'Raze' Planning Progress

As the production paper work begins to come to a close we are getting ever closer to being ready to shoot our film trailer. We have produced precise and well thought out scripts and story boards as shown below and have begun to email other college departments to start the screening process for finding the appropriate actors. We have decided on all locations for the shots that we have planned out within the storyboards and script and therefore have also completed reccee assessments of the areas and know the dangers and hazards that may face us, as well as problems that may be created by the areas and are ready to tackle them head on and begin filming once the actors are chosen.

Below are the story boards and the script that we have created in preparation for our production of our film trailer, entitled 'Raze' to allow us to plan and prepare the shot sequences and also decide and come to a final agreement on what shots and scenes we want to depict and include within our trailer to make it most effective and most enthralling as a viewer to watch, keeping enigma flowing and ensuring the narrative also flows well to create a good storyline and a trailer that will create an urge for the viewer to want to find out more. We have chosen to the title Raze due to its meaning; to flatten, destroy and wipe out, representing the destruction of Erin self, in terms of personality and character which is depicted within the film and the trailer due to the negative influences and experiences that she encounters within her everyday life. The Script, which gives the shot sequences and dialogue in more detail and in a clearer format for reading as a producer during production. Script for 'Raze'

We have now emailed (email1) (email 2)the drama department at our college in an attempt to try and gain some more professional and serious actors to take part in our film trailer as we want the acting to be realistic to enhance the social realism of the content and make the characters more connectable with by the audience. We have received a reply with good news that there is a female student willing to take the lead roll of Erin for our film which will make the acting more relastic and also she has also got short hair which will make the hair cutting scene much easier to carry out.

The locations for our films have been brainstormed (location brainstorm) and we then thought out possible places within Weymouth that we might be able to find these types of settings and locations (location ideas). We have now also finalised these locations and picked the ones most appropriate to the style of the film and the atmosphere that we want to create, and reccees have been drawn up for each individual place that we have chosen.

Magazine Cover & Film Poster Research & Analysis

After production of the film has been finished, and the editing process has occurred, the release of the film, the trailer and other advertisement and publicity aspects will be fast approaching, all depending on budget and expected profit margins. The film needs to gain as much publicity as possible to maximise viewing audience along with maximizing potential profits and gaining the highest gross income as possible, through creating hype, buzz and vast spread talk about the films release.

This is done through advertising campaigns and promotional campaigns, which get the film out into the public eye through all means of text production including; posters, Internet, television, radio, magazine advertisements, billboards and interviews in all text productions as well as many other forms of advertisement including viral campaigning on the Internet and advertising on social networking sights such as Facebook and Twitter.

There are two levels of advertisement and film release; platform release allows hype and buzz about the film to gradually build up over a period of time, gradually putting more and more posters up and being featured on more and more websites and in magazines. This also includes release of the film itself, where the film is released in a few cinemas first, to ensure that positive word and mouth is spread and a reputation is built up for the film, allowing it to be released in more screens and more cinemas across the country, initially starting in one city for example and then spreading nationally.

The other type of release is Wide Spread Release or Saturation Release; which is where the film and advertising campaign for the film are released at a fast paced rate and in a large number of cinemas across the country as opposed to a small selected few and then gradually building it up. This is done, as it doesn't allow time for bad reviews of the film to be emulated through the population and creates a hype about a film that appears to have come out of nowhere and is literally everywhere in terms of advertising. This release is generally very expensive, but the returns made from the amount of attention that the film receives through this type of advertising and releasing is usually also very high, creating a large profit.

From the previous film trailer research I carried out I have now began to look at the advertising campaign within film review magazines; such as 'Empire', 'Sight & Sound' and Total Film', to see how the films are represented on the front cover spreads and how the image and text coherence functions.

I am also looking at how the images used on the cover sleeves fit in and relate to the images and sequence of events that are depicted in the motion picture trailer and the mood and feel that they create.

Firstly i have looked at the depiction of the film 'Inception' which i looked at during my trailer research. I looked at both 'Total Film' magazine and 'Empire' magazine to compare their individual approaches to the film and the images that they had decided to include on their covers. To the left is Total Films cover sleeve, and much like the trailer, this image uses the iconic image of the Leonardo DiCaprio as a way of establishing its audience firmly from first glance, as any one from his massive and already thriving fan base is likely to be attracted to the magazine, as he takes centre stage within the photograph, and dominates the image and therefore an audience is immediately established.

The next thing that the eye is then drawn to, is the word 'Inception', as opposed to the Total Film title of the magazine even though this has also been emphasised to stand out. This is due to layering and image placement. As DiCaprio is placed in front of the word film, indicating his significance and the fact he is more important, and then over layed onto the image of him, is the title of the film, making this text on the most forward/top layer, giving it most importance and significance, due to the fact its the film title.

The title of the magazine itself has been cleverly manipulated, to fit in with, and merge with the theme of the film itself, as from the trailer we see a sequence of events where the buildings fold on themselves and people defy gravity, and the word 'Film' has been established through the use of aerial imaging of buildings to link in with the theme and also create an abstract theme to the photograph as Leonardo it stood upright and the buildings are seen from above at a different angle. The use of colouring is also important. The blue background connotates the idea of coldness and loneliness, this is reinforced by DiCaprio's facial expressions as well as the dark clothing and harsh lighting that makes him appear very sinister.

The black suit that DiCaprio is wearing connotates the idea of power, control, importance and dominance, both male dominance and dominance created through status and knowledge. This draws emphasis and ensures that the viewer is aware that DiCaprio is the main character of the film. The use of black could also be used to connotate the idea of death when mixed with the dangerous reds and lonely blues of the photograph.

His facial expressions is sincere and almost sinister with the harsh lighting that is creating dark shadows on his face, illuminating the eyes and the folds in his skin. This again enhances the idea of power, but also indicates that there may be a more dark side to the film, keeping the enigma flowing. The use of red text, matched with the coldness of the blue and the mystery of the black, connotates the idea of primarily danger which seems likely, due to the serious look on DiCaprio's face, as well as emotions such as hurt, pain and anger, as red is a very angry and harsh colour. All these aspects contribute to the mood of the photograph and also reflect the feel of the film that is replicated in the film trailer.

To the right is the cover sleeve for the film review magazine 'Empire', looking at the same film, 'Inception'. Again this cover has used the same colour scheme of red, blue and black, with the red connotating the idea of anger, danger and pain, the black representing power, mystery and even death and the blue representing the cold and sinister feel that the trailer portrays the mood of the film as being like.

The image and text positioning, as well as layering of images and text, is in the identical format to that of Total Film magazine with the title being placed at the bottom, then the image of DiCaprio being placed in the centre and then the title 'Inception' directly in the foreground, to reiterate its importance and ensure that it is remembered.

The background image placed behind the titles and DiCaprio is, again of a city landscape and the text that is placed around DiCaprio is harshly angled inwards, to make DiCaprio stand out even more, and appear the largest object within the cover of the magazine. This emphasises DiCaprio's importance not only as a character within the film, but also as the use of a tag to the film, as with his name and image comes a large and firmly established and thriving fan base, that are anticipating his next role and its next release.

Harsh lighting within the photograph of DiCaprio has again been used to enhance the enigma and keep the tension surrounding the film as high as possible to create a sense of anticipation and suspense prior to its official release and to keep with the mood that was created in the film trailer that i previously looked at for research.

Here is the two cover sleeves that Empire magazine released for the film 'The Dark Night' Directed by Christopher Nolan, which is the newest Batman film that was released in July 2008 by Warner Bros. The images alone are very powerful, and the positioning of both Batman and The Joker is mirrored between the two covers, with a change in the use of colouring for the text and outlining. Firstly i looked at the villain, the Joker's cover sleeve. The contrast between the stark white make up of the Jokers face and the extravagantly dark eyes, along with the black background and black text of both the film title and the magazine title, creates a real sense of drama and excitement, and overall a really sinister image that grabs the viewers attention straight away and makes it evident that film is going to have dark aspects within the storyline.

The use of green outlining of the black magazine title 'Empire' and the green writing that is featured at the left side and the bottom also ties in with the theme of the Joker from 'The Dark Knight' as the character has a clown like style, and in the film itself has green hair. The red that surrounds his mouth and the black around his eyes are stereotypically what a clown at a children's part would wear, however the angling of the photograph, makes the Joker appear very threatening and very sinister and the use of black and spotlighting above makes his eyes almost impossible to see, again adding the mystery and making him appear even more sinister.

The red that would usually be used as a smile on a clowns face, has a much darker connotation in this case, due to the way it is put on in a very unskilled way. This makes the viewer think that this red paint is more likely to symbolize the blood of those that he has killed, and it is very evident from the colours used and the angling of the photograph itself that this is the villain of the film.

The Batman cover sleeve also has a dark feel to the image, replicating the positioning of both text and image exactly, with a simple change in image and colouring, however Batmans eyes stand out alot more against the black with the whites, connotating the idea that his heart is more truthful and pure. The use of Blue is an interesting choice, as blue connotates coldness and loneliness, however it is a more pure and truthful colour than green. This use of blue may also be done to show the emotional side of Batman, as well as his strength, as he lurks in the shadows and works alone in his victories, the shadow side of him also being represented through the use of black background merging with his black iconic costume. The skin around his mouth is enhanced and appears a lot more richer than a normal skin colour, this is emphasise the fact that he is a hero, but he is also only human, and this creates hype about whether or not Batman will be able to defeat the Joker.

There is a contradiction with the words The Dark Knight being written in pure brilliant white which stands out against the background and the darkness of Batman's suit itself and this is also reversed with the white of the Jokers face and the black writing of the words The Dark Knight. This is to show that all though batman is dressed in dark clothing, he is in fact the 'good guy' as white connotates the idea of truthfulness, pure and honesty, which is what Batman stands for. The use of black for the writing on the Jokers cover sleeve indicates his dark and sinister personality that seeks to destroy and harm others and this contradiction within both of the cover sleeves in terms of image and text colouring, represents and portrays the characters perfectly in such a small and subtle way.

To the right is the cover sleeve that Total Film featured during the release of 'Batman The Dark Knight'. This cover again, draws the main attention onto the Villain of the film, The Joker, who Batman is battling for control of the city with, throughout the film. This magazine cover has taken a very clever approach to this, as in the film, the Joker takes over the city, and so the magazine have replicated this, where the Joker has taken over the magazine, graffitiing and altering the magazines advertising for the film. This is done to show that the Joker is a real threat to Batman, and it encourages people who view to explore their own mind, in wondering what might happen within the film, in turn, creating more hype and interest and therefore increasing viewing audiences, resulting in larger profits.

The cover sleeve uses a colour scheme of predominantly black, with white writing, representing the text that has been 'supposedly' written by the editors, and the red text which is more informal and written in a hand writing style font, as if with a marker pen, is representing what is 'supposedly' written and changed by the Joker. The colouring itself here is very important and white connotates the idea of purity and safety, giving the impression that the magazine is caring and truthful, and the red text connotates the idea of danger, pain and suffering, which are main aspects that a villain within a film will seek to find and impose upon others.

The Joker appears to have changed the words from 'Rough Justic The Dark Knight wages war on terror' to 'Complete chaos! Joker wages war of terror' indicating that the Batman is weak and unable to stop the Joker, again maintaining the narrative of the story off screen, as well as keeping hype and enigma within the film flowing and encouraging people to get involved with the ongoing battle that appears to be taking place. The graffiti that has been drawn over the image of Batman himself, also draws attention away from Batman and onto the Joker, making Batman appear to blend into the background, un noticed.

This is also done through the use of a black background, and the use of a black suit that Batman wears, but this itself has two meanings. The use of black for both the image and the background could indicate that the Joker has made Batman less important and less powerful within the film, drawing attention onto The Joker instead. But it could also indicate that Batman is always waiting in the shadows to save the day, which gives the hope of a happy ending which is what the public want to see at the end of a film, generally.

Film Posters in general will have a lot less text than a magazine cover sleeve. This therefore means that the image is the most powerful aspect of the poster, grabbing attention and drawing direct focus onto the films name as well as establishing the mise en scene of the setting and area of the film and characters, and giving a name and face for the lead role. As our film is targeted primarily at youths of a similar age to Erin the lead character who is a young girl from an inner city area at school i looked at film posters of social realism and the thriller genre set in similar inner city areas to see how they established the setting and gave a general mood and theme for the film that will be maintained throughout.

Firstly i looked at the film poster from the social realist film 'This is England' which looks at the lives of a economically deprived group of friends from Northern England that was directed by Shane Meadows, who is renowned by Film 4 productions for creating films that look at specifically British culture and the issues that effect and influence the lives of every day people.

This film poster has text similar to the text used in our own poster, where we used the font face 'Distorted and Scratchy' which really emphasises the gritty nature of social realist films. The text is placed in the largest area of the page and also uses the colours of the British Flag, reinforcing the dominant views and ideologies that are held within the film itself, with a strong sense of nationalism and pride being very strong within society at the time. The dress codes of the characters themselves conform to stereotypes of the time period of the 1970's where the economic recession created a large trend in individualism and self expression through captitalism. Many of these characters are dressed in the stereotypical nature of a group that evolved from the working classes called the 'skinheads' who had very strong traditional views about England and the rough lives they faced on an every day basis, already giving the viewer a number of ideologies that will be shown within the film, as well as highlighting through dress codes the issues and struggles faced by the working class at this time in Britain.

The film 'Kidulthood' along with its sequal 'Adulthood' are the most similar in narrative, genre and mood and atmosphere to that of our own film poster for 'Raze'.

The images, layout and text arrangement and structure for these two film posters are similar in nature due to the fact that one follows on from the other, with it being a sequal. The lighting itself is harsh creating mood setting shadows across the faces of the characters, in particular in the 'Kidulthood' poster, highlighting the baseball bat and the agressive posture and attitude of the boy in the 'hoody'. A city setting for the narrative can also be established from both film posters from the dark scenery in the background of the image, with houses stretching on for miles.

The concrete wall also gives a very urbanised feel to the image, along with the yellow glow of the city in the 'Adulthood' poster, and the bright white lampost lighting of the 'Kidulthood' image that could also be associated with police interrogation, making the connection between high crime rates of the economically deprived inner city areas. Both backgrounds appear quite dark in nature, emphasising that this is not a happy and romantic film, but looks at real issues and turmoils faced by the youths of the modern Britain.

The font itself is central to the image and bright white and bolded to draw attention directly to the name. This is because this is the key selling point of the film poster, as the purpose is to grab the audiences attention and estbalish in their mind the title of the film so that on their next visit to the cinema they are most likely to pick a film that is already embedded in their minds.

Character Profiles

As the film is a social realist dramatisation in the thriller genre, the film revolves primarily around one character, Erin. We chose to use a female lead character due to most thriller films using male lead characters, for example 'Kidulthood' and 'Harry Brown', where the females are usually understudies or not as relevant to the main story line and so we wanted to challenge this code of convention as a way of trying to make the genre more sexually equal.

Erin, the lead character, throughout the course of the film, will take on two roles, both protagonistic; 'the good guy' (or good girl in this case) and antagonistic: 'the bad guy'. She will need to take on both roles within the film due to the situations and problems that she encounters throughout the film and also due to the changes she makes to herself to allow herself to survive in such a negative environment, having to become a lot tougher and ruthless to make herself heard.

The protagonistic side to her is shown in the first half of the film, where Erin is alone, shy, vulnerable and unable to stand up for herself. Her mother's alcoholism which has led to a violent and unproductive home life affects her confidence and ability to achieve at school, on many days, making no input to her lessons at all, and walking the corridors like a blank piece of paper, a ghostly figure that goes un-noticed by those around her, due to her self seclusion into her own mindless world. She spends a lot of time alone, thinking and outside away from the grasps of her mothers vicious tongue and inability to protect and look after her own daughter. When offered help at school by her form tutor, Erin, through self pity, refuses help and to even speak about the situation at home, and walks out. She is seen by the viewer as fragile and delicate, like a lost lamb that is weak and in need of love.

After she witnesses a boy get beaten up in a local park by some 'thugs' from her school, Erin goes over, with first the intentions of seeing if the boy is still breathing but results to standing, towering over him, watching him suffer as blood spills from his head. The power overwhelms her and its at this moment that the viewer sees a change in her character, and a realisation in Erin's own mind occurs, snapping, giving her the sinister motivation she feels she needs to take control of her life, and tackle the dim problems that choke her, day in day out. She then becomes the antagonist, a series of events before hand lead to her to spiral out of control, smashing her mother's alcohol bottles and cutting her own hair off in front of the bathroom mirror, as if a new image, will reveal a new more powerful self.

At school she begins to stand up for herself and threatens those that try and mess with her including her teacher. She runs away from home after incident involving a knife and faces a terrorising night on the streets of the inner city, once again alone and desperate. Her inability to communicate and lack of socializing due to the traumatic experiences of her home life, leave her unable to seek help, with literally no where to go, and so she is forced to return home after spending a few nights on the streets in the cold crisp nights of November. She returns home to find her mother in the same state as she left her, and the sad realisation that her life will never change is the last image the viewer sees before the credits come up, showing that for most there is no escape from the deprivation that faces the inner city areas, and for most things like the occurrence of Erin's day, is an everyday experience and normal part of every day life.

Other characters featured within the film include; Erin's mother, Erin's teacher, the 'popular' gang and the boy who is beaten up, and all play a vital role in the events that lead to Erin's outburst and dramatic change of character and personality.

Erin's mother is a divorced, unemployed alcoholic who spends nearly all of her time at home drinking, she is a major part of Erin's life, and a key aspect in the seclusion that Erin has placed upon herself. She is tired, worn out and generally unhappy with her life after facing a tough and draining term of depression, after her husband left them when Erin was a child. She tries her best to provide for her daughter but finds every day life a struggle and resorts to the bottle as a way of escapism and relief from her everyday life. Due to the depression, and inability, much like her daughter, to talk about her problems, has a violent streak to her, that is most prominent when the drink has taken a hold on her, and it is usually Erin who has to face the full brunt of this, in both verbal and physical manners. Although her mother, sober, would never intentionally hurt her daughter, as she is now all she has left, the alcohol creates a dual identity to her mother, much like Jekyll and Hyde, which when unleashed is devastating and unstoppable, no matter how much she fights it, but underneath the stresses and turmoils, she worries about her daughter and the lifestyle she is forced to live, as she feels that she has not much to offer or provide for her, who in reality is her world.

Erin's teacher is caring and devoted to her work, and has always shown an interest and concern in Erin's approach to education and interaction with others. She is mildly aware of Erin's mother's alcoholism, but blind to how bad the situation has actually got, but afraid to question Erin in case she makes matters worse. She has her students best interests at heart, but is unsure of how to tackle a girl so secluded from the every day hustle and bustle of school life, which other children flourish in. Throughout the film she gives Erin many opportunities to tell her about her mother and the drinking, but Erin is reluctant and stubborn and adamant not to tell anyone, thinking she can face her problems alone. The result of this is Erin becoming agitated by, in her eyes, the probing that her teacher does, when in reality, she is concerned with the welfare of her pupil and this leads to incident with Erin threatening her teacher with a knife and then fleeing the school premises. Erin's teacher of course understands her instability and at first refuses to press charges but is forced by the Headteacher and the police and so this leads to Erin running away from home.

The Gang of boys play a major role in Erin's transformation and downward spiral out of control, when she witnesses them beat up a boy from her school in a local park. Erin looks up to the gang and admires the control and power that they have over the other peers at her school. She craves the power and glory that they flare about so effortlessly and it is in this moment that something inside of her snaps, and she decides to take control of her life, using violence, as she thinks that this is the answer to bettering herself and escaping the misery that is her life. The Gang themselves are mindless thugs that control the school, stealing money and getting into fights with anyone that tries to confront them, they consist of all boys, and have a few girls that tag along with them occasionally, which are known to be a number of the boys girlfriends. Erin's frustration at being alone is made worse by this clique and she craves the attention that the girls get from the boys as well as the power they exert on others through their violence and anger.

Finally, the boy who is beaten up by the gang in front of Erin, offers the pinnacle moment where Erin decides that violence is the key to success. As she stands above him looking down at him helpless and pathetic on the floor, she feels an utter sense of power, self worth and a rise in her self esteem that sets of a spark in her head, giving her a craving for more, which uncontrollably spirals to the point where she is more unstable than before. This boy much like her, is seen as a blank face, a ghost to the other kids at school and just like her he faces his own problems of living in such a socially and economically deprived inner city area, and in reality its sad to think that the only person who is likely to understand her loneliness and vulnerability; the only person that she could have confided in and made a companion in, is in fact, the very person that makes her turn to violence as way of gaining control, through seeing his vulnerability.

Audience Profile & Audience Analysis

Audience Profile; Age, Gender, Social Class, Ideologies & Content

As we aim to produce a social realist film looking at the everyday struggles facing socially and economically deprived youths, in this case a female youth, our target audience needs to be able to relate to the concept as well as connect with the character and the situations that she finds herself in throughout the film. Due to the content of the film also including violence, alcoholism and quite intense dramatised scenes, we decided to certify our film as a 15 and therefore our film will firstly have to be targeted at those in society over the age of 15 due to age restrictions associated with content viewing. This therefore gives a good starting place, as the lead character herself is still currently at school (sixth form) and therefore this age restriction means that the starting age for our audience will be at the same age as the character, allowing more in depth relatability between text and text receiver.

The primary target audience is youths, teenagers and young adults, generally aged 15-21, as they will be of a similar age to the characters and will face money problems of their own, along with the difficulties of home and school life which can be associated with employment being at such a low rate at the current climate of our society. I think that the target audience will be both male and female as females will be able to relate directly to the emotional aspects of the film and connect with Erin, the lead character on a personal level, but will also be of interest and relevance to males, due to the violence and action that Erin pursues as a way of escapism and gaining power. Sexuality is not really an issue that I feel will affect the film as the lead character takes on both male and female gender roles within the film and therefore the film is not gender biased or gender specific.

As the film is to be set in the inner city area of London or another large city within the UK, the youths that are from a similar background will therefore have more knowledge of the difficulties of the area in terms of social class and employment and will therefore be more likely to want to view the film as it tackles issues that affect them in reality. The target audience will have therefore all been through secondary education and will have an understanding of the clueless minds of teachers and the cliques and peer groups that control the school and will have some understanding of bullying and its effects.

The rebellious side of youth that most teenagers and youths go through from the age of 15 up will also give them relation to the character and they are likely to share views that 'life is unfair' and the government somewhat rejects and ignores the youth of its country, and any publicity or attention that is given is usually negative and the after effects create even more problems for a generation that is already in trouble. I think that the target audience will have a shared like for music, whether it be R 'n' B, rap, grime, indie, rock or any contemporary style, will also be knowledgeable and concerned with their appearance and fashion and main hobby will be focus on socializing rather than educational and employment aspects of their life. They may also like films from the comedy, horror and action genres due to the excitement they provoke, which may be something they crave in their own lives.

The secondary target audience would be those aged over 21 who may have employment and children of their own and therefore watch the film for its documentary style approach to the problems in Erin's life and for the more mature viewers, use the film as a way of trying to understand the problems faced by their own children in the contemporary UK or simply try to understand the negative behaviour patterns that some youths choose or are forced to take on. This therefore means that the adult target audience age group is very broad as people of all ages, social positions and genders may watch the film as a way of trying to connect with and gain an understanding of the UK’s youth. They may watch the film as a way of trying to bridge the generation gap which has been created and reinforced by the negative publicity that the government and the UK’s media has spread and hyped up about the youths of our society. This target audience may also like films in the genre of documentary, other social realist films as well as thriller films due to the 'real' scenario's the films try to portray and the seriousness they take on.

Audience Analysis; Understanding, Interest & Environment

1)Understanding;

The viewer will recognise that the film tackles realistic aspects of society but will also know that social realism is a dramatised and somewhat worst case scenario of reality, which tries to stay as close to reality and a correct view of the subject as possible without causing offense of making it appear too dramatised. The viewer will therefore also, from experience, have knowledge that the subjects and content within these films are usually at either end of the spectrum of our social class, stereotypes, gender and so on and use bold examples. The audience will also know that thriller films create tense atmospheres with usually harsh content and a twist that either creates a 'happy' ending or a dimmer one.

They will expect of course the narrative to flow and to make sense, as they would with any genre of film, however with thriller films more information can be left out as a way of keeping enigma and sustaining suspense within the film and will have some understanding of the situations faced by the lead character Erin, due to own personal experience of teenage life, school and home life, and will therefore be able to relate to the emotions and decisions that she goes through to try and change herself and her life for the better, which somewhat back fires.

2)Interest;

The audience would watch the film due to the content being relevant to them. The primary target audience of youths would be facing similar problems and situations in their own lives, even if they may not be quite as extreme or as negative, this still will allow them to connect with the character, empathise with her and relate to the situations themselves. The secondary target audience of adults, predominantly parents, would be interested in the film as a way of gaining an insight into the problems their own children may face, as many children and teenagers find it difficult or refuse to talk to their parents about problems, and this film would offer parents a way of understanding and giving them more knowledge when approaching their own children. This therefore makes my film valid as it is relevant to the contemporary society, as many youths from inner city areas that are economically deprived face problems with home life and problems within education and may feel trapped and this film therefore gives an example of how things can get too much for some people.

3)Environment;

The film trailer will be shown on the television, on Channel 4, between programs such as; 'Skins', ‘The Inbetweeners’ and 'Shameless' and will therefore be shown after the water shed as these programs contain a similar content of drug use, alcohol abuse, bullying, school life, social life of youths and family problems, including violence and debt and therefore my film would fit in perfectly with the target audience of these programs and would attract more people to watch it being shown in between programs with such a similar content. The film trailer will also be shown online, being put onto YouTube and also being spread virally through social network sites like Facebook and Twitter to gain access to a large proportion of the UK’s youth, as social networking has become such a large and dominant part of youth culture and popular contemporary culture.

The film itself will be shown in the cinema with a certificate of 15 and will have the most viewings been shown on a Wednesday, due to the wide spread use of 2 for 1 orange Wednesday tickets, which are widely used by youths who may face difficulties with money due to their age and social position and this will therefore put the film in good stead for the target audience being able to afford the viewing of the film, due to the reduced prices on Wednesdays at many cinemas across the country. For the promotion of the film the best area's for advertisement; in terms of posters, billboards and fliers, would be large urban cities such as; London, Manchester, Birminham and Liverpool, where gang crime is failry high and poverty amogst the inner cities areas also fairly prominent, with employment levels being so low and living costs being so high in the current climate of the country.

Advertising Codes of Practice

When creating any trailer or advertisement that is going to be aired on national television, as a producer, the codes of practise and legal aspects need to be covered to ensure that the product, in this case a film trailer, does not break any of these rules and laws and is considered acceptable by the Commitee of Advertising Practice (CAP). As we will be using actors that are under 18 years of age to create the most realistic effect we will need to look at the laws regarding the use of children and young people in productions.

Our trailer will also contain scenes of violence, gang culture and alcoholism, therefore showing a more negative representation and stereotype of deprived youths and so we will need to look at the laws regarding stereotyping to ensure that no one will be offended by our production, although we are trying to create a social realist film and give an explanation as to why some youths may choose to act in this negative way.

The use of props such as knifes and alcohol around young people may also be considered dangerous and may not comply with the codes of practise and therefore we will need to look into this and find a way of working around it. Below are the advertising codes of practice that will effect the production and staging of our film trailer:

Section 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.
(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
29 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.

Section 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 inadvertisements for news media.

Section 6.4 Personal distress
Advertisements must not, without good reason, contain material which is likely to cause serious distress to significant numbers of viewers.

Notes:
(1) Any appeal to fear should be justified and proportionate. Only mild material is likely to be acceptable in demonstrating, for example, the risks in not buying 30 life insurance. More disturbing material might be acceptable in, for example, road safety advertising.
(a) (re Medicines etc) and 10.14 (reDoctrinal Advertising).
(2) Scenarios which might be distressing reminders of tragic personal experiences for significant numbers of viewers should be carefully judged. For example, at any given time, many viewers will be recently bereaved.

Section 6.5 Protection of privacy and exploitation of the individual
With limited exceptions, living people must not be portrayed, caricatured or referred to in advertisements without their permission.

Section 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.

Section 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.

Section 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).

Section 7.4.4 Vulnerability
Advertisements must neither encourage children to go off alone or withstrangers nor show them doing so.

When producing our film trailer we will therefore need to ensure that there is a balance between social realism of deprived youths and a negative stereotype that ironically is already widely reinforced by the current media of our society to ensure that the film complies with Section 6.6 Harmful and Negative Stereotyping as we dont want to create the representation that all youths are agressive and violent. I think that due to the fact our audience are of a similar age to the characters shown, they will relate to and understand the things that Erin goes through and therefore will not be offended by the stereotyping of her character as being from a soically and economically deprived background, as many youths from inner city areas will have shared similar experiences.

Due to Section 7.4.4 Vulnerability we need to be careful when showing clips of Erin running away from home and the violence that she witnesses and is a part of, as we do not want to show and encourage this as a way of solving problems to youths or as a something that will make you appear 'cool' to others. To ensure that this does not happen, we will make it clear that the audience are able to see the dangers and negative aspects of running away from home and being alone on the streets and to show that it does not help situations in any way, and in most cases it is likely to make things much worse for yourself.

The character of Erin's mother is going to be portrayed as an alcoholic and therefore we need to be careful with the approach we have to this to comply with Section 6.7 Health and Safety and to ensure that no one is offended by such a delicate subject as people may have lost relatives due to alcoholism and therefore Section 6.1 Offence, needs to be looked at closely along with Section 6.4 Personal Distress to ensure that no one is upset or made to feel offended by the content we have chose to include within our film trailer.

We will therefore not be using real alcohol within the trailer and will use implication as a way of allowing the viewer to acknoledge themselves that the mother is an alcoholic, rather than physically show the audience of the mothers alcoholic problem so that no one is offended by images of alcoholism which some may find disturbing. Another issue is the violence and agression that Erin uses as a way of escape, as well as the fight that she witnesses before taking control of her life as we do not want to promote or condone violence in any way, as it is dangerous and life threatening.

We will therefore we will need to look closely at Section 6.2 Violence and Cruelty when deciding on how much of the fight scenes and violence to show, this will also be affected by the certification of the film, as well as Section 6.1 Offence as we do not want to cause offense to particular groups within society or cause negative feedback. Due to the fact that Erins character will also use this violence as a way of escaping her alcoholic mother and the bullying she faces at school we will also therefore need to look at issues regarding the inclusion of bullying, accroding to Section 7.4.3 Bullying to make it clear to the audience that bullying is damaging and a very negative thing that ruins lives.

As the code of practice states, children who are considered 'different' should not be portrayed as unsuccessful or unpopular amongst other youths and therefore we will ensure that Erins character is just a 'normal' every day girl, who is outcasted by her peers through her own choice, wanting to be alone, with only herself for a companion, due to her negative home life. Her peers from school will not necassarily treat her badly or commit acts of bullying against her as before her significant character change, she will almost blend into the background but there will be a stark contrast between the moods and emotions which Erin shows, compared with the emotions shown amongst the other characters.