Ill Manors: Music Video & Soundtrack

1) This music video is rather typical to other UK rap music videos, set in the urban streets, roof tops, a gang of men behind the artists in hoods, it is all quite typical. Although, in my opinion this is one of the only videos that I have seen that have actually managed to use these typical techniques very well. They showed a overly aggressive side to these council kids that actually does look quite intimidating. The camera work is also rather the same too, very shaky movements along with loads of wide shots. Also, what makes this a lot more different is the fact that plan b has used some cartoon animation scenes that show that these types of people laugh and think that what the government or higher people think of them is quite hilarious.

2) This video represents the urban London youth to be very aggressive and violent. The main concept in this video are the London riots that took place in 2011. This video backs the stereotype of the rioters to mostly be council kids in hoodies that are always committing crimes. This video represents the rioters to be very young which signifies how corrupt the system may be.

3) This music video shows a sense of Surveillance (Information about the world around us) as it is informing us about the london riots, politics and also what the type of people are like that took place in the riots. It also shows some Diversion (Escape from routine and problems; an emotional release; entertainment) as some people may want to watch this instead of going out in the street and doing it themselves.

4) This music video is a great example of synergy for the movie as it is also part of the soundtrack for the film. People that enjoy this song or are even fans of plan b are most likely to watch the movie as they may like this style of music or plan b;s creativity. This music video also used actors that are in the movie to help promote them and so people can see what type of actors they will be watching.

Ill Manors (Album)

Ill Manors is a soundtrack / album that is fully made by the director of the movie himself, Ben Drew also known as Plan B. The album was released by american label atlantic records which is part of the Warner record company. The soundtrack is almost written as a hip hop musical as it tells the story of the movie in a narrative perspective from Ben Drew himself. The album itself received a very high number of sales as it in fact did become number 1 in the UK chart listings for a period of time. It also received very good reviews along with a nomination for a mercury prize. Alexis Petridis from The Guardian gave a very good critic and rated it 4/5 stars. 

Here are some of his words (THE GUARDIAN JULY 2012):

"The sound sticks largely to the title track's blueprint of crunching breakbeats and orchestral samples. It's packed with neat touches: the growling acid line that underpins The Runaway, the sample from Saint-Saen's Aquarium that knowingly pitches a TV ad soundtrack staple into a world where the big sellers are "prossies" and crack. Drew and producer Al Shux seem to know exactly when shifting from a hip-hop rhythm to drum'n'bass's double-speed clatter will have maximum effect.

It's still relentlessly grim: you can see why Drew appended an uplifting moral to the story in the shape of Live Once, but its inspirational message feels at odds with what's come before it, as tacked on as the occasional references to David Cameron. Those who hailed the title track as a great protest song are likely to be disappointed: for all Drew clearly feels a social imperative to make this music, Ill Manors is more concerned with visceral storytelling than politics, although he's good on the media's view of sink-estate youth, smart enough to note that the people being demonised frequently collude in their own demonisation."

Print: Research & Planning (Front Cover & Double Page Spread)

Front Cover:

Title Of Publication: "Doctor Who - Magazine"

The title is placed on the top third so that it is easily visible and clear. The font and colour of the text is the same theme as the TV show so it can attract its audience. This will also be the magazines main stamp/logo and will stay the same for a very long time as it is well known.

Slogan; "The Day Of The Doctor!"

This is a very short and snappy statement that sums up what this magazine is going to be about, its short and snappy so it sticks in the audiences head while reading.

Central Image: (Main Character: "Doctor Who")

Give a strong weight and focus within the cover. Helps establish the magazines core value and identity. In this case, the designer has kept the doctors face clear this is because designers must be careful not to obscure the mouth or eyes, as they are the most expressive part of the face.

Free Offer:

This magazine comes with gifts and downloads with the issue, along with prizes and competitions, this helps bring in more of the target audience (doctor who fans) as the offers may appeal to the doctor who fans.

Colour Scheme:

Designers stick to limited colour schemes to avoid a busy cover or it looking to complicated. certain colours work well together to give it a vibe or feel. Experienced designers use colour to create a feel by choosing the right colour sets, this magazine uses very metal looking colours, mostly grey. this gives it a futuristic look and a more serious feel. The designer also used smoke for the subjects to give them a more dramatic feel.

Bar code, Date and Price:

All magazines need this information on their cover.  Most designers will consider them annoying and will make them as small and hidden as possible, so it doesn't get in the way of their work.

Language:

Language is snappy and economical, no words are used that will not be helpful, there are no wasted words. Poetical devices are used, such as puns, plays, metaphors, alliteration and more. This helps give the readers a shorter read time as possible. The words used reflect the target audience, this helps the readers feel rewarded for knowing these words. This magazine uses things like "The Doctors Past Haunts Him" & "DWM". This makes the readers feel more intimate with the magazine. Also, designers use one or two typefaces, using too many make it disorganised and loss of focus. They tend to use fonts in families which keep it looking tidy.

Examples Of Magazines Aimed At A Similar Target Audience Of My Production:

Example Of A TV Magazine Souvenir:

My Photoshoot:
1) The character for my front cover is the main one which is Armz.
2) For my double spread I am using a picture of the director and two small images of the other actors.
3) I will shoot:
Medium Shot
Close Up
Extreme Close Up
(Range Of Angles)
4) I will need to make sure Armz is wearing his scarf and hoody.
5) I will sketch and idea and work out lighting before hand, need to make sure I use low key lighting for a dramatic serious look.

Double Page Spread:

For my double page spread I intend to do a questionnaire for the audience and at the end they will be told what character from Ransom they are similar too in terms of personality. This is more of a fun interactive way to engage with out audience and to make them watch the show more as they will want to see what the characters are like after seeing who they may have got matched with.
Here below is my plan and sketch of my double page spread including the questionnaire:

Ill Manors Film Review:

Directed by Ben Drew (aka Plan B), Ill Manors is set in east London and explores the lives of various characters caught up in the world of drugs, gangs, prostitution and violence. Riz Ahmed stars as Aaron, a low level dealer who tracks his best friend Ed's (Ed Skrein) stolen phone to crack addict Michelle (Anouska Mond) and is then shocked when Ed makes her prostitute herself in order to pay him back.

Then, things get worse for Aaron when he is left with an abandoned baby after the mother, Katya (Natalie Press), leaves it on his train; after searching all day and night to find her, he eventually allows Ed to sell the baby to a couple that run they're  local pub (Jo Hartley and Lee Whitlock). 

Meanwhile, Jake (Ryan de la Cruz Indianda) falls in with gang leader Marcel (Nick Sagar), and is forced to prove himself by shooting a very well known rival dealer Kirby (Keef Coggins), but he accidentally shoots another rival drug dealer "Chris" (Joshua Osei) little sister in the process.

Drew, who also wrote the script and lyrics to the songs featured, has done an excellent job of creating and holding together this crazy narrative that shows firstly how each character is affected and influenced by their environment, and how the decisions they each make effect different lives. Each story is accompanied with a narrative 'track' by Drew himself. For some audiences the music may not be within their tastes, yet the quality of the narrative and the performances should be more than enough to entertain.

The main problem with the film is that the plot feels overly exaggerated attempting to shock the audience in a way that isn't true. (we hope that the chicken shop prostitution thing isn't taken from real life). Similarly, the downbeat atmosphere eventually takes its toll over the near two hour running time and the film could have used a little more in the way of humour. Also, I do understand that this was a low budget film but the use of vfx towards the end just didn't work, let alone the storyline of the baby being thrown out is unrealistic but the use of the vfx made it even worse.  (Personally)

The  cast are excellent, particularly Riz Ahmed, who's essentially the lead character (he's the only character on the poster) and Indianda, whose performance (and storyline) were amazing. The script is suitably gritty as Drew soundtracks the film to like its his life, with individual rap tracks laying out each of the character's back-stories as they're shown; this works brilliantly early on, but wears out its welcome a little by the end, since the style of each track is the same. The choice of using many actors really emphasised the fast paced life of London. Also using an Asian as the main character showed a sense of diversity along with the many groups of ethnicity within the actors.

Drew directs with rhythm and pace, aided by some terrific editing that plays around with the story of the film to powerful effect. He creates a strong sense of place and makes  suspense in a number of different scenes.

Very well done for a first film and superbly acted, Ill Manors is a directorial debut from Ben Drew that marks him out as a talent to watch. Worth seeing.

Ill Manors Film Trailer Analysis:

1) There are many codes and conventions for film trailers, although every film trailer is different they all stick to a list of rules that allow these trailers to be very successful. However in some cases these rules have been altered and changed over the years, the film industry is always evolving. Usually, most trailers begin with logos and animations of the film production company. This helps because is someone enjoyed a Lionsgate movie, they may enjoy another upcoming one in the trailer. Also, it gives a in sight of what the film will be like, for example if someone saw Marvel they will automatically assume it will be a high budget movie on superheroes. The film title is also always in a film trailer, it usually enters towards the end as the title will sum up the story in the trailer. The title is also shown and made to stick in your head. Music is also a key feature as they could honestly make or break the trailer. They can classify the budget, genre and pace of the film.

2) Trailers are distributed in many ways in the modern world. Back in the day, trailers may only be shown via radio, in the cinema or in movie stores. Now, trailers are shown throughout the web via social media, youtube and many other sites. One popular website for film trailers is www.apple.com they show a wide range of trailers. In my opinion i believe that social media has the biggest affect on movie trailers. Only recently, twitter has allowed companies to advertise with videos which go onto every users time line. This can be very beneficial as it is alert and direct.

3) Ill manors has used these conventions in their trailer. They have used fast paced rap/hiphop music which suggests that the film will be about crime/drama. They have also used a technique of using quotes from film critics which tell the audience what they may expect from the movie. They have also shown the institution after a quick scene of telling us bit about the narrative.The film title and release date are also shown at the end but they are rather simple and plain. This may tell us that this may be a low budget movie.

4) The target audience would most likely be people living in the greater London area. Mostly youths that are more middle class or lower class. The target audience really is like all of the characters in the film, they all have realistic roles of youth that live in council flats or of benefits that go in bad paths. this film can be relatable to its audience which can make it successful. The trailer does give many clues to the narrative but they aren't very understandable, we see fights and gun pointing with many characters but we don't know who they are who why they are in this position. The trailer also tries to add all of the characters in to show how this movie is fast paced with lots of sub lead roles. We do see the lead character but the trailer doesn't emphasise his meaning in the film enough to show that the film is about him. We can also tell that the movie is a story by someone due to the voice over of the narrator, there was also a clever bit of mine en scene where when the voiceover said "narrator" it switched to plan b. The release date is also accompanied by social media links which may suggest that it is targeted to a more younger audience as social media is very youth dominated.

5) The genre of the film is represented heavily with the characters and setting. The characters are all in the phycographic group of strugglers and are mostly young. We do see some older characters but they still seem to be heavily involved in crime and drugs. This tells us that the genre will be about crime and urban life in greater london. Also, the music tells us that it will be about crime due to the uk rap and grime. Props like guns and drugs also tell us that the genre will be based on crime. The use of time-lapseof the city also tells us that this film is very urban and faced paced. Some of the media theories used in this trailer are Propp's character theory, we can see many heroes but mostly villains in this trailer as many people are doing wrong. Another media theory used is the Uses and gratifications theory (Blumler & Katz) it shows a sense of diversion and Personal Identity as people who watch this could reflect on it themselves or enjoy the intense story line.

2014 Index

September 2014 > Media Language > AS Media Introduction 

September 2014 > Media Language > Media Consumption 

September 2014 > Media Language > Mise En Scene

September 2014 > Media Language > Reebok Advert 50 Cent 

September 2014 > Media Language > Chosen Analysis

September 2014 > Media Language > Poster Analysis

September 2014 > Media Language > Lighting Analysis 

September 2014 > Media Language > Film Noire

September 2014 > Media Language > Sound

September 2014 > Media Language > Sound Technology

September 2014 > Media Language > Media institution: Twitter

October 2014 > Media Language > Analysing Sound

October 2014 > Institution > Media Instituions

October 2014 > Media Language > Cinematography: Camera Framing

October 2014 > Institution > BBC Three

October 2014 > Media Language > Cinematography

October 2014 > Representation > Brand Values

October 2014 > Representation > Cool Brand 

November 2014 > Media Language > Editing Task

November 2014 > Media Language > Narrative

November 2014 > Audience > 4CS Survey Results 

November 2014 > Media Language > Preliminary Planning

November 2014 > Media Language > Conflict: Shot List

November 2014 > Media Language > Conflict: Script

November 2014 > Audience > Psychographic Groups: Strugglers

November 2014 > Media Language > Conflict (Preliminary Task)

November 2014 > Audience > Uses & Gratifications Theory

December 2014 > Audience > Audience Theories

December 2014 > MEST2 > TV Opening Scenes 

December 2014 > Representation > Representation

December 2014 > Audience > Dependancy Theory

December 2014 > MES2 > Institutions

December 2014 > Representation > Representation Collage

Focus Group:

The focus group was a task that involved me and my group to share and express our narrative to other teams as well as hearing all of their ideas too. We expressed the main ideas in our story and what the tv show will mainly consist of. We also got back feedback and any other ideas that could help us with our narrative.

Key quotes from our focus group:

"Quite a deterrent narrative"
"I like the idea of having a gritty location"
"How are you going to relate it to a female audience"
"Twist between my murder and top boy"
"It's a good storyline"
"Opening might be a bit confusing and long"
"Would you be able to execute everything in two minutes"
"Don't want to lose the audience"

The main thing that we have learnt from this focus group is that our story line may be very long in order to fit it into the two minute mark, we will need to use a lot of fast paced editing or leave some ideas behind. We also learnt that as our opening will be for E4 we will need it to fit a wider audience, by doing so we have added a female character to our show which will enable us to reach the female audience.

Our target audience is aimed at 15-30 year olds both male and female. As we are using actors of the age of 17 it may appeal to the more younger side of our target audience as it they may feel more like they are in the actors position. They may be of the medium to low social class as they may still be in eduction or relate to the characters lifestyle (selling drugs, struggling, making money). The race and ethnicity will be very diverse as it will be set in greater London, greater London has a vast amount of ethnicities, although the main characters are British African and Asian.

Here Below Is The Full Audio For Our Focus Group:
https://kiwi6.com/file/hp5zpg52to