Cubs

Tom Harper
 Subject Matter
The Subject matter targets urban fox hunting and gang crime,
including gun crime and drugs, which at the time were very topical
matters that Tom Harper cleverly raised awareness about.
Typically fox hunting was usually done by posh upper class males
with horses and beagles in the country side. Urban fox hunting is
the relocated version carried out by youths and gangs. The fox can
be seen by the viewers as a symbol of destroyed innocence. The
fox is being hunted by a gang of youths who reject the values of
upper class society and develop their own code of behaviour.
 Tone
The film is raising awareness to gang culture influences
youths and the younger generation. For example in the
short film Cubs the young boy makes it very aware that
he wants to be like his brother and follow in his footsteps,
who was once in a gang but is now in prison for his
mistakes.
 Change Agency
This film is raising awareness and campaigning for change as the
genre highlights gang culture, where a young boy strives to be in
the same gang as his brother who is not in prison, he was willing to
anything to be accepted by the older group of boys in the gang. It
also tries to raise the awareness of gun crime and fox hunting
which are both illegal.
The viewers can see that the main male character is making
mistakes throughout the short film, they will potentially find this
difficult to watch as the key message is gun crime and gang
culture starts very young.
 Social Class
The majority of the cast members are teenagers, some
even very young teens and some young adults. Therefore
the film positions itself lower than working class. This
gives viewers a negative opinion/view on this particular
class of people as they are all involved in crimes.
 Representations
Race
Within the film, the dominant race is white however they have a token
individual which is the leader of a gang as Karl (Ashley Walters). The race of
the individual is black. The connotations behind this was to portray that the
community is accepting to all races. It also shows that having a black leader,
suggests that all crimes started with and who follow these type of behavior
etc.

Gender & Sexuality

The film shows quite a lot of males within the gang community with a token
female within the film. The connotation behind was to show gang violence was
mostly a manly type of behavior.
 Representations
Religion
Although there wasnt a clear identification to their religion,
theyre sort of practicing a faith which was fox hunting. The
connotation behind religion, fox hunting was an upper class
activity for individuals with an upper class status. What they are
trying to show is the urban culture is trying to get back at the
upper class by using their practices while its illegal fox hunt
within England.

Regional Identity
The film clearly identifies that every member was from London. The connotation
behind regional identity is it showed that the characters were from London and
how urban culture and activities they would pursue during those times.
 Casting
The actors within the short film were Harry Eden (Ben), Jared Garfield (Joe),
Tara Hodge (Davis) and Ashley Walters (Karl). The denotations behind the
short film were they short film doesnt feature any famous actors. The
connotation the produces used was to show the film isnt a high budget film
because they used unknown actors as well as choosing actors which
originated within the United Kingdom.
Also the casting member consisted of 1 black actor (Karl) and 3 white
actors/actresses (Ben, Joe and Davis). The denotation behind that was to show
there is ethnicity within the short film however the connotation behind using
these actors was to show that Karl was the token individual, being the leader
of the group etc. They have also used Davis has a token female character.
 Budget
In terms of budget, cubs used a low budget funding to
produce the film. The denotation was to use low budget
editing in terms of cinematography, sound, mise en
scne and editing to make the short film as realistic as
possible. However the connotation behind using low
budget funding was to show the realistic side of gun/knife
crime and how gang culture was a popular issue within
the United Kingdom.
 Audience
The target audience for Cubs would be teenagers
which are 13 years and above. The denotation behind
this is to show the lifestyle of teenagers within the United
Kingdom which participate in gang related activities etc.
However the connotations behind this was to awareness
towards teenagers and older about gun/knife crime and
how it affects the United Kingdom as a whole.
 Director
Tom Harper is an English film and television director, writer and producer. His
breakthrough short film Cubs was released in 2006 where he wrote and
directed it.

Other projects
Misfits (2010) 4 episodes
This is England 86 (2011) 2 episodes
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2015)
 Institutions
Production Companies and Distributors
Free Range Films

Other Companies
One Post
Soho Images
Spool Post Production
 Cinematography
Mise en Scne
Props: Bats, Knives and Guns
These objects where all used, aiming to kill a fox. The objects all have
connotations of violence, death and murder. In the short film, these objects
where used resulting to a fox being shot, and having its tail cut off.
Fox Hunting
This is a crime mostly participated by the upper class. The fox represents the
upper class, and the gang represents the lower-working class. It can be argued
that the lower-working class despises the upper class and sees them as cunning
and sly. And so, by killing the fox, it represents the lower-working class to back-
fire the upper class.
 Cinematography
Mise en Scne
Gang
All of the characters in the film are associated with the gang who participates
in fox hunting. This has connotation of violence, crime and illegal behaviour
as fox hunting is now illegal.

Lighting Effect
Time: Afternoon and Evening
The timing of the narrative started in the late afternoon, and continued at
night. During the afternoon scenes, Ben is waiting for Karl (the gang leader)
in the park. He is hoping that Karl will choose him to be part of the gang,
which he eventually does. The daylight in the afternoon has connotations of
hope, success and achievement all of the attributes that Ben wants. The
scene, soon transitions at night time, where the gang goes out fox hunting.
The dark and gloomy atmosphere, is reinforced when they kill a fox.
 Cinematography
Film Quality
The duration of the film is 10 minutes, and the quality of the video was low. This
meets all of the characteristics of what a British Social Realism short film
contains. Moreover, it is a low budget film and it one of Tom Harpers early
works but he still managed to create such fantastic content, which allowed him
to win a British Independent Film Award.
Realistic Locations
The film was set an urban area in London. This would be a realistic location as it
conforms to society back then when fox hunting was legal. Moreover, an urban
place has connotations of ghetto, part of a city which is mostly occupied by a
minority of groups. This is supported by the different ethnicities in the gang.
 Sound Quality
The film uses diegetic sound of dialogue, people running
and non diegetic of a gun shot, and background music.
By adding on sound effects, it creates a realistic scene
which captures the audiences interest. Additionally, with
the background music it helps create an illusion, mood
and simulating reality. All which are effective to gain the
audiences awareness and build up the tension.