Made in Britain (1982)

Common Knowledge Project

I have recently been accepted onto the 'Common Knowledge Project'. Although it is an arts project, I have requested a filming camera so that I can combine art with film and gain further experience from the course. The course entails using our art skills to create a map for Tooting Bec Common which will eventually become an interactive app (which we will be learning how to create).

From what the instructor was telling us in the introduction I think this is going to be a highly beneficial and engaging project!

To see my take on this on my Art Blog, click here:

Prize!

Just received an email from one of the organisers at Film Nation, and I have just found out that our group has won a state-of-the-art Panasonic video camera! I'm so excited, it will enable the group and I to make so many more films. When I have received the camera on the 4th of July I will post pictures and an analysis of the features and effects.

All In the Best Possible Taste-Grayson Perry (2012)

Grayson Perry has a unique style which added a unique feature to
his presenting

 I am currently watching a series presented by the artist Grayson Perry called In the Best Possible Taste. So far I have found the series fascinating. Grayson Perry is a great presenter as he has un-biased views on the classes and asks a variety of thought-provoking questions to his interviewees.

SERIES SYNOPSIS

"Grayson Perry has always been fascinated by taste: why people buy the things they do and wear the things they wear, and what they are trying to say about themselves when they make those choices. Grayson goes on safari through the taste tribes of Britain, not just to observe our taste, but to tell us in an artwork what it means.

The work Grayson creates is a series of six imposing tapestries called 'The Vanity of Small Differences', his personal but panoramic take on the taste of 21st-century Britain. In each episode, he embeds himself with people from across the social spectrum in a bid to get to grips with our differing takes on taste."

Perry interviews a 'working class' football fan 

As I used to live in a place where I had a LOT of middle-class neighbours, it was interesting to see an interview with a middle-class woman about the origins of the middle class. As my parents are quite sceptical of the middle-class, it was also interesting to hear a different side to their story, and to find out how they justify their particular tastes and styles. The woman in this interview said that:

Grayson Perry interviews a 'middle-class' woman in
Tumbridge Wells

"The middle classes are almost by definition the class that does not know it's place...it was originally the sort of merchant class. They weren't the workers, they weren't the land owners, they were the self-made people...They're unsure of their place, so they want to appear more sure of their place so they try too hard and they want to appear good, virtuous, respectable, as if they deserve their place"

Perry interviews a 'middle-class' mother about
her child-related anxieties

This perspective of the middle-class was completely unknown to me before watching this programme, especially as it was a perspective admitted by someone who is middle-class themselves.

I also found this programme to be enlightening as it made me aware of how much the classes are merging in contemporary society. It made me wonder what class I belong to, and if it is possible to move up a class or if it is decided for you at birth.
I can't wait for the next episode on Tuesday, as it is about the upper-class, which is the class I know the least about.

Britain in a Day (2012)

Yesterday I watched BBC2's captivating documentary- Britain in a Day. This series followed on from the 2011 BBC documentary Life in a Day. On the 12th of November, people were asked by the programme to film an activity that took place in their day around the 12th November 2011 and send it to them via YouTube. The chosen clips were then organised into different categories (such as marriage, death, day, night etc) and shown on BBC2 on the 11th June 2012 (yesterday).

BBC's previous Life in a Day documentary

The programme was deeply moving and really captured the everyday life of British people. It was very skillfully edited, and the soundtrack used really emphasised the emotions of the people and moments in the clips. The soundtrack also helped to make the documentary have more of an emotional impact on the viewers. Just like after watching Life in a Day, I felt strong sense of appreciation for the beauty and rareness of life.

I did actually enter two videos for this programme which unfortunately did not get selected. One of them was of my boyfriend's dog running frantically in circles as he played the drums, and the other was of my mum doing a trick with her eyes that she used to fool me with as a child. As I found out about the programme quite last minute, I didn't have a lot of time to plan what I was going to film on the 12th November. I think if the BBC do another In a Day documentary I will try and enter another clip.

Bleak Moments (1971)

Skipping back in time a little to one of Mike Leigh's first films from the 70s called Bleak Moments.  Although the settings of the previous Mike Leigh film's I have watched were bleak, I think that this film really 'out-bleaks' the others, then again from the title of the film this was kind of what I was expecting.


My first impressions on watching the film was that there was notably less humour and dialogue, and the soundtrack relied entirely on diegetic sound. The diegetic music provided the musical soundtrack for the whole film.

Long shots of characters travelling

In terms of narrative, to be quite honest I found the film quite boring, although I persisted in watching it to make sure I have a justified and balanced opinion of Mike Leigh's work. The lack of dialogue and humour combined with long lengths of shot made the film quite slow paced and dense. However there was a sense of originality in the film and I did find myself wondering what would happen next.

Bleak setting typical to Leigh's films

Although the narrative wasn't particularly thrilling or engaging, I did still take note of a few techniques that Leigh used that I found quite interesting.

For example in the in the long shots of the characters walking in the picture above, I found it interesting that Leigh chose not to attach a mic to the characters. Instead, we hear the sound as if we were really hearing them from across the street, which I think mirrors Mike Leigh's desire to portray every day British life in an almost voyeuristic way.

Overall I preferred the previous Mike Leigh films that I have watched, but I think that this film was still worth watching in order to get a balanced view of his films, and also to see how his style has developed over time.

Life is Sweet (1990)

Just about to watch Life is Sweet. According to my dad it's not one of Mike Leigh's best films, as the characters are a bit over-acted and stereotypical. However I'm going to give it a go-it's always good to have a balanced view of a director so you can have a justified opinion of them. I'm going to take some notes along the way too.
Pressing the play button.....now.

Jim Broadbent

Ah..the cast is coming up-Alison Steadman and Timothy Spall are on the agenda. I've only ever seen Alison Steadman in Gavin and Stacey so it will be interesting to see her in something different.
Oh I must have missed Jim Broadbent! Took me a while to recognise him, he looks so much younger.

Dinner scene in Life is Sweet

Dinner scene in All or Nothing

This dinner scene reminds me a lot of the dinner scene in All or Nothing, even the wallpaper is similar. Again Mike Leigh is portraying the bleak every-day life of the working family.

Stephen Rea in Life is Sweet/ The Butcher Boy

It's a coincidence that after watching The Butcher Boy Stephen Rea is playing 'Patsy' in Life is Sweet. He plays an alcoholic in both of them too! Also, in most of the Mike Leigh films I have watched so far, I have noticed that nearly all of the characters have appeared in the Harry Potter series.

I think that whilst watching more films I am definitely going to be able to recognize more actors so when I perhaps come to make films in the future I will have good references for my characters.

The wooden pillars in the pub frame the characters

I found Mike Leigh's framing technique really interesting. I like the way he uses elements of the environment to frame the shots. I think that it shows how the characters' environment reflects the lives of the people within them. It's almost like we become apart of our environments over time.

The door frame in this shot creates the frame. It creates a voyeuristic
effect.

Overall I really enjoyed this film! I disagree with my dad's opinion completely. Although some of the characters are comically over-acted, I think that this is a deliberate feature of the film and makes the film more entertaining, and I think that the comic elements were balanced equally with melancholic ones.

All Or Nothing (2002)

Dysfunctional family dinner

I have begun my viewing of Mike Leigh films, kick-starting with All or Nothing starring Mike Leigh's favourites Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. It also starred Sally Hawkins who played the lead in Happy Go Lucky, and James Corden.

Timothy Spall (Phil) plays a depressive taxi driver

Like most of his films, All or Nothing is a bleak yet humourous portrayal of British society. According to BBC News,

Leigh said he was able to focus on "ordinary people's lives" because "I haven't somehow fallen into some swimming pool in LA and forgotten about what I once cared about as a film-maker.

Although I think some of the characters were slightly over-acted, I do think that it was a really engaging film, and had a perfect balance of humour and melancholy.

London Calling

Some of my friends and I made this film back in December last year for a competition for Film Nation. The brief was to create a film that conveyed the main values of the Olympics (courage, equality, friendship, respect, determination, excellence, inspiration, truce).

Our film documents the day in the life of 17 year old Harold 'Mole' Gordon- Smith as he races around London; making urban playgrounds of the city's iconic buildings and spaces that he climbs, darts and leaps around on.

Winner of the 'Best Fiction
17-19' award

Poster we put up around school to gain
votes

Filming was completed in one day, starting early in the morning and wrapping up towards late in the evening. The fantastic mixture of urban and classical architecture in London made us spoilt for choice when choosing iconic places and areas to film, and we had a lot of fun exploring central looking for interesting parkour spots for Mole to run, swing and jump around on. The editing process was a bit more tedious however, taking us many hours to achieve a film that we were finally happy with.

'Film of the Month Award'

We accomplished the editing process on iMovie, where
 a few ideas had to be scrapped in order for the film to
 appear more professional and be completed in time.
For example we originally had a voice over planned but
lacked the appropriate sound recording gear for the job.

I composed the music for the film using Garage Band.

Mention from Panasonic UK

So far it has won the 'Best Fiction' 17-19' award, and 'Best Film of the Month'. The awards are going to be presented at the British Film Institute by director Mike Leigh, so I am going to make sure I have watched some of his films before the event in July.

The Butcher Boy (1997)

Today I watched Niel Jordan's adapation of Patrick McCabe's The Butcher Boy. 
It had an unusual yet engaging narrative which was portrayed excellently by the actors. Eammon Owens's (Francie) performance was fantastic, especially for such a young actor.
It was also interesting to see how Fiona Shaw's character (Mrs Nugent) was similar to the character she plays in Harry Potter, and I think that this film would have contributed to her being cast for that role.

Francie and his best friend Joe (Alan Boyle) play
 happily at the beginning of the film

The film begins with the jolly, slightly over-acted antics of young Irish schoolboys and it all seems very naive, similarly to Kes. However, the development of Francie's character from a slightly naughty schoolboy was quite suprising, as his paranoia emerges and he shocks the audience with his brutal murder of Fiona Shaw's character Ms Nugent.  The portrayal of Francie's imagination was interesting, as it was unclear whether the Virgin  Mary was a hallucination or what he is merely pretending to see.

Father Sullivan (Milo O'Shea) molests young Francie as
Francie recalls his vision of the Virgin Mary

I might see if I can buy the book that this film is based on as it would be interesting to see if the plot or characters differ at all. I also definately want to get hold of some more Neil Jordan film so I can get a better idea of what his style is like.

This grim scene shows Francie playing his
Father's (Stephen Rea) trumpet as he lies
dying on the chair.