Teachers Evaluation

• During the interview, the switching of shots from a medium shot of Jenny or Susan to the group of 5 interviewers gave the impression that they were being ganged up on, the use of reaction shots when either Jenny or Susan made a banterous line was used to great effect to show the cold nature of the headteacher and the board
• When Simon was cycling at any point during the show, he would ride standing and oftenly swerving, a comarison to a fellow cyclist (a child) is easily made. After it is revealed that he is dating Maggie, when he cycles away he faces away but swears at the students, this a key sign of immaturity as instead of taking the high ground, he is swearing at minors. The camera stays still, it could be used as if someone is watching him cycle away.
• When in the bar, they are joined by Jenny and the expressions of the three men are seen from a side angle-three shot. This is used to give reaction shots but from a more obtuse angle, this use of shot is oftenly used to replace a three shot whilst avoiding repetition of shots. It is then changed to a face on three shot to exacerbate the reaction when Jenny could be head of year. The awkward smiles are also a sign of comic relief.

Notes on Exams

The 3 Main Criteria
Explanation, Analysis, Argument
Examples from what is seen
Terminology

LEVEL 1
Referring to the question (...in relation to...)
Don't use intrusive spelling mistakes and legible spelling

LEVEL 2
Representation
Mise en Scene - Sound - Camera Angles - Editing

LEVEL 3
Proficient understanding of the task
Consistent textual evidence and range of examples

LEVEL 4
Excellent understanding of the question
Frequent textual analysis
Full range of examples from technical areas
Use of terminology is relevant and accurate
Opinions

THE TOPICAL GROUPS
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Sexuality
Disability

Love Thy Neighbour Analysis

Love thy Neighbour is a controversial 70's sitcom revolving around the fluctuating relationship between socialist white man Eddie Booth and black conservative Bill Reynolds. The directors played off the ethnic relationship as well as political and social differences. It grew into a cult following but its political incorrectness would be the death of it.

In the scene I watched, Bill has made a bet with Eddie that because he is black, he is treated as less of a person than a white man, due to Eddie's stubborn nature he agrees and paints his face and wears a garishly large black wig. The humour of this scene derives from the viewer understanding that this is not open racism but poking fun at the ideas of racism. It also stems from Eddies sheer ignorance.

The surroundings for this scene are obviously posh, upper class and in 70's culture, an only white based bar. The white walls and gold trimming adds to the overtly 'white' based nature. When eventually a character does enter he is a typical upper class, fat, monocled WASP. His accent and attire are stereotypical of the upper classes, and his ignorance is also laughed at, when comparing Eddie to a member of the 'Black Minstrels'.

The director has compromised the scene entirely of two shots and over the shoulder shots when Eddie and Bill are talking about Bill's past, the switch from one to the other with the incorporation of reaction shots for some of Eddie's lines. Bill knows that Eddie is not being racist but is just poorly informed of evolution. His ideas are misguided and based on movies and assumptions. For example, he believes that black people evolved from monkeys compared to white people evolving from Adam and Eve solely on the fact that 'there are no monkeys in the UK' and he has seen Adam and Eve 'on a Swedish movie'. This ignorance is once again laughed off by Bill, thus quelling the tension that would be felt in a normal situation. This awkwardness is another aspect of the comic relief.

When the portly posh man begins talking to Eddie and Bill the use of three shots and close ups of just the man are used to great effect, the three shot shows the man trying to impress Eddie. It also shows Eddie reeling away, trying to avoid the man’s advances, as well as Bill revelling in the situation, laughing at how involved Eddie has become. The canned laughter also helps diffuse the situation, without insulting the viewer; it can be used to cue viewers at home to laugh along.

The show tries to simplify the show by avoiding complicated transitions but has one obvious and comical use of a fade. After Joan reveals to Eddie that the colouring he used to paint his face was permanent the shot fades out with the trio of Bill, Barbie and Joan laughing at Eddie trying to clean his face in a sink without it working. This use of almost slapstick comedy is the final representative of a comedy drama, and is used as a universal way of getting a laugh

Men and Women: Portaying them in 'Bodies'

Bodies - A BBC Drama about the NHS, mainly medical based.

The first sight of any characters is that of a female receptionist in a hospital, this stereotypical view of a female, in a small

Description of Representation

How the media relates reality into their works. This also involves how the media makes certain topics more important by the coverage they recieve. In conventianal terms, a wildlife documentary intends for you to experience the world but there are cases of false representation. These include time-travel series' and many space related dramas.

Before the over-exaggeration of plitical correctness, many male roles were chosen due to the masculinity, strength and resiliance. These would be ideal for machinery or beer. Compared to the often softer, feminine approach to a female character. These are usually used in households products and hygenic products. They can also be interpereted as sex symobls for the opposite sex, this is common in perfumes and colognes. Race is no longer portrayed as very diverse races, in the early 20th century minority races were discriminated against, but this is no longer the case. Age can be used by drama for both comic relief and as a sign of weakness. An elderly character may be portrayed as unaware of the modern surroundings (and then hilarity insues) or sometimes in too deep (resulting in some form of uncomfortableness for them and the viewers)

Mise-en-scene with Skins

A house party gone awray, the house looks modern but after the events that occur involving cream and water, the house is trashed. The guests are oftenly half-naked, creamed and coated in foam. It gives the impression that the actors were told to go wild whilst a camera crew roamed around. This appeals to the teen audience with the promise of fufilling the dream party that most teens want to go to. Oftenly, drugs and alcohol appear as this relates to the 'common' teenager and the no-holds barred party they want. Bright lights and colours help the teen image, whilst the strobe light flashes help give the impression of hecticity.

In the second scene (S2 Ep1) the opening church/dance sequence helps enforce the illegality of the scene. In a church (a place of worship), the lack of lighting and the dancing all leads to them being sacreligous. When the scene cuts to the bus, the dramatic music and scene collapses when a bus rushes past causing Tony to flinch. The scene now centres round the closeness between them, with the sombre weather and darkened bus lighting are very depressing.

Coronation Street Essay

 In the 2010 sequence there is a series of long shots, and establishing shots. They are commonly used in the media industry to set the scene, showing places in Manchester (such as the waterfront and the shopping area) and the street. The shots used earlier on are of a better Manchester, an affluent Manchester.. However, when shots of Coronation Street start appearing, the affluence disappears and you can tell that it’s not a posh neighbourhood and synonymous with the show there are problems in the neighbourhood. The chimneys on the final shot, are shown in the sunset, however they are also very old chimneys, this shows that Coronation Street is plagued with council type houses steming from the 70's and 80's, it is more than likely that people have been living here for just as long.  The Rover's Return appears in a close up shot, showing that there is a local pub, and it must feature in the show quite predominantly.

The 1960’s sequence opens with a wide shot, it shows women outside of the pub, which in this period is an anomoly. This was a period of social inadequecy for females, and this shot of a group of women smoking outside the pub shows a social change from then to now. This sets the scene of a local area. The shot of the corner shop, also shows that its it quite a local area, the shot also incorporates housing, this view of the closeness of housing to shops is synonymous with the council estates of the 20th century. The rooftops wide shot, shows that the houses are quite packed in and small housing estates. The next shot, shows the cat. The cat became the symbol of Coronation Street and has appeared in all opening sequences, becoming firstly animated in the late 70's. It shows that Coronation Street is a family environment even with this economic downturn.

Review of Heart FM's Broadcast

Heart FM has an array of music for a younger audience but compares it with adverts for a slightly older audience. Artists included Beyonce, Outkast and Justin Timberlake. There were some songs related at a more mature audience such as Robbie Williams and Norah Jones, but these artists are still listened to by a younger demographic.

Camera Angles

Establishing Shots

• Set the scene
• Inform the viewer of the surroundings
• Show some of the actors in the scene

Close Ups

• Show the emotions of major actors
• Establish a relationship between viewer and character
• Shows something intricate to the story

Mid Shots

• Relationships and Conversations are made
• Shows scene behind and around the main focus actor

Zooming in

• Can allow the audience to take in multiple details
• Shows the first person view of a character

Panning Shots

• Establish more of a scene
• Can show a conversation while two characters are walking

Two Shots

• Perfect for a conversation between two characters

Hearts Choice of Music

Heart FM 102.6 - 9am til 10am
(The Soundtrack of Your Life)
Adverts are in a pairing of Astrix's *-*

1. Outkast - Hey Ya!
2. Justin Timberlake - Cry me a River
3. Norah Jones - Don't Know Why
4. Will Young - Leave Right Now
5. Room 5 -

*Vodafone*
*Advertising Maroon 5*
*Domestic Appliances*
*AFG Kitchens*
*Wedding Showcase*
*Contractors*
*Saab*
*Level 42 Concert*

1. Beyonce - Crazy Right Now
2. Christina Aguilera - Beautiful
3. Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not the One
4. Jamelia - Superstar

*Oxford Nurseries*
*Computing*
*Witney Shopping*

1. Phil Collins - Groovy Kind of Love
2. All 4 One - I Swear
3. Abba - Whats the Name of the Game?

Heart FM 102.6 - 2pm til 3pm
(The Soundtrack of your Life)

1. Destiny's Child - Tears on my Pillow
2. Ronan Keating - Loving Each Day
3. Blue - If You Come Back
4. Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird
5. Robbie Williams - Eternity

*Twix*
*Heart Bingo*
*Dentistry*
*Mental Health Problemed People*
*Nutrisse Hair Creme*
*Love/Family/Commitment Songs*
*Toyota*
*Humphreys Oxford*

1. Alica Keys - Fallin'
2. S Club 7 - Don't Stop Moving
3. Atomic Kitten - Whole Again

*Twix*
*Peugoet*
*Mental Health Problems*
*Aviva*
*Buildbase*
*John Freda*
*Burksom and Beaton*
*Vauxhall*

1. George Benson - Never Give up on a Good Thing
2. Edward Maya feat Vika - Stereo Love
3. Take That - Relight my Fire
4. Lady GaGa - Bad Romance

Introduction to Media Coursework

My Initial Research involved investigating local radio stations and the types of local radio stations. There are ILR (independent local radio) and publically funded BBC radio and are funded by TV licences. ILR are dependent on advertising.

'U Be Dead' and 'Lie to Me'

U BE DEAD

A two hour sunday special on ITV made me scared of Spanish women...especially if they are called Maria Marchese. This thriller was based on the true story of Dr Jan Falkowski who's life was tormented by one of his patients boyfriends, noted by the police for her Latino accent. She texts and calls Dr Falkowski and his fiancee (Debra Pembleton), with death threats including 'U Be Dead', thusly giving the story its name. After Maria is caught red handed at a phonebox calling the couple, she begins to acuse Dr Falkowski of raping her. This is later disproved in court based on the days he could have comitted the rape. Luckily, she was locked up and is up for bail in 2012. There is a subplot about him leaving his wife but I felt it detracted from the thriller nature of this programme.

LIE TO ME

This US series about Dr Cal Lightman (a specialist in Lie Detection) and his team, are hired by governers and civillians alike to solve personal cases. In a recorded episode, Cal is hired by the police to try and intrepet the thoughts of a officer gunned down in a slum of flats, and is now lying in hospital, a complete quadraplegic. His skills are used to spot that other police officers running the flats are charging extra rent on the tennants and keeping the money on the side, after confronting them after they arrest Cal's daughter for 'intent to supply hard drugs' (which have been planted on her), he spots one of the officers heads bow, a sure sign of being the weakest of the group. A session of interrogation leads the officer to confess.