Thursday, 24 September 2015

ANALYSIS OF BRITISH SOCIAL REALISM FILMS

THIS IS ENGLAND.


This is the official trailer for This is England. Throughout this trailer there is a variety of shots to send out subtle hints to the viewer of the story line.



The trailer begins with a wide establishing shot of a beach which instantly gives context to the audience where the film is set. However, as we can see the dark clouds and lack of blue sky within the shot reflects on the negativity within the realistic outlook of the 80s era in Britain. This shot is crucial to the genre as the audience will want to know what place the film is taking a social reality of.  However, at the beginning of the trailer there is non-diegetic music being played within the background which is slow and moving. This sound track choice works effectively to draw the audiences attention and pull on their heart strings. In addition to the previous point, the music predicts the mood of the trailer and enables the audience to feel empathy towards the main character Shaun. 



As we can see the following shot is of the main character Shaun who is represented as an ordinary mundane boy. However this medium close up shot allows the audience to recognise the character and familiarise themselves with him. In addition to this, hence that he was the first character shown in the trailer, it shows his importance to the film. By editing the character centre frame it again highlights the importance of his presence to the scene.



This is another key close up shot of Shaun found within the trailer. As we can the use of this close up allows the audience to see his facial expression which also represents his mood and feelings. When looking at this shot we gather that the character is feel unhappy and somewhat threatened. This shot overall pulls on the heart strings of the audience; drawing them into watching the upcoming feel as they feel sorry for him.

Other important shots found within the trailer include:







It is important for any British Social Realism film to include iconography and regional identity in order to represent Britain's history. For example the two above shots, the first being Princess Diane and Prince Charles and the second Margaret Thatcher are three well known and important people in Britain's history. Furthermore, this device gives the film trailer context by relating to past events that the British audience will remember and be able to relate to. However hence the film is set in the era of the 80s these shots will also be current news stories; therefore realistically re-creating the time period of the feature film.





As we can see the trailer lacks narration throughout, therefore the Editor has included shots such as the one above to allow the audience to understand the storyline without giving to much away. However "Shaun went looking for a friend" tells the viewer that the film revolves around Shaun's life and again enables the audience to build a relationship with the character- (Blumer and Katz uses and gratifications theory).



This is another important shot to the trailer as it conforms to the common codes and convention of a social realist film. The significant use of the England flags work effectively to show the time and era the film was set in. This is because England was a very patriotic society.



LONDON TO BRIGHTON


This is the official trailer for the film London To Brighton. The editing within the start of this trailer creates a dramatic tone hence the use of fades to black after each shot which mirrors the slow piano music. However, towards the end of the trailer when the non-diegetic music picks up a fast beat, the editing becomes quick paced through the use of 




The trailer begins with an establishing shot of London. This shot works effectively at the start of the trailer because it tells the audience where the film is set and gives them an insight into why the production company have titled the film "London To Brighton". Non diegetic music starts off the trailer and plays through this shot, however the choice of slow piano music signifies a disheartening mood. Although, this music works perfectly to replicate the mood the film and prepare the audience for later events that may not be positive in nature. In addition to this, this non diegetic music instantly draws the viewer into the trailer hence that it pulls on their heartstrings and leaves them wondering what is going to happen.






This an important shot to the scene as it is an close up of a main character. However, before this shot there was a voice over of this young girl saying "I'm twelve this year", and as we can see when observing this shot she has a cigarette in her ear. This represents Britain negatively when the girl of only twelve years of age and still a child is smoking. This is a main code and convention within the trailer, henceforth social realist films focus on social issues that are happening within society.






Film reviews are another key aspect to film trailers, for example London to Brighton have included several of them. By including specialist reviews within the trailer it portrays the film to the viewers as successful, therefore they will want to visit the cinema to watch it. However, this is another important device to advertise the film and gain larger audiences. 






This shot from the trailer is a medium shot of some run down shops found within the film. The fact the shops are graffitied and closed down indicates to the viewer that the society is rough and broken. When observing this shot we can clearly see that this shot conforms to the genre as the shops would be recognisable of Britain.




   

Several close ups have been used with this trailer to allow the audience to see the emotions that the characters are feeling in each particular shot. For example the shot above is another close up of the young female protagonist, and here we see by her facial expression she looks increasingly vulnerable. In addition to this the low key lighting surrounding the females face adds a dramatic tone to the trailer and makes the audience feel empathy towards her.

By Jessica Rice

FISH TANK


Fish tank is a british social realism film, produced in 2009. The film is about a 15 year old girl called Mia who grew up in a council estate in England. She lives with her mother and sister and has a rough relation with them both. She is introduced to her mums new boyfriend and finds herself very attracted to him. Mia is also a dancer and as the film unfolds a lot of darker things happen, she finds herself in a lot of danger.

By Lucy Harper



   

TRAINSPOTTING




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