How is regionality represented in Our Friends From The North?

-Snobby
-Upper/middle class
-Setting- A posh restaurant in Newcastle
-Sound- Diegetic- Posh slow music, plates & glasses.

-Characters are wearing suits and dresses
-Accents
-Dialogue- People getting at each other, arguing.
-Shot-reverse-shots

Londoners are represented in a negative way as they're seen as being snobby when she says 'blacks' and then moans about being called 'sweetheart' showing a sense of hypocritism.

Dialogue;
'Sweetheart'
'I'll get off your back when you stop calling me sweet heart'
'Whats the matter with that?'
'it's patronising and i won't have it.'

The woman also tells the man that he can't do/say something.
'You can't say that Oscar.'
'Can't I?'

Representation

An image+ a point of view= Representation.

In exploring representation you need to establish:

1.     What views of people or issues are being conveyed to the audience?

2.     Who is represented?

3.     How far do the representations challenge or conform to dominant representation and ideologies.

Extension

How far are audiences positioned to take up a preferred view?

Hollyoaks Opening Credits

Within the opening of Hollyoaks each character gets their own setting which foreshadow's their personality and maybe something that will happen to them within the show.

1.     Camera angles can be used to show a certain view of a person/people. For example an extreme close-up at the beginning, which focuses on the woman’s mouth where she is eating a cherry. This gives us the view that she is meant to be tempting and can be seen as a sex symbol. The red lipstick and cherry shows a sense of temptation and foreshadows the personality of this character to be ‘provocative’

2.     The representation of people in the clip is usually focused into gender. For example women are being represented as negative figures in this opening are mostly seen as sex symbols as they’re wearing short dresses and taking apples from a tree which shows a connotation of the tree of temptation showing that this character does something she shouldn't have just like Adam & Eve. The men are seen as ‘cool’ and strong and are seen having a lot of women around them which we can connotate to make them to seem like players.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTSlnbbZ5gE&NR=1

The Tudors opening
In the opening of The Tudors we see the camera angles following one man around and basing all the camera angles on this one particular man whether it's a point of view shot or just a closeup. The camera angles show him to be focused and strong and even powerful with the people following him.


Men are represented as being strong, angry/aggressive and as leaders. The show itself conforms into the expectation of the Tudor times. The men are quite powerful and leading with high social status. Even when the man is stabbed a few times he still tries to fight and the others stab him without hesitation showing that the men were expected to be strong and angry. The representations of the men in the opening do conform to the dominant representation and ideology of the era that the program was meant to be set in.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?index=2&feature=PlayList&v=P9ck6aa00LA&list=PLFB92252769CEE92F

Definitions of Media Terminology

Hegemony:
This is when a specific group/entity has influence or power over a certain group of people.  For example the government has hegemony over their community. A hegemonic value that society has put forth is that the police are always right.


Ideology:
Ideology is simply an idea that is made and given by a certain type of media text. On television it could make something look worse than it is to gain more publicity and views. For example on a gossip-type news show they could have some news of a pregnancy and twist this to make it seem like the father could be anybody.


Representation:
This is the ability of something to show certain things and present them to a viewer in terms of media.  As much as reflections are given off by representation, constructions are also given out therefore a new reality is created in order to intrigue the audience/readers. For example a picture of a fire in one building being used to describe a bigger problem such as a city being rioted.


Stereotype:
Stereotypes are judgements put forth on certain people and are usually negative representations of people due to backgrounds, age, looks, sex or culture. For example a woman being over-emotional, Islamic people being terrorists and people who wear all black being goths. These stereotypes aren't necessarily true.

Lost

What Narrative Structures are evident in the first episode of Lost? What effect does this have on the audience?

Whilst watching the first episode of Lost, I saw that Vladimir Propp's Narrative theory of the 7 character roles was present. An example of this is that most of the 7 character types are shown within the episode. For example Jack is the hero in this case as he is seen helping the hurt passengers and saves many people from dying or being hurt. Kate can be seen as the sidekick as she helps and joins Jack in his adventure to find the cockpit of the plane and witnesses the captain being attacked, however she can also be portrayed as the princess in this case as she is the Hero’s love interest.  Some of the people that help in the hero’s quest can be seen as a hero also however as Jack is the main hero in the storyline therefore they cannot be portrayed as the main hero. The helpers are present when Jack asks a man to look after the pregnant lady, when Jack asks help to lift a piece of metal from the plane off the unconscious man and when he asks Kate to sew up the injury he got from the crash. In this scene we see a bald man sitting on the beach who can be considered to be the villain in the series as he seems crazy when he smiles at Kate with an orange in his mouth and stares. Another time we see this is when he is standing out in the rain whilst everyone is in shelter, he puts his arms out to the sky as if he is doing a prayer or summoning the rain. He doesn’t actually have any dialogue but from his actions we see that he could have some mental issues or be the villain as they have built a lot of suspense around his character. Another villain can be Charlie as we see that he is always up to something and in one of Jack’s flashbacks he is being chased by an air hostess meaning he may of caused the accident in the first place.  There is also a hidden force that we see in the episode that is chasing down all the people on the island and kills the captain of the plane. After the cockpit scene they all begin to run away from the unseen force at this point they all begin to split up, Charlie’s leg gets stuck in the mud and he falls over whilst the others run. Consumed with fear Kate keeps on running leaving Jack to help Charlie who seems to have seen the unseen creature but says he didn’t which can also be seen as an evil side to him. As Jack goes back to save him we once again see the heroic side to him whereas Kate realising she is alone and shows fear can be seen as a damsel in distress. Towards the end Charlie crashes into Kate who demands to go back and save Jack with or without Charlie making her take on the hero role for that short period of time. Seeing these roles allows the audience to relate and as they are used to this theory being used in most of the stories they witness it wouldn't be anything too confusing.

Discuss the sound techniques used in the first episode of Lost. What effect did they have on the audience? 

In Lost, sound techniques are used to make the show more effective and to convey a message or emotion that the makers want the audience to feel.  Both Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sounds are used within the episode.  The title sequence is very short and is just an eerie jungle sound like a drum and throughout most scenes there is tense and dramatic music, whereas there is sad and slow music during some of the death scenes these are Non-Diegetic.  In the background of every scene there are a lot of Diegetic sounds present to create a feeling that we are with the characters in the location. This includes when it’s raining and both the audience and the characters hear the rain, birds which we both hear allowing us to feel like we are in the jungle setting with the sound of birds, the plane blowing up which the characters can obviously hear as we do and this allows us as the audience to feel like we are apart of the action. In the scene where everybody is beginning to relax and are talking there is a eerie noise coming from the trees which the audience become glued to the screen and begin wondering what this sound was and the characters are fearful of what the sound can be. The Non- Diegetic sounds allow the audience to feel empathetic to the characters’ situation and we feel sorry for them through sad and slow music to show the poignant situation they’re in.  Throughout all the scenes the mixture of both Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sounds in order to convey emotions that the makers want us to feel. For example at the beginning when the man is running from something we cannot see we hear a lot of footsteps and rattling of trees which makes us think that he may get caught and is being chased, whereas we also hear Non-Diegetic sounds such as tense music that only the audience can hear which puts us on the edge of our seats.  The crashing of the sea and the rain, which are diegetic sounds, can be used to create a sense of realism and to once again draw the audience into the scene itself.  The Dialogues themselves within the series is a Diegetic sound as both the audience and characters can hear it. The dialogues are basically the most important aspect of sound within any movie/television show and without this we wouldn’t really know what’s going on. The dialogue allows us to get to know the characters, see their roles and see their relationships that are growing and spreading.  An example of this can be when Jack and Kate have a conversation about the past and when Jack first became a doctor and operated on a little girl, he mentioned that things went wrong and instead of running he counted to 5 and carried on, this allowed Kate to relate and she later on used this method to help Jack. this story allowed the two to form a bond and become closer. 

How is realism constructed in this episode of Lost?

Lost seems like a very realistic show as it has effective realism in it whether it’s through sound, props, clothing or the performance of the actor. The whole show itself revolves around a realistic concept of a plane crash and being stranded on an island. The people on the plane had the reaction that would be expected in real life, which was fear and a high level of shock of the plane malfunctioning. When Jack has a flashback we can see the fear in all the passengers faces and this makes the crash believable.  The diegetic sounds used in Lost do this as well. For example the plane crash sound, the people screaming on the way down and the captain talking to the passengers. These also make the show realistic. When they have crashed and they’re stranded on the island the setting is what the audience would expect as it’s an island where you can see things that would normally be on an island, for example the sound of the sea, the rain and the birds in the jungle. Another important aspect of the setting is that the broken pieces of the plane doesn’t just disappear, it stays on the island in place, which would be the case in real life too even though some parts will be moved and broken off. The engine explodes after a man is sucked in and this shows that they’ve thought about most aspects when trying to make the series realistic. All of the passengers were wearing everyday casual clothing that you would see if you entered a plane and not costumes and fancy outfits. Another example is on the plane with the airhostesses wearing the uniform that they wear in the real world. The props are another way of ensuring realism, for example on the plane the airhostess is pushing the trolley with everything that a normal plane would have such as food, drinks and souvenirs, snacks and so on. Another effective use of props is on the island where there are shells on the beach and animals within the jungle and even on the broken cockpit of the plane there is controls you’d expect to see on a real plane and all of the oxygen masks that drop down when the plane is in danger of falling.  The actor’s performance also must be realistic because if the acting isn’t believable then no one will really enjoy it or relate with it.  For example when Jack is hurt on the beach or when the pregnant lady had her contraptions these were believable if we had somebody shouting ‘ouch’ with a straight, emotionless face every 5 minutes then it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it was with professional acting. The emotions must be conveyed through the acting and to do this amateur acting wouldn’t really work well.  Overall the realism in the show allows the audience to feel like they’re connected to it and feels like they can relate to the show itself. 

How does Lost fit the conventions of a TV drama?

Like other TV dramas you’d expect to see on television Lost is a series, which had 6 seasons in total consisting of week-to-week episodes. Like a typical story as Vladimir Propp saw, it contains heroes, villains and helpers. There is always a dialogue in every Drama and in Lost we see that the dialogue also consists of the typical love interest.  There are usually the same characters every week and sometimes a new one is added or an old one will leave but they usually stay the same, in Lost we always have the same survivors with a few cutbacks and add ons.  Every TV drama has a storyline, without it there would be no point of watching it, as it wouldn’t flow.  For example the storyline of Lost is about a few survivors stuck on an island after a plane crash.  A good way to keep viewers with a TV drama is by using cliffhangers. For example on Lost if somebody was to die or was about to die they could end the show this way in order to keep the audience intrigued and make them watch the next episode in order to see what’s going to happen next. The setting is on an island and is always set in the same location within the Island unless they have flashbacks leading to thoughts from the past, which would be shown in another location.  Another important aspect that makes Lost fit the conventions of a TV drama is the props, everyday props are used such as planes and casual clothes. In other TV Dramas Camera angles are used in order to convey some emotion or show a persons relationship. For example in Lost fear is conveyed by Extreme close-ups focussing on the aspect of a characters face which could be their eyes in shock or fear.  Another shot that Is used a lot is the shot-reverse-shot, which is used a lot in TV Dramas such as Eastenders or Hollyoaks, this is used in Lost when two people are having a conversation. Lastly sound is a very important aspect in TV Dramas, being the title sequence and music to convey an emotion, which is a Non-Diegetic sound and these are sounds only the audience can hear. The sequence allows the audience to remember and recall when they hear the sequence again, for example in Lost the sequence is the word Lost with a jungle type sound. Also background music makes a scene more tense and interesting rather than having none at all which would probably bore the audience as the music itself pumps up the audience and if its to create fear it will convey this onto the audience. Diegetic sounds, which are sounds that both the audience and characters can hear, allow Lost to fit the conventions too this is because the audience can relate to the surroundings and creates a sense of realism within the series. Overall the mis-en-scene allows the series Lost to fit into the conventions of a TV drama.

Narrative Theories

Vladimir Propp- 7 Character Roles
In 1969 Vladimir developed a character role theory. In the 100 stories he analysed, he saw that there were 7 broad character roles. These could be applied to other media too. The character roles are;

• The villian- This person is the bad person and battles the hero.
• The donor- This person prepares the hero for battle or gives them a magical/helpful object.
• The (Magical) helper- This person is like a sidekick and helps the hero in the quest.
• The princess- This is the person the hero marries, they sometimes need help and could be the quest itself.
• The princess' father- This person sometimes requests help from the hero.
• The dispatcher-
• The hero- This person reacts to the donor and marries the princess.

For example, in Mario we have;
The hero (being Mario)
The helper (being Luigi)
The princess (being Princess Peach)
The Princess' father (In this case the Toad)
The Dispatcher (being Toad)
The Donor (being Toad)
The Villain (being Bowser)


Tzvetan Todorov- Equilibrium Theory
The environment within the film is a state of equilibrium. In the case of Charmed the equilibrium would be the present day they're living at. After this something called Disequilibrium occurs where a disruption happens which could be a spell gone wrong in the show which causes the characters to go back in time and their existence could be affected. The characters then recognise the disorder by dialogue. After this they will attempt to fix the problem, for example in Charmed they could try a spell to return back to their normal time. Finally the equilibrium is restored and they would be back to the present day.

Claude Levi-Strauss- Binary Opposition
This is a pair of related terms or concepts but these are opposites. For example on or off or left or right. Its like there being 2 answers for one question. For example 'Are you left handed or right handed?' You can only answer with Left or Right.


Roland Barthes- Enigma Code
The Enigma code is a theory in which posters, films, and television programs etc. Have a mystery used to draw the audience into it and ask questions and wonder what's going to happen. For example if there is a question that intrigues the audience this'll make the audience want to watch or see more.
For example in a trailer or poster if someone in a dark cloak is committing a murder we'd wonder who the murderer is and if we'd find out who it is and whether they actually killed the person.

Why is sound important in TV drama?

 Sound is used to convey a certain feeling within the audience in a TV drama. For example, if someone was being chased down a street and you had calm classical music the audience wouldn't really feel anything and it wouldn't be appropriate whereas if you had fast paced spooky music then the audience would feel that something frightening is about to happen. A diegetic sound like a slamming door or a bang would also create this emotion as we still feel the emotion.

Diegetic:

Diegetic sounds are those in which both the audience and the character can hear, for example a scream within the movie/program, the audience would hear it and so would the character within the movie. Here's some examples from Doctor Who:

The Tardis- This sound effect is important within Doctor Who as it has an important role to play, the sound itself is very surreal and alien like which is the feel that the producers want to be conveyed. 

The Sonic Screwdriver- This is also a very important and like the Tardis, the screwdriver has a alien-like sound to it which once again conveys the emotion.

Non Diegetic:

These are sounds that only we (the audience) can hear, for example theme's of each character that play when they have a moment or the theme tune itself.

This is the Doctor's theme, when he has an important moment within the program this song plays, it's a fast paced exciting song which is used to make the audience feel excited.

This is the main theme tune to the program and it sounds quite alien and unusual which allows the audience to recognise the song and know where it's from making it a signature theme tune for the show.  For each carnation of the Doctor the theme tune alters slightly for that person's personality.

6 Camera Angles From Doctor Who

Close up:

 Worry

 Fear

Anger

Close-ups are used to convey emotions and show the audience what the character is feeling through their facial expressions.

Shot reverse shot/ over shoulder shot:

The shot reverse shot is mostly used to show conversations and allows the audience to see the actors' facial expressions whilst they talk to each other and avoids confusion as the audience knows who's talking. For example it could show love by showing both actors' emotions.

Low-Angle Shot:

This is when the camera is positioned below the actors, this makes the scene/characters look more important and gives a stronger feel. In this shot it makes it look more surreal and magical.

Birds-Eye View:

Birds-eye view shows the scene from above, it allows the audience to see everything from above, in this particular shot we see a surreal shot.

Point-of-view Shot:

This angle allows us to see what the character is looking at so its like we are there in their place. In this case the character is looking at a button.

2-Shot:

The 2-shot is used to show two characters within the frame at once and show a connection or emotion within the two.