British Social Realism // Production Log One

(technical skills are described in paragraph below)

From looking at the mark scheme and the work of other students, I have learnt that there is many things needed in the opening sequence to achieve the highest level possible. Firstly, the material has to be appropriate for the target audience which in this case is 16-24 year olds. As it is a British Social Realism film, the themes would have to be realistic for the audience and be based around the typical working class life. They also look at characters that may face struggles in their lives. Also to achieve the best level, you have to use titles and sound appropriately. The titles need to be on the screen long enough to be read and the sound must be suitable and related to the storyline of the film. The sound cannot be played too loud, so dialogue can be heard and the music for the opening sequence should add a mood and not distract or bore the audience. I also need to make sure that there is a controlled use of the camera and variety of shots. This showcases the understanding of different techniques and keeps the audience interested. Mise-en-Scene is very important in British Social Realism films so we need to make sure that the production design is suitable (sets, props and costumes) so the opening sequence is as realistic as possible. This also comes into the era the film is set in as costumes and props may help show that which means we have to represent the time and place in a certain way so it is suitable to our film and theme. Also we need to consider the lighting and colour design for our opening sequence, whether the lighting is artificial or natural. British Social Realism films tend to have a blue colour design as it is a cold colour. Finally, to reach the top level, we must be able to use editing to make our meaning/theme apparent to the audience by making selective shot transitions as it must be as realistic as possible. 

Some well-known British Social Realism films can be seen here:

This will impact my work as I will take all of the above into consideration throughout the planning, filming and editing of the opening sequence. I will make sure the theme is appropriate towards the audience. When looking at other people's opening sequences, I can see that some haven't used their graphics or music appropriately. For example, either the titles were unclear or too fast. With sound, it was either too loud so you were unable to hear the dialogue or it was too repetitive. Also, some people didn't edit to fit the audio which made it seem like the music wasn't appropriate to the opening sequence. I will try and avoid this by perhaps making changes in the music or the volume of the music, so that it creates the mood and I would make sure the titles were used correctly so they can be read and that both fit with the opening sequence well. Also, I will make sure I clearly plan and use a variety of different shots and make sure the camera is controlled. I found that in some work, the camera was not kept still, making the shot look extremely unprofessional. Hopefully, I will be able to avoid this by having smooth camera work and editing. I also found that in some work, the storyline was unclear and not interesting, meaning it wouldn't be gripping for the target audience. I also found that some film titles didn't really match their storyline. I am planning to avoid this by planning my storyline and making sure that the shots I choose to include in the opening sequence are interesting for the audience and that the theme is relevant and realistic for the target audience.