Progress Report

Individual Progress:

• I have contributed to the production by doing some camera work and finding interesting shots that we can take which would help the video look more effective.
• WWW: I had contributed by taking some good shots that are clear and stable.
• EBI: I could get more close ups in the filming.
• The next step is to finish the title shot list and improve it.

Group Report:

• We have all gone out and travelled to the destination of the filming and done as much as we could even though the weather may have been difficult to film in.
• WWW: The group as a whole managed to make the filming dates and contributed all together in the shooting.
• EBI: We included more close ups of the characters faces in the scenes that we have currently recorded and were more efficient with our time.
• The next step is to continue shooting our video and try and complete as much as we can.

Photoshop Tutorials

From watching the Photoshop tutorials I had learnt how to use Photoshop to full effect while creating a magazine cover. I now can make edit a persons face and remove any imperfections such as eye bags and spots so that the image looks clean. I also learnt how to create a gradient background suing many different colours. The tutorials showed me how to change the size, colour, placement and font of the text so that it can look affective and appealing when creating the cover page.

Ill Manors TEDx Lecture

1. Plan B's believes that there is not enough support for young people and that is one of the main reasons as to why they turn to criminal behaviour such as violence and drug taking. His ideology is that the government are rich but they are not willing to help, nor will they; therefore it is in all of our hands to help one another, and to help support those in need. he also believes that words that are used to describe children are all negative and if people use those words, it is only natural for them to act upon those words in a negative way by committing the crimes the crimes they do; causing both sides to hate each other.
   
2. The TEDx Lecture's target audience are those who judge and those who have a dominant ideology that all young people now are bad and are criminals without understanding the other side to their story, without maybe giving them a chance. Plan B was also targeting people who knew someone that needed guidance or extra support from somebody, as he wants those people who know somebody in a bad situation that they can't help themselves with, to help that person, as he says so in his lecture. His target audience for his music and films vary as his films target audience is similar to his lecture's target audience, however, his music is for those young people living in the tough situations that look up to artists such as Plan B as he hopes to guide them through his music; we know this as he states in his lecture that that is what his aim is and his lyrics speak the truth and try to show young people that there is another way to life.
   
3. Plan B says that the media is the reason as to why young people are the way they are, and the media portray and create the negative stereotypes for them and therefore reject them from society; which in turn causes the youth to also reject and repel society and the government as they feel separate. This can be linked to Cohen's media theory of moral panic as he says that the media don't represent the good in the young people and don't present it all together as this will challenge the dominant view of young people which is irresponsible, criminals, violent, drug abusers, etc. and this challeng is what becomes a concern to society.

Review (Ill Manors)

The film Ill Manors is directed by Ben drew, also known as ‘Plan B’; who is known for his career in music. His creativity and excellent directing is highly noticeable on this low budget film as this is also the first ever film he has produced. This is shown as it is a 2 hour long film with a budget of just £100,000; many movies of similar quality require millions of pounds on average per day. However, the low budget could help Plan B achieve a more realistic film as the settings used are not artificial.

                                                 

The film is about a series of young people in East London who are all negatively affected in at a young age which then moulds them into adults who have chosen a bad, criminal, future for themselves. It also shows how different choices that young people make may not always affect them instantly, however further down the line it will.

Plan B had either risked it all, or he had jeopardised his entire film by using majority of the actors as the main characters of the film with no previous acting experience. However, it is safe to say Ill Manors characters and actors had become one with their roles. The 4 main characters are Aaron, who is played by Riz Ahmed, Kirby, who is played by Keef Coggins, Chris, who is played by Lee Allen, and Ed, who is played by Ed Skrein. The protagonist in the film is Aaron, who is different to the typical characters shown in the film and also has a different opinion on what he sees is wrong and right in contrast with his friends. 
All the characters and actors perfectly match each other and the professionalism of the actors who have no experience prior to the filming of Ill Manors, is of high standards; they show this by making the audience believe that the roles that they are playing are actually who they are off camera as well as on.

The films genre is a crime thriller as there is a lot of gang related violence in the film, drug abuse, murder, prostitution, etc. The mood the film creates is gritty and tense, which matches the genre of the film. It is also very shocking and thrilling as it fits my expectations of what the film is about and how it should make the audience feel; and that is uncomfortable to a degree in which they understand and want to watch more.

The soundtrack in the film is produced by the director himself, Plan B. He has created an entire album based on the film itself to help with its promotion which then reached number one. The soundtrack is very catchy as the lyrics tend to stick in your head and after watching the film you may find yourself repeating his lyrics.

The atmosphere was largely helped by the soundtrack as the lyrics described what was happening and the sound went hand in hand the scenes that were in the film. Plan B's music talent cleverly helped Ill Manors soundtrack as he was able to identify what he had wanted as the soundtrack and was able to produce a soundtrack to full effect that would change the entire films intensity in an instant.

The target audience of the film is people who would ignore the type of people committing the behaviour shown in the film and don’t understand the reasons and events they have faced in which has turned them the way they are. Also, Plan B’s fan base would be majority of the target audience as he released an album based on the film. However, the film may appeal to the opposite of their target audience; this is because the language and violent nature of the film would be more appealing to audiences like the characters within the film rather than those who don’t understand. Also, people who can relate to the characters and relate to events that have occurred in their life similar to which have occurred in the film, are more likely to view the film.

Review Plan (Ill Manors)

Magazine Covers

INCEPTION is the main coverline and is followed by a series of minor coverlines that are in white and red font. The shape of the minor coverlines also follows the shape of the man in the background.

The coverline on this magazine is written in a large red strip which stretches across the entire front cover at a slight angle with JUAN MATA written inside in bold white.

SKYFALL is shown in big bold letters in the bottom half of the magazine and has a sentence underneath it in small font.

TERMINATOR SALVATION is the coverline on this magazine and is written in all capital letters and is a bold red colour that stands out into the foreground and catches the eye.

The main coverline is in large bold white font that is all capital letters and the theme of the coverlines is white and red.

TV Souvenir Magazine

Ill Manors (trailer analysis)

1.      Typical Codes and Conventions of film trailers:

·         Title at the end

·        Directors and actors names

·         Age certificate

·         Reviews

·         Release date

·         Montage

2.      How trailers are distributed:

·         Cinema trailers

·         Radio interviews

·         TV trailers

·         Chat shows

·         Social media sites

·         Websites

3.      Ill Manors trailer Conventions :

·         Title at the end

·         Release date

·         Reviews

·         Director and actors names

·         Montage

4.     The target audience for Ill Manors are people aged 16-35. They also fall under the psychographics group of reformers; this is because people who are free from restriction, they are also anti-materialistic and select products for their high quality. The target audience fits in the demographic groups C, D, and E, as Ill Manors would appeal more to young people, students, and the lower working class.
The techniques they used to attract their target audience were the use of young actors, which the audience of a similar age can relate to, music from the director, so that his current fan base would want to view his film.
At the beginning of the trailer, one characters life is given away and the audience can then see how the character became who he is.
In the trailer the all the stars are shown, however the main stars are shown for longer and more frequently.
When the director’s name is shown, the words used to describe him are ‘FROM VISIONARY ARTIST PLAN B’; all the letters are in large, bold, capital letters. This helps emphasise who he is and his role in producing the film. Also, the words ‘visionary artist’ show that he is a very creative person and that the movie is how he sees things.
To introduce the film the narrator’s voice-over is used; it tells a little section of the story and it is from his song.
The trailer also shows the release date in bold at the end.

5.   In the Ill Manors trailer, Mise en scene is used to full effect. The costumes that are used are all associated with how young people dress; the young people are wearing hoodies, jeans, caps, jogging bottoms, etc., these clothing items help portray that the characters are young and cannot afford expensive clothes; this in turn suggests that the environment they live in is not a wealthy environment and is less economically developed. At the beginning of the trailer it suggests just that as in a quote it says ‘We are all products of our environment’.
The lighting used in the film was natural lighting, street light, lights from within a house, etc.; this helped the production seem more like real life events than a made up story, which in turn allowed the audience to feel more moved by the production. Actors in the film were used effectively; this is because they were all young and all were able to relate to the characters within the film; this helped them perform better as they had knowledge of what each characters lives are like and had an understand of the film. The make up in the film was used to show many things, such as a scar that the man had got from when he was a little kid, to show how long somebody was tied up in a warehouse they had made the character look like he’s been sweating and is very dirty, to show how scared people were tears were shown. This all contributed to how each characters story builds up. Also, the most effective part of the Mise en scene was the props used in the trailer. A wide range of props were used, such as a gun, a blade, a packet of drugs, a car, a pram, etc. The main props were the guns and the drugs; this is because it they are trying to convey the message that even though it is London where guns are illegal and considered hard to purchase, almost every main character has one. Also, drugs and violence are a typical stereotype of young people.

A wide range of Cinematography was used throughout the trailer. There were a variety of close ups so that the audience could identify they characters and get an idea of who they are. There were medium shots which helped the audience see what kind of clothes the characters wear and what they are doing, such as drugs. Long shots were also used to show the setting and area that the characters live in and where they are so that people can relate as they may have seen or currently live in environments that are similar.

The editing in the film was used to create tension and suspense in the trailer. There were straight cuts throughout the trailer that all had lasted less than a second; this helped overwhelm the audience and shock them of what is going on the film. Also, at the very beginning of the trailer a quote was shown which summed up the movie as it says ‘We are all a product of the environment. Some environments are just harder to survive in.’; this quote also helps represent the aim of the movie as they intend to show how young people live and how hard it is on them to survive. A voiceover was added to the trailer using the director, Plan B’s voice; this helped create suspense as he says that the audience may find things insignificant at first, however at the end your views will change; again this relates to the aim of the movie as he tries to show people what is really going on with young people in London and wants the audience to have a sudden realisation. There is also music created by the director added to the trailer, which helps promote the movie further and allows the audience to identify the song instantly.