Ill Manors Music Video

Music Video Analysis

1) Media forms

One convention that is seen in this music video that is typical of other music videos seen in the past is the use of a storyline through both the words as well as footage. This is apparent when the artist (known as Plan B) focuses the majority of this song on the London riots in 2011. In addition, the music video also shows youngsters dressed as criminals doing violent action in society which is a clear indication to the London riots. This is because the majority of 'typical' music videos often portray a certain storyline. These story lines can be either contrapuntal (clips do not match the song) to the music or parallel (make sense with the music. This song made by Plan B delivers a clear message in his music videos which acts as the story-line/narrative of the music video. For example, Plan B says the following, " ...council kids scum..." suggests that the narrative behind this video is societies perception of the youth and ow they effect peoples lives, including the government. There is a key binary opposition seen in this music video, which is 'the government vs the youth'. This binary opposition plays a key part in the narrative of this music video and delivers a powerful message to the consumer to keep them engaged,

Another key convention that is seen in this music video is having Plan B in the actual music video. Although, the majority of today's music videos contain the artist, it is still a convention seen in 'typical music videos'. Plan B is the main person to be seen in the music video a lot where he sings the words to the song as well. By having the artist play in the music video does act as a way to attract the audience even more as they are eager to know how they are singing (compared to their last music video) and how they look etc. In today's society, music video's are gradually beginning to have less screen time of the artist and have the majority of the music video focus on actors who are telling the story through the words that the artist are saying. This form of change in the music videos hasn't happened a lot, but is seen to be widely accepted by the audience and therefore, can likely be a significant change to music videos as a whole.

Finally, another key convention seen in this music video is the build up of a symbolic event. This is apparent through out the music video when Plan B develops his narrative as well as the footage developing the symbolic meaning. Both of these help to build a symbolic meaning which is the power of the youth. The youth is seen tearing up the streets of London showing their power and dominance over the government. It is this symbol and meaning that the music video is developing; to try and get a message across to as many people as possible. In addition, there is synergy in this music video. Plan B has recently made a film (at the time of filming this music video) which is called "Ill Manors". Synergy is cross promotion between two (or more) media forms for example in this music video, it is promoting the film Ill Manors. The music video contains 'cameos (people who do not effect the narrative but are famous people that are in a clip for a small amount of time e.g. Stan Lee in Marvel movies)'. This music video has cameos of the actors from the film Ill Manors and this acts as a way for Plan B to promote his upcoming film by introducing some of the actors gin his music video.

2) Media Representations

One way in which this music video represents London Rioters is in a cruel and unfair way. This is apparent in the music video, where children are dressed up as hoodlings and cover their face with a bandanna to cover their identity. These connotations and props used within the music video all point at a negative view point of the London Rioters. Furthermore, the portrayal of the youth in this clip accentuates the fact that youngsters are lay breakers and are out of control as they are seen destroying public properties as well as vehicles. Medhurts theory come into this, the ideology of the police force and youth. The police are represented as dominant and that they are going to resolve the situation, whereas the youngsters are represented as the dangerous and disobedient ones that need to be stopped. In addition, Richard Dyers stereotyping and power is also represented in this music video. Constantly seen in this music videos, references to actual news papers. This supports Dyers theory as it is seen that those in 'power' are stereotyping those who have less power. In this case it is the government who are portraying the youth in such a way, and it is the youth being portrayed like that due to them having less power.

In addition, another way in which this music video represents London Rioters is in a heroic way. This is apparent in the video, where there a a hoodling helping out an old lady cross the road. This is because the video is trying to show society what the youth are 'actually' like and that the media's perception on them is incorrect (as well as the governments). Furthermore, the proffered reading of this music video is that the London Rioters are causing nothing but harm to people's lives and society. However, an alternative perception is (from a youngsters perspective) that the rioters are giving them a voice. The rioters are trying to get all of England's youth to be heard and are acting in such a way to benefit all of them. In a way, the rioters are presented as the heroes (in the alternative way) and the police are presented as the villains who do not want their voice to be heard.

3) Media Audiences

One way audience pleasure that the music video offers is the use of education and informative data. This is apparent, where the music videos shows establishing shots of London and the poor areas of it and what the people nearby do in those areas. This is because this video is posted on YouTube and shared around many social media sites and therefore, it is likely that this video will be in the hands of many viewers around the world. As a result, information about the streets of London during the time can be of use to many people. These events that take place within the music video can have an effect of viewers as they can learn a lot from the life of youngsters in the streets of London as well as the perception of the government. The use of the two-step flow model is shown in this music video as the actual singer (Plan B) is trying to convey his perception of the London Riots in his music video in order to change the mind set of his fans.

Another way audience pleasure that the music video offers is the use of hypocrisy. It is evident in this music video, where there is a contrapuntal tone within this entire music video. On one hand Plan B is talking about the politicians being the cruel ones, however the music video clips themselves is going against that as everyone is seen to be doing bad things. This level of hypocrisy may not be the intention but is still giving out this meaning of the youth being out of control rather than the 'good' people. Furthermore, this can generate societies mind to keep thinking that the youth are to blame for societies current issues as this music video shows how they are rebellious to everyone and that they can cause harm. The hypodermic needle can also be implied with this music video. This is because society have been forced to consume this type of representation on the youth and believe that it is correct rather than countering this argument.

Finally, one way audience pleasure that the music video offers is the use of poverty tourism. This is apparent in this music video, where there is a large group of young kids on the streets and stealing expensive things. These actions all reveal that there is a sense of poverty in this music video in the streets of London. This can attract a large amount of people who are interested in those who are in poverty and this music video acts as a way to promote this. People can gain an interpretation of London and how people are being treated in less known streets such as the one in this music video. Perkins theory can be supported, as we see youngsters stealing things (such as a TV) it is evident that although they are in poverty they are youngsters who dress in a way that threatens people and so it can be a true stereotype to them.

4) Media Institutions

One way in which the music video helped promote the film Ill Manors was the use of having cameos. Cameos are famous actors who make an appearance in a film or footage for a small amount of time and acts as a surprising moment to the audience. This is evident in this music video as we see many times, actors from the actual film seen within this music video. This acts a cross promotion also known as synergy between both the movie and the music video. The music video tries to promote the movie by having its main stars present during this music video which will act as a way to encourage fans to watch the film Ill Manors. An example of a cameo is Stan Lee, who  appears in many Marvel films (that are linked to the MCU). Furthermore, both the film and music video both share a similar sense of tone. The tone seen in Ill Manors as well as this music video is very much similar which acts as a form of promotion as well as it gives the audience a better understanding and feel of the film if they would want to go and watch it.

Another way in which the music video helped promote the film is the setting and theme that the music video was based on. The music video is set during the London Riots (before the Olympics) and the film (Ill Manors) is set in the same time period as the song. This is apparent in the music video, where we (the audience) can clearly see the rioters destroying the streets of London with flame bottles and using weaponry for defence. Similarly, in the Ill Manors movie trailer, we see many shots of the setting of where the majority of this film will be taking place and it seemed to be near the Olympic stadium. This acts as a form of promotion for the film as it allows the fans of the music video to get a better insight into what the theme of the movie is going to be like (before even watching it). Theme is one of the most important factors to an audience and if it is done right, it can make the promotion very successful similarly, to this cross promotion.

Finally, one other way in which the music video helped promote the film Ill Manors was having their music exclusive to the movie. This is apparent in the Ill Manors trailer, where (towards the end) the new soundtrack from Plan B is played until the title sequence appears. This is another way in which the music video acts acts a promotion for the movie as Plan B has exclusive soundtracks along with this film which is obviously used to attract his fans in to watching the movie (not just for the new soundtrack). Furthermore, the trailer seems to promoting the music video as well  as fans who are familiar with Plan B and come across this trailer will suddenly realise that he has launched a new song without even hearing it in the first place.

Ill Manors Soundtrack Research Task

Record companies

• Warner Brothers Records
• Atlantic Records
• 679 Artists
• Mercury Records

Sales/downloads for the track

• Week ending 7th 2012, Ill Manors landed number 6 on the UK singles chart with first weeks sales of around 37,455 copies. The track marks the musician in he top 10 hit following his previous album called "Stay Too Long"

Music Reviews

• Guardian- 4/5 stars "It's still relentlessly grim: you can see why Drew appended an uplifting moral to the story in the shape of Live Once, but its inspirational message feels at odds with what's come before "
• NME- 8/10 "But take the album as a whole and you get what he’s getting at. The songs, which move back and forward across generations, tell the same story"
• Telegraph- (No rating) "Drew’s ambitions clearly extend beyond music but while the 28 year-old’s somewhat frenetic directorial debut added up to less than the sum of its parts, this album succeeds at landing blow after blow."

Plan B's Fans Reviews and Comments

• Generally, all of the comments section in the YouTube comments are all full of positive opinions on their thoughts of the video as well as Plan B as a rapper. The most occurred comment seen through out the comments section is that the story told in this music video still happens today and that this music should be known today as it hold a lot of peoples values. The YouTube video of the Ill Manors music video has got a total of 38,723 likes and only a tiny amount of dislikes showing that their is support for Plan B's words. 

Ill Manors Trailer Analysis

Trailer Analysis

1) Codes and conventions:

• The police vs ordinary people
• Society vs crime
• Struggler vs the free
• Dominant vs the weak

2) How are trailer distributed?

Trailers are often short clips from the actual film. The film doesn't necessarily have to be completed in order for the trailer to be made. There are two types of trailers that can be produced. One is a 'Teaser Trailer" which often gets released 6 months or even a year before the actual film is released. A teaser trailer is often 30 seconds long and is designed to features the characters appearance and storyline briefly. Often the teaser trailer is used to built anticipation and 'hype' for the audience as they get to view the first 'look' at the film. The second form of trailer is known as the 'Theatrical Trailer'. This trailer is used to provide the audiences with more knowledge and information about the film such as the plot line, the characters back story as well as introducing the tone in which the film is set. There is an entire industry which is focused on producing trailers for big name films. These businesses are to extract significant scenes from the film and implement them in to a clip which will build anticipation for the film. These include, fight scenes, the villain of the film or even the resolution that is to be made. Then, the company is to find a suitable sound track to go along with the clips that have been crated. Often this step as already been taken in to considerate as the clips have to contrast with the music that is playing. An example of sound contrast in a trailer which has done very well is the Batman V Superman trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yViIi3gie2c . Once this is complete, the clips can now be rendered and published as it should meet the requirements for setting the tone and building the anticipation for the film.

3) How does Ill Manors trailer use trailer convention?

There are several ways in which the IlL Manors trailer follows the key conventions for a trailer. One being that it sets the tone for the film. The tone (judging from the trailer) seems to convey a darker tone in the streets of London. This is really important when making a trailer as the trailer needs to reflect the tone in which the film is going to portray. In addition, the next most important key convention that Ill Manors trailer follows is revealing the characters included within the film and and in sight into their background, giving the audience important information about the film. Finally, the choice of music that was present in this trailer helped to illustrate the kind of audience that  this film may attract which seems to be teenagers (15-25 demographic). This also sets the genre of the film which seems to be a crime drama.

4) Target audience and possible USP?

There are several parts within this trailer that convey the type of audience that this film attracts. Firstly, the tone of the trailer gives off a grime and gritty theme to the trailer showing that this film isn't for a family but rather for teenagers who understand the dark tone as well as violence. Moreover, there is excessive references to prostitution as well as drugs. These references according to the BBFC agree ratings for films, any references to such content is classified 15 or over (18). Finally, another thing that shows the type of demographic that this film is targeting is the use of dialogue. There is not narrator in this trailer, but there is voice-overs of characters dialogue from the film. This style of narrating really work well to attract an older age group as they are more into the visuals rather than the narrators voice and by having scenes where characters say dialogue really helps to deliver that.

A possible USP that Ill Manors may have is the use of Plan B's tracks. In this trailer, the director (who is a member of Plan B group) has revealed a glimpse into one of the bands latest tracks within this trailer. In a way, having exclusive sound track makes the film have a USP as fans of the band are more likely to go an watch this due to their relation with the music artists. Moreover, in today's society, people expect trailer to cut to the beat of the music that is paying in the background (example is Batman V Superman trailer). This is seen as an expectation now days and has revolutionised the way that trailers are made. The Ill Manors trailer has followed this trend of cutting to the beat. Towards the end, (when the rap music plays) the scenes are edited according to the drop in the sound which flows the expectations (now days) of modern trailers.
The main stars are present during the trailer but the second main character- Ed has low amount of screen time in the trailer than compared to Aaron (who is the main character). The accent of the main characters seem to be 'slang' and have a very street-like accent. This form of dialogue also addresses the teenage audience as they would more likely watch a film that appeals to them both visually and verbally.

5) Genre of film?

The impression that I get when previewing this trailer, it seems to be a crime drama. The reason for this is, is because of all the violence and violent acts that appear throughout this trailer. Moreover, there is no comedic, family, thriller tone to this movie. I would also think that the genre is action due to the amount of physical violence and blood seen in this trailer. The genre has been identified through the the character who gets out of prison. This character somewhat reveals the type of genre this film is as his is seen with drugs and handles a gun which are all reference to action and crime genre. In addition, the film is seen to be set around the streets of London where there are many run-down estates. This location conveys the the type of characters that the audience are going to see- they are from a broken home and have been influenced to the life of street crime due to this. Finally, the colour gives away the 'feel' of the film, it is seen (at times in the trailer) that it is black and white. These colours connote a violent theme as well as mystery within the film.

Ill Manors Film Review

Review of the film Ill Manors

Key Points	Evidence from film	Your opinion
Director- who is it and what else have they directed that you have heard of?	The director of this film hasn’t directed any other film apart from Ill manors, however has been an actor. Known for: ·         The Sweeney (George Carter) ·         Harry Brown (Noel Winters)	I really like the overall use of the shots that were used during the film. Moreover, I like the effects of fire that were present during the end scene as it built into the atmosphere of engaging the audience to see what happens next.
Main stars- Who are they? Will people be familiar with them already? What are they known for?	The main protagonists are: ·         Aaron (played by Riz Ahmed)- known for ‘Night Crawler) ·         Ed (played by Ed Skrein)- known for Transporter Refuelled.	Riz Ahemd has gone far within film career as he has boosted from Arthouse films to big Hollywood films such as Night Crawler. Ed Skrein has also boosted as he has now been in many more big name film franchises such as the Transporter series.
Plot- what is the film about?	Based on a young man called Aaron who is struggling to make money and find the best way of getting it through selling a baby to an un-known family.	This form of story-line seems to be clichéd, however it has a modern day twist on it. It is based around the people who are from the estates and their perception of such events.
Characters- Who are the main ones and which actors play them? Comment on the quality of acting.	Riz Ahmed plays the character Aaron and his quality of acting is very strong. He maintains this strong chemistry of bravery and risk taking and is evident that he has done well as an actor in this film. Furthermore, Ed Skrein has also done the same. His acting was like it was real. He portrayed a violent and aggressive youth member of gangs and was great acting.	I think both actors have done very well in terms of this film. They has portrayed a style of characters that today’s community can actually relate to. Moreover, the chemistry between Aaron and Ed’s characters is something that the audience can relate to. It is the story of two best friends who will help each other out on anything.
Genre- What type of film is it? Does it fit your expectations for this type of film? How wold you describe the mood?	Genre- Crime and drama The use of having drugs, police and weaponry all fit into the same category of crime and all these factors (including many more) make the genre categorise as crime.	I see a lot of funny sense of humour between Aaron and Ed as they talk seriously to one another, however goof around as well. However, I do agree that the genre of ‘crime’ is this films main genre due to all the references to crime and drugs.
Soundtrack- Did you notice like/dislike it? How did it create the atmosphere?	It was evident from this film that the song choices were of rap and grime style music. I think that this form of music fits in very well with the atmosphere in which the director is trying to convey. Moreover, the music choice has to reflect the world in which the film is set as well as the characters.	I think that the music used really contrasted with the style of film it was. The film was based around a young man’s life in the streets of London and the choice of having grime and rap music really helped to make this atmosphere clearer. The music used was parallel to the clip that was playing.
Audience- Who is it aimed at and do you recommend it? Why?	This film, although it’s an Arthouse film it can still attract a wide group of teenagers. This is because of the level of language and setting seen in this film. Teenagers can relate to what’s happening in this film as it is set in their current living state.	I think judging from the tone and dialogue used through this film, I can agree that this film is targeted towards a teenage demographic. This due to the relations that the teenage audience can have than compared to any other age group.

The film 'Ill Manors' brings something common (in terms of storyline) to the table, however twists it in a new a refreshing way for the new generation to enjoy. The storyline being based around a young man struggling to live and sees drugs as his only way of gaining income is a very used story line in my opinion, however the story line is not of a poor man but of a teenager who's life is full of challenges which is what he wants to escape. He lives in a run down area and hangs around his friend known as Ed who has persuaded Aaron (the protagonist) to go through this drug dealing. This seems as their normal everyday life as they have been living like this for a long time. On the other hand, there is a women who is a prostitute and often gets beaten up by the man who owns her. These character bios can really have an impact on the younger audience and has done so very well. As a member of the teenage demographic I can relate to what is being said etc.

The British Film Industry: Institutional Context

Institutional Context

1) The cultural test is a 'gateway' to accessing the UK film tax relief and this is also included as one of the cafeterias used to apply for the BFI film fund. To apply for a cultural test there must be one film production company that is officially registered with Companies House. The film production must be set up before film making begins and have responsibility for all aspect of the film making process as well as pre-production.  The test is divided in to 4 sections and a film must score at least 16 out of 31 points (which are available) in order for the film to be classified as British.
This is how they rank the films via points:

2)

The Sweeney:

Financing: £3,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
Characters: Protagonists are British (4 points)
Language of dialogue: English (6 points)
Use of British creativity: 4 points
British subject matter: 4 points
Practitioners: 7 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

Attack The Block:

Financing: $8,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
British subject matter: (0 points)
Characters: British (4 points)
Language of dialogue: English dialogue used (6 points)
Use of British creativity: Black ethnicity used (4 points)
Practitioners: 7 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

The King's Speech:

Financing: £15,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
British subject matter: (4 points)
Characters: British (4 points)
Language: English (6 points)
Use of British creativity:
Practitioners: 7 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

Skyfall:

Financing: £200,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
British subject matter: 4 points
Characters: British (4 points)
Language: English dialogue (6 points)
Practitioners: 5 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

3) The main problem that the British film industry is facing is that it is production led and not rather than distribution led. This means that the film makers will have to sacrifice the distribution rights by selling the rights to a distribution company. Once the film has been sold, all revenue from cinema screenings, DVD/Blu-ray and even sales to television companies are lost. British film industry is often described as a 'cottage as in, it is small- scale and cannot compete with 'factory industries' of the Hollywood based studios. In addition, British film industry employ fewer than 10 people so it is clear that it cannot compete with large-scale American film production companies. 

4)

The Film Export Fund

• This is a fund for film makers whose films have been selected to be screened in film festivals. Film festivals are an important way of making distributors notice the availability of new and fresh films. The fund is built to to help reduce the financial risk for distributors.

Outstanding facilities

• The use of British studios, digital post production houses and camera companies all aim to attract investment from film makers around the world.

Outstanding skills of practitioners

• Films such as 'Harry Potter' have enabled British film production companies to be involved in the production of financially successful franchises.

5) The two options for the British film industry

• British film makers could chose to rely upon American studios , however much the factors that make a British film British may be lost as a result of this. 
• Attempt to make low budget films that aim to attract a niche, British audience. This option can lead to gaining lower profits due to its position in the market- niche market.  Moreover, sale of distribution rights could also mean profits are delivered back into the UK film industry. 

6)

I think that the first option "ability to rely upon American studios" would be the best route for the British film industry. This is because majority of the UK audience wouldn't severely matter whether a movie was considered 'British' or not. In fact, there would be a small amount of people who would think opposite. The factors of making a movie British doesn't play a significant role in the audiences mind as they are there to enjoy the entertainment and this factor isn't thought about often. As a result, the drawback to the first option isn't as significant to the overall UK audience. In addition, the help and use of having partnerships with American film studios helps to make the film more of a success. Films such as Harry Potter is a story that is based in England and is written by a British female author. The use of the American distributor; Warner Brothers helped the film to claim more fame and attraction than it did before. The use of having an American studio to rely upon can have great impact on audiences than the material did before the partnership came into place. 

Section B: The British Film Industry

The British Film Industry

1) A  British film must be an example of 'outstanding and original British film making'. This quote suggests that high level of creativity and innovation should be implied into the film to make it a British film.

2) There are many different factors that make Hollywood films differ from British film, these include finance, social, technology and political issues. Hollywood production context  has changed significantly since the 'Golden Age'. This was when all the studios were vertically integrated.

3) James Bond was a television series in Britain based on a spy known as '007'. It was one of the longest continually running film series in history which had started production since 1962 to the present.

4) The British Board of Film Classification is a non-government organisation which is funded by the film industry. This made the British Board for Film Classification responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom.

5) Majority of the groups that are often seen in British films are white people. There are large amounts of this ethnicity being portrayed largely in British films. Moreover, we see foreigners seen a lot, but as the villains in the film.

6)

Media Mock/PPE Feedback

Exam Feedback

LR: Re-do question 3 applying theories to the answer.

Q: (Media Representations) How is family represented in the film?

One way that family is presented is by the large use of following gender stereotypes. It is evident in the clip where the father is seen as the driver and the wife and daughter are the ones who are spectating. This representation is supported through Perkins idealogical theory. It is clear that in this clip, the male is the one who is dominant as he is driving connoting that he's in control. Perkins theory suggests that can be true. Moreover, one of Dyers lines of appeal is 'families'- that everyone wants to feel as they belong. This clip supports this to a large extent as this is a nuclear family. The use of the man being the centre of attention can also counter the stereotype. This is because men aren't seen as the ones who entertain females and therefore, the males position in this clip can also counter the stereotypes of being male dominant. Overall, the family is presented as countering the stereotypes as well as following significant gender stereotypes.

Another, way that family is represented in the clip is by being portrayed as protection. This is evident when the wife and daughter both wrap their arms in around the father/husbands body. This personification of the hands being represented as seatbelts really delivers a strong message to the consumer/audience who watch this video/clip. This clip follows Dyers family line of appeal as the audience will feel as if they want to be protected by family and this falls under the category of family in the 13 lines of appeal. Moreover, the clip counters the stereotype as it is the man who is being saved by the woman and girl. Traditionally, in the stereotypes, it is the man who is the saviours, but in this clip it is the women who are saving the man. In addition, the young wears a 'fairy' outfit which connotes that she's the rescuer who is going to save the man. Overall, the clip represents family as a form of unity and holds a strong bond with one another.

Finally, another way in which family is represented is by being a middle class family. This is apparent as the family dress and per sue the qualities that a traditional middle class family would have, as well as, the family being set in a domestic household.The use of a middle class family represents  the audience that they intend to target. Moreover, the use of being middle class in this clip shows that this advertisement is trying to have a similar approach to this matter as similar adverts tend to have a middle class culture to present in the advert. Overall, the family is being portrayed as a middle class family due to the setting and the use of being a traditional nuclear family.