Here is a brainstorm we have created to find out specifically how many locations we will need to film at for our scenes in the film trailer:
Location Brainstorm
We have 8 locations and have come up with some ideas for what these locations can be and how they would be suitable for the scenes we want to shoot:
Ideas for Locations
Here are the locations we have chosen and created recces and plans for:
Location Recces
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Character Profiles
The protagonist of our film 'Raze' is the main character, Erin. We chose to use a female main character in a social realist thriller as from research we found that protagonists are usually males. We wanted to challenge the genre by using a young, female character. Other characters will be male, focusing of male youths that are part of a youth gang which influences Erin to change herself and use violence and aggression as a way to take control of her life and defend herself. The antagonist of the film will be her alcoholic mother and the teacher character is to be represented as a hero-type character who tries to help Erin.
Erin
Erin's character will show two sides to her in the trailer as she will act as both the protagonist and the antagonist. At the start of the trailer, she is quiet, lonely and isolated but later the transition from a shy girl to a bold, independent and aggressive character is shown. Her actions also highlight her as an antagonist, but the split sides of Erin's character will still make her likable and endearing as you realise she is only acting the way she is to take control of her life and rebel against the way she is treated by her mother and peers.
At the start of the trailer Erin is portrayed as a timid and lonely protagonist, a victim of her mother's rage and jeers of her peers at school. Her vulnerable and isolated character will be further shown in the way she is treated by her alcoholic mother. She has no friends and lives a reclusive life as she is an outcast at school who is picked on by both her mother and classmates. Erin's character is fragile and even though she is offered help by a teacher at school who is vaguely aware of her problematic home life, Erin refuses and chooses to remain silent in fear of seeming like she is overreacting or getting her mother, who she fears and resents so much, into trouble and angering her more. Erin's reclusive life makes it hard for her to express herself or communicate with people which makes it hard for her to ask for help as she is used to being treated badly by the people who are supposed to take care of and love her (her mother), so she finds it hard to trust anyone and confide in people.
One day, Erin cracks after seeing a group of youths attack another boy. She sees their power and is strongly influenced by their control and use of violence to get what they want, so she decides to do the same thing. She idolises their aggressive behaviour and control over their male victim. After the gang of youths leaves their innocent victim, Erin walks over to him and instead of helping him and calling an ambulance, she towers over him and revels in his vulnerability and pain as, for once, she is seeing someone weaker than her and this makes her feel powerful. At this point in the trailer, Erin's character is represented as an antagonist, making her character two-sided and complex as she battles with the good and bad sides of her own personality. Further events in the film support her antagonistic character, such as threatening her teacher, smashing bottles and cutting her hair off to make herself appear more tough. This indicates an emotional and physical change.
The battle with herself and against the life of gang violence and crime is presented through scenes in the trailer as her life is shown to spin out of control as she acts in an aggressive and hostile way towards the people who used to torment her. Also she acts aggressively towards the kind teacher who wants to help her and save her from her self-destructing ways as she knows, deep down, that Erin is just a scared and vulnerable girl from a troubled and lonely background. Her deprived and neglectful upbringing in an inner-city area is shown throughout the trailer, as she spends nights alone on the streets to escape from her home life and the trouble she is in with the police. When she returns home after facing her inability to speak to people and seek help, she comes to the realisation that her life will never improve and she can never escape from her mother.
Teacher
The female teacher at Erin's school is caring and kind and this is shown in the scene at the start of the trailer where she is asking Erin about her home life in order to help her as she is aware of her troubled life. The use of her character is to have a caring and mother-like character who acts as the reliant heroine of the film. When she first asks her pupil, Erin, about her home life Erin is reluctant to tell her anything. She does not question her any further as she isn't aware of the severity of the abuse and neglect from her mother. The caring and helpful nature of her teacher who is concerned of Erin's welfare leads to her again asking Erin about her problems when she notices a dramatic change in Erin's behaviour as she acts in a rebellious and aggressive way. Erin then threatens her teacher with a knife after getting angry with her 'nosey' questions as she is very defensive and secretive. Her teacher then realises how much Erin has changed and is aware of how troubled and confused she is so she sympathises with her and chooses not to press charges against her until she is made by the head teacher of the school which causes Erin to run away from home where she gets into more trouble. The teacher's character is the only 'hope' Erin has of escaping her dysfunctional life, but when she finally turns on the one person who cares about her, it is a sign that there is now no hope for Erin.
Mother
Erin's mother is the clear antagonist of the film. She is an alcoholic, single mother who suffers from depression and anger problems which she cannot control around her daughter. She takes out most her aggression on her daughter and spends her time in the house getting drunk. She is unemployed and divorced so her and her daughter's life is quite poor, deprived and dependant on benefits. Her depression spurred from when her husband left her and her daughter and she blames her daughter for this misfortune, using her as a verbal and sometimes physical punch bag to vent her anger and frustration. She is especially violent and aggressive when she has drunk a lot and her verbal abuse is the cause of her daughter's isolated and quiet personality and her inability to express her emotions. Erin's mother does not provide well for her daughter and has never been a good role model or mother figure when she was growing up and instead was neglectful and unkind to her daughter due to her selfish ways and self-indulgent and destructive alcoholism. Her mother does not express her worries or feelings to her daughter as she does not want to lose the control she has and show any weakness, but she secretly is concerned about her daughter and her isolated and, later, violent and crime-related life. She struggles with expressing herself in a healthy way so instead uses force and hostile behaviour towards her daughter which is an inspiration in itself which leads to Erin's drastic change.
Gang
The gang of male youths are the primary influence of Erin's drastic change. When she sees them attacking another male, she sees their use of violence to be controlling and she idolises them in a warped way. This group of boys are the ones who go to her school and are thugs and bullies who use intimidation and aggression to have power over others. Erin craves control over her life and to stand up for herself. She wants people to view her differently so by watching their actions and behaviour she decides to copy them. This group of boys are notorious for being violent and forceful and the gang is all-male, apart from some girls who hang around with them. Erin's idolisation of the gang is in a very strange and warped way as she sees their hostile behaviour and idolises it which is disturbing in itself. These girls that are also in the gang are prominent characters in the film trailer as they are a strong influence to Erin and Erin also has a fight with one of the girls in the scene after a previous scene of them throwing an apple at her head at the start of the trailer. She is jealous of them as they are a gang which have each other's support which she craves as she is a lonely and isolated outcast. Also, the way the girls are treated by the male gang members makes Erin jealous and leads to her feeling more frustrated and angry as she is rejected by a group who she wants acceptance from.
Male Victim
The victim of the male gang's aggression is also a key influence in Erin's transition. When she sees him lying helplessly on the floor, she feels a sense of power and is happy to see someone more vulnerable and weak that her. When she stands over him after he has been attacked and he is lying and bleeding on the floor, she has a strange moment which makes her realise that being forceful and violent will successfully give her the control of her life and over other people that she longs for so much. When Erin faces the victim he acts as her reflection, as he is also an outcast of youth society and is bullied and victimised like Erin is. This is a key moment where Erin chooses who she wants to be. By watching him being vulnerable and weak, Erin realises she doesn't want to be a victim any more and this is a vital moment which sparks her emotional and physical change. This moment shows Erin's new character emerge as a cold, hostile and defensive girl by rejecting a person similar to her who she can relate to and could potentially be friends with and instead chooses to become someone who, as her former self, would fear.
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Audience Profile and Audience Analysis
Audience Profile
Demographic Features: Social Class, Gender, Age, Sexuality & Interests
Our film is going to be a social realist, action film which focuses on the life of Erin - a teenage girl in a working class society. She is a lonely and vulnerable character who has been brought up by a neglectful and alcoholic single mother who is aggressive and verbally abusive to her daughter. This abuse makes her isolated and quiet which makes her a target for school bullies so her social life is non existent. Our aim is to to create a character that an audience can relate to and also provide an explanation for why many youths today are antisocial and violent, as many rebellious youths come from a bad background full of neglect, abuse and isolation. Our female character is shown to take on masculine characteristics in the way she is violent and aggressive and the fast-paced action scenes of the film would appeal to a male, teenage audience. The storyline of Erin's struggle to take control of her life and the battle with herself shows the different sides to her - anger, loneliness, frustration and vulnerability - will be relate-able to teenager girls who face those feeling when they are growing up.
The primary audience for 'Raze' is young adults, aged 15-21 which is why the certificate for our film is a 15. The demographic features of our audience are an important consideration when making the film seem realistic and relate-able as that is our aim. The audience will be working class teenagers who are brought up in a similar society to our main character as social class is a key feature of our film as Erin is a young girl from a working class upbringing. Some scenes of our trailer are to be filmed in a comprehensive school which also highlights social class as she is from quite a deprived and poor background. Other scenes are to be shot in her home which is a small council flat, again implying that Erin is not from a wealthy family and faces struggles that many working class youths face as they grow up in a modern society full of high expectations.
Demographic Features: Social Class, Gender, Age, Sexuality & Interests
Our film is going to be a social realist, action film which focuses on the life of Erin - a teenage girl in a working class society. She is a lonely and vulnerable character who has been brought up by a neglectful and alcoholic single mother who is aggressive and verbally abusive to her daughter. This abuse makes her isolated and quiet which makes her a target for school bullies so her social life is non existent. Our aim is to to create a character that an audience can relate to and also provide an explanation for why many youths today are antisocial and violent, as many rebellious youths come from a bad background full of neglect, abuse and isolation. Our female character is shown to take on masculine characteristics in the way she is violent and aggressive and the fast-paced action scenes of the film would appeal to a male, teenage audience. The storyline of Erin's struggle to take control of her life and the battle with herself shows the different sides to her - anger, loneliness, frustration and vulnerability - will be relate-able to teenager girls who face those feeling when they are growing up.
The primary audience for 'Raze' is young adults, aged 15-21 which is why the certificate for our film is a 15. The demographic features of our audience are an important consideration when making the film seem realistic and relate-able as that is our aim. The audience will be working class teenagers who are brought up in a similar society to our main character as social class is a key feature of our film as Erin is a young girl from a working class upbringing. Some scenes of our trailer are to be filmed in a comprehensive school which also highlights social class as she is from quite a deprived and poor background. Other scenes are to be shot in her home which is a small council flat, again implying that Erin is not from a wealthy family and faces struggles that many working class youths face as they grow up in a modern society full of high expectations.
The secondary audience we want to target with our film is adults aged 21+ who may be interested in social realist films about British culture or parents who have an interest in understanding some issues teenagers and their own children face today. Adults who are also aware of the stereotypes and negative press about today's youths would also be targeted in this film as it provides and explanation for why some teenagers act the way they do. This older audience may be from different classes and backgrounds but may have interest in this film to understand today's teenagers. Other adults may find our film appealing if they are from a troubled background or lived in a similar area and faced similar problems that Erin does. This would help them become reconnected with today's youth culture and feel a sense of familiarity with some characters.
The setting of our 'Raze' is an inner-city area in London, so the audience from a similar area would be aware of the struggles of youths and the problems that they face. For example, the general outlook on youths from the government's point of view is that youths are antisocial, violent and disrespectful. Stereotypes like these that are broadcast in the media to represent the youths in today's society are frustrating and provoke anger among youths who then have little or no support for the government who label them in this way. As well as this, many youths may act in this way to kick back at a society that they see to have failed them while they were growing up, whether it be in education, future employment or in family issues which were never helped or resolved by those in society whose job it is to help. Generally, it is working class youths that are labelled this way so we want to represent their anger and frustration in our film as well as provide an explanation for why youths may act in a disrespectful and delinquent way.
Age and social class are key features in our film but sexuality will not really be represented, apart from Erin's masculine traits which may be questioned as relating to her sexuality. Erin's character does not have a romantic interest in the film to distract her and there will be no sexual or romantic scenes as the film is to be gritty, raw and powerful. Gender roles are very important in our film, as Erin's mother is highlighted as the antagonist as she is an aggressive and neglectful alcoholic who mistreats her daughter and sets a bad example for her, which then leads her into a life of violence and crime. Erin's change of appearance as she reinvents herself as a tough, violent and independent character is important when considering representation of gender as she is still female but is taking on masculine characteristics that she witnessed when some male youths attacked another male. She uses these hegemonic masculine traits to be strong, intimidating and in control to assert her new found Independence and status. This would relate to a male audience as well as a female audience who may use violence or intimidation to be controlling or to assert their position in youth society as may provoke a reaction from an audience who could review or question their own actions after viewing it on screen.
Interests of the audience would be quite similar, as they would share a liking of music as many teenagers do. The film does not target a group of youths who like a particular genre of music as the 'hoodie' culture of the film mainly revolves around genres such as rap, hip-hop, R n B, grime, drum n bass and dub step. The audience would not specifically be interested in this music, but mainly an audience who are involved in such youth culture would find this film appealing. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are a large part of modern youth culture so this a large interest of the target audience. TV and film would be another interest of the audience who may watch programmes like Skins and Misfits and like films like Harry Brown and Kidulthood which are of a similar genre to our film. Socialising would be a key part of the audience's life which would perhaps appear more important to them than education or future prospects which is a view that many teenagers from all generations, past and present, have. Appearance would be an important feature in the lives of the target audience as many teenagers today are very involved in the way they look and how they are perceived by friends and peers.
Audience Analysis
Environment, Expectations & Interest
The environment in which the 'Raze' would be viewed links to the demographic of our audience as it would have to target them when they are watching particular programmes. The trailer would be played during an advert break of some Channel 4 or E4 dramas, such as Skins, Misfits, This is England '86 and The Inbetweeners which are all popular among the target audience. These dramas also tackle problems that teenagers can relate to - social and family problems, drugs, alcohol, sexuality etc. In the cinema, the film would be shown at showings of films of a similar genre or films that would have the same audience, perhaps showings of horror or specific comedy films, as well as thrillers and action films. It would be a good idea to show the films on 'Orange Wednesdays' at Cineworld where many teenagers who generally have a low income go to the cinema as you get two for one tickets. The location of the showings of the film would also be important, so large towns or cities would be the best place to show this type of film as the location of the film is inner-city in London. Cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham would be key places to promote the film as the youths in these cities would face similar problems as Erin does in a working class, struggling society. The same cities would also be best suited for wide-spread advertising such as billboards and posters on buses and at bus stops.
An audience who is watching a trailer for a social realist, action thriller would expect to see a lot of fast-paced action and scenes of violence. The fact that it is social realist film would also have expectations as the film must seem realistic and that the events in the film would be possible in 'real life', although some dramatisation would be expected to make the film a little more interesting and exciting. As the film is supposed to be a real and raw representation of modern youth culture, expectations would be that the audience can relate to the characters and the events that happen in the film as they are of a similar age and social class. It would be completely different if our target audience were to be middle class adults as they would not expect to relate to the on-screen events but we want our audience to feel a relation to what they are seeing so they can get really involved in the storyline of the film and feel that as a teenager, they are not watching the negative stereotypes that are generated through the media to generalise the behaviour of today's youths. As the trailer will feature scenes of Erin being aggressive and violent as well as lonely and vulnerable, the audience will expect to see a powerful and realistic transition between the two sides of Erin. A feeling of empathy for Erin's character would also be expected as the vulnerable and lonely side to her will be shown as well as an explanation for her actions in the scenes of her mother.
Interest in the film would be provoked by the representation of the characters. It is important to understand why the audience would find the film appealing and want to watch it and apply this to how we portray our characters and effectively conform to our chosen genre to reach out to attract the target audience and fulfil their expectations. Interest would be sparked by the content of the trailer showing scenarios and emotions that the audience can relate to or understand. Scenes of violence and action would spark an interest, especially with a male audience and a female audience could be interested by the use of a female protagonist. The film's aim is to represent issues that are present in society today which could reach out to the audience who face the same problems of the main character or who are generally interested in modern British social realist films which focus on contemporary youth culture.
The setting of our 'Raze' is an inner-city area in London, so the audience from a similar area would be aware of the struggles of youths and the problems that they face. For example, the general outlook on youths from the government's point of view is that youths are antisocial, violent and disrespectful. Stereotypes like these that are broadcast in the media to represent the youths in today's society are frustrating and provoke anger among youths who then have little or no support for the government who label them in this way. As well as this, many youths may act in this way to kick back at a society that they see to have failed them while they were growing up, whether it be in education, future employment or in family issues which were never helped or resolved by those in society whose job it is to help. Generally, it is working class youths that are labelled this way so we want to represent their anger and frustration in our film as well as provide an explanation for why youths may act in a disrespectful and delinquent way.
Age and social class are key features in our film but sexuality will not really be represented, apart from Erin's masculine traits which may be questioned as relating to her sexuality. Erin's character does not have a romantic interest in the film to distract her and there will be no sexual or romantic scenes as the film is to be gritty, raw and powerful. Gender roles are very important in our film, as Erin's mother is highlighted as the antagonist as she is an aggressive and neglectful alcoholic who mistreats her daughter and sets a bad example for her, which then leads her into a life of violence and crime. Erin's change of appearance as she reinvents herself as a tough, violent and independent character is important when considering representation of gender as she is still female but is taking on masculine characteristics that she witnessed when some male youths attacked another male. She uses these hegemonic masculine traits to be strong, intimidating and in control to assert her new found Independence and status. This would relate to a male audience as well as a female audience who may use violence or intimidation to be controlling or to assert their position in youth society as may provoke a reaction from an audience who could review or question their own actions after viewing it on screen.
Interests of the audience would be quite similar, as they would share a liking of music as many teenagers do. The film does not target a group of youths who like a particular genre of music as the 'hoodie' culture of the film mainly revolves around genres such as rap, hip-hop, R n B, grime, drum n bass and dub step. The audience would not specifically be interested in this music, but mainly an audience who are involved in such youth culture would find this film appealing. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are a large part of modern youth culture so this a large interest of the target audience. TV and film would be another interest of the audience who may watch programmes like Skins and Misfits and like films like Harry Brown and Kidulthood which are of a similar genre to our film. Socialising would be a key part of the audience's life which would perhaps appear more important to them than education or future prospects which is a view that many teenagers from all generations, past and present, have. Appearance would be an important feature in the lives of the target audience as many teenagers today are very involved in the way they look and how they are perceived by friends and peers.
Audience Analysis
Environment, Expectations & Interest
The environment in which the 'Raze' would be viewed links to the demographic of our audience as it would have to target them when they are watching particular programmes. The trailer would be played during an advert break of some Channel 4 or E4 dramas, such as Skins, Misfits, This is England '86 and The Inbetweeners which are all popular among the target audience. These dramas also tackle problems that teenagers can relate to - social and family problems, drugs, alcohol, sexuality etc. In the cinema, the film would be shown at showings of films of a similar genre or films that would have the same audience, perhaps showings of horror or specific comedy films, as well as thrillers and action films. It would be a good idea to show the films on 'Orange Wednesdays' at Cineworld where many teenagers who generally have a low income go to the cinema as you get two for one tickets. The location of the showings of the film would also be important, so large towns or cities would be the best place to show this type of film as the location of the film is inner-city in London. Cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham would be key places to promote the film as the youths in these cities would face similar problems as Erin does in a working class, struggling society. The same cities would also be best suited for wide-spread advertising such as billboards and posters on buses and at bus stops.
An audience who is watching a trailer for a social realist, action thriller would expect to see a lot of fast-paced action and scenes of violence. The fact that it is social realist film would also have expectations as the film must seem realistic and that the events in the film would be possible in 'real life', although some dramatisation would be expected to make the film a little more interesting and exciting. As the film is supposed to be a real and raw representation of modern youth culture, expectations would be that the audience can relate to the characters and the events that happen in the film as they are of a similar age and social class. It would be completely different if our target audience were to be middle class adults as they would not expect to relate to the on-screen events but we want our audience to feel a relation to what they are seeing so they can get really involved in the storyline of the film and feel that as a teenager, they are not watching the negative stereotypes that are generated through the media to generalise the behaviour of today's youths. As the trailer will feature scenes of Erin being aggressive and violent as well as lonely and vulnerable, the audience will expect to see a powerful and realistic transition between the two sides of Erin. A feeling of empathy for Erin's character would also be expected as the vulnerable and lonely side to her will be shown as well as an explanation for her actions in the scenes of her mother.
Interest in the film would be provoked by the representation of the characters. It is important to understand why the audience would find the film appealing and want to watch it and apply this to how we portray our characters and effectively conform to our chosen genre to reach out to attract the target audience and fulfil their expectations. Interest would be sparked by the content of the trailer showing scenarios and emotions that the audience can relate to or understand. Scenes of violence and action would spark an interest, especially with a male audience and a female audience could be interested by the use of a female protagonist. The film's aim is to represent issues that are present in society today which could reach out to the audience who face the same problems of the main character or who are generally interested in modern British social realist films which focus on contemporary youth culture.
Monday, 8 November 2010
Advertising Industry Codes of Practice
The UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code)
Here are some industry codes of practice that we will comply with when producing our film trailer. As we are using under eighteen year olds as our characters, it is important to follow the rules of what is acceptable to broadcast. Rules about bullying, violence, offence and vulnerability all apply to our trailer as our main character is a vulnerable, young girl so it is important that this character would not influence a young audience or the events in the trailer would not condone or support violence, alcoholism or bullying. Representation of stereotypes is also vital as this is a strong theme in our film as we are playing upon common ideologies of modern British society, so it is key that the representations of stereotypes in our film are not overly offensive, humiliating or misleading.
Scenes of violence will need to be addressed especially as we can not show violence in a supportive or positive way. As the use of violence in the trailer will be to show Erin's transition from a quiet and vulnerable school girl to a violent gang member, it does not show it in a positive way. The use of violence is explained as Erin's way of controlling her life and gaining the attention she always craved after a neglectful, abusive and isolated childhood. Erin's mother being an alcoholic in the film offers an explanation as to why Erin changes and alcoholism will not be positively represented in our trailer as her mother is shown to be a bitter and aggressive person, highlighting the negative aspects of alcohol.
Erin's vulnerable and lonely character must not be seen to do anything that would influence a young audience, for example go off with any strangers so we need to be careful when representing her at the beginning of the trailer as she is young and naive. Her transition to a violent gang member must not be shown in a positive light or to give an audience any excuse to act in the same way, so the well being of a young and influential teenage audience must be considered. Scenes such as Erin smashing her mother's bottles of alcohol onto the kitchen floor highlight the consideration of health and safety for our audience, as well as the general use of alcohol within our trailer.
The trailer cannot contain highly offensive scenes as trailers are generally played throughout the day on television before the watershed so swearing or overly-violent scenes cannot be featured. All the scenes in our trailer that involve bullying, taunting or violence will be ensured to not represent them in a positive way at all, but they are used as an explanation as to why Erin changes and what happens to her after she changes. They are used for dramatic effect and they have explanations for each scene so mindless violence or aggression is not shown without a reason.
6.1 Offence
Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against
generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards, or offend against public
feeling
Notes:
(1) Although no list can be exhaustive, and values evolve over time, society
has shared standards in areas such as:
(a) the portrayal of death, injury, violence (particularly sexual violence),
cruelty or misfortune
(b) respect for the interests and dignity of minorities
(c) respect for spiritual beliefs, rites, sacred images etc
(d) sex and nudity, and the use of offensive language. (For further
information see the ITC research reports Nudity in Television Advertising and
the ASA/ITC report Delete Expletives. The latter reports on attitudes to
swearing and offensive language.)
(2) The ASA does not judge cases simply, or even primarily, on the number of
complaints received. It makes judgements about the likelihood of widespread
offence as well as taking into account the possibility of deep, usually
unintentional, offence to sections of the audience which have particular
vulnerabilities.
(3) Particular circumstances can result in otherwise unobjectionable material
causing offence. For example, a joke may cease to be acceptable if it seems
to refer to a recent tragedy or if it appears close to a programme about a
serious, related issue. On the other hand, if material might be on the edge of
acceptability for a general audience but would be perfectly acceptable to, for
example, young adults, careful scheduling in ‘youth’ programmes may be
sufficient to avoid causing offence.
(4) Whilst commercials for media products such as CDs and videos must not
mislead about their content, any extracts from the products should not cause
offence.
6.2 Violence and cruelty
(a) Advertisements must not encourage or condone violence or cruelty
(b) Gratuitous and realistic portrayals of cruel or irresponsible treatment of
people or animals are not acceptable
Notes to 6.2:
(1) Careful judgements are needed in this area. ‘Theatrical’ violence (for
example, the mayhem common in action/adventure films) is generally
acceptable, as is violence which has a stylised ‘cartoon’ or slapstick quality.
Problems are more likely to arise where the violence seems to take place in
everyday life and to involve ordinary people. However, care should be taken
to avoid giving young viewers the impression that copying wrestling, martial
arts etc would be safe, harmless fun.
(2) Advertisements must not appear to condone people using violence or
aggression to get their own way in everyday life.
(3) Jokes about or involving violence require care and will usually need to be
distanced from everyday life by being, for example, in cartoon form.
(4) Scenes which would otherwise be inappropriate may be acceptable to the
audience in, for example, charity advertising or newsreel footage in
advertisements for news media.
(5) Timing restrictions are necessary for advertising featuring violence. See
7.4.6 (Distress) and 7.4.7 (Scheduling) below
6.6 Harmful or negative stereotypes
Advertisements must not prejudice respect for human dignity or humiliate,
stigmatise or undermine the standing of identifiable groups of people
Notes:
(1) The ASA and BCAP recognise that the use of stereotypes is an inevitable
part of establishing characters within the brief span of a TV commercial. But
some stereotypes can be harmful or deeply insulting to the groups in question
and care is needed that they do not condone or feed prejudice or perpetuate
damaging misconceptions. The ASA and BCAP would not, however, object to
the use of stereotypes which, though objectionable to a few people, seem
generally acceptable to most members of the group in question as well as to
the broader public.
(2) Mild comments or humour about many characteristics can be harmless but
sensitivity is always needed. Acceptability may depend on whether the
characteristic is simply a matter of personal choice and whether it is of
relatively minor significance. For example, hairstyles or hobbies lie at the
‘safer’ end of the spectrum whilst characteristics such as accent, disability,
nationality and skin colour are at or towards the ‘sensitive’ end. Even gentle
humour involving the latter characteristics has significant potential for offence
or distress.
(3) Anything which could encourage or condone the idea that some serious
negative characteristic is associated with a particular group must be avoided.
(4) Particular sensitivity is required where the group in question is generally
recognised to encounter prejudice. The kind of humour which may be
acceptable in other contexts can seem patronising or demeaning in these
cases.
(5) Care is needed with stereotypes of children to avoid the risk of taunting or
bullying. Children who are ‘different’ physically or in their behaviour, ability or
background must not be presented as unpopular or unsuccessful. Nor should
they normally be presented as non-users of a product or service or unworthy
of it. Even if an advertisement portrays only adults being stereotyped, an illjudged
stereotype could still be harmful to children (for example, by
encouraging bullying).
(6) Experience has shown that well-meaning attempts by commercial
advertisers to counter prejudice about, for example, race or disability can
sometimes backfire. Appropriate guidance should be sought.
(7) Further background about public attitudes to stereotyping can be found in
the ITC research report Boxed In.
6.7 Health and safety
Advertisements must not encourage or condone behaviour prejudicial to
health and safety and advertisements must not use techniques that may
directly harm viewers
Notes:
(1) This does not prevent responsible advertising for products and services
which, used to excess or abused, could endanger health or safety.
(2) The use of proper safety equipment or working practices must not be
mocked or discouraged.
(3) Tools, hazardous substances etc should normally be shown being used
and stored in accordance with their manufacturers’ instructions, relevant law
and safety regulations.
(4) Where appropriate, licensees should seek appropriate ‘best practice’
advice relating to activities which can be dangerous, either in all
circumstances or if undertaken without proper precautions. Relevant sources
might be the codes of statutory bodies, statements of established public policy
or published guidance from recognised independent safety organisations.
(5) Photo-Sensitive Epilepsy: See Ofcom’s Guidance Note for Licensees on
Flashing Images and Regular Patterns in Television.
7.4.3 Bullying
Advertisements must not encourage or condone bullying
Notes:
(1) Except in appropriate charity or public service advertising, advertisements
should not normally show scenes of bullying, taunting or teasing, or of children
being ostracised or criticised behind their backs.
(2) Care is needed with stereotypes of children to avoid the risk of bullying.
Children who are ‘different’ physically or in behaviour, ability or background
must not be presented as unpopular or unsuccessful. Nor should they
normally be presented as non-users of a product or service or unworthy of it.
However, even if an advertisement portrays only adults being stereotyped, an
ill-judged stereotype could still be harmful to children (for example, by
encouraging bullying).
7.4.4 Vulnerability
Advertisements must neither encourage children to go off alone or with
strangers nor show them doing so
Here are some industry codes of practice that we will comply with when producing our film trailer. As we are using under eighteen year olds as our characters, it is important to follow the rules of what is acceptable to broadcast. Rules about bullying, violence, offence and vulnerability all apply to our trailer as our main character is a vulnerable, young girl so it is important that this character would not influence a young audience or the events in the trailer would not condone or support violence, alcoholism or bullying. Representation of stereotypes is also vital as this is a strong theme in our film as we are playing upon common ideologies of modern British society, so it is key that the representations of stereotypes in our film are not overly offensive, humiliating or misleading.
Scenes of violence will need to be addressed especially as we can not show violence in a supportive or positive way. As the use of violence in the trailer will be to show Erin's transition from a quiet and vulnerable school girl to a violent gang member, it does not show it in a positive way. The use of violence is explained as Erin's way of controlling her life and gaining the attention she always craved after a neglectful, abusive and isolated childhood. Erin's mother being an alcoholic in the film offers an explanation as to why Erin changes and alcoholism will not be positively represented in our trailer as her mother is shown to be a bitter and aggressive person, highlighting the negative aspects of alcohol.
Erin's vulnerable and lonely character must not be seen to do anything that would influence a young audience, for example go off with any strangers so we need to be careful when representing her at the beginning of the trailer as she is young and naive. Her transition to a violent gang member must not be shown in a positive light or to give an audience any excuse to act in the same way, so the well being of a young and influential teenage audience must be considered. Scenes such as Erin smashing her mother's bottles of alcohol onto the kitchen floor highlight the consideration of health and safety for our audience, as well as the general use of alcohol within our trailer.
The trailer cannot contain highly offensive scenes as trailers are generally played throughout the day on television before the watershed so swearing or overly-violent scenes cannot be featured. All the scenes in our trailer that involve bullying, taunting or violence will be ensured to not represent them in a positive way at all, but they are used as an explanation as to why Erin changes and what happens to her after she changes. They are used for dramatic effect and they have explanations for each scene so mindless violence or aggression is not shown without a reason.
6.1 Offence
Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against
generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards, or offend against public
feeling
Notes:
(1) Although no list can be exhaustive, and values evolve over time, society
has shared standards in areas such as:
(a) the portrayal of death, injury, violence (particularly sexual violence),
cruelty or misfortune
(b) respect for the interests and dignity of minorities
(c) respect for spiritual beliefs, rites, sacred images etc
(d) sex and nudity, and the use of offensive language. (For further
information see the ITC research reports Nudity in Television Advertising and
the ASA/ITC report Delete Expletives. The latter reports on attitudes to
swearing and offensive language.)
(2) The ASA does not judge cases simply, or even primarily, on the number of
complaints received. It makes judgements about the likelihood of widespread
offence as well as taking into account the possibility of deep, usually
unintentional, offence to sections of the audience which have particular
vulnerabilities.
(3) Particular circumstances can result in otherwise unobjectionable material
causing offence. For example, a joke may cease to be acceptable if it seems
to refer to a recent tragedy or if it appears close to a programme about a
serious, related issue. On the other hand, if material might be on the edge of
acceptability for a general audience but would be perfectly acceptable to, for
example, young adults, careful scheduling in ‘youth’ programmes may be
sufficient to avoid causing offence.
(4) Whilst commercials for media products such as CDs and videos must not
mislead about their content, any extracts from the products should not cause
offence.
6.2 Violence and cruelty
(a) Advertisements must not encourage or condone violence or cruelty
(b) Gratuitous and realistic portrayals of cruel or irresponsible treatment of
people or animals are not acceptable
Notes to 6.2:
(1) Careful judgements are needed in this area. ‘Theatrical’ violence (for
example, the mayhem common in action/adventure films) is generally
acceptable, as is violence which has a stylised ‘cartoon’ or slapstick quality.
Problems are more likely to arise where the violence seems to take place in
everyday life and to involve ordinary people. However, care should be taken
to avoid giving young viewers the impression that copying wrestling, martial
arts etc would be safe, harmless fun.
(2) Advertisements must not appear to condone people using violence or
aggression to get their own way in everyday life.
(3) Jokes about or involving violence require care and will usually need to be
distanced from everyday life by being, for example, in cartoon form.
(4) Scenes which would otherwise be inappropriate may be acceptable to the
audience in, for example, charity advertising or newsreel footage in
advertisements for news media.
(5) Timing restrictions are necessary for advertising featuring violence. See
7.4.6 (Distress) and 7.4.7 (Scheduling) below
6.6 Harmful or negative stereotypes
Advertisements must not prejudice respect for human dignity or humiliate,
stigmatise or undermine the standing of identifiable groups of people
Notes:
(1) The ASA and BCAP recognise that the use of stereotypes is an inevitable
part of establishing characters within the brief span of a TV commercial. But
some stereotypes can be harmful or deeply insulting to the groups in question
and care is needed that they do not condone or feed prejudice or perpetuate
damaging misconceptions. The ASA and BCAP would not, however, object to
the use of stereotypes which, though objectionable to a few people, seem
generally acceptable to most members of the group in question as well as to
the broader public.
(2) Mild comments or humour about many characteristics can be harmless but
sensitivity is always needed. Acceptability may depend on whether the
characteristic is simply a matter of personal choice and whether it is of
relatively minor significance. For example, hairstyles or hobbies lie at the
‘safer’ end of the spectrum whilst characteristics such as accent, disability,
nationality and skin colour are at or towards the ‘sensitive’ end. Even gentle
humour involving the latter characteristics has significant potential for offence
or distress.
(3) Anything which could encourage or condone the idea that some serious
negative characteristic is associated with a particular group must be avoided.
(4) Particular sensitivity is required where the group in question is generally
recognised to encounter prejudice. The kind of humour which may be
acceptable in other contexts can seem patronising or demeaning in these
cases.
(5) Care is needed with stereotypes of children to avoid the risk of taunting or
bullying. Children who are ‘different’ physically or in their behaviour, ability or
background must not be presented as unpopular or unsuccessful. Nor should
they normally be presented as non-users of a product or service or unworthy
of it. Even if an advertisement portrays only adults being stereotyped, an illjudged
stereotype could still be harmful to children (for example, by
encouraging bullying).
(6) Experience has shown that well-meaning attempts by commercial
advertisers to counter prejudice about, for example, race or disability can
sometimes backfire. Appropriate guidance should be sought.
(7) Further background about public attitudes to stereotyping can be found in
the ITC research report Boxed In.
6.7 Health and safety
Advertisements must not encourage or condone behaviour prejudicial to
health and safety and advertisements must not use techniques that may
directly harm viewers
Notes:
(1) This does not prevent responsible advertising for products and services
which, used to excess or abused, could endanger health or safety.
(2) The use of proper safety equipment or working practices must not be
mocked or discouraged.
(3) Tools, hazardous substances etc should normally be shown being used
and stored in accordance with their manufacturers’ instructions, relevant law
and safety regulations.
(4) Where appropriate, licensees should seek appropriate ‘best practice’
advice relating to activities which can be dangerous, either in all
circumstances or if undertaken without proper precautions. Relevant sources
might be the codes of statutory bodies, statements of established public policy
or published guidance from recognised independent safety organisations.
(5) Photo-Sensitive Epilepsy: See Ofcom’s Guidance Note for Licensees on
Flashing Images and Regular Patterns in Television.
7.4.3 Bullying
Advertisements must not encourage or condone bullying
Notes:
(1) Except in appropriate charity or public service advertising, advertisements
should not normally show scenes of bullying, taunting or teasing, or of children
being ostracised or criticised behind their backs.
(2) Care is needed with stereotypes of children to avoid the risk of bullying.
Children who are ‘different’ physically or in behaviour, ability or background
must not be presented as unpopular or unsuccessful. Nor should they
normally be presented as non-users of a product or service or unworthy of it.
However, even if an advertisement portrays only adults being stereotyped, an
ill-judged stereotype could still be harmful to children (for example, by
encouraging bullying).
7.4.4 Vulnerability
Advertisements must neither encourage children to go off alone or with
strangers nor show them doing so
Film Synopsis - 'Raze'
The film depicts the everyday struggles faced by Erin, a young timid teenage girl who is out casted by her peers at school in a crowded inner city area of London. As loneliness and silence becomes too much for her to bare, with her mothers alcoholism on a steep incline along with the physical abuse as a result of this and the constant taunting at school due to Erin's inability to communicate with those around her, Erin goes about her day with a sense of emptiness and its clear her lust for life is diminished, much like it is also non existent in the bleak grey of the inner city council estate that she calls home, or is some what trapped in. When Erin witnesses some boys from her school beat up a boy from her class due to sheer boredom, Erin sits by watching and does nothing to help, envious of the power and fear that the young boys exert onto others. She lurches over the bruised boy, simply staring as if to show she has had enough of life in this area and had enough of being on the weak side.
We then see Erin's character spiral out of control, into a girl who makes people see her and uses violence and aggression as a way of communicating and gaining what she wants. This creates a vast opposite to the Erin that we see as an audience a the beginning of the story. She goes home and confronts her mother, smashing her alcohol bottles and finally having a voice, sending her mother into shock and realisation about her behaviour. She then cuts off all of her hair, indicating both an emotional and physical change in her character as she takes control of her life, through turning to violence and crime as a way of gaining power, security and control within the estate, going into school and making herself heard with the use of violence to other school kids. After holding a knife to her own teacher who had previously offered support and guidance to her, Erin sees the fear in the woman's eyes which only pushes her to seek more power. She flees the premise and is forced to sleep on the streets with no way of returning to her home, due to fear of arrest. As Erin spends each night alone on the streets in the darkness she begins to realise that she is once again alone and empty and as a viewer we see the realisation of what she has done on her face as she tries to come to terms with the changes she made to herself as well as returning to a stable way of thinking.
This film shows how a young girl is forced into a life of violence, crime and abuse as a way of surviving the harsh realities of inner city gang culture and the poverty ridden life of those with nothing but the clothes they have on their back. This social realist film hopes to give explanation, not reason, as to why these youths may become the way that they are, and hopes to show in many cases that it is not through choice.
We then see Erin's character spiral out of control, into a girl who makes people see her and uses violence and aggression as a way of communicating and gaining what she wants. This creates a vast opposite to the Erin that we see as an audience a the beginning of the story. She goes home and confronts her mother, smashing her alcohol bottles and finally having a voice, sending her mother into shock and realisation about her behaviour. She then cuts off all of her hair, indicating both an emotional and physical change in her character as she takes control of her life, through turning to violence and crime as a way of gaining power, security and control within the estate, going into school and making herself heard with the use of violence to other school kids. After holding a knife to her own teacher who had previously offered support and guidance to her, Erin sees the fear in the woman's eyes which only pushes her to seek more power. She flees the premise and is forced to sleep on the streets with no way of returning to her home, due to fear of arrest. As Erin spends each night alone on the streets in the darkness she begins to realise that she is once again alone and empty and as a viewer we see the realisation of what she has done on her face as she tries to come to terms with the changes she made to herself as well as returning to a stable way of thinking.
This film shows how a young girl is forced into a life of violence, crime and abuse as a way of surviving the harsh realities of inner city gang culture and the poverty ridden life of those with nothing but the clothes they have on their back. This social realist film hopes to give explanation, not reason, as to why these youths may become the way that they are, and hopes to show in many cases that it is not through choice.
Monday, 1 November 2010
Our Research & Planning
So far, we have started planning our film trailer after researching films of the same genre. We are going to create a social realist action thriller which focuses on youth crime and gang violence in Britain today. We have decided to use, after researching thrillers, a female lead character to challenge these common codes and conventions and offer another alternative view on a teenage life in UK society. We want to offer an explanation for why some teenagers may become antisocial, violent and disrespectful but there is a fine line between giving an explanation and appearing to be condoning what we are showing. In this case, we will have to make sure it is clear that what we are producing does not support or positively portray violence or antisocial behaviour, but is simply reflecting the lives of a minority of British youths whose lives are troubled so they turn to crime and violence as a way of gaining control of their lives and rebelling against a society that may have failed them. Some scenes will obviously have to be a bit dramatised to make the film more exciting and action-filled to conform to codes and conventions of the genre.
Our film's key theme is the representation if gender, as our female main character - Erin- starts as appearing weak, timid and vulnerable. A physical and emotional transition is triggered which makes her change dramatically and take control of her life by using aggression and force to gain the attention and control she has always wanted. Our main character will hopefully appeal to both male and female teenage audiences, as I know that I, as a female viewer, really enjoyed other films such as Harry Brown, Shank, Adulthood and Kidulthood which are of a similar genre but have male protagonists. Our character aims to be relate-able, not in the way she is violent, but in her vulnerability and loneliness due to her neglectful and isolated past. Our aim for this trailer is to appeal to a wider audience and involve females more in this genre by representing them in a different way to the norm - as strong and controlling with hints of naivety and insecurity which will make the character quite endearing as she is not acting the way she is for a mindless reason.
We have now chosen a name for our film. We have decided to call in 'Raze' as we wanted to look for a word that was similar to the themes of the film so we looked up words such as wreck, crash and derailed as Erin's character goes off the rails and out of control. We found the word 'raze' which means: destroy, ruin, knock down and flatten which we thought was suitable for our film as Erin's character aims to use violence to control her life and others around her, not worrying who or what she destroys while doing this. The way the word is spelt with a 'Z' makes it quite sharp and edgy which would represent the film's grittiness, as well as being a simple and bold title which I think will work as a strong name for our thriller film.
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