Secret Diary of a Call Girl - Sound

As well as using the camera work and other aspects of production, sound is a very important factor in creating a representation, in this case it is the representation of disability. At the begging of the clip ambient sound of the wheel chair rolling along the carpet can be heard, this directs our attention to the chair straight away, which is of course backed up by the images of the man sitting in the chair. At this stage of the clip there is no sound track, this is to ensure that the audience feel the awkwardness in which the characters are subjected to feeling.

Dialogue is next on the repertoire of sounds in which the audience are to encounter. The dialogue sends off a signal of awkwardness right away as there is some use of phatic talk and the sentences are never fully finished before a reply is handed out. As the action starts to get going, we increasingly hear my ambient sounds, for example when Billy Piper is locking the door, these sounds are delivered to us quite clearly to make the audience aware that this is an important sound. Almost three quarters of the way into the clip a soundtrack now begins to play, the main instrument in which we hear is a harmonica, which is usually associated with the blues, as we are to feel sympathy for the disabled man. This sound is also sound bridged as is takes us from a clip of the father to a clip of Billy and the male.

Some other important sounds:

• Ambient - Rustling of paper, footsteps, the window opening and closing, nature
• Soundtrack - Harmonica song, radio, bib

Sound Terminology

Diegetic - sound that characters can hear

Non-diegetic - Sound that characters cannot hear

Soundtrack - music chosen to go with a scene

Score - Original music (made for the show)

Sound Effects - Recorded sounds, usually added in post production (editing)

Theme - Music that goes with characters or situations

Ambient sound - natural, environmental sounds

Dialogue - speech, intonation (how they say it), accent

Sound Bridge - soundtack starts in one scene and is carried to the other

Secret Diary of a Call Girl - Representation of disability - Editing

In the clip taken from ITV drama Secret Diary of a Call Girl, the subject of disability is very relevant and certainly on topic. Editing is used to make us feel certain emotions regarding this sensitive subject and to make us constantly aware of the topic of disability. Below is a list of some of the important features of editing used to create this representation of disability:

• Eye line shot of the disabled man, which instantly brings us to the subject of disability
• When dealing with the payments, there is an eye line match between Billy Piper, the father and the cripple. We view it as Billy looking down, then the father looking down, then their subject of interest (the boy) is show after
• Long scene when the father is rummaging through his sons bag, to build awkwardness
• Match on action when the father picks up his son and places him down on the bed
• Shot-reverse shot of Billy locking the door, to vulnerable boy, back to door. This shot shows concern
• Slow pace, generating a feeling of anxiety
• 180degree rule, Billy always on the left and disabled boy is usually to the right
• Eye line match, Dad looking at the penthouse apartment, shows anxiety and protectiveness
• Jump-cuts of the father in the van which are used to show boredom, time passing and anxiety. There is no relationship between each of the shots, they're discontinuous
• Cross cutting of the action taking place simultaneously
• Camera/editing is privileging the master shot (master shot shows both characters)

Editing Terminology

Eye line Match - A shot of someones face looking, then a shot of what they're looking at

Cross Cutting - Cutting from one scene to the other,. showing the action is happening at the same time. To suggest characters story lines will ,meet and converge.

Cut on motion/ motion cut - Cutting to a closer frame or different frame when there is movement to draw pour attention to it. Starts on one shot and is completed on the next.

Graphic Match - Two shots chosen for graphic similarity e.g. a clock face and rolo (both circular)

Shot - reverse shot - Used during conversations to show one characters perspective to the other in a conversation

Transitions -

• Cut (hard cut)
• Dissolve/cross fade
• Fade in/out
• Jump cut

Jump cut  - Draws attention to the editing and takes out some of the time in a chronological narrative

Montage - Shots chosen for thematic relationship and are often used to show development and crunch time

Pace - How does the edit affect the mood through the pace of the clip

Monarch of the Glen - Mise en scene (camera)

Here is the order of the most significant shots in this clip from the Monarch of the Glen. Most of these shots were created in order to backup the the age theme in this clip:

• Medium shot of two people conversing. Shows costumes in shot, which are typical of teenage fashion
• Close up of the 16 year old girl, in the driving seat. This shot shows uncertainty and nervousness in her face, which can be linked to the feelings one might get just before an exam perhaps
• Wide shot of car crash, used to establish new setting 
• Pan left to right to show conversation with headmaster 
• Two person shot, close-up, shows a vulnerable girl hiding behind a parent like figure
• Long shot, establishes new office location
• Close up, now at eye level of the young girl to show her perspective
• Wide shot, establishing another new location
• Mid shot of teddy bear on the bed, this relates to age again as a teddy has connotations of childhood innocence and naivety
• Tilt to reveal goodbye note
• Slow zoom on photograph, emphasising emotion
• Tilt up to show window in which she climbed out of, again there are connotations of childhood and teen rebellion 

Monarch of the Glen - Mise en scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTQDipfN8JA&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLFB82E5E1AA5FBC19

Mise on scene consists of the following main sub-topics: Settings, lighting, actors, costume, makeup, props and body language. These are all contributing, and vital factors in the creation of a successful and authentic scene. In this clip from TV drama Monarch of the Glen, the main focus is on age, so therefore the mise en scene is very important in making that focus clear. Here is a bullet pointed list of examples of the mise en scene used:


Lighting 

• Natural outdoors lighting
• Dim/ Low key lighting inside the office

Actors

• Adults
• Predominantly men
• Workers, labourers 

Costume

• Traditional farming gear: tweed and Barbour jackets
• Casual clothing on the younger characters
• Academic type clothing on the head master

Settings

• Scotland
• Farm
• Rural area

Make-up

• Subtle facial makeup on female characters

Props

• Work tools
• Glass of brandy (establishing class/social status)
• Ladder
• Car

Body Language

• Nervous/apprehensive/confused
• Angry
• Betrayed
• Finger wagging

Stereotyping

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC6zFBji_vQ&feature=related

In this short clip from British teen drama Skins, we see a group of youngsters conforming to their media given stereotype. Many peoples, (particularly adults) perpetual ideas of how young people act are shown under the spotlight in this clip. However most of these ideas, which form a prominent stereotype, are inherited from the media's creation of this "folk devil" being youths in revolt. So referring back to the clip, we witness a clique of young teenagers carrying out anti social and very illegal practises such as: underage drinking, recreational use of drugs and smoking. The media portray all "youths" to be in some which way affiliated with these practises, not to mention stabbings and violence, hence their positively negative stereotype. So in this clip we see these characters conforming to their stereotype in order to please and confirm to the audience that this is indeed how young persons act. Many members of the audience watching may also be able to identify with this clip, whether it be teenager or adult. As many people can give in, or have experienced peer pressure, being in a situation involving drink and alcohol and maybe even a situation in which they or someone with them have participated in anti social (criminal) behaviour. The mise en scene such as the: low key lighting, props and the predominantly young electro house music all add to this screening of stereotypically youthful behaviour, in which they all like to party, and get "wasted." The low key lighting and angular close-ups of the characters all add to the illusion of intoxication or "being high" which put the audience into the characters perspectives. To conclude, the props of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes are all used to show how young people stereotypically spend their time, doing illegal activities for people of their age.

First Assignment

What are the key concepts?

• Cinematography - camerawork, angles, movement, frame
• Editing - pace, transition, order
• Sound - diegetic, contrapuntal, parallel, dialogue
• Media Language - the nuts and bolts of media products
• Representation - how people, especially certain groups such as men, women, young people, ethnic groups etc, are portrayed by the media
• Audience - the ways of describing and appealing to consumers of media
• Institution - the producers and regulators of the media
• Mise en Scene - what is in the scene/shot?

What does each one refer to and mean?

- Cinematography: refers to the camerawork which is used during the production of the given programme. This includes looking deep into the shot in which we see, such as analysis of the camerawork, the angles and frames used to create a shot.
- Editing: refers to the process in which the footage in modified to create the desired product. For example during the editing, factors such as pace, transition and order can all be modified to improve a shot and to replicate the directors idea
- Sound: refers to the music, dialogue and anything that we are to hear in a clip. This also includes voice overs and narration. Films such as Fight Club and Kill Bill all feature narrations from the main characters.
- Media Language: refers to the technical jargon for aspects of media, for example there would be specific names for each part of an article, such as the image, title, etc.
- Representation: refers to the way in which a certain character is shown to be like. For example in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow is represented as an idiotic pirate with the same tendencies as your local town drunk.
- Audience: refers to the receiving end of the media, so therefore the media is dependant on its audience
- Institution: refers to the people behind the creation, distribution and profiting of the media. For example the directors, editors and journalists (the creations or regurgitates of information).
- Mise en Scene: refers to what it is that you can see in your clip, for example the lighting, props, makeup, costume, settings, etc.

How does the exam test your knowledge of each concept?

The exam tests your knowledge by getting you to analyse a clip using all the technical vocabulary to show your understanding. For example you may get a question to analyse the camerawork, in which the examiners would expect you to use the technical words for the angles as such, to show that you know what it is that you're writing about.