Working Title Films

1. When looking at the typical conventions associated within your films, when new ideas arrive through new talent, do you embrace them or stick to your traditional values, and why?
   “Working Title 2
   How did WT2 come about?
When I was at Working Title we set up a New Writers Scheme to develop new talent. Normally we do not accept unsolicited material (scripts that do not come from an agent or producer) but for the scheme we had to relax a bit and open the doors. The problem was that at Working Title, smaller films would inevitably get less attention than the bigger budget projects so we decided to set up WT2 to give proper attention to those smaller films. Quite a few of the writers we were developing on the Scheme we are now working with us at WT2 while others have set up their projects with other companies, which is great.”
   http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/working_title_history/
2. what forms of audiences are you now aiming for with your films, are they still the traditional target groups, or are you expanding your audience range, and why?

Midsomer Murders

How does ‘Midsomer murders’ represent Englishness?

One way in which this television show represents Englishness is through sound. One of the ways in which this is done is by the opening scenes of an episode featuring lots of digetic sound – mainly birds and other wildlife, as well as natural soft sounds. This creates an idyllic setting which is also very natural, emphasising the peacefulness associated with traditional English stereotypes. Another way in which sound represents the traditional Englishness within this TV programme is through non-digetic sound. The opening soundtrack to most of the episodes is in a happy them, bordering on jolly – this once again conforms to the traditional stereotype of a typical Englishman being just this. Another way that the traditional Englishness has been represented within an extract in which we studied was the featured music from a classical song released in the first part of the 1990’s. What this then did was portray that Midsomers’ village to be featured either during this period, or that most of the inhabitants were, and hence show the type of music they would have listened to, and still do.  Dialogue also features here, with most of the accents of the characters being ‘proper English’ or posh – portraying the Englishness in the village.

Another way in which Midsomer Murders presents Englishness is through the use of the camera. There are lots of establishing shots, most of which pan over the village – this presents Englishness because in the shots there are always views of buildings that are associated with the English – for instance there are views of churches, horse carriages, WW2 aircraft hangars, country roads and old fashioned English houses. Long panning shots also show these features to effect during the show. There are many tilt shots used also, typified in one extract in which it shows a picnic with traditional English basket. Medium shots are also featured a fair amount, most often being used when viewers are looking at a characters body language – this shots show clearly the characters body language (this often being appropriate and robust – connotation with the English).

Editing has also been used, but with not as greater affects as the other two. The main ways in which editing has been used is by most of the edits being slow in transition. This helps to present the people in this village as calm, slow, but considered – much to the connotations of the stereotypical English person.

Mise en scene plays a huge impact for the presentation of Englishness in Midsomer Murders. Scenes in which Englishness is heavily featured in midsomers’ includes; shots of country roads, picnic baskets, land rovers, post offices, ‘best kept village’ scene, classic old cars and WW2 hangars. Characters costumes are often very English in appearance, with man wearing suits and women wearing dresses. The lighting is also important – there is no artificial light used, this helps to portray the naturalness of the characters. This also ties in with the make-up, with there being minimal to no make-up on characters. Both these features once again conform to the stereotype image of the natural English person. Acting styles also feature heavily within the extracts, with the acting being conservative and considered, as would the behaviour have been of an Englishman in this time, compared to the more rebellious, free-roaming nature of character sin more modern setting dramas.

Hollyoaks - Case Study 5.1

Season 18 – Episode 43:

Setting: a character is in hospital, and is frequently switching between the reality of recovering in the hospital, and the fiction of a romance with the nurse caring him.

Camera: in the fictional moment the character is never seen, and the shot is always in a fixed position looking up towards the nurse. However, in the following reality moments there are shots of both the patient and the nurse, all in a fixed position. The angles are also pivotal here as they show the patient in a low angle, making him look vulnerable, especially compared to the nurse in a high angle view.

Editing: the shots between camera shots are easily visible between the two moments, with there being no changes of shot in the first, fictional moment, but by there being lots of different shots in the reality moment. This helps convey the sense of the characters fractured life in reality, while what they want is a steady life, shown in the reality moment. Another important aspect that has been shown with editing is in the fictional shot where the picture appears in a rose tinted image, associated with lust and happiness as well as romance, whereas the reality shot is dull and bland, associated with boredom and sadness.

Sound: in the fictional scene, there is only non-digetic sound, which helps enforce the fake moment, but also creates a sense of romance, ensuring the light hearted sense of the moment. Whereas when the scene switches to reality there is only digetic sound, which with the effects of hospital equipment, helps ensure the realism of being in a hospital, and hence a thought-provoking state is induced.  

Mise en scene: in the fictional moment, the body language of the characters are of a positive sense, unlike the reality shots were the body language is downcast. The clothing worn in the fictional scene are that of a provocative nature, and hence convey the light hearted sense of the scene, however the clothes in the reality scene are more serious with there being patient gowns and nurses uniforms. In the first moments of the scene, there is also no hospital equipment, unlike the reality scene, this also conveys the two extremities of the script.

How does the skins promo trailer create representation for young people

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How does the skins promo trailer create representation for young people

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Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is the movement to a new type of design for the internet, with websites becoming more facilitated to become user orientated, with regular people now able to produce as well as consume elements from the web.

 

An example of this could be Facebook. People can consume input from other people, for example other peoples pictures, but also input information themselves, such as status updates (picture 1). Another example could be the ability for people to read news articles and then post comments about what they thought about the article (picture 2)

 

Youtube is also a great example, as people can easily produce their own videos, and then post them online for others to consume (picture 3). Blogger is an example of how people can put their thoughts or work online, for other people to view and comment on (picture 4). People can now also chat to each other online with their ideas and debate, through things such as forums (picture 5).   



Picture 1



       



Picture 2



Picture 3









Picture 4



Picture 5





Explain, using specific examples, how the expansion of digital media has been an improvement for audiences.

Digital media has made a vast improvement for audiences, in the ways, in which they can view productions, as well as when and more importantly they can watch productions that are more focused on the genre that they like.

Instead of just going to the cinema to view a production, people can now watch them on the television, on computers, on games consoles and even on phones. This allows people to consume media anywhere that they choose to, be it at home or on the bus. People now have a far greater choice in when they can consume the media as well. Films can now be stored onto computers, phones, blu rays, DVDs and the television to be watched at any time. Television now also has the ability to be watched at any moment, for instance sky anytime or sky planned, or via the internet, on sites such as you tube.

The final major improvement that digital media has made for audiences is that a greater variety of genres has been made, with films also more focused on these specific genres. This is because producers can distribute their films over a greater range of media, thus increasing the total number of audience members. Because of this the producers can make productions that are more specific to a type of genre, but still receive a great reception for their targeted audience. Films that have been made specifically because of this include ‘Clover Field and more recently ‘Paranormal activity’.

This represents a gradual shift from big blockbuster films costing hundreds of millions of pounds, for example ‘Titanic’ to films with much lower budgets, but still receiving good audience feedback, such as ‘The Blair Witch Project’.  

Narrative Theories

Claude Levi-Strauss:

Looked at narrative structure in terms of binary oppositions. Binary oppositions are sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts. An example would be GOOD VS EVIL. Levi-Strauss was not so interested in looking at the order in which events are arranged, but the themes arrangement.

Vladimir Propp:

Propp used this method by analogy to analyze Russian fairy tales. By breaking down a large number of Russian folk tales into their smallest narrative units, or narratives, Propp was able to arrive at a typology of narrative structures.

Functions

After the initial situation is depicted, the tale takes the following sequence of 31 functions:^[2]

1. The villain — struggles against the hero.
2. The donor —character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
3. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
4. The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. The hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
5. Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, and marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father cannot be clearly distinguished.
6. The dispatcher —prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
7. The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
8. False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.^[4]

ABSENTATION, INTERDICTION, VIOLATION of INTERDICTION, RECONNAISSANCE, DELIVERY, TRICKERY, COMPLICITY, VILLAINY or LACK, MEDIATION, BEGINNING COUNTER-ACTION, DEPARTURE, FIRST FUNCTION OF THE DONOR, HERO'S REACTION, RECEIPT OF A MAGICAL AGENT, GUIDANCE, STRUGGLE, BRANDING, VICTORY, LIQUIDATION, RETURN, PURSUIT, RESCUE, UNRECOGNIZED ARRIVAL, UNFOUNDED CLAIMS, DIFFICULT TASK: SOLUTION, RECOGNITION: EXPOSURE, TRANSFIGURATION PUNISHMENT, WEDDING.

Roland Barthes:

Roland Barthes describes a text as

"a galaxy of signifiers, not a structure of signified; it has no beginning; it is reversible; we gain access to it by several entrances, none of which can be authoritatively declared to be the main one; the codes it mobilizes extend as far as the eye can read, they are indeterminable...the systems of meaning can take over this absolutely plural text, but their number is never closed, based as it is on the infinity of language..." (S/Z - 1974 translation)

What he is basically saying is that a text is like a tangled ball of threads which needs unravelling so we can separate out the colours. Once we start to unravel a text, we encounter an absolute plurality of potential meanings. We can start by looking at a narrative in one way, from one viewpoint, bringing to bear one set of previous experience, and create one meaning for that text. You can continue by unravelling the narrative from a different angle, by pulling a different thread if you like, and create an entirely different meaning. And so on.