Case Study ..

Plan B Institutional Profile ..  

Interviews with Plan B - Institutional Profiles 

Progress Report - 15th January (Pre-Production)

Mise-en-scene Task

After school we decided to go scout for locations in Northolt to film our production, we took pictures of different places which could have worked for our production. We then planned how everything would unfold which was really helpful because we could visually see everything falling into place. We then met up with some characters and took pictures of them in the location. On the double lesson - the 17th of January we took the rest of the pictures then we uploaded all the pictures of the characters and locations, Navneet and I then started to analyse each image, I then helped Anita with the storyboard as it's 11 pages, Anita then took them home to finish. We then set ourselves a task for the weekend to complete all the pre-production tasks, Anita would complete all the storyboards, Navneet would complete the locations analysis and I would complete the character profiles. Once that all is complete we will print out a 3 copies for each person in our group.

Progress Report - 19th January (Pre-Production)

Mise-En-Scene Planning - Characters Profiles 

For the Mise-en-scene task we all decided to work together for this part as it involved all of our input so we decide we would all go out and find a location, our location which I found was in Northolt, we took pictures of different setting in that area to then decide which location would be best to film. We then took pictures of our characters, our main characters and our characters that would be in our title sequence. 

 

I've just completed the Mis-en-scene task of the Characters profiles and Navneet's completed the locations analysis. Anita in the middle of the storyboards, the storyboards is around 11 pages and she still need to complete the storyboard for the title sequence hence Navneet and I are completing the title sequence. 

Ill Manors Case Study ..

Researching using Case Study ..

Print .. 

To promote Plan B's film he used all 3 media platforms to get the film across to everybody. This billboard is from the print side of the platforms. The title to begin with is big and bold, in capitals which are really effective as it pulls the audience's attention from far, and if someone drives past they'll still be able to read it. This therefore attracts the audience to watch the film. Also, if someone sees the billboard and think's the film looks interesting, having the title of the film in big bold capital letters would help them to remember the name to therefore go home and research it thus finding out what the film is about to then go and watch it. 

Then on the bottom is the release date which isn't the best placement as it's really important for the audience however it's in bold red letters, the only text on the billboard with red colour which therefore might even attract the audience first. Having this information in bold red letters while the rest of the billboard (apart from the other image) is in black and white is really effective, as it attracts the audience to look at the release date straight away which is important to therefore go and watch. I also feel billboards are helpful to find information about the film that you're not sure about. 

The image is of plan B smoking sitting on a wall with a skyline view of estates. I think this image is really effective as it basically narrows the film down completely. Showing Plan B on the front cover would attract many of his fans to watch this film, it would also help Plan B to become more famous with his music, using cross promotion (Synergy). He uses mis-en-scene through props really well with Plan B smoking as it hints the film's genre isn't going to be something for children but about real life. The other image on the side that's in red is normally really for lining up cocaine and other drugs, it's also used as a weapon as it's sharper than a knife, having this in a bold red not only hints what type of film this is about but also pulls the audience's attention especially people that have used this weapon or know what it's used for whether it's for drugs or to harm someone.   

Broadcasting ..

To start the interview, Jonathan Ross introduces Plan B as multi-talented - singer, song writer, actors and also a movie director which he also wrote. He describes Ben Drew as the most interesting artist around. This on it's own is really effective as it attracts many people into listening to his music, this also is really good for his career, the Jonathan Ross show is a hit TV programme, for Jonathan himself to say Plan B is the really interesting helps Plan B have more publicity and become more famous and well known. 

Plan B believes rapping is poetry, and if you don't like rapping you don't like poetry. He also believes there's a big mis-conception about hip hop music because of the way it's sold in this country. He speaks about this new film Ill Manors and the new album, he says many people now have started to listen to his music more because it's ironic it allows people into the real world of hip hop. He said he didn't actually believe his album Ill Manors could go number 1.  He then goes on to say how Hip Hop music brought him up, that music raised him as he was kicked out of school and wasn't accepted in other schools.

Plan B feels that the kids in his high school are disadvantaged as the kids haven't been raised properly and no one shows them love, they feel like they're not worth anything and then they walk out of the doors of their high school, pick up the newspaper and the media's saying they're not worth anything, the media calls teenagers chavs and scum. The society read the newspaper and they believe kids are bad so when they come across a teenager they already have a preconception about them this then leads to the teenagers believing they're not worth anything.Plan B then speaks about the riots, he believes the government haven't done anything to prevent it, Plan B shows true dis like towards the government 

Jonathan Ross asks Plan B what hero's has he met as now he's more well known, Plan B answers The Prodigies, Liam Gallagher, Roy Lichtenstein, Michael Cane who he works with. He then says he met Rolf Harris who he looked up to all his life at some awards, Plan B explains that Rolf Harris had tears in his eyes and said how Plan B inspired him to start writing music again, Plan B explains the whole experience as  overwhelming, strange and surreal, he said Rolf Harris was like a granddad to him and Plan B was really touched that he inspired him. To finally end the interview Jonathan Ross say's to Plan B it was really nice meeting you, you're such a lovely man. The shake hands and that's the interview over.

E-Media ..

NME Album Reviews - Plan B "Ill Manors"

"NME First For Music News" is a website made just for music news, new information about music albums and so on. As Plan B made an Ill Manors album, this website obviously spoke about it and gave it a rating or 8/10. Underneath the name Plan B - Ill Manors it says "A good move to gritty narrator of inner-city deprivation". It then on the sides shows where to go if you want to buy the album which I think is really effective because, for people who read the news on this website all the time might read the news about this album, find it interesting therefore going onto Amazon to go buy it. 

Underneath the album image, there's information about the album, the release date which is important as I mentioned above, the producers which brings many fans, people who like Plan B's other albums or even what he raps about and people who are a fan of Labrinth and his music. The Label which is Atlantic which again could attract a wider audience as many people might like that label because of it's previous work. 

The website speaks first about Plan B's other albums, his last album "The Defamation of Strickland Banks" was a soulful, if slightly hammy, concept album, which made Ben Drew a commercial success. It then speaks about his second album which is a "compliment" to the film Ill Manors. The website explains how both the film and album tell a story of a group of young people living next to the "billion-pound Olympic village in almost indescribable depravity." The album as a whole, the songs which move back and forth across generations tells the same story but in different points of views. From Michelle in "Deepest Shame" which is a song from the album who was abused as a child and is now prostituting for spare change, Jake in "Playing with fire" who was a little kids tricked into a life of crime or Chris in "Drug Dealer" who was forced to hang out with and ex-FN supporter while his heroin addict mother slept with her dealer. They're all victims of their environment "enslaved in their circumstances." Most of the article speaks about each song and the meaning of them. Each song has a different meaning, some speak about the characters in the film and some speak about David Cameron and his rubbish work. 

The last paragraph, where should you listen to the album? the website explains if you've been through what Plan B's been through then you shouldn't listen to it as obviously it would upset you however Plan B says how it doesn't matter because all music should make you think. 

Then underneath is a bar and it says to rate the album which I think is really effective for Plan B because he gets to see what people think about this album and it shows that everyone gets to say how they feel about this album. Finally underneath all of this is a behind the scenes Ill Manors making where he starts by saying how he was supported with the album, he had many people who helped him with the album but the film he had to do all alone as no one wanted to take a chance on him, many people believed he shouldn't have made a film. The website then speaks about other things, shows other links and that's the end of the website.

Overall I think this website is really effective as it gives the audience a say, it analyse the album and each song, then towards the bottom it has a video of the making of the album and film. This website has a lot of information which is really helpful when wanting to research the film and the album and since it's a website about music news it's more reliable. 

Progress Report - 13th January (Pre-Production)

Script ..

I just finished the Script for the production work of Anita, Navneet and I.

Sneak Preview ..

Dilemma ..

OPENING SCENE-

ALARM GOES OFF

ROSE (TINA) WAKES UP TO GET READY FOR SCHOOL, GOES TO THE BATHROOM, COMES BACK WALKS TO THE MIRROR STARTS DOING HER HAIR + MAKEUP.

PHONE RINGS – ROSE’S FRIEND EMILY (NASRIN), ROSE IGNORES IT.

PHONE RINGS AGAIN – ROSE’S BOYFRIEND JAY (HARVEY), ROSEANSWERS IT.

ROSE

Hey babyyyyy, how are you?

JAY

Hey babe, I’m fine you?

ROSE

Yeahh, I’m good I’m just getting ready, what time you coming?

JAY

I just left my house now, I’m on my way, love you.

ROSE

Okaay, that’s fine I’m almost ready, see you soon, love you too.

Ill Manors: Research ..

Ill Manors: TEDx Lecture and Website ..

1) What are Plan B's beliefs/politics? What are his values/ideologies? Explain.

Plan B (Ben Drew), shows in his interview that he actually is a really nice man, he stand up for whats right and hates politics. Plan B had strong beliefs, he believes all youths aren't actually bad, they've just had a really bad life, they haven't been brought up the right way with the right support and guidance. He believes the youths are really just mis-understood and that they can be nice kids once given a try. Plan B himself was neglected when he was a teenager, kicked out of school's and wasn't accepted in any other school thus becoming negative towards people and not listening to adults. He had no guidance as a young teen and raised himself through music, hence the reason why he values music so much because they guided him with  the lyrics of rappers that he liked and looked up to, the rappers he didn't know were his role models.  

2) Who is the target audience of the TEDx lecture? Demographics? Psychographics? How do you know? How does this compare to the audience for his music/films?

Considering the TEDx lecture was shown on "The Guardian" as they claim to have an audience of financially aware individuals with high income which is reflected in his articles about the economy and current finances. Thus connotes that the target audience would be more of the upper class, for demographics it's more of the A/B social economic group as it's higher management such as banker, lawyers, doctors and etc. Also, B contains teachers, creative and media people etc. Psychographics, more of the Aspirers as they seek status and Mainstreamers as they seem more of the rich group. With an audience that supposedly has an income double the amount of a normal payed person they try advertising their news papers in expensive shopping malls, near expensive and well known stores. 

From the audience of the music video and film which are more low class, for demographics they would fit in the D/E group as they are unskilled manual workers or unemployed. Psychographics, they would fit in the Strugglers and Reformers as they seek escapism or enlightenment, freedom of restriction and personal growth. The audience of the music video is completely different to the audience of The Guardian because as I mentioned above, the audience for the music video and film are of a lower status, they don't have the same goals as people who are of a higher class. Each group view society differently, the audience for the film are anti government as they hate the government, they feel alienated from society whereas the higher class are happy with the government as long as everything works for them at the end of the day, they're the ones who make up the society.  

3) What does Plan B say about the media? Explain how this can be linked to Cohen's media theory of moral panics?

Plan B says the media demonized the youth, because the media portrays the youth in a negative way, a lot of the elderly and adults have a mis-conception about teenagers and young adults. The media called teenagers "chavs", December 2004 in national newspapers the word "chav" was used 114 times by many people, the word "chav" used to have a different meaning however now because the media use it in a negative way so often its become a word of insult. The government and police also treat teenagers in a negative way but the media create moral panic which is an intense feeling made by a group of people about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. Stanley Cohen (theorist) came up with this theory after the incidents in the 1960. Stanley Cohen believes the media makes the problems sound even worse than it actually is which is called amplification.

Ill Manors Website ..

Ill Manors Website

On the top of the website it's written "ON BLU-RAY, DVD, DOWNLOAD AND ON-DEMAND NOW” in big bold white letters underneath a plain black back ground which I think is a really good way to attract the audience into buying the products. It's placed on the top which means the producers want that to be the first thing the audience see which all makes scene because buying the product means making more money. Also, a variety of ways to watch the film also attracts the audience because not everyone can buy the film so maybe downloading it would work better for them thus creating a selection of choices for the audience, therefore creating a much world wide audience. 

On the side of the website they've made a banner which the title of the film and the directors name Ben Drew, but they've also put the name "Plan B" which is cross promoting (synergy) using his music career to promote the film and using the film to promote his music career. Underneath are the buttons that you can click on which will then take you through the website. I think having the buttons on the side works really well because it doesn't distract the audience from the main attraction which is the images and titles as mentioned above. The buttons have the same font with the thick bold white lettering. The first button named "Trailer" once clicked on takes you to the trailer of the film thus attracting the audience to come watch the film. Underneath that button it's the "Synopsis" which basically gives you the plot of the film, it also mentions Ben Drew and his music career with again is cross promoting this music and film career. It says "Narratively linked through original music from Plan B himself" which again shows that Ben Drew used his film to promote his music album. 

There's a button called "Videos" and "Stills" which is all about the characters, meeting the characters, getting to know who they are in the film. The last video shown is a music video by Plan B which is obvious cross promotion (synergy); he cleverly takes advantage of the film to promote his music career and vice-versa. The still images is really good as it shows facial expressions which hint the film isn't a joking fairy tale but is a serious, reality of teenagers and what they go through. The second image of the woman with the messed up nose shows that there is violence in the film and her facial expression shows that she doesn't want to be where she is; maybe she's been dragged into this life because of life circumstances. Also, throughout this film they have both White and Black people but also Asian people which are really effective as they don't stereotype races like the media and government do. They have one of the main stars who are Asian which is really effective as it attracts more people, people who can relate to the characters or even people from the upper class who want to view life from different perspectives. 

The next buttons "Buy Now" and "Links" are about buying the DVD as that's one of the options to watch the film. A box comes up which shows the DVD image and where to go to buy it, thus making it very helpful for the audience to buy the DVD. It shows two websites to go to in order to buy the DVD's therefore making the website really useful when wanting to find information about the film or the director’s music career and his albums. The links button is about following them on twitter or liking their page on facebook which again is an intellectual way to make the film known, especially as it's a low budget British Film and they didn't have enough money to promote the film. Then again as the films made for teenagers, promoting it online using social networking sites is a really effective way to attract the right audience. 

Second last button named "Reactions" when you click on the button a big poster comes up and everything else on the website gets dark so you can't see it thus forcing all your attention on the poster of the film which again promotes the film but this poster also had peoples reaction to the film and the ratings, on one side shows famous music artists opinions which would attract people because if a famous music artist says the film's a must see it would bribe the audience to watch it, especially if the person is a big fan of the artist that loved the film (star appeal). On the other side is the poster you see normal film reviews with all 4 or 5 stars. For someone who hasn't seen the film and wants professional opinions this website would be really useful. Overall the poster works really well as it not only cross promotes the film with his music career but also attracts many people into watching this "Absolute Must-See!" film.  

The last button says "Album" which is basically showing Plan B's album and where to go to buy it, if you click on the links it takes you to the websites to buy the album. The fact that this website is for the movie but still has a button just for the album highlights just how much they take advantage of synergy to promote both the film and Plan B’s music career.

The background images show the main characters ad what they’re about for example you see Kirby holding a gun to someone and if you've seen the film would understand that’s the type of character he is, showing the gun also connotes the genre of the film which is a British drama. The image with Kirby also shows Ben Drew in the background on a poster which is a type of identity to highlight who made the film. Also you see the fence full of blood which again is a dominant representation of what you would see in the violent genres. The image shows the main characters at the front and the others in the background thus helping the audience to see who the main stars are however as the actors aren’t famous I don’t think the producers could use star appeal to attract the audience. From their facial expressions and the man tied up on the pole you can see the film isn’t a joke, it looks serious and violent which again confirm the genre of the film, the colour of the image is black and white which adds to the dull and serious feel the film gives. Finally, when you open the website the first thing you see is the house, on the house is graffiti which says “Ill Manors Buy Now”, this I think is a really successful way to attract teenagers as that’s what a lot of teenagers can relate to. They also show Aaron which could connote that Aaron is one of the main characters in the film hence he’s the first to be seen buy the audience.

 

Lastly, on the bottom on the website shows all the institution information for example the distribution and production information which works really well as it’s not in the way of anything but is still placed somewhere everyone can see. The institutions are really important as it gives the background and making of the film, it shows the production company which is BBC Films, this shows that the film is a low cut budget British film. The distribution company is Revolver, this company also distributed well known popular films such as Anuverhood and Kidalthood which therefore might attract the right audience who are familiar with the type of films Revolver distribute. As the film’s a British low cut budget film they needed as many distribution and production companies to support them in order to make the film a complete success.