The editing process begun with uploading the film to our set computer; then using Adobe Premiere Elements software to begin edited. We firstly cut out all the parts that were not needed and were mistakes that had occured during the filming process, such as the actors laughing. This then left us with 1 or 2 best versions of each shot that we intended to use. We decided which version to use throughout all of them, and started to piece it all together, getting it in the suitable order. Some of the shots corresponded to our original story boards, such as the one of the men's legs and shoes.
Having tidied and ordered the film, we started to create and add titles. We had initially wanted to make the titles have a transition that made them appear to be gradually typed in, showing the names of the actors and then finally the name of the film. The names were: Ben Jones, Mark Wright- Premachandra and Jakob Montagu- Shaw, . However, without wasting time this wasn't possible as we didn't know how to do that effect. Despite this set-back, we did find a similar look which was a font transition called "curtain" which allowed the font to gradually come in and then out of the shot. It was close enough and still looked attractive. The style of the font was "Courier new" bold as it looked quite flat without. I had the idea of the font looking like a type-writer style, that is associated with police and crime themes. The end title was also the same but a larger size, with no transition and more centred, therefore making it more eye-catching and noticeable. Whilst the last title is shown, there is a sound clip of a gun shot, which creates mystery and intrigue as the audience is not shown who shoots who, consequently making it a cliff hanger.
Whilst editing, rendering and uploading our film to youtube, we didnt know Jakob's candidate number, which resulted in us leaving it as "0000". Once we have put our thriller on our blogs, we shall add his candidate number.
The first final version of our thriller that we uploaded to youtube was too long, to be precise it was 3mins 44 seconds, despite this, we had started to distribute our thriller in order to get ahead with the evaluation points that some of the youtube comments could be used for. This was an effective way to get some user comments as they are easily available. Having been told that we couldnt leave it that long we shortened it to 2 mins 6secs, which was a difficult process. We had to cut one large chunk of filming, which was when the two men met the night before to show Simon which house it was. We felt that this clip wasn't that important so we cut all of it out. Another thing we did overall was to shorten the shots taken and sped up the slower shots. This was an excellent and successful achievement as the film looked a lot better, because of the quicker pace. The effect of this would make the auidence be more focused and keep their attention throughout the introduction.
In the editing process we did encounter some more problems, inparticular our computer froze many times, making us lose some of our unsaved changes. One of these times was when we had infact 1 more second to lose (to make it the correct amount of time), when the computer froze. As we had not saved our progress over the last two minutes or so, we had to lose 9 seconds again. The software had luckily auto saved so the amount of seconds we had to lose was not as bad as it could have been.
After we had completely finished editing, we uploaded the new and improved version onto youtube, where we found the gunshot had not been included. However, apparently this doesn't matter as the examiners will receive our film on a disk, from the avi file we have saved onto the computer, which has the gunshot at the end.
Tuesday 17 February 2009
Thursday 12 February 2009
Friday 6 February 2009
The Bill Extract Analysis
The extract that we studied can be on an article I found on the official The Bill website: http://www.thebill.com/productionnews/articledetail/item_100008.htm. It describes the narrative in a very detailed manner. 
The Bill has been broadcasted on British television for many years now, it follows the Sun Hill police force in Canley, London. It was first broadcast on 16 October 1984 on ITV, at 8pm on weekly Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Bill is named after a slang term for the police. It was created by Geoff McQueen and was produced by Talkback Thames and its distributor was FremantleMedia Enterprises. The Bill is a Police/Crime drama series and gives its audience an insight to what the police have to deal and work with, along with what they do to solve crimes, from petty crimes to violent and dangerous crimes.
The extract opens to a scene beginning with a high angled shot viewing down on a rundown urban area with a pub on a street corner. The pub is a pastel yellow colour that helps to brighten its surroundings but is unsuccessful as it looks cheap and dingy. By the pub is an alley way, that we see a police car drive towards and through. The shot is then brought down to a mid shot, about eye level, to show a man and woman, DC Mickey Webb DC Jo Masters have just drove through the alley and bridge. The camera shot then changes to a long shot at a lower angle so we see the DC's walk towards the camera which then moves to a point of view shot. In this shot, there is a dead girl slumped against a metal fence at the beginning of another endless- looking alleyway. Eddie a CSE is crouching beside the body, where we see the DC Webb and Masters join to get updated on what Eddie has found. The camera shot then goes into an extreme close up of the girl's right arm where it looks like she has had an heroin overdose, which is explained by Eddie. These extreme close up then shows the butterfly tattoo on the same arm. Eddie then pulls away the collar of the girl's denim jacket to reveal a silver necklace with the letter "K". This therefore gives them some ideas which they can use to find out her identity. The shot is then at a lower angle, as thought the DC's are looking down at her and almost like we are looking through the girl's eyes. A point of view shot is then used which seems to be related to DC Masters as she then suggests that she recognizes the girl. As the DC's walk away, the shot is still at a low angle which shows how DC Master is still contemplating that she knows the girl, as we see her cast a confused glance. The audience then sees another POV shot which reinforces this idea as we see what she is looking at.
The narrative perspective is then cast over to two police constables (PC), a young man and woman who are questioning a witness; who happens to be the pub owner. We are shown the dark alleyway from an angle over both the police officers shoulders. The camera moves in a panning movement which shows the PCs faces and the pub owner. This could have been used as they are in the rest of the episode. There is a small bridge overhead which helps create a bleak location as there is not much direct light. The only colour seems to be coming from the police officers fluorescent yellow uniforms. In the background, the audience can hear diegetic noises in particular, police sirens. This makes the scene appear more realistic and more like an actual real life investigation is taking place. As the questioning continues DC Masters comes into the shot, where she talks to one of the PC for information, whilst keeping their backs to the pub owner.
The next shot is in the police offices, where a two person shot and close up shot are used. The two person shot shows the DC's looking through files as DC Masters goes with her instincts. The two shot could be used to show that they are colleagues, who work close and well together. They joke around when a possible victims photograph is shown as an extreme close up to the audience, reminding us that not all police work has to be serious. Consequently, DC Masters finds the girl's- "Kelly's" file she was looking for with the photograph looking similar to the girl on the investigation scene. Therefore, explaining for the letter "K" on her necklace.
Following the extract, the DC's walk around through the police station, past offices, which is shown through the tracking shot. The movement also seems to be mostly handheld which makes the characters seems rushed. Further, it could be to make us seem like we are there, joining/listening their conversation and walking with them. A mid shot through an office with slattered blinds is used, to suggest they are walking through the corridors of the police station. The camera switches from being in front, from inside the office to behind the characters. An example of when the camera is in front of the characters is when they are coming up the second flight of stairs. The viewer continues to follow the characters, being made to feel like one of them. The attention of the viewer is then increased as the character stop to discuss plans and procedures.
The next scene is then shown through a quick shot of a low angled shot of a skyscraper making us think that the police force has moved further into an urban city area. Diegetic noises are again used to give the sense of the location being nearer the city centre, as car horns are made. The shot then follows the PCs to an unknown woman sitting on some green, plastic crates, near a telephone box, near the side of a road. The shot looks to be a point of view shot as the woman explains (in a distressed manner) what and who she's waiting for. The reason why we are shown the PCs walk past a telephone box is then justified as the mother points out that Kelly rang her from there the night before.
It is then clear to both the PCs and audience that she is ''Kelly's'' mother. This is proved correct as she shows a photograph of an innocent and happy-looking young girl to the PCs as the audience is also shown it through an extreme close up shot. The PCs ask her daughters name, she replies "Kelly", where a mid shot shows the glance shared between the PCs, as this confirms that she is Kelly's mother. The low angle used whilst she talks makes her have more importance, possibly connoting that what she tells the PCs is vital and important information.
Towards to end of the extract, we are taken into an office in the police station. Further diegetic sounds are used, seeming to be ringing telephones and other technologies. The office has blue coloured walls which make it look cold, perhaps implying that the place is quite cold- due to the unpleasant crimes committed. There are grey-white blinds which are extremely common in offices as they allow means of privacy, which leads to the waiting room scene. The waiting room is relatively colourful, with the yellow walls, but the dull and plain furniture reminds you that you are not in the most welcoming of places. There is an over the shoulder shot as the mother is told about Kelly's death, directing the focus on Kelly's mothers face, as the other two characters are not shown, only DC Masters shoulder.
The representational issues put across in The Bill are based around the police forces colleagues and how the public is portrayed in the way they behave in different situations. For example, the females on the police force seems to be all good-looking and maybe too glamorous for the roles. The women seem to be just as dominant and capable at their jobs as the men on the force, as they joke around, which could viewed as cynical, as in the past, it would have been the opposite due to sexism.
The police force appear to be generally organized, which could be shown through the powerpoint presentation they have during the extract. The fact that DC Master recognizes "Kelly" suggests that some offenders make their mark on the police force. This is shown in fact a number of times, where many and different police officers seem to like the offenders because they have good personalities or have had similar experiences in their life. Everyone seems to have flaws so it is likely that police forces do too, for one, they would not solve every single crime, which makes them vulnerable.
Lastly, there are many youth issues shown through The Bill as there are many cases involving teenage and young adult showing interests in prostitution and drugs. The youth are shown as untrustworthy too as they do not usually tell the police force the truth, unless pressed and/or encouraged. In the episode I viewed, DC Masters splits from DC Webb to ask a young girl who claims to be 16 years old, but is obviously younger. The young girl tries to leave the room but Masters is quicker and guards the door. The shot is at quite a high angle resulting in us looking down upon her. The audience for that reason sympathises for her as this position she is enclosed in is quite threatening and she has no escape. The idea of her trying to get away from her life before is then created as she is having to try to escape once again.
The Bill has been broadcasted on British television for many years now, it follows the Sun Hill police force in Canley, London. It was first broadcast on 16 October 1984 on ITV, at 8pm on weekly Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Bill is named after a slang term for the police. It was created by Geoff McQueen and was produced by Talkback Thames and its distributor was FremantleMedia Enterprises. The Bill is a Police/Crime drama series and gives its audience an insight to what the police have to deal and work with, along with what they do to solve crimes, from petty crimes to violent and dangerous crimes.
The extract opens to a scene beginning with a high angled shot viewing down on a rundown urban area with a pub on a street corner. The pub is a pastel yellow colour that helps to brighten its surroundings but is unsuccessful as it looks cheap and dingy. By the pub is an alley way, that we see a police car drive towards and through. The shot is then brought down to a mid shot, about eye level, to show a man and woman, DC Mickey Webb DC Jo Masters have just drove through the alley and bridge. The camera shot then changes to a long shot at a lower angle so we see the DC's walk towards the camera which then moves to a point of view shot. In this shot, there is a dead girl slumped against a metal fence at the beginning of another endless- looking alleyway. Eddie a CSE is crouching beside the body, where we see the DC Webb and Masters join to get updated on what Eddie has found. The camera shot then goes into an extreme close up of the girl's right arm where it looks like she has had an heroin overdose, which is explained by Eddie. These extreme close up then shows the butterfly tattoo on the same arm. Eddie then pulls away the collar of the girl's denim jacket to reveal a silver necklace with the letter "K". This therefore gives them some ideas which they can use to find out her identity. The shot is then at a lower angle, as thought the DC's are looking down at her and almost like we are looking through the girl's eyes. A point of view shot is then used which seems to be related to DC Masters as she then suggests that she recognizes the girl. As the DC's walk away, the shot is still at a low angle which shows how DC Master is still contemplating that she knows the girl, as we see her cast a confused glance. The audience then sees another POV shot which reinforces this idea as we see what she is looking at.
The narrative perspective is then cast over to two police constables (PC), a young man and woman who are questioning a witness; who happens to be the pub owner. We are shown the dark alleyway from an angle over both the police officers shoulders. The camera moves in a panning movement which shows the PCs faces and the pub owner. This could have been used as they are in the rest of the episode. There is a small bridge overhead which helps create a bleak location as there is not much direct light. The only colour seems to be coming from the police officers fluorescent yellow uniforms. In the background, the audience can hear diegetic noises in particular, police sirens. This makes the scene appear more realistic and more like an actual real life investigation is taking place. As the questioning continues DC Masters comes into the shot, where she talks to one of the PC for information, whilst keeping their backs to the pub owner.
The next shot is in the police offices, where a two person shot and close up shot are used. The two person shot shows the DC's looking through files as DC Masters goes with her instincts. The two shot could be used to show that they are colleagues, who work close and well together. They joke around when a possible victims photograph is shown as an extreme close up to the audience, reminding us that not all police work has to be serious. Consequently, DC Masters finds the girl's- "Kelly's" file she was looking for with the photograph looking similar to the girl on the investigation scene. Therefore, explaining for the letter "K" on her necklace.
Following the extract, the DC's walk around through the police station, past offices, which is shown through the tracking shot. The movement also seems to be mostly handheld which makes the characters seems rushed. Further, it could be to make us seem like we are there, joining/listening their conversation and walking with them. A mid shot through an office with slattered blinds is used, to suggest they are walking through the corridors of the police station. The camera switches from being in front, from inside the office to behind the characters. An example of when the camera is in front of the characters is when they are coming up the second flight of stairs. The viewer continues to follow the characters, being made to feel like one of them. The attention of the viewer is then increased as the character stop to discuss plans and procedures.
The next scene is then shown through a quick shot of a low angled shot of a skyscraper making us think that the police force has moved further into an urban city area. Diegetic noises are again used to give the sense of the location being nearer the city centre, as car horns are made. The shot then follows the PCs to an unknown woman sitting on some green, plastic crates, near a telephone box, near the side of a road. The shot looks to be a point of view shot as the woman explains (in a distressed manner) what and who she's waiting for. The reason why we are shown the PCs walk past a telephone box is then justified as the mother points out that Kelly rang her from there the night before.
It is then clear to both the PCs and audience that she is ''Kelly's'' mother. This is proved correct as she shows a photograph of an innocent and happy-looking young girl to the PCs as the audience is also shown it through an extreme close up shot. The PCs ask her daughters name, she replies "Kelly", where a mid shot shows the glance shared between the PCs, as this confirms that she is Kelly's mother. The low angle used whilst she talks makes her have more importance, possibly connoting that what she tells the PCs is vital and important information.
Towards to end of the extract, we are taken into an office in the police station. Further diegetic sounds are used, seeming to be ringing telephones and other technologies. The office has blue coloured walls which make it look cold, perhaps implying that the place is quite cold- due to the unpleasant crimes committed. There are grey-white blinds which are extremely common in offices as they allow means of privacy, which leads to the waiting room scene. The waiting room is relatively colourful, with the yellow walls, but the dull and plain furniture reminds you that you are not in the most welcoming of places. There is an over the shoulder shot as the mother is told about Kelly's death, directing the focus on Kelly's mothers face, as the other two characters are not shown, only DC Masters shoulder.
The representational issues put across in The Bill are based around the police forces colleagues and how the public is portrayed in the way they behave in different situations. For example, the females on the police force seems to be all good-looking and maybe too glamorous for the roles. The women seem to be just as dominant and capable at their jobs as the men on the force, as they joke around, which could viewed as cynical, as in the past, it would have been the opposite due to sexism.
The police force appear to be generally organized, which could be shown through the powerpoint presentation they have during the extract. The fact that DC Master recognizes "Kelly" suggests that some offenders make their mark on the police force. This is shown in fact a number of times, where many and different police officers seem to like the offenders because they have good personalities or have had similar experiences in their life. Everyone seems to have flaws so it is likely that police forces do too, for one, they would not solve every single crime, which makes them vulnerable.
Lastly, there are many youth issues shown through The Bill as there are many cases involving teenage and young adult showing interests in prostitution and drugs. The youth are shown as untrustworthy too as they do not usually tell the police force the truth, unless pressed and/or encouraged. In the episode I viewed, DC Masters splits from DC Webb to ask a young girl who claims to be 16 years old, but is obviously younger. The young girl tries to leave the room but Masters is quicker and guards the door. The shot is at quite a high angle resulting in us looking down upon her. The audience for that reason sympathises for her as this position she is enclosed in is quite threatening and she has no escape. The idea of her trying to get away from her life before is then created as she is having to try to escape once again.
Life On Mars Extract Analysis
Life on Mars is a BAFTA and Emmy-winning British science fiction and police drama television series. It was first broadcast on BBC One between January 2006 and April 2007.
The programme tells the story of DCI Sam Tyler of the Greater Manchester Police (played by John Simm), who, after being hit by a car in 2006, finds himself in the year 1973. There, he works for Manchester and Salford Police CID as a DI under DCI Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister). Over the course of the series, Tyler faces various culture clashes, most frequently regarding the differences between his modern approach to policing and the more traditional methods of his colleagues. Mixing the genres of science fiction and police procedural, the series centres on the ambiguity concerning Tyler's predicament: it is unclear whether he is insane, in a coma, or if he really has travelled back in time.
(Found from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars_(TV_series).
The scene begins with a close up of clothes hanging on a washing line in a street. This suggests that the area is quite a poor area. It could also connote the area’s people are a close community and trust one another. From this long shot, we gently zoom closer onto the road- making it a mid shot, where a man carrying the table crosses the road. The shot moves in a tracking movement, travelling forward whilst DCI Hunt drives his car into the shot at a low angle. The car comes to a sudden halt on the edge of the path, carelessly knocking over a metal rubbish bin. This connotes how DCI Hunt does not care for the environment or its residents. There is non-diegetic music played which matches the tough attitude of Hunt. Hunt slams the door once getting out, whilst Tyler is gentler and politely opens the Irish man’s door once also out.
The location is shown through a mid shot, at a low angle, which gives the audience an idea of the setting. The ideas seem to be made up of the area being compact and small. The terrace houses are quite sweet but grim. The shot goes up to an eye level height and a close up is used of the Irish man’s bruises and wounds, that suggest that he has been beaten up.
Whilst the men talk, DCI Hunt apologizes but only after Tyler has forced him to, and this is shown as he says it in an insincere tone. The Irish man tries to make Hunt sympathise for both himself and his fellow Irish people. The camera shots allow the Irish guy to have some importance as it is slightly at a low angle. This gives him look more important and confidence as he is very aggravated. The Irish man gestures to the houses and the audience will notice (if not already) that two men are on the other side of the road. This suggests they are his friends- standing close by him but at a distance. The mid shot continues but also a shot reverse shot is used to make the conversation/argument flow more at ease. The body language of Hunt seems defensive, with his arms crossed and leaning against his car, and as though he does not want to give in. It also appears that he does not have the time to waste as he rarely looks at the Irish man at first.
Hunt’s arrogance is extremely noticeable which makes him seems higher in status – which is true as he is on the police office, whilst the Irish man has to work in low-wage jobs.
The next scene is shot in a pub, where the Police members are regulars. The shot is a mid shot so we see Tyler enter the pub in a very bold way, and he pauses in the doorway. This is emphasized by the bleached- out light, the amount of cigarettes people in the pub have smoked is apparent as the remainder of smoke surrounds the room, making it look dim and misty. He is also made to look like he is a hero- on his high horse after solving the crime. However, we feel like he is slightly uncomfortable because his face expression does not look like he is confident. His colleagues clap and the rest of the pub join to congratulate his success. This shows that the word got around quickly –as a lot of the people seem to know what happened.
The mise-en-scene the pub is quite dull, with creamy- yellow walls, dark brown wooden furniture and a simple bar. As Tyler sits down with his colleagues, they joke around, funnily about the possible future president being a woman. There is an extreme close up to emphasize how much Tyler puts in the money “kitty” (that has been collecting money for DS Ray Carling’s recovery fund) and how generous he is. The shots then return to being at eye level which makes the audience feel like we are one of them- but not quite, as over the shoulder shots are used. The shot then changes to an extreme close up of the drink glasses as they all say “Cheers!”. Diegetic music is used as the landlord puts on a song- we see through his perspective as his hand puts it in through a close up shot. A shot is cast in front of Tyler then shallow focus is used when a bright-red telephone begins to ring. It catches Tyler’s attention, making him turn, the audience also view it through a POV shot. Shot reverse shot is used which helps to build up confusion and create questions by the audience like: “Why has he only noticed it?” and whether or not it is going to be for him or not. The red phone could connote danger as the colour red is associated with that idea. Tyler goes to pick the phone up to end his ever- building curiosity. The shot tracks him so we follow his movement. Once he picks the phone up, the mid shot changes to a close up of his face. The audience hear the voice on the other receiver so we are let in on what they talk about. A diegetic noise is used, a heartbeat. This is an interesting noise to use as it could connote that Tyler’s heartbeat although it was relatively smooth. It also reminds us of his state being in a coma, which confuses him more, as we are not sure whether it is all a crazy dream or not. A heartbeat noise if commonly used to create the idea of a hospital which fits – as it seems to be a doctor talking to Tyler. The conversation between Tyler is short- lived as he is hung up on.
When Tyler returns to the table that his colleagues are crowded around, Hunt tries to take some of the glory by saying about his influence on Tyler’s solving skills. This seems to show Hunt is constantly arrogant and how his ego gets in the way much of the time.
Representational aspects in Life on Mars seem to be that the episodes are a combination of having serious and sophisticated jokes, which add to the programme being comedic. The lack of technology means that sometimes there were some irrational and not completely true convictions. This could be supported by how Tyler stops Hunt from making wrong assumptions about the Irish man being the criminal. The episodes follow a male protagonist which could result in the programme being more identifiable with a larger audience, as he is a middle- aged English man.
Representational issues are shown to be mainly, racism. DCI Hunt is extremely racist, which shocks Tyler as he has come from nearer the present day. For instance, Hunt is racist about the Indian couple and the woman’s clothes and is more violently racist towards the Irish man. It is stereotypical racism as many pubs, such as the one in the extract, were bombed and destroyed by Irish bombers.
Furthermore, sexism is apparent also, as the women in Life on Mars work in offices, as receptionists for example. An exception is that Cartright, a WPC does join in with the other male leads. The Police Force in the 1970’s was not balanced, gender wise, as there is more dominance from the male leads.
The programme tells the story of DCI Sam Tyler of the Greater Manchester Police (played by John Simm), who, after being hit by a car in 2006, finds himself in the year 1973. There, he works for Manchester and Salford Police CID as a DI under DCI Gene Hunt (played by Philip Glenister). Over the course of the series, Tyler faces various culture clashes, most frequently regarding the differences between his modern approach to policing and the more traditional methods of his colleagues. Mixing the genres of science fiction and police procedural, the series centres on the ambiguity concerning Tyler's predicament: it is unclear whether he is insane, in a coma, or if he really has travelled back in time.
(Found from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Mars_(TV_series).
The scene begins with a close up of clothes hanging on a washing line in a street. This suggests that the area is quite a poor area. It could also connote the area’s people are a close community and trust one another. From this long shot, we gently zoom closer onto the road- making it a mid shot, where a man carrying the table crosses the road. The shot moves in a tracking movement, travelling forward whilst DCI Hunt drives his car into the shot at a low angle. The car comes to a sudden halt on the edge of the path, carelessly knocking over a metal rubbish bin. This connotes how DCI Hunt does not care for the environment or its residents. There is non-diegetic music played which matches the tough attitude of Hunt. Hunt slams the door once getting out, whilst Tyler is gentler and politely opens the Irish man’s door once also out.
The location is shown through a mid shot, at a low angle, which gives the audience an idea of the setting. The ideas seem to be made up of the area being compact and small. The terrace houses are quite sweet but grim. The shot goes up to an eye level height and a close up is used of the Irish man’s bruises and wounds, that suggest that he has been beaten up.
Whilst the men talk, DCI Hunt apologizes but only after Tyler has forced him to, and this is shown as he says it in an insincere tone. The Irish man tries to make Hunt sympathise for both himself and his fellow Irish people. The camera shots allow the Irish guy to have some importance as it is slightly at a low angle. This gives him look more important and confidence as he is very aggravated. The Irish man gestures to the houses and the audience will notice (if not already) that two men are on the other side of the road. This suggests they are his friends- standing close by him but at a distance. The mid shot continues but also a shot reverse shot is used to make the conversation/argument flow more at ease. The body language of Hunt seems defensive, with his arms crossed and leaning against his car, and as though he does not want to give in. It also appears that he does not have the time to waste as he rarely looks at the Irish man at first.
Hunt’s arrogance is extremely noticeable which makes him seems higher in status – which is true as he is on the police office, whilst the Irish man has to work in low-wage jobs.
The next scene is shot in a pub, where the Police members are regulars. The shot is a mid shot so we see Tyler enter the pub in a very bold way, and he pauses in the doorway. This is emphasized by the bleached- out light, the amount of cigarettes people in the pub have smoked is apparent as the remainder of smoke surrounds the room, making it look dim and misty. He is also made to look like he is a hero- on his high horse after solving the crime. However, we feel like he is slightly uncomfortable because his face expression does not look like he is confident. His colleagues clap and the rest of the pub join to congratulate his success. This shows that the word got around quickly –as a lot of the people seem to know what happened.
The mise-en-scene the pub is quite dull, with creamy- yellow walls, dark brown wooden furniture and a simple bar. As Tyler sits down with his colleagues, they joke around, funnily about the possible future president being a woman. There is an extreme close up to emphasize how much Tyler puts in the money “kitty” (that has been collecting money for DS Ray Carling’s recovery fund) and how generous he is. The shots then return to being at eye level which makes the audience feel like we are one of them- but not quite, as over the shoulder shots are used. The shot then changes to an extreme close up of the drink glasses as they all say “Cheers!”. Diegetic music is used as the landlord puts on a song- we see through his perspective as his hand puts it in through a close up shot. A shot is cast in front of Tyler then shallow focus is used when a bright-red telephone begins to ring. It catches Tyler’s attention, making him turn, the audience also view it through a POV shot. Shot reverse shot is used which helps to build up confusion and create questions by the audience like: “Why has he only noticed it?” and whether or not it is going to be for him or not. The red phone could connote danger as the colour red is associated with that idea. Tyler goes to pick the phone up to end his ever- building curiosity. The shot tracks him so we follow his movement. Once he picks the phone up, the mid shot changes to a close up of his face. The audience hear the voice on the other receiver so we are let in on what they talk about. A diegetic noise is used, a heartbeat. This is an interesting noise to use as it could connote that Tyler’s heartbeat although it was relatively smooth. It also reminds us of his state being in a coma, which confuses him more, as we are not sure whether it is all a crazy dream or not. A heartbeat noise if commonly used to create the idea of a hospital which fits – as it seems to be a doctor talking to Tyler. The conversation between Tyler is short- lived as he is hung up on.
When Tyler returns to the table that his colleagues are crowded around, Hunt tries to take some of the glory by saying about his influence on Tyler’s solving skills. This seems to show Hunt is constantly arrogant and how his ego gets in the way much of the time.
Representational aspects in Life on Mars seem to be that the episodes are a combination of having serious and sophisticated jokes, which add to the programme being comedic. The lack of technology means that sometimes there were some irrational and not completely true convictions. This could be supported by how Tyler stops Hunt from making wrong assumptions about the Irish man being the criminal. The episodes follow a male protagonist which could result in the programme being more identifiable with a larger audience, as he is a middle- aged English man.
Representational issues are shown to be mainly, racism. DCI Hunt is extremely racist, which shocks Tyler as he has come from nearer the present day. For instance, Hunt is racist about the Indian couple and the woman’s clothes and is more violently racist towards the Irish man. It is stereotypical racism as many pubs, such as the one in the extract, were bombed and destroyed by Irish bombers.
Furthermore, sexism is apparent also, as the women in Life on Mars work in offices, as receptionists for example. An exception is that Cartright, a WPC does join in with the other male leads. The Police Force in the 1970’s was not balanced, gender wise, as there is more dominance from the male leads.
Police/Crime Series
Our introduction to Police/crime series begun with us listing examples of police/crime dramas. My list consisted of the following: "The Bill", "Life on Mars", "CSI", "Ashes to Ashes", "Numb3rs", "Jonathon Creek", "Agatha Christie's" "Poirot" and "Miss Marple", "Midsomer Murders", "Prime Suspect" and "Diagnosis Murder".
There are a number of things that are representational for police/crime dramas. Firstly, there is a lot of sexism issues which is shown (for example) in Life on Mars where most of the women were given receptionist and office jobs, in the police forces. Whilst the male characters were often the leads and officers who did the more of the solving. There has been a complete and perhaps drastic change due to the fact that women do work on police forces, in positions other than just office workers. This is shown in "The Bill" which is based on the police forces up to the present day.
Further along, other representation of police/crime dramas include: racism and murder. Racism has been an issue that has raised much controversy over many years. Crimes such as murder are easily used in police/crime dramas as the audience wants to know what goes on behind all the crime solving. Numerous murders can be made stereotypically to look like actual murders, as many directors will base the murders on real life murders. Whether or not the murder has been underestimated or exaggerated depends on the way it is shown to the audience. Therefore making it hard to judge if it is realistic or not. Another crime that is used in police/crime dramas is rape, which is commonly shown to be committed on young women victims.
Kidnapping and abduction are frequently based upon criminals creating ransoms to gain money. Even more, multiple petty crimes such as stealing and vandalism are used which suggest how young teenagers and adults are represented and seen by other people. One recent episode in "The Bill" was based around 17 years olds having a party, which got out of hand when some unexpected and unwanted people arrived. The episode unravelled with drugs being involved and relationships between friends and families being disrupted, resulting in a young boy's death. A more disturbing crime is paedophile crimes, which often create controversy over whether or not the public should be told about the case. It is difficult to say what the public wants as one, as many people would be upset and worried about the crime, but then others would surely want the concern to be put across so they are aware of the offender who has committed the crime.
Whilst viewing police/crime series, it is very intriguing as an audience as see how the police and crime forces deal and work to solve crimes.
The narrative can sometimes be predictable as in the audience can realise what will happen or solve the crime themselves. This is an effective way to capture an audiences' attention and keep them engaged as they would feel like they could do the job of the solvers. On the other hand, some narratives can be more difficult to work out, as the audience follows the detectives or whomever, they will most likely only see that perspective. The effect of this is to give the audience an insight to how that crime solver would work and solve the crime.
The mise-en-scene can depend on what time period the drama is set in. For instance, if a drama is set in the past, then the appearances will be very different from the present, modern day. The appearance of locations, characters (fashion and dress sense- i.e hair cuts) and props such as cars will be noticeably different. Subsequently helping the audience grasp what changes have been made over time (racial issues is an example) and could perhaps gain historical knowledge.
There are a number of things that are representational for police/crime dramas. Firstly, there is a lot of sexism issues which is shown (for example) in Life on Mars where most of the women were given receptionist and office jobs, in the police forces. Whilst the male characters were often the leads and officers who did the more of the solving. There has been a complete and perhaps drastic change due to the fact that women do work on police forces, in positions other than just office workers. This is shown in "The Bill" which is based on the police forces up to the present day.
Further along, other representation of police/crime dramas include: racism and murder. Racism has been an issue that has raised much controversy over many years. Crimes such as murder are easily used in police/crime dramas as the audience wants to know what goes on behind all the crime solving. Numerous murders can be made stereotypically to look like actual murders, as many directors will base the murders on real life murders. Whether or not the murder has been underestimated or exaggerated depends on the way it is shown to the audience. Therefore making it hard to judge if it is realistic or not. Another crime that is used in police/crime dramas is rape, which is commonly shown to be committed on young women victims.
Kidnapping and abduction are frequently based upon criminals creating ransoms to gain money. Even more, multiple petty crimes such as stealing and vandalism are used which suggest how young teenagers and adults are represented and seen by other people. One recent episode in "The Bill" was based around 17 years olds having a party, which got out of hand when some unexpected and unwanted people arrived. The episode unravelled with drugs being involved and relationships between friends and families being disrupted, resulting in a young boy's death. A more disturbing crime is paedophile crimes, which often create controversy over whether or not the public should be told about the case. It is difficult to say what the public wants as one, as many people would be upset and worried about the crime, but then others would surely want the concern to be put across so they are aware of the offender who has committed the crime.
Whilst viewing police/crime series, it is very intriguing as an audience as see how the police and crime forces deal and work to solve crimes.
The narrative can sometimes be predictable as in the audience can realise what will happen or solve the crime themselves. This is an effective way to capture an audiences' attention and keep them engaged as they would feel like they could do the job of the solvers. On the other hand, some narratives can be more difficult to work out, as the audience follows the detectives or whomever, they will most likely only see that perspective. The effect of this is to give the audience an insight to how that crime solver would work and solve the crime.
The mise-en-scene can depend on what time period the drama is set in. For instance, if a drama is set in the past, then the appearances will be very different from the present, modern day. The appearance of locations, characters (fashion and dress sense- i.e hair cuts) and props such as cars will be noticeably different. Subsequently helping the audience grasp what changes have been made over time (racial issues is an example) and could perhaps gain historical knowledge.
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