The Selfish Giant_Clio Barnard.SPOILERS

The Selfish Giant was produced in 2013 by Clio Barnard. She explored the themes of family and friendship and focused on the genre of crime the most. 

The selfish giant includes two friends(Arbor and Swifty) who stick together through thick and thin, that is until Barnard included an unpredictable ending.

The opening scene of this film grabs the attention of the viewer straight away with the use of extreme close up and unusual lighting. Because it is a close up of the two friends gripping hands it also grabs out emotional side and shows us how strong their friendship is. This same shot is used at the end of the production also however the mise en scene changed slightly. The hands are dirtier(showing the struggles they've faced), the lighting darker(showing something dramatic happened) and no use of language just the muffled cries in the background.

She used cinematography numerous times in the 117 minute film however what grabbed my attention the most was when the scenes changed. I noticed that when the scene changes the division would be a quite natural landscape. The lightening would be pleasent and there would be no drama to distract us from the peaceful surrounding. These divisions also forshadow what happened/used further on in the film. For example the first division we see is a green field, with blue skies and horses. A closeup is used on with the horses telling us they may be seen later on. 

The horses are used tramensly throughout and are what help the narrative proceed. Fishtank also used horses to symbolise a characters emotion. The horse in Fishtank died and it showed us how a part of nia died with it, this is similar to the horse in Selfish giant, because when it does die it change Swiftys character as he became less 'soft'. This was a beautiful moment in the film as soon as the horse died the lighting immediately got dark to show the boys emotion and anger. 

This film is relatable two most of the people living in poverty however to me it makes me realise of how I take money, family and life in general for granted. When the two friends first receive their money for their work they each state what they were going to spend it on. Not thinking about fashion trends, electrical devices or thenself(like most teens would these days) they both chose to spend it on mums electricity and a new sofa. This touches us because they are only kids themself yet they are worring on how to keep the house warm and keep others happy.

When Swifty dies at the end Arbor feels guilty so he turns to the love of horses that Swift had when he was alive, this shows us the true extent of their friendship.

Coursework3_Further Story Board

The opening scene will be shot down my local alleyway There are two lamppost in this alleyway which supplies enough light o you are able to see what is going on, however it is also dark and creepy which will add to the mood. My main female character will be walking home from work. Late at night after a late shift at the local diner (11.00pm). This alleyway is quick wide as it leads onto a park, however due to the time it is empty. 

The alleyway is set out with overgrown allotments on either side of the pathway and a train bridge towards the end. There are only a few lamp posts throughout this scene which will create interesting lighting and a creepy atmosphere. 

Whilst approaching the tunnel she noticed a homeless person on the far left. Snuggling up to the damp wall, he was being smothered by wet newspapers and a worn down blanket. Thinking nothing of the homeless man she just walks round him. Here I will include over the shoulder shots and close ups. Close-ups will be used to show the conditions he is living in (blanket, gratified wall) and an extreme close up on the girls reaction of finding the man. 

I will include a high shot to show the class and importance of the women compared to the man. The lady walks past the man and he bites her on the ankle. This will only be a mid shot because I want the wound to not be seen in detail until later on in the film. After being bit she runs away down the rest of the alley, this will be a fade out shot as when she gets further away the shot falls back, making the character decrease in size.

She gets home and doesn’t realise the pain spreading in the lower leg, The shock of the attack took all her attention and energy. This leaves her exhausted so she just goes to her bedroom and shuts the world away. The lighting will be dull and the overall atmosphere of her room will look really depressing to symbolise the trauma and change shes going to experience in the next couple of weeks.

In the morning she awakens and discovers the extent of the bits. This worries her as she does not know if the man carried diseases that he could have gave her. An extreme close up will be used to see the detail in the bit, and another close up of her facial expressions.  

To make this bit I will use latex and body paint. I am confident that the makeup side of this project will turn out realistic because I’ve had practice on friends and siblings.

She goes into severe depression and doesn't leave her room. Her parents and college friends don’t know why as she completely blocks them out. After several days of no eating/showering she decides to go back to college and move on with her life.

Whilst this scene is going on there will be minimal shots and angles changes. This is because I want the viewer to feel the girls emotion and to see the lack of energy she has. The only change of shot size will be the close up of her mobile ringing. This is to show the lack of contact with the outside world, also to introduce us to the characters which will be shown later on in the film.

So she goes to college and tries to get on with her life. As she enters the college she gets many odd looks. She ignores them and meets her friends; we do not see the characters face in this scene, just her back. This is to keep the audience in suspense as to what the peers are staring at. When she meets her friends, we can tell from their reaction something has changing in her appearance. We still haven’t seen her face.

She is given a mirror and we can see in the reflection (extreme close up) that one of her eyes has completely changed colour. I will use a contact lens that I had from Halloween to create this scene.  Although her eye has completely changed colour, she put it down to lack of sleep and continues with school work and social life.

Although she is carrying on with her life she is still seriously sick and her energy is decreasing. On her way to college one day she noticed her skin started to peel off. Shocked by this she didn’t know what to do. She could not feel the pain of the rotting skin yet she could see and feel it. Close up of her arm will be needed to show the full extent on her injury. 

 She went back home and refused to go college. When she was at home it got worse. Her legs, chest and back started to peel also. She hid from her family due to the risk of scare her younger sister. She smashed all the mirrors in her room, avoid looking at her disgraceful self. Blocked out her friends completely and didn’t leave her room.

It will be easy to create the peeling skin and will seem like she is actually rotting.

Realizing how bad her self-esteem had got she decided to end it once and for all. She went back to the tunnel to find the homeless man where it all began. She walked down the pathway and got to the tunnel but the man wasn’t there. She collapsed to the ground. The last shot will be a long distant zoom out of her crying on the floor. This gives the impression of a repeated cycle, as she is now in the same position as the homeless man. 

My brother the Devil_Sally El Hasaini

My brother the devil, written and directed by Sally El Hosaini is a 2012 production focussing on teenagers and living with crime.

Mainly focusing on the themes of family, friendship and haterid we learn the true value of money and to what extent teens will go to earn a living.

The opening scene shows younger brother Mo celebrating his grades when exiting his last day of high school. We can tell my his facial expression that he has received good grades for his exams. We are then introduced to Mos older brother Rashid. Rashid is seen leaving an unloved and run down house. By the Mise En Scene used particularly the body language and costum we automatically assume Rashid is the less educated and more dangerous brother. 

We are strongly introduced to the theme of Family when we discover Rashid hiding money in his mothers purse. Although this money was illegally earnt it still touches the viewers heart that a teen thug cares about his families survival. 

Sally El Hasaini explores haterid the most throughout this production as the use of violence is over whelming. Their are multiple fight scenes and unpleasant scenes of drug use, which is a relatable case for some viewers. When violent scene are showed the camera quality becomes less professional and the lighting becomes darker. This warns the viewer that something dramatic is about to happen.

I think the twist to the story really makes us anaylisis why the film is called what it is. We assume the older brother is the 'devil' due to his dodgy lifestyle however further into the film we realise the title could be based on either sibling.

Both brothers are protagonist as they both have their individual goals however because Rashid has a larger variety of goals to succeed with I feel he is the stronger protagonist.The antagonist again is the brothers as they both stop each other from doing certain things. I think that the love the characters shown for each other is the reason why their goals were unforfilled. For example Mo did not earn respect of the other gang members because he cared to much to allow them to hurt Rashid.