Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Monday, 11 March 2013
Production Log week 5
What have your key issues been for your pre-production this week?
Our idea was one of the things which caused most of the problems. We had had difficulties with our narrative, our characters and the locations. We went from having our initial idea to changing it completely to a story-line including mental illness as one of our themes. These issues were quite difficult to solve as we wanted to be original with our idea and not stick to what is typically seen in British Social Realism film such as drugs,sex,violence, alcohol etc. For example in This is England we continually see these themes occuring throughout the film by all the characters even the young ones.
What decisions did you make about the issues and why?
This idea was changed after the feedback we got from our audience research where we asked several different people about our idea that we first started off with. We also altered where we would film the opening sequence which fitted better with our new narrative. We also stuck to one main protagonist however we also had to change their role to match the new story-line. These decisions will hopefully have a positive effect on our production as it will be different to what is typically seen in British Social Realism films and the theme of mental illness is hardly ever seen but it is a issue that is occuring more in Britain. For example the only British social Realism film where we see illness is Looking for Eric as the protagonist is schizophrenic and we see this throughout the film in different ways.
Friday, 8 March 2013
Our Narrative
Exposition
We are first introduced to the protagonist when we wake up with her to being her every-day life. The audience and her know she has an illness however the other characters in the story have no idea. Our main character (protagonist) is called Rosie, she is 19 years old, she finished her education after GCSE and was lucky enough to get a job at JMW shopfronts office. Her job is a very boring and repetitive job. Her dreams and hopes were left behind when her mother died when she was 15 years old. Everything is building up but she keeps it all hidden away to avoid problems for her dad. She is 1 of 5 children and has become a big part in the family role as her father trust her very much. She has had this illness from birth but it has become more apparent now as she is suffering from depression.
Agent/ of change
We meet her work colleague and friend Claire who is so self involved she doesn't she that Rosie has an illness. Not only is the friend dependent on Rosie but so is her family, people rely on her. The audience are clearly made aware of Claire's problems as it takes the attention away from Rosie's illness. However later on Rosie receives a letter from the doctors requesting her to urgently see a doctor, but she tucks the letter away into her pile of work.
Conflict/Complication
Rosie calls work to let them know she's ill, however Claire being so self-involved knocks over the pile on Rosie's desk. When see comes across the letter which Rosie received from the doctors, she does't believe that Rosie has kept this from her and everyone else. However Claire likes to play games so she carries on like she doesn't know what is happening but books an appointment for Rosie. Rosie's likes to carry on like nothing is happening but when she gets to work to find a letter with urgent on it, she opens it up surprised to see an appointment for tomorrow. Claire comes over and rubs her nose in Rosie's business when Rosie becomes aware on Claire's involvement. Rosie avoids talking about the matter when finally she goes to Claire. They eventually end up having lunch in a cafe where they decide to scream and shout at each other over the matter, when finally time for lunch finishes.
Elaboration
Between all this drama Rosie's sister is being bullied and she is trying to help but she keeps forgetting to deal with it, to the point were Rosie's sister rejects Rosie and also avoids talking about and takes what the bullies are giving her.Rosie's likes to carry on like nothing is happening but the awkwardness between Claire and her gets to much for the office. Rosie can't deal with losing her friend over something she was trying to protect them from. Rosie's does what she does best and avoids her problems, she finds her self in the chip shop grabbing dinner when it becomes to much and finds herself laying on the floor. The man helps her up when she realises who's in the shop. Rosie notices Claire's boyfriend sitting with another girl, when he gets up and grabs her. Her threatens her about what she has seen, un-aware about her faint.
The next day arrives when she finds her self staring at Claire, wanting to tell her so bad but its too late when Claire's boyfriend comes shooting in with a bunch of flowers.
More and more people are becoming aware of Rosie's illness, When her bosses find out they call her to the office to talk to her about their needs and contract. Not only does the meeting end but so does Rosie's job at JMW. Rosie is shocked that she has been fired so she starts dishing it out to her bosses how she's the only one in the office that does the work properly and this and that when she find herself laying on the floor again. Not only does she have to tell her father that they have lost their only income but why she has been dropped home in an ambulance.
Rosie's father sat her down, confused in why she would have kept the illness a secret un aware of how much her relies on Rosie. They have a big argument as Rosie doesn't believe she can get better and explains how she has researched it and the treatment cost too much for them. As they can barely get enough money for rent and weekly food.
Rosie finds herself crying alone in her bedroom talking to her mum, She realises she has let this all get out of hand. She picks up the appointment letter which Claire made and she gets so angry that life chose her, she's so young.
Climax and resolution
Over the time Rosie has spent hiding the illness and fighting with people, it becomes to late to deal with the illness as it has got out of control. Rosie wakes up to find her self on a hospital bed attached to pipes with her father, brothers and sisters and Claire. Finally Rosie agrees to have her treatment to try and help her illness only because her father has begged her. The treatment goes on for a few weeks when Rosie starts to feel the change, not only with her illness but with her life. Rosie has a last appointment with her doctor when he reveals that the illness will never go away as its genetic however she can cope with it if she sticks to the plan. However Rosie doesn't realise that the family have sacrificed their saving to pay for her treatment. This leads her to think about other routes in her life as she wants to pay her father back, but is to weak and sick from her illness and treatment to deal with anything.
Coda
We then see a blank white screen with 4 months later on it, Rosie appears taking her pills and we see her carry on her boring every day life but she does have a happy ending as she has dealt long term with her illness which was pulling her down keeping it from everyone and mentally and physically. However she does still have to deal with all the other issues such as her family and work life, but do the pills work forever?
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Audience Research
Do you know what a British Social Realism film is?
Most people had no idea what a British Social Realism film was and could only really say that it would be based in Britain, however when they was shown the definition they could think of films that were of that genre
What issues would you expect to see in a British Social Realism film?
Mainly every person that was asked mentioned poverty, violence, bullying and drugs as these are the main issues they see in the British region
How would you define British Social Realism?
Most people said that it shows the issues that are occurring in Britain, and how it doesn't glamorize it like the Hollywood genre would do and makes it as realistic as possible for the audience
What locations would you expect to see in a British Social Realism film?
Every person that was asked this question said that they would expect it to be set in a council flat or estate, and someone specifically said somewhere in Essex as this is typical of a urban area that
What things would grab your attention, and make you want to watch the rest of the
movie?
Most people said that a interesting story line would keep them engaged, whereas if the story line was boring it would be hard to get into and enjoy. Another thing was for there to be alot of action throughout and for it to be sometimes unexpected
What do you like about British Social Realism films?
People said that they found the themes and issues easy to relate to which made them more intrigued in the film. Characters also played a big role in making the film likable as if the characters were not typical in Britain it would be hard to get an understanding of them as they are the ones showing the issues and realism happening in Britain
What do you think about our idea?
Most people said that our idea was creative and is what we would see occurring in the British culture
What would you change about our idea(improvements)?
Most people said that some bits were quite unrealistic, and maybe not all them themes should be included so more focus could be made on one main theme and idea. Another improvement was to maybe say how this issue could be resolved instead of the ending being quite dark and upsetting.
What would you base your British Social Realism film on?
Most people said they would base their idea on drug abuse and violence as this is a reoccurring issue that happens in Britain and it would be the easiest theme to portray, however issues that are maybe less commonly seen in British Social Realism films maybe more unique and interesting for the audience
Would you watch the rest of our movie?
The person asked about this said they would watch the movie as it was a creative story line and it is something that would occur in society so it would be easy to show to the audience. Another reason would be because it includes different themes which are typical in the British region
By doing this research i have got a better idea of what my idea should be on and what the audience likes most. I found out from my research that the themes that would be best to show are:
drugs
violence
poverty
These themes would be the best ones as they are easy to show but are effective and are typically seen in the British culture. Another point that we found with our research is that our film should be action packed as this is what makes the audience more intrigued and interested. The narrative should also be interesting and the characters should be relatable for the audience as they are the main reason for creating a good British Social Realism film. The locations that we would use would have to be suitable to show the typical regions that are found in Britain as this sets up a good idea for people who haven't seen what Britain is like and people that live around that area. By using a good location we can create the correct mood and atmosphere for the audience but if it doesn't fit there could be a problem with how the audience will perceive the British culture. Most people thought that our idea was creative and showed alot of themes that are typically found in a British Social Realism film, however we got given some improvements and developments. An improvement was that it could be seen as too unrealistic as so much trauma has happened to the Protagonist. We also found that it would be better if we stuck to one main theme which was regularly seen in Britain and showed that in the opening as it would be clearer for the audience. A development would probably be to show her overcoming the issue, which goes against what is normally seen in a British Social Realism film but could work with the story line that we had come up with as a group.
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