they use fast paced scenes showing glimpses of drama and what happens in the film to create hype towards the movie. Also, they use these fast paced scenes in their trailer because they want to engage the audience with whats going on. Below is one of the fast paced scenes from the trailer this all relates to the production design which is part of the Mise-En-Scene.
Lighting Secondly, the lighting in which is mainly used for this trailer is natural lighting, this creates realism towards the audience and to show what era it is which is modern and to make the trailer stand out more. Furthermore, natural lighting can also make the trailer more engaging for viewers because they may not like slow paced trailers with dim lighting which the target audience for this film may not like.
Accent Moreover, there is a certain accent that is used thrpughout this trailer which is slang. Slang is the main accent which is used by the actors from Fish Tank because it relates to the locationand setting which this film takes place which is a council estate in London. So they use the correctaccent for the film tomake it what it is today one of themost popular british social realism film.
Colours/Lighting Furthermore, the colours in which are used throughout this trailer are bright and natural colours such as blue, yellow and red which are used as painting inside the house. This is done so that the trailer and the full film isn't seen as dull and boring and it shows that they have put in effort to make the trailer stand out to it's target audience which are teenagers between the ages of 14 and 19.
Mise-En-Scene Lastly, the final Mise-En-Scene which i have to talk about for this trailer is Era. The era in which this filmis set in is the modern day era. This is due to the film being set in a modern day area which is a councli estae. Also they use modern technology such as phones and teenagers doing unusual things such as smoking and drinking which happens in the modern era. As in the 1970's you would never seen teenagers drinking or smoking. Which is why this film is in the modern era.
In these first two weeks of doing AS media studies I have learned all about Genre Theories for example key words such as; convention, iconography, archetypes, stereotypes, counter types, denote and connote. Also, i have learned about representations of gender, ethnicity, age, religion in british sitcoms and how they are represented to audiences. We watched a trailer called 'This Is England' where we had to identify camera shots, camera angles and camera movements to identify how they were represented in the 90's. I completed a powerpoint presentation based upon the This is England trailer along with some other examples which you can see from my other blog.
Furthermore, one of the things in which I am confident on is explaining why the camera shots, angles and movement are used in a certain scene and can give examples to back up my point. Also, another thing I am confident with is applying media terminology to analysis of texts for example target audience and has connotations of. However, one of the things in which i am not so confident on in Media is the theorists such as Laura Mulvey and Vladimir Propp and how they appeal to the media. The way in which I can improve my confidence on these theories is by revising them more in detail to get an easier understanding of the part these theories play in media.
Non - Diegetic Sound - Non - Diegetic sound s any sound that has been placed over the top of the action. For example: A voice over.
Above, is a advertising promo for a big match that had taken place last year. At 0.23 of the video you start to hear the voice over of one of the wrestlers describing his feelings towards his big lost last year and how it has affected him. This gives a sorrow feeling for the audience as they are watching a wrestler who lost one of the biggest matches of his life describing how hard his life was because of that defeat. Also, the audience can be informed by the promo due to them showing clips of what had happened last year for those who had missed it or had forgotten.
Diegetic Sound - This is the only sound that the character within the scene will be able to hear themselves and it goes with the scene. For example: People talking in a bar and hearing drinks being poured into glasses.
Above, is a clip from the movie Top Gun and the diegetic sound which is used in this clip is music being played from the jukebox. This creates realism not only to the characters but also to the audience so that they can get a feeling of what is going on in the bar. Furthermore, I can also tell that this is a diegetic sound because the main character is reacting to the music being played throughout the scene.
Dialogue - Dialogue are the words that are spoken between 2 or more people.
Above is a dialogue scene between 2 characters talking about nature and what they think about it. The use of a dialogue in this scene at 0.48 is to show both characters point of views towards nature as the man asks whether she thinks it is beautiful or not and this dialogue shows both characters instead of one talking to themselves. This makes the audience feel more engaged and interested with what is happening.
Mode Of Address - Is the way in which the subject is communicating with others and how the audience read it. An example would be either formal or informal language.
Above, is a very good example for Mode of address. This is because throughout this trailer of Fish Tank the characters are communicating with informal language such as slang to the audience. This could suggest that the people in the trailer are not well educated and could be criminals as they are using informal language. The effect in which is given to the audience by the use of informal language from fish Tank trailer is a bad effect towards teenagers that live in estates in London as it would show the audience how usual teenagers are which is called stereotyping.
Direct Address - This is where the subject is speaking directly to the target audience. For example a monologue.
Above, is Roy Batty from the film Blade Runner making his final speech to the camera. The effect in which is given from this monologue is a strong effect as the audience knows that the character is going to die so it could create a bit of sympathy for the character which is why having Roy Batty performing his final monologue will give a storming effect to the audience. This is why Direct Address is a key feature when it comes to films.
Synchronous Sound
This is where the sound matches the visuals and was filmed at the same time.
Above, is a video showing all the best bits from season 7 of the Big Bang Theory. At 3:10 of the video synchronous sound is used when one of the characters is dancing to the music while partying. This shows that the sound of music is matching the visuals and was filmed at the same time. This is used so it can show the audience what the characters is dancing to and can engage the audience more with what's happening.
Asynchronous Sound
This is where the sound is either out of sync, or completely unrelated to the visuals.
This is a example of when asynchronous sound is used. One of the asynchronous sounds in which is used from this example is when children's voices begin to play when someone is running in the woods. This shows that they didn't use the right sound for the scene. This gives
Sound Motif
A sound motif is a piece of music or catchphrase that is linked to a character for example Arnold Schwarzenegger with 'I'll be back''
At 1:27 of a clip from the Catherine Tate show she says her well know character quote that is ''Am I bothered?'' The effect this gives on the audience is a good effect because it is a comedy like programme and because she always says ''Am i Bothered?'' which makes the audience laugh which gives a positive effect towards the target audience.
Sound Bridge
A sound bridge links two scenes together, usually to hide out a cut in the editing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkpD2Nr5yI
This is a link to one of the sound bridges examples in which is used. The effect of this on the audience is a string effect because it keeps the audience engaged with what is going on and doesn't make the scenes dull and boring.
Sound Perspective
This refers to the volume and quality of sound, depending on who or what is emitting the sound.
Above, is a video for an example of sounds perspective. In this video its basically showing different type of sounds in different scenes as it is emitting to its surroundings which is causing the sound to be heard.The effect this gives on the audience is a confused but interested effect due to the audience hearing things but are not knowing what is going on which can create suspense.
Sound Effects
Sound effects are sounds often created by a computer as they do not exist in the real world.
Above, is a video giving some examples of what sound effects are used in films. Some of these examples include: Mystery Accents, Suspense, Hydraulics and Tape Rewind. These are some examples of sound effects. The effects from sound effects in which gives the audience is suspense this is because these sound are unrealistic which could make the film more interesting.
Foley Sounds
Foley sounds are created in studios for movies by foley artists to mimic ''real life'' sounds.
Above, is a clip showing some foley sound workers making sound alongside the actors in the scene. This is done so that the sound effects that are used in the film can be seen as realistic despite not the actual actors making the noise. The effect in which this gives to the audience is a interesting effect this is because people that are big fans of films get see how the sounds are really made in movies.
Soundtrack
Soundtracks are usually songs that are already released by artists and used in films depending on the genre.
Above, is a clip from Slumdog Millionaire which is a british drama film where a song called ''Paper Planes'' by Mia is used. This relates to ethnicity groups of asians as the artist of the song is asian and the story is based upon on asians becoming successful which shows that there is a link between the plot of the movie and the soundtrack used. This gives a positive effect to the audience because it shows that they are using a song which relates to the movie and not had just thrown in any song. This gives a positive effect towards the audience because of this.
Score
Score is often music composed specifically for the film. Below is an example of a clip from Kidulthood that uses composed music especially for that scene. The effect this gives on the audience is a interesting effect. This is because the audience is getting engaged with what the trailer is about and the music that is used matches whats happening in the trailer. For example: at 0:20 of the trailer you see a rapper beginning to rap the song for part of the trailer which is fast paced like how the overall trailer for Kidulthood is.
Incidental Music
Incidental music is often background music, it is used to create atmosphere (ambience). Below is an example of where Incidental music. This is the trailer of Kick-Ass, where there is background music being played inconsistently as it is played for a few seconds then its played out loud back and forth. this effects the audience with interests as they are using both casual sound and background sound which could appeal more to a bigger audience.
