16. Target Auidence

I took a survey of 30 15-20 year old's in a school in Stoke Newington, Hackney. The general consensus was that they wanted to see a dramatic film that contained crime. Here are the Results in graph form:

 

We can also analyse the difference between girls and boys in the target age range;

GIRLS

BOYS

From the results we can connote that it is mostly boys who prefer and identify with the chosen genre of myHOOD. I did expect these results but I hope I can change this with the depiction of the female character in myHOOD. I propose that having a strong and independent female character in the film will appeal to all the females that haven't identified with the male presence in 'urban drama's' previously.

When handing out these surveys, I conducted a short interview with the participants. I chose to type out the questions and answers to these questions as it respects the anonymity of the individuals who took part.

Here is the survey;

Name: ______________________________________________

Age:    ______________________________________________

Location: ____________________________________________

Sex (circle one):                   Male                        Female

Favourite Film:  _______________________________________

Favourite Genre: ______________________________________

Which would you rather see in a film?

a) A famous actor

b) A relatively unknown actor

c) A completely unknown actor

Do you think you would identify with a main character of the opposite sex?

a) Yes

b) No

If No, why?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

In your opinion, what is an 'urban drama'?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

What wardrobe would you suggest for a female character in an 'urban drama'?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

What setting would you suggest for a realistic 'urban drama'?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

In doing this survery I learnt numerous things. This research helped me to categorise the genre's that specific sex's and locations preffered, and also gave me a starting point to plan the mise-en-scene for the character. This also helped me when thinking about locations. I learnt from the target audiences advice that it should be filmed in Hackney, on a council estate to keep the authenticity, and ultimately make the film more realistic. (see relevant slide for information on location)

15. production company ident

14. Logo

The original cartoon

When creating the logo I knew I wanted to stick with the 'urban theme.' I toyed with pictures of trainers and 'bling' but finally stuck on the idea of a girl gang because I thought it reinforced the notion of the strong female characters that I want in my films.

I edited the picture above in Paint to look like a girl gang.

Edited to look like a girl gang rather than boys

I then looked at the company name. 

Boy Better Know are a UK grime group who also run their own record label."Boy Better Know" is a registered trademark, clothing line and Boy Better Know sim cards, BBK are legendary amongst 'urban teens.' I chose to mimic this by calling my production company 'GBK PRODUCTIONS.' This stand for 'Girl Better Know Productions.' I thought this emphasised the dominant female in the film and to break down the stereotype of a patriarchal society in this genre. 

When looking at the text I went on www.dafont.com to look at fonts. I researching 'graffiti' fonts as I wanted to text to look as if it had been spray painted on. I finally decided on this;

Next I put the picture and the font together, but I couldn't decide whether I wanted a border or not.

1. Black Border

2. Fade effect

3.  Angle

Eventually, I decided to go with number 1 as I liked that the character looked as though they were stood on top of the text, which has connotations of being a strong female.

Final Product

7. Synopsis of 2 min opening

My opening will  be like an insight into the main characters life. We will see her;
-traveling from her council estate home
-shots of street signs and landmarks in Hackney
-the people of Hackney, whom she is around everyday
-we see her dealing drugs
-we see the contrast between her and the posh children that she sells drugs too
-we see the contrast between social classes
-we see gangs and crime
-we hear the dialogue that separates the social classes
-we see graffiti and the decay/ poverty of Hackney

There will be hardly any dialogue in the opening sequence, just simple "hello's and goodbye's exchanged between the main character and her peers, along to the soundtrack of grime/hip-hop music. This is because the opening sequence is meant to be a glimpse into her life, more documentary than film. Also I want to demonstrate the difference between herself and her peers, and with less conversation she is represented as a more isolated character.

This is the best way to start my film because it sets up the character and the location, which are key part to the film very well. The contrast between the characters and locations is demonstrated clearly, which is crucial, and landmarks and street signs also solidify how important the location is to the plot

7. use screenshots and write up an analysis suitable for an art of the title post on your chosen film
8. write a list of do's and dont's of the first 2 mins of the film include both images and titles & draw on your knowledge of mise-en-scene, camerawork, editing and sound

Opening Titles

Kicking of ball is fluid throughout opening

Font is setting to the genre, an 'urban teen' film

Introduction to characters

Introduction to characters is a reflection of who they are. Sam = mysterious

Sam = bully, intimidating, scary character

Do's and don'ts for the first 2 minutes of the film

1.  Titles - this film follows the conventional structure for an opening sequence. Its titles have a black background, and are at the beginning of the sequence rather than being edited in.
2.Don't give away the main plot - this film doesn't do this, but it alludes to the motives of the character
3.Grip your audience and keep them - the characters dialogue and introduction characters does this
4. Include music - the sequence does this and it is in keeping with the 'urban teen' genre

6. Brief Outline of feature length film idea

-Strong female character

-Sells drugs opposite posh high school

-See's privileged children

-In envy of their lives

-Bad home life

-No parents/absent parent

-Born and bred in Hackney

-Intimidating to other people on estate

-Dreams of being posh and nice family life

-Tries to get out of the estate but people mock her

-Eventually gets out somehow but a tragedy lands her back there;

       -murder?

       -crime?

       -friend?

       -love interest?

       -fails at job?

5. Mindmap of Initial Ideas

Research: Shot idea

-quick cuts at 2:29
-graffiti tunnel
-walking past and bumping

-street signs etc

DespaCam - Movez "WV Make Dough" - Net Video (StayFresh)
-split screen

RAPCITY 'CHUBBZ-CRUD MODE' STREET VIDEO
-close up shots on graffiti

Research

I plan to create a female character in an 'urban drama.' First, I needed a name.

I looked at this video first to get an idea for 'ghetto' names.

This helped with coming up with possible names.

Today I also

-thought about possible locations

-possible shots

-came up with a solid plot 

Also I now know that i want the female character to be strong. Because of this I am now going to analyse Juno. I am analysing this because it demonstrates a strong female character that challenges the stereotypes of teenagers.

 Ellen Page stars as Juno, an independent teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Critics have reffered to Juno as feminist because of its portrayal of the protagonist as a confident and intelligent teenage girl. Antifeminist Phyllis Schlafly wrote that Juno's theme "isn't love, romance, or respect for life, but the triumph of feminist ideology, i.e., the irrelevancy of men, especially fathers".   I want to recreate this theme of a strong independent character in my film, but tackling the issue of crime and gangs rather than preganancy as I think it is more origninal and hasn't been done in the UK before.
    Another journalist, Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe concluded "Juno serves cool, intelligent girls something they rarely see in a movie: themselves". Again, I think this is an important aspect to take into consideration. This representation of women in the media is rarely depicted and I think it is important for me to try and tackle this in myHOOD.
       Cody said about writing the film, "Women are clever, women are funny, women are sharp, and I wanted to show that these girls were human and not the stereotypical teenage girls that we often see in the media" and "There was a lack of authentic teen girl characters ... I saw writing this screenplay as an opportunity to create an iconic female." I want to recreate the passion and representations that Cody had when she aproached writing Juno. As media is so prevalent in our society, I think it is important to embrace strong women, with an independent attitude and an innovative approach to life.


TITLES RESEARCH

Attack the block credits

Attack the block credits

Breakfast at Tiffanys

Breakfast at Tiffanys

I chose to analyse the titles from a film from my chosen genre, Attack the Block and a film that isn't it my genre, Breakfast at Tiffany's, but will always remain timeless. Both the films have simple titles, that are superimposed onto the video. I think this creates an simple effect, that allows the audience to focus on the character and the film, rather than be blown away by flashy titles. I want to recreate this in my film by superimposing simple titles onto my video and this is to be accompanied by a soundtrack to the first 2 minutes. I think this will be simple, yet effective and will hopefully add to the emphasise of the strong female character. I am going to attempt to create these titles on Adobe After Effects, as I think they create a professional appearance. I am also going to emulate the opening studio credits that were used in Attack The Block to make the simple theme continuous.

Kidulthood presentation

Kidulthood presentation

View more presentations from Amber-Rose Smith.

1. Purpose

What is the purpose and form of the first 2 minutes of a movie in your chosen genre?

• The purpose of the first 2 minutes of my film is for the audience to get a feel for the characters, location, and genre of the film, without giving very much away. It will set up the rest of the film, and hopefully engage the audience. 

What must you aim to do in 2 minutes?

• I must aim to engage the audience, but also not spoil the rest of the film. I want to set up a strong female character in the film, with the other primary character being the location, Hackney. 

What do your audience expect?

• My audience should expect a gritty urban drama, that portrays the female character in a dominant light, unique to this genre. 

Prelim Excercise

These are the shot list. This is crucial for successful production.