Working Title production practices
Working Title;
Co-Chair people of working title are Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, who have been listed as the most powerful figures in British industry.
They only have 42 full time staff, which is split between working title (main company) and low budget WT2.
Secret of their success? "The working title philosophy has always been to make films for an audience- by that I mean play in a multiplex. We totally believe in this because we know it is the only hope we have of sustaining the UK film industry"
Working Title was founded in 1984
85 films have grossed more than $4 billion worldwide
They have won several awards; six academy awards, 26 BAFTA awards, 4 Oscars and prizes at Cannes and Berlin film festivals
Impressive catalogues of films from a wide range of genres; Billy Elliott, Johnny English, Love Actually and Shaun of the dead.
Their flops have been Wimbledon, Thunderbirds and Captain Corelli.
Blockbuster comedies of Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson who deliver punchy period films, political dramas, litery adaptation and family affairs.
Working Title launch fresh talent, such as directors Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) and Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliott)
In addition to which it has launched 'Working Title 2' a subsidiary for low budget films with an 'independant' appeal
Their most successful genre is RomComs. The companies 'Treasure' is Hugh Grant.
Working Title was bought by Polygram, taken over by Universal in 1999. Bevan said "We were now part of a big structure, so we spent much less time on finding the money and much more on developing the scripts"
Universal own a 67% stake in the company, many of its recent films are co-productions with Studio Canal.
The remaining shares are owned by the companies founders which is the BBC and private investors.
Working title is clever and tactical about film projects. In 2004 they made Shaun of the Dead, and Bridget Jones 2, knowing they would financially be OK, because Thunderbirds was a flop the other two supported it.
They have to make 1 big blockbuster per year that makes $200-$400m in the box office revenues.
Is Working Titles lower budget film brand. Some of their productions are Billy Elliott (2000), Shaun of the dead (2004) and Ali G in da house. WT2 recently released Burn After Reading starring Brad Pitt and George Cloony.
A long history between American actors playing leading roles in British films; e.g Rene Zelwegger playing Bridget Jones.
The importance of release dates is vital, as it can make or break a films success. e.g films released in winter generally do better as the weather is colder and people spend more time indoors. Christmas films tend to do better if released in the Christmas period (Love Actually) , the same with Romantic films doing better around Valentines day.
Co-Chair people of working title are Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, who have been listed as the most powerful figures in British industry.
They only have 42 full time staff, which is split between working title (main company) and low budget WT2.
Secret of their success? "The working title philosophy has always been to make films for an audience- by that I mean play in a multiplex. We totally believe in this because we know it is the only hope we have of sustaining the UK film industry"
Working Title was founded in 1984
85 films have grossed more than $4 billion worldwide
They have won several awards; six academy awards, 26 BAFTA awards, 4 Oscars and prizes at Cannes and Berlin film festivals
Impressive catalogues of films from a wide range of genres; Billy Elliott, Johnny English, Love Actually and Shaun of the dead.
Their flops have been Wimbledon, Thunderbirds and Captain Corelli.
Blockbuster comedies of Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson who deliver punchy period films, political dramas, litery adaptation and family affairs.
Working Title launch fresh talent, such as directors Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) and Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliott)
In addition to which it has launched 'Working Title 2' a subsidiary for low budget films with an 'independant' appeal
Their most successful genre is RomComs. The companies 'Treasure' is Hugh Grant.
Working Title was bought by Polygram, taken over by Universal in 1999. Bevan said "We were now part of a big structure, so we spent much less time on finding the money and much more on developing the scripts"
Universal own a 67% stake in the company, many of its recent films are co-productions with Studio Canal.
The remaining shares are owned by the companies founders which is the BBC and private investors.
Working title is clever and tactical about film projects. In 2004 they made Shaun of the Dead, and Bridget Jones 2, knowing they would financially be OK, because Thunderbirds was a flop the other two supported it.
They have to make 1 big blockbuster per year that makes $200-$400m in the box office revenues.
Is Working Titles lower budget film brand. Some of their productions are Billy Elliott (2000), Shaun of the dead (2004) and Ali G in da house. WT2 recently released Burn After Reading starring Brad Pitt and George Cloony.
A long history between American actors playing leading roles in British films; e.g Rene Zelwegger playing Bridget Jones.
The importance of release dates is vital, as it can make or break a films success. e.g films released in winter generally do better as the weather is colder and people spend more time indoors. Christmas films tend to do better if released in the Christmas period (Love Actually) , the same with Romantic films doing better around Valentines day.
Film 4 Production Practices
Film four is an independant British film company, owned by the Channel4 Corporation, which was launced on the 1st of November 1998. The company has recently improved their budget to £15m per year, contrasting to the £8-10m they were on previously. Film4's controller is Tessa Ross, who has an alternative way of thinking which reflects Film4's choice in films.
Film4's style is quirky and experimental. Their philosiphy is to aid directors and actors, and give them their 'big break'. By sticking to the quirky and non-mainstream style of films they cater for a seperate audience, which helps them compete with Hollywood films.
Their biggest success is Slumdog Millionaire, which wasn't expected to gross 25 times it's original budget; raking in a staggering $377910544. Again, it is not your typical film, adressing contraversial issues yet in a different style to Hollywood.
The Film4 channel is a freeview channel in the U.K and Ireland, which now manily airs Hollywood blockbusters around 2 years after their release, it also broadcasts it's own productions. In August 2007 Channel 4 added the Film4+1 channel, which allows viewers to see the film an hour behind the original broadcasting time. They also added a Film4 on demand service, which allows viewers to watch a selection of Film4 productions anytime.
The Film4 website (www.film4.com) has an on demand service, information on productions, video clips, reviews, interviews, behind the scenes clips, and competitions. It gives the viewer a wide variety of special features, producers, writers, directors and actors.
Channel Four Television Corporation was set up by the government. It is a publicly owned "not-for-profit" corporation and does not have any shareholders.
Film4's style is quirky and experimental. Their philosiphy is to aid directors and actors, and give them their 'big break'. By sticking to the quirky and non-mainstream style of films they cater for a seperate audience, which helps them compete with Hollywood films.
Their biggest success is Slumdog Millionaire, which wasn't expected to gross 25 times it's original budget; raking in a staggering $377910544. Again, it is not your typical film, adressing contraversial issues yet in a different style to Hollywood.
The Film4 channel is a freeview channel in the U.K and Ireland, which now manily airs Hollywood blockbusters around 2 years after their release, it also broadcasts it's own productions. In August 2007 Channel 4 added the Film4+1 channel, which allows viewers to see the film an hour behind the original broadcasting time. They also added a Film4 on demand service, which allows viewers to watch a selection of Film4 productions anytime.
The Film4 website (www.film4.com) has an on demand service, information on productions, video clips, reviews, interviews, behind the scenes clips, and competitions. It gives the viewer a wide variety of special features, producers, writers, directors and actors.
Channel Four Television Corporation was set up by the government. It is a publicly owned "not-for-profit" corporation and does not have any shareholders.
Film 4 Distribution
Film4 is controlled by Tessa Ross. (picture to the right)
Ross secured an increased budget from £8-10m a year to £15m for film4, who make 6 films per year.
Set up a low budget studio with the film council and distributors Optimum as well as WarpX (digital production house)
Working across TV and film drama also allowes for economics and cross fertilisation
Film4 gains a lot of money through advertising.
Ross see's film4 as part of a wider creative community with Working Title, the BBC and BBC Films, as well as partnerships with distribution compaines.
WarpX are a film4/UK film council joint project with the Sheffield based indie WarpX that finance three low budget films per year.
Ross secured an increased budget from £8-10m a year to £15m for film4, who make 6 films per year.
Set up a low budget studio with the film council and distributors Optimum as well as WarpX (digital production house)
Working across TV and film drama also allowes for economics and cross fertilisation
Film4 gains a lot of money through advertising.
Ross see's film4 as part of a wider creative community with Working Title, the BBC and BBC Films, as well as partnerships with distribution compaines.
WarpX are a film4/UK film council joint project with the Sheffield based indie WarpX that finance three low budget films per year.
Sound
Diegetic – Natural sounds within a scene
Non–diegetic – sound added to a scene – soundtrack
Potential problem – less realistic
Potential benefit – more dramatic
Sound bridge – sound which carries on over two scenes
Literally creating a ‘bridge’ between events
Incidental
Music - short sequence of sound to create an emotion/feeling
Asynchronous
Sound - a natural sound out of place and without a source
Contrapuntal – sound which creates an opposite emotion to the one screen
Skins
Close up of his eyes to start with.
Camera pans out.
Tony- wakes up early, Sunday(church bells if gay, goes against the church), neat, neat bedroom, wakes up early on Sunday possibly something on his mind.
Bed spread of a naked man and woman. He lies in the middle.
Appears to have not slept in his bed.
Possibly gay/bisexual, that’s why he’s lying in the middle, unsure. Maybe had no sleep due to sexuality.
Eyes blue, hair brown.
Shadow shows his face across bed, from open/light window.
Room is very white and neat, appears to be wealthy
2 shadows, symbolic possibly showing his sexuality
Enigma – why is he awake?
Non–diegetic – sound added to a scene – soundtrack
Potential problem – less realistic
Potential benefit – more dramatic
Sound bridge – sound which carries on over two scenes
Literally creating a ‘bridge’ between events
Incidental
Music - short sequence of sound to create an emotion/feeling
Asynchronous
Sound - a natural sound out of place and without a source
Contrapuntal – sound which creates an opposite emotion to the one screen
Skins
Close up of his eyes to start with.
Camera pans out.
Tony- wakes up early, Sunday(church bells if gay, goes against the church), neat, neat bedroom, wakes up early on Sunday possibly something on his mind.
Bed spread of a naked man and woman. He lies in the middle.
Appears to have not slept in his bed.
Possibly gay/bisexual, that’s why he’s lying in the middle, unsure. Maybe had no sleep due to sexuality.
Eyes blue, hair brown.
Shadow shows his face across bed, from open/light window.
Room is very white and neat, appears to be wealthy
2 shadows, symbolic possibly showing his sexuality
Enigma – why is he awake?
Age;
Children; Children in the media are played as the same age of the target audience. e.g Tracey Beaker/ kids at the dumping ground are all the ages of the target audience. The media portray children to be good people so that the children watching aspire to be like them. Most children in television tend to live normal lives, but with a few added luxuries that kids would love to own.
12-14 year olds; nearly always play cool characters who lead action packed, interesting lives, with new gadgets, they always play the good guys e.g M-I-High, again it gives something for the target audience to look up to.
15-18 year olds; Never normally played as 'normal' teenagers. You have one end of the spectrum, such as skins where all the teenagers are seen as druggies, dropouts, violent people who lead exciting lives going out partying. Then the other end of the scale would be The Inbetweeners, which shows social rejects and their struggle on getting girls and getting through the hurdles of teenage life. Characters such as Vicky Pollard are used to discourage mid teenagers becoming like that. People look down on her making her a bad role model and would make people avoid being like her.
20-30; Hollyoaks represents the idea that when you're younger you dress older and when you're older you dress to look younger. It reflects that the 20's are the prime time of your life and everyone is successful.
Eastenders shows that you get more sophisticated as you enter your 30's, e.g drinking wine instead of cheap rinks and that women dress more their age, more glamorous. It shows men being more successful, dressed in suits.
Elderly people are re-presented as being old, mardy, weak, not with it, complaining or contrastingly as a happy lad, war hero type.
Status and Class
Lower class; chavs, homeless people.
We associate the 'upper class' people to be rich, play sports such as polo and cricket, go fox hunting and live in mansions. Usually people with higher class have the upper status in the media, and tend to have control of the situation.
Middle class is what we would consider 'normal' people, living in a semi-detached house, do normal things such as have jobs such as teachers or bankers and have the typical 2.4 children.
xWorking class is seen as Chavs, wearing baseball caps, living in council houses. Bianca from Eastenders talks like you would expect someone from a lower class to, with a strong cockney accent. This indicates she isn't well educated and is a bit gobby. They are also related to not having much money.
Disability
There are many types of disabilities, but the one the media focuses on is people bound to a wheelchair. Disabled people are typically seen to be wearing comfy clothes, as they are viewed to be housebound and don't actually need to get out of their wheelchair. Normally characters in wheelchairs are vulnerable, don't make much effort and aren't energetic. This depicts disabled people. Andy and Lou from Little Britain make full use of the stereotypical disabled person. The settings of Andy's house is untidy and dirty, implies that because he's in a wheelchair he can't do day-to-day chores.
The camera angle tends to look down or at a disabled person, never looks up to them. It is common that the carer is in the image with the disabled person, rather than focusing on the individual person. Another thing that doesn't focus on the individual person is when you hear stories of disabled people doing well, e.g. if someone who had lost their legs and had fake ones put on and ran a marathon, would get a lot more praise than someone who had both of their own legs. This re-enforces that non-disabled people patronize disabled people. The personality traits of disabled people in the media are either that they are evil, or stupid. There's rarely a normal character in a wheelchair.
Regional identity
Northeners- People are friendly yet reject anyone from the south. They are portrayed to moan a lot and consume a lot of alcohol. On average they live a 'lower class' life, and that more crime happens compared to the south. In this clip Frankie Boyle portrays scottish people by picking and exaggerating certain stereotypes.
Southeners- They seem to live a more upbeat lifestyle, mainly based around cities. They have a more 'Newsreader' Accent, which is easier to understand but is labelled 'posh'. They are more forward about subjects.
Countryside - From places such as the west country or Norfolk, are harder to understand and maybe seen as not ' with the times ' . Also seen as farmers, they wear more relaxed clothes, have more rural jobs e.g farmers and are seen to have a more physical working lifestyle. This clip from hot fuzz exaggerates the West Country accent.
Ethnicity
Hoodies are portrayed to be the sort of clothes that make people unapproachable, and black people are normally seen to be wearing them. This enforces that black teenage/early 20's boys are thugs. That they are lazy, don't want to work or help the community.
The full on traditional Indian wedding is seen as a stereotype. That all Indians dress in their Shari all the time. Bend it like Beckham shows a stereotypical Indian family, and their reaction to Jess wanting to play football -something Indian girls don’t do. This picture shows Jess' football team getting her dressed in her Shari, exaggerating the cultural differences between a common western game and Indian expectations.
Sexuality
Gay men tend to be shown wearing tightly fitted clothing, are more into fashion and style than heterosexual men, they like to spend their time out clubbing with girl friends, and often take part in gay parades.
Plots tend to include coming out, how they cope and the abuse that suffers. This is focussing on the negative points of being homosexual. Lesbians are also portrayed in the media as having short hair, being butch, into contact sports such as rugby, deeper voices and act manly.
Gender
Toilet signs give the stereotypical gender representations; it gives the cultural signal of women wearing skirts and dresses, and men having broad shoulders. Typically males are seen to be wearing trousers, short hair, strong, earn more money, working, bigger.
Women are seen to have long hair, not physically as strong as men, less responsibility and to be a typical housewife. The typical 'housewife' shows women cooking food for the man when he gets home. In contemporary soaps males are seen as the supporters, 'stoic', never the other way round. The women are seen as 'wearing their heart on their sleeve' and don't tend to control their emotions. The physical fighting in soaps, most often times is done by men, if it is done by women its more of a bitch fight.
Children; Children in the media are played as the same age of the target audience. e.g Tracey Beaker/ kids at the dumping ground are all the ages of the target audience. The media portray children to be good people so that the children watching aspire to be like them. Most children in television tend to live normal lives, but with a few added luxuries that kids would love to own.
12-14 year olds; nearly always play cool characters who lead action packed, interesting lives, with new gadgets, they always play the good guys e.g M-I-High, again it gives something for the target audience to look up to.
15-18 year olds; Never normally played as 'normal' teenagers. You have one end of the spectrum, such as skins where all the teenagers are seen as druggies, dropouts, violent people who lead exciting lives going out partying. Then the other end of the scale would be The Inbetweeners, which shows social rejects and their struggle on getting girls and getting through the hurdles of teenage life. Characters such as Vicky Pollard are used to discourage mid teenagers becoming like that. People look down on her making her a bad role model and would make people avoid being like her.
20-30; Hollyoaks represents the idea that when you're younger you dress older and when you're older you dress to look younger. It reflects that the 20's are the prime time of your life and everyone is successful.
Eastenders shows that you get more sophisticated as you enter your 30's, e.g drinking wine instead of cheap rinks and that women dress more their age, more glamorous. It shows men being more successful, dressed in suits.
Elderly people are re-presented as being old, mardy, weak, not with it, complaining or contrastingly as a happy lad, war hero type.
Status and Class
Lower class; chavs, homeless people.
We associate the 'upper class' people to be rich, play sports such as polo and cricket, go fox hunting and live in mansions. Usually people with higher class have the upper status in the media, and tend to have control of the situation.
Middle class is what we would consider 'normal' people, living in a semi-detached house, do normal things such as have jobs such as teachers or bankers and have the typical 2.4 children.
xWorking class is seen as Chavs, wearing baseball caps, living in council houses. Bianca from Eastenders talks like you would expect someone from a lower class to, with a strong cockney accent. This indicates she isn't well educated and is a bit gobby. They are also related to not having much money.
Disability
There are many types of disabilities, but the one the media focuses on is people bound to a wheelchair. Disabled people are typically seen to be wearing comfy clothes, as they are viewed to be housebound and don't actually need to get out of their wheelchair. Normally characters in wheelchairs are vulnerable, don't make much effort and aren't energetic. This depicts disabled people. Andy and Lou from Little Britain make full use of the stereotypical disabled person. The settings of Andy's house is untidy and dirty, implies that because he's in a wheelchair he can't do day-to-day chores.
The camera angle tends to look down or at a disabled person, never looks up to them. It is common that the carer is in the image with the disabled person, rather than focusing on the individual person. Another thing that doesn't focus on the individual person is when you hear stories of disabled people doing well, e.g. if someone who had lost their legs and had fake ones put on and ran a marathon, would get a lot more praise than someone who had both of their own legs. This re-enforces that non-disabled people patronize disabled people. The personality traits of disabled people in the media are either that they are evil, or stupid. There's rarely a normal character in a wheelchair.
Regional identity
Northeners- People are friendly yet reject anyone from the south. They are portrayed to moan a lot and consume a lot of alcohol. On average they live a 'lower class' life, and that more crime happens compared to the south. In this clip Frankie Boyle portrays scottish people by picking and exaggerating certain stereotypes.
Southeners- They seem to live a more upbeat lifestyle, mainly based around cities. They have a more 'Newsreader' Accent, which is easier to understand but is labelled 'posh'. They are more forward about subjects.
Countryside - From places such as the west country or Norfolk, are harder to understand and maybe seen as not ' with the times ' . Also seen as farmers, they wear more relaxed clothes, have more rural jobs e.g farmers and are seen to have a more physical working lifestyle. This clip from hot fuzz exaggerates the West Country accent.
Ethnicity
Hoodies are portrayed to be the sort of clothes that make people unapproachable, and black people are normally seen to be wearing them. This enforces that black teenage/early 20's boys are thugs. That they are lazy, don't want to work or help the community.
The full on traditional Indian wedding is seen as a stereotype. That all Indians dress in their Shari all the time. Bend it like Beckham shows a stereotypical Indian family, and their reaction to Jess wanting to play football -something Indian girls don’t do. This picture shows Jess' football team getting her dressed in her Shari, exaggerating the cultural differences between a common western game and Indian expectations.
Sexuality
Gay men tend to be shown wearing tightly fitted clothing, are more into fashion and style than heterosexual men, they like to spend their time out clubbing with girl friends, and often take part in gay parades.
Plots tend to include coming out, how they cope and the abuse that suffers. This is focussing on the negative points of being homosexual. Lesbians are also portrayed in the media as having short hair, being butch, into contact sports such as rugby, deeper voices and act manly.
Gender
Toilet signs give the stereotypical gender representations; it gives the cultural signal of women wearing skirts and dresses, and men having broad shoulders. Typically males are seen to be wearing trousers, short hair, strong, earn more money, working, bigger.
Women are seen to have long hair, not physically as strong as men, less responsibility and to be a typical housewife. The typical 'housewife' shows women cooking food for the man when he gets home. In contemporary soaps males are seen as the supporters, 'stoic', never the other way round. The women are seen as 'wearing their heart on their sleeve' and don't tend to control their emotions. The physical fighting in soaps, most often times is done by men, if it is done by women its more of a bitch fight.
Select one character from a British TV drama and explain how they are a 'stereotypical' representation of your area of study (Age in The Inbetweeners)
Age is a portrayed hugely in a stereotypical way in British TV. Children are shown to be annoying and can easily get upset if they don’t get what they want. Teenagers are shown to get up to no good. Middle aged people are more frequently shown to be quite mundane, monotonous people who don’t usually fill their time with exciting things. While the elderly are portrayed as being old and weak. They Television programme I chose to analysis is The Inbetweeners, this programme is based on a teen from private schooling has got moved to a public school. The Inbetweeners is a story of his mission getting new friends and the four of them have adventures, trips and spend all their time going after girls which always ends badly.
In the Inbetweeners aged is shown in the most stereotypical way you would expect, a coming of age drama to show. Children in this programme are defiantly shown as being annoying, one of the main characters Simon has a little brother. His little brother sucks up to his parents, informs them when Simon has done something wrong. When he is out of view of his parents he uses vulgar language and tries to get Simon into trouble. The reason for the media portraying children in this way is that the programme is aimed at teenagers, who most of them can relate to having an annoying little sibling.
Teenagers are never shown to be ‘normal teenagers’, the media tend to exaggerate teens problems for the sake of comedy. Viewing teenagers will such bad fortune will make the viewer feel good about their life and because their teenager will laugh at the others misfortune. In The Inbetweeners the main characters who are teenagers are represented as basically being losers, who are desperate to have sexual intercourse with girls. They go to school, go round each other’s houses and get drunk and go to the rare party. There would normally be not a lot of good viewing in their lives but being very very unfortunate really makes the viewing so much better. Anything that can go wrong will, this is quite different to normal teenagers as not every day is a train wreck of misfortune. If they aired a programme that consisted of four teens sitting around drinking it would be quite boring. Throw in hilarious language, a lot of vomit, urinating on each other, cars in lakes and erection problems then the programme is bound to be hilarious. Not a lot of people can relate to the lives lived in The Inbetweeners that’s what makes it so popular. It shows how unlucky your life could be so you have to laugh at a continuing luckless streak.
Adults who are middle aged are represented in the Television programme as being the opposite of the stereotypical adult. Instead of being boring and workaholics, they are a main source of embarrassment for their children. For instance Simon’s dad tells many a tale about sexual experiences with Simon’s mum, these tales are usually told in front of Simon and his friends. The main character Will has a mum that is known among his friends as being very good looking. But she also reveals many of Wills secrets in front of his friends e.g. crying on rollercoaster’s in the past and having to take suppositories for illnesses. The reason why middle aged adults are represented this way is because of the viewing audience again. Most teenagers is embarrassed about their parents or parent, they can relate to the characters and know that it is quite normal to have embarrassing parents.
Elderly people are portrayed in The Inbetweeners as being weak, boring and ill. In one of the episodes they volunteer at a retirement home for the elderly. All of the old people are just sitting around sleeping or watching rubbish mid-day T.V. The home is smelly and the elderly even need help going to the toilet. This episode is funny because the audience can laugh at how the teenagers have to create their own entertainment. Later on another character Jay brings out the non-stereotypical side of the elderly. He gets caught masturbating by a group of people; little did he know there was an old woman in the room. This old woman blurts of “He did that over me!” we can infer from this that not all elderly people are boring and sapped of all humour. The reason why the elderly are represented in this way is that we don’t really know what old people are like when you’re not around. This goes strongly against the stereotypical view and brings to our attention that we don’t really know the elderly. For all we know they could all be party animals who always get drunk and cause trouble when we’re not around.
In the Inbetweeners aged is shown in the most stereotypical way you would expect, a coming of age drama to show. Children in this programme are defiantly shown as being annoying, one of the main characters Simon has a little brother. His little brother sucks up to his parents, informs them when Simon has done something wrong. When he is out of view of his parents he uses vulgar language and tries to get Simon into trouble. The reason for the media portraying children in this way is that the programme is aimed at teenagers, who most of them can relate to having an annoying little sibling.
Teenagers are never shown to be ‘normal teenagers’, the media tend to exaggerate teens problems for the sake of comedy. Viewing teenagers will such bad fortune will make the viewer feel good about their life and because their teenager will laugh at the others misfortune. In The Inbetweeners the main characters who are teenagers are represented as basically being losers, who are desperate to have sexual intercourse with girls. They go to school, go round each other’s houses and get drunk and go to the rare party. There would normally be not a lot of good viewing in their lives but being very very unfortunate really makes the viewing so much better. Anything that can go wrong will, this is quite different to normal teenagers as not every day is a train wreck of misfortune. If they aired a programme that consisted of four teens sitting around drinking it would be quite boring. Throw in hilarious language, a lot of vomit, urinating on each other, cars in lakes and erection problems then the programme is bound to be hilarious. Not a lot of people can relate to the lives lived in The Inbetweeners that’s what makes it so popular. It shows how unlucky your life could be so you have to laugh at a continuing luckless streak.
Adults who are middle aged are represented in the Television programme as being the opposite of the stereotypical adult. Instead of being boring and workaholics, they are a main source of embarrassment for their children. For instance Simon’s dad tells many a tale about sexual experiences with Simon’s mum, these tales are usually told in front of Simon and his friends. The main character Will has a mum that is known among his friends as being very good looking. But she also reveals many of Wills secrets in front of his friends e.g. crying on rollercoaster’s in the past and having to take suppositories for illnesses. The reason why middle aged adults are represented this way is because of the viewing audience again. Most teenagers is embarrassed about their parents or parent, they can relate to the characters and know that it is quite normal to have embarrassing parents.
Elderly people are portrayed in The Inbetweeners as being weak, boring and ill. In one of the episodes they volunteer at a retirement home for the elderly. All of the old people are just sitting around sleeping or watching rubbish mid-day T.V. The home is smelly and the elderly even need help going to the toilet. This episode is funny because the audience can laugh at how the teenagers have to create their own entertainment. Later on another character Jay brings out the non-stereotypical side of the elderly. He gets caught masturbating by a group of people; little did he know there was an old woman in the room. This old woman blurts of “He did that over me!” we can infer from this that not all elderly people are boring and sapped of all humour. The reason why the elderly are represented in this way is that we don’t really know what old people are like when you’re not around. This goes strongly against the stereotypical view and brings to our attention that we don’t really know the elderly. For all we know they could all be party animals who always get drunk and cause trouble when we’re not around.
How does Calvin Klein represent females in adverts?
From this picture of Eva Mendes it is clear the Calvin Klein choose to represent their female models in a particular way. The way that Mendes is shown standing here makes her look like a strong female figure, which may appeal to many audiences. The advertisement itself I feel may appeal to both men and women. For men this is clearly something that they would look at and enjoy for the sex appeal, this is a photo that only emphasises Laura Mulvey's 'male gaze', the photo is taken in a way that a man would choose to see a woman, the very fact that they have chosen a slim attractive woman shows this is what most men would go for. The way that her head is leaned back with an almost upset look almost makes her seem vulnerable. The fact that she is not wearing a wedding ring, makes her seem more approachable and more like and innocent woman in 'distress' that needs 'saving'. The photo puts most emphasis on the bottom half of her body, specifically her knickers. It does this by using a rather unflattering bra, and using no eye contact. Men may see this advertisement and believe that their wives or girlfriends may look similar to this if they wore the same underwear.
The stockings also give the photo a more dominatrix feeling, giving Mendes a more controlling feeling that some men may enjoy. This in turn gives the whole photo a larger sex appeal for men.
Although at first glances you might believe that a woman could be insulted by this photo with its apparent use of the male gaze, it actually seems to only play on women's strengths. Many women could look at this photo and see that she seems like quite a strong character. The photo to the right shows her in a prominent, almost manly stance. Power is shown in the way she is standing with hear head turned back, her hands on her hips. Her fingers are pointing to her briefs which only emphasises the audience focusing on the lower half of her body. For women this is a good selling point as they may see the photo and feel that they could look something like this in the underwear, similar to the belief that men have when looking at this photo.
The fact that she is wet may represent the idea that she is out of the shower and preparing for a night out, putting on her 'sexy' knickers. This is a twist to the usual stereotype women, staying at home looking after the children, instead now they are free independent women.
In reality the photo is designed to appeal to both sexes, as it is used as a selling point. Personally I believe it is more aimed at men with the sex appeal for the buying factor, but also the idea of a free independent woman wearing her 'Calvin Kleins' may also appeal to women, which in turn may make women want to own this underwear.
The Male Gaze - Trevor Millum
- Similar to cool/ level
- Eyes less wide open
- Expression is less reserved but still self-confident
- Milder
Carefree -
- Nymph like
- Active
- Healthy
- Vibrant
- Outdoor girl
- Often smiling/ grinning
- Concentrating
- Mouth closed and the eyes are directed at an object
- Hair tied back or short cut
Comic -
- Laughing
- Big cheesy smile
- Fun
- Head sideways
Catalogue -
- Neutral
- Articficial
- Wax like
- Wide eyes
- Smiling
- No personality
The Male Gaze - Majorie Ferguson
- Half/Full Smile
- Lips Together/ Slightly Parted
- Teeth Barely Visible
- Full/ Three- Quarters of Face to the Camera
Invitational -
- Emphasis on the Eyes
- Mouth Shut with Hint of Smile
- Head to one Side or Looking Back to the Camera
Super Smiler-
- Full Face
- Wide Open, Toothy Smile
- Head Thrusts, Forward or Chin Thrown Back
- Hair often wind blown
Sexual -
- Includes male/ female 'two-somes'
- Dreamy
- Heavy lidded
- Overtly sensual/ sexual
Leon Festinger
Stereotypes shape public opinion. They are narrative shortcuts which orientate the audiences expectations. Some people argue that stereotypes are fixed and unchanging.
Festinger believes that we resist changing our opinons unless faced with overwhelming evidence against what we believe. cognitive dissonance is when our brain encounters new ideas and rejects them because they don't match our expectations.
Stereotypes shape public opinion. They are narrative shortcuts which orientate the audiences expectations. Some people argue that stereotypes are fixed and unchanging.
Festinger believes that we resist changing our opinons unless faced with overwhelming evidence against what we believe. cognitive dissonance is when our brain encounters new ideas and rejects them because they don't match our expectations.
Film Habits Questionnaire?
1. Would you rather watch a British or American film?
British 0 American lllllllll British and American l
2. How many times do you visit the cinema per month?
0 l
1 llllll
2 lll
3. If you had the choice would you rather see a film in 2D or 3D?
2D l
3D lllllllll
4. How many DVDs do you buy per month?
0 lllll
1 lll
2 ll
5. Do you watch the internet to watch latest releases?
Yes lll
No llllll
Sometimes l
6. Do you download films legally or illegally?
Legally l
Illegally ll
Neither lllllll
7. Would you rather watch a film at the cinema or on the internet?
Cinema lllllllll
Internet l
8. Do you enjoy 3D films?
Yes lllllllll
No l
9. Do you think that you would enjoy a 3D television in your home?
Yes lllll
No lll
Dont know ll
10. Is your favourite film British or American?
British I
American llllllllll
11. Do you tend to watch trailers before going to watch new films?
Yes lllllll
No lll
12. Have you ever been to an Imax studio to watch a film?
Yes lll
No lllllll
13. Do you tend to follow upcoming films on the internet?
Yes l
No llllllll
Sometimes l
14. Do you think that the qualities of British and American films are different?
Yes lllllll
No lll
15. Do you own more standard or Blu-ray DVDs?
Standard llllllllll
Blu-ray 0
British 0 American lllllllll British and American l
2. How many times do you visit the cinema per month?
0 l
1 llllll
2 lll
3. If you had the choice would you rather see a film in 2D or 3D?
2D l
3D lllllllll
4. How many DVDs do you buy per month?
0 lllll
1 lll
2 ll
5. Do you watch the internet to watch latest releases?
Yes lll
No llllll
Sometimes l
6. Do you download films legally or illegally?
Legally l
Illegally ll
Neither lllllll
7. Would you rather watch a film at the cinema or on the internet?
Cinema lllllllll
Internet l
8. Do you enjoy 3D films?
Yes lllllllll
No l
9. Do you think that you would enjoy a 3D television in your home?
Yes lllll
No lll
Dont know ll
10. Is your favourite film British or American?
British I
American llllllllll
11. Do you tend to watch trailers before going to watch new films?
Yes lllllll
No lll
12. Have you ever been to an Imax studio to watch a film?
Yes lll
No lllllll
13. Do you tend to follow upcoming films on the internet?
Yes l
No llllllll
Sometimes l
14. Do you think that the qualities of British and American films are different?
Yes lllllll
No lll
15. Do you own more standard or Blu-ray DVDs?
Standard llllllllll
Blu-ray 0
Roland Barthes - Lesson
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Roland Barthes was a semiologist; basically he was paid to look at texts.
Texts may be:
Open-unravelled, in many threads E.g soaps
Closed-only one obvious thread to pull on E.g Children programmes
Barthes decided that these "threads" are called narrative codes,there are five codes:
Action codes:
Any action that implies a further narrative action E.g a gun fight
Enigma codes:
Refers to any element in a story that is not explained and therefore exists as an enigma for the audience, raising questions that demand explication.
The semantic code:
Any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation.
The culture code:
Any element in a narrative that refers "to a science or a body of knowledge." In other words, the cultural codes tend to point our shared knowledge of how the world works.
Roland Barthes was a semiologist; basically he was paid to look at texts.
Texts may be:
Open-unravelled, in many threads E.g soaps
Closed-only one obvious thread to pull on E.g Children programmes
Barthes decided that these "threads" are called narrative codes,there are five codes:
Action codes:
Any action that implies a further narrative action E.g a gun fight
Enigma codes:
Refers to any element in a story that is not explained and therefore exists as an enigma for the audience, raising questions that demand explication.
The semantic code:
Any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation.
The culture code:
Any element in a narrative that refers "to a science or a body of knowledge." In other words, the cultural codes tend to point our shared knowledge of how the world works.
Is Max a typical teenager?
From the beginning of the montage it is clear that Max would not be considered your everyday typical teenager. The differences between him and your normal teenager are quite startling. Most people would consider a typical teenager to be a hooded youth, walking around the streets, swearing, smoking, and all sorts of other mannerisms. There is of course the other view of a teenager that most directors seem to depict, and that is the usual spotted faced video game addict, without a girlfriend. From first glances we begin to think that Max could in fact be a typical teenager like these. But we come a bit more uncertain as we take a look at the various social clubs and activities that he is apart of.
The difference between Max and your typical teenager suddenly becomes quite obvious as we look at the groups and clubs that he is part of, not only are most of these of a strange nature he is also part of a vast array of activities from beekeeping to flying.
We could of course look at these activities from another view, possibly the view his mum holds, we could in fact take it that Max is an extremely ambitious, social character, not much dissimilar as how we would all like to be. He may in fact want to exceed further than his peers and excel in every field possible. But there is of course the other factor that maybe Max sees himself as a social outcast and maybe he feels that the only way to feel popular is by being in a variety of clubs. Its also worth noting that Max appears to be either the leader or creator of the majority of the groups he is a part of, this shows to me that he feels that he needs to be in charge and on top of his game at all times.
Only when we view the montage again, and really take notice of these groups, do we soon become aware that Max may in fact be nothing like a typical teenager. The reason being the company he keeps, everyone in his groups, as far as we can tell, appears to be younger than him. But not by just a few years, there seems to be a dramatic difference in ages. Most typical teenagers would not like to associate themselves with younger 'children' as it may make them seem week, and socially inept.
But it seems to be the opposite for Max; he seems to strive from the fact that his is the elder of various groups of children. In fact it may be that he enjoys the power and responsibility that he gets from these younger figures as they look up to him.
It is quite clear that Max strives to be great in pretty much any field of activity that he comes across, but we also see that he may be a social reject among his peers, and so he is forced to lead and be responsible for the young in his school.
The difference between Max and your typical teenager suddenly becomes quite obvious as we look at the groups and clubs that he is part of, not only are most of these of a strange nature he is also part of a vast array of activities from beekeeping to flying.
We could of course look at these activities from another view, possibly the view his mum holds, we could in fact take it that Max is an extremely ambitious, social character, not much dissimilar as how we would all like to be. He may in fact want to exceed further than his peers and excel in every field possible. But there is of course the other factor that maybe Max sees himself as a social outcast and maybe he feels that the only way to feel popular is by being in a variety of clubs. Its also worth noting that Max appears to be either the leader or creator of the majority of the groups he is a part of, this shows to me that he feels that he needs to be in charge and on top of his game at all times.
Only when we view the montage again, and really take notice of these groups, do we soon become aware that Max may in fact be nothing like a typical teenager. The reason being the company he keeps, everyone in his groups, as far as we can tell, appears to be younger than him. But not by just a few years, there seems to be a dramatic difference in ages. Most typical teenagers would not like to associate themselves with younger 'children' as it may make them seem week, and socially inept.
But it seems to be the opposite for Max; he seems to strive from the fact that his is the elder of various groups of children. In fact it may be that he enjoys the power and responsibility that he gets from these younger figures as they look up to him.
It is quite clear that Max strives to be great in pretty much any field of activity that he comes across, but we also see that he may be a social reject among his peers, and so he is forced to lead and be responsible for the young in his school.
Re-presentation Lesson
My definition of re-presentation;
Different forms of media, recycled changed and differed from an original, but still revert back to an original source which in turn recycled that from another form, and so on.
The way the media present ‘something’ as though it were real, it is not real, merely a copy of something.
Signs and signifiers
All signs belong to cultures
Gatekeepers
The people in charge of what we see.
Rushmore
Mise en scene; is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production
1) Where is the film set? In a private American, Christian classroom in a day dream
2) Describe the main characters personality? A daydreamer sees himself as a boffin.
3) What is he excellent at? Thinks he’s good at maths equations
4) How do others view him? As a hero.
5) How was he dressed? Smarter than everyone else in the scene
Editor in chief yankee review
French club president
Model USSR
Stamp club
Debate team
Lacrosse
Calligraphy
Astronomy
Fencing
Track
Choirmaster
Bombardment
Kung fu
Trap and skeet
Beekeeping
Yankee racers
Drama
Flying
Production - Preliminary Magazine Task
The first thing I had to do to get my magazine started, was take an array of photos. As I had a vague idea of how I wanted the person on my front cover to look, I decided it would be easier if I modelled myself. I took a selection of photos, around 15, and then chose 3 of my favourites. I then uploaded the photos onto my laptop, once I had decided which photo I was going to use for my front cover I quickly started to edit it in Photoshop.
Using photoshop, and the tool, magnetic lasso, I cut around the picture of me, making sure the edges were fairly neat.
Choosing a possible font for the mast head was possibly the hardest part for me. I wanted something that gave the magazine a clean edgy look, but also looked quite artistic. I played around with a few possibilites until I decided to use the same font that COMPLEX use for their mast head.
Once I had chosen my mast head font, I needed to choose 2/3 other fonts that I could use for my front cover. I still wanted quite edgy fonts to give the magazine a style completely different to others. But they also had to be eligible and in keeping with the style of the magazine.
Using photoshop, and the tool, magnetic lasso, I cut around the picture of me, making sure the edges were fairly neat.
Choosing a possible font for the mast head was possibly the hardest part for me. I wanted something that gave the magazine a clean edgy look, but also looked quite artistic. I played around with a few possibilites until I decided to use the same font that COMPLEX use for their mast head.
Once I had chosen my mast head font, I needed to choose 2/3 other fonts that I could use for my front cover. I still wanted quite edgy fonts to give the magazine a style completely different to others. But they also had to be eligible and in keeping with the style of the magazine.
I then continued to put all of these features together. After adding dates, titles and a barcode, I decided that the cover was still quite bland. After looking at previous COMPLEX issues I decided to include paint splats to fill any empty space.
Using Photoshop was not much of a task as I have used it, and the many features before. But one of the main tasks that I had to overcome was the use of layers, as most of my previous Photoshop experience was just editing photos this was still quite a new feature. This was something that I felt I overcame quite quickly.
The main skill I acquired during production is my Photoshop skills, I know feel that I am a comfortable with most Photoshop features. This will help when I come to do my final magazine.
The main skill I acquired during production is my Photoshop skills, I know feel that I am a comfortable with most Photoshop features. This will help when I come to do my final magazine.
These our my initial drafts of both my front cover and contents page.
Pre Production - Preliminary Magazine Task
For this task we worked by ourselves, we were asked to create a front page and contents page suitable for a school magazine. We had to include a mid shot photo which strictly was not allowed to be a stock photo.
We firstly had to draw up an original plan of our desired magazine cover. It had to include a photo, a headline and also side headings and possible . I drew and original picture of what I felt I should look like, to represent students at Lutterworth College. I labelled my magazine to show who it will be aimed at and the type of people would be actually interested in reading my magazine. I took the name of my magazine from the culture magazine COMPLEX, using their interesting bold style of titles. I decided upon EXCEL@LC as I felt this was a good play on words, excel could be taken just as a magazine titles, as well as achieving in school.
There were quite a few skills that I acquired during this task. It is now a lot clearer that I need to keep my designs clear so that they are easier for me and others to understand. When I come to do this as my final piece, I know that my initial sketch will be considerably clearer so that it is easier for me to recreate on PhotoShop. Knowing your audience is a key part in designing a magazine. I now know that keeping all of my information relevant to the group is key to creating an enjoyable magazine
This is my initial magazine cover drawing. As you can see it's not incredibly clear, but it included enough detail for me to complete the task. When I come to draw the plan for my final magazine I will make my plan a lot clearer and bolder.
Post production - Preliminary Film Task
For the final stage of creating our film we had to edit the raw footage. I feel that we did this considerably well, taking it in turns to play a small part in learning how to edit footage. As we are all amateurs in editing, we a considerably more time to finish our product than we would of liked. One of the main things that I feel that we all learnt was that although we have a clear image in our heads of how we would like the final product to appear, its a lot harder to edit to the way we want to.
The hardest part in editing was adding a backing track, as I had completely no idea how to do this, and learning how to was a whole new experience.
Overall I am pleased with the way we worked as a group, and our final product.
My strengths were having a part in the video, filming Tom walking down the corridor and edited the some clips together, cutting the length and making sure they flowed properly, and I also added and help trim the music.
Overall everything went well, but there were a couple of continuity errors, most notably the blinds being open and then in another scene them being closed, as well as the door changing colour. A couple of our camera angles were slightly wonky, as well as cutting out the top and bottom of heads. This is something I will definitely have to take into consideration when I next do filming.As this was our first task, a few slight errors were inevitable. But what I have learnt from this is that even the slightest erros in filming can be noticeable
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