We were given the task of making a short film, as a main product, in the style or genre of either social realism, thriller or horror with 2 ancillary tasks consisting of a film poster and review. After doing thriller last year we decided as a group to do a social realist poster. The review was in the style of a review from a film magazine called Little White Lies. The film poster was aimed to target the market of 16-24 male and female.
In the planning stage of the project we watched short films to get the style and conventions that are used in short films. We watched lots of short film in the social realist theme including:
- Wasp (Andrea Arnold, 2003)
- Eight (Stephen Daldrey, 1998)
- Lou Lou lives here (Hazel Grain, 2005)
- Conversation piece (Joe Tunmer, 2009)
The narrative of social realism has a very typical structure of Todorov's theory of narrative. - Equilibrium is the stage at which everything is normal and seemingly right with the world. The Equillibrium is usually reffered to as the set up as it sets upthe film by introducing protagonists and antagoinsts and the location.
- Disequilibrium is the stage also known as the confrontationstage. This stage is when something happens be it the introduction of a antagonist or a event that ruins the state ofequilibrium. a good example of this is in Andrea Arnold's film "wasp" with the introduction of the wasp to the piece as it flys onto the babys food. From my research the confrontation stage tends to be in the middle or not far from the end of the film. This is so that the set up stage is longer meaning we get to know the characters and the situation better meaning that the disequalibrium when it comes is more of a shock. This is typical of British films and especial british short films.
- Resolution stage is the stage that the confrontation is is resolved and everything is back to normal but Todorov also says although everything is in a state of equilibrium it's not quite what it was originally! A good example of this is in 28 days later when although they appear to be a "happy family" it is not forgot what has happened (infection, franks death and the soldiers.
- The set up/ equilibrium is basically the all the bits that the protagonists are describing about each other. This part tells us a lotabout the characters andmakes us sympathise with both as being everyday teenager in a relationship.
- I believe the moment that Tom says "So why don't I love her" and when it's cutting between the three words they both want to say are the moments when the Equilibrium is broken and we move into the confrontation stage. Normally according to Todorov this would litterally effect the character but in our film we developed this stage a bit by not making the audience involved as the confrontation is not between characters but the audience making a different judgement of the character and hopefully if we did wat we tryed to achieve feeling bad and slightly embaressed for Kate.
- We challenged Todorovs theory as many short films do by leaving the end very open and unresolved. We did this as it leaves more to the audiences imaginations and means they finish the story the way they want to. However this is not common in the forms and conventions of short film as cliff hangers are often used. A good example of this would be in "Fade to Black" where we don't see what happens to the protagonist but instead we hear it and then it cuts out.
Location
The location for the majority of social realism films are often a urban enviroment usuallyup north or in London. It is common in British social realism as the majority of these films focus on working class characters living with and trying to deal with what they have. Our film goes against this idea as it is set in a park then in very middle class looking places. The use of the green park they are walking through at the beginning should instently tell the audience that this is not your typical gritty social realist film but in fact more of a highbrid "socially real romance" film. A good film to contrast out opening park scene with is the scene in Shane Meadows "This Is England" where their is a montage of all the gang messing around the townHowever in form with the social realist posters our poster is a bit misleading as it contradicts this rural setting by having a brick wall behind the main characters as an image.
Costume, Hair and Make up.
The costumes, hair and make up in Social realism obviously have to be realistic in accordance to what people would wear at the time the film is set. In this aspect we have comformed to this and the characters are wearing very basic normal clothes for the time it is set, which is modern day.
Lighting, Colour and Contrast
The lighting colour we used conformed to social realist lighting the majority of it is natural lighting or just lights in a room.There was no need for any additional lighting as it would have taken away the realism of the film. Through the lighting and camerawork we tried to create a sense that what was happening could happen and has happened making it seem more real. However the contrast we used didn't comform whole to the social realist theme as a lot ofthe time the contrast is slightly yellowish and grainy looking giving it a more sinister feel to the piece.
Props
Props are easy in social realism as they are just everdayobjects that people would expect to see. However i feel we did place props well throughout the piece. A good example is true to the description that Kate gives of Tom when they are in the loft to Tom's right is 2 empty bottles of beer, a dirty plate and a coke can.This shows how lazy he is and backs up what Kate has already told us.
Themes and Issues
Themes and Issues commonly dealt with in social realism are:
- Working class family life (Wasp)
- Overcoming a social barrier (Billy Elliot)
- Different social groups (This Is England)
- A struggle with a gangster or gang (Looking for Eric)
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