Spooks Opening Sequence
Media Representation:
How are people and places represented in this opening sequence.
The location is represented as this quiet, suburban street which may be located in a small tranquil town.
In the opening sequence, a small girl is displayed on the screen skipping on a rope by herself on the street, the character is stereotypically represented as an innocent young child, one that couldn't possibly bring any harm to an individual. The couple in the opening sequence are also represented as a young, happy couple. The female is represented as this happy-go-lucky, carefree character who is in a good relationship. The man is represented as a somewhat corporate type character but at the same time retains that stereotypical label of an 'average Joe'. This is shown as he isn't a completly organised man as he doesn't look completly formal, for example when his wife says he's wearing different socks, plus, judging by his clothes, he refuses to wear a tie and has his top button undone, thus showing us an 'average Joe' character.
This young, friendly couple are contrasted with another couple, however the couples are nothing alike. This particular couple also seem to be in a relationship but a loveless relationship, this is shown when the woman tells the man that the young couple still love each other. There is also this potentionally offensive stereotype that this couple may be considered to be 'terrorists' this is because they speak in foreign language which obviously means english isn't their first language. They speak very vaguely of their past about how 'they' destroyed their world and are prepared to destory 'our' world. One can only deduce that this couple lead an entirely different life and came from a third world country.
There is a clear contrast between the two couples shown here as the director has produced a reflection of reality as these couple may infact lead very similar lifestyles that people could very easily feel connected with even if one of the couples has a rather extremist ideology on society.
Media Forms:
How does the extract follow the codes and conventions of an opening sequence
The opening sequence virtually instantly gets the audiences expectations and gives them pleasure in knowing that it's a drama. The opening sequence gives some tension in the scene of when the pair are talking in the vehicle which gives the fact that the genre is drama. The clip has a serious tone, one that isn't found in other genres such as comedy. The extract follows the conventions by using such codes and conventions such as binary opposition, the two couples and the lives they lead. The enigma codes, why are they spying on this couple, plus for what reason. Also what the man meant by 'destroying out world'.
The opening sequence gives the audience that piece of information that will be resolved in the programme. The clip is rather short because it fills the individual with the important and relevant stuff of what the programme will be about, this is done without wasting time, however it doen't offer a recap of the previous episode.
The clip gives a form of personal identity as it reinforces the personal values the couple have and finding the models of behaviour. There's also the form of integration and social interaction as the clip identifies a sense of belonging with the couple. The sequence also gives off an insight into circumstances of others, in this case, the couple in the car.
These media forms and conventions are given in the extract, they follow the same uses in other programmes.
Media Institutions:
What does this text tell us about the media institutions involved?
The main and only institution that were involved in producing the moving image where BBC. The BBC shows a wide variety of shows that educate us, entertain and inform us, it's also for a wide variety of the audience.
This moving text was made to entertain the audience, as other series shown on the BBC such as Heroes, they entertain rather than educate or inform and we know this by the seriousness that surrounds the atmosphere. The institution are also a huge production company so the production values are high. The shows is also broadcasted after the 9pm watershed so the show would contain violence, some scenes of sex and other adult themes. Therefore the programme is shown to a wide variety of the audience. people in the uk also pay a license fee to bbc so the quality must remain top notch.
Media Audience:
What techniques does the opening sequence use to appeal to a weekday mainstream audience?
Techniques such as enigma codes are used frequently in order to keep the audience guessing. The clip ends with a cliffhanger where the two foreign couple give chase to the young couple. The clip has a gradual build up which teases the audience. it leaves them wanting more. As a weekday audience, the viewer wouldn't want to wait for the opening credits as they tend to take a few minutes to begin, therefore this is eliminated in Spooks, this is also the case with Heroes where the programme begins virtually instantly so no time is wasted for the show to begin.
Monday, 20 April 2009
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Adulthood Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOAf45yY-k4
1:33 - Sam is talking to his brother in his room.
The dialogue in the clip is a serious conversation between two brothers. Sam, the older brother conveys his thoughts with his sibling about his life. His brother gets out his hidden firearm and gives it to his brother, the connotative meaning of the weapon is that people may carry a weapon for many reasons, for example, if they're in a gang or if they feel as though it's necessary to carry one to seem tough. However the actual meaning of possessing a gun is simply because people use it for defence, plus Americans have a right to carry one. But in this context the gun is used to protect the boy because of what his brother did in the past.
The significance of the mise-en-scene is that Sam is passing on his wisdom to his kin about life. Through his own life experience that he's been thorough, Sam doesn't want his brother to go down the same path that he once led as it shows in the scene it lead to him going to jail, and as he claims "it's not about getting caught", Sam wants to protect him from going into the underground criminal world. This also suggests to us that it's near impossible to get out of it as he tells him that a guy has come looking for him due to what he's done. The dominant image in the scene is obviously the gun as it portrays a lot about their life, it shows their struggle in life and it's being displayed here by showing the audience the pistol.
The text may appeal to audiences that want to see a different film that isn't of a Hollywood productions but of a low budget film. The film is also set in the gritty, mean streets of london town which may attract some viewers as it may please them to know it's in a place they know, live, or are familiar with. This leads to the assumptions that the audience is probably ones that live in the UK but also mainly in London.
The characters relate to the genre as they are criminals due to their anti-social behaviour and carrying offensive weapons. Being a crime drama, the characters set in the film relate well to what the film is about. There is also a single stereotype in the clip, there could be a stereotype that only 'black' people get onto the wrong side of the law and that they always carry offensive weapons and commmit crimes. This leads to a pretty inaccurate representation of the 'black' community in London. However it doesn't lead to a strong misinterpretation by people as if these characters are caricatures
The major ideologies behind this text is that both brothers would stick together because they're family, and this scene doesn't fall short of that idea. Sam is being like an older brother by acting mature with his younger brother and converses with him. He's teaching him a meaningful lesson that at first may not come through to him because he's afraid and possibly angry but however still sticks with him. The ideology of a family unit is strong here as the unitary bond between both characters are strong indeed.
1:33 - Sam is talking to his brother in his room.
The dialogue in the clip is a serious conversation between two brothers. Sam, the older brother conveys his thoughts with his sibling about his life. His brother gets out his hidden firearm and gives it to his brother, the connotative meaning of the weapon is that people may carry a weapon for many reasons, for example, if they're in a gang or if they feel as though it's necessary to carry one to seem tough. However the actual meaning of possessing a gun is simply because people use it for defence, plus Americans have a right to carry one. But in this context the gun is used to protect the boy because of what his brother did in the past.
The significance of the mise-en-scene is that Sam is passing on his wisdom to his kin about life. Through his own life experience that he's been thorough, Sam doesn't want his brother to go down the same path that he once led as it shows in the scene it lead to him going to jail, and as he claims "it's not about getting caught", Sam wants to protect him from going into the underground criminal world. This also suggests to us that it's near impossible to get out of it as he tells him that a guy has come looking for him due to what he's done. The dominant image in the scene is obviously the gun as it portrays a lot about their life, it shows their struggle in life and it's being displayed here by showing the audience the pistol.
The text may appeal to audiences that want to see a different film that isn't of a Hollywood productions but of a low budget film. The film is also set in the gritty, mean streets of london town which may attract some viewers as it may please them to know it's in a place they know, live, or are familiar with. This leads to the assumptions that the audience is probably ones that live in the UK but also mainly in London.
The characters relate to the genre as they are criminals due to their anti-social behaviour and carrying offensive weapons. Being a crime drama, the characters set in the film relate well to what the film is about. There is also a single stereotype in the clip, there could be a stereotype that only 'black' people get onto the wrong side of the law and that they always carry offensive weapons and commmit crimes. This leads to a pretty inaccurate representation of the 'black' community in London. However it doesn't lead to a strong misinterpretation by people as if these characters are caricatures
The major ideologies behind this text is that both brothers would stick together because they're family, and this scene doesn't fall short of that idea. Sam is being like an older brother by acting mature with his younger brother and converses with him. He's teaching him a meaningful lesson that at first may not come through to him because he's afraid and possibly angry but however still sticks with him. The ideology of a family unit is strong here as the unitary bond between both characters are strong indeed.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Analysis of Hitman: Blood Money
The connotations from this image shows that this particular female has been used as a sexual object, this is due to the fact that she's lying on a bed half-naked, not to mention she is also deceased as it clearly shows a bullet hole in her forehead. The colour red could also connote love perhaps but with a somewhat twisted feel to it, this could possibly connote necrophilia. However the denotation would most probably be her just being assassinated whilst she's half-naked.
The significance of the mise-en-scene is that it captures the feel of a 'beautiful execution' as the tag line suggests, this is because the woman is lying with a single shot to the head (possibly from sniper rifle) with minimum blood and no mess, thus resulting in a clean execution. The sheets the woman is lying on is red along with her clothing which merge together well with the fact that the colour of blood is red.
The assumptions which are made about the audience is that the audience is most likely to be male. The reason for this is because the poster focuses only on a female who is not fully dressed which would attract males to the poster. This coupled with the violence shown on the poster immediately tells us that this is for adults. The audience reaction to it would be that some may be possibly offended and some may be aroused at first by the main image being displayed. This would attracts the audience to go and purchase the video game.
The genre the text belongs to would be somewhere between the lines of stealth action and thriller. Reason being is that the title is 'Hitman', an assassin who would most probably use stealth to execute his/her targets.
The game is released for the Playstation and Xbox. The institutions behind these consoles are Microsoft and Sony. The institution that created this game is Eidos.
The significance of the mise-en-scene is that it captures the feel of a 'beautiful execution' as the tag line suggests, this is because the woman is lying with a single shot to the head (possibly from sniper rifle) with minimum blood and no mess, thus resulting in a clean execution. The sheets the woman is lying on is red along with her clothing which merge together well with the fact that the colour of blood is red.
The assumptions which are made about the audience is that the audience is most likely to be male. The reason for this is because the poster focuses only on a female who is not fully dressed which would attract males to the poster. This coupled with the violence shown on the poster immediately tells us that this is for adults. The audience reaction to it would be that some may be possibly offended and some may be aroused at first by the main image being displayed. This would attracts the audience to go and purchase the video game.
The genre the text belongs to would be somewhere between the lines of stealth action and thriller. Reason being is that the title is 'Hitman', an assassin who would most probably use stealth to execute his/her targets.
The game is released for the Playstation and Xbox. The institutions behind these consoles are Microsoft and Sony. The institution that created this game is Eidos.
Monday, 26 January 2009
Bullet Boy Trailer
The use of lighting throughout the film trailer is low key lighting which could connote that the film is a serious crime drama. The trailer begins with a police raid in a apartment, this shot cuts to a shot to the city of london, the usage of low key lighting on this shot represent that the city is a deprived urban wasteland and the film is set on these gritty streets.
The narrative is a linear narrative which is about a story about a man with his gun, hence the name 'bullet boy' the film revolves around this character and his struggle in life in the film. The close up shot also shows a gun being taken out of a sock which clearly shows it's an illegal weapon that he shouldn't own.
The main ethnic minority in this film are black males and females, this suggests to us that there isn't any white supremacy seen like in most other films, however this also portrays a negative image on this minority as they may be seen as criminals which as a result labels them as being crime obsessed giving a negative stereotype in society.
The iconography is the firearm pistol held by the protagonist as it represents violence and death . We also see a six-shooter held by a simple, small child, this shows us that the gun may be used irresponsibly, (though it already was) which would certainly mean DEATH.
The male dominance is never over shadowed by females carrying guns and using them, only men. There is a single scene that shows the protagonist with a woman, who may be his girlfriend, topless, this shows that woman are being used a sexual objects and nothing more.
The narrative is a linear narrative which is about a story about a man with his gun, hence the name 'bullet boy' the film revolves around this character and his struggle in life in the film. The close up shot also shows a gun being taken out of a sock which clearly shows it's an illegal weapon that he shouldn't own.
The main ethnic minority in this film are black males and females, this suggests to us that there isn't any white supremacy seen like in most other films, however this also portrays a negative image on this minority as they may be seen as criminals which as a result labels them as being crime obsessed giving a negative stereotype in society.
The iconography is the firearm pistol held by the protagonist as it represents violence and death . We also see a six-shooter held by a simple, small child, this shows us that the gun may be used irresponsibly, (though it already was) which would certainly mean DEATH.
The male dominance is never over shadowed by females carrying guns and using them, only men. There is a single scene that shows the protagonist with a woman, who may be his girlfriend, topless, this shows that woman are being used a sexual objects and nothing more.
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
MES1 Analysis
Superbad is an American comedy film, the sub-genre of this is a teen comedy. By being this sub-genre the setting will obiously be set in high school as in most films, teen comedy such as '10 things i hate about you' is set in high school.
In the clip, three teens are sown and each are represented differently, one is Foggell who is the nerd, this is shown through the costume as he wears glasses which labels him as a 'geek'. Whereas Evan is represented as the normal one as he is presented the calm guy who, in the scene is calm in the situation plus he is seen as the underdog in he film. Unlike the third character who is sown as the rebel, this is displayed to the audience when he asks to see the Fake ID his friend made which shows us that he like to live on thee by breaking the rules.
The typical narratives is that this film is about 3 high school students who are portrayed as losers who want to be with popular girls. Binary opposition is also clearly represented here as there is a clear distinction between the losers and the ones at the top of the hierarchy, in this case the popular kids, e.g Jocks in American schools.
In the clip, three teens are sown and each are represented differently, one is Foggell who is the nerd, this is shown through the costume as he wears glasses which labels him as a 'geek'. Whereas Evan is represented as the normal one as he is presented the calm guy who, in the scene is calm in the situation plus he is seen as the underdog in he film. Unlike the third character who is sown as the rebel, this is displayed to the audience when he asks to see the Fake ID his friend made which shows us that he like to live on thee by breaking the rules.
The typical narratives is that this film is about 3 high school students who are portrayed as losers who want to be with popular girls. Binary opposition is also clearly represented here as there is a clear distinction between the losers and the ones at the top of the hierarchy, in this case the popular kids, e.g Jocks in American schools.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Heroes Analysis
The programme begins with the the Heroes iconography of planet Earth with a recap of the previous episode. The solar eclipse of Planet Earth had become the iconographgy of Heroes as they had used the same beginning for the three seasons. The series doesn't actually have a proper opening sequence as seen in many other shows that shows each characters and actors that play them, usually there is music in the background as well such as Friends. However over the years there has been some change, like Heroes, My Wife and Kids starts off with simply the title and a picture of the house and then starting the show. This is also the same with Heroes where Earth is shown and there is a rather strange sound in the background. Also they don't tell the audience any characters as they would have to find out on their own by watching the show.
In the title sequence has a voice over that recaps the previous episode for the viewer, they show the plot for each character as there are multiple stories going on in the shows, there isn't a single story as compared to other shows that may limit to just a single one. This makes Heroes unique in a way as the multiple storylines would keep the series intresting as they also contain cliffhangers that makes the audience hunger for more, this could also be what has made the series so strong.
There are ideologies in the programme such as the Petrellis being a family unit despite being a somewhat dysfunctional family. The episode begins with Peter Petrelli standing on top of a building, there are multiple shots used, firstly it is a close up of his face as he stands on the top, this cuts to a long shot showing a birds eye view from where he stands, to the ground. Immediately an enigma code is created as it raises questions to why Peter is doing that. Also the setting is in New York City, which is a very busy city where there would be such stereotypes such as a lot of business men and a flooding of taxis driven by immigrants. We see the binary opposition of Peter and his brother Nathan, one is a working class person, who is Peter, and Nathan who is seen in a more formal outfit who is in the programme is trying to be a Civil Servant.
In the title sequence has a voice over that recaps the previous episode for the viewer, they show the plot for each character as there are multiple stories going on in the shows, there isn't a single story as compared to other shows that may limit to just a single one. This makes Heroes unique in a way as the multiple storylines would keep the series intresting as they also contain cliffhangers that makes the audience hunger for more, this could also be what has made the series so strong.
There are ideologies in the programme such as the Petrellis being a family unit despite being a somewhat dysfunctional family. The episode begins with Peter Petrelli standing on top of a building, there are multiple shots used, firstly it is a close up of his face as he stands on the top, this cuts to a long shot showing a birds eye view from where he stands, to the ground. Immediately an enigma code is created as it raises questions to why Peter is doing that. Also the setting is in New York City, which is a very busy city where there would be such stereotypes such as a lot of business men and a flooding of taxis driven by immigrants. We see the binary opposition of Peter and his brother Nathan, one is a working class person, who is Peter, and Nathan who is seen in a more formal outfit who is in the programme is trying to be a Civil Servant.
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