Spreadsheet

Heading:- Shervin Kashefpour is Malik

Sub-heading:- How will Malik cope through the struggle?

·         Was Cynical the first drama programme you have starred in?

Cynical’s the first programme I have starred in as the main character. I have already had past roles as an extra in a couple of programmes, but never a major role in any kind of series, so this was a big opportunity for me and I was not hesitant when I was ready to take it. This hopefully could be the first of many and could possibly also be the kick-start in my career.

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  Has Cynical impacted your life in anyway?

Cynical has impacted my life in a way which gives me more of an understanding of how life is like within a minority of people, which are not recognised, in London. The reason I chose to be a character like Malik is because he reminded me of myself when I was a teen, but his life has more of a twist to it then my does.

·        

Who was your favourite colleague that you act with?

I really enjoyed working with Fasih Sulehri, who played the part of Yousef, he is a relatable guy and I would only hope and be privileged to work with someone like him. With the help of his experience I was able to perfect my role as Malik as he gave me some really motivational advice.

Print Preparation

Ill Manors Film Review

Ill Manors is a very low-budget film (£100,000) which was directed and written by Ben Drew (also known as Ben Drew). The film is set in the location where Drew had grew up in (Forest Gate, London) and he tries to demonstrate how corrupt the lower-class life is in modern-Britain. This was scripted to fit in multiple lives of people that lived around the area and the characters interpret people that actually would have existed during that time and/or in contemporary London. Plan B wanted the audience to understand that these kind of activities do occur within such a significant city, like London.

The film is based around a lot of characters, however they base it mainly on a character named Aaron (Riz Ahmed), who has links to a lot of other characters which are in the film. The audience is familiar with this type of character due to his previous roles in 'Four Lions' which is a comedic film, also starring Kayvan Novak. 

The drug dealers in this film all have a connection with each other, as they are all connected to each other in some way. For example, Aaron finds Chris' gun in a scene which is introduced by a comedic display from Aaron attempting to pull the gun to the mirror, in order to see what he looks like when he is pulling a gun, in an attempt to not make a fool of himself (not shown in film, but Chris goes to look for his gun). 

The film features a lot of vulgar things such as drugs, guns and violence which are highly anticipated in this kind of film. The presentation of these things help signify to the audience what kind of harsh acts are carried out on others in this type of London, in the area where Plan B was raised. The use of these certain props also signify it's genre, which fits more into a urban-drama type film, despite there being a lot of action, it fits more into a hybrid film. The film has a lot of different settings and situations going on, which seems to the audience, at the same time, so it starts to cut and switch to the different characters which exist in the film. 

The main soundtrack which is used in the film is the song 'Ill Manors' by the Ben Drew, who also starred, wrote and directed the film. The soundtrack is split into different sections according to the scene which is playing in the film at the time, they use the soundtrack to emphasise what is going on in the scene, which is being showed at a speed double then usual. The soundtrack was also used to help promote the film, as this would narrate what is going on in the film and the track also promoted the film by Ben Drew's album, which was being released alongside with the film. 

The target audience of this genre of film is mainly aimed at 16-25 year old people, however I think the target audience in which this mainly attracts is 13-21 year old people, as these are people which are still in school or may have just finished their education. This particular target audience are not fully mature yet and may still enjoy watching a urban-drama film like this as it gives a very typical look to London and stereotypes the crimes that currently exist within London, such as drug crime and prostitution, which are heavily featured in the film. This was shown in order to give a very urban reputation to London and for the area in which he was situated in, as a lot of events occur during the period of the film. This kind of film may not attract older citizens or people of high working class as this film presents a lot of lower class citizens within the film. 

Ill Manors Film Review (Plan)

• Director 

Evidence from film: The director was shown in the film through the credits at the end. 

My opinion: The director, Plan B, is a well recognised song artist which has featured in films such as 'The Sweeney'. I think he is portrayed as someone who is very London-based, as 'The Sweeney' was set in contemporary London.  

• Main Stars

Evidence from film: The main star from this film is Riz Ahmed, who is heavily featured in the film. In this film they portray many lives of drug dealers, prostitutes and others that live in that kind of environment.  

My opinion: The audience may be familiar with Riz Ahmed has he has played in other low-budget UK films such as 'Four Lions', which was a comedic film. 

• Plot

Evidence from film: The film is based on the lives of 4 drug dealers, as this shown in the film and they are all connected to each other by some way. Due to competition they are all alliances to each other, coming against each other and working with each other in certain circumstances. 

My opinion: I think this film is to help people acknowledge how life in London exists, as people that live in London may not be familiar with the crime that goes on in London daily. 

• Characters

Evidence from film: The main characters in this film are the drug dealers, as they are featured in it the most. The drug dealers consist of Aaron (Riz Ahmed), Ed (Ed Skrein), Chris (Lee Allen) and Marcel (Nick Sagar).

My opinion: The 2 main characters which survive till the end is Aaron and Chris. Aaron subsequently is asked to work for Chris near the end of the film. 

• Genre

Evidence from film: The film has a lot of violence and gun/drug crime featured in it, which fits into a drama/crime film. 

My opinion: The film heavily portrays the urban aspect of London and they show this by showing different settings which are discrete in London, in order to present a sense that they are hiding from their crimes they are committing. This is why I think this film fits in a urban-crime drama type genre film. 

• Soundtrack

Evidence from film: The main soundtrack in this film was produced by Plan B, who directed and wrote this film. The soundtrack is split into different sections into the film and they use a particular sector of the soundtrack for a particular kind of scene, which they used the lyrics to narrate what is going on in the scene. 

My opinion: I think that they use the soundtrack 'Ill Manors' by Plan B (written and directed the film as well) as it fits the setting of the film well and gives it a very urban feel to it, so that the audience can understand what is going on in the film, through the soundtrack in the background.

• Audience

Evidence from film: The film seems to be aimed at an age range of 16-25 year old people as the majority of the characters are younger characters (based in film) and if a film was to be aimed at a more mature audience, they would not have used these types of characters, as maturer audiences may not fully understand or interpret what exactly may be going on.  

My opinion: In my opinion, I think that this film targets 13-21 year old people more, as this type of age group would find some things in the film more understandable because they have the similar age section to the characters that feature in the film itself. Teens and young adults like watching films like this as London is a very urban environment and a lot of the teens that watch it may have experienced a life which has involved a struggle. 

Media Index

September 2014 > Media language > MIGRAIN Powerpoint
September 2014 > Lighting > Lighting
September 2014 > Mise-en-scene > Mise-en-scene analysis
September 2014 > Key concepts > Nike Print Advert
September 2014 > Key concepts > Film Poster Analysis
September 2014 > Media language > 12C Presentations and Homework
September 2014 > Media language > Institutions - BBC3 & E4
October 2014 > Media language > Cinematography research/revise tasks
October 2014 > Media language > TV Show

High-Key and Low-Key Lighting Task - Still Image Analysis

In this task, I will be looking at 11 still images and I will be identifying examples of the high and low-key lighting that is used, I will say which depict top, back or under lighting and I will be analysing the effects that are created by the lighting in each image. 

1. An example of high key lighting is presented in this image, the effect of this causes her face to be dimly lit and it casts a shadow on her face. 
2. In this picture, there is an example of top lighting which produces a negative connotation of the female in the picture. 
3. She also produces a daunting look which creates a sinister atmosphere, along side the smoke.  












1. An example of low-key lighting is presented in this image. This type of lighting as caused the image to have a dark saturation. The setting is dimly lit so the audience is able to identify who the character is. 
2. In this picture, they have used top lighting in order to make the character appear more intimidating to the audience as they darkness is the most dominant colour shown in the image.
3. The lighting conducts negative connotations as they would think that this type of character is quite sinister. The darkness suggests that there is an evil side to her which no one is aware of as you cannot see her fully.


1. In this image, they have presented high-key lighting in this image. This is because there the image is lit well with filler lights. But they have cast a shadow on his face which has caused the character to look more aggressive. 
2. They have used back lighting in order to present a shadow on his face. This causes the audience to gain negative connotations towards this particular character as there is a shadow on his eyes which have been squinted in order to appeal as a more assertive character.
3. This has caused the character to be seem more combatant and come off as a more audacious due to the lighting that they have used. 




1. In this image, they have used low-key lighting in order to show the contrast of the characters facial expression. They have dimly lit the gun in order for the audience to understand this character has an objective which he will involve him conducting violent acts. 
2. They have used a key light on the side of his face so the audience are able to identify him. There is a contrast of light and darkness in this image which may convey a message to the audience that he is doing it for a certain cause.
3. The effect of this lighting is to present this person as an audacious character, but the effect of the lighting may cause the audience to think that he is doing it for a particular reason which may bring him good as he seems very contemplative in the image.

1. In this image, they have used low-key lighting in order for the character to fit in the right setting. The character is patronised by what is in front of her and they have used the lighting so their is a shadow on her back but not her face so the audience can see how she is reacting to whatever she is looking at. 
2. They have used under lighting so that the detail of the characters pose and posture are more easily identified and so that there is a shadow on her back.
3. The effect of this is so that the character can seem more frightened and there is more attention to the detail of the female in the image. If the scene was fully lit it wouldn't have the same effect as there is no presentation of negativity in the scene apart of the female being extremely patronised.