Filming My Hobbies Plot -

Plot -

Hobby : Watching Westerns

Shots :
Long Shot (whole body, walking)
Medium Shot (standing still)
Head Shot (zooms in whilst actor is standing still, also featured when actor is sitting)
Extreme Close up (on the eyes, Western inspired)
Feet Shot (walking, typical Western inspired)

Ideas :

• Pan shot following the rolling tumbleweed
• Stops at feet of the actor
• Pans up to extreme close-up shot of eyes
• Zooms out to long shot of actor walking
• Cut to sitting down
• Medium shot whilst sitting
• Low angle long-shot whilst talking
• Improvised shots during discussion
• Close up of feet, pan shot as actor leaves

TV My Favourite Hobby Video

The Shots -

Long Shot - From bottom of the feet to top of head

Medium Shot - Mid arm to the top of head

Close Up Shot - Head shot

Casting -

Actor - Dylan Koolman

Director - Morgan Redman

Camera Man - Emma Weeks

Plot -

Walking to location (10-15 seconds)

Sit down and discuss hobby (1 minute)

Filming of My Hobbies Mind Map -

Mind Map -

TV Period Drama Analysis Mise en Scene 'Downton Abbey' -

Downton Abbey - 

Mise en Scene 1 :

• Set - 1912 England on the day the Titanic sunk
• Location - Servants quarters
• Actors - Famous actor Jim Carter  
• Costume - Period, formal, maid and butler wear (Head butler in suit due to being in the presence of an opulent family)
• Lighting - Dark to show it is in the servants quarters (lack of wealth)
• Props - The iron used to iron the newspaper, the newspaper, the service bells (used to call servants to the aristocracy house owners)
• Other - The meagre portions of porridge for breakfast

Mise en Scene 2 :

• Set - 1912 England on the day the Titanic sunk
• Location - The dining room, upstairs of the main house
• Actors - Famous actor Hugh Bonneville 
• Costume - Elaborate expensive fabrics and outfits, period
• Lighting - Brighter as it is in the main house (shows wealth and opulence) 
• Props - Telegram bringing the news of the death of friends
• Hair and Makeup - 1920s finger waves
• Other - The excessive banquet for breakfast

Class and Status :

• "I understand most of the ladies were taken off in time…"
  "You mean the ladies in first class. God help the poor devils below decks… they're on their way to a better life"
• The quote shows how the bourgeoise were treated with special privileges over the proletariat. Additionally, the above quote featured in the episode is an example of the perception held by the upper and middle classes about the working class.

TV Period Drama Analysis Mise en Scene 'Wolf Hall' -

Wolf Hall -

Mise en Scene :

• Period costume 
• Quill and ink
• Dark wood furniture
• Elaborate head-dress
• Scroll / parchment
• Writing on paper
• Embroidery on furniture
• Excessive jewellery
• Small glass pane windows (typical of the period)
• Tudor style facial hair
• Writing desk 
• Both fair skinned (nobles were referred blue bloods) 
• Colour scheme of clothes (no access to various coloured dyes, especially bright colours)
• Noble costume and set
• Body contact infers a close relationship
• The male taking the lead with an inferior helping female
• Location appears very typically English
• Lighting infers serious, tense mood
• Elaborate gold box shows wealth
• Famous actors : Damien Lewis and Claire Foy

TV Drama Soap Analysis Eastenders –

Eastenders Analysis -

• 09 / 10 / 15

• Summation : Emotions are high in Albert Square when Ian demands answers from those closest    to him.

• Narrative : Recently in the show Ian Beale has been dealing with the aftermath of his daughters death and in the mean time his supposedly deceased mother, Kathy, has returned from the ‘dead’. 

There are aspects in Eastenders, as in any soap, that are an example of realistic society which conforms to the verisimilitude of most TV dramas. However, there are also elements of Eastenders that are not representative of wider society and are acts, which in themselves, are not accurate if the intention of the programme is to be naturalistic. 

Some examples of naturalistic elements in Eastenders are; use of appropriate and real settings, accents and dialect / use of colloquial language, representation of families and relationships, auditory effects and the representation of social groups (specifically varied sexualities). The buildings used in Eastenders are all real and suitable for the location in which the show is set in. Furthermore, the East London accents are present in the voices of actors as is the use of dialect in the scripts; the characters use a variety of colloquial slang / abbreviations such as “bruv”, “wots ‘appened” and “luv”. Additionally, the depiction of family life and relationships could be said to portray the life of many off-screen people within society. Characters experience family life issues as well as relationship problems which many audience members can relate to due to the implementation of naturalistic stylisation. Finally, the last realistic element of the episode of Eastenders that I studied was the representation of multiple sexualities through the use of hetero and homo sexual characters and story lines.

On the other hand, there are also many non-naturalistic aspects of Eastenders. For example, the storylines of specific episodes are extremely unrealistic with the character of Kathy Beale returning from the ‘dead’ after a life insurance scandal. Also, the idea that all characters, as neighbours, know each other and their personal business is not realistic for a London Borough. Furthermore, the timeline for the show is non-naturalistic meaning that characters, specifically ones played by child actors, often change and therefore character continuity is compromised for the storylines. Additionally, there is an disproportionate ethnic representation  specifically for the region that the programme is set and filmed in. Finally, and possibly the most non-naturalistic, is the exaggerated storylines comprised of murders, scandals and being returned form the dead.

Therefore, Eastenders, as most soaps, is neither fully realistic or non-naturalistic conforming to verisimilitude fully. This is because Eastenders is the medium of TV and the genre of a soap and thus has to appeal to an audience meaning that it must entertain as its primary purpose. 

Tv Drama Comparison -

'Eastenders' and 'Coronation Street' Comparison -

Both 'Coronation Street ,(Corrie), and 'Eastenders' are the medium of TV and are both soap operas. Eastenders is set in London in the south of England whilst Coronation Street is set in the north of England somewhere near Manchester. Therefore the regional identity represented in both programmes varies largely.

Both soaps primary purpose is to entertain; however in specific scenes / episodes of both programmes there are often secondary purposes that can be decoded by an audience. For example the scene from Eastenders that I studied had a secondary purpose to educate an audience about racial discrimination and prejudices within society. Both television shows feature stereotypes but these vary largely in the two programmes studied. Eastenders depicts age related and racial stereotypes whilst Coronation Street displays dialect stereotypes, unemployment and teenage or single parent stereotypes. Examples of this can be found in the representation of the Jamaican born character 'Patrick' in Eastenders; this character often makes references to rum and uses dialect associated with his home country such as stereotypical expression such as "yeah maan". An example of stereotypes found in Coronation Street include the accent of "taanight"and the dialect used when a character says "brew" for tea.

Furthermore, Eastenders and Coronation street both employ a realist and conventional style that focuses on actors and actresses portraying roles of common people. Many media forms tend to focus on the lives of the rich and famous but soaps do not usually adhere to this convention. The realist style allows audiences to become emotionally attached to the characters as they feel they share many similarities as the common people.

Finally, the tone of both soap operas are serious with comical elements that tend to be informal. The implementation of these themes also allows the audience to relate to the characters but also achieve a sense of happiness and relaxation as the occurrences in the lives of characters are not their own. As such, the producers of soap operas are able to create a hyper-reality which an audience can delve into and leave when they wish.

In conclusion, both TV dramas share many similarities but also have differences that means different target audiences are attracted to the programmes apart from a few soap opera fans who may be a fan of both.

Analysis of TV Drama Coronation Street -

Coronation Street Analysis -

Categories :

• Medium - TV
• Primary Purpose of Programme - To entertain
• Genre - Soap opera
• Tone - Comical elements, serious, informal 
• Style - Realist, conventional
• Other - British nationality
• Themes - Relationships and parenthood

Stereotypes -

• Northern dialect "brew" "taannight"
• Male  heart-throb is typical masculine builder figure who is unintelligent
• North / South divide 
• Cobblestones and back to back houses
• Teenage pregnancies
• Tense usage reflects northern dialect

Language:

• Verbal - accent and dialect
• Non-verbal - avoidance of eye contact to emphasise deceit and shame 

Overview of Narrative: 

• The episode is taken from the TV Drama 'Coronation Street' which fits into the genre of a Soap. The characters discuss multiple issues such as unemployment, single parenthood, teenage parenthood, relationship issues and family problems. 

Textual Analysis -

Code - A system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.

Codes can instil emotions in the audience through the use of effects and techniques.

Technical Codes - The way it is constructed eg. Camera angles, framing, typography.

Verbal Codes - Written or spoken language.

Symbolic Codes - Codes that can be decoded on a connotational level influenced by socialisation, culture, gender, ethnicity, experiences, social group etc.

Convention - What the audience expects to see in a certain genre. Eg. Horror = blood, murder, villains, zombies etc.

Deconstruction -

Medium / Format (print, TV, radio, film, Internet)

Purpose (inform, entertain, persuade, educate, gain profit)

Form (drama, light entertainment, newspaper)

Genre (science fiction, soap opera, documentary, game show, broadsheet)

Tone (serious, comic, ironic, formal, informal, objective, personal, scientific)

Style (realist, expressionist, conventional, unconventional, traditional, modern)

Other (nationality, target audience, director, stars / actors, public sector)

Visual - What can be seen.

Aural - What can be heard.

Stereotypes -

Informative - Provide context and educating an audience.

Exploitative - Twist the stereotype for a different perspective.

(There can be both positive and negative representations of stereotypes within the media)

Glossary -

Glossary -

Mise en Scene - Everything that appears within the scene.

Verisimilitude - Being believable or having the appearance or being true.

Production - Everything in the making of a text / film etc.

Code - A system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.

Convention - What the audience expects to see in a certain genre.

Continuity - The state of continuing without changes.

Diegetic Sound - A sound whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film, sounds made by objects in the story or music represented as coming from the instruments in the story.

Non Diegetic Sound - Sound whose source is neither visible  on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action e.g.. narrators commentary, sound effects added for dramatic effect, mode music. Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from a source outside the story space.

McGuffin - An object or device in a form of media that serves only as a trigger for the plot.

Match on Action - Match on action occurs when an action that begins in one shot is continued or completed in the next.

Shot / Reverse Shot - A film technique where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character.

The 180 Degree Rule - People in the scene must remain on their original side. If the side is switched then the movement of the camera to the second position must be shown. The audience must be re-orientated at the end of the scene as they are a secondary participant.

Narrative - An account of connected events within a story.

Protagonist - The leading or one of the major characters within a story. An advocate or champion of a particular cause or idea.

Antagonist - A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something.

Cinematography - The art of photography and camerawork in film-making e.g.. the style.

Archetypes - A character who's behaviour and appearance match a stereotype. 

Stereotype - A label that is attached to a social group based upon the actions/ beliefs of a few. 

Synergy - 

Conglomerate - 

Cross Media Convergence - 

Horizontal Integrated Institue -

Vertical Integrated Institute -

Marketing -

Distribution -

Exhibition - 

Analysis of TV Drama Eastenders -

Eastenders Analysis - 

Categories:

• Medium - Television Drama
• Primary Purpose of Programme - To entertain
• Primary Purpose of Scene - To inform
• Tone - Informal, Comic, Personal, Serious
• Style - Conventional, realist
• Nationality - Jamaican, British, East London
• Themes - Racism

Stereotypes:

• Age - Negative towards teenagers (surprised when teenager shows interest in historical subject)
• Race/ Ethnicity - Jamaican stereotypes

Language:

• Verbal - Joking tone
• Non-verbal - Body language suggests a feeling of being trapped within an unjust society, reminiscent of the feelings of being trapped by racial discrimination

Overview of Narrative: 

• The scene is taken from the TV Drama 'Eastenders' which fits into the genre of a Soap. The Jamaican character 'Patrick' reminisces about his past when he first arrived in Britain and was greeted by 'KBW' an abbreviation for 'Keep Britain White'. 

Types of TV Drama -

TV Drama - 

A TV drama is a dramatic television programme. It can be represented in multiple ways for example through genre:

Sci-fi:

• The 100
• Doctor Who
• Star Trek

 Horror:

• The Walking Dead
• Penny Dreadful
• Scream
• American Horror Story

Comedy:

• Friends
• The Big Bang Theory
• How I Met Your Mother

Crime:

• Breaking Bad
• Sherlock
• Dexter
• Criminal Minds

Fantasy:

• Game of Thrones
• Merlin
• Camelot