Media Mock

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of gender and sexuality using following: mise-en-scene, camera angles/movement/position, editing and sound

The sequence begins with an establishing shot of the drama Mistresses, protagonist Jessica. She walks up into the frame and glances around the room. Her performance paired with the objects within the frame work together to deliver meaning to its audience. The audience realizes she has stayed at someone’s house for the night and is trying to sneak out. We realize she doesn’t recognize her surroundings; the audience is led to believe that this is the morning after the night before for Jessica. We are then presented with a point of view shot of a photograph of three women. This quick glance and a cut back to the protagonist’s expression show the audience that perhaps Jessica has got herself into a situation she should not be in. The woman on the left in the photograph has been represented as the stereotypical lesbian. Her hair is short, her clothes are plain and she does not conform to the ideologies of what the media call ‘beautiful’. This anchors the audience’s impression of the situation our protagonist may be in. the woman then walks into the frame, our protagonist suddenly realizes what she has done. The music playing throughout is fast-paced and has a quirky tone to it. As Jessica rushes to leave, the sound and her performance bring a slightly humorous side to the situation. The two of them discuss the events of the night before within a series of mid-shots. The shots are tight emphasizing how small the apartment is. The mise-en-scene challenged the hegemonic values of a home. We sense something is wrong, as Jessica walks towards the door, the camera cuts to the other female character sitting comfortably within the frame. As she offers to meet Jessica again another time, we see an empty wine bottle next to her. This anchors Jessica’s actions and suggests whatever happened did not mean anything to her.

The scene cuts to the protagonist and a friend. The mise-en-scene conforms to the expectations of a work place. We see the protagonist eating a sandwich whilst talking; this suggests that she is on a lunch break. There is no music featured at all during this sequence, just dialogue. It is brief and confirms the explanation and meaning of last nights events for both Jessica and the audience.

Coming to terms with what she has done, Jessica searches ‘lesbian act’ on a search engine. The audience is presented with a close-up of the computer screen showing how she is doing this privately at work. The music we hear during this emphasizes her curiosity. Again, it is face-faced, but this time round it has a more suggestive tone to it. She is interrupted by the arrival of a male character referred to as ‘traffic-light man’. The shot we see of him is a crotch shot from the protagonist’s point of view. The fact that we see his bottom half before his face reflects on Jessica as a character. This shows the audience that she is sexually driven and curious about the body. The editing here allows the audience to see things through Jessica’s eyes. This shows us how she is confused and trying to forget what happened last night.

The scene then cuts to the protagonist and her friends. The mise-en-scene conforms to the hegemonic values of a home and the audience realizes she is at a friend’s house. The editing is slightly faster here. The four friends interrogate Jessica about her sex life. A series of tight mid-shots cut together fast emphasize how confused and claustrophobic she feels, forcing her to rush off.

Next we see Jessica walking towards the bed where ‘traffic-light man’ is laying. Again, another morning after the night before situation. The camera pans closer towards the two, allowing the audience to engage with the characters. He begins to show affection towards her, and she seems to be nonchalant about it. As she bluntly tells him he has a taxi waiting on him, she walks out of the frame. The shows her strength as a character, and how she has full control over the situation.

The audience then sees Jessica looking online for a second time. The shot the time round is more open. We see a mid-shot of the computer screen, but this time with a more romantic view towards the sexuality. The music is more ambient and features romantic connotations and works alongside imagery of women in relationships. As she is looking at marriage imagery this suggest how she could be coming to terms with the fact she could be a lesbian or bisexual. The search is then interrupted by an e-mail from a colleague. The mid-shots show Jessica smiling, and quirkily looking up at Simon. This expression represents and anchors her curiosity towards both sexes.

Working Title Films is a British Film Company which is responsible for the following films:

A World Apart
About a Boy
Ali G Indahouse
Atonement
Barton Fink
The Big Lebowski
Billy Elliot
The Boat That Rocked
Bob Roberts
The Borrowers
Bridget Jones's Diary
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Burn After Reading
The Calcium Kid
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Catch a Fire
Chicago Joe and the Showgirl
Dead Man Walking
Definitely, Maybe
Drop Dead Fred
Edward II
Elizabeth
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Fargo (film)
For Queen and Country
40 Days and 40 Nights
Four Weddings and a Funeral
French Kiss
Frost/Nixon
Green Zone
The Guru
The Hi-Lo Country
Hot Fuzz
The Hudsucker Proxy
Inside I'm Dancing
The Interpreter
Johnny English
Land and Freedom
Loch Ness
London Kills Me
Long Time Dead
Love Actually
The Man Who Cried
The Man Who Wasn't There
Map of the Human Heart
Mickybo and Me
Moonlight and Valentino
Bean
Mr. Bean's Holiday
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Little Eye
Nanny McPhee
Ned Kelly
Notting Hill
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Panther
Paperhouse
Plunkett & Macleane
Posse
Pride & Prejudice
The Return of the Borrowers
Robin Hood
Romeo Is Bleeding
Rubin and Ed
Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
Shaun of the Dead
Smokin' Aces
The Soloist
State of Play
Tales of the City
The Tall Guy
The Comic Strip
Thunderbirds
United 93
Wild Child
Wimbledon
Wish You Were Here
The Young Americans

It seems to have a speciality for popular British comedy films such as: Bridget Jones, Hot Fuzz and Love Actually, and also is responsible for historical interpretations such as: Elizabeth and Edward II.

Rough Trade

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England.It was founded in the late 70s'('78) by Geoff Travis.

It started off as a record shop. As Travis was travelling all over North America he built up an impressive collection of records. His friends suggested he start a shop. Once he has his records shipped over to England, Rough Trade was born.

The label grew out of the Rough Trade shop, as it went into distribution business. It became indepdendent in 1982, then went bankrupt in 1991. Rough Trade was relaunched in 2000. It specialised primarily in European post-punk and other alternative rock of the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the late 1980s Rough Trade branched out by issuing an album by Lucinda Williams. Other early signings included The Raincoats, The Smiths and Scritti Politti. Later, Geoff Travis late launched Blano y Negro Records in partnership with Warner Bros. Records.

Rough Trade was an independently owned entity - it was a partnership between Travis, Jeanette Lee (former member of PiL), minority partners, Sanctuary Records, Zomba Music Group until June 11, 2002 when BMG bought out the business. In July 2007 Sanctuary Records then sold Rough Trade to the Beggars Group making Rough Trade independent once again, yay!

Since its re-birth the label has released albums by artists such as The Strokes, The Libertines and Babyshambles .

Representation & The Tudors

Representation is the process of re-presenting people, places, events and objects through the media.
Media portrayals, and interpretations, etc.
Selection and Rejection, not everything is shown. Editing.

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Period Drama, - The Tudors!
Portrayal and emphasis on the Monarchy of the era.

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations of the Tudor period using the following

- Camera shots,

- Angles,

- Movement and composition

- Editing

- Sound

- Mise-en-scene

Immediately this opening challenges our expectations of the Monarchs of this era. The audience associate things such as: The Plague, rats, and sewage with the Tudors, instead we see a rather suggestive portrayal of the Tudors.
The opening shot is crucial and very iconic to the sequence. It sets the scene, and matches the audiences' expectations of this era. The throne and the crown represent and anchor the theme of this drama. It also shows power and authority that King Henry the VIII had, and prepares to audience for what they are about to embark on. Working alongside these iconic images is a powerful voice over. Henry is talking directly to the audience, drawing them in and creating several enigmas with the words: "you think you know the story, but you only know how it ends". This adds mystery and makes the audience realise they are about to discover a different portrayal of the Tudors. It is intriguing and exciting.

This title sequence is build on this notion of fast-pace editing working closing alongside a carefully constructed soundtrack. The audience are presented with a series of subliminal images. These iconic images that flash so fast, the audience are given more information that they realise, subconsciously.

The marketing for the television show has portrayed the characters in portraits. The style used in post-production has created the illusion that these photographs have been painted like painting in the Tudor era. These conforms to our expectations of the drama and suits perfectly.

The drama opens with an iconic shot of the throne establishing a portrayal of the Tudor monarchy. The opening shot is crucial and very iconic to the sequence. It sets the scene, and matches the audiences' expectations of this era. The throne and the crown represent status and authority, and also secure the theme of this drama. This first shot anchors the hegemonic values of the era preparing the audience for the journey they are about to embark on.

The architecture shown in the title sequence instantly establishes the era for the audience. The castles and interior both work together in creating the illusion of a very dated look. The buildings feature carvings and furniture shows wealth indicating that this drama is focusing on the Monarchy. This also represents the effect of Tudor time and class difference.

Working alongside these iconic images is a powerful voice over. Henry is talking directly to the audience, drawing them in and creating several enigmas with the words: "you think you know the story, but you only know how it ends". This line suggest we are about to discover a different side to a well known historical event. From this point the narrative is now established. It is intriguing, a different portrayal is exciting and this draws the audience in.This title sequence is put together by this notion of fast-pace editing working closely alongside a carefully constructed soundtrack. The audience is presented with a series of subliminal images. These iconic images that flash so fast, the audience are given more information than they realize, subconsciously. This method highlights the key points and draws the audience into the drama. A soundtrack accompanies these images. It consists of stereotypical Tudor instruments such as the violin, the lute and other string instruments. It is intense and heightens the drama.

Mid-shots are important in this title sequence as they allow the audience to see the character without becoming too close. Opening credits are placed between series of images throughout the sequence. They are presented in a different light. They are allowed to break the fourth wall by directly looking at the audience. These shots are powerful and entice the audience, with eye contact to indicate that they are going to find out more about them.

These quick glimpses portray the dramatic themes that dominate this period drama. The first fast shot we see is an axe being swung down; this signifies and conforms to our expectations that there will be a lot of death and violence. There are also many flashing images of crosses which tell the audience that one of the key themes is religion as society was very much dominated by religion in this era. Up until this point everything the audience has just seen conforms to the hegemonic values of the Tudor age.

There are many suggestive glimpses of women undressing or revealing themselves. These fast-pace shots set a raunchy tone and challenge the expectations of women in this era. The lighting in the sequence is often candle-lit, in most parts. Particularly when we see the women, this is a reflection on the time and the character. The dim glow from the candle gives warmth to the scene and adds greatly to the mise-en-scene. Throughout the title sequence the music reflects and matches the images shown. A fast pace edit will be accompanied by fastened high pitched notes. This dramatizes the images the audience are being shown. This makes the tone more intense and has a very rushed feeling to it, creating several enigmas for the audience. In contrast, sexual scenes have a romantic tone to them as the music is softer whereas scenes of death are anchored by strong, thriving notes.

Throughout there is a consistent theme of religion iconography. Such as Henry’s wives clutching prayer beads. We see a woman in black clutching the beads, she is the only woman dressed in black but also features jewelry this suggests that she is Jane Seymour; the only wife that died naturally. There are also many shots of priests and churches and several flashing images of the Holy Cross. Religion is also presented in a dark light with many dim candles this suggests a conflicting tension as Religion in this era was constantly challenged.

As well as beautifully constructed soundtrack the sequence features many digetic sounds. They are placed subtly within the soundtrack, but still work with the images. There are many shots of swords that are all connected to Henry VIII. These shots represent strength, power and nobility. They imply that this era was a time of war and conflict within the society. They can be seen as metaphors of sexual desire, in a literately way. The ravens are associated with this era and the Tower of London is featured in the shot also suggesting death as this is where many of the beheadings took place.

The sequence also features many close-up shots; these create a personal connection between the audience and the characters. We break the boundary of personal space, allowing the audience to enter their world. These shots force the audience to focus on a certain character which is not dominating the frame due to the angle and nature of the shot.

Overall, the score and soundtrack conforms to the expectations of the Tudor era. The repetitive instrumental secures audience expectations of this era.

25/02/09 Introduction to TV Drama

Draw a terrorist.
What an bizarre introduction to TV Drama.
Amusing enough, the whole class pretty much drew the same thing. A typical asian character wearing some sort of headgear. This is all down to the MEDIA'S REPRESENTATIONS.
You might be thinking how does this link to TV Drama?
Dramas rely on stereotypical representations. The audience do not wish to watch hours of a programme getting to know a character. Dramas conform to the expectations of stereotypes allowing us "click in" without the small talk.

Our exam is on TV Drama and we were informed that a question such as How does the extract represent groups of people through the four following elements?, could come up in the the exam.
Relatively easily, you just have to nail the technique. I have written loads of micro-analysis essays before, I think it is safe to say I have this down to the art. I may be abit rusty, I just need to get back into the habit.
The easiest way to answer this question successfully and under timed conditions is to pair up the elements! Yup, as simple as that..so naturally when talking about camera angles/cinematography I would mention mise-en-scene..because this cannot be helped.
Sound and editing also work pretty closely together.
& so on.

We then looked at BBC drama, Spooks, or Spooky Dooks as Nina likes to call it.
Spooky Dooks is a BAFTA award-winning drama series produced by an independent production company Kudos for BBC One. The majority of the storylines are tied up to the events of 9/11.

We watched a 3 minute sequence from the Drama, unfortunately I cannot find it by the code is disabled for it by stupid BBC so I wouldn't have been able to post it anyway ¬¬'

The sequence begins with two "teaser" shots, quick glimpses of two different characters. It then cuts to an establishing shot and the audience learn they are standing opposite one another. The camera work is never completely still, its fast, its edgy and has a very 'hand-held' feeling to it.
The cinematography here is beautiful. There are a few religious connotations such as a church in the background and a cross found in the building work. The two different character's shot are very similar suggesting they are in the same boat.

It then cuts to a closeup of a man sitting in a chair, on the phone to the character we have just seen before. Behind him there is a woman standing with her hands on her hip - connotations of a bitch. This shows he is dominated by her.

My favourite shot in this sequence was the shot of this character.
It's a low-angle shot, extremely close-up showing how the audience are powerless to him. The fact that he is stepping out of the frame anchors his authority. A blue tungsten is present, this connotes how evil he is, how heartless, mean and cold he is.

Why

simply because I have an exam on TV Drama at the beginning of June.
I am reminded of it everytime I visted the 6thformnoodle.

& I like visual notes okay.