Analysis Of Codes And Conventions In Social Realism Productions

Analysis of codes and conventions

I will be analysing five social realist films, these include:

·         Fish Tank

·         Bullet Boy

·         Red Road

·         Raining Stones

·         Green Street Hooligans

I have analysed the intros to all these films and have noted what codes and conventions they all have in common and what differs between each. First off I will begin with Fish Tank.

Fish Tank (2009) is a gritty social realist film directed by Andrea Arnold. The main storyline consists of our main protagonist (Mia, Age 15) an aggressive teen living on an Essex estate. She was kicked out of school and lives with her mother and her little sister. Mia’s life suddenly has a unique twist. Her mum has a new boyfriend who encourages her one interest. Dancing. The intro to this film is a good one to compare others to. It contains production logos, a reference to its funding, contains an establishing shot so it's viewers can establish where the film is set along with a simple film title, no music is used at the start, only diegetic sounds such as cars rushing past. Finally the films first camera work is hand held. Hand held camera techniques are often used in Social Realism productions due to the low budget. The technique is often used in horror films as well, the unsteadiness of the camera adds a level of instability and makes the audience feel uncomfortable. The unsteadiness can also make a production feel more realistic, as if we are watching the film through someone else's eyes. The technique used in this particular film could also represent a level of insecurity in the character. It could also represent her emotions, perhaps she is feeling unsteady about her current situation. The possibilities are endless.

Our next film is Bullet Boy, directed by Saul Dibb. (2004). Bullet boy focuses more on drama then it does realism however the representations are very well done. Bullet Boy is set in East London in a volatile neighbourhood. During the intro we see (again) our main protagonist Ricky. During the first seconds we see a small child in a cramped area in big clothes who uses a small torch to work out his surroundings, as the torch reaches the camera a ‘fade to white’ transition is used to jump to the next scene. We see Ricky again but this time in a police station prison. Today is the day he is being release,  as he re-joins the outside world he notices nothing has really changed, it's still the same world to him. An all-out neighbourhood war still rages on. During the introduction we see simple titles used, the actors names appear whilst  the film is playing in the bottom left and right hand corners making sure that they do not obscure the footage that is still playing. Two long takes are used when introducing us to the main protagonist. This convention was also implemented in Fish Tank during the introduction. The long takes could be representing how he is taking in everything now that he is finally out; taking a long good look at the word in case he gets sent back. Occasionally long takes can lose an audience's interest in a film; directors dislike using them as they can be very difficult to edit meaning that the shot must be done in one long take which can be very time consuming.

Red Road (2006). An unusual, yet brilliant, Social Realism creation.The film is a hybrid of two genres. Both Social realism and Thriller which makes it even more eye catching. The film was directed by Andrea Arnold, the same director as Fish Tank, meaning we would expect to see some similar techniques used however the film plays at a completely different pace to Fish Tank. Our main protagonist, Jackie, is a CCTV operator. Every day she sees the same people, day in, day out. So when a man from her past whom she never wanted to see again appears in the small town which she looks over, she is compelled to confront him. During the introduction we see production titles, a reference to funding, diegetic sound, simple titles and introduction to our main character. Sounds like pretty standard stuff but there is a twist. We are not givan an establishing shot meaning the audience must use what they can find in order to determine the location. This is a fairly easy task, for example the audience can choose to acknowledge  the actors accents and the locations used later on in the movie such as the empty fields where she and her friend go to walk dogs, and the name of the small town in which she over looks.

Our second to last film is raining stones, (1993) directed by Ken Loach. Some would also consider this a hybrid as well. film definitely plays on a comedy side along with its standard social realism. Perhaps loach wanted this to be a hybrid between both Social Realism and Comedy? During the introduction which some may find quite funny contains the standard simple titles, music, an establishing shot, an introduction to our main protagonist Bob (Bruce Jones). During the establishing shots, the camera is kept stable however not even 3 minutes in and the pace of editing and camera movements suddenly change. The editing quickens, the camera becomes looser, its sped up. (during the scene where Bob is chasing a sheep) The names of the actors also fade in whilst the audience is hooked on the action. One difference that is not easy to spot is that instead of using production logos, the film uses displays the production title in the most simple way possible. Although this seems odd, it gives the film something different which enables it to stand out from the rest, making it different.

My final film is Green Street (2005). Directed by Lexi Alexander.Another potential hybrid, possibly Social Realism mixed with a crime thriller. It is clear that the director knows how to go about making the hybrid interesting enough,  The nasty crime and violence is powerful and will always leave you wanting to know what will happen next. The film also features a lot of Football which can put a lot of people off the film. But this merely gives the film an advantage over its audience, it plays with aspects that you are not familiar with and can manipulate you making you think what it wants to you think. The introduction is short and unique, Like others in the genre it keeps the action rolling in the background whilst the titles fade into the foreground. As the two gangs are arguing, the handheld camera becomes more evident. The shakiness and level at which the camera stands make it feel as if we are standing on the sides of the platform. As the gangs begin to fight, it becomes almost impossible to tell what is happening. Some members of the audience may find this eye catching and enjoy fight scenes. The handheld camera could be people's point of view hence why the editing pace is very fast. Perhaps we are constantly changing from different views of the fight. An interesting possibility which will attract almost all of the audience, thus making the film highly successful.