Analysis of similar films

I have researched into some urban life films that are popular, therefore I can gain ideas from things that have been successful.

Kidulthood:

In this film there are several teenagers around the age of 15, which is a convention of urban life films because stereotypically younger people are more likely to cause trouble. The setting for this film is inner west London, which is a suitable area for this genre since the city is more urbanised, this creates a more intimidating environment. Violence is a crucial convention of this film and the characters act in this manner throughout the film. Furthermore these characters engage in many illegal situations, such as taking drugs, petty theft and encountering in serious violence. Part of the story line of this film involves a relationship where the girlfriend is pregnant. Generally the personality of the characters in urban life films are not the most caring and are more interested in being part of a 'gang'. Due to this it is shown in the film that he does not partake in any fatherly duties, which suggests that these sorts of films do not worry about offending any viewers, instead use situations that may not be the best, however shows the truth in some cases. At the end of the film, a character called Trevor dies. This creates a more sad aspect to the film, rather than it being violence and anger throughout. Also he is one of the main characters, therefore in urban life films, usually the main character who in this case is the anti hero and is supposedly the strongest, ends up in a really serious situation where they are no longer the most powerful.

8 Mile:



This is a film based on events similar to the life of the main character, Eminem, who is a very famous rapper. Due to this, throughout the film music is regularly used, which inspired us to use music at the beginning of our film. Specifically we used the instrumental from the rap battle in 8 mile because it flows well with the establishing shots that we have. The type of music suits our film very well because stereo typically characters in urban life films listen to rap music. Furthermore the main character in this film is from a poor family who have gone through many struggles, which is very common in urban life films because it leads to the character using violence due to their unhappiness. The main aim of Eminem is to pursue a career in music, however he doesn't have the confidence at the beginning despite the encouragement from his friends. This shows that he does have people that care for him, which is why we introduced a character that can be on our main protagonist's side. 

Narrative

Exposition - Setting scene and introducing the main characters. This can relate to our urban life film clip because the narrative starts with the establishing shots of the location that we will be filming in. Then we introduce the first character who has just been let out of prison, with no where to go.

Development - The situation develops whilst more characters introduced. The main characters are introduced properly here so to develop the situation they start by bumping into each other  and then end up in an argument, when look at each other  they realize they were each others high school sweethearts. 

Complication - Something happens to complicate the lives of the characters. As the main two characters, Stacey and Ali, another character called Dom comes and makes a massive stir in the situation. He goes over to Ali and claims his money back for the drugs he took without paying him back. This comes as a massive shock to Stacey. 

Climax - A decisive moment gets reached, the matters come to head and suspense high. Here the narrative breaks out into violence towards the end of the scene. This is shown through the body language of characters and physical actions when things get a bit out of control. this is shown through punching and smashed glass. 

Resolution - We have decided not to have a resolution to our film clip and to leave it on a cliff hanger. This is because it is just a scene in the film and it will lead onto more problems later in the film. So at the end of this scene we have created we end it with Ali on the floor after the fight whilst Dom runs away with Stacey, making it end in suspense of whats going to happen to Stacey, which is intriguing to the audience.

Target audience:

The target audience for an urban life film would most likely be the younger generation. This is because they can get an insight into people doing dangerous things without putting themselves in danger. Also it would more commonly be aimed at men, since films genres such as romantic, are mainly enjoyed by women. However our film has both male and female characters, therefore women may be more encouraged to watch it if they like certain aspects of the film. For example there is relationship between two of the characters, which is part of the main storyline, therefore will attract a wider audience, because it is not all based on violence and drugs. A controversial point of our target audience would be the age group because some people may think that it is not appropriate for teenagers to watch it since it may encourage more crime.

Urban life conventions:

Protagonist -
The main protagonist in urban life films tend to have a negative outlook on life due to social class and environment. Also usually the character is perhaps from a dysfunctional home. For example not having a father figure. Furthermore the character tends to be more serious and sensible than his friends, which is noticeable when around a large group of people.


Antagonist -
The antagonist is considered to be the rival of the protagonist, therefore could be seen as the troublemaker. There are many examples of how these two characters could know each other. For instance the antagonist could possibly be a sibling, traitor, ex friend or a rival gang member.


Environment -
Typically these types of films are set in urban deprived areas, which is normally inner city. Areas of this part of the city that create an appropriate environment are places such as alleyways, illegal shelters, broken down buildings, prison and council estates.


Props:

• Drugs
• Guns
• Knives
• Weapons
• Hoodies
• Tracksuits
• Bags
• Headphones

Location-The Bear Pit Bristol

Research into our location:

The bear pit can be described as a sunken pedestrian zone, meaning people have to walk below street level through often poorly-lit and scary subways. This is suitable for our film because it is a very urban area, and creates an appropriate atmosphere for our film. Moreover there is lots of graffiti and vandalism which is a very common view in urban areas, and creates the effect that more illegal things happen here. Furthermore, due to the surrounding built up buildings, the bear pit seems more of an isolated area, which will increase the worry of danger in this location. the subways are well lit which is the perfect environment because the audience can still see that it is night time, therefore are more tense, however can still notice and watch the characters carefully. After visiting our location I also noticed that there are many shops around the bear pit however they are rarely open at the times that we are filming and are shut down. This makes the film more dangerous for the viewers because it suggests that no one sensible is around to call for help if there are any problems. Whereas there are many people walking around, however these could also be people of the stereotypical urban life character and personality. In addition the bear pit is a place where there is a lot of abstract art, which will create a lot of interesting establishing shots at the beginning of our clip. Another good aspect of this location is the sound of traffic that can be heard continuously. This is good because it means that there is rarely a moment that is silent, that is usually awkward and doesn't engage the audience. On the other hand when editing we may lower the background noise so that there is less sound to make the situation more tense if appropriate. the bear pit is also on many levels. Due to this it will be very good for filming different camera shots such as low and high angle. For example on steps it will be useful to film from a low angle or in a fight scene it will be good to film from different places instead of one medium shot. This will also make this particular scene more realistic.