2. GENRE
The genre for our film is a British Social Realist Drama. Social realism focuses
on topical issues that are occurring in a stereotypical modern society, which is
represented by different ideas. The genre often focuses upon truth and honesty:
These being the aspects that give the genre its realist name. Themes such as
drugs, money, sex, religion and typical day-to-day activities are conventionally
portrayed within the narrative of a social realist film. It focuses on life’s struggles
and often portrays the working class activities as heroic. Dealing with the work
area also adds to the realist aspects as it is nothing to high key or high class.
These types of films are conventionally low budget; an example would be Billy
Elliott and Fish Tank, both films that do not feature famous actors or actresses
(the use of unknown actors). The representation of characters through the use of
unknown actors supports the realist aspects of the genre due to the fact that
these actors could potentially be anyone as they are not famous icons.
3. THE PLOT
We mind mapped our ideas in order to allow us to have a variety to choose from.
Having elements of sadness within the plot line allowed us to fit in with the genre
itself. However, we wanted to make our ending extremely happy and satisfying
for the audience in order for them to allow their emotions to change as the film
progresses (from low to high). The plot of our film involves a young boy who has
been in a wheelchair all of his life because he was born with deformed limbs. His
mum died when she was giving birth and his Dad could not cope with a disabled
child on his own so he left his son with the responsibility of a care home.
Jamie, the main character playing the deformed boy, has had a hard life and has
struggled to cope with the given circumstances. He has attempted to commit
suicide several times and he does not see any point in his current life. Then, his
care worker, Julie, suggests that he tries out for a wheelchair basketball team in
order to place some positivity within his life. Due to the closeness of Jamie and
Julie relationship, Jamie takes Julie’s advice and makes the team. He finds his
true talent and destiny, and he also makes lots of lifelong friends. He and his
team end up winning gold at the Paralympics and he becomes an icon all over
the country.
4. CHARACTERS
Jamie – Young boy with deformed legs. In the opening of the film we see
him being born, and by the end of the film he is a Paralympics
champion.
Keith – Plays the role of Jamie’s dad. He only stars in the beginning of
the film, and his exit involves him abandoning his young disabled son.
Julie – She is like a mother to Jamie. Playing the role of his beloved care
worker. She looks after Jamie and is the one who pushes him on to
becoming a member of the wheelchair basketball team.
Rhys - Jamie’s friend who suddenly turns against him when he starts to
spend less time with him and when he becomes a champion.
Kim – Jamie’s love interest.
Will – The school bully who does not like disabled people.
5. THEMES
Sport
Love
Success
Achievement
Sadness
Friendship
Family
Status/class
6. OPENING SEQUENCE
The first scene – The first scene consists of Jamie being born. This has been censored and the
actual birth is not explicitly shown. Jamie’s birth was a water birth and the first shot is a point of
view shot from the baby under the water. The camera would be hand-held as it is a low budget
film and it also adds to the realistic aspect of the genre. It also makes the scene appear more
chaotic. The soundtrack would be the piano backing track of ‘Mad World’ and the dialogue would
be of a baby screaming.
The second scene – The second scene involves Jamie’s Dad Keith discovering that his wife is
dead. The soundtrack would still be playing in the back ground and the actually lyrics would start
to play; However the sound would be blurred as if Keith does not know what is going on and to
make the audience feel is frustration, despair and confusion. The camera would still be hand-
held to make it appear chaotic and realistic. The camera would pan across from Keith, to the
dead wife and then finally to the baby to represent the connection to each other that the three
have. It would vary from slow to fast, again to show the chaos of the whole situation.
The third scene – The third scene would show Jamie himself. It would be a birds eye view shot
from above of the baby and would slowly and carefully zoom in on him to portray how delicate
he is. The backing track of Mad World would still be sounded in the back ground. Baby Jamie
would also be crying.
The forth scene – The fourth scene would be the final shot. This would consist of Keith standing
from afar facing the opposite way. It would be a long shot: This is to show how distant he is from
his new born son. It also sets the tone and atmosphere for the upcoming events in the film –
sadness.
7. SUMMARY OF CAMERA SHOTS
Point of view shot from Baby Jamie – to show how he is entering the world and
to censor the birth
Close up of Baby Jamie – to show his new born face
Close up of Keith – to show is facial expression
Panning shot from Keith, to the mother and Jamie
Birds eye view shot of Jamie
Zooming in shot of Jamie – to show the delicacy of him
Long shot of Keith and the corridor – to show the distance of him and his son
Long establishing shot of the setting – to set the scene and the tone
8. TARGET AUDIENCE
Our target audience is more varied than, for example, a rom-com. This is due to
the diversity in the themes we can include for our narrative. The themes that are
most appropriate for our genre would include things like sex, drugs,
relationships, school and so on. It is so varied that at least one theme would
relate to or interest the public in some way or another. Due to another theme of
this genre being sadness, some would say that our genre of film would not
appeal to many people: This is why we made the decision to add a sporty
element to the narrative of our film. This would appeal to the younger generation
of film watchers, alike to the Olympics which would too interest more people.
Americans are often known for enjoying happy and positive films, alike to many
people in Britain. We felt it necessary to include a happy ending in order to
appeal to more people. However, it all depends on the gratifications of a person
and the type of mood they are in (chance).
9. IMPROVEMENTS
When pitching our presentation to our class they came up with several
suggestions in order to potentially make our film more successful and appealing.
Including…
A villain
A love interest
A bigger problem other than his disability
