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)