Deconstruction of Typography

In this blog post, I will be deconstructing different typography fonts for preexisting social realist film posters in order to aid in our decision of the typography to use in our website and poster.

Evaluation

After deconstructing these typographies, we have decided that our own will resemble handwriting, using a sans serif font similar to Comic Sans. We will also have the title in bold, and the letters will be placed at alternating heights on the page to draw attention to the title. This will then be further anchored by the use of teal blue, which is the colour we will use as well as black for the typography on our poster, as although the faded and torn effects are interesting and conventional, they would not be appropriate for our plot, as we are not using an urban location.

Deconstruction of 'Fish Tank' Trailer : Music

I am going to deconstruct the official trailer for the social realist film 'Fish Tank', which would give us an insight to what is used in a social realist film trailer to cross examine the conventions with our own trailer, and more specifically how the music is used during the trailer.

• 0:03-0:04 shows an establishing shot of the council estate where the film is set and shows a mid shot of the character at the block of flats, again to show that the character is situated there. A beginning establishing shot is also something that is used in the 'London to Brighton' trailer, which is something that we should look into as a convention. 
• 0:05-0:19 shows a close up of the character, Mia, getting ready and doing her makeup, which represents her as a typical teenager of today. It then continues to a mid shot of her walking down the stairs but her sister is shouting while her mother is pushing her out of the kitchen, which is suggesting her mother's 'heavy-handed' approach to her children. However, the music doesn't change from its street type strings and drums, which shows that this is a regular occurrence. This is something that we can take for our trailer, to keep the music the same even when some of the shots may be disturbing, or out of the 'norm' to show that its a regular occurrence and the characters are desensitised to it. 
• 0:10-0:11 shows a title showing that it is a Cannes Film Festival winner and so validates that this is a good film, because of the awards it has won.
• 0:12-0:15 shows another title showing more awards won and nominations for awards including awards won by the director and by the actor.
• 0:18-0:25 mid shots and close up shots, using a handheld camera shows Mia's attitude towards others, that she isn't like regular teenagers her age and is trying to pick fights with other girls. The handheld camera positions the audience with the character and gives the film a documentary style like its factual and the audience are actually there with her. 
• 0:26-0:27 another title saying "All her life", the music has changed to more of a slow piano style to highlight the character's vulnerability, rather then just her antagonising attitude. 
• 0:30-0:34 the piano style music is continued, while shots are shown of her mum shouting at her and pushing the character around. The music plays an important part in this, as it makes the audience feel empathy with the character, while if the music that was there before had been playing during this part, it would desensitise the shots and the audience may not find her mum pushing her around as much of a big of a deal then with the shots showing with the slow piano music. 
•  0:57-1:06 the slow piano style, which has connotations of sadness and loneliness, changes to a more upbeat piece of music when the character of Connor is introduced which replicates Mia's feelings for him. 
• 1:07-1:54 The music then changes to mainly strings again with also drums, to show Mia's life spiralling out of control as fast paced shots continue of her mum pinching her and Connor slapping her, as these fast paced shots continue, the music starts to pick up pace as well. 

In conclusion, this shows that strings are an important part of music in a social realist film, also the lack of change in music can show that shocking images are normal for the characters. 

Website Deconstruction

Evaluation
After this deconstruction, we have been able to fully research film posters within and without our chosen genre, and so are now aware of the conventions that we must/could follow so as to appeal to our target audience and to conform to conventions so as to make the website seem as professional as possible. As ours is a social realist film, it is difficult to discover existing film websites in this genre. However, I found the Broken Circle Breakdown, and so we will be able to take inspiration from this poster, such as the use of little content. however, as our film largely focuses on the influence of social media, these links will most definitely be included as they are an integral part of the plot for our film.

Deconstruction of Mise-en-Scene in Kidulthood

In this blog post, I will be looking at the mine-en-scene used in the opening title sequence of Kidulthood. Although we are creating a teaser trailer, we could still use aspects of the sequence as inspiration for mise-en-scene to use.

The opening credit sequence begins with a large amount of extreme close up, which are enigmatic and are conventional of the genre. The very first shot, as shown below, is an extreme close up shot of a football, with someone very clearly kicking it. This immediately implies the target audience, as this is an activity stereotypically expected of young males, approximately teenagers. This is then further anchored in the close up shots of teenagers in school uniform, talking with one another or on the phone.
Also, extreme close ups are shown of a mechanism being put together, which conveys a positive attitude towards the protagonist. However, this choice of shot also creates an enigma, as the audience are uncertain of what exactly is being constructed, and so when it is revealed that it is a gun, a negative tone is established. Also, the contrasting mise-en-scene of the gun with the school location is shocking to the audience, as it conveys a lack of innocence which is an unconventional representation of young people within the film industry, but is conventional for the social realist genre.

The use of guns in the mise -en-scene concerns a prominent issue in today's society - the increase of gun violence. However, as our film trailer will not be focusing on this particular issue, and from our target audience questionnaire we discovered that many did not appreciate the violent nature of films in this genre, we will not be including it.

Additionally, POV shots are interspersed during the opening scene, as seen below, and these further reinforce the realism of the narrative, hence making the audience feel more involved, and so for our teaser trailer we will aim to include these also.

Another aspect of the mise-en-scene in this film is drugs, which are a substance that are becoming an increasing concern in society. Through this, we can see how it is conventional for films in this genre to focus on topical issues, which allows the audience to reflect on society, and so this should be the main purpose of our own teaser trailer.

The location of this film is set on an estate, which is very conventional for social realist films as it portrays the discrimination and divide of the classes, a concern that is propagated by the media daily. Our target audience survey discovered that this is the location that our target audience would most like our teaser trailer to be set in. However, my location scouting of an estate found that it had more disadvantages to filming there than it did advantages, and so we ruled this out.

Evaluation
After deconstructing the mise-en-scene in this preexisting social realist film, we have discovered aspects we may attempt to include in our teaser trailer, such as the use of POV shots to reinforce the sense of realism. However, as this film focuses on gang violence, a lot of the mise-en-scene used is not helpful to us, as we aim to eliminate any violence from our teaser trailer.

Website deconstruction

Final Scene Poster Inspiration

In this post, I am using pre existing photographs found on google to gain inspiration for the poster I had to create as a prop for our final scene.

I found a variety of images, all of which were hard hitting and clearly portrayed eating disorders. I found that the images all had common traits, such as the use of black and white which not only expresses a depressing and melancholic tone, but also creates a real life representation of how people with eating disorders feel.

One thing I found the pictures all had in common was that they were in black and white. This reflects the tone of the photograph and creates an atmosphere we might want to consider for our own. Also, a large majority of the photographs included measuring tape.

In this first image, the measuring tape is wrapped around the ankles which are standing on scales. The tape being wrapped around her ankles signifies how she is confined by her need to be skinny, and by society's perception of what it means to be 'pretty'. The use of an extreme close up shows anonymity that creates an enigma, and so is something we could also consider for the posters in the ending scene at the eating disorder clinic, as this anonymity emphasised the relatable tone of the poster, and shows that the depicted person to be representative of a group of people, rather than just his/herself.

The next image is a close up that again uses anonymity as it is positioned below the face. The mise-en-scene within the shot of a fork, knife and plate connotes eating disorders and is something we may want to consider within one of our own shots, and the use of the measuring tape as 'food' is symbolic of the hunger and need for these young girls to be skinny and to be accepted by society and its ideals. This mise-en-scene could also be useful in one of the posters for our final scene, as it subtly suggests the topic being discussed.

This last image shows a young girl standing in front of the mirror and looking at her reflection. This could be something we could consider for our own posters, as we could use Photoshop to manipulate the image in the reflection to inaccurately reflect the girl standing in front of it, so as to illustrate the protagonist's warped perceptions of herself. However, this could prove to be difficult as we would have to ensure that the shot was taken at such an angle that the camera would not also be seen in the mirror.

Evaluation
These images have aided us in the decision on the image for our poster. We liked the anonymity used in the images to show how the protagonist represents young girls everywhere, and so we have decided that we will manipulate it so that the majority of the posters used do not depict a face. Also, the posters may be in black and white to reflect the mood/tone of the film. However, upon reflection, we believe these images may not be entirely suitable for the location of our final scene, as it will be filmed in an 'eating disorder clinic', and so our posters should aim to be bright and positive and to suggest recovery. However, I will use these photos as inspiration for the poster I make, though I will manipulate it to be positive.

Sound in Suffragette Trailer

• Until 00:29 the main sound used is diegetic dialogue, this is made up mainly of women shouting 'votes for women', immediately portraying what the film will be about
• At 00:29 we hear a bass beat which is fast paced, suggesting an idea of worry and moving the trailer forwards
• Each time a new idea is put into the trailer, such as the suggestion to go to a meeting for the suffragettes at 00:39, we hear a singular sweeping synth sound, marking each new idea
• At 00:54 the texture is decorated with crescendoing and and diminuendoing layered synth sounds
• After the fight scene there is a single drum beat at 1:01 and the music changes completely. It is now made of string instruments, suggesting calmness. This however rolls into a minor chord and is gradually layered over by synth sounds as we see those against women vote and give their opinions that those fighting for the vote should be punished
• At 1:24 the use of a bell like sound breaks the wall of the fighting that we see and introduces a new title saying 'inspired by real events'
• Now we simply hear a pedal note which 'rolls' around the music, and at 1:31 we hear a female vocalist which is unaccompanied and uses a slight echo effect
• Finally at 2:18 when the title of the film comes up we hear individual piano notes which rise and fall, layered with the pre existing vocals  

Website Deconstruction

Film Names of Dramas

Movie Website Deconstructions

A Level Trailer Deconstruction

I deconstructed the trailer of 'Believe', an A level trailer, to gain an insight to how other students had previously edited their trailers.



• This shot was repeated frequently using shot reverse shot in the opening minutes of the trailer.
• This created an enigma as the face of the girl was never shown and we were unaware of whether she was alive or dead. 

• This shot allows us to begin to find out some back story, as the old man looks at a school photo - this suggests nostalgia and longing.

• An extreme close up shows the emotion felt, it shows pain and sadness, alluding to the theme of loss and death, tying in with dialogue which has stated 'she's dead, dad'.

•  Low key lighting add suspense as we do not know what will happen and cannot make out what is happening.

• The effects during changing scenes as the trailer progresses, suggests that ideas are becoming muddled and thoughts and plot are merging to become one.

Sound

• To begin the trailer we hear music that follows the ideas of nursery rhymes, with a solo voice and xylophonic accompaniment. This idea portrays mystery and unsureness due to it's minor key, commonly associated to sad music. This genre of music also juxtaposes what we see on screen as they are sung to innocent children, where as what we see is not innocent and shows comparatively disturbing ideas.
• When events begin to unravel and the plot begins to be shown the music changes and tension increases. This is done by a continuous sound which remains at the same pitch, increasing and decreasing in pitch, implying that danger is coming closer.

What Went Well

• The groups use of actors is good and accurately portrays the roles they are meant to.
• Locations are well chosen and are believable to be linked to the sections of plot that they are
• The sound is good with regards to the beginning half, as nursery rhymes are commonly related to horror stories involving possessed children.
• A selection of different shots made it interesting to watch.

How Would I Improve?

• I would improve this trailer by using less dialogue as some of it could have been improved or done to a higher standard.
• The trailer also seemed to give away quite a lot of the story line, and having had the girl's identity revealed there are few other story lines suggested within the trailer.

Deconstruction of Sound in Adulthood

I have looked at the trailer for the sequel to Kidulthood, Adulthood, and have decided to deconstruct the sound used.

The trailer begins with a fade in with non-diegetic violin music at a fairly high pitch that begins at 0:01 seconds. This music is from the first song, Bashy's 'Adulthood', and with a soft dynamic due to the diegetic dialogue of the woman saying "When I was, like, fifteen, all I wanted to do was get older." This, coupled with the non-diegetic score, creates a negative tone that is mellowed, hence showing that the trailer is starting with a sort of equilibrium, which conforms to conventions of a teaser trailer as this obey's Todorov's theory of equilibrium.

This is further anchored by the following shot, which shows the production company in fast paced flashy editing, and is accompanied by the non-diegetic music at a louder dynamic, and is the point at which the lyrics of the score begin. The song is a rap song, which conforms to conventional representations of young adults as they are often represented as violent and 'gangster', both of which are connoted by music in this genre.  The song has a very fast beat, which adds tension as this is a sound that mimics a rapid heartbeat.

The song was created specifically for this film, and demonstrates the struggle of the transition from kidulthood to adulthood, particularly for teens living in London.
The first verse begins in a softer dynamic so as to allow more attention to be drawn to the diegetic dialogue of a confrontation between two characters. As the shots continue, the dynamics grow louder, with various shots to accompany the first verse. This verse introduces the darkly violent nature that is expected of working class youths in London.
The lyrics contains language that is stereotypically used to represent working class youths, such as the use of expletives in "Are you gonna fuck my bredrin or what?". Additionally, the use of colloquial language "bredrin" connotes the conventional representation as this is typical slang.

Throughout the score, diegetic sound effects are layered over the non-diegetic score, such as the sound of a car braking suddenly in this shot-

and the sound of the train in this one, and this is done to further reinforce the realism of the plot.

At 00:53 seconds the score continues, but layered over the lyrics is a new high pitched sound that conforms to conventions of a teaser trailer as this adds tension by making the audience feel uncomfortable. As the trailer continues, this high pitched sound grows louder in its dynamics, building into a crescendo until it overtakes the original score at 1:00 minute.

Then, at 1:03 the sound fades ever so slightly and is taken away, replaced by the diegetic sound of glass smashing - a sound effect that is stretched and fades. After this, there is a low pitched 'ghostly' hushed sound that builds tension as the editing slows.

Then, at 1:06 a new techno song begins, at a higher pitch, and this song is 'Arms Open Wide' by Shystie. This song has a slower tempo and uses piano notes to suggest a more quiet tone that is contrapuntal to the scenes being shown, as on the screen we see violence. There is diegetic dialogue at 1:09 as the man exclaims "This is about me!", and at 1:12, when there is a title that appears on screen, the lyrics to the song begin, and we discover that it is once again a rap song.

At 1:18 there is a loud sound effect of a person yelling, which is heard over the faded score, and at 1:23, as we clearly hear the non-diegetic lyric "Adulthood", the title of the film appears, and there is high pitched violin music which grows in pitch and volume until 1:24 where it cuts off very suddenly as there is only diegetic dialogue of "You think I forgot you blad?". The lack of non-diegetic music here is very sudden, building suspense and showing the trailer ending on disequilibrium, conventional of the teaser trailer form as this creates an enigma that encourages the audience to go out and watch the film.

The non diegetic music very briefly reappears at 1:26 with a low pitched sound to accompany the "coming soon" written on the screen.

Evaluation
This deconstruction has aided in our creation of our own soundtrack, as we will also consider using diegetic sound effects over the non-diegetic music. Similar to this trailer, our own has a shot at the end where the protagonist punches a mirror, and so we may consider adding the sound effect of glass shattering to indicate disequilibrium. However, our teaser trailers music will be parallel to the scenes being shown on the screen, so as to influence the feelings of the audience.