Ill Manors music video

Media Forms
How is it typical of a music video? 
(Use this PowerPoint on the key conventions of music videos to help you).

Media Representations
How does it represent the London riots/rioters?

Media Audiences
What audience pleasures does the music video offer?

Media Institutions
How does the music video help to promote the film?

Media forms

The music video follows a narrative that portrays London in many ways most people may not have known about before watching the video. This is done by using the various shots and the lyrics of the song. However, narrative doesn't include a start, middle and end but continuously highlights the quality of living in these run down estates in London which isn't nearly the way working class or classes above live. Also, the setting used adds to the narrative as it's set in a council estate in London which doesn't look pleasing to the viewers eye, especially considering the song was released the same time as the London riots which was round about when the Olympics was being held - in 2012. Therefore, if foreigners or people out of London were to see the music video, it could have potentially persuaded them to stay at home (where its safe) and watch it from there. In addition, the people involved in the music video look intimidating because they are dressed in dark clothes and cover their faces which implies they are trying to hide their identity from authority. Perhaps because they are going to commit a crime or they are wanted by the police. We can use the hypodermic needle to suggest the media are attempting to convince people that criminals are situated in council estates and are associated with certain clothing (black jackets and hats).

Furthermore, the music video used fast paced transitions which would tell a story in the three to four minute recommendation of a music video. The montage of violence, the London riots and other criminal behavior was able to present London very negatively which is the complete opposite of what people with authority show the World or want the World to see. Plan B's music video is controversial to that and the use of the montage impacts the viewer as they see the other side to London. Also, it would effect them because the various shots shown are utterly negative and it could make the audience speechless as they may not have known the criminal side to London. To be specific, the actual footage from the London riots was displayed as a montage with plenty of different shots to emphasise London isn't the welcoming city it is proclaimed to be.

In addition, the genre of the song is hip hop which associated with crime and Plan B's music video is set in the belly of it. Already, without seeing the music video, we can assume the song's lyrics and video will be affiliated with crime which it is. Not only do we see violence but we see the sort of costumes these criminals are accustomed of wearing. Perkins theory would suggest the music video is telling the truth about these 'council kids' wearing tracksuits, expensive clothing and really cheap clothing. The footage of the rioters is a real representation of how they dress which was mainly tracksuits because they were rioting looking for expensive clothes. The footage created for the music video was fictional but represented hood rats in a similar way by using the tracksuit clothing and hoodies.

Media representations

The fire used for destruction represents London rioters and London negatively. This is because fire is associated with danger and chaos which London was at the time of 2012. We can use medhurst's theory to suggest a story is told about youth of London in a short space of time in the three minute music video. We see there are mobs/gangs on young people throwing bottles, fighting people/police and causing explosions which infers they have no limit to the amount of chaos they can construct. 

Importantly, the aiding services of the metropolitan have an alternative representation as they are more violent and at times seem as frightened as the public are to the outcasters. With the London rioters, the police are very aggressive towards people who spout out abusive language (we can assume it's abusive) and  anyone who seems a threat. We can use the two step flow model to suggest people only create assumptions about the police and London rioters based on what the news informs them of. For example, a policeman who goes against the law would not be as/at all publicised as a criminal from a council estate. 

Also, from the music video 'council kids' have to make the most of their opportunities which isn't many. Plan B says 'feel the fear that's what we've learned, feel the fire let it burn'. This implies kids have to overcome the possibility of getting arrested and convert the fear into confidence. Plan B's argument here is that the youth don't get a chance in society to be part of it so have to opt out and become a criminal/outcast. The youth are represented as hopeless as the people around them don't have morals people from the lower classes and above have. Furthermore, Plan B has used his skills from going up as an outcast to create music which doesn't need to be formal because he may not have an education or a good one.

Media audiences

The music video is a protest about how the people in authority show no care for some of the working class and lower classes. Plan B has represented London rioters negatively, reinforcing how dangerous they are and can be if the Government don't show any signs of helping them (boycott law). If anything, the Government want these hood rats to be portrayed in a negative light because they use the media to release the crime committed by people from council estates instead of the bright and positive stories some of them may have. Plan B says, 'Keep on believing what you read in the papers "Council kids scum of the Earth"'. This emphasises the Government are allowing council estate kids to be treated as an outcast to society and even they don't want
them affiliated with the British society. 

From the psychographic graph I believe the target audience would be strugglers as the protest appeals more to them. Plan B gives this group a voice in the form of a song instead of speech which could suggest he is part of the outcast and represents them as being uneducated which is why there isn't a formal educated speech. In addition, with the lyrics strugglers would be able to relate to it and feel as if they now have a group in society which may be accepted by the rest of society. However, the song is controversial as Plan B talks about committing crimes in his song which is alternative to reason he produced the song in the first place.

The audience would enjoy the song because they are a fan of Plan b. The producer of the song is Plan B and many of his fans are probably not from council estates. Therefore, it could be used as a form of entertainment and at the same time the audiences of his songs that aren't strugglers would be able to find out the quality of life in estates that aren't being financially supported by the Government. So more people would be able to hear the protest and spread the word about it.

Media institutions

Synergy is used with the music video and the film as some of the cast from the film are in the music video. The cross promotions comes from the title of the song and the title of the movies. This means that audiences would be able to assume the extras from the music video have similar characterisitcs and experiences to those from the film. For example, a character who is a thief could have influenced many other council kids around him to become thieves as well. 

Also, social networking would allow Plan b's fans to find out about the film through the music video. This is because Plan B probably would have had created hastags, having an account dedicated for the film which would be connected with the music video. For example, if a fan were to listen to his music and enjoy it. They would definitely want to watch the film that is promoted a few months after the music video's release. 

Research
It was funded by 679 which is a warner music group which is based in London. This information comes from Wikipedia. The song was released in 2012 before the release of the movie Ill Manors which would hit the top of the UK charts which would then attract many institutions to help produce Ill Manors. There were thirty eight thousand companies which were sold in the first week. The newspaper of The Guardian (tabloid) would have negative reviews about the song as they attract people who are lower middle class, middle class and upper class. The hypodermic needle would suggest they are trying to reinforce the stereotype of youngsters living in estates as being criminals.  

Ill manors: trailer analysis

1. When watching a film trailer we would expect to see/hear: diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The diegetic sound would be dialogue from the film and non-diegetic would be voice over or music. The music is usually parallel to the scene because the audience need all the clues they can get in the short space to suggests the film's genre. Also, the institutions (producers, distributors) would probably be displayed in the beginning or end of the film. It depends whether the producer is well known enough for their name to go in the beginning by itself. The text/graphics would be able to tell the story or use direct mode of address to obtain and secure the audience's interest. In addition, disequilibrium would be used for the audience to ask questions and keep them thinking about the narrative and possible outcomes. Therefore, this could be a way of making people watch the film as they want to investigate the outcome of the film. Enigma codes would be used to suggest the films narrative and add suspense.

2. Trailers are distributed by using distributors to promote films to cinemas. The distributors logo/name would be advertised in the film posters, trailers, possible website and social networking accounts. Also, the film trailer would be on social network sites and if the producers or famous actors or institutions 'shout the film out' many people would have knowledge of the existing trailer.

3. The Ill Manors trailer uses the reviews from critics in their film in the beginning and middle. We see the famous magazine and internet reviewing company 'Time Out' have a stated quote in the trailer, 'Mens Health' magazine had a quote, FHM magazine had a quote.

4. The target audience for this film would be similar to the people involved in the film. So possibly drug dealers, criminals etc. If we look at the psychographics I would say mainstreamers and strugglers would watch this film due to the criminality of the film. Strugglers are represented as being menaces to society by doing drugs, murders and just simply creating chaos. Mainstreamers would be the young adults following trends so they would most likely watch this film as many other people there age would. Also, because the target age group would be from 18-35 years of age and 70% of males would watch Ill Manors.
There are some suggestions and hints about the narrative in the trailer but because of the its fast pace its difficult for the audience to absorb all the chaos. However, we do see guns, violence, women being treated as objects so from this we can imply that the genre is around crime, action urban British film.
The main stars are in the trailer but before watching the film it may not be obvious who they are. This is because of the fast pace and the audience see many characters in that short space of time. Plan B is the director of the film and he used his songs to be played in the background of the film trailer. This is a great use of synergy to cross promote the film and the song. The narration comes from the song that is being played. Therefore, the audience believe that he is speaking to us only for the trailer when in fact its from a track which is relevant to the trailer and the narrative of the film.

5. The genre has been represented through the colour scheme of the trailer. We mainly see the dull colours of black, grey and white. This implies the narrative is about criminals as these colours are dominantly worn by gangsters and criminals to hide their identity. The trailer shows illegal behaviour in the day and at night but the night shows all the crimes these people do. The characters communication skills are not good and use slang and informal language constantly. This suggests the characters don't have an education so they speak informally and don't have manners as they haven't learnt it.
The transitions were able to keep the audience interested in the film. The fast pace transitions showed a lot of the narrative and it was used for the audience to put the jigsaw puzzles together to tell the story.  

Ill manors

The director is Ben Andrew (Plan B) who has made a name of himself in the music industry.  The main actors are Riz Ahmed and in this film he plays the character Aaron who is a drug dealer. He portrays the typical young adult who lives in the ghetto.The film is about the struggle of people who live in estates that are involved in criminal activity. the guns and drugs are exposed significantly and violence isn't hidden in the film which is another way of displaying the groups of people that live in estates. Therefore, the audience are to believe everyone from these estates are the like this. We could use Perkins theory to suggest that it is partly true and some people from the ghetto are criminals and loud people. 

Review
Its set in Forest Gate, London, the film begins with partners Ed (Ed Skrein) and Aaron (Riz Ahemd) drug-dealing. We see the representations of urban life being presented in the film. The drugs, money and violence had damaged people seriously; collateral damage is a factor of lives being broken in this film and possibly in real life. The two main characters (Aaron and Ed) had influenced some of the people in their estate into this horrific life. We see females as well as males getting assaulted in the film because of who's 'turf' drugs are being sold and who people work for. Plan B's album had song titles related to some of the events in film like 'Drug Dealer' leads the flashback story of Kirby and a man named Chris (Lee Allen), who was Kirby's protege in the drug business, however, he is now independent. As Kirby collects the drugs from Chris to sell, he encounters Marcel (Nick Sagar), who is caught selling on Kirby's 'turf'. 

Plan B successfully allows the audience to build personal relationships with each of the characters. This was important as if this didn't occur people wouldn't care about the upcoming deaths and wouldn't have sympathy for the characters. For example, the two main character's were good friends which many people can relate with having and the two would bring out more of each other's personalities throughout the film. When Aaron took the baby to Ed, we saw that Aaron cared more about the life of the baby than Ed did as he believed he could find the mother of the child instead of calling social service. From this point the audience would be able to respect Aaron (more) because of his decision. Also, Ed's courageousness was portrayed when he fought the fire to save the baby at the risk of his life. This made me believe Ed did had a heart as he didn't leave the vulnerable baby in the fire which changed the way I thought of Ed for that moment. Unfortunately, Ed died a few seconds after his heroic mission and he Aaron broke down because he lost his friend. Plan B was successful at building the relationship with the characters and the audience because it felt real.  

The fact that it was an British film with British actors, directors and institutions it felt like I could understand some of the social values displayed in the film. For example, we (In Britain) would expect to see a group of young males hanging around at night or in alleyways looking intimidating. Especially because the film is targeted at: a young audience (16-30 year olds), struggler and mainstream would be more interested in this film.

Ill Manors is a British film with realistic representations of certain groups in our society. We see the menaces being displayed as being affection-less psychopaths especially whilst 'Aaron' had the gun he saw that he used that to black mail people. The scene in the pub comes to mind. However, Aaron and Ed had moments where they were sympathetic for certain people about something. The scene with the baby is where both characters show they have a heart despite the fact that Aaron used the baby as an asset to hide his gun.  

British film industry: institution context

What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film is British 
The film would have to meet one of three requirements to be classified as British:

• Be produced according to one of the UK's official bilateral treaties
• Be produced as part of the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production
• Pass the cultural test - it is divided into four different sections 

1. Cultural context
2. Cultural contribution
3. Cultural hubs
4. Cultural practitioners

Research films on the Factsheet and what they scored in the cultural test:
The Sweeny
Financing - the budget was around £3 million and made £4.5 million on Box Office.
Cultural test - the film has secured a score of 27
Attack the block
Financing - budget was around £8 million. Made £5.8 million on Box Office
Cultural test - on the test it secures 28
The King's Speech
Financing - it's budget was £15 million.

What are the main problems
The problems British films face are: Hollywood actors and films seem more 'fabulous' to the audience's mind whereas British films perhaps create a sense of British traditions and representing a realistic  Britain. Therefore, audience's across the world can't relate to the narratives of British films because it is mainly based around Britain's culture.

The strengths of British films
I would say the weakness is its strength. This is because British film industries are the only film industries that produce films based on British culture which makes it unique from other film industries like Hollywood's ones. Therefore, audience's who want to gain an understanding of the British culture could watch a British film based on modern traditions.

Two ways British film industries could improve for the future
I think the British film industry could attempt to work in association with American industries as they tend to attract a wider audience with their complex narratives. Another idea could be British film industries could produce films that don't entirely represent the British culture and should add a 'fairy tale' element to their production like American film industries.

Which one of the two would I chose
I would chose the second option as they can keep all profits instead of sharing it with the America film industry they are associated with. Also, they would be able to attract a wider audience with more complex narratives.

the British Film Industry

What makes a British film
The film would have to portray British values and traditions in order to create a realistic vibe and environment.

What is the difference between Hollywood production context and production text of a British film
Hollywood films generalise segments of people and over exaggerate the menace in their society. On the context of production, they would certainly have a high budget to work with to construct the action packed scenes and to acquire the biggest celebrities in the industry as they will already have the epic personality given from other Hollywood films they have starred in. However, British films have lower budgets and have more realistic representations of the segments in Britain. The characteristics aren't the same throughout different films and don't have similar narratives with different films.

When did the James Bond franchise start
It was in the 1960's where the success of James Bond began and it is still one of the most watched films on an international scale.

In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change British films in the 1970's and 1980's.
There was a significant increase in the amount of sexual content shown in those years. The 1970's had actors act out a sex scene and 'A Clockwork Orange'  is an example where a sex scene was used and sex violence. In 1980's had 'nasty's videos' which people were able to access. The BBFC has attempted to make the films not reveal too much content upset viewers.

What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples
They would cover the demographics by classifying people under age, class and politics. Young people are represented as being a menace to society, the working class are represented as not being as happy as the wealthier. Film producers therefore try to create representations in a short space of time using stereotypes. The audience would be able to apply it to the British society as it sometimes has a true reflection of Britain.

What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film
They believe it should appeal to a British native. The characters should be presented as British people to portray a realistic setting. Also, the British culture is now diverse so producers should take this into consideration as there are a variety of races in Britain. So in order to create the realistic setting, there would have to be actors of different skin colours.

 

 

Exam lr

Institution
Sussex safer roads partnership have cleverly and successfully built an emotional connection with the audeince. They have done this by using a family to play act a serious scenario which some viewers have knowledge about through being a witness of a road accident or other adverts. However, 'embrace life' took a gentle and alternative approach to creating this advert as it doesn't show blood, goor and the outcome of a crash without a seat belt. The slogan implies something positive and the audience could possibly imply before watching the clip it is going to be unique. Also, the music used is contrapuntal to a car crash (classical) because its soft but parralel with a middle class family as it could potentially be something a family would listen to. Slow motion is used througout the clip with close ups so the audience are able to identify their seleves with the family members used and to build an emotional connection. Furthermore, the living room setting suggests its the family's house and it is a realistic setting which the audience will be able to relate with. In addition, the females were the people showing affection and the male (more risk taking) was the driver in the collision. The high key lighting creates a real life setting as the only light used is from the living room light.