The student learned a great deal about gritty realism films from their preliminary task to completing their full film project. Through research on films like "Bullet Boy", "Green Street", and "Adulthood", the student found that gritty realism films tell intense stories that reflect real life situations, despite their low budgets. The student also realized these films have simple opening sequences showing clips that leave audiences wanting more, without special effects. To create an authentic gritty realism film, the student used a basic camera and edited the film themselves without help, learning new technology like iMovie in the process.

1. Looking back at your preliminary
task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to
the full product?
By Charlotte Whitfield

2. Film Knowledge…
Before starting this project my Knowledge on
Gritty Realism films was only based on the tiny
handful of British and foreign films I have
seen. I find foreign films to fit this category as
well as some British film industries like Warp.
America focuses on Blockbusters and
films they know will attract a large audience;
like a get rich quick scheme for films.
I did research on a few well known Gritty
Realism films like “Bullet Boy”, “Green Street”
and “Adulthood” . I found that these films
despite working on a low budget had more
intense story lines that fit in with the mirage
of real life situations.
Through my audience research I found that a
large majority would watch films like these but
only when they wanted to think about what
they were watching and look into the films
depth. I also found out that these kind of low
budget films don’t get many screenings and
only make their money after they are out on
DVD. Sometimes it takes a few years in order
for these films to get any real publicity.

3. Opening Sequences.
• Through analysing films Warp
Films has produced along with
other independent films I got to
understand the layout of these
Gritty realism films that are
popular in British culture. All
these films have opening
sequences very similar to each
other for example the text is
simplistic and the opening
sequence doesn’t have any
special effects to draw the
audience in, they only show clips
of the story to leave the audience
wanting to know more.
• The Film Bullet Boy has an opening
sequence that fits into this category of
film because at the tart you see this
small boy hiding in a dark and confined
place so it instantly initiates the
audience to start thinking of the
possibilities to why the boy is there or
for that matter where that is. I took
these opening sequences into
consideration when making my film. I
knew it had to be something to grab my
target audiences attention while
keeping them interested in the story
rather then wowing them and
entertaining them with fancy special
effects.

4. Technology
• Through this Project I have
used a variety of different
technology both for this
evaluation and for filming. I
have never really used
anything like IMovie on this
scale before and I have never
made a Blog either which was
actually easier than expected.
• For Filming I used the Sony
HandyCam. If I was making a
Block buster then this was not
the best quality camera to use
but it fit well with the gritty
realism feel.
I didn’t use the tripod because I
had to make sure to have high and
low angles and this would have
slowed me down, looking back I
wish for some clips I had used a
tripod because the steadiness of
the camera looked too amateur to
show. Thankfully when I used
IMovie it changed my opening from
just an ordinary beach camera shot
with freezing cold shaky hands to a
steady moving picture.
Once the film was completed I
had to upload it onto YouTube but I
did have problems with the saving
situation. Through 10 minutes of
resaving it I eventually got my film
published on YouTube.

5. Group Work
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• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThOTjkSrbXc

6. Time Management
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7. • In order to make the film I
basically did everything as I had
to work on my own. I was the
director and producer and I had
to choose the set in which it was
being filmed. I had minimal help
from the actors when I was being
filmed but other times when I
was not needed in a scene I
would do all the filming.
• I did all editing by myself and
researching sound effects. When
thinking of good shots for the film
I researched gritty realism films
as they have unique shots to
choose from and there is one
shot in particular that I took from
the film Lock Stock. This shot
gives a menacing out of place
aura to the character.

8. From my Preliminary
Task to now…
• With our Preliminary task we had to
make a short sequence of a gritty
realism and looking back at it now I
have noticed a few things that have
stayed the same but a lot of things
that have changed. If you look back
at the preliminary task to my opening
sequence to my film the most
common thing you realise is that they
were both set in the same
surroundings, the Sixth Form. Also
the idea of violence and criminal
activity portrayed was the same but
the preliminary was more light
hearted so the audience wouldn’t
take it too seriously. Compared to my
opening sequence I believe their
were more flaws in the Preliminary
and the editing was amateurish.
• Since then I have really developed
into the editing and also took into
consideration the shots used and in
the order they are used in. I have also
developed the sound aspect so I have
music added in that fits to the genre
portrayed unlike the preliminary
where the only sound found in that
was the dialogue, diegetic and non-
diegetic sounds.
• The editing is smoother then before
where as in the preliminary there
were fade ins where it was just their
for the sake of being there but in my
opening sequence everything has a
purpose and if it isn’t needed then it
isn’t in there.

9. Thank you