Thursday, 18 March 2010
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Representation Of Gender In Eastenders - First 5 Mins
Sound:
At the start of the excerpt it is clear that the voices of the four characters are hushed and serious indicating that the content of their convocation is secret and perhaps incriminate, in terms of gender representation we can see the men being more confrontational were as the woman is being more defensive and tries to brush of accusations were as when the men accuse and confront each other they retaliate with different arguments for each other, however we must take still keep the content of the discussion in mind. After we have seen the discussion between the four male characters in the car park we are given a discussion between two women, as with the last discussion their voices are hushed and agitated, one of the women is confronting the other, however both characters are displaying more emotions than the confrontation between the men, whereas before the male characters were angry and outraged, now both characters show earnest sadness and the woman being confronted still shows compassion and calmness for her accuser. After these two instances of vocal expression we are given a livelier scene of a bar with many characters vocalising in different ways, we can see confrontation regarding the previous topics but also about the state of a woman’s wedding cake, we also see both male and females acting brashly and assertively.
Camera Shots:
The camera shots at the start of the clip are intimate to the convocation, with loose over the shoulder shots and close-ups as well as midrange, also through use of the 180 degree rule the camera divides the accused and the accusers, giving a greater sense of confrontation and giving the audience a greater sense of inclusion as if they’re in on the secret. There are also some panning shots whilst in the pub all taken at head height, once again creating a sense of being there, perhaps this is specifically intentional to live aspect of this particular episode.
Editing:
The editing of this clip is fast and urgent fitting with the nature of the story, sharp cuts leading from one scene to another create a heightened sense of excitement giving the feeling that the audience have a view to a killing, making them witnesses and enticing the to make their own assumptions alongside the characters.
Mise En Scene:
In the first part of the clip when we are given the confrontation between the three male characters and the female on we can see that the woman is dressed in a white coat, this increases the differentiation between male and female and gives her a sense of vulnerability against the dark suits of the men. In the second scene we can see an advertisement for the cars that the recently murdered man that has been the topic of discussion, the man in this picture appears to have red paint smeared over his head, this connotes death, violence and blood and increases the sense of gravity of the situation within the community and creates mystery and intrigue as to who killed him. In front of the vandalised poster we see two women, one wears her hair down and is plainly dressed while the other is dressed more expensively with her up with a fascinator, the more lavishly dressed woman is accusing the other of the murder, it could be said that her more pretentious style matches her assumptive stance on the situation creating more drama in the scene.
After we have seen the confrontation between the two woman the scene changes to that of a pub, this setting like the rest of the scene is very domestic and gives a connection between the British audience and the programme, and in this particular storyline increases a sense of realism and again creates the idea of the audience being placed into the story line which could be intentionally in spirit with the fact the it is a live episode. Once in the pub the imagery is very stereotypical for a British location and the gender roles of the males and females are somewhat slurred through the inclusion of alcohol making both genders more aggressive and boisterous, we can also see that the females are dressed in a rather revealingly again creating links with the idea of alcoholism
At the start of the excerpt it is clear that the voices of the four characters are hushed and serious indicating that the content of their convocation is secret and perhaps incriminate, in terms of gender representation we can see the men being more confrontational were as the woman is being more defensive and tries to brush of accusations were as when the men accuse and confront each other they retaliate with different arguments for each other, however we must take still keep the content of the discussion in mind. After we have seen the discussion between the four male characters in the car park we are given a discussion between two women, as with the last discussion their voices are hushed and agitated, one of the women is confronting the other, however both characters are displaying more emotions than the confrontation between the men, whereas before the male characters were angry and outraged, now both characters show earnest sadness and the woman being confronted still shows compassion and calmness for her accuser. After these two instances of vocal expression we are given a livelier scene of a bar with many characters vocalising in different ways, we can see confrontation regarding the previous topics but also about the state of a woman’s wedding cake, we also see both male and females acting brashly and assertively.
Camera Shots:
The camera shots at the start of the clip are intimate to the convocation, with loose over the shoulder shots and close-ups as well as midrange, also through use of the 180 degree rule the camera divides the accused and the accusers, giving a greater sense of confrontation and giving the audience a greater sense of inclusion as if they’re in on the secret. There are also some panning shots whilst in the pub all taken at head height, once again creating a sense of being there, perhaps this is specifically intentional to live aspect of this particular episode.
Editing:
The editing of this clip is fast and urgent fitting with the nature of the story, sharp cuts leading from one scene to another create a heightened sense of excitement giving the feeling that the audience have a view to a killing, making them witnesses and enticing the to make their own assumptions alongside the characters.
Mise En Scene:
In the first part of the clip when we are given the confrontation between the three male characters and the female on we can see that the woman is dressed in a white coat, this increases the differentiation between male and female and gives her a sense of vulnerability against the dark suits of the men. In the second scene we can see an advertisement for the cars that the recently murdered man that has been the topic of discussion, the man in this picture appears to have red paint smeared over his head, this connotes death, violence and blood and increases the sense of gravity of the situation within the community and creates mystery and intrigue as to who killed him. In front of the vandalised poster we see two women, one wears her hair down and is plainly dressed while the other is dressed more expensively with her up with a fascinator, the more lavishly dressed woman is accusing the other of the murder, it could be said that her more pretentious style matches her assumptive stance on the situation creating more drama in the scene.
After we have seen the confrontation between the two woman the scene changes to that of a pub, this setting like the rest of the scene is very domestic and gives a connection between the British audience and the programme, and in this particular storyline increases a sense of realism and again creates the idea of the audience being placed into the story line which could be intentionally in spirit with the fact the it is a live episode. Once in the pub the imagery is very stereotypical for a British location and the gender roles of the males and females are somewhat slurred through the inclusion of alcohol making both genders more aggressive and boisterous, we can also see that the females are dressed in a rather revealingly again creating links with the idea of alcoholism
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Moving Image Production Has Always Been Lead By The Audience’s Demand For New Sensation
Throughout the history of films the audience has always had a thirst for something more intense and sensational than the last thing they saw, however does the drive for something new overshadow the plot and performance of the actors for something more visually engaging.
The Great Train Robbery was created in 1903 and was considered a milestone in film making, and although only 12 minutes long it featured many new innovative filming techniques such as cross cutting, double exposure composite editing, as well as various explosion and smoke special effects. It also includes one of the characters who took part in the robbing of the train shooting his pistol at the camera at the end of the film. If we compare the plot of the film to the spectacle that it created at the time it is easy to see that the purpose of the film was to shock the audience, and this was portrayed in their response to the film with the majority of the audience being stunned, especially at the end where one of the robbers shoots at the audience. One explanation as to why films have always tried to create more shocking visual experiences was through the success of this early film, with directors following trying to gain the same success with the same tactics.
To gain a better point of view on the question the film Dead Man’s Shoes could be compared. Dead man’s shoes is a British psychological thriller, with a budget of £723,000 which makes it a lot cheaper than most films. It was co-written by Shane Meadows and Paddy Constantine, and was inspired by a lot of the crimes and injustices that both men experienced when they were young. The film is set in the Peak District and features a paratrooper named Richard returning to his small hometown to enact a violent revenge on the tormenters of his younger brother Anthony, who suffers from learning disabilities. Once Richard has killed all but one of his brother’s tormentors we realize that the Richards disabled brother who had been with him throughout the film was merely a figment of his imagination and the gang had let Anthony die whilst Richard had been off on duty, this tragedy had led Richard to go quite insane. The film ends with Richard forcing the last member to kill him so he could “lie down with his brother”.
The film features next to no special effects and is set in a very stark and unglamorous location. This film definitely uses its deep plot and emotional psychological exploration to make its audience think about injustice and morality. However it does have its fare share of action with regular drug usage and strong violence, however none of this is glamorized and the actions feel more repulsive than entertaining. The audience reaction to this film is in ways similar to the Great Train Robbery in that both audiences were scared and unsettled my much of action and violence in the films; however the Great Train Robbery fails to enlighten the audience.
Avatar is a very recent Sci-Fi film with an extremely high budget of 237 million dollars. The film itself is shot using CGI, this is to make the content of the film possible. The film is set in the future were a space colony of humans try to force out a civilization of aliens from their home planet in order for the humans to mine an extremely rare and valuable element. The film has stunned audience with is luscious visual content which rocketed the film to be the most profitable film ever made. In terms of plot substance the film does grapple with some of the contemporary debates such as exploitation of resources and the destruction of culture; the film does not however explore these themes in particularly deep or insightful way, mainly because the grandeur of the film acts detaches the audience from a lot of the emotional and moral tensions. This sense of detachment form involvement of emotion is increased through the films distribution in that it can be watched in 3-D, this increases the visual sensation even more but does not increase the profundity of the film.
As a conclusion it is easy to deduct that as filming and visual technology becomes more advance we will see new breeds and generations of film based around the idea of shock and spectacle so as to make full use of the extent of the technology. However films that feature heavily around deep, profound and complex plot lines have been running almost throughout the history of film making and they do not intrinsically change. The increasing accessibility to film technology must also be taken into account, low budget films with rawer and starker content are being brought more to the forefront and often reaching the mainstream. These films usually include a more relevant and insightful viewing experience.
Perhaps all people who enjoy watching films are looking for something to create a different sense of feeling or experience to what they are used to, keeping this in mind it is quite easy to see why the majority of film audiences gravitate towards films which include bold and rich visual sensation because they are easier to consume as the audience members don’t have to emotionally or mentally involve themselves in a visually intense film as much as a film with a complex and deep plot line; It could be said that cinema is not being associate so much as an exhibition for artistic media but more for just another night out for entertainment.
The Great Train Robbery was created in 1903 and was considered a milestone in film making, and although only 12 minutes long it featured many new innovative filming techniques such as cross cutting, double exposure composite editing, as well as various explosion and smoke special effects. It also includes one of the characters who took part in the robbing of the train shooting his pistol at the camera at the end of the film. If we compare the plot of the film to the spectacle that it created at the time it is easy to see that the purpose of the film was to shock the audience, and this was portrayed in their response to the film with the majority of the audience being stunned, especially at the end where one of the robbers shoots at the audience. One explanation as to why films have always tried to create more shocking visual experiences was through the success of this early film, with directors following trying to gain the same success with the same tactics.
To gain a better point of view on the question the film Dead Man’s Shoes could be compared. Dead man’s shoes is a British psychological thriller, with a budget of £723,000 which makes it a lot cheaper than most films. It was co-written by Shane Meadows and Paddy Constantine, and was inspired by a lot of the crimes and injustices that both men experienced when they were young. The film is set in the Peak District and features a paratrooper named Richard returning to his small hometown to enact a violent revenge on the tormenters of his younger brother Anthony, who suffers from learning disabilities. Once Richard has killed all but one of his brother’s tormentors we realize that the Richards disabled brother who had been with him throughout the film was merely a figment of his imagination and the gang had let Anthony die whilst Richard had been off on duty, this tragedy had led Richard to go quite insane. The film ends with Richard forcing the last member to kill him so he could “lie down with his brother”.
The film features next to no special effects and is set in a very stark and unglamorous location. This film definitely uses its deep plot and emotional psychological exploration to make its audience think about injustice and morality. However it does have its fare share of action with regular drug usage and strong violence, however none of this is glamorized and the actions feel more repulsive than entertaining. The audience reaction to this film is in ways similar to the Great Train Robbery in that both audiences were scared and unsettled my much of action and violence in the films; however the Great Train Robbery fails to enlighten the audience.
Avatar is a very recent Sci-Fi film with an extremely high budget of 237 million dollars. The film itself is shot using CGI, this is to make the content of the film possible. The film is set in the future were a space colony of humans try to force out a civilization of aliens from their home planet in order for the humans to mine an extremely rare and valuable element. The film has stunned audience with is luscious visual content which rocketed the film to be the most profitable film ever made. In terms of plot substance the film does grapple with some of the contemporary debates such as exploitation of resources and the destruction of culture; the film does not however explore these themes in particularly deep or insightful way, mainly because the grandeur of the film acts detaches the audience from a lot of the emotional and moral tensions. This sense of detachment form involvement of emotion is increased through the films distribution in that it can be watched in 3-D, this increases the visual sensation even more but does not increase the profundity of the film.
As a conclusion it is easy to deduct that as filming and visual technology becomes more advance we will see new breeds and generations of film based around the idea of shock and spectacle so as to make full use of the extent of the technology. However films that feature heavily around deep, profound and complex plot lines have been running almost throughout the history of film making and they do not intrinsically change. The increasing accessibility to film technology must also be taken into account, low budget films with rawer and starker content are being brought more to the forefront and often reaching the mainstream. These films usually include a more relevant and insightful viewing experience.
Perhaps all people who enjoy watching films are looking for something to create a different sense of feeling or experience to what they are used to, keeping this in mind it is quite easy to see why the majority of film audiences gravitate towards films which include bold and rich visual sensation because they are easier to consume as the audience members don’t have to emotionally or mentally involve themselves in a visually intense film as much as a film with a complex and deep plot line; It could be said that cinema is not being associate so much as an exhibition for artistic media but more for just another night out for entertainment.
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