Ill Manors music video

Media Forms
How is it typical of a music video? 

This ill Manors music video can be seen as a typical music video. It's seen as a typical music video due to many factors. For example it lasts around three minutes, and in these three minutes, there's a clear narrative, with a mix of a live performance. Furthermore, the music video consists of regular transitions from one setting to another, which is common in the hip hop industry. In addition, the use of fast paced editing to match the beat and pace of the music video, helps make this video a typical music video. In addition, music videos are set in unusual locations, such as rooftops, fields etc. Therefore, in the music video Plan B is smoking on top of a rooftop, and he may have used this idea to convey to the audience the rebellious society they live in. Most music videos have a message behind them. For example, Plan B's message of a "concrete jungle" and how the society they live in is uncivilised and rebellious, can be reinforced with the lyrics  'let's all go on an urban safari' portrays a jungle and it being wild, which mirrors the society they live in. 

Furthermore, throughout most music videos there's a use of direct address and plan be does this in a sort of sarcastic way, as it contrasts the lyrics as they have a lot of meaning to them. In addition, the use of direct address helps keep the audience captivated and engaged throughout the video. Also, it helps the audience understand the actual meanings of the lyrics and what the artist is talking about. 

The use of loads of quick cuts and loads of shots helps make this video seem like a typical music video. The costumes ( track suits, hoodies, trainers ) used in this music video help portray the urban society they live in. 

Media Representations

How does it represent the London riots/rioters?

There's a negative representation of London in Plan B's music video. Throughout the video, there's videos/clips of the British youth causing riots across London. This conveys a stereotype of the British youth as being reckless and rebellious. Furthermore, the real life footage of the riots emphasises the stereotype of London as being negative. 

The footage of the Police becoming violent portrays an alternative representation of the police force as we would normally see them as doing right by the law. However, the footage from the riots goes against the normal representations of the police force and challenges the stereotype.

Furthermore, the use of the actual footage of the riots emphasises towards the audience the chaos in London. In addition, most of the rioters were young and dressed in hoodies and track suits. This therefore gives a negative representation of the youth in Britain. 

Throughout Plan B's music video, London can be seen as a very grey and dull area and the setting of the music video is located around council estates, and emphasises where the lower-class people of Britain live. In addition, the use of the fire in the video connotes a negative stereotype of  danger and violence, which links to Medhurts theory as the viewers understand what the youth of Britain are like. 

Media Audiences

What audience pleasures does the music video offer?

One main of the main pleasures this music video offers, is entertainment for the audience. With the use of the music, and visual graphics keeps the audience entertained throughout the video. In addition, one key theme in this video, is violence which is another factor in keeping the audience entertained. The video itself was released to create awareness about the kids that live around council estates and how they aren't as they seem to be portrayed to the rest of British society. There's a sense of the youth wanting freedom. 

The 'Uses and Gratifications Theory' would be prominent here as the audience are active. 

This music video would mainly appeal to the younger generation as they would be able to relate to the things going on in the music video more and would be entertained in scenes where there's violence, such as the police getting attacked. However, the older generation would be completely against with the things that went on in the music video. 
In addition, some audience may just want to watch Plan B's music video because the like him as a artist and would listen to him for pleasure and not educational reasons. 


Media Institutions
How does the music video help to promote the film?

This music video helps promote the film, as Plan B directed the film himself and is also stars in the music video as his fans would be more open and intrigued in watching the film. Furthermore, throughout the video, Plan B is directly talking to the camera and this effect keeps the audience more intrigued as they feel more included. Also, the characters from the film also appear in this music video, which adds to the promotion of this film. In addition, as Plan B is well known and therefore would have more ways to promote the film. For example, the could promote both the music video and film through social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc. This way the film and music would get more exposure. 

Due to the music video and film being liked together also helps in trying to promote this film, as this synergy helps promote the actual film itself through the music video. 

iLL Manors Track and Soundtrack Album Research:

iLL Manors (album) is a soundtrack recorded by Ben Drew, who his also known as Plan B. The album was released in 2012, under the label Warner Bros UK. The album was written and produced by Plan B himself. The style/genre of this album is mainly rap/hip pop. iLL Manors reached number on the UK album charts and was also nominated for the Mercury Prize. The iLL Manors track was the most popular track on the album; it sold nearly 38,000 copies in the first week of release. This single was based upon the 2011 London riots. 

Both the film and album received positive reviews.  

Ill Manors trailer analysis

1) What are the typical codes and conventions of film trailers - what information is usually provided?

There are many codes and conventions used in trailers. One main thing trailers convey is the equilibrium and disequilibrium, they do this to captivate the audience from the very beginning. Trailers use a lot of fast paced editing as a form of a montage. Furthermore, trailers sometimes use non-diegetic music, which is parallel to the piece. One soundtrack is parallel to the equilibrium and one is parallel to the disequilibrium. Trailers also have voice overs throughout the video to help the audience understand the narrative more easily. In addition, some of the information conveyed in trailers are things such as the producers, distributors, the release date. Also, the names of the of the performers show up in trailers. There's also text/graphics throughout trailers. There also may have quotes/reviews from critics.  

2) How are trailers distributed?

Trailers can be distributed in various ways. The budget of the film depends on how the trailer is distributed, for example, a big/high Hollywood film would have a well known distributor and therefore, would get more coverage than a low budgeted British film.

3. How does the ill Manors trailer use trailer conventions?

The ill Manors trailer uses many trailer conventions. For example it uses non-diegetic, parallel music to match the trailer. One track is used to be parallel to the equilibrium and one is used to match the disequilibrium. Plan B has used/made his own tracks for the film, therefore, this synergy helps promote the film. The music throughout the film is told almost like a story, and can be seen as a voice over. The trailer is edited to be super fast, which foreshadows that the film itself is very quick. Furthermore, the use of extreme close-ups takes the idea away of it being a trailer and almost sets it out to be like a music video. In addition, there are clips that are shown in super 8 which helps us differentiate the past and present. 

4)  Who is the target audience? Does it have a unique selling point or use particular techniques to appeal to the audience? Consider the way the scenes are edited together – does the trailer give away any clues about the narrative? Are the main stars visible in the trailer? Is there information about the director of the film? Is there information about the release date? Is a narrator’s voice-over used? Why?

The target audience for this film would mainly be targeted to a younger audience, aged 16+. I think it would appeal to a more younger age group as the film is set around British youth. It would also be aimed at a dominant male target audience and we can tell this from the trailer due to the use of the reviews from 'Men's Health magazine' and 'FHM.' The trailer is cut and edited in a way to reveal some parts of the scene, but not all. The trailer does convey who the main characters are in the film, as they are shown more. 
In terms of psychographic groups, this film would mainly be aimed at struggler's as the film portrays the struggles young people face in Britain. 
Furthermore, we can tell that this film has a multi-strand narrative, as it doesn't focus on one person. Instead, it focuses on one than more character and their problems. 
One main thing that is revealed in a trailer, is the release date. The release date is revealed right at the end, as the audience would be more likely to remember it. 

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

Throughout most of the film, most characters are presented as wearing hoodie's, tracksuits and trainers etc. This helps the audience understand that this film is a British Urban film. Furthermore, the area/setting is based in a working class area. The estates which is contrasted with London, reveals the conflict and the binary opposition between the rich and the poor, the upper and the lower class. 

The trailer has many different angles and lighting, which helps convey the British, Urban lifestyle. 

ill Manors Film Review

Director -  The director of ill Manors is Ben Drew, who is also known as 'Plan B'. As well as directing this film, Ben Drew is also known for rapping. He released the album 'ill Manors'. 

Main Stars - One of the main characters in ill Manors, is Aaron (Riz Ahmed). Riz is a British actor also starred in the film 'Shifty' another British Urban film. Another main character in this film is Ed (Ed Skrein) who is a British Actor and rapper. He played Daario Naharis in Game of Thrones and Frank Martin in The Transporter: Refueled. 

Plot - ill Manors is about British life on the streets. Throughout the film, different characters problems are portrayed, however, each characters problem is linked to another character. The film covers many things from drugs to prostitution to gangs. Through all of this, it shows the life on the streets in Britain. 

Genre - This film is a British, Urban thriller. It conveys the harsh reality of life on the streets in Britain. 

Audience - ill Manors, is mainly targeted a younger audience mainly 16+. It's targeted at a younger audience as it shows the youth of Britain. It is also aimed at a working class audience as the film is a low budgeted film.

Characters:

• Aaron (Riz Ahmed) : Aaron is a main character in this film. He's conveyed as a drug dealer who's involved with other problems from the other characters in the film. Even though he's seen as a drug dealer, Aaron has morals and still tries to do the right thing, unlike some of the other characters in the film. I think is acting was quite good in this film, he showed both sides of the character Aaron, the drug dealer who stays on the streets, and he showed the side of him having morality and having a good heart.  
• Ed  (Ed Skrein) : Ed is one of Aaron's best friends. Ed is a drug dealer like Aaron, however, Ed is portrayed as having no morals and he doesn't care about anything other than himself, and his own problems. He can be seen like this throughout the film, however, he changes at the end when he runs back up to save the baby from the fire. I liked Ed's acting throughout the film, he showed what some people are really like on the streets. 
• Marcel - Nick Sagar: Marcel is another drug dealer. He takes in another character in the film, 'Jake' and makes him part of the gang. He forces Jake to kill someone, and when he gets caught by Chris, he tries to put the blame on Jake. 
• Kirby (Keith Coggins) : Kirby is another drug dealer on the streets. He taught Chris the ways of the business when he was a young boy, however, when Chris grew up the roles were reversed and Kirby ended up working for Chris. Kirby is seen as sly and manipulative in the film as he gets two young girls Jody and Chanel to come to his house to meet a "modelling agent". 
• Chris  (Lee Allen) : Chris was the young boy who used to work for Kirby, who then became in charge and became the boss of Kirby. He's also a drug dealer, in the film, his sister Chanel gets killed by Jake and Chris ends up killing Jake and Marcel.
•  Michelle (Anouska Mond): Michelle is a drug addict and prostitute. Even though she is both these things, she tries to help another character in the film 'Katya' in trying to get her baby back and trying to escape her violent boyfriend. 
• Jake  (Ryan De La Cruz) : Jake is one of the kids, that wants to be a part of the gang. He's vulnerable and naive, and Marcel takes advantage of him.  

In my opinion, I think all the acting in this film was very realistic and all the actors showed the urban life in Britain realistically.

Review 

 

ill Manors is a British, Urban film directed by Ben Drew (Plan B). Throughout the film, it shows the different lifestyles of each character. The film is extremely intriguing and has the audience captivated at all times. It covers many things that go on in Britain, from drugs to prostitution. 

One of the main characters in this film is Aaron, played by Riz Ahmed. He is a local drug dealer, alongside one of the other characters Ed, played by Ed Skrein. Both characters are completely opposite to one another, Aaron has morality and cares about the well-beings of others, as in the film he tries to help both of the females ‘Michelle’ and ‘Katya’. Whereas, Ed only cares about himself, and cares only about his problems and nothing else. The situations that each character faces throughout the film are presented as a negative cycle. For example, Michelle has a negative cycle of selling herself to get money, to buy drugs as she has no other way of doing so. Furthermore, we see that each character is involved in some illegal activity, which catches up with them. The narrative of this film is written extremely well by Plan B, he conveys the different lives of each character and the problems they face. However, not only does he do this, he links each problem with another character.

I’d strongly recommend this film, the story line is extremely captivating. The acting from all of the actors is extremely good and the way it was shot and directed, was overall extremely good.

The British film industry: institutional context

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?
The cultural test was was produced BFI to determine whether the film is British or not. It's divided into four sections, and must score a 16/31 for it to be considered a British film. The four sections include: cultural context, cultural contribution, cultural hubs and cultural practitioners. 

2) 

Sweeney: 

Financing: Budget £3 million

Cultural Test: Set in London = 4 points 

                       Lead characters are British = 4 points 

                       Based on British subject matter = 4 points 

                       English dialogue = 6 points 

                       British creativity/ diversity = 4 points 

                       Cultural Hubs = 2 

                       Cultural practitioners = 7

                       31/31

Attack The Block:

Financing: Budget £8 million; box office $5.8 million 

Cultural Test: Set in London = 4 points 

                       Lead characters are British = 4 points 

                        English dialogue = 6 points 

                       British creativity/ diversity = 4 points 

                       Cultural Hubs = 2 

                       Cultural practitioners = 7

                       27/31 

The King's Speech:

Financing: Budget $15 million; box office $414.2 million 

Cultural Test: Set in London = 4 points

                       Based on British subject matter = 4 points 

                       English dialogue = 6 point

                       British creativity/ diversity = 4 points 

                       Cultural Hubs = 2 

                       Cultural practitioners = 7

                       27/31 

We Need To Talk About Kevin:
Financing: Budget $7 million; box office $9.2 million 

Cultural Test: English dialogue = 6 points 

                       Cultural Hubs = 2 

                       Cultural practitioners = 2

                       10/31 

Skyfall:

Financing: Budget $150 - 200 million; box office $1. 109 billion 

Cultural Test: Set in London = 4 points 

                       Lead characters are British = 4 points 

                       Film based on British subject matter = 4 points 

                       English dialogue = 6 points 

                       British heritage = 4 points 

                       Cultural practitioners = 5 points 

                       27/31

3)What is the main problem for the British film industry?

The British film industry face many problems. A main problem the British film industry faces is having to sacrifice their distribution rights by selling their film to a distribution company. When a film is sold, all the money the film has made is lost and therefore, ends up making no money. The British industry is often known as a 'cottage industry' as it is small-scale. 

4)What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

As well as the British industry having many problems to face, it also has strengths. One of these strengths are having directors with creativity. For example, Richard Curtis, the director of 'Love Actually' managed to get his film to gross a billion dollars world wide. Also  J.K Rowling and her Harry Potter sequel has allowed the British film industry become very successful. Furthermore, Britain has amazing facilities such as studios and camera companies, which attract film makers world-wide. The British film industry also take 5% of world box-office takings, which is a large sum for such a small nation. 

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?
One option for the British film industry is working with American producers to help the British industry progress, but the British theme may be lost due to this. Another option is, producing low-budget films. This would mean the film would remain 'British', however, the price of the film would be lower and effect the profits.

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?
In my opinion, I think the British industry should work with American producers, in order to make more successful films. 

The British film industry

1)  Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.
Deciding if a film is British or not can be confusing. For example if it was made in Britain but has American actors or if it was filmed somewhere else and  produced by British people, or even if the film’s subject matter about Britain or British culture. These are all taken into consideration to determine whether or not the film is British. To determine whether a film is British or not you must decide which of these criteria are crucial to the reason you are judging a film to be British or not

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?
A films production context is the conditions under which the film has been made. For example, Hollywood's production context means that most films made by Hollywood studios have high budgets, a heavy reliance on celebrities both in the cast and crew. However, this isn't the case in independent production context, as they have  low budgets, character rather than spectacle driven stories and a heavier reliance on word of mouth and viral advertising. British films can be large budget, high concept films such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 or they can be character driven, small budgeted films such as Kill List. 

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?
 The James Bond Franchise started around the 1960s and brought to America a lot of money and talent. 

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?
The British film industry in the 1970s was dominated by the subject of censorship that continued into the video nasties banning of the 1980s. The 1980s also saw a dramatic decline in American investment in British film that did not increase again until the 1990s. British film continued to have high points and low points throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. 

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.
Most British films tend to focus on the real issues that concern the society of Britain. Issues such as class, politics, social change and education are some of the many issues that British film has explored throughout its history. For example, in the film Stanley Kubrick’s - A Clockwork Orange, youth is conveyed in a singular way. 

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

The influence of British films being about the reality of British society makes the British films more interesting. British actors tend to be clearly identifiable as British and will often be associated with a particular genre of British film, for example Hugh Grant having an association with British romantic comedies. British locations tend to be a heavily used feature of the film, with London being the most popular.

Learner Response

How does the institution take an original and positive approach to road safety advertising?


This institution 'Embrace Life' takes an original and positive approach to road safety advertising by setting the scene at home. Normal road safety advertisements are set on the road/in a car. However this advert is set in a living room, also the mother and daughter acting as the dads seat belt takes an original approach. Furthermore, this institution has a positive slogan 'Embrace Life' as well as having a positive narrative, unlike most road safety advertisements. In addition, this advertisement has an original take as it has physical theatre in it. Also, throughout the advert there is no dialogue which captivates the audience. This advert conveys the end result of wearing a seat belt, which is positive, as other road safety adverts show a more negative side of not wearing a seat belt. Therefore, the institution may have done this to  show the positive side of wearing one which may influence people to wear them. This advert links with Todorov's theory, as the advert starts off with an equilibrium of the family looking happy and getting along. However disturbed with the crash and then ending with the dad being saved by the mother and daughter. It also relates to Dyers theory as one of the lines of appeal includes happy families. 
So, this advert takes an original and positive approach to road safety advertising by showing the positive side of wearing a seat belt, which therefore would influence people to wear one whilst driving.

1) Media consumption audit
2) Reading an image: RBK advert analysis & own choice advert analysis
3) Institution: major media institution research and presentation
4) Institution: brand values
5) Institution: CoolBrands research
6) Narrative: narrative theory YouTube clip analysis
7) Audience: psychographics
8) Audience: audience theory blog tasks/questions
9) Audience: audience theory - dependency theory
10) Representation: clip analysis - dominant and alternative representations
11) Representation theory: 500 word analysis on blog
12) Representation: Media Magazine articles and questions
13) Ideology: BBQ QT analysis and binary opposition
14) Ideology: Media Magazine reading