Billy Elliot is a British Social Realism film, which is about a young
boy, Billy, who wishes to be a ballet dancer, much to the objection of
his father and brother at the start. His dad wanted him to do a
masculine sport such as football, wrestling or boxing. This is
happening during the miners strike during 1984-1985. Billy Elliot is set in run-down locations connoting to the poverty that people face during the times. Most or all of the characters are working class people, this is denoted clearly by the average clothes worn by them all. This adds to the realism of the movie, as people can see and know what it was like to live in tougher conditions than it is today in the current society.
Lighting
The lighting at the earlier stages of Billy Elliot tend to be dark and eerie, which fitted with the scenes. For example, when Billy's dad found out that Billy wanted to be a ballet dancer, he was furious and the lighting was extremely gloomy. Consequently, this allowed the audience to feel sympathy for Billy, as they know that he is going through a tough period. However, in the later stages of Billy Elliot, when his dad realizes the true talent his son has over ballet, he reconsiders his feelings towards it. As Billy is happily dancing, the lighting becomes much more brighter, connoting to his joy of finally doing something he loves and enjoys. This allows the audience to personally identify with Billy. This is because you should always do something you want to do, it isn't anybody else' choice but your own.
Actors
Billy Elliot's dad is clearly shown to have a strong Scottish accent, with Billy and nearly the rest of the actors having a Geordie accent. This adds to the realism of the film because set in the North East, where the miners' strike, rioting and protesting was the worst. Furthermore, all of the actors are white: no blacks, Asians or Caucasians in the film. This again adds realism to the movie, as you would only expect white people rioting during the coal miners strike. If the actors didn't match the realism of the movie, people would be discouraged of watching the movie.
Color
The color follows the same principle of the lighting in Billy Elliot, at the earlier parts of the movie, the colors are really dark and unappealing, however this improves later on in the movie. For example, when Billy is reluctantly boxing, the colors depicting this is rather dark and gloomy. This connotes of how much he doesn't want to do the sport and conveys his unhappiness of doing it. Later on, when Billy Elliot is enjoying doing ballet, and is feeling a sense of joy the colors change from dark to bright, just like the lighting. This connotes, the contrast of feelings he felt during the two times, first he was really uncomfortable but later on as he was doing ballet his feelings was the complete opposite.
Era
As mentioned again, Billy Elliot is set in 1984-1985 during the coal miners' strike. It shows many people rioting against the wage cuts that was occurring during the time. The facilities of the gym and the homes of the working class people was really worn out, this connotes to the lack of money and resources had during the time. This adds to the realism of the film, as most people back in the time of the coal miners' strike had low finances but an abundance of financial problems.
This week we looked more in depth of miss-en-scene of particular movies such as Four lions and completed an evaluation of our preliminary task. Mise-en-scene contains: production design, lighting, actors, colour and era which is what I had to analyse and talk about. All of these things are factors of representing particular themes and ideals of movies, for example: in Four Lions one of the terrorists is a white Muslim who converted. This shows that there are many muslims than people usually think and are not limited to just the Asian ethnicity. By analysing everything of mise-en-scene, this will help me in my future opening movie, where I will carefully think about the: location, lighting, era and more.
I also completed an evaluation of me and my group's preliminary task to focus on the strong and weak parts of our production movie. Screen grabs were necessary in order to show where we could improve and where we did better then expected.
During the half term we were asked to choose a famous British Social Realism movie and pick out 5 major themes from the text and elaborate on what kind of effect they have on the audience and what they portray about the society that surrounds us.
Drug Abuse/Drug Experimentation
At the start of the clip, you can see drug dealing being taken place with the man in the hat with other shady people. This connotes to the corruption and evil actions that is filled in this movie. Richard looks on with disgust at the multiple dealings taking place, which prompts the drug dealer to aggressively ask Richard "what do you want?". Richard then responds in a furious manner, placing fear into the drug dealer's head. You can see the younger brother Anthony, who is mentally-impaired, opposite of Richard looking down away from the drug dealers. This connotes to his anxiety, fear and paranoia of being around anything that is linked to drugs.
Mental Illness
As mentioned earlier, the younger brother, Anthony has a disability. Again, as said, he is shown at the start of the clip looking frightened and scared due to the presence of the drug dealing taking place. Later on, when the boss of the drug dealers comes out of the car, Richard tells Anthony to go to the other side, when the boss of the drug dealers comes out and attempts to talk to Richard. This is an attempt to scare him away and Richard makes sure that Anthony doesn't get involved at all, so he threatens the boss aggressively but in a manner where Anthony can't hear the hostile conversation. Richard, doesn't want his vulnerable brother to be the victim again of potential abuse by the mean drug dealers, otherwise he can't bear to have his innocent, mentally-impaired brother to get hurt.
Isolation and Exclusion
Both Anthony and Richard seem to be isolated in the clip. This is due to the fact that at the start of the clip, Anthony wants to stay away from the drug dealing at all costs, so he looks down, opposite of the drug dealings taking place. From this it connotes to the isolation and exclusion theme of Dead Man's Shoes from Anthony, as he wants to be left out of the corrupt society that is taking place in the clip/movie. This again is shown later on in the clip when Anthony is told to stay at the back, when Richard is talking to the boss of the drug dealers. He is clearly being shown in the background to connote the isolation he is currently going through. At the same time, this isolation principle applies to Richard too. This is because he alone has to deal with the evil drug boss and dealers himself, as he is the able big brother who has to support Anthony heavily. By having no one else helping him, it places a heavy burden on his shoulders in dealing with the antagonists, causing him to be excluded from anyone else.
Aspiration and Escape
The theme aspiration is very heavy in Dead Man's shoes, although it is not blatantly shown in the clip. When Richard is threatens the drug boss this is an ambition to implement fear and anxiety into all of the drug dealers and himself. This is due to the fact that the drug dealers abused and hurt Anthony, whilst Richard was away. So in order to get back at them he aspires to get revenge at every single person involved in the abuse of Anthony. Escape is also involved in the part where Richard threatens the drug boss. This is because the goal of both Anthony and the drug boss is to scare off each other, so that they will never get involved with each other in the future. You could say this is shown when the drug boss is frightened and somewhat shocked by the fearless and angered Richard, which prompts him to escape in the car with the rest of the drug dealers.
Rebellion
Rebellion is also a theme which is portrayed throughout the whole clip by Richard. Firstly, when one of the drug dealers aggressively asks "what are you looking at?" he responds in a more frightening way, connoting his strong rebellious character. If it wasn't for this trait of Richard, then he wouldn't be able to stand up against the drug dealers and thus be unable to protect his pure and innocent brother in his own way.
Four lions is a 2010 British social realism movie about a jihad satire, showing a group of homegrown terrorist jihadis from England. It will include comedy about a dark topic which is terroism - a form of black comedy. The two main locations in Four lions is Sheffield and Pakistan. The movie will show scenes of the characters humorous actions in both of these locations. It allows the audience to acknowledge the film as a comedy but as well as the connotations the movie has on terrorism. The costumes that are worn by the actors of Four lions in Pakistan are the military clothes that you would see in combat between two opposing forces. This adds to the realism of the film, as this is the type of clothes that are worn by many jihadists soldiers in the world today. However, in London, the clothes that is denoted in the trailer they wear are ordinary just like any other normal person. This connotes to one of the main morals of the movie - that not all Muslims are terrorists, which is evident by their lack of knowledge and skills in terrorism. Later on in the trailer the actors are shown to be wearing animal costumes as they are attempting to bomb the London marathon. This again shows combination of stupidity and comedy, as the way they are planning this forthcoming attack amuses the audience.
Lighting
The lighting when Omar was talking to his wife Sofia, the lighting is very dim - ambient lighting. This is due to him being unable to control his friends/colleagues as a team, which depresses Omar. However, the general lighting of the trailer is usually very bright, even in the most serious situations. An example of this is when Omar was shot the rocket launcher the wrong way round - the lighting was incredibly bright and bold. The effect the lighting had on this scene, was that this scene was not to be taken seriously but more lightly. Natural lighting is the form of lighting used mostly in Four Lions; it adds to the realism factor of the film. By having more realistic features in the film the audience will be able to focus on the moral of the movie, rather then every particular part of the movie.
Actors
Most of the actors are known to be from an Asian background to add to the realism to the film. It would not make sense to have actors that do not have link to Islam or stereotypically terrorism. Furthermore one of the actors is Nigel Lindsay, who played Barry as the white Muslim convert. This is to voice the fact that there are many white Muslims in the world and Muslims aren't only limited to people, from Asian/African background ethnicity. The main actors of Four lions were aspiring to be suicide bombers throughout the whole film. However, even though this was the main plot of the film, their skills in suicide bombing was extremely poor that it was hilarious. This was done intentionally, by the director, to again connote that not all Muslims are suicide bombers, as this is only an unfortunate stereotype made up.
Colour
The color of Four lions is usually bright colors, even though the acts they commit are serious - acts of terrorism. You would normally have darker colors if terrorists are shown to be committing horrible crimes. However, since this is not the case this connotes the comedic feeling that Four Lions portrays. Furthermore, by doing this, it sends out a message that this movie is not supposed to be a dark and horrible movie but a movie which gives out a strong message that not all Muslims are terrorists in a way that is amusing to the audience.
Era
The Era of Four Lions is set in modern day society - the 21st century. It shown this in many ways. One way is when Omar is fighting in the front lines in Pakistan. This connotes to the war that is also occurring right now, in the poorer countries. It also displays the racial discrimination and stereotyping many people show to Muslims, as the instant mental first impression of them are that they are terrorists.
During the production of the film we had to take into account the three techniques we had to implement into our movie. These three techniques were the: 180 degree rule, rule of thirds and match on action. Overall i felt that me and my group did generally well for the first time, however there were silly and naive mistakes that were made.
180 degree rule
- This is the rule stating that a camera should be placed somewhere inside 180 degrees on a particular side of the invisible line of a shot containing two people filmed in a sequence.
The two images above is when Tselmuun and Fabio were talking to each other. This is an example of the 180 degree rule. The first image shows Fabio sitting on the left and in the second image Fabio is then showing sitting on the right. This principle also applies to Tselmuun but in vice versa. If we did not follow the 180 degree rule then it would seem as if Fabio or/and Tselmuun would be constantly switching positions, unappealing to the audiences. The audience will be appalled by the lack of organisation and continuity shown in our movie.
Rule of Thirds
- The rule of thirds involves mentally dividing up your image using 2 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines. After this you have to position the important elements in the scene along those lines, or at the points where they meet.
The rule of thirds was one of the techniques we had some trouble with. There were some scenes where we did apply the rule of thirds in an effective way. An example of this is shown in the first image above. This is due to the fact that Tselmuun the subject in the scene is shown to be placed right in the middle of the camera shot. This allows the audience to focus especially on him, in the middle - this allows the audience to not be confused if Tselmuun was positioned more to the left or right. However, an example of where we did not use the rule of thirds in the best way possible is shown in image 2. As the over the shoulder shot of Fabio and Tselmuun talking, there is a large amount of unused space on the left hand side of the shot. This shows a lack of continuity as we applied the rule of thirds in some shots and did't apply it to other shots.
Match on Action
- This is where the perspective of the camera changes during a scene and the scene continues to flow.
I believe that we had a general good match on action throughout the scenes of the movie. An example is shown above when Tselmuun is shown tripping in the following scenes. We had to make sure the match on action of this scene was particularly good as we needed the scenes of the tripping to flow in a fluid and consistent motion. If the match on action is poor, not only in this scene but the others, this would really have a negative impact on the movie as a whole and the audience. The audience will think that the movie is not being taken seriously and they would be deterred from watching it.
Challenges
At the start of producing the movie we immediately faced a problem. The battery pack of our camera ran out, so we were unable to film for a majority of time. The only scene we were able to film at the time was the interior shot of the doors, where Tselmuun opens them. Consequently, this meant that we were the group that were the furthest behind out of the rest. So this meant that the next time we filmed, we made sure that our battery pack was fully charged and would focus on making sure we complete all of our movie scenes. Furthermore, during production at times we were unable to do certain scenes at different times due to interruptions, affecting our movie. Examples include: people walking in the background and background noise being too loud.
Post Challenges
The weather affected our filming on one of the days. This lead to a challenge of editing certain scenes in the different weather. However, the change of the weather wasn't drastic and extreme - as it was only brighter on one day and slightly darker on the other.
In order to change the lighting of the shot due to weather, I had to edit it on final cut pro, on the special effects department. I tried adjusting it, so it looks similar in a way. You can see the difference of the lighting between the two shots above. So if i were to edit it again, I would make sure that match on action is even smoother then it is now, examples include: making sure my cutting of the scenes flow even smoother and making sure the lighting is even more accurate.
Overall/Conclusion
The creativity of the movie was unique, as we were the only group out of the entire class to think of a script of someone tripping and requiring help. I also believe we followed our plans and storyboards very well, apart from a few tweaks and changes. The research of the techniques could have been better, as having improved match on action and rule of thirds would have really enhanced our overall movie.
For this week we finally had the chance to make a short 1-2 minute film. The scene is: "a character opens a door, sits down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines in dialogue. However the making of the movie was faced with many obstacles and hardships. For example, as soon as we received the cameras and consent to film, the battery pack inside it was run out. So our first filming of the movie was limited to just the inside shot of the doors opening, until we had received a new battery pack in the forthcoming days. As my group managed to film our scenes, we had trouble dealing with interruptions affecting our movie such as: people walking by and noise coming from different directions. Eventually we managed to finish filming all of the scenes, with also attempting to follow all the rules needed: match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule. Now I am currently editing the movie on Final Cut Pro and making sure I am able to produce the most consistent and best preliminary task that I possibly can, out of the scenes we have shot.
Non-Diegetic Sound: Any sound that has been placed over the top of the action. The characters in the movie cannot hear the sound. The most common Non-Diegetic sounds are: voice overs and soundtracks/music put on top of the action.
In this scene from Man of Steel the non-digetic sound is the background music placed on top of it. The background music in this scene synchronises really well with the scene as it starts off really slow, building suspense and builds up. As superman finally learns how to fly the music climaxes, emphasising how powerful he feels. The music at the start shows how he wasn't able to fly but by the end of it, he is shown flying around the world. This allows the audience to see the great transition of a timid superman, unsure if he is able to fly, to a bold and optimistic superman in a way that captures the attention of the target audience, prompting them into wanting to watch more.
Diegetic Sound: Any sound that the character within the scene will be able to hear them selves. For example, talking, explosions, vehicles etc.
One of the most recognisable diegetic sounds in this scene from the Dark Knight Rises is when Batman escapes in his flying vehicle. The sound produced by the vehicle is a loud helicopter type noise, when it is hovering in the air, that is heard clearly by the characters within a wide proximity. It shows how Batman is able to change his Batmobile very quickly, from a motorcycle to the giant flying vehicle, - connoting to great skill and quality. The sound is able to express of the superior equipment that Batman has over the police force. The sound is so loud that it leaves the whole police force speechless and bewildered. As a consequence, the audience will be able to grasp the wealth and equipment at the disposal of Batman and how he will use it to combat the forces of the antagonists.
Dialogue: The words that are spoken between two characters or more. Dialogue is used in nearly every movie/ TV shows in the world. It is the most basic way of letting the audience know what is happening and what is going on in scenes.
Mode of Address: The way in which the subject is communicating with others and how the audience read it. For example: formal, or informal, Cockney or Geordie.
This scene shows the dialogue of the 5 young offenders shown being confused and angry. The Mode of Address for the movie is informal. We can hear the young people swearing on numerous of times. This connotes to them being aggressive and arrogant. Slang is also spoken by the 5 young offenders. They say things such as "yeah" and "you lot". They use this type of mode of address because we are able to tell that they are immature and it shows us a general background of where they are from. If their mode of address is informal and slang, then I can assume that they are from working class, with a poor personal background.
Direct Address: Where the subject is speaking directly to the audience.
In this scene the guy talking to the camera is direct address. This is due to the fact that he is directly talking to the camera, which is showing the audience him doing so. The direct address here gives off the effect as if he is actually talking to us - the audience, which adds a sense of realism to it. Furthermore, the direct address here adds the more comedic feeling to it for the audience to see, as he is always getting interrupted or something goes wrong. For example, when he is talking to the camera with the gun, in his hand, his friend in the background says "no, no, no no. The gun is too small man!"
Synchronous Sound: This is where the sound matches the visuals and was filmed at the same time.
This scene is the opening scene of Misfits. It has a synchronous sound because as the transitions of the opening go by the soundtrack in the background becomes more upbeat and lively. It creates and effect for the audience, as they feel excited and determined to see the series. It also adds a sense of professionalism and realism to it; the audience will be very unlikely to watch the series if there were sounds/ background music that have no connection to the show in any shape or form.
Asynchronous Sound: Where sound is either out of sync, or completely unrelated to the visuals.
From this scene there are a few asynchronous sounds shown. As the man is presumably hit by the car, we can hear police sirens in the background, out of nowhere. Additionally, there are eerie voices of children that are being spoken in his head or mind. These voices have no relationship to the scene what so ever, or at least not yet. Furthermore, there is a sound of what seems like to be from a hospital. These asynchronous sounds are put in this scene to provide an emotional feelings to the audience, as the sirens indicate to the ambulance that are desperately needed for him. The voices of the children could be flashbacks of his past, and could be haunting him. These connotations add realism to the scene.
Sound Motif: A sound motif is a piece of music or catchphrase that is commonly linked to a character or film.
This theme song is very well known as the soundtrack for Eastenders. It is also widely known for its dramatic use of sound, especially the drums that begin at the end of an episode - this adds suspense, drama and a cliff hanger. This will then consequently draw the audience into watching more and more. The theme is so well known that a poll in 2008 cited it as the most recognisable piece of music in the UK, beating the national anthem of "God save the Queen'.
Sound Bridge: Links two scenes together, usually to hide a cut in the editing.
This scene from Dracula, 1992, has a sound bridge that links all of its scenes together to hide cuts and editing. The sound started off slowly, building up suspense and drama, which will intrigue the audience to continue watching. As the transitions of the scenes occur the music continues to have a more eerie and scary feeling about it. They do this in order to add a sinister feeling to the scene, as the audience will be more interested in it, as adding dark music in the background of the scenes helps accomplish this. This connotes to the movie being packed in with horrible, queasy scenes and acts.
Sound Perspective: This refers to the volume and quality of sound, depending on who or what is emitting the sound.
In this scene we can tell that the sound perspective of the person to the girl on the phone is correct. This is because if the quality and volume of it was exactly how a phone call would sound like. If the voice coming from the other side were to be very clear this would take away the realism of the scene, which would really disappoint the audience.
Soundtrack: Usually songs already released by artists and used in films depending on the genre.
This soundtrack is called "Sound of da police", which was produced in 1991 byKRS-One. The soundtrack is intended to add a feeling of what the scene/movie will be like. This soundtrack is a Hip-Hop song that connotes to how naive and arrogant the young teenagers are or will be. It is as if there will be a lot of stupidity and danger in the scene and movie, which will make the police come out.
Score: Music composed specifically for that film.
The score in this movie is a suspense building soundtrack. The music beings off really slowly, adding fear and uneasiness to the audience. This adds realism to the film as it as if the sharks from Jaws is actually getting closer. As the music continues the music climaxes and it is as if the sharks from the movie is real and is going to eat someone. This will appeal to the audience extremely well because most of the incentives they have when watching Jaws is to experience something scary and interesting.
Incidental music: Often background music, used to create atmosphere(ambiance).
The Incidental music here is a lively and lifting type. It is supposed to portray that the fight between Arthur and Merlin is not serious at all and there won't be any malicious and violent fighting. The purpose of the atmosphere created by the music is meant to provide an amusing fighting scene to the audience as they hear the music, which goes along with the scene. The incidental music will also mean that the fighting between Arthur and Merlin is supposed to be portrayed as humorous and child like because of the cheap tactics and methods used by Merlin.
Foley Sound: Is the reproduction of everyday sound effects that are added to film, movies and other media in post-production to enhance audio quality.
This video gives a wide variety of foley sounds. They are used very commonly in the production of most, if not all movies. They are able to save time and resources; only a minority of props are needed for many sounds. For example when a large "bang" type noise is needed, all you need is a big hardback book and then drop it on the floor. Without foley sounds, production of movies would take a drastic amount of time to make and it wouldn't seem realistic to the audience.
