Analysing Shots - Male or Female?

Frame shot 1

This is a masculine shot and is shown through camera angles, composition and shot type.

The camera angle shows an equal power shot meaning one is no stronger than the other, however due to the masked looking viallians in the background on her side of the shot shows that she has more control and power.

The two people in the foreground of the shot are in focus and larger showing that although there are stronger looking men in the background the couple at the front have more dominance of the shot, although she is a woman.

The shot is also lit up showing there is a lack of negativity in the shot.

Frame shot 2 

This is also a masculine shot.

This is because her face shows no emotion whereas in the background the men look frightened as they look at her.

This would show masculinity because the roles have been switched as it would usually be stereotypically scared of the male and as she appears more masculine than them and she is the main focus of this shot it makes it a masculine shot.

The woman is also the main composition as she is enlarged and in the center of the shot whereas the men are just in the background.

The men also appear weaker because of the composition; the men are lower than her in the shot showing that you almost have to look over her to see them.

Frame shot 3 

This shot is a feminine shot.

We can see that this is a feminine shot because the power in gender has been represented through the position of the characters because he is shown as higher than her and looks down on her, making her appear weak.

The shot is also a close up showing the emotions in both characters faces and emotions are linked to feminity.

The lighting also shows femininity because of the use of soft lighting & pastel like colours.

This is also a very intimate shot due to the close promimity, due to that fact that they look mesmerised not scared or threatened.

Frame shot 4 

This is a masculine shot.

It is a low angle shot showing that she has power and that she is strong and above the audience/who she is shooting.

She also has a gun in her hand which is closer to the camera showing the significance of the gun and the power she has.

The lighting is also high contrast, where the background is light and she is dark showing the evil of her and the darkness which she represents.

She is the only focus of the shot showing her significance and power as nothing else is to be seen apart from her.

Frame work 5 

This is a feminine shot.

This is because it is a high angle shot showing that although he has a gun he is weaker than the opponent that he is facing.

It is also femine because his face is the centre focus of the shot showing the emotions he is feeling which is usually related to femininity.

The lighting is dim which shows that there is alot of negative emotion going around the scene.

Because of the high angle it looks as if he is cornered making him appear weak and vulnerable even with the gun in his hand.

Frame work 6

This is a masculine shot.

The angle gives her centre composition giving her the most power. She is also the main focus as she is centre screen and she is dressed in a provocative way. Due to this all attention is drawn to her. 

The lighting around her is dim and the spotlight is focused on her, which also gives her power. 

The shot is a medium-long shot.

Frame work 7

This is a masculine shot.

The people at the front of the shot have more power than the people behind because of the composition of the shot, because he is bigger and the centre of the screen whereas the others are spread around the screen and smaller. The shot is a long shot to show the power between the people.

The lighting is more focused on the background and scenery whereas the characters appear dark which gives them a high contrast, making them appear more important.

The focus is on the character at the front of the shot to show his power over the others. 

Frame work 8

This is a feminine shot.

There is soft lighting and composition showing femininity. The composition shows that she is subordinate as she is looking down and appears vulnerable. The shot is a medium-close up which is used to show the emotions she is feeling; this shows femininity because emotions are related to women. The focus is also on her facial expression to show her emotions and to show vulnerability. 

Frame work 9

This is a feminine shot.
The contrast of the face against the background is strong but is still soft and shows femininity. The focus is on his face which is also used to show his emotion and the worry that he feels which is related to women. He is also the centre of the screen but as there is no background image he does not have power over anything, which shows femininity and power is linked with masculinity. 

TV Drama - Mock Exam

Summary of the 'The Street'

The first part of the clip starts off as a stereotypical argument that is expected between families going through money problems. The argument ends with the the husband storming out of the house. The wife then sends the kids to school, after composing herself as she got worked up during the argument. When the husband goes to work it shows that he is a builder. This shows that the family is a working class.
The second part of the clip shows the wife in a now calm scene whilst she is eating breakfast. There is a whistling sound that makes her stop eating her breakfast as she follows the sound. She opens the cupboard as the pipes burst leaving her distressed. In her distress she runs outside to look for help which she gets from her neighbour, whom she catches going to work. In the heat of the moment they kiss and eventually have relations. Before they have relations the women happily states that she is 'happily married' but she clearly excepts the invitation for relations as she doesn't push him away. This could relate to the women watching this as they too are more than likely loyal to there husbands but want a fling or dash of excitement in there lives.
This leads to them making further plans like this in the future.
The clip then skips to later on in the day. The husband is back from work, watching the football with his two sons whilst the daughter is at the table drawing.
It then shows the neighbours family. It shows that he is in a high respecting career and obviously works
hard for what he has got in his life. When his wife is shouting at his daughter about her attitude in school it shows there high expectations of there kids. In a hurry to get to work he quickly drives off not looking at the road as he looks for something in is car as he hits the daughter of the women he had an affaire with. A witness faints on scene due to the hit.
Everyone is distraught as the daughter is taken away in an ambulance in critical condition. The wife from the beginning not knowing who to blame for the incident as she gets into the ambulance with her daughter. Her husband left distraught about the event and the man she had an affair with looking at her with pleading eyes, pleading for forgiveness.

Analysis of Characters 

In this clip the main characters (The working class wife and the middle class husband) all have one major thing in common. They are unhappily married which clearly leads the the set of events in the clip, but the unhappily married part represents most of society today as there is a increase in divorce rate and most elderly people don't think that the generations after them are raising there kids properly reflecting on the husbands views making this appeal to an older audience as well. The wife represents the stereotypical housewife that feel unappreciated by her family's and the husband represents the stereotypical working class husband that works on a building site, watches football when he comes home expecting to be treating like the king of his very own castle. Both families are going through a hard time whether it'd be money troubles or misbehaved kids that cause both the wife and husband alot of stress. This making them both unhappy and wanting something to spark up their life. An affair being the answer. Appealing to the older audiences this could have an effect on marriages as if they are unhappy they see that the answer is a spark, something to spice up their life to make it once again magical. This then goes back to the children who in the working class family are used to conflict between parents and stay quiet. In a bid to get away from her short tempered father the daughter leaves the house. Fathers watching this that like football would become more alert at the idea that football went ahead of family for this man, as they could probably relate to a time when they left the kids with their wife to go and watch football with friends, or was even in charge in them when football was on. Whereas the middle class family obviously have trouble controlling their family as they have gotten much more out of life.

At the beginning it shows the working class husband having the most dominance as no matter what the women does he still continues cussing around the children. But towards the end the working class wife has dominance as she is upset and frustrated that her daughter has been hurt, especially by a man that she just had relations with.

Analysis of 'The Street'

About the clip
From looking at the summary and the characters of 'The Street' clip. It is clearly a Soap Opera; this is because it has a sense of reality and the audience would understand that this would happen in real life and could even possibly happen to them.
Due to the clip being so open it would be linear and omniscient.

Throughtout the clip although much happens there isn't a lot of music. The small amount of music that  appears in the title sequence at the beginning and when the affair is taking place and also when the daughter is being taken away in the ambulance as it gives the increase sense of dread more so than before. I think this is because not much is going on so they need the music to build more suspense and the use of no music make it more realistic but also effective as the audience cannot use the music to judge what is going to happen next. 

How is it done?
Throughout the clip there a four main types of camera angles used; Extreme close up, medium shot, long shot and closeup. This is too enhance the scene as the extreme closeup and closeups mainly happen when the people are going through times of distress or when something serious has happened e.g. when the pipe exploded or when the daughter got hit by a car. But it is not only done in times of distress as it shows the joy on her face before the relations happen. The medium shots and long shots help build the scene for the clip when each incident happens but it also builds the scene about the surrounding but also about the characters backgrounds, being either working or middle class.

The whole composition of the clip builds up to the dramatic event of the daughter being hit by the car, the argument, the affair, the realisation that life is chaotic to the hit. This may been taken by the audience as almost the odds being against her for what she has done. 

Mise-en-sćene

As the name of the clip suggests it is clearly filmed on a typical high street filled with well acquainted neighbours. This makes it even more so a soap opera as it relates to the every day working and middle class families. 

The most significant prop used in this is the teddy bear that belonged to the daughter as it highlights her innocents and just how young she is as she still has a teddy bear. 

The working class family are all dressed very casual and even a bit scruffy, the husband being in tracksuit bottoms and a vest with the wife in a t-shirt and jeans, whereas the middle class family are all dressed nicely, the husband being in  a suit and the wife being in nice almost casual business wear.

The lighting is very dim throughout, this as it's too enhance the depressed feel for most of the clip and the lighting increases when the affaire is happening to show it is a happier time for both. 

Peer Review
- Little to no mention about editing
- No mention about sound
- Don't summarise the clip, go straight into the points of the exam.
 - Talk about the characters but not in depth

The Street - Mock exam answer

This clip focuses on two main families. It is presented to the audience that the spouses in both marriages are unhappy and there is tension within both families because of this. The first part of the clip shows a husband and wife arguing about money; due to the fact that they are arguing about money conveys that they have a struggle with money and therefore using the family to represent a normal, working class family. The camera shots used during this scene are quick when it focuses on the parents but slower when focusing on the children involved. This is done because the slow camera shot represents how the argument for the children is going slow and feels as though it is lasting a long time whereas with the parents it is instant and fast. The camera angles are also made to look as though the man and wife are in separate rooms by showing them through two different doors. This could have been done for two reasons; it has been done to show the separation between the husband and his wife and how they no longer seem as one. After the argument the husband leaves the house in an angry, aggressive manner and the wife kisses the daughter on the forehead, as though she is aware of what the children have just witnessed, and sends them to school. A short clip is then shown of the husband at work. At a first glance of the husband you would judge him to be a stereotypical builder, due to his size and dominion and this role is then shown of him at work. This scene within the clip is vital as it can represent the anger in which the husband is feeling after the argument. The camera shots show close ups of him to show the aggression and frustration in his expression. The camera shots are also quick to show how he is taking out his anger on his work. The sounds are also used to represent this. Although not all sounds are made by the husband, the atmosphere around him is used to represent his anger. For example there loud noises such as bangs and thuds from the work men and also passing trains; the loud noises presented in this scene are aggressive, therefore representing his rage.

The clip then flicks back to the wife. She is sitting alone in the kitchen eating her lunch which can be used to show the audience how she is alone and is seeking comfort. She then hears a strange noise from inside the cupboard. She is startled to find a pipe has burst and is now overpowering her and wrecking her kitchen. The camera angle of this shot is facing down to show the weakness against the water as she cannot fight it. She is panicking so the use of shouting and screaming is used to show the panic. She then finds a neighbour to help her with the situation and as he is helping both become flustered and stressed. When he has fixed the broken pipe both sit on the floor breathing heavily and laughing which suggests they are tired, but the laughter suggests joy and possible sexual tension in the room. Music then begins to play to make the audience certain of the sexual tension and both begin to kiss. The music is dramatic and in a way eerie to assure the audience that this should not be happening and that drama and secrets have just been formed. It is also clear to the audience that this is secretive because the camera focus fades from the man and wife to the food, this is also conveys that something will happen. Afterwards the camera pans to the pair sitting on the floor in very little clothing, with the music still playing, which tells the audience that they have just committed adultery. As the camera pans from behind the sofa it suggests that they needed privacy and that what they were doing needed to be secretive. A sign of secrecy is also given because although they are alone they are whispering, because they are aware that they are doing something which they should not be doing. The wife can be seen as weak and vulnerable because of her lack in dominance in the relationship and because she could not resist from committing adultery with the neighbor and throughout the clip her vulnerability and weakness is shown.

Focusing more on the male neighbor, he is seen as a professional and dominant father figure; however this perception of him is deceiving. When he is at home with his family he is frantically looking for something and ignoring what the family are saying, leaving his wife to control them. The image of him with his family is distant and blurred which conveys to the audience that he is distant from his family and not very involved. There is also a close up of his daughters report because this should be significant to him but it is not. We can tell this from this part of the clip because the close up makes the audience focus on whereas it should be the daughter’s father focusing on it. As he rushes out of the house he drives away and appears to be in a bad state, as though he is stressed. All of a sudden there is a screech of the car breaking and a thud. These sounds have been used to create drama and put the audience on the edge of their seat. The man remains in his car, startled by what just happened. His expression and actions show the shock and guilt he feels but also show weakness because he is unable to face what he had just done. Because of his actions our first views of him being a dominant professional father/husband figure have now changed to make the audience dislike him and make him appear pathetic and weak.

After the daughter has been hit by a car the whole neighborhood begins to care and worry. There are close ups of the neighbor's faces which show their panic, worry and fear for the girl. The camera angle also faces down on the daughter to show that she is weak and vulnerable. Panic and worry is also shown through shouting of neighbors and family, the mother of the daughter (the wife from the start of the clip) talks to the daughter in a low tone voice showing her fear and sadness.

Overall, the clip from ‘The Street’ successfully includes drama using camera angles, sounds, editing and mise en scene. The correct use can help give the audience something to relate to because the characters involved are average families and many families will have or are to go through similar situations within their lifetime. The working class family would be the typical family to watch this which is why that is the main focus within this clip and the way it has been filmed makes it appear as though it is real and can happen in every day life. However, it could be seen that it is very coincidental that all of that drama can happen within two families within a day, which could make it seem unbelievable. 

Homework for 12/11/13

TV drama introduction and overview, read research and understand
What is the exam, what is it assessing and how? 
- The exam is two hours long, giving an hour for each question. A 5 minute clip will be shown 4 times and will be given half an hour to read the question, watch the extract and make notes. I will have to assign myself an actor to reflect the marks which I hope to achieve. 
- I will be assessed on my analysis of argument, use of example from the clip and use of terminology. 
- This will be assessed by being given a maximum of 20 marks for the analysis of argument, a maximum of 20 marks for the se of examples from the clip and a maximum of 10 marks for the use of terminology giving the maximum marks of 50. 

Representation: a definition - read, watch, understand
What is this concept relationship to reality? With an example
- The relationship of representation to reality is that it is an imitation of real life and are artificial versions of reality. It is often done to convey the perfection of a celebrity. However without this we would have a limited idea of reality and we need the media to understand reality. 
- An example is the photoshopping of a celebrity. This shows an image of someone that has been edited to make them appear flawless. This is often done for models and celebrities in magazines to show 'perfection' to the audience. It is often done to make others want to aspire to look like them because they are 'perfect', however this is an unrealistic view of a person. 

Evaluation of 4 characters from 2 different TV dramas

Holby City:
Chantelle Lane:
- She is always happy showing her to show her positivity and joy in her life
- Some of the other characters over power her making her appear small and inferior
- When you first see her you would assume her to be a stereotypical blonde girl as she pretty and blonde
- Has been involved in a car accident but soon goes back to work - stronger than she first appears
- She and a co-worker were attacked by muggers - shows weak (young girl, less power)
- Often wearing a heavy coat of make-up such as fake eyelashes, showing she wants to impress others and may lack self confidence


Jac Naylor:
- Can be seen as a bully to other workers as she speaks her mind
- Often seen as superior and has control over what others do, including male workers
- She has a strong position in her career also portraying strength
- She is strong-minded and forward
- In order to achieve her goal she is willing to hurt others
- Is the dominant partner in the relationship
- Can sometimes show compassion



Neighbors:
Callum Jones:
- Had a troubled start to life - mother left him at the age of 6, did not know his father and was left in the care of his grandparents
- He would act as a troublemaker due to his poor upbringing - e.g. stealing and bunking school
- Had an adoptive father - finally found stability
- A stereotypical young boy which will create havoc for attention
- Callum's character shows that he is a young boy looking for somebody to love him
- Typical young male teen clothing - people similar to him will be able to relate to him

Amber Turner:
- Seen as a friendly, spirited and naive character - the qualities of a typical teenage girl - relatable
- Typical teenage girl dealing with issues involving love and heart break, teenage girls will be able to relate to her as many will experience the same things
- Has a stable family and has a close relationship with her mother
- Also has a close relationship with brothers - appears as a loving, strong family
- As a 17 year old girl she is experiencing new things which an adult would face
- Kind and Caring - would do anything for friends or family
- Moved from her home town - life is changing

Evaluate two characters in two different TV dramas

UK based TV drama – Merlin

Gaius

In the ‘Merlin’ Gaius is the physician at the kings court.

He accepts Merlin in as he is medical apprentice and throughout the series is always well versed in the subject of magic. You know from the beginning he has a past with magic as he once practiced magic himself adding a sense of intrigue to the character. 

His character is very mysterious and wise. This combination makes a mysterious aura surround the character that constantly keeps the audience on edge as throughout the series you begin to wonder what the character is going to do next, whether it is meet an unknown alias in secret or giving subtle hints about how to solve the latest problem. But also as he is wise he also seems quite humble when helping out friends in there time of need making him seem reliable.

Morgana

In this series Morgana starts out as the Kings Ward but later turns into a High Priestess. 

In the series she starts out as the heroin, always there in others time of need, constantly helping Arthur and Merlin in their bid to help people throughout the series. This makes her a likeable, loveable character throughout.

After she almost dies Morgana comes back twisted and mysterious. Constantly meeting up with her sister in secret to make plans to steal the throne. People grow to dislike her as she begins playing with people, relationships, life and death in her bid to steal the throne from her newly discovered father the King and soon after that her step brother Arthur. But at some points you can still see the caring heroin she once was, but to the audience what she has done in unforgivable especially to the other favourite female character Gwen. 

US based TV drama – Sleepy Hollow

Ichabod Crane

In ‘Sleepy Hollow’ Ichabod Crane is one of the main characters that has been resurrected in order to stop the first horseman of the apocalypse as he's the first witness. 

In the series he is seen as the witty, wise but also confused. This is because his past as a solider meant he is used to action and dealing with the unexpected but in the new age he is completely unprepared for what the last 250 years has bought to the world. 

He is a comical character as he is so different to the typical everyday person. Even though at the start he was called crazy and was sent away to a mental health centre he is very forgiving to those around him, still sticking up of what he believes in. Furthermore he is made to appear devoted as he tries to save his wife trapped in a world between worlds. 

Lt. Abbie Mills

Lt. Abbie Mills is Ichabod Cranes partner and assistant throughout the series. They help each other solve the mysterious and supernatural cases in sleepy hollow. She is the second witness. 

This character is very stern and untrusting. It is revealed throughout the series about her troubled past and how it affects her now. It makes her skeptical about all that is going on around her but she becomes accepting to it as she finally wants to believe that what happened to her so long ago wasn't
crazy. This makes her an important personas people can see that she is becoming a stronger person that is trying to help all she can while rebuilding bridges to those she abandoned in the past as well as figure out what her former partner the sheriff found out about sleepy hollow. The mystery that surrounds her life makes her strong but you can still see behind her hard exterior she is wary of everything that is happening but doesn't want to abandoned people like she did again.