Research and Planning

Existing short films: Cubs

Genre The form for this film is British Social realism. Social

realism is a film that focuses on topical issues in a modern society which is represented by different ideologies. The most common type of themes include money, drugs, gangs or sex. The genre for this particular film is teen drama.

Cubs have a stereotypical take on the genre teen drama. For example, it highlights gang culture and different stereotypes within a gang for example, it has a gang which younger boys want to be in and try to be in and are willing to do anything to be accepted by.

Another genre that we can see from this film is crime. For example, the gang leader ‘brings in’ younger teenagers into to the gang however the initiation includes hunting a fox and killing it, in the film the gang leader pulls out a gun to start the hunt.

Representation As mentioned within the genre of this film that characters are

represented in a way that conforms with stereotypes of todays gang culture. For example, the gang leader is represented as stereotypical teen boy for example he is wearing a baseball cap and a big coat which has connotations of violence. In addition to this he follows the stereotype of being a gang due to his ethnicity as most films that deal with gang violence tend to make the majority of their characters black in order to conform with stereotypes.

Following from the gang leader Karl, there is also stereotypical representations of the gang, for example when they all meet before the fox hunt starts and we see a variation of shots that show close ups of the gang members drinking and taking drugs again, conforming with stereotypes that the society have on gangs who take drugs and drink alcohol and probably underage. This shows that Tom Harper is trying to represent todays take on gang culture as well as underage smoking and drinking.

When it comes to stereotypes of teenage girls they normally presumed as chavs who wish to be older especially within this genre for British Social Realism, For example, Davis is a very boyish name and she also has no makeup on with her scraped back wearing baggy clothes and is also called a ‘boy’ within the short film showing that she is represented to be this ‘laddette’ which is a girl who is acting like a boy.

Audience I believe the intended audience for this are

teenagers which is very similar to ‘cherries’ audience, I am guessing the reason for this is because Tom Harper has written and directed films towards people within this age. Another reason why I believe the intended audience for this film are teenagers is due to the genre of crime especially in relation to gang crime. The reason for this is due to gang violence being a very modern thing and is very real in todays society, the vocabulary used such as ‘fam’, ‘bruv’ are words associated with the younger culture in todays society, so this would relate more to a younger audience rather then an older audience.

Narrative The film follows the idea of peer pressure for example the film starts off with all the teens playing

football which is a very innocent opening sequence for the film however, it goes on to reveal that a gang leader Karl is essentially recruiting members and the teens who are playing football line up in hope to be chosen to assist with the fox hunt later on that evening. The reason that it plays on peer pressure is due to the fact they wish to part of the gang for example Davis says ‘he never picks us’ and Ben replies ‘He will this time’ showing the hope of being picked as part of the group. In addition to this there is raw emotion from the characters for the longing to grow up and break out from this innocence, there are several connotations of coming to age which is shown in the contrast from the opening sequences of the group of teens playing football in the opening sequence to then the last sequence showing Ben with the blood on his face from the fox called.

Throughout the film there are several connotations to country sport fox hunting. For example, the film is essentially about hunting the fox which is a new hobby for them and is also used as an imitation for new recruits. As well as the dogs being used as connotations for the dogs used to search out foxes, as well as the use of costumes being used such as the red coat and flap hat having connotations of the barber jacket and normally seen on countrymen.

We can see that the narrative is of a linear technique as it begins at the point of them playing football however it then progresses through events to build towards a climax being when Ben shoots the fox, however, this ‘fourth wall’ is essentially broken as Ben looks directly at the audience. This has several connotations the first one being that he has definitely lost his innocence and looks at the audience in a passive aggressive nature almost to make the audience ‘bow down to him’ and to give him respect as that is essentially wants. Either that or he has realised what he has done and now he cant get out of due to the peer pressure the potential danger that comes with it, for example if he is under peer pressure and has already shot a fox maybe this foreshadows what danger he could get him self in the future.

Either way it seems that he has lost his innocence especially when his friend Davis leaves, for example at the start of the film Ben gives Davis his gloves in order to keep her warm but it does have connotations of him trying to protect her especially from Karl, however, after Ben kills the fox Davis gives the gloves back and goes home on her own which has connotations her not needing protection anymore again reflecting the idea of innocence being no longer.

Institution As shown at the start of the film in the opening sequence it has the

institution which is the UK film council, it is very similar to cherries which was also written by Tom Harper, however the font is very similar which I believe has connotations of it being a British Social Realism film aimed at a younger audience due to it being quite ‘young’ font. The logo also has red splatters behind it which foreshadows the blood from the fox.

The second institute linked to Cherries is Film London. Film London is known as the capitals film and media agency. It was set up to promote and develop London as a major international film-making capital. The organisation is supported by the BFI and Mayor of London and was established in 2003.

It has also been funded by the UK lottery fund which helps to promote young talent.

Technologies – Camera Shots & AnglesThis shot a ‘over the shoulder’ shot, this used to show the authority that Karl (the gang leader) has over the younger boy who he is trying to intimidate, this angle makes it looks as if Karl is intimidating Ben which he is. It is also a close-up shot of Ben showing the audience how scared he is, however in the film he is trying to prove himself to Karl which is that he is ready to be initiated into the gang which also emphasises the fact that Karl intimidates him.

This is a ‘long shot’ which shows the gang leader Karl with his friend, It looks similar to a ‘point of view’ shot as we can see the two characters walking towards the park, we can also feel how Ben and Davis feel as they must feel intimated and slight scared, Karl is also wearing a red jacket which connotes danger. The shot also shows what the characters are wearing for example, they are both wearing barber jackets and Karl is wearing a flat cap which is similar to what country farmers war when hunting for foxes as a ‘country sport’ .

Technologies – Camera shot & AnglesThis shot is a ‘low angle shot’ normally when we see low angle shots it often tries to represent the character as superior then others however, in this case I think it shows that she is in power of her choices. What I mean by this is the theme of the film is peer pressure and these characters deal with it , and they all want to be a part of it, once they show this and we get to see Davis looking down the camera quickly shifts to high angle shot from the point of view of Davis for us to see what she is looking at, we can see the gang in a graffiti ridded tunnel and we see this moment in Davis whether she wants to be a part of it or not however, in the end she decides to go home, showing she is in power of her decisions.

When it goes on to see other members of the gang we see close ups of the teenagers drinking and smoking and what it looks to be ‘rolling a cannabis cigarette’ this shows the stereotypical views that society has on teenagers, especially the boys as they seen seem to showed a lot rolling and smoking.

Technologies – Camera shot & AnglesI think these two shots are very interesting, the reason for this is because they are both very similar shots however they are for two complete opposite characters, for example the shot on the right is where the gang leader Karl is taking it out of his pocket, we see him very aggressive with it, whereas Ben was frightened to use it. This also has connotations of peer pressure. For example, you have a close-up of Karl taking it out of his pocket but not actually using it on anything where as Ben uses it on a fox showing that Karl has intimidated and peer-pressured him into it. The gun itself has several connotations, as it represents danger and really highlights stereotypes of teenagers being in gangs and using guns.

I also felt that this shot was very interesting as well, the reason for this is because we see a close up of Ben just after he shot the fox and killed it and Karl wiped the blood on his face as a reward and recognition that the done it, he looks scared as it he looks a way however, just before the film finishes Ben looks directly at the camera which instantly ‘breaks the fourth wall’ which makes it much more interesting for the audience because they will probably think more about it. However, I think the reason that they do this shot in particular is because it highlights how the innocence is broken and how now the audience should feel intimated in him rather then Ben being intimidated by Karl.

The next shot that I fount very interesting was the wide-shot of the gang members underneath the tunnel where it looks a lot like silhouettes so we don’t really get to the characters however we can see weapons that they will use on the fox hunt. What I fount interesting of this wide shot was the fact it looks very similar to countrymen men lining up before they go on a fox hunt which was then classed as a sport which strengthens the idea of what the film is based on.

When Ben attacks the fox we see a close up of the cub which I see as a really disturbing image as we see the blood and guts of the fox which was foreshadowed by the title as there were splatters of blood surrounding it , as well as Karl wearing a red coat which both has connotations of danger and blood. The cub is still alive at this point which could potentially make the audience feel sad and sympathetic towards the cub. Although it is evident that the film symbolises the sport of foxhunting and the raw reality of it I do believe this cub symbolises Ben and what could happen to him in the future for example, he was easily peer-pressured into and could foreshadow that if he carries on then he could potentially end up dead like the cub, which also highlights gang culture.

Technologies - Editing For the opening sequence it starts of with the teenagers playing

football in the park and then cuts to the opening title to show the institution of the film and then back to the football then back to the title. This is very fast editing which works good with the hectic sound of the teenagers playing in the park. When the open credits are shown the scene turns red which connotes the danger within the film as when we see red we firstly think of danger and it has connotations of blood which fits within the narrative.

There is continuing editing throughout the short film to ease the audience through what is happening which could be done to make the audience have a deeper understanding due to it being a short film, however, Tom Harper uses a handheld camera in the majority of the film in order for the audience to be in the middle of the action and to make the audience understand the characters because he is has used invincible editing to show close ups of the gang members of them drink and smoking which does conform with the stereotypes that the audience have of the characters.

Technologies - Sound In the opening scene we start to hear the teenagers within the

playground playing football, this scene starts of at being very innocent however, the sound of the boys kicking the football foreshadows the diegetic sound of the gang leader, Karl shooting the gun to start the fox hunt as well as the sound of someone hitting something which we later see the main character hitting the fox.

Throughout the film the diegetic sound of the group of teenagers talking shows the slang that they use such as terms as ‘bruv’, ‘fam’, ‘man’, ‘pussyhole’, ‘big man’.

When the gang leader talks to the main character there is a low sound which sounds like a strong wind in the background however it used to create the tension within the film to connotation the violence that will happen on in the end of the film.

The non-diegetic sound of the music in the end credits is a typical sound used for British Social Realism films dealing with gangs and violence as it is grime and rap music.