The Wire & A Touch of Frost

The following video is analysing the openings from tv programmes 'The Wire' and 'A Touch of Frost'. Links for the extracts can be found below:

 

The Wire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIvu1yg3bU

A Touch of Frost: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hraDXLFtxA

Representation of Class - Spooks

I will be looking at the clip below from 0:00 to 4:28

Discuss the ways in which representations of class and status are constructed in the extract through the 4 micro-elements.

Right from the beginning we see the leader of 'The British Way', Sampson, practicing his upcoming speech in the  bathroom mirror. We see a close up of his face through an the over the shoulder shot, looking very stern and serious. The dim lighting in the scene cats shadows around his face and creates a dark thee to the scene. From this setting we already get a sense that Sampson is playing the villain. He slightly grits his teeth while emphasising the word 'anger'. This shows that he is obviously passionate and infuriated about what he is about to talk about, and that it is not laughing matter.

The soundtrack played in the background is very eary and dark. It creates tension throughout the dialogue, and sets a dangerous and evil setting for the following events. During Sampson's practice, we cut to 'The good guy', Harry, in the back of a vehicle being driven around by presumably his chauffeur. He frantically calls around his team ordering them to get down to the scene. This shows that he is clear a very powerful man, and that he has an entire team of specialists at his fingertips. The classy vehicle he is being driven around him accentuates his importance and significance in the clip.

We also cut to a scene of a white woman marking a large cross on an apartments door, followed by a group of thugs, who drag the black woman out of her accommodation along with many of her possessions. This shows us that not only are the regime of people selectively evicting unwanted neighbours ruthless, but they also have some kind of established plan of action, as the lady marks who is the next to be targeted. The camera tilts upward to reveal the onlooking children, watching the events seeming relatively unfazed and relaxed, suggesting this is definitely not the first time this has happened, rather one of many. The diegetic sound of a baby and other residents of the apartment screaming in terror, as they watch the masked men destroy their possessions as a sign of there dislike of them being there.

The camera follows Harry, walking purposefully into the board room, where his fellow colleagues are situated. We notice there workforce is intact ethnically diverse, proving that they are strongly against racial discrimination. Harry looks down to his workforce, asserting his authoritative powers over them, again making apparent his high status within the scene. Soon after there is a cut to female spy, wearing a hidden camera in order to film the controversial event. We see a view through her hidden device as she waits for the arrival of Sampson.

As William Sampson walks up to the stage, we get a view of his shaking the general publics hands, associating with them as he is the one man who is representing the entire nation. His increasingly aggressive and extreme speech on the peoples feelings toward ethnic minorities is reinforced with shaky footage of residents wearing balaclavas targeting people with other ethnic backgrounds other than white. The then goes on to justify his own anger toward these people, touching on a very harsh stereotype of other races intent of terrorism in the UK. This gives us a deep understanding into how this middle class man has been brought up, and his lack of ethnic integration during his life time.

His entire speech is viewed from a low angle shot, proving Sampson is a respected figure in the room, and that he is a clear representative for everyone attending the speech, also shown by the audiences agreement throughout. It is also noteworthy to recognise the progressively loud tone of voice used by William Sampson, telling us his underlying hatred toward the ethnic diversity in the area, almost bragging bout being called islamophobic.

Representation of Social Class - Shameless

I will be looking at how working class people are represented in the Channel 4 programme, Shameless. For this question I used the clip extract below from 0:00 to 1:56.

How is social class represented in the clip through the 4 micro elements?

From the very start we notice that the scene is set in and around a housing estate, which turns out to be located in Manchester. Various cuts of ariel views around the area establishes the setting of the programme and the characters lifestyle. The 'Jackwood Estate' Council flats are a cliché setting for lower class people. The unappealing sight of the towering tenements is typical of the rough area the show is set in and reminds the audience of the rough life stereotypes related to the working class people. The voiceover is of the main character, explaining in his rough mancunian, how he in fact enjoys his life living in the estate. This contrasts with the audiences view, as the life he is describing is some peoples idea of hell. His comically inaccurate portrayal of his life in the estate attempts to prove to us that life as lower class people is in fact how life should be. Through this we can sympathise with Frank Gallagher as we watch clips of his unorthodox approach to parenthood.

Frank, the main character, goes on to describe each of his kids, in which he cares for as a single parent.There mischevious behaviour allow Frank to see a bit of him in each of his children. Despite there chaotic life, he explains each of his children in a good light and quite comical, trying to pick out the positives rather than meantioning the quite obvious concerns. This show us that he manages to find positives despite his typically rough life. It can also tell us that he may have always lived in a flat, hence he doesnt know of the life he is potentially missing out on. Its also significant that he is a single parent. This gives the viewer an insight into Franks equally as tough past, and expands on the undesirable life he portrays from the viewers point of view. Its not hard to see that Frank does not seem a fit parent to bring up his four children, stumbling around the kitchen drunk, and a birds eye view of him lying on the floor surrounded by his mischievous children.

As the kids scatter out of the front door, we see a motorhome parked on the drive. This follows the stereotype of 'the rough family' that the mise en scene is trying to portray. Motorhomes are essentially a cheap alternative to a holiday abroad. This tells us that the Gallager family cannot affort such holidays, having to make do with the Great British holiday destinations.

As the voiceover continues to explain how great life is in the Jackwood estate, we see the entire community huddled around a fire, only to later find out it is in fact a car that is alight. This promotes the extreme views of the anarchy and chaotic lifestyle of lower class people, throwing empty beer cans to fuel the fire. Standing by the fire is Frank Gallager. He is shown in an eye-level shot to take a puff of his ciggarrette before gulping down the cheap booze in his other hand. This is yet more proof of his poor status, as ciggarette smoking is seem to be a conciquence of the lack of education about its affects, and drinking the only beer he can afford. He is seen behind the blaze from the fire in the foreground, portraying him as some kind of devilish and mischevious man.

The music throughout the opening scene is played by a flute, sounding like a tribal anthem. We get the sense that the people of the Jackwood estate are 'the tribe', gathering around the fire in typical tribal fashion. The neighbourhood seem collectively against the authority of the police, and may be seen as outsiders when compared to the majority of the population in the surrounding areas.

The police arrive later to the pleasure of Frank and his neighbours, their whaling sirens only adding to the mayhem  The sense of authority from the arriving policemen seem to pose no threat to the residents of the estate, as all traces of order seem to be lost. This gives us the sense that this is one of many times that the authorities have arrived, of which the working class have become a custom to. They seem unphazed about getting into trouble and the conciquences it may bring. Although quite extreme examples, this can reflect the nature of the minority of lower and less well-off people in Britain. The opening sequence finishes by a wide angled shot showing the scattering neighborhood as the police move in, concluding the chaotic and riot like scene.

As shown, this scene can tell us a lot about the representation of social class especially that of the lower, working class.

Ashes to Ashes Reinactment

A remake of a scene in the first series of Ashes to Ashes.

Gender Representation & Feminism

A video looking at how much impact feminists have made on how women in particular are portrayed in media.

Ideas of Feminism in the 'Cutting it' Extract

From the 'Cutting it' extract, we can decipher some interesting examples of how different genders are represented in media. Throughout the beginning of the scene we see a simple, back and forth conversation between man and woman at the back of a taxi. Five lines into the scene, Allie (the woman) takes Gavin's (the man) hand, showing her affection toward her newly married husband. Allie continuously apologizes to Gavin, asking for his forgiveness, suggesting the man, as so often, has more power than her. She is almost trying to 'butter Gavin up' by showing her love an affection toward him.

Later on in the scene, Gavin interrupts Allie, not once, but twice, another hint of Gavin's dominance. Despite his clear discomfort with the subject, Allie is stubborn in getting him to talk about the matter. Gavin is seemingly appalled at her perseverance, and responds angrily when she continues talking against his wishes.

It soon becomes clear that Gavin does not know what Allie has planned, and became increasingly annoyed at her independence. He then invites himself to Allies consultation before she objects to his wishes once again, making it all better with a kiss. This tells us that Gavin is scared of Allies power through independence, and would prefer her to come to him for approval before taking any action. Gavin almost likes to supervise his wife but seems easily pleased with a sign of how much she loves him.

The scene comes to an end where Allie walks crosses the road unaware of an oncoming bus, which knocks her to the ground. Gavin runs to her side 'Heartbroken', showing the viewer how much Allie meant to him, and he in fact how much he depends on her. This can reflect the increasing gender equality in modern society.

Representations of Gender

CameraWork - From the very begining of the video we sense a vunerability in the woman walking into the room. We notice the man is in a higher postion, looking down to the lady. This suggests that the male is more  dominant than the female and has more power, even having his very own female assistant. 

Editing - We see a good example of a Computer Generated Image as the camera points at. the miniturised and seemingly aged Doctor Who. CGI allows us to see this in the scene despite it not being real.

Sound - The man looks down at her in a derogitory mannor and persistantly proves his inteligence and wit when asking for the 'Teleport Device' and getting some kind of enjoyment out of her suffering. Western like background music plays throughout the scene, creating tension and an idea of a showdown.

Mise-en-scene - The lady obediently follows his orders, kneeling to the ground and submisively bowing her head at his demand. Again this is a significant symbol of the male being the dominant figure in this clip. The man then orders his robot slaves to do as he sais, further potraying his powerful figure.

The tables only turn when the woman boasts her inteligence, to the annoyance of the male, rising from her lowered position as he is presently sat down, to show her defiance to submit to the man. This shows courage and some degree of power, two characteristics not usually portrayed in the female stereotype in media. The clip ends with the previously dominant male backing away into a lower position, showing that the once apparent power has suddenly disappeared. 

From this short clip alone we can see some interesting themes and defiances with the representations of different genders in media.

The Job is Done

A short clip practising different shots, and looking into how effective they are in portraying the idea of the scene. 

The clip starts by tracking someones feet whilst walking. 

Match on action shots were used when going through the door, cutting from frame to frame showing that no time has passed.

Finally, the 180 degree rule is used to film the brief conversation between the two characters, having there head and shoulders in the foreground and the person speaking as the focus.

The clip also includes continuity editing, also known as invisible editing, to produce an almost seamless string of video. Here is the finished product.

Enemy of State (1998) Camera Angle Analysis

Close up, mid-angle shots are used throughout the sequence to create tension throughout the sequence. Cross cutting is also used to show the back and forth of the conversation. The supporting music also creates suspense and the sense that something bad is going to happen.

These are just a few of the close-ups found in this sequence, to give the audience an idea of the characters emotion, and a clear image of a two way conversation between two characters.

At 0:49 to 1:02, two characters are having a heated conversation. The shot starts with a pan, which circles around them both, giving us an idea of the scene and surroundings. At 0:52, we jump to a close-up shot of the person talking, followed by a similar shot at the opposite angle showing the other half of the conversation. In the foreground of these shots we can see the other persons head and shoulders facing away from the camera, showing us that they are talking to eachother. When each character speaks, it is shot at a different angle, also suggesting a conversation is taking place.made of quick, snappy cross-cuts, of the two same close-ups.

The editing used in the sequence suits the idea of a thriller movie. The snappy close-ups, intense emotions and intimidating music all supports the thriller theme and successfully creates tension and anticipation within the movie.

Editing with Final Cut

Camera Angles

Last lesson we learnt all about the different camera angles used in the film industry. We can use these variety of shots in our own work, to create a professional final product. Experimenting with different camera angles, we captured a selection of different shots to see the outcome and see which ones look the most interesting. 

Low-Angle Shot

Camera pointing upwards from a low position. A commonly used camera angle in films.

High-Angle Shot

Camera pointing downwards from a high position. Essentially the opposite of a low-angle shot.

Tracking
Where the camera follows the subject usually at eye-level. Can be filmed at any direction, in this case, from the back.

Long Shot

Filming the subject from a long distance. Gives the shot a good depth of field.

Panning
Slowly moving the camera around a pivot to generate a panoramic view of the landscape.

These shots can be found in many movies, and will be key in making my video productions look professional in the near future.