Friday, 4 January 2013

Representation within Casualty


In this extract in Casualty disability is represented in a stereotypical way, by making the characters not seem able to do things and really show their differences to somewhat ‘normal’ people. We first meet the man in the wheel chair; the mise-en-scene helps us to identify the differences between each of the characters, such as the type of clothing worn and the wheel chair for instance, this implies that he is physically disabled portraying that he is not capable of getting around therefore has to have someone help him around. He is wearing dull, brown clothing which makes him stand out in the brightly coloured shop that he is in, instantly making him look out of place, along with the wheel chair. His brother however is smartly dressed, wearing lighter colours, which connotes happiness, fresh appeal to him.  The shop assistant doesn’t know how to react with the disabled man, suggesting that she feels awkward around him. When the toilet scene arrives, yet again the man looks out of place, however, the toilet does blend in with the characters clothing which connotes to the dull atmosphere. The wheelchair is bulky, and too big for a disabled toilet, suggesting that he looks more disabled than I ‘typical’ disabled person is. This shows the stereotype of a disabled person not being able to do the simplest things in life such as going to the toilet, highlighting the fact the everyday life is a hassle and a struggle which takes twice as long. In addition to this in the cafe his chair is higher than the table, suggesting that cafe’s, shops and other public places are not suited for disabled people as it is not ‘normal’. We are introduced to another character Eli, who looks ‘normal’, well dressed, smart, and fit into his surroundings. However when approaching a group of girls he becomes nervous, there is no sign of any disability until he collapses onto the street. This then creates suspicions and tensions, making the audience anticipated to see what happens next.

The sound that is presented in this clip is mainly diegetic, mainly quite a bit of silence due to the fact that silence has a higher impact on emotions. In the shop at the start of the clip there is diegetic sound of Christmas music playing in the shop, along with the hustle and bustle of the shop. This also occurs in the coffee shop, when the lady asks for the music to be turned up, the music becomes louder. The jolly music juxtaposes with the man in the wheel chairs mood, as he is extremely run down and negative, it is almost as if the music is an example of contrapuntal sound but only towards this character. Some of the dialogue used is powerful, to the fact that only short sentences has a huge impact of the stereotypical ways of a disabled person, for example, ‘Quit pushing me about’, this line suggests that he knows he is capable of pushing himself around and tries to act like a normal person. This makes his brother instantly in the wrong and the audience almost frown upon him for his actions. The words ‘incurable disease’ was also said, suggesting that he has got the condition forever, highlighting the fact that it is a long and slow process for the everyday.

The editing that occurs is very slight, and not very noticeable as it is so continuous (continuity editing), however we follow different characters throughout the day referring back to another character. This feels like the day is dragging by and showing all of the characters at their best/worst stages of the day. It is not racy and no jump cuts are used reflecting back to the slow pace of things. This keeps the audience interested and not focusing on just one character, it breaks this up, it is known as parallel editing.

The camera angles usually reflect importance, wealth and authority, which it presents in this extract. Mainly mirror shots are used with the brothers, happening in the shop, whilst he is trying something on, and in the toilet, where we see the man’s head and the disabled man in the lower left hand corner, with the disabled character below the man, shows vulnerability and weakness. However the disabled character acts and looks like the man’s conscience, and it has a powerful impact on how the scene is perceived. In the cafe shot we first see the two coffees, they both look exactly the same, it instantly changes when the woman puts a biscuit on the disabled mans saucer. It stereotypically shows that the woman thinks the man is mentally disabled and is ‘special’, therefore is treated differently and like a child. Referring back to the character Eli, when he is targeted by the bunch of drunken ladies, the camera footage is shaky, as if it were to be amateur footage; the camera is panning around him and the group of girls with him in the middle, as if there were to be no escape. When he collapses the camera topples over with him, spinning around, giving the audience a sense that they are there with him, experiencing the fall as he goes down. As if the camera had been dropped it lies on the road, showing some of the tarmac, along with the eye line view of Eli’s unconscious body, making him look weak and vulnerable.

At the end of the clip the man in the wheelchair has a sense of control over Eli, when he makes the call to the ambulance; it is a low angle shot, showing a role reversal (Eli and man in wheel chair) which goes against stereotypical views of disabled people. This implies that he is not worthless and is useful in situations like these, ending the scene in a positive way, having high hopes on the disabled man.
As Schedule 2012-13

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Cranford Essay- Representation of Class + Status



Within this extract of the TV Drama ‘Cranford’ class is presented, we see the difference between each character is the mise-en-scene, and the way the characters are dressed. The first character we see is Harry, who appears to be of the lower class, as he is wearing scruffy clothes, no shoes, along with his family who also appear to be in the same type of clothing. Another pointer is that (as it is Harry’s birthday) Harry receives a gift of an old pair of boots. In the next scene we see a low angle shot looking up at Mr Carter (which slowly pans up his body), a wealthy man who lives in the Manor. We are first introduced to this character by looking at his boots, which are much cleaner and expensive than Harry’s pair. We instantly can see the differences in the two-shot that Mr Carter is rich and higher authority out of the two characters, and is wearing expensive clothes which show he is of a higher class; he is wearing expensive boots and a cane which portrays that he has more money to spend on necessities such as canes. However, the Lady of the manor is of a higher class than the two, because of her poise and extravagant, expensive dress. This is also shown by using a low angle shot, of her standing on the steps, whilst making Harry look weak and vulnerable.  
With the low key lighting focusing on Harry in the beginning shot, it shows his emotions more clearly, with him being slightly unhappy, and miserable. However the low key lighting also reflects on the era in which the TV drama was set in showing that the family have no electricity in the run down shack, but only lit by a single candle. In addition to this the contrast between the shack and the manor house, is that the shack itself is not really focused on, whereas Mr Carter’s office is, showing a type of establishing shot of the whole room in order to emphasise the wealth of the man.

The sound used is mainly diegetic sound, such as; the birds and rustling of branches as Harry is trying to run home with the sack of potatoes to feed his family, mainly to create the ambience of the scene. Accents and dialects are usually associated with the type of class and status that you have, in this case Harry’s father says, ‘’Appy birthday, ‘Arry’, this suggests that the family have not been well educated and ‘learning isn’t for everyone’, this also portrays that he has a negative outlook on life and doesn’t appreciate the cleverness that Harry has shown. This juxtaposes with the Lady of the manor, as she has perfect diction, which shows she has been to elocution lessons. Non-diegetic sound is also used, such as heavy, depressing music to reflect mood and emotion. In this case sudden music was used when the father stood up in the shack; this indicates power and shows who is in charge. When Harry enters the greenhouse the music becomes dreamy and almost a fantasy, it is almost tropical, happy music to indicate the happy emotion of Harry, showing the other class, which is almost trying to portray that it is the better class to be in.

The type of camera angles used in this shot are cleverly used to show the higher class. Some examples of this are; the shaky footage of the Manor house covered the shot by leaves, which suggests that Harry is intruding and is not meant to be there. Various types of mid shots and long shots are used in order to show the cramped room in the shack, with frequent slow zooms on Harry’s face to show his gratefulness of the boots. When Harry and Mr Carter are in the office of the Manor house, the office is shown in a wide-angle shot; therefore all of the office is in view. Which is the opposite to the shack, as it is mainly focused on the family/characters. I also noticed that when Mr Carter was getting some bread for Harry a selective focus was used, it focuses on Harry’s face, then onto the bread behind him, then focuses back to Harry’s face. This shows the audience all of the events that are going on in the scene.

There are not many factors on editing as it is shown over a short period of time, but some of the things I did notice was the use of continuity editing, to create a sense of realism. The biggest section of editing is the jump cut from Harry sleeping in the greenhouse to the next morning when he is interrupted by Mr Carter. This shows that time has moved on in only a short period of time, this saves time and viewing time.

Monday, 17 December 2012

Cranford Essay

mise en scene

Harry
scruffy clothes
dark small house
bare feet
low key lighting

Mr Carter
expensive boots
cane
nice office


Lady of manor
white extravagent dress

ladies in carriages
curled hair, expensive dresses

man on horse top hat


The mise-en-scene in this clip reveals a contrast between rich and poor people. The poor people are seen to be living in the forest and wear dark, scruffy clothes. In contrast to this, the rich are dressed in higher class clothing. Focusing on Harry and the older man, he is shown to be a lower-class boy with little knowledge and no formal schooling. The dark, dingy lighting contrasts with the older man, who has clean and sophisticated clothes. The older man, Mr Carter, pays the boy and as the boy eats the bread in the office, he is seen to be sympathetic towards Harry.

sound
birds and rustling in the woods
poor family live out of the way
dialogue 'Appy birthday 'Arry' indicates non Rp speech

door squeaks = run down cottage
horses and well spoken Lady of the manor indicate wealth

heavy depressing music
music when dad rises indicated he hold the power
when no dialogue, indicates depressing
music when boy giddy= emotional
music upbeat when work commences on marquee


When we are first introduced to Harry, the music, non-diegetic sound is heavy and depressing, this represents the class of the boy, showing that he does not have a happy or fulfilling life at this young age. The door squeaking when he arrives home indicates that his family do not have wealth.
When the boy enters the greenhouse, the music is of a higher pitch which could indicate the higher status of the owners of the greenhouse.
The viewer is then introduced to the sound of heavy footsteps giving us the impression that someone of higher status is approaching and this creates tension.


camera
can't see the house in full view, hidden by trees shows Harry shouln't be there
camera moves with and focuses on Harry, shows he's important,
 over the shoulder shot of father telling Harry off
camera shos Harry looking up to all charcters
mid/long shot of cramped room
zooms in on boots, showing how grateful he is for them
mid shot of Harry alone in dark
house is surrounded by leaves and shot through the window shows he is an outsider
Mr Carter's boots juxtapose with Harry shoes
two shot shows the differences between the two
high angle of Mr Carter shows his status
Lady on steps = status
master shot of doctor on horse implies he is important

In this clip, the camera angles show class and status in a variety of ways. The juxtaposition of the shack and the manor is shown through the master shots; the shack covered with foliage versus the manor surrounded by  by space to show its size. The interrior of the shack is abre and the dialohgue is the focus, not the interrior. In the office, the master shot empasizes its status. A two shot of the pair shows the clear differences in class and status.  The camera follows the work of the outdoor workers to show manual labour compared to the lords and ladies in the carriages who are doing nothing to prepare,

editing
The editing in this clip is continuitiy editing to  create a sense of realism. The conversation between Harry and his father is carried out using shot reverse shots which illustrates the father's harsh reaction to his son wanting to learn.
The cutting between the shack, the greehouse and the manor activities reveals how the class of the charcters is closely connected to the locations where they live or work. Many uses of eyeline match and point of view shots are used when the focus in on Harry, indicating that he likes the boots and longs for the bunch of grapes but restrains himself; he is accustomed at the young age of ten to accept disappointment

Monday, 10 December 2012


Representation of age within ‘Monarch of the Glen’


Age is widely presented in TV dramas, as it defines each character showing authority and power of a certain character. In ‘Monarch of the glen’, the extract focuses on the character Amy, who we first see as quite young, wearing scruffy, average looking clothing. The other characters shown in this scene are wearing drab colours, which are fit for the work that they are doing, Amy is standing out as she is wearing brighter, younger clothes, which makes the characters more identifiable with age. With the non-diegetic sound of upbeat ‘hillbilly’ music, this associated with farming; hence there are workers on the farm. The camera follows Amy around, panning to her, having more screen time than any other characters within this extract.

By including the scene of the range rover, we assume she is over 17, along with the panning around the car, with a slow zoom, and her nervous facial expressions and body language shows that she is quite nervous, which questions the audience of her actual age. At this point the noise level increases with the diegetic sound of bashing and clanging of tools and the non-diegetic sound of the music slowly building in pace. As the range rover leaves the farm, the camera follows the car, which almost builds up tension; therefore the audience knows something will happen. However the crash is not filmed, the other characters who are working are being focused on which anticipates the viewers. Therefore we will see the reaction on the characters faces when the sound of the crash happens. This makes it more effective in my opinion, as the audience and the characters don’t know how serious the crash is.

At this point the representation of age becomes more vivid and clear, the middle aged characters immediately rush to the incident. Amy instantly hides away into them making her look weak and vulnerable, all of which are taller than her, making her look younger than she already is. The camera angle is disjointed and keeps reverting back to two shots and long shots.

We are introduced to another character, is the head teacher at Amy’s school, which she has not been attending. The head teacher is well dressed, and is very traditional, by wearing a tie and blazer, speaking with Standard English. Another representation that could be brought forward is the use of regional identity; Amy has a strong Scottish accent, whereas the other characters have English accents. With more analysis this could be a type of discrimination, making her an outcast to the group.

There is then a jump cut from the crash to the room with the head teacher. The head teacher asks for a Brandy, which shows, that he is stressed on Amy’s behalf, which shows that he likes to drink and is a representation of a stereotypical elderly person.
Another elderly lady presented in this extract is well dressed, and smart looking, although she never says anything and we don’t know whether or not she is related to Amy, but the worried expression on her face shows Grandma-like qualities, showing sympathy towards her.

Overall camera angles and clever techniques of editing have a huge impact of the way age is represented, such as; the use of high angle shots revealing her age and her place within society, this gives the older generation higher authority, making them seem superior to the young adult.

Thursday, 6 December 2012

Working Title Facts

      • Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983
      • Over the past 16 years, Working Title has made Britain’s biggest-ever movies including Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Bean.
      • The company headed by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner is responsible for 96 films grossing $4.8 billion worldwide, 60% of which came from Universal’s 46 Working Title releases.
      • Its movies have won six Oscars, 26 Baftas and prizes at Cannes and Berlin.
      • Working Title has fed Universal and/or Focus Features a lot of relatively inexpensive movies that have been consistently – and in some cases hugely – profitable.
      • It's one of the largest British production companies and is based in London.
        Title
        Release Date
        March 12, 2010
        August 20, 2010
        March 18, 2011
        August 12, 2011
        October 21, 2011
        December 9, 2011
        January 13, 2012
        February 3, 2012
        November 16, 2012
        December 25, 2012




         

Ford (AS) Media: Film 4-Facts

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