Fish Tank Case StudyThemes and Situations:At the beginning of the film we are introduced to our main character Mia and straight away we are brought into were she lives and what is happening in her environment. From this we can see that she isn't really appreciated by the people that live in the blocks of estates. We see this when she is talking to a friend's dad and also here by her use of verbal

and physical language we can tell what sort of character she is and what kind of situation she puts her self in. We also see her being stared down by the other girls that are the same age as her but it as if she does not fit in and is getting bullied and where the only way she sorted out the situation was by fighting.

Due to her mum and her sister having a small home she needs an area where she can practise her dancing, so she breaks into an empty flat in the estate to dance. This can connote that she is a rebel from the way she acts. For my

opening sequence from here we could use mainly the

situations from the film as there is mostly rivalrary between teenagers and is also a stereotype of what teenagers do now.

In her environment there is a lot of teenagers round the same age as her and they are causing hassle to residents living there and she also is doing this too. There is also a lot of underage drinking and smoking which show what parents don't take control of. Representation (Stereotypes and Archetypes):Straight away we can see the stereotype from Mia as she is wearing a tracksuit and trainers which is a clear stereotype of a chav, just from the way she is dressed. Through the representation

of age we can see from Mia's mum, she tries to act younger than she is and we see this from when she is dancing in her underwear in the kitchen in front of her two daughters. Usually a common stereotype of a British mum does not act in this manner but it maybe due to their environment that causes them to be in this way and she also is abusive.Mise-en-scene:From the setting we can see clearly the gritty, urban setting and is full of teenagers to bring in that whole realistic feel of what British Realism is. There is synergy shown clearly of a music video on the TV and also a letter where the character Connor works, where they show a receipt

from Wicks, which is a common hardware store in Britain. The characters that are there we can see are quite helpless and trying to live off very little and just make do with what they have got. There is a lot of natural lighting shown throughout the film to just not loose that realism to the setting and is why

there is very low key lighting inside to make do with the natural lighting that is shown. From the Era we can clearly tell is set in the present day or maybe a couple of years ago from the synergy, dialogue and props that are used.

Music and Sound Effects:The film starts with loads of different types of music playing for example there was R&B and then reggae music, which may connote the people's background or ethnicity or maybe even their personality. There is also background sound of traffic to keep again the realism of the setting which shows clear non-diagetic sound. The weather also shows the typical British weather and again keeps the whole British Social Realism. In my opening sequence I may use music that people are mostly aware of that show what most British people do listen to this present day.

Camera work and Editing:There is a high angle to shown when our main character Mia is talking to one of the residents and here could be used to show her point of view as she is having to look up, so it is as if the camera is following with her. There are long takes used to show Mia walking and the camera also is tracking here too. There are point of view shots used and this could be used to show what it is like in her position or through her eyes. Throughout the film there are straight cuts used and just simple continuity editing used this could be due to the budget the film had and also most British Social Realism films do that just as that is the style they choose to film and edit like. There are also establishing shots used to show us the audience the place and setting and show typical British council estates. From the camera work we can tell it is clear to show establishing shots to let the audience be aware of the place of setting and here from the establishing shots used in the film we can clearly see that is was filmed in Barking and Dagenham.

Dialogue:The dialogue from our main character Mia clearly shows a London accent and she uses a lot of slang which is very common from teenagers in Britain, so again keeps that whole realism to it still. But however the slang is quite violent towards individuals especially from the mum as she is swearing and acting violently towards Mia, but here we see the real mother role she is meant to show but she shows it in a more abusive way than another usual mother would. This also shows a very strange relationship between mother and daughter but this then just emphasises on the gritty British areas like Barking and Dagenham. For my opening sequence I also think it is important to show this sort of language that is used mostly by British citizens.

Institutional Background:This film is a BBC film and was funded by UK film council, from this we can tell from their budget how it shows those elements of the film being an independent film.

BBC Films

UK Film Council Limelight Communication Content Film Kassander Film Company

Audience Breakdown:This is going to appeal to an audience within maybe Barking and Dagnehem or within somewhere in Britain, due it being a British Social Realism film and here this our audience can relate to the characters and setting, because of where it is set and the characters shown. Where it is being aimed at a niche audience, it is clearly only going to be advertised by internet as it is the only way that a film with a low budget can market. 

Marketing Strategy:The marketing strategy would have been very different for this film due to the budget so something like a trailer shown on TV would be less likely to happen. However most of it’s marketing contents would be online and more on sites and other sites like you tube where a trailer would be available for the public to see freely.