Target audience

The target audience for a modern urban life film would typically be around 15-25 years old. Our film scene is aimed at around the same ages.  We have tried to include recognizable places and familiar situations for the audience to be able to feel similar emotions to the characters and imagine being in the same situation and events as them, which means the audience is faced with asking themselves questions and coming to their own judgements.

We have thought about Maslow's hierarchy of needs when thinking about every aspect of how we are going to appeal to our audience. We want to capture, excite and grip our audience so we did this through fore filling the audiences needs one by one to satisfy and incorporate everything we could. The basic needs that we have inserted into our scene that allows us to move to the next stage of our audiences needs include love (which is shown throughout by the use of Stacey) and human interaction and intimacy. The safety of the characters as the next set of needs is fairly crushed when the character comes out of prison with now where to go, and no family to go back to. This is also failed by the fact that another character is on their case and so throughout the scene the characters are constantly looking behind their back and being on edge with morality being constantly debateable. However, we have given the characters a sense of love and belonging when Stacey finally agrees to help Ali which creates love and the start of a friendship. However after this, the needs of the audience are left as this is an urban life film and is not supposed to give the audience everything they need as its reflecting the characters life and situations.




Our psychographic audience is the STUGGLERS and REFORMERS.




The strugglers can relate to our film because the typical struggler seeks escape and is normally alienated and disorganised in terms of their life/background and every day situations they find themselves in. They seek the feeling of impact and sensation they get in a film and they also tend to buy alcohol, junk food , lottery tickets.  Our film is very relatable to the strugglers because there are familiar aspects within the film e.g hoodies, violence and drugs that will make the audience aware they are not alone and make them feel less alienated.




The reformers seeks enlightenment and therefore can relate to our film as our actor also seeks safety and personal growth. The seekers have social - awareness and independent judgement. They are typically anti-materialistic but aware of good taste. They can relate to our film not by visual aspects like the strugglers, but the emotional and determination from the actors themselves.


Our demographic audience come from the lower, working class with little income and the majority claiming some type of benefit. The age of our target audience is around 15-25 and both genders. The audience is possibly interested and has their personal attitude towards friends, violence, materialistic items, relationships, drugs and alcohol.



Research of similar films

1. Bullet boy

An inner-city London boy named Ricky has served time in Prison for a stabbing, however tries to turn his life around. He gets involved in a lot of unavoidable conflict and has no option but to try and save himself and his friend Wisdom.

This narrative is surprisingly very similar to ours as it still portrays prison and unexpected conflict. The character in this film goes through similar events to overcome confrontation through desperation. In the trailer it is clear there are conventions and aspects of that film that are very similar to ours. There is clearly a struggle to keep a relationship going however remains passionate and emotional throughout. The majority of the film is set on the streets just like our scene however with them being in the suburbs, we have used the city centre. 

 

2. Sugarhouse



Tom, a middle class working man finds himself lost of everything when he loses his job and his girlfriend in the same week. Thinking he must end it all, he ventures to a squat in East London in attempt to purchase a gun from a homeless crack addict named D. However the gun doesn't belong to D and the owner Hoodwink wants the gun back. Hoodwink goes on a revenge path and Tom find himself in a lot of trouble and abuse.

This film includes some major conventions that are similar to how we have also tried to portray our film to the audience such as guns, violence, clothing and drug dealing. In the trailer to Sugarhouse, the area in which it is set is a lot more similar to ours as it includes a vast amount of graffiti which is seen in almost every shot of the trailer.  The area also has the neglected look with very low-key lighting which emphasizes danger throughout. Another aspect which is very closely relatable to ours is the amount and type of violence which is portrayed.

3.Kidulthood



Three teenagers and their girlfriends spend two days in London. They struggle to stay on the right side of the law as they grow up in a mixed income area of London. The story follows a pregnancy of one of the girls, drug taking and violence.

This film trailer I have also studied includes the characters wearing hoodies, smoking, fleeing from trouble, being on the streets and violence; which we have also included. This film is probably the most relatable to our film because the characters are of a younger age and so the situations and emotions are very similar to what we experience. Naturally its harder to relate to an older adult as ages deal with situations differently. This film reflects the fact that the young generation are trying to be older than we are and so emotions and physical aspects of this film are very strongly relatable. 

Narrative conventions and structure

Typically, and through research, an urban life film narrative begins with a protagonist who is illustrated in their natural environment/ social class. Some typical environments would include

• Inner-city
• Ghetto
• Council estates
• Parks
• Alleyways
• Broken down buildings
• Illegal shelters
• Prison

The protagonists family and friends are also shown sometimes, reflecting their relationships with other characters

There is then a disruption caused by an environment change or the antagonist. This gives the protagonist a challenge or issue in which they have to overcome. The protagonist would typically undergo life-threatening encounters and has to make big decisions.

This then forces the protagonist to make an escape from his issues/ problems and due to their actions, more problems are possibly created for others connected to the protagonist., sometimes even death.

Protagonist- Main character within a group, typically from a dysfunctional home, in a relationship and possible negative outlook on life due to social class

Antagonist- Considered a dangerous person for the protagonist, possible ex-friend, rival gang member or sibling

Others- Are people that would accompany the main characters in their daily lives such as barbers, postman or shopkeeper



Conventions of urban life

 

Urban drama is commonly known for its illustrations towards a realistic outlook of society and social issues. The typical urban life film also known as 'hood films' often shows aspects of urban 'black culture' and typically include rap, gangs, drug use, racism. murder and violence. Many of urban life films are produced to educate most of the audience and expose and teach them about many social issues surrounding todays society.


Conventions of urban life:

 

• Dark coloured outerwear clothes
• Hoodies/ tracksuits
• Trainers, watches, hats, sweatpants
• Guns, knives, drugs, bikes, dogs
• Hip hop, grime. drum and bass, rap, garage, R&B
• Fading in editing to show memories or flashbacks
• Amplifying tone
• Suburbs
• City noise, traffic, police
• Flats, small, dirty homes
• Low-key lighting

 





Our Story

 

We have tried to come up with a narrative that is interesting and involving for our audience. We have thought about the use of structure to the storyline, substance and the use of interesting appeals such as familiar situations and themes that run throughout the scene.

 

Ali has just been released from prison after serving a sentence for being invloved in drug dealing and crime. He has however, been let out early due to good behaviour and other satisfactory reasons. He is making his way home on public transport to his home city of Bristol. His destination is his half-way house, however Ali is reluctant to go there. Ali knows that now he is out of prison, he still owes money to his previous drug dealers and so is weary of where he is seen just in case his previous drug dealer Dom is around the area still. In the time of desperation and being cautious of his surroundings, Ali bumps into a girl who we soon recognise to be Stacey, which is Ali's ex partner. After an innitual moment to recognise and take in the coincidence, Ali asks Stacey to help him but she is reluctant to and needs more persuading. Stacey finally agrees to take in Ali for the night and so they both start to head on their way. However, Dom appears and interupts the two's conversation and instantly starts comfronting and arguing with Ali. Ali and Stacey start to flee before they reach a dead end. Dom eventually gets hit by Stacey in a moment of panic and he falls to the ground. Thinking Dom is dead, Ali and Stacey run away not realizing their fate that Dom is still alive and seeks revenge on the two.



Exposition - Ali is to be released from prison
Development - Ali is released and is on his way home to Bristol
Complication - Ali bumps into Stacey but Dom finds the two and starts a fight
Climax - Dom and Ali fight, Dom is hit and left on the floor, Ali and Stacey run away
Resolution - Dom is left, however he wakes up and ends on a cliff-hanger

Characters:

Ali - Hero
Dom - Shadow
Stacey - Herald


1.Exposition - We are setting the scene and introducing the characters by using establishing shots and shots of the main character in their natural environment. This is how we learn who the characters are and learn a bit abut their lifestyle by the place we have put them in.


2. Development - We introduce two more characters and realize that a situation is about to be unfolded. The situation is one character bumping into another after a long time without seeing each other.


3. Complication - Another character interrupts the others and we find out that a tense situation is about to happen between all the characters.


4. Climax - The suspense is high as there is a series of threats, fights and violence between all the characters which creates more problems. We feel the tension through the characters body language and facial expressions.


5. Resolution - We have decided to leave the scene on a cliff hanger to leave the suspension and mystery to the viewer. This intrigues the audience into what happens next to the characters and how they are going to resolve or come to a final ending later in the film.



 

Urban Life film scene

We have chosen to use the Bearpit in Bristol city centre as our location for our urban life film scene.

Dated back to the 1970's the bear pit was originally named after its appearance, relating closely to a bear enclosure at a zoo. It was the annual place of St James fair until closed in 1838. St James Barton roundabout (the correct name for the bearpit) was made a place of planted flowers and ornamental gardens in 1880, however by the late 1980's it became a haunt of beggars and homeless abusing the area which made the area feel aggressive and intimidating.  

The Bearpit in the daytime is a lovely area to walk through and stop for a drink or food at the small cafes situated inside, however at night the area turns to a darker, more scary area of Bristol and this is why we have chosen to use the Bearpit as our location for our Urban life film scene. The graffiti filled subways give the perfect place for the atmosphere we are trying to create while giving interest to the viewers eye and help add to the mise-en-scene. The area is perfectly fitted to our urban life film conventions as it includes

• Dark subways
• Graffiti walls giving the illusion of disruption and damage
• Low-key lighting from small streetlamps and underground subway lighting
• Busy traffic and loud noise
• The people that gather there also represent our genre (beggars and gangs)