Researching Sing Street

Sing Street is a low budget British indie film directed by John Carne. It was released on the 20th May 2016 but was first premiered at Sundance Film Festival on the 24th January 2016. It was distributed in the UK by Lionsgate and was produced by a number of companies; FilmNation Entertainment own the rights to the film - they have worked on larger films like The Intimation Game (2014), The King's Speech (2010) and Arrival, as well as smaller films like Under The Skin (2013). It features music from Duran Duran, The Clash and The Jam - as well as music by the in-film band Sing Street.

Audience

Sing Street is an indie film and therefore applies towards a niche market/audience. The fact that it is rated a 12A means that a younger audience can also engage with the film - perhaps allowing for the younger demographic to become part of its market. Despite this, the film certainy isn't a 4 quadrant film. 

Cast

John Carne decided to cast fairly "unknown" actors for the film:

Lucy Boynton

Ferdia Walsh-Peelo

Maria Doyle Kennedy

Jack Reynor

Box Office and Budget

In the UK, the film earned a total of $1,649,512. It's worldwide Box Office gross was $10,029,082. It was difficult to find the official budget for the film, however I assume it was fairly small (between $2 million and $4 million). 

Technology

Since Sing Street had a small budget, the use of technology was fairly limited. However, green screen/CGI technology is used towards the end of the film - but not in large amounts. The film was shot on a 35mm film format, on an Arricam LT camera.  

Location

One factor that may have allowed the film to save money is the fact that it was filmed entirely in Ireland - specifically in the city of Dublin.

One particular filming location was Dalkey Island - in which Conor and Raphina have a romantic picnic:

Marketing 

The marketing for Sing Street wasn't as extensive as Star Wars: The Force Awakens due to its much smaller budget. However, the film still had posters and trailers to market it - as well as some interviews! I was somewhat surprised at the amount of marketing, because of the size of the film.

Posters

There are a variety of different posters for the film that all have a particular style - the bottom one is a Korean poster!

Trailer

Interviews

Lucy even appeared on Jimmy Kimmel which is fairly impressive - considering the size of the film.

As well as this, the film was premiered at Sundance Film Festival - actors Ferdia-Walsh Peelo and Mark McKenna performed live!

Products

There was a small variety of products available - including the film itself, available on both DVD and Blu Ray:

However, audiences could also access the film's soundtrack via iTunes. The in-film band Sing Street has its own VEVO channel on YouTube - featuring music videos from the film:

Writing an essay: Doc Martin

Regional identity is constructed within the extract to highlight the stereotypical binary opposite between those who live in the city (intelligent, stressed, impatient) and people who live in the countryside (ignorant, calm, unconcerned) positioning the audience to find humour, rather than challenge traditional representations, in the differences between Doc Martin and the local residence.

The establishing shot is of a doctors surgery that is outdated, lacking in modern features that one would expect to see - this positions the audience to believe that the countryside is 'behind' when regarding technological advancement, especially in contrast to the city. This is a common stereotype of the countryside that is often presented in television drama. With the use of a wide angle shot, the audience can see a dramatic contrast between Doc Martin who represents the city (dressed in a suit and tie) and the two men dressed in boiler suits (representing the countryside). In this frame, Doc Martin is positioned higher than the two men, which could connate authority, whereas one of the two men appears lackadaisical; he is sitting down, eating and overweight. The room appears to be uncared for though the use of mise en scene: there are boxes stacked in the background and the two men are repairing the broken tap.

Holding the wide angle shot for a prolonged amount of time, as well as the lack of editing, connotes to the common stereotype that the countryside is passive and sleepy - linking to the overweight character who is depicted being lazy on the job. It also compares to the fast lifestyle of the city (Doc Martin) because the action is forced to slow down. The amount of hard editing begins to increase, however, once the water pipe is broken and stress levels begin to rise: the audience is positioned to feel Dr Martin's current stress, as the other characters are being somewhat useless and are refusing to aid in the situation - this could refer to the common stereotype that those in the countryside are unconcerned and relaxed. A high angled camera shot is used when focusing on the dog, to position the audience to think that Dr Martin is going to hurt it and we are left with a sense of pity and fear - we infer that people from the city are angry, and pose a threat. Non-diegetic sound is used when Doc Martin is threatening the dog, to create a greater foreboding atmosphere.

A medium long shot, with a wide angle, is used to depict Dr Martin walking to the police station: this suggests that, unlike the city, the countryside is much quieter. There is a significant lack of cars on his journey which suggests that the countryside is clean and free from pollution. More non-diegetic sound is used on his journey, to create a light hearted atmosphere that positions the audience to think that the countryside "plods along" slowly - highly contrasted to the erratic nature of city life. Once Dr Martin has reached the police station, the mise en scene is similar to that of the doctors surgery; this could be referencing to the lack of crime in the countryside, as there is little need for technological advancement: the computer in the background of the frame appears antiquated. The policeman's dialect is different to Dr Martin's, and we as the reader assume that he is quiescent and "dim" - especially when compared to Martin's loud voice.

The "oner" used to present the engagement between the older woman and Dr Martin is used to reinforce that there is little action in the countryside. With the use of mine en scene, the audience is positioned to think that the older woman is rich, as she is the only character in the extract to own a car. This suggests that, in the countryside, only those who are richer can afford to drive a car and thus links with the stereotype that the countryside is "backwards". 

When Dr Martin notices the younger woman in the school, a close up reaction shot is used between the two characters to suggest that both of them will interact with each other eventually - a POV shot also highlights Dr Martin's interest in the woman. This engagement between two characters is ended quickly through a cut to a wider shot that depicts an old woman with freshly grown cabbages - this mise en scene positions the audience to believe that most people in rural areas are farmers, even those who are old.