Screen Language:

Sweet Sixteen

This is England (dir. Meadows, 2006)

Les quatre cents coups (dir. Truffaut, 1959)

‘I saw 400 Blows before I started making it, and

the idea of the kid going to the beach was the

closest I've ever done to an homage. But there

had to be a reason for him to be there. As a kid,

growing up on an island, there's that first moment

when you look across the sea and realize there's a

world beyond the water that bashes against the

edge of it…’

http://www.film4.com/features/article/shane-meadows-on-

this-is-england

The end sequence, culminating in his arrival at

a vast lonely shore, is mysterious. Antoine runs

away from his correctional facility, and his

escape seems to morph into something else;

without an immediate pursuer, it becomes an

intuition, or premonition, of the lonely long-

distance run he has endured and will continue

to endure.

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/apr/10/francois-

truffaut-400-blows-film-review)

Location shooting

Down-beat, open ending

Reacting (vs acting),

Improvisation, actors fed

script during shooting

Non-professional actors

Local dialect

Swearing

Hand-held camera

Long takes, unobtrusive

editing

Realistic subject mattersNaturalistic observational

aesthetic

a few things to think on…

• what ARE the film’s themes?

• what is Loach saying about Scotland and Scotland’s teenagers?

• what do you make of Liam? what kind of life does he have?

• How do the formal properties of the film depict the above? Other issues/ themes etc…

Themes

&

Characters

The challenges faced by 15 year old Liam in the story are not uncommon in Scotland

and the UK in general. A recent report prepared for the Scottish Executive For

Scotland's Children highlights the severity of problem:

• Almost 40,000 children are excluded from school each year in Scotland.

• Just over 11,000 children are in care and up to 75% of them leave school with no qualifications. Less than 1% go to university.

• Scotland's rate of teenage conception is the highest in Europe.

• Around 100,000 children in Scotland live with domestic violence.

http://www.sixteenfilms.co.uk/films/production_notes/sweet_sixteen/

Screenwriter Paul Laverty:

"For some time I'd been talking with Ken about doing another very personal story; about how one young person tries to make sense of his life. It's as simple and as complex as that. Friends, family and community connect or smash up against each other in endlessly complex patterns. Liam is at a delicate point in his life. Some things just don't fit, though he is absolutely determined to use his considerable talent and cheek to make them do so."

http://www.sixteenfilms.co.uk/films/production_notes/sweet_sixteen/

Laverty:

• "What struck me from talking to lots of carers who work with children (either in children's homes with foster carers or even secure accommodation) was that, no matter how chaotic the family home, most were still determined to make contact with their mother. There's something extra concentrated about adolescence. There's a special energy which can be exhilarating or explosive. Fragility, and often a wild courage, even if misplaced, can sit easily side by side. We were keen to try and capture some of those qualities in our story."

Mise-en-scene

Camerawork

Cinematographer: Barry Ackroyd

• "The camera is always in a fixed position, at eye level with a longish lens. It's as if you are stood in the doorway watching…That is the psychology of Ken Loach's films - you feel this connection to the subject almost too closely. Sometimes if it is painful and emotional you may not want to be in the room. That is what it is like when you watch in the cinema. You are a witness, not passive, but you can't change events."

Screen Language

Sweet Sixteen Exercise Preparation

FV1S05 Screen Language Exercise

Question

• Discuss the use of camera, lighting and editing in the chosen sequence from Sweet Sixteen. NB. The sequence begins at 00.00mins and ends at 02.42mins, and features the exterior stargazing scene and the interior pub scene.

• You should perform a close analysis of the techniques of the sequence. Remember, don’t simply describewhat is being shown; you must analyze the formal properties utilized and discuss how these contribute to the meaning of the sequence, and, as appropriate, of the film as a whole.

• Please note that you are expected to be creative and original in your response to the sequence, and to bear in mind that depth of analysis of the sequence at hand is what is sought.

• Remember that your analysis must be expressed in continuous prose, and that you must avoid subjectivity and uncritical vocabulary. Answers in the form of notes will be failed.

• Please also note that the regulations outlined in the Film Studies Writing Guidelines (available on Socs-Media) should be properly adhered to. INACCURATE FORMATING, POOR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR ETC. WILL BE REFLECTED IN A LOWER MARK.

• Exercises should be submitted WITH COMPLETED COVER SHEET (available from Socs-Media) to the college Reception.

• Word length: 1,000 Assessment Weighting: 20%

You may find it useful to use the following structure for your answer (OR you may find it easier to take each of the two scenes in turn and analyze them):

• Introduction: a brief couple of sentences broadly setting up the function of the sequence. Think about: how Loach is portraying Liam and his friends through camera, lighting & editing; what we learn of Liam and the (social) situation he’s in; any contrasts/juxtapositions Loach is setting up

• Section on Camera & Lighting: how do particular techniques (framing, lighting, hand-held camera etc.) contribute to the meaning of the sequence?

• Section on Editing: how do particular editing techniques (editing pace, point-of-view editing etc.) contribute to the meaning of the sequence?

• Conclusion: a brief couple of sentences wrapping up your major points

describing X

vs.

analyzing √

how film produces meaning in and through its techniques

general advice

• don’t write in note form

• no headings

• include (v. brief) introduction and conclusion

• stick to the remit; choose the most significant techniques

• write in the present tense

• Loach used a handheld camera to reflect the immediacy of the action. X

• Loach uses a handheld camera to reflect the immediacy of the action. √

general advice

• use the correct terminology

• The camera cuts to…. X

• Loach cuts to..../The film cuts to…. √

• The camera moves X

• The camera tracks left/pans right/dollies out/tilts up √

• Loach uses dark/bright lighting X

• Loach uses low-key/high-key lighting √

general advice

• avoid personalization

• don’t implicate yourself: don’t say ‘I’ or ‘we’

– I think/believe that…… X

– It is apparent that……. √

• OR, better, be confident:

– I believe that Loach uses a limited colour palette to suggest the dreariness of the characters’ lives. X

– Loach uses a limited colour palette to suggest the dreariness of the characters’ lives. √

• don’t mix and match: stick with ‘the audience’; ‘the spectator’; or ‘the viewer’

• NEVER use the (repetitive) phrase ‘we, the audience’

general advice

• watch your general vocabulary

• Sweet Sixteen is a great Scottish film. X

• Sweet Sixteen is a key example of Scottish filmmaking. √

– unacademic, informal adjectives: good; great; brilliant; boring etc. etc.

– useful critical adjectives: meaningful; valuable; provocative; useful; powerful etc. etc.

golden rule of Film Studies

objectivity & analysis √

(vs. subjectivity & description X)

• In this analysis I have to look at the use of camera and editing, and I have to decide whether or not they are significant. X

• This analysis looks at the significance of the use of camera and editing. √

Introduction...

general advice• don’t make up your own question

• italicize film titles i.e. Sweet Sixteen

• include date and director after the first time you mention the film i.e. Sweet Sixteen (dir. Loach, 2002)

• put the name of the actor in brackets after the first time you mention the character’s name

• use Arial/Times New Roman 12

• double space

• check spelling

• proof-read

• stick to the word limit

• include page numbers

• include a filmography