Ill Manors: Music video research

• The Ill Manors album was distributed by 679 recordings which is a daughter company from its owner Warner music group. 679 is the London based distributor and has signed other artists such as the streets and mystery jets.
• Ill Manors album was released in the UK in July 2012 at the time of the Olympics which at the time was quite controversial. It ended up reaching No.1 in the UK album charts and it also sold over 38000 copies in just the first week alone, other figures have not been released on the web regarding sales on I tunes and android equivalent.
• The album received overall positive reviews from critics significantly from the Guardian which rated it a 4 out of 5 and the Telegraph gave it a 5 star rating and one of their critics stated that Ben Drew (Plan B) was on of the most boldest and lyrically ambitious popstar in Britain (at the time of release). 
• Plan B's fans were also very welcoming of his new album and loved it, with a lot of them commenting on his social media about what a success it would be and gaining a lot of media attention because of it,

Ill Manors: Music video analysis

Notes
Media Forms: The Mise-en-scene: Setting of London in the rougher areas, council estates, stereotypes on the shorthand-Andy Medhurst a lot is show about the place in the short space of time. Direct address shows its a personal matter for the main protagonist who stars in his own music video, montage helps shows off the genre shows does the setting, fast paced editing.
Media Representations: theorists to consider- Levi strauss- representations are formed by the ideologies, hypocritical in the way he wanted us to see the riots, Perkins some stereotypes are true makes you think about the government on the one hand but on the other its shows the true stereotypes of the rioters.
Media Audiences: the socio -economic group that would be most likely to view this video- C2,D,E's which may also be the Plan B's audience, two step flow model, from opinion leaders to followers, Gramscis hegemony focusing on ideologies, dont always follow what the government say and revolt
Media Institutions:

Question 1:  Media Forms

From looking at the mise-en-scene of this music video we can see that the setting of it is in a run-down area of London. It also depicts some real life scene from the London riots which was in the same area. If we were look to look at Andy Medhurst's Theory of stereotyping on the short hand we could apply this here as we see all of the negative stereotypes of council estates and the people that live there in a short space of time as it is in a music video which is significant,Examples of the stereotypes include Plan B saying "Urban Safari", Safaris are often used to connote wildlife in jungles or deserts so to compare the people living in this part of London to that makes them seen like they're animals just to be looked at.

Another way that this Music video is typical is because it shows a direct address from the protagonist and artist in this music video.The video seems as though he is interacting with the viewers on a personal level as he is always looking into the camera when stating important messages. Also, Plan B may also want to address the audience directly as this is a personal matter towards him as he grew up in the places which are shown in the music video and it affected him.

Furthermore, the editing used it typical in a music video as it is fast paced and almost like a montage sequence showing various fast paced shots. This also helps us to imply the genre of the music video as this sort of editing and cinematography is commonly used in rap videos. The props and costumes used also helps us to imply a genre, for example we see the use of tracksuits and hoodies being worn by people on the estate, this is another example of Medhurst's shorthand theory as wearing this sort of attire is associated with bad behaviour and troublesome/violent youths. This is illustrative as the music almost seems to be reinforcing the negative stereotypes in-order to strengthen the points of the music video about not enough is being done to help the people that come form this environment.

Question 2: Media Representations

In this music video we see scenes from the real London riots and staged ones. The use of establishing shots in the beginning of the music video (to show London "burning") makes you see the full scale of violence that was caused. This music video therefore shows a negative representation of London as it is not what the rest of the world and un-informed domestic audiences see London as, they see it as a place of wealth and tourism and are unaware that it is surrounded by these council estates which are all assumed to be bad because of shorthand stereotypes linked to Medhursts theory.
The rioters are also represented in this music video but as the way most people would expect to see them as you wouldn't expect to see a middle class white man joining in in the London riots and this reinforces that. The reason why we see the rioters as "chavs" and people on "council estates" is because these representations are formed from the ideologies that have been passed down form the opinion leaders which are usually the government and higher class white people. This links to Levi Strauss's theory on representation and ideology. Strauss also wrote about the producer of the text holding the set of values and beliefs but this doesn't link well with what Plan B may have been trying to communicate as his views of the politicians in the music video are overshadowed by the erratic violence caused by the rioters which he is saying is the government's fault. As a result we may see Plan B being hypocritical as what he is trying to resolve may cause further violence as he is showing  what fun could be had of looting and rioting.
In this music video we see two types of people being represented in their own way by one opinion leader; Plan B. He states that on the one hand the politicians are the blame for the behaviour of the misguided youth which was a big factor in the riots but on the other hand the music video also portrays the group of people he is standing up for and representing as negative. Although true what he says about politicians never listening it contradicts himself and the people represented in the video as it shows stereotypes that are true about them. All together the way London is represented and the way the rioters were represented is done in a way to scapegoat the government as multiple people were to blame for the riots but the rioters were unable to accept responsibility.

Question 3: Media Audiences  

First of all, i believe the typical audience for a Plan B song would be young and older teenagers and young adults, this is because Rap music is typically aimed at this segment. Also there would be a higher male audience in comparison to females as Plan B has more fans that are male as more of his songs may appeal to them. The socio-economic group for his audience would also be the C2 D and E's as more working class people may be more interested in his music. Because of this specific audience different groups of people will get different feelings about this music video. For example the groups in the lower part of the socio-economic classifications would get different pleasures out of this video than middle/higher class citizens. For example an 18 year old male may feel like Plan B is communicating with him directly due to the direct address and because he may idolise him as an artist making him and his loyal fan audience followers from an opinion leader. This is based on the two step flow model  which also suggests that the opinion leader (Plan B) is influenced by the mass media but in this case we see it being subverted as Plan B doesn't seem to follow what the media says, especially about the working and lower classes.
A theorist called Gramsci developed the idea of hegemony which involved governments and capitalist societies manipulating their people to stay in power through the use of violence and other means. Gramsci advanced this and added that ideology was a key factor in hegemony. This links to the audiences pleasures as this music video goes against all of the typical ideologies western societies tell us. Therefore we are left to assume that the audience that are viewing this also go against the ideologies that have been fed to them about what is right and wrong so would like this genre of music and film. However, middle and higher class people may not see this video as a protest song but as something that just promotes bad behaviour like the riots so would receive different pleasures from this and different interpretations of the video as they wouldn't necessarily be in conflict with their governments.

Question 4: Media Institutions 

For a music video as big as this you would expect there to be different types of media promoting it,such as print,broadcast and E-media. This is because it was distributed by the conglomerate Time Warner. As a result they would be able to finance the promotion on various media platforms but the most effective way in my opinion would be on social media. This is because it would be able to reach a lot more of Plan B's fans as the majority of them are young teenagers and are avid users of social media. By using E-media to promote the song it may also be able to promote the film that goes with it as there wouldn't be any other large costs as posing to social network sites such as facebook and instagram is free. Cross promoting is called synergy and Plan B is able to do this very well as he could use the promotion of the film to further his music career and use the music to promote the film in-order to get his message across.

Ill Manors Trailer analysis

Key Conventions

• Not very long, usually 2 to 3 minutes
• often includes some songs from the soundtrack (theme song) which is non-diegetic
• Includes a release date for cinema/DVD to notify the audience 
• Introduces us to the protagonists 
• What institutions were involved in producing and distributing the film, credits given where due
• brief outline of the plot, could include some sort of vague dis-equilibrium 
• editing is usually fast paced to not draw attention to particular shots
• includes some sort of establishing shot to show off the setting
• includes reviews from print companies
• more recently trailers promote their social media sites to gain awareness (word of mouth)
• synergy between different institutions for extra promotion

How are trailers distributed?

 If the production company cannot raise the finances to produce their own trailers for the film then their distributors will. It is then the distributors job to release the trailer not as an advertisement technique but as a market film to audiences. Trailers can be put onto popular video sharing sites such as YouTube and or be shown in the cinema before the start of other films.

How does the Ill Manors Trailer use the key conventions?

Firstly, the Ill Manors trailer is only 1 minute and 44 seconds long which for a trailer is quite short as the average time is 2-3 minutes so it doesn't necessarily follow this standard, however it does have a few establishing shots of London to show the setting'; it is also quite controversial as it does show the run-down and deprived areas of London where the film is set out of focus of the city of London (Canary wharf & Olympic stadium). The music used is from the soundtrack of the film, which was created by the producer, Plan B (Ben Drew). It includes two of his songs which act like a narrative to what is going on in the trailer. Different forms of editing is also used with a variety of shots to promote the film in a unique way using established conventions. Ill Manors shows very fast paced cuts which adds to excitement but doesn't give much away and could lead to speculation. Synergy is also used in this trailer as the sound track for this film is sung my the director Plan B, so the film is used to promote Plan B's new album, however the album is also used to promote the movie as the music acts as a second narrative as it tells the story so the two pieces of media promote each other.  

Who is the target audience?

In my opinion I think that the target audience for this film trailer should be between 13-30, however it may not be suitable for the younger ages as their is a lot of gratuitous violence and inappropriate scenes and themes including the prostitution side of the film, gang culture/violence and drug abuse. For these reason I would expect the BBFC rating would be at least an 18 rating, this would be based on the sexual references, violence and frequent bad language.

This film would attract more of a male audience, approximately 70% of the audience may be male, as violent films are usually associated with younger males. The 30% female audience is a guess, although some females may view this film if they want to know more about the 'streets' of London and maybe to be informed not so much for entertainment. It may also be more uncomfortable for females to watch as their is a fair amount of abuse directed towards women and portrays them as inferior. In terms of the different psychopathic groups I thinks that  main group for this film that would view it based on the trailer would be struggler's. This is because it may relate to their interests more than succeeder who would  aspire to be better than the peoples characters presented in the film.

The way the trailer is put together doesn't provide us with a clear narrative as the editing is fast paced and some of the clips don'y show anywhere near enough information to make an assumption into what happens next and where it appears in the narrative. The trailer leads to much speculation about the film and the characters, this is because we do not know the equilibrium and the event that caused the dis-equilibrium, we are then left guessing. Also the use of some of the non-dietetic sound is unusual as you would normally expect to see diegetic voice-over from the actors , however there is some diegetic parallel sound used from Plan B's soundtrack. Two of his tracks are used to tell some of the story which helps with the narrative as the lyrics to his songs relate to the film.

Almost all of the main characters and ones featured in the film are in the trailer, making it hard to see who would be the protagonist, however the use of slow-motion and super 8 editing on some of the clips could have been used to show some of the main characters in more detail and their past. I think that the unique selling point (USP) for this film is that it is relate-able and endorsed by celebrities such as Plan B, the director of the film. This would also help appeal to the films specific target audiences as Plan B is  successful in the eyes of young teens and adults who follow his music.

Towards the end of the film trailer we see all the relevant information regarding the release, actors and directors. The release date appeared in bold later in the trailer as it was on of the most important bits of information for the audience as it lets them know when they can view it. The main actors and directors names are in their typical font and style towards the bottom of the trailer. Also, the institutions that helped produce and distribute the film, trailer and different type of media are credited with their logos near the end of the trailer. furthermore, the reviews from various magazines including men's health were included within the trailer to show that the film had received views from their respective audiences which read the magazines,

How has the genre of the film been represented through characters, setting, lighting, colour, music/dialogue, camera shots/movements/angles and editing?

In this trailer we see the use of the iconic setting of London being used to show off the genre of the film but at the same time promote it. In the trailer we see time laps shots of London's streets at night. In the background of these shots we always see the backdrop of Central London (Canary Wharf). By showing the area which it is filmed helps show off the genre as you wouldn't associate places like Picadilly to be overrun with council estate and high-rise housing. Also the way that the character are dressed helps give us a genre as some of the young males can be seen wearing the baseball caps and tracksuits. This is usually stereotyped with people who fit into the socio-economic demographic of the c2's,D and E's. From this information we could link this to the genre of what people in this group may watch and this could include urban life, action and drama. In this case we could infer that the genre for this film is urban life as it links its target audience. furthermore the shots of the Olympic stadium is ironic because you wouldn't  assume that in such a developed area of east London which is going to host the world Olympics can neighbour such a poor area which is stricken by poverty. This adds to helping identifying the genre as you would see in a crime and urban life film struggle which is being represented by the controversial landmarks of the Olympic stadium and the estate blocks of forest green.

Due to the various camera shots and angles used we were able to see exact props and facial expressions so that we could identify the genre of the film, for example in the film trailer we see the use of many close-ups, for example the close up of the cocaine which is edited in a which show off how someone may feel  after taking it as it looked quite grainy almost like a super 8 film. Also there is some black and white footage in the trailer, this then leaves the audience to speculate what the genre could be as it could've been a new twist on a modern noire. 

Ill manors review

Started to look like a multi-strand narrative as it followed the lives of six main characters whose stories all came together. The film is set in London that world audiences don't always associate with London and the rest of England as it goes against all of its stereotypes.
It also shows some real examples of how London's underworld of drug dealers and prostitution rings seems but it does feel over exaggerated for filming to have a bigger impact but not too much to know its fiction.
The songs that are written by Plan B also help to tell the story better as the lyrics have deep meanings.
It also gives a close insight into what gang culture is like as the director (Plan B) seems to have had past experiences in this way of life.









Director Evidence from Film-
The two directors from this film were Plan B (Ben Drew) and Atif Ghani. Whilst Ben Drew is a successful musician he has never produced a film before but stared in them, for example Kidulthood. Atif Ghani has produced several other films such as Hector and The Last Thakur.

Main stars Evidence from the Film
I think one of the main protagonists was Ed as the actor who plays him (Ed Skrein) has been in many other major films like the Transporter 4 and so on, so him being there and his name makes him one of the protagonists. Riz Ahmed also played a big part in Ill manors as he played the character Aaron.

In my opinion i think that another important character  Mem Ferda who played Vladmir, i think that his name brought his publicity as his role wasn't the biggest he is known as an actor.

Plot-
Started to look like a multi-strand narrative as it followed the lives of six main characters whose stories all came together. The film is about what life is really like in the places were not always accustomed to. This area in East London is deprived and heavily gang related. It starts with Aaron and Ed dealing drugs and then running from the police, this then sets in motion the rest of the film as we then see different parts of the narrative involving Kirby's side and the Russian gangs.

Genre- The genre of this would be Urban life and Crime
Soundtrack- In this case the songs were all provided by Plan B. All of the raps featured in the film told a deeper story, rap is always a good form of media to show personal experiences of troubles.

Audience- The audience for this would be a teenage (18 and above) and young adult because of the explicit nature of the film. It would be suitable for older ages but the film may not appeal to them as much as they are not as associated with youth culture.predominantly male audience

Film Review-

Ill Manors was set in London, specifically Forest Green in East London. This area added to its impact on  the audience as the setting was perfect for this urban crime drama. The run down suburban area was the perfect setting for multiple crime gangs, drug dealers, prostitution rings and a classic village Pub which was the hub of all things bad. The director and writer of Ill Manors Plan B (Ben Drew) wrote had this film in mind for many years and it was worth the wait as he was able to produce, along with Atif Ghani in association with Microwave Films London a realistic; undocumented view of what goes on behind the bright lights of central London. It was made to give an unseen view of what the 'other' part of London is like and it subverts a lot of the stereotypes other western powers and the world has about London- being the home of Royalty,sophisticated politicians and world attractions but this film cleverly displays what the British media fails to show to everyone else, even its domestic audiences.

The film is about what life is really like in the places were not always accustomed to. This area in East London is deprived and heavily gang related. It starts with Aaron and Ed dealing drugs and then running from the police, this then sets in motion the rest of the film as we then see different parts of the narrative involving Kirby's side and the Russian gangs. Aaron then takes/finds one of Kirby's guns and his angers Kirby leading to Ed's death because of him saving a child which involves Katay's narrative and Vladimir (the prostitution side). In the end Aaron gives some of his side of the money from the baby deal to Ed's sister which then tried to be taken by some of the girls that were featured earlier in the film, at the same time Vladimir is arrested and his operation foiled and Kirby has been planted with drugs from Aaron leading to his arrest.

The film could also be said to be a multi-strand narrative as it shows the lives of various characters who are in some way all contribute to each-others demise and the overall dis-equilibrium of the narrative, for example the death of Ed was caused by a chain reaction set off by Vladimirs narrative and progressively got worse.

In my opinion i do not think that the characters in this are unique, although some may have distinct features they share the same generic morales that their counterparts in the same predicament on the other side of London share, they do what they must to make a living and survive- no matter what the circumstance. One of the protagonists Ed who is played by Ed Skrien was an important acting role as the directors would need a few big named British actors to play the role in a British produced film. The character of Ed, although bad was portrayed in his society as one of the good guys- a hero and someone to look up to.

The audience for this would be a teenage (18 and above) and young adult because of the explicit nature of the film. It would be suitable for older ages but the film may not appeal to them as much as they are not as associated with youth culture. It was also made for an Art house audience but not a typical middle class/ middle aged white audience but a newer type of audience who could relate to the situations in the film. It may be equally suitable for male and female, however it may be a more predominantly male audience due to the violence and rap music which is usually associated with boys. This film is also more suited for a British audience as it is a fully British film and funded by British money (Micro Wave films London).Audiences may also see London of a place to avoid, this is because there were various shots of characters around the new olympic park in 2012 (the time that it was filmed) so people may have been put off to see how much violence there actually was around a highly protected sporting event.
World wide audiences may watch this film and it may impact them as they would be seeing a different side of London  but the domestic audience may or may not be more shocked to see that this realistic interpretation of London is happening in real life. It may be a reminder or a wake up call to show that more needs to be done to help young vulnerable people in economically deprived areas.

Ill Manors Notes

Started to look like a multi-strand narrative as it followed the lives of six main characters whose stories all came together. The film is set in London that world audiences don't always associate with London and the rest of England as it goes against all of its stereotypes.
It also shows some real examples of how London's underworld of drug dealers and prostitution rings seems but it does feel over exaggerated for filming to have a bigger impact but not too much to know its fiction.
The songs that are written by Plan B also help to tell the story better as the lyrics have deep meanings.
It also gives a close insight into what gang culture is like as the director (Plan B) seems to have had past experiences in this way of life.

institutional context

• The cultural test is used to determine whether a film is truly British or not. This is then determined by factors leading up to a score, a participant whose film scores above 16 and over is then classified as British.

This is the table that is used to score films on whether they are British or not. There are different sub-categories that help categorise them.

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• The Sweeney- Budget of £3 Million, Cultural test- 31

• Attack the block- £8 Million, CT= 30

• The Kings Speech- £15 Milliion, CT= 24

• We need to talk about Kevin- 37 Million, CT= 16

• Skyfall- £150-£200 Million, CT= 24

• The main problem for the British film industry is that British film distributors cannot afford to finance and provide synergy for the film so they may then end up becoming bankrupt. Bigger Hollywood distributors are able to sell the film in North America and internationally as they are usually part of a conglomerate so can provide synergy between businesses. Also, big named American actors are drafted in so that there is an appeal for people to watch the films even though they are British.

• The three strengths of the British Film industry is that they have outstanding facilities and that is has outstanding creative skills presented from its Directors, this is evident from films like Twelve years a slave which was directed by someone British

• As funding is hard to come by British film productions may have to co-produce their films with American companies in-order to get the essential funding and distribution needed. They may also need to produce smaller budget films aimed at a primarily British nice audiences for it to show off cultural balance and typical British societies.

• If the British film industry were to side with their American counterparts then i believe some spectacular Hollywood like action films may be produced but they may also want to show off of Britains typical cultures that the rest of the world want to see, such as our Royalty and old heritage.

MEST 1 section B the film industry

What makes a Film British?

A British film can be classified by there being British actors, setting and directors, showing off the UK's cultures.
• What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film? 
British films may vary in their context, for example they could be high budget films such as Harry Potter or low budget, cultural films like Attack the block. Hollywood productions have an extremely high budget and depend on what actors they have in the film so that it stands out.
• When did the James Bond franchise start?
The first film aired in 1954 as a live production
• In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?
In those times the use of sexual scenes and violence began to increase as it became more widely accepted by people. Carry on films were one of the first to implement these more sexual scenes and objectifications of women.
• What groups are often represented in British films?
Groups such as the wealthy and posh are represented in films like the King's Speech and this portrayal of British people is widely accepted by lots of people. other representations include the parts of Britain that the world looks past, like the youth and gang culture this is represented in films like Anuva Hood.
• What does the Fact sheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film? 
People appreciate the use of British locations and the social themes that go with it, for example Northern towns are widely used in feature films.

LR Q1

The institution here as done something quite different and unique as they have not shown a real, graphic car accident , instead it is portrayed more as a play acting scenario which enables the institution to share it with various people of all age groups as there is no evident or gratuitous violence. Also, the institution have shown this advert in a relaxed but informative way so that their campaign can give a positive approach towards road safety and wearing seat belts.
A theorist named Gillian Dyer spoke about lines of appeal and this institution was able to successfully promote values of happy  families. The mise-en-scene helps show this as the props used tells us that this was a typical family/home setting that is identifiable and relate-able.