Kes

Ken Loach's acclaimed British drama focuses on Billy Casper (David Bradley), a tormented working-class boy who is subjected to abuse both at school and at home. The son of a single mother (Lynne Perrie), Billy's existence is mostly bleak until he takes up an interest in falconry and begins training a kestrel that he finds on a nearby farm. While Billy forms a close bond with the falcon, his hardscrabble life and harsh environment prove to be a challenge to the boy and his bird.

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Comments

• Good, just highlight terminology and be careful in how you write about m-e-s: "the mise-en-scene is positioned towards the left" - its ALL part of the m-e-s!!! This aspect of the m-e-s... would make sense there. As discussed in lesson, you can take interpretation too far, and some of the left-right = politics arguably does that BUT you do provide some denotation to back your point.

• Add hyperlinks to IMBD blog post.

• Add extra basic information at the top of KES.

Prelim Key Terms

RESEARCH - how important is this to constructing a genre piece? There was NO research for prelim, but for opening you've looked at many general openings then genre examples, and broken down aspects such as titles, idents, SFX, mise-en-scene, locations, characters and how scenarios (eg sex, violence, false scare) have been handled in existing texts (ie shot types, framing, m-en-s, dialogue, music/sound, shot variation, editing pace, SFX etc)

PLANNING DOCS - s'boards, call sheets, treatment etc. Simple job for prelim: single sheet prepared in a few mins, but longer, bigger task and probably redrafting of these). Call sheets used on opening shoots?

TIME MANAGEMENT - Prelim a brief shoot & quick turnaround. Opening a bigger project needing planning for gathering cast, managing multiple shoots, dealing with weather changes, starting soon enough to enable reshoots...

PITCHING - None for prelim; 1st major step of opening.

CASTING - each other for prelim; wider cast for opening? Casting session? Did you provide cast with script, and/or rehearse before shooting? How complicated was casting; what were you after (gender, age, appearance, acting ability, availability for shooting, accent etc) and how difficult/big a job was it to cast? If you acted in your own opening, compare to experience of 'acting' in prelim.

PROPS, COSTUME, SET-DRESSING + GENERAL MISE-EN-SCENE - List what you added to mise-en-scene for prelim then for opening, presumably a vast difference in length of list! SFX (eg blood) is part of this. Briefly link to research.

LOCATION SCOUTING - Prelim simply school; outline complexity of getting right location/s.

SAMPLE SHOOTS - For prelim it was shoot & edit; for opening there's early test shoots to trial ideas and identify issues before full costume/SFX shoots.

ROUGH CUTS - Some prelims may need re-editing, but these weren't intended as r.cuts for aud feedback (note how many & hyperlink each).

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK + USING NEW/SOCIAL MEDIA TO GET THIS - The only feedback on prelims was whether they were shot & edited correctly or not; feedback for openings was critical, and directed changes including reshoots or even re-thinking of the idea/part of the narrative. Did you actively seek feedback from peers via YouTube, FB etc?

SOUND/EDITING; CREATING ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKS - iMovie sound files and copyright music used in prelim? Original compositions for opening (Garageband)? Multiple music pieces, more fading up/down sound? Re-recording and over-dubbing any diegetic sound?

COMPANY IDENTS - Major task for opening, not done for prelim.

RANGE OF FX USED - Detail any used for prelim + any for opening (even a simple table will show up the difference), perhaps going into detail on how you also tweaked (and combined multiple?) one or more FX.

RANGE OF SHOTS USED - Consider the shot variation for just 1 scene from opening + compare to prelim: a simple list would suffice (eg MS boy1, MS boy2, CU knife, MCU boy1...)

HOLDING A SHOT STEADY [re-read the assessment criteria for the Production, and try to discuss most of these!] - Prelim was a quick shoot at a time when you were inexperienced with cameras and had to get it done quickly. You know from feedback how important a steady camera is; detail shaky shots you've taken out/reshot after feedback (or simply viewing back yourselves) and how your filming work changed over time in this regard.

INDIVIDUAL ROLES - Prelim was shot with little detailed discussion over who did what; were there clearer, more distinct roles for opening?

WORKING IN A GROUP - Narrative idea was simple for prelim; how much discussion and collaboration was involved in finalising the opening's narrative? Have you taken on tasks you didn't in the prelim group? Is there any aspect involved in the opening production that you haven't done to some extent?

CONCLUSION: Could be a bulleted list of what you've learnt, or a simple video message (still basically a list!) of what you've learned about film production. As this is the last Eval Q you should briefly state what overall lessons you've learned.

Source: http://asmediafilmopening.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/prelim

I Give it a Year- Official Trailer

Newlywed couple Nat and Josh are very happy together despite their differences, friends and family however aren't convinced that they can last.

CAST

• Ross Byrne: Australian actress, recognised and successful actor.
• Rafe Spall: From London, England.
• Stephan Merchant: From Bristol England.

Typically, when British actors are used typically are upper and middle class, southern and white, this is because this stereotype is more globally accepted than that or a working class Yorkshire man or women.

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This is England

This Is England Screenshot...

"This is England title shot"

• Centrally framed shot.
• Bubble font, which connotes childish, as character in the shot is a child, child is walking from left to right, could be a reflection of how the country has moved from left wing to right wing.
• Black marks in the white title signifying decay, resembling the mise-en-scene.
• Intentionally placed with mise-en-scene, as the background is of a council block of flats, this is making a statement, connoting the producers political views...
•  All in upper case making a statement again... this anchorage suggests it is important and informs the reader with additional information.

"Maggie is a twat"

• This shot works on rule of thirds, the boy is centrally framed, and the quote "Maggie is a twat" is positioned to the right.
• Due to this is would say this shot type would be a long shot.
• It makes a statement about what the public really think in 'the real England'. Rather than what is shown in the newspapers and tabloids.
• The car within the shot is an old school style to us in todays day and age, this suggests the time in which the film was set... 1983, also helping achieve a sense of verisimilitude.
• The quote "Maggie is a twat", is very intentional, that wasn't there before the film, again i believe this is another connotation of the producers political views, making a statement about how the election of Margret thatcher has ruined working class families and individuals.

Analysis of This is England Figures

This is England

This is England was released in 2006, produced by Shane Meadows. Shane Meadows is considered an 'Auteur' due to his distinctive style and focuses on certain issues, for example, This is England is a social realist film as it shows highlights to everyday conditions of the working class and the 'poor'. 

According to IMDB, UK box office of £1.3M. It had a run of 4 weeks in British cinemas and peaked at 151 screens nationally.

Again, according to IMDB, US box office of $328k, which is todays exchange rate is £213k, which is significantly lower than that of the UK box office also, it had a longer run of weeks in cinemas in US, totalling to 15, as it needed to run for longer to make enough money. It peaked at 14 screens nationally which suggests it wasn't a success.

Other countries where it was a success include:

UK- £3.1M

France- $1.4M

Sweden - $1.4M.

IMDB THIS IS ENGLAND = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/