Moving image

During the lesson we were to review a clip from a TV drama that falls under the category of bullying, embarrassing situations or dealing with teachers. Our chosen clip was on bullying. 

Before we were able to recreate this clip, we first had to take it apart bit-by-bit, scene-by-scene to make it easier to recreate. This involved watching it over and over again, pausing at each different camera angle as for each on we would have to pause and film it from that angle.

We also had to get a script together with character choices ready in order to make sure that we could quickly say the lines that we needed to say and not get confused or out of character. This meant once again watching the clip all the way through and writing down all the scripted talk. We also had to write down any major stage directions.

After this we left to go and film, with a plan of what we needed to film first (filming all the clips with the same camera angle at the same time to save resetting it all up over and over again. This meant that we had to film it in a really odd order and tried to film it all in one lesson, but was unable to complete it all.
During the second lesson we mad an attempt at filming the rest of the scene, but this became tricky once we found that we had forgotten to film a few scenes. These were scenes that we then had to improvise with when it came to editing.

Whilst editing, the missing scenes could not easily be created, and so the clip ended up missing a few moments. Altogether however the new clip seems similar in certain aspects the the original clip and looks to be a decent first attempt at filming. 

Shaun of the dead fight scene

Build up sounds before zombie appears.

Music appears, this is then bridged over throughout to the end of the scene

This music playing is asynchronous as it does not relate to the situation.

There is then a moment when the music lines up with the character being hit repeatedly.  This then causes it to become asynchronous.

There are sound effects added to emphasise people being hit, stabbed and the gunshot.

Shaun pulls a dart from his head and a short flair of sound accompanies it for emphasis effect.

The sound of zombies outside works to create atmosphere throughout the scene.

The camera focuses constantly on the person talking, so depending on who’s talking

essay

The clip starts off with the realisation that they are surrounded with a build-up of sound occurring from the zombies surrounding the characters. The build up causes them to put their arms or each other shoulders, which is ended by the zombiefied pub owner who puts his hand on David’s shoulder. Whilst preparing to fight him, the jukebox starts up and queen is playing. Comically they work out what they should and decide to beat him to death with pool cues.

The start of the scene is all build up and sound has been included in order to emphasis the fear of the sequence and this climactic build up us incredibly important. This scene’s fear ends with queen playing on the jukebox, where Shaun says “who the hell put this on” and Ed says “it’s on random”, this being a clear reference to earlier in the film where the exact lines are said, but by the reverse of the characters saying it now.

The queen song: don’t stop me now, is interestingly included as it is both synchronous and asynchronous in the sense that it is out of place with the horrific incident occurring but also in tune with the beating of a zombie. Shaun the turns to David and says “kill the queen”, to which a response of “What??!” he say “the jukebox”.

In an attempt to switch of the jukebox, we see that the David runs off to the fuse and starts switching the lights on and off, this falls in synch with the music along with the beating of the zombie. This also introduces the idea that it is also a sound bridge between being in the scene and just being the backing music added in later. This is the change between the music being diegetic and the non-diegetic sound. The use of constant dialog in contrast to the zombified sound means that we always find our characters out of the crowd of the un-dead.

 

Semiotics from perio002312

gender
 
As one dramatic example, the image and representation of women and girls in the media has long been a subject of concern. Research shows that there are many fewer females than males in almost all forms of mainstream media and those who do appear are often portrayed in very stereotypical ways.

In everything from advertising, television programming, newspaper and magazines, to comic books, popular music, film and video games, women and girls are more likely to be shown: in the home, performing domestic chores such as laundry or cooking; as sex objects who exist primarily to service men; as victims who can't protect themselves and are the natural recipients of beatings, harassment, sexual assault and murder.

Men and boys are also stereotyped by the media. From GI Joe to Rambo, masculinity is often associated with machismo, independence, competition, emotional detachment, aggression and violence. Despite the fact that men have considerably more economic and political power in society than women, these trends - although different from those which affect women and girls - are very damaging to boys. 
 

Race

A person’s race changes how they are viewed in media massively. For instance, if we see a young black male wearing a hooded top, then we assume thug, gangster or other various threatening characters. If we see an Asian character in a school scenario, then we can see that the character will be stereotyped as hard working and smart. Also falling into race is the idea that terrorists are often from the South America and so we assume that image in our head. 

This stereotyping also shows that if a character is involved in drug dealing, he might often be black and aggressive, whilst the white male may be the police officer. This is not always the case and in modern TV drama this is often reversed.

Class           

The higher classes are often portrayed as looking own at the lower classes with disgust and arrogance. These characters of “high” society, seem to always view themselves as above everyone else, and everything that happens is directly relevant to them

Lower class people are often portrayed as scummy people who will attempt to steal benefits, have intercourse with anyone and often end up in jail for committing crimes and getting involved with drugs.

Age

Age is an issue that is relatable to all, as everybody ages. The old are often seen as insane, and the young are trouble making. People in their late teens are seen partying and taking drugs and constantly having sex, whilst the younger teens are often getting into trouble and getting involved with the wrong groups of people.

Media has invented the idea that all old people have mental illnesses that make them loose their memory, and so lead them to forget their families and the people around them, and the elderly are often used when a storyline becomes very sad and depressing

Regional identity

The idea that all people from Yorkshire are farmers means that there are lots of bad reputations constantly evolving and people do-not seem to understand the countryside.

Other regional representations come with council estates that ensure that because of programs like top-boy, we see them as crime filled, and generally quite scummy (linking back to the class issues). Also seen in the media is the idea that people from Liverpool and Manchester are often aggressive.  

 

Definitions of words from perio002312

Representational issues in media.

There has always been a questionable representation of Goths in media, whether it be angry aggressive teenage males who abuse their girlfriends, or girls cutting themselves when life seems too tough.

An example of this is the gothic vampires in being human. One perfect specific character from being human (series 4) is a girl going by the name of Michaela Thompson who’s ambition is too search for her inner soul, whether that be writing dodgy poetry. Her character also spends most of her time attempting to seem dark and moody in-front of a vampire and werewolf, which ends in her seeming like an idiot.

This character stereotyping is common in TV drama as publically people see Goths as moody and depressed, which means that if you want a character to be seen as moody and depressed, dressing them up in black and attaching a few skulls to their clothes does that easily.

The concept of putting this specific character next to vampires is to highlight how fake she really is. Her character is patronising and insulting. She appears to mock their dark nature and later attempts to pay for food with an awful poem. On finding out about Hal’s vampire nature her first words are an attempt to ask him out, fulfilling the stereotype that all a gothic girl wants is a guy who will make them immortal.

Society views Goths as freaks who enjoy the idea of death and vampires, who sit in the dark cutting themselves because their favourite artist does it too. Goths have a very negative and comical viewpoint when portrayed by the media, except if they’re “attractive” and male, at which point they are seen as a heart throb who girls tend to fall for. It’s not male Goths that the public constantly mocks, it’s the female ones. Male Goths are associated with being compassionate and loyal, whilst female Goths are controlling, manipulative and irritable. Another character example comes from waterloo road, where a teenage girl Imogen with her boyfriend Conner get married at an early age because of their love for each other, and this could be seen as quite a gothic act with a theme of undying love.

To conclude, Goths have always had a negative reputation in the eyes of society, with being moody, dramatic, and obsessed with death. Everything about them can be represented with a black skull, and people often see them as people who will commit suicide, and actually the truth about them cannot be summed up. The director may choose to show them in a darker light, with heavy black lipstick on and ridiculously tight clothes (the girls are also portrayed in a similar way) but sometimes this just doesn’t represent them well enough and actually they evoke social stereotypes outside of media, with the term emo being used.

 

Oscar Perillo

The single elements of the clip, Mise-en-scene, camera, sound and editing are all important as they are able to tell the audience everything they may want to know throughout the scene, and also they hold the ability to show the hidden meaning behind a scene or even storyline. In the monarch of the glen we see the use of these elements to connote the differences between the present age groups.

We start the clip with a scene depicting workers, in a range of older ages, getting ready to start working; Their clothes are those of traditional farmers and countrymen, this tells us that they are from a generally rural area where most people would be working on or around farms. This is accompanied by cheerful guitar strumming that signifies the idea of unity between the ages present.

This scene ends as we see a young lady leave the house dressed in clothes associated with younger girls around the age of 12/13, she also appears to be wearing allot of make-up when compared with the pale male she is standing next to. These clothes can be the first sign that she is in-fact quite young, and the large quantity of make-up can represent her wanting to look and feel older, as most girls today have also been seen trying to look older through make-up. The music change also turns into a slightly more upbeat tone as we look upon her, representing that she is not the same as these others and potentially more youthful. We also see that as she leaves the house, she has just woken up whilst all older people are already working hard.

She is then offered the keys to the car and asked if she can drive, appearing slightly startled at first by the question she quickly replies: "of course; passed first time". This then comes to be questioned when she firstly has trouble catching the keys and then a camera close up reveals that she is questioning her skills at the wheel and reassuring herself of the different driving components. This questioning is continued when another close-up on her male friend shows a certain amount of suspicion in his expression. This all ends when we see that she has started the car with a triumphant look upon her face, something a "first time passer" may not have.

After she has left, a mid-shot on the family working is ended with the sound of a car crashing. This crash represents the end of her lie, and the end of the world she has created. We see that she has rammed the car into another smaller car, and completely destroyed it. When we come across the driver we see that he is a much older man (represented by his white beard) and later he is revealed to be her headmaster, someone of both power and influence over youth. This crash literally represents the conflict between the two generations and I think that it is a very important representation in the clip.

　

The man confronts the girl with a strong and disciplining voice one might associate with telling a child off. The camera angle in this scene is that of looking down on the young girl and looking up towards the older man, looking into once again representing the differences between the two generations, to represent the conflict more, quick camera transitions have also occurred to bring speed and aggression to the debate. There is then an argument which reveals that she is actually sixteen, shocking her older male companion and then striking up further conversation.

We then come to the inside of an old room, decorated with old relics from medieval wars. Each relic represents both conflict and age, adding to the representation of the building which also has an older theme occurring. There is a conversation occurring between the two men, which starts with the offer of brandy, a drink associated with age and maturity. The conversation that follows dictates that the girl is to be taken back to school to complete her exams, something that the youthful generation fears as much as she might fear returning back home. But exams also appear to be something that separates the young from the old in this case.

The Monarch leaves the room and confronts the girl with a similar disciplining voice heard from the headmaster. The conversation that follows has the same camera angles as before, with the young being looked down upon and the old being looked up at. This still represents the conflict between ages and how they appear to each other now. The conversation itself involves a discussion where the young girl explains how her father has no time for her and doesn't care, something similar to what a child might say after having a tantrum. She then storms off crying in the same fashion as the immature debate they just had.

We then cut back to an image of the countryside with a rainbow with music similar to the start, but more cheerful, altogether representing tranquillity and calm. They are all working together to do the task at hand and the camera angles depict reveal them all to be old.

Cutting back to the girl, we see that she has left on her bed a note for certain people, accompanied by small toys and other trinkets associated with young children. This is her once again trying to escape her youth and leaving it behind is her way of doing that. The sad music that accompanies it is an attempt to bring a strong emotional feeling towards her from the audience. We see the older woman enter the room and instantly reach for the teddy bear on the bed, showing that whilst there is conflict between the ages, there is also a nurturing instinct from a motherly source.

one final look at the working party who are now up-routing a dock from the side of a lake continues on to show that as they do so, an older man (once again representing the elderly in the conflict between young and old) is demanding they put it back. This older man is frantic about what he is yelling, and appears the be represented as foolish as the younger leader of the group mocks him as he continues to work. This is disrespectfully showing him off to be a senile old fool, and looks at him from the point of view of the monarch.

We final end when the woman who had found that the girl had left comes running, in a slow and elderly manner, up to the monarch and says that the girl has left. The idea that she is also out of breath at this point is reinforcing her age more. The final shot is a close up on the monarch as his face displays his idea that she is in-fact just a child who is now in danger.

Throughout this clip we see that whilst she has apparently upheld the idea that she is older than she actually is, she then starts to reveal more and more that she is younger than they believe, showing signs of temper tantrums, the inability to drive, and finally running away once again. We also see that as her character develops into the young child she really is, other characters change with her, becoming more protective around her or in the case of the monarch, taking on a stern father figure towards her.