Exam Preparation – Section B Question Essay Plan

‘Media production is dominated by global institutions, which sell their products and services to national audiences’.
To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Doc Martin – Textual Analysis

Camerawork:

• There are long, lingering shots of the country side to emphasise the scenery.
• There is a lot of contrast between Doc Martin and the locals; where he is a bit stressed and rushes around a lot, the locals are calmer and more relaxed, which is showed when the camera follows him, rushing like him, whereas the shots of the locals are relaxed, slower, and their shots are much longer.
• A hand held shot is used when Doc Martin panics, the camera shakes a bit, whereas the locals are calmer.

Editing:

• Doc Martin also has the most screen time, which establishes him as the main character against the locals.
• A filter is used on Doc Martin to make him look paler, to contrast with the healthy, country-looking locals, which highlights the fact he is from the city.
• Doc Martin has lots of reaction shots, showing how he is so used to the city life and not used the countryside lifestyle.
• When he is angry, the shots are faster, which shows his impatience and short temper, whereas the locals are calmer about all the things he is getting stressed about and their shots are long and slow paced.

Sound:

• Some of the diegetic sounds have been emphasised, such as the seagulls, to highlight the setting and the contrast against Doc Martin’s impatience and city ways.
• Doc Martin’s voice is much louder than the others, making him clearly the odd one out. His voice is dominant, and he stands out from the locals as a city man.

Mise-en-scene:

• Doc Martin is in a navy suit and tie, clearly dressed for the city, whereas the locals are all in more regionally appropriate clothing. His suit represents his inside office job, whereas the locals wear more ‘earthy’ colours such as greens and browns. His suit contrasts against the other characters and the scenery to highlight where he is from.
• The room that Doc Martin is staying in is very dark and gloomy, matching his mood and character, whereas the outside is much brighter, matching the moods of the other characters.
• One of the plumbers is really relaxed about how he is eating his food and the way he is talking to the other characters in the scene, displaying his relaxed approach in the village as he is totally at home.
• Doc Martin speaks in a more well-spoken voice as opposed to the dialect of the locals, which establishes him as ‘different’ and possibly better educated.

Doctor Who – Textual Analysis

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following: camera shots/angles/movement/composition, editing, sound design and mise en scene.

The clip shows the Master going from seeming to be the most important person in the room (and possibly in the world), to being curled up on the floor. Who makes him like this?
A woman.

To begin with, the camera is looking up at the Master, showing his power and status, and looking down on Martha on the floor, trying to make her seem subservient. Throughout the clip, this slowly changes, with the Master becoming literally and metaphorically lower, and Martha rising up as she tells her story, gaining power and control over the Master.
At the start of the clip, she is pushed into the room by two men, who are towering above her. This makes her look small and helpless as though she has been overpowered by men. Despite this, she remains consistently defiant, shown through her uncaring body language and her facial expression. When she throws her device to the Master, she throws it slightly too low, forcing him to bend and catch it, bringing him down a little, and signifying that he is not all-powerful, despite what he thinks.
Another way men are shown to be more powerful is through the roles of the other people in the room. All of the soldiers are men, which is a position of power, and two of the hostages are women, both dressed as maids, supporting a stereotypical housewife view of women.
The only other woman in the scene is a blonde woman in a red dress, stood at the Master’s side. Although she, too, is higher up than Martha, she doesn’t appear to have the same authority as the Master. She doesn’t seem very happy, and their relationship is not portrayed as a loving one, implying she is there more as a ‘trophy wife’, to look pretty for the Master. The reason she puts up with this could be to gain money, power and status, which could represent another stereotyical view of women, a ‘gold digger’.
Gender is shown using sound design mainly by the voices of those working for the Master; the voice controlling the launch is clearly a male one, once again showing a man having lots of power, whereas the weapons have female voices; these things are just doing what the Master says and seem to have no independent thought. However, it could also be argued that since they are weapons, they have power, which is a reversal of gender stereotype.
Despite these negative female stereotypes, Martha goes on to ‘defeat’ the Master, showing that women are often underestimated. The music gets louder throughout as she becomes more powerful, and the camera angles change from looking up at the Master to eventually looking down on him and up at Martha and the Doctor as the ‘heroes’.
However, arguably, no women are portrayed as particularly influential or in control, as she only defeats the Master because the Doctor told her to, using the Doctor’s idea, and because she loves the Doctor. This suggests that any time a woman does anything good, it is for or because of a man.

A montage from This Is England ’86 (Shane Meadows, 2010)

Our exam at the end of this year will be on textual analysis, so we have been looking at This Is England ’86 from a textual analysis point of view, to get some practice in. The scene we are looking at is a montage from episode four, beginning at 14:18 and ending at 18:00. The clip is from just before the climax of the film.
(It’s not technically a montage; a montage is a series of clips set to music, whereas this is has occasional dialogue. However, I’m going to stick with montage for want of a better word).

Episode four was directed by Shane Meadows, who also directed the original film, This Is England. Meadows often uses montages within his episodes, to establish the feeling of the place and time, and to show emotions while creating empathy. In this scene, Trev tells Lol that she was raped by Mick, Lol’s father. Milky and Woody set out to plan a last minute wedding, rounding up the rest of their gang. Combo prepares to see his mother, and Shaun gives him some of his father’s clothes, bringing back emotions from the original film, where Shaun is the main focus. This time around, Shaun takes a more backseat role, while other characters, such as Trev and Combo, take a bigger role, allowing us to see into their lives. This creates empathy with them, as we see their true emotions, rather than the tough outer shell the members of the gang try to create around themselves. The scene is bittersweet; feelings and emotions are contrasted between Trev’s sadness and Woody’s excitement.

Sound Design:
This particular montage uses a composed score, created specifically to evoke and manipulate feelings within the audience. This is non diegetic music, sound added in post-production to have an effect on the audience. It starts right at the beginning of the scene, when Trev looks up at Lol, and continues right to the end of the montage. Meadows uses sound bridges to link scenes together within the montage to ensure continuity. Cutting from Lol and Trev crying to Milky and Woody setting off on their mopeds highlights the contrast of the happiness and the tougher times in their lives.
The music gets lower whenever something bad is shown; for example, when Mike is on screen, the music suddenly becomes very low, evoking darker feelings.
The music fades whenever a character speaks, to allow for their words to be the main focus, along with other diegetic sounds, such as the engines of their mopeds. The music does not stop, however, to ensure the scene flows. No dialogue can be heard when Trev is talking to Lol, because it is not necessary. The audience know Trev’s story, and Meadows wants the audience to focus on Lol’s reaction instead, in an attempt to justify Lol’s later actions, when she kills her father.

Editing:
The montage cross cuts between all the scenes at the same time, to show that they are all happening simultaneously. Trev’s scene is shown as a slow motion close up, to allow for the audience to see every detail. When Lol and Trev are on the screen, it seems to be a snapshot in time with a sad feeling around it, whereas Woody and Milky are happy and hopeful, and the scene is shown as ongoing. However, showing Lol and Woody at the same time shows that Woody’s plan won’t work. As usual in This Is England, even the happiest situation is tragic.
The screen time for each character is roughly equal, and the montage contains clips of most characters. The main characters, whose stories we’re following, get equal screen time to show that each of them is equally important.

Camerawork:
Different types of camerawork are used for different characters; Woody and Milky’s story is shown as progressing, with the camera panning on Woody’s shots to show that it is ongoing. Lol and Trev, however, are filmed with a close up, and everything is in slow motion. These techniques allow for the audience to really notice every detail, such as the bruising on Trev’s neck. The camera focuses on their faces, to show their feelings, and particularly Lol’s reaction to the news.
When Milky goes to ask Trudy if she ever completed her ‘marriage… license… thing…’, the camera is slightly above him, the way Trudy would see him. Similarly, when Trudy looks down at Milky, the camera is looking up at her, as though it is from Milky’s point of view.
Woody and Milky are often shown together in a wide shot or a mid shot, to show that they are both equal.
The rule of thirds and the 180 degree rule are both used within the montage. The human eye perceives things as nicer when they are not in the centre. For example, when Shaun is in his room, he is not directly in the middle of the shot, he is slightly off to the left. Half of his face is in darkness and he is alone, to show how isolated and lonely he feels, especially now he is thinking about his father, who died in the war.
Shaun is also the main focus in the car scene; although Smell is also shown, it is filmed from Shaun’s point of view, as though we were looking at her through his eyes. Then the camera focuses on Shaun, from the back seat looking forward, to show how he is feeling. Combo is also shown in the car, looking upset, powerless and vulnerable. He is sat in the back seat, to highlight his lack of control.
Combo is always portrayed as looking sad and vulnerable. The camera often looks down on him, to mirror the fact he feels insignificant. His tattoos no longer seem intimidating; they look sad, and the tear from his eye no longer seems ironic.

Mise en scene:
The mise en scene within the clip focuses mainly on the fact it’s set back in the eighties, and the fact they have hard lives; for example, the houses and the garages remind the audience that they live in a deprived situation, to create further sympathy for them all.
Both Milky and Woody have scooters, which define the gang culture of young adults at that time. It captures their identities.
When he is in the bathroom, Combo looks incredibly vulnerable. He looks rough and hungover, but not threatening in the slightest. His hair has grown since his last appearance in This Is England. This could show that is no longer a skin head; he has left this behind him and has more important things on his mind, such as his mother.
Friendship is shown in different ways in the montage; Trev and Lol are shown hugging, with Lol gently stroking Trev’s hair to comfort and reassure her. This shows a close bond, made stronger by the fact they both share a sadness. Lol also appears dominant in this situation by looking after Trev, whereas she seems fragile and vulnerable. When Woody goes to tell his friends about the wedding, they are all sleeping on the sofa, half naked and hungover. Their literal closeness in this situation shows how close they are as friends. Another type of friendship is displayed through Woody and Milky. At one point, they are both riding along on their scooters, and they lean over and high-five one another, which is a sweet gesture.

Shaun is shown in his room, looking upset and isolated, highlighted by the darkness of his room and the fact he is sniffing his dad’s shirt as a last moment of comfort before he gives it to Combo. Shaun clearly cares for Combo, despite their differences, and is giving up something which means a lot to him in order to help him out.
Kelly’s room, like Shaun’s, reveals quite a lot to the audience. Where Shaun’s room shows reflects his lonely emotions and thoughts, Kelly’s room highlights her vulnerability. Despite the gang’s attempts to be seen as adults, they’re really still children. Kel’s room is plastered with mementoes and typical 80s posters, making her room seem more like a teenager’s room, so when Mick sits on her bed, she appears much more young and vulnerable, leaving the audience questioning his motives.
When Milky and Woody are on the mopeds, they are by the garages which were on the DVD cover for This Is England. On the cover, the gang is together looking mismatched, as usual, but happy. Woody and Milky are treating the wedding as a way of starting over, and this scene makes me think of the picture on the DVD cover, as though everything is being taken back to the start, with everyone reuniting through Lol and Woody’s ‘wedding’.

Orphan Black (John Fawcett, 2013-)

I watched the first episode of Orphan Black on iPlayer, and I was planning on watching each one every Friday, when it was shown on television… but I got so into it by the end of the second episode, I found the rest on the internet and watched them all back-to-back in one weekend. Luckily, it was shown in America before it was shown in England, so it was quite easy to find, because I’m far too impatient to wait a week between episodes.

Sadly, when I reached the end, I realised this was only series one. It ended on a brilliant cliffhanger, and now I have to wait until April 2014 to watch the next series, which is really irritating. On the bright side, there’s a series two!

First things first, Tatiana Maslany needs a huge mention. Her acting is amazing, and she played so many different characters convincingly; throughout ten episodes, she plays seven different ‘clones’, with more clones planned for series two. Maslany said that the secret to connecting with each character is music. She has different playlists for each clone, which she listens to before acting. She said, “Sarah’s music is like the Clash, Dizzee Rascal, and the Streets. Helena’s music is Antony and the Johnsons and Tom Waits. Cosima is Grimes and electro/Diplo music. Alison is show tunes, Les Miz and West Side Story.”
The hair and make up departments should also get credit; at one point, Sarah (pretending to be Beth), is talking to Cosima and Alison all in one shot, yet it is still easy to follow.

The special effects, too, are amazing. They allow Maslany to actually interact with her ‘clones’, and this video explains how this is possible.

When I began watching Orphan Black, I was watching it just as a time filler, so I watched it from a ‘media studies student’ point of view. However, as it went on, I got drawn in, and stopped noticing the clever camera angles and editing. So, I’ll talk about episode one and what I remember, but rest assured the clever editing and camerawork continues in a similar vein throughout.

The episode starts with an establishing shot of a train station, and several close ups of Sarah (Maslany) from varying angles. There are establishing shots throughout the first scene, to set the location and provide a bit of a back story. After a quick conversation with an irritated mother on the train, Sarah gets off at her stop and rings someone on a payphone. Her conversation is one-sided and intriguing, but does not give any information away to the viewer, it simply creates questions. This conversation is quickly overshadowed, however, by a woman acting strangely on the platform. It soon becomes obvious she’s going to jump, but Sarah does not rush to help her, she just walks slowly towards her. The camera swaps between showing the woman and showing Sarah’s reaction to her strange actions, but most of the shot is often obscured by station lights or pillars. This, combined with the relatively slow pace of the scene, adds tension and suspense, and as Sarah gets closer to her, the woman turns round. They are identical. The camera shows the reactions of both the girls, then follows the woman as she walks straight into the path of an oncoming train. The scene now quickly speeds up, showing a rapid compilation of slightly lopsided shots, to show the confusion and chaos which would follow a dramatic event like a suicide. When the camera focuses on Sarah again, the camera is unsteady, moving slightly backwards and forwards, which made me think of a heartbeat. The only sound which can be heard is the chaos in the background, some dramatic music, and one constant noise, slowly getting louder as though leading up to something. The camera falls on the woman’s bag and the noise stops, with the background noise getting quieter and the music getting louder. A CCTV camera shows Sarah walk up to the bag, pick it up, and walk away unnoticed. As she picks up the bag, the music stops, and there is a second of silence before the title sequence runs.

(Even the title sequence, by the way, is brilliant.)

There you have it. Only three minutes in, and I was hooked. I was instantly intrigued and interested. The camera work is great; the best thing about studying media is that I’ve found I watch things in a different way, and truly appreciate how much effort and talent goes into every single shot.

A Tale Of Two Sisters (Kim, Jee-Woon, 2003)

Recently in class we have been studying a short clip from ‘A Tale of Two Sisters’ (Kim, Jee-Woon, 2003), looking at the camerawork and sound design.

The scene in this particular clip starts at 06:00.

Camerawork:

• The scene starts with an establishing shot; this is a favourite with directors, as it helps to contextualise and set the scene. This shot shows us who and what is in the scene, as well as where it is taking place. It focuses on a woman sat at a dining table as a man leaves the room. The shot is quite long, focusing on the stillness of the room, and as the man leaves the room, highlighting the woman’s loneliness and consequent fear.
• The next shot is a mid-shot, with the camera positioned just under the table, which then obscures the half the shot. This means the main focus is the woman sat at the table, and it seems to imply that something is watching her.
• She slowly turns her head to look at the sink. The director then uses an over-the-shoulder shot, so the audience can see what the woman is seeing, and also her reaction to it. It puts the focus on the sink, while still showing the actions of the woman. Her body language is showing how scared she is, so the director focuses on her to make the audience feel scared too. The audience will instinctively interpret her behaviour as fear and thus feel fear themselves.
• Another mid-shot focuses on the woman’s face; the actress successfully puts across a look of uncertainty, unease and fear, and the shot of her facial expression so clearly showing her emotions helps the audience to empathise with her. The camera moves with her during this shot. The director wanted to use as few different shots as possible as a lot of editing can make a film feel less ‘real’.
• There is then another establishing shot of the sink, putting the focus on the possible thing inside the cupboard. The actress moves into the shot to save them from another edit. This is followed by a reaction shot, used again to help the audience empathise.
• The next shot is filmed presumably as a point of view shot, from the point of view of the monster under the sink. This is another long shot, which creates questions about what could be under the sink, while also focusing once again on the woman’s emotions. As the woman moves out of the shot, a girl can be seen in the background for a short amount of time.
• This is followed by yet another reaction shot. In the same shot, the camera then zooms into the woman’s face, again highlighting her fear.
• This shot is immediately followed by another establishing shot, which shows an empty room. The girl who was sat at the table has now gone. Establishing shots are useful when used at regular intervals within a film as it contextualises the scene for the audience (for example, showing the audience that the girl is no longer there).
• After another quick establishing shot of the woman crouching on the floor, and another reaction shot, the camera focuses on the floor. This is another establishing shot, as it is showing a hair clip which was not there before.
• The next shot is a reaction shot, where the camera moves down to focus on the floor and the hair clip. The woman slowly goes to pick it up… she gets it, and just as the audience begin to relax, a hand reaches out and grabs her wrist. The hand is shown for less than a second.
• She screams, and there are lots of quick edits, showing her reaction and her dropping the hair clip on the floor. These quick edits show the woman’s panic. A and-held camera shot then shows her moving away from the sink. As she scrambles away, the camera also moves back. She then turns round and sees the girl who was sat at the dinner table earlier on. The camera zooms in to just her eyes in a close-up shot, which then fades into the next scene.

Sound Design:

• The whole scene is unnaturally quiet; this hightens sounds such as jagged breathing and the creak of the cupboard door. The silence means a loud noise is more likely to make the audience jump and it will stand out much more.
• The sound of her exaggerated panicked breathing makes the audience empathise with her, evoking feelings of fear.
• As the woman turns to look at the dining table, the sound of a child crying can be heard. This is used to elicit natural feelings within the audience; humans are tuned to react to the sound of a child in distress.
• This is followed by a loud, unnatural sound, like white noise. This is an uncomfortable sound which gets louder and louder until it stops suddenly. This leaves the audience with the feeling of discomfort.
• The following shots are mainly silent, other than the woman’s breathing. This is all leading up to the sudden ‘jump’, when a hand reaches out and grabs the woman with a quick, sharp noise. The loud, sudden noise coming out of the silence makes the audience jump.
• She screams, which is another trick to make the audience empathise with her; whenever they can sense her fear, they feel it too.
• As she looks up at the ghost girl, the sound of thunder can be heard. Many authors and directors use the weather as a way of foreshadowing something bad; Thomas Hardy, for example, uses pathetic fallacy to imply something bad, and most horror films are set in the dark, or in a thunderstorm.

Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used in the scene. Diegetic sound is sound which purports to come from the world of the film, such as the woman’s heavy breathing and the sound of the cupboard. Non-diegetic sound is sound added in post-production to have an effect on the audience, like the sound heard when the hand grabs the woman’s wrist, and the white noise.

About the AS Media Studies course

This year I will be doing AS media studies. It is a one year course which is also 50% of the A2 grade. It is assessed by both coursework (a portfolio and a blog) and an exam in May, both of which are worth 50% of the overall AS grade.

The first 50% of the grade is the coursework. There are 100 marks available for the coursework portfolio, which is separated into three sections:

1) Research and Planning (20 marks) Research and planning includes a continuity exercise which involves filming and editing a short clip of someone opening a door, crossing a room, and sitting across from another character, and the conversation they have. This is should show the ability to use things such as match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

2) Main Exercise (60 marks) The main exercise is the making of the titles and opening of a fiction film. It should last around two minutes. This will all be scripted, filmed and edited by us.

3) Evaluation (20 marks) The evaluation includes creatively answering the following questions:

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
• How does your media product represent particular social groups?
• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
• How did you attract/address your audience?
• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

This will all be completed on the blog.

The other 50% of the AS grade is a two hour exam, which takes place at the end of the year in May. The two hours includes 30 minutes for viewing and making notes on a short clip.

Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation (50 marks) (Analyse and respond to a film extract from a contemporary one-off drama or series or serial drama programme showing on British television.)  The question is currently worded “Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of [something] using the following: Camera shots, angles, movement and composition, editing, sound and mise-en-Scène”.

Section B: Institutions and Audiences (50 marks)  This question will be based on a case study which we have studied in class. (Answer one compulsory question based upon a case study undertaken in class about the film industry.) It will be testing our ability to demonstrate understanding of contemporary institutional processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange/exhibition at a local, national or international level as well as British audiences’ reception and consumption.