The Location, the woods at Peaslake

The Woods at Peaslake

Peaslake boarding house, which belongs to the school, is near a very secluded area of woodland close by to the main village. Popular with cyclists, Surrey hills is the most wooded county in Britain, so when looking for forested scenery we have lots of choice. The reason that our group choose Peaslake woods, is because were are close to Peaslake House, if something goes wrong, or we need something quickly, then most likely it is at the house.

Like i said, our location choice is very generic, as we are in Surrey choosing the exact spot were we film is less of a problem, however we have to take into consideration, the logistics and practicality of the location, which is narrowed down to peaslake woods.




Update : The Track on Main School Campus

On the day of the shoot, our supervising teacher told us that driving all the way to Peaslake to shoot would be a waste of time, and we had the problem of transporting the bike too and from school. He told us that there was a cycle track on school campus, past our main house at the top of the school, it was secluded, and close by to school, which made things much easier than going to peaslake.

Institution, which one would make our Film

Rocket Jump

Why this is the perfect institution to Produce and Shoot our Film 

An independent film making company based in Los Angles USA, Rocket jump originates from the Youtube channels, ‘Freddiew', 'BrandonJla' and ‘Corridor Digital’. 

Specialising in VFX and comedic action sequences which were regarded as being the best on the Internet, the channels also offer tutorials in their behind the scenes videos. There most popular video to date counts at more than 29 million views, and currently have just under 7 Million subscribers.

Having independently made shorts once a week, and the low budget film ‘Bear’(2010), the Co-creator of Freddiew, Freddie Wong, set out to do ( at the time) what his 5 million strong fan base had been asking him to do for years, make a TV style internet series. Freddie and his Co-creator Brandon Laatsch (BrandonJLA) spent 7 months in secret writing the internet series, titled Video Game High School, being he first independently made internet series it was viewed over 10 million times, and encouraged the two writers  to make a further 2 seasons, and ended the story in late 2014. 

Having been independent, low budget and dedicated film maker in the past, Freddie Wong has a very good understanding of how to finance effectively, with little money, and how to achieve amazing results in short spaces of time, sometimes overnight. When still on their own, they may write something Saturday afternoon, shoot Saturday night, edit through to Sunday morning and release the video onto Youtube as soon as they were done, the videos targeting the hip young teens and twenties audiences (although he himself is now coming into his 30s).

Freddie Wong, in one of his earlier
YouTube shorts 'Beach Justice' 

Having been fans of the Channel from an early stage, i understand that Rocket Jump is a small and very professional company, which now is moving into the big leagues along side Lions Gate, but at its current state, they would be able to work very closely with our group in order to make our film work, they way we would imagine it, whilst at the same time effectively advising us on how to make it better. Due to having a strong presence on Social media and through comments on Youtube, they are able to understand week in and week out what media Text their audience want to see, so every new Text is as up to date as it needs to be.

Also, having many dedicated financial backers, Rocket Jump are able to achieve more, in the past they had creativity yet very limited resources and time to make the visions happen. Now with more money and time, their sky is the limit.

One factor to be taken into account is that Rocket Jump Operate on the Online Platform, and though transferring to TV and the Big screen is a possibility, it isn't necessary, F. Wong is a very strong believer in the online platform for Media Texts, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Youtube, will eventually over take TV and the Big Screen, due to the on demand exesibility they offer. And being amateur film makers this is the easiest platform to access and is a good platform to reach our audience for feedback on the media text we finally produce. 

Due to contracts with bigger companies such as LionsGate, there is possibility that our film could be handed onto them for a transformation into a bigger production. But we would be taking things realistically by starting out with a smaller company, and working towards the big leagues, and Rocket Jump is the perfect platform for this tactic.

The Recki Shoot and Test footage

Mid shot / low angle

One of the steps on the way to completing our course work was doing what is called a 'Recki shoot'. This is were we film the entire opening sequence to see what does and doesn't work in terms of camera angles, actions, movement of characters or if certain ideas just don't work.

Close up, after the Biker falls off, she lands and we have
a POV shot of the Killer walking towards her, then we went up to the
highest point in school so that we could film an establishing shot
over the Surrey South Downs, to show the gun going off and for how far
it is Heard

As this was an observation of wether or no the angles and filming style would work, Mise-En-Scene and props wasn't of concern, so Ellie, playing our cyclist, insisted that she sat on a frisbee. When shooting her i simply used my fingers to represent a gun. and the 'Exorcist' poster at the end was meant to represent a picture of the cyclist.

We wanted to see what would and wouldn't work well in terms of length of shots and actions, as a group we decided that having a 30 second long segment of cycling was incredibly irrelevant and boring. So we decided to write in something that would take up better time. 

This process told the group that our idea really needed re-thinking, although camera angles and connotations will stay with us throughout the rest of pre-production and will be used later on. Location was as expected, but during the actual shoot we hope to go to a much less built up and secluded area.

Our Mood Board

A selection of images that our group put to together, in order to explain the plot and to give us some helpful reference.

These images represent all of the connotations that we currently expect to put in our opening sequence, the bike in the forest which is one of the key images, and famous actors screaming and covered in blood which references past thriller and horrors which share connotations of our opening sequence. The pain and suffering of our cyclist victim is another strong image, that we wish to portay in the sequence.

The Killer, in our film is a woman, with red fingernails and red lipstick to emphasise her characters femininity, one of our planned shots shows the red fingernails and lips up close, so you know that its a woman.

Revenge and death are all apart of of the killers motives so we added in the key terms of what she feels, her motions and her inside voice.

Bear traps and other animal catching devices shows what the killer uses to pray on her victims, and a picture of her shotgun, along side other forms of murder and weapons, including a hunter and a figure pointing a handgun straight at the camera.

Genre, Audiance and Institutions

\The simple Media cycle, Institution, Media Text, Audience, The Institution produce the Media Text, which is then viewed by the Audience, the Audience then have feed back that the Institution can work with to produce further media texts that keep the audience happy, and make the institution money, the cycle goes on.

Genre helps the Audience to Distinguish the difference between films so that they are aware of what kind of text they are viewing. A Genres popularity is information that comes as a result of text being viewed, which effects what kind of media text that the production institutions should make next.

Because there is no point in making Rom-Coms when the majority of the audience is into Action films at a point in time, appeasing the masses is important, as it what makes money.

The information on popularity will then help the distribution companies with the advertisement, as it is very important that they strike the target audience in order to sell the Text. Aiming Horrid Henry the Movie at 20-29 year old men, just would not work, its a kids film, so they would need to advertise to attract kids, 5-11 years old.

Sub Genres

To define a films diversity within the genre, we have to further categorize it, into sub-Genre...

Sub Genre specifies the main genre of the film, i.e Physiological-Thriller, War-Thriller, Period-Thriller etc...

 3 Thriller films that all focus around crime, and the main character attempting to achieve an objective to either get revenge or so that they can ensure people are brought to justice for crimes.

All the main characters have a military, police, intelligence or general secret background which give them the upper hand in combat, and to an extent mental situations.

Connotations in the poster suggest and Action part in the Thriller. Guns serious faces, and a scene of professionalism in  each of the characters is shown in all of the characters in the posters.

Each film ends in an eventual victory for justice, and all who needed to be punished are, or at least given a good thrashing, in perpetration for for a squeal ( Bourne ).








The Type of Sub genres that you would expect in a thriller...

Action,
Crime,
Romantic,
Medical,
Period, 
Psychological,
Slasher and
Supernatural Thrillers.

Crime thriller is what relates most to our groups Coursework, as the entire film is to be based on the Police investigating a Serial murder. Very forensical and confusing plot that leads the audiacne to a very unsuspected conclusion.
 
 

Genre Difference, Repetition and Similarity

Thrillers can be very diverse from each other, as i explained in the introduction. Thrillers cover a wide range of topics, and has connotations from other genres such as action and horror, most thrillers are closer to one of these genres than the other, but some incorporate both with great effect.

'The Imitation Game' and 'The Purge'

Both categorized as thrillers, both very different.

The Imitation Game is about the famous Alan Turing, who single handed, and with very little support, cracked Germany's unbreakable Enigma Code during World War II, his life story and his end. Very little action, and no horror, but a lot of tension throughout which kept the audience on the edge of their seat.

The Purge is about  One night per year, the government sanctions a 12-hour period in which citizens can commit any crime they wish, with no punishment or imprisonment. Fear action and horror are rife in this flick, and the tension makes audiences cower away in fear.

Basically the opposites of each other in terms of the characters, period, and narrative are all so different from each other. But the common factor is that they both have suspense, that keep everyone focused on the action, and anticipating every second that follows the last. Though its for different reasons its the same emotions from the audiance.

Ideas For Media Course Work Opening Title Sequence

 My ideas will be given in order of the ones that i preferred.

Example: - first will be the explanation of the plot, in minor detail without giving anything away, a synopsis if you will, if our course work was to turn into something bigger

                - second will be the explanation of the title sequence ( what we would film )

1. - In the post apocalyptic Britain, destroyed by a virus which has killed off 3/4 of the world, a soldier with no attachment to the Army that, doesn't exist anymore, must fight for survive, against others scavenging what is left, and his own animalistic instincts, that have made him less than a protector of his country, and less than a person.

   - The title sequence shows the soldier as he slows patrol an empty woodland, when he gets to the edge, and closer to a field, a takes a knee and scans the area with his rifle, to see a car in the middle, abandoned, but recently used, he runs over to investigate, and spends some time scavenging the car for supplies. When he does he finds some food and water, but is distracted by a photo of a family he finds under the sun shield on the drivers side. Before he knows it he is under attack from a group of other survivors, but showing his military professionalism, he defeats them easily, and the quietly continues on his journey to nowhere...

2.  - A series of interviews between a fresh out of training Lieutenant and a battle hardened Sgt in the British army, exploring the moral and physical and mental traumas of modern day conflicts that the Sergent was involved in, exposing his PTSD and his experiences, based on true accounts and stories of soldiers in the British Army.

     - First showing an awkward and suspenseful stare off across the table in a white interview room, a nervous young female L.T. at one end, a dreary  much older and heavy eyed Sgt at the other. looking for a diversion away form the moment, the L.T. opens up his file and asked the Sgt to confirm the reports in it. She begins to read and the Sgt closes his eyes, we then have a change of scene, but all that the audience can see is the Sgt's face in an extreme close up. The voice of the L.T. can be heard constantly in an echo, which gives the audience an idea of what is happening, and what he can see. as the content gets more violent and descriptive, the expressions on his face change, to match the scenario. At a final climactic and shocking ending to the report, it cuts back to them in the interview room, with the L.T. closing the file, and asking, " was the report accurate?", to which he replies "let me start from the beginning"... fade to black

3. - Friday the 13th... in the British countryside. Showing the life of a cheerful farmer with a dark and twisted secret, he loves ruthless and remorseless murder.

    -  Showing a tent in the middle of the countryside, with the very indiscriminate sound of two young teens, a male and a female, having a good time. we then see a figure walk towards the tent, in wellingtons and some rather itchy looking trousers. he has a shotgun by his side, he raises it, and fires two shots through the tent, followed by the painful and terrified walling of the girl in the tent. the farmer reloads his shells, opens up the tent, and ignores the girls plead for her life, by shooting her, blood exploding from the entrance has he fire his gun. he pulls both bodies out, and sticks them into a wheel barrow and walks back, with his farmhouse in the distance, whistling 'Jerusalem.'

4. - When MI6 really master the art of disguise, there really is no where to hide if you are a wanted criminal or terrorist. Following a Special unit that focus on infiltration and surprise attacks by dressing up in convincing and elaborate costume.

    - A black Land Rover 4 door, driving along a town street, with 4 men inside, 3 goons guarding there boss. as they turn a corner they see a homeless man outside, asking for spare change. one of the goons commenting that he is a poor bastard for being a hobo. In the next shot they are on a rural road and they find that they are lost. Before they no it the homeless man they drove past, has smashed in the drivers window and shot the three goons before they even knew what hit them. The hobo then opens the rear passenger door to reveal a startled boss,and orders him out. The boss is stood in-front of the man at gun point, and the boss attempts to make a deal, the hobo shoots him i the knee cap, and bends down to pick a USB from out of his top pocket, and says "lets make a trade" replacing the USB with a live grenade. his phone rings and he begins to walk off to answer it, the hobo responds to the call by saying, " Got in, like taking sweets from a baby" the grenade goes off , and then there is a straight cut to black

Introduction to Genre

Discussing Genre (Thrillers)

Genre is the category of Media based on some set of conventions and the plot. Action, Thriller, Horror. Guns and explosions, Suspense and twisting story, blood gore and intense violence.

Genres can also have sub or hybrid categories, to provide better specification for the type of film.

Sub genres are further conventions to the main genre, i.e. Mockumentary horror (THREADS), philosophical thriller (LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN).

Hybrid genres are works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining conventions. I.e. Action Thriller (JACK REACHER), Horror Comedy (ZOMBIE LAND), Western Si-Fi (ALIENS VS COWBOYS).

The Genre we focus on in Media Studies is Thrillers, and for our coursework, we can only focus on sub-genres if we wish to expand the conventions of the Plot.  A thriller is a story that has suspense, it gets the audience exited and, thrilled. It often has traits from the action and adventure, but the level of fear makes it borderline horror. It usually very serious, but can make room for light hearted comedy if the plot requires, chances are that if we were to use our imagination, that we have very few restrictions into what we could come up with.

 

THE GODFATHER

CASINO

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN

JACK RYAN

REBECCA

Are all examples of thrillers, and each film had hints of other genres are thrillers do…

Editing the prelim Task

Adobe Premier Pro CS6 was the editing software that we used to edit our Prelim

Preliminary Task, Editing

After we had finished editing the Preliminary task, we spent two days in the schools editing room putting together and cutting down the film in Adobe Premier Pro CS6. We used our own footage and we were paired of with people in our group, two or three to a monitor.

As we edited we we given basic advice and shown how to use the software, by day two, we were basically on our own.

We weren't given any guidelines on how to edit other than the story board, which we could interpret with no limits, so each group of editors had there own way of putting together the footage.

Pre - Lim Task ( Film and Media )

Filming a short film, which dialogue between to people…

 

For out pre-lim film and media task, we were split into groups  of 5-4 people and were asked to all contribute to the filming of a very simple story board. The short was simple dialogue between two actors, one who entered the room who talk to the the other, and then leave the room. the story board containing several camera angles and shots, we were also asked to include our own shots that we thought would be relevant to the final piece, i.e. close ups, extra shots and different experimentations with the original story boards angles to see if we could improve them.

 

In the group i was in, there were the two actors, one of them being me, a director and a D.O.P., and we filmed in the departments editing suite, and for the sake of simplicity of filming we reversed the shots in the story boards so that actions that happened on the right would happen on the left, as the door the actors was entering from was on the wrong side of the room, and there was no space for the camera to be in the right place. So we improvised.

 

Though each shot in the scene was different, we filmed the whole seen from every angle displayed on the story board, this allows us to be able to experiment when editing during post production, and be able to have more options if it turns out something went wrong on set, like a continuity error. we never reviewed the footage to save time, so we would sometimes repeat shots, just to be safe. Close up shots didn’t require us to film the whole seen again, but we did have to careful as to make the actions in the close ups match the actions in the main shots.

 

The few problems that we ran into were, missed lines, misread lines, and the movements had to be just right in front of camera so that the right shot could be done, we often found that myself or the other actor were obstructing the view the cameraman(woman) was trying to get for the shot. The director also made me self conscious about a “huff” sound that i seemed to make at the end of every sentence, which slowed the process as every time i did, after it was picked up on, all on set would burst out laughing and would have have to shoot all over again.

28 Weeks Later Poster Analysis

Poster style Design consists of a large WARNING in bold, which draws the attention of the Audience towards the advertisement.

Colours of RED and neutral colours of cream and white, emphasise the film is a Horror/Thriller.

The figure in the poster is in an upright and uniformed stance, the fact that he is holding a rifle suggests he is military, and the respirator suggests a Biohazard is in place, alongside the Biohazard symbol under the title.

Title, 28 Days Later, Is in the Corner of the Poster’s image, not standing out, but as though it is just information, may be specific for the fan so the previous film, as the title will be less important. Done so that the effect of the poster is not broken but so that the audience understands the denotation without noticing the connotations.

Information at the bottom relating to what the movie might be about, without telling the story, also in Red, sense of danger, which the message emphasises  The overall poster is less like an ad for a movie, but more like a public service announcement

Release date if the film and a Web Link. (for information to the institution) is at the bottom and in small print, as to not obstruct the effect the poster is trying to create, but still advertising itself to the audience so that they know were to refer to.

25th September 2014, Studio Lesson

180 degree Rule (Sony NX5)


180 degree rule is the idea of keeping the aspect of the scene, no matter were the next shot is, in the same 180 degree area. For example, a conversation between two people, person A on the left, person B on the right, if the 180 degree rule is kept, then this should always stay the same, if it doesn't then the aspect of the scene changes and everything looks out of place, as the focus aspect will have changed.


First we were taught how the worked and how a lack of the 180 degree rule would make films look, using a toy car to demon straight the idea.


We were then taught briefly about filming scenes, and the different shots that we could have to incorporate perspective, all the while maintaining the 180 degree rule. There was also an explanation into how this would work in editing. 


We were then sent off into groups to try the techniques ourselves, by filming a simple and short scene that incorporated different camera angles and perspectives, maintaining the 180 degree rule. We then split off into different groups and did this again, and then we had all of the footage reviewed.

3 Film Opening Sequences Analysis

Lucky Number Slevin

Lucky Number Slevin Poster

In the opening sequence to 'Lucky Number Slevin' the shots are all connected by either characters or actions of the characters and in each individual shot the main focus at that moment will be on the character which connects us to the next part of the sequence, all the time using a medium to close up shot. When it comes to the connecting actors they are all parallel to the centre of the camera, and the previous important character becomes either out of focus or, slightly out of frame.

(Fig 1)

In terms of connections through movement, one good example through a bartender on the phone to his nephew, telling him about a doped 'drugged' horse. The uncle picks up his drink and in the next shot his nephew (fig 1) puts his drink t his lips. The sequence goes through several characters, from the 'Doc' who doped the horse, until the Nephew (fig 1) a few characters later who is passed the information by word of mouth.

The sequence itself was specifically written so that the Nephew seemed distant from the knowledge of who did the doping, later in the early stages of the film this is used as an echo for the circumstances he finds himself in ( no spoilers ).



The Battle of Britain

Battle Of Britain Poster 

The First Shot in the film is of a Hawker Hurricane Fighter plane (pictured on the poster) doing a fly by and sloppy barrel roll over some refugees in the north of France, who are being lead by a British tank. The shot begins with the camera on a low angle filming the plane, it then pans down to a slight low angle onto the British tank with two soldiers on the top looking up at the fly by, one of them passes comment "who does he think he is fooling", the camera then pans left of the tank and onto the long line of refugees behind them, combining a high angle and extreme long shot to symbolise the hopelessness of a nation. A powerful image.


 Fly Boys

Fly Boys Poster

After some not so bad but hardily believable CGI fly through footage of some sky and clouds during the title sequence and some facts about the First World War Death count and some stuff about the background to the film.

The first (actual) shot begins with a slow pan from the sky ( from up to down ), onto a long shot of a rider from a medium distance coming towards a wooden entrance with the sign RR engraved on the top, the rider and entrance way being central to the camera, he then slows and the shot moves onto a close up, mixed in with a slight low angle, and of the rider looking mildly frustrated on reading a flyer that was stamped to the post of the entrance, the shot keeps in focus the actors face and the Bold writing on the flyer, which bares bad news for the owners of a specific ranch , pointing fingers at the horseback character for being the owner, explaining his frustration. 

He then throws to the flyer floor and then the scene reverts to the original long shot of the rider and the entrance. as the flyer falls to the floor and the rider hurries off. The flyer remaining parallel to the centre of the shot. signifying its importance.


( sorry about the lack of pictures Mike, YouTube didn't seem to be working at house, and the pictures above were the only ones that had any sort of relevance to the topics I was writing about, my apologies )

Sony NX5 Camera Lesson

Learning about the Sony NX5

Thursday 18th Film and Media lesson took place in the Hurtwood's television studio, the class was split into groups of 5, between 3 Sony NX5 Pro-Camcorders and 3 professional tripods. The class as a whole was taught the demographics of the Camcorder and tripod, and how to operate them.

Learning how to use the multiple focus, exposure and aperture features, and learning about White balance, something that I've never actually gone over before, so i did learn something fairly new today. Going over the operations was something that the members of the group took in turns to do.

2012 modle of the Sony NX5 Pro-Camcorder

At the end of the lesson, we were given the task of using the camera to come up with a shot, implementing all of the techniques that we had been taught that day, and as a group we decided to implement some ideas from the 'camera angles' lesson from the previous day.

Are final shot consisted of a glass mug on a doorframe, sounds boring, but we managed to get in just right, dim, but sharp enough so that the teacher could see the features of the doorframe and the drink inside the mug, having drained the inside. The shot was taken near to the ground, but the camera was above the mug at an angle, looking down onto it. We were told that we may have need to take a further look at white balance, but he complimented that it was very "moody".

Detachment Short film, 'Suspence'

How the " Detachment " Short film, Created Suspense


The first Shot of the short is a close up of the protagonist, laying in bed, when he gets up, the first thing he does is go for a cigarette, and the audience get given the idea that he is a man with bad habits, but because this is only the beginning this questions the audience on what other bad things he does. the shots pans out from his bed and onto a very mistreated room with messy cups and plates. which makes us consider if he has better things to do, or if he is just Lazy, but it makes us want to explore.

In the background there is the sound of Ghetto style music and a fight coming from another room, of which the man pays no attention to, even as the confrontation gets more violent. He simply Puts on his cloths, showing a mutual face. As he finishes, the music gets louder and the fight in the next room get scarily violent, accompanied by the music to increase the effect, and at this point the man pulls out a high calibre sniper rifle, that he handles with some degree of confidence, questions of what he does and what he is going to do are unanswered. But if paralleled to the unravelling situation in the next room, which escalates to the point of which a woman begging for her life, I would consider that he is going to do something bad. And because the whole time he is showing an expressionless face, I would have thought that the activities he partakes in, are regular. Explaining a lack of remorse.

He then hides his gun in a large bag, and then leaves the room, the woman in the next room screaming as she is within an inch of her life. Suspense for the 'what happens next' question, still on the minds of the audience. Could he be a fixer or a hit man, or just a cold killer? what was happening in the next room, and was it anything to do with him? All elements from, his clothing, the type of gun, the style of music, and even the expressions on his face, were directed to insight a sense of confusion in the audience which, helped sustain the suspense till the very end.

Threads, Movie Review

Review of "Threads" "1984"

Made during the Height of the Cold war in the 1980s, threads is a Documentary style apocalypse flick  that views in disturbing detail what would have happened to the normal people like us, if it had all gone wrong. Directed by Mick Jackson and Written by  Barry Hines for the BBC.

The VHS cover, stating "the closest to Nuclear war that you will ever get", it wasn't far wrong,
even by modern film standards.

Based around Two families, the Kemps and the Becketts, drawn together through the love between their eldest children, Ruth Breckett ( Karen Meagher ) and Jimmy Kemp (  Reece Dinsdale ). As an international crisis between the United States and the Soviet Union takes place in Iran,  the United Kingdom, which backs the US prepares for war. Meanwhile,  the Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council ( Michael O'Hagan ) prepares the Central government for the worst, illustrating the British governments role in the crisis, and how even the ones at the very top are in no control at all when the worst comes. As nuclear exchanges between NATO and the PACT begin at an unimaginable but equally realistic scale,  the details and horrors of the characters' struggle to survive the aftermath are depicted without holding back on any detail. The balance of the story details the fate of each family as the characters face the medical, economic, social and environmental consequences of nuclear war. The film being commentated on so that the audience can be filled in on the finite detail throughout the film.

The iconic image, shown on the front of the Radio
Times, for the release day of the film. 

When Fist Released in 1984, you would be condemned if you were to watch the film and then sleep comfortably the following evening. the BBC reside letters which stated that the government should give suicide pills for " us old folk ' if the bomb were to drop. People who could not sleep, people who were physically sick, the list goes on. And no wonder, the film did not hold back on any sort of realism for the sake of protecting us from a lack of innocence, and to prevent the idea that it wouldn't be that bad. Details of how hospitals would not be able to cope and having to clean wound with washing machine powder and water, radiation sickness, capitol punishment, starvation, rape, untreatable diseases, survival of the fittest, and a lack of any central government to help anyone. 

A mother Clutching her dead baby, a day after the attack. having suffered burring of the skin
from radiation, the baby would have died instantaneously.

The film deliberately relied on the acting and the cinematography to shod the audience, there was very little FX, and no music. the film was truly a leap forward, the continuities and flaws did not have a great enough shout to over shadow the pure realism. An interesting casting technique was using locals and not professional actors to play the roles. The acting was not far from good, considering that they had no previous acting experience, and considering that they had to pretend to be in a situation of absolute devastation. Well, props and costume helped with that, as there attention to detail was immaculate throughout the film. 

Mrs Kemp, the moment the bomb hit sheffield, relaxing to late
that her son is outside in the bird cage and not safe.

Personally, i think the film was an accurate and shattering representation of the real deal, nobody can say they will enjoy this film, if you do, you have something wrong with you, the film is sickening and disturbing. Not a quite night in.