Sunday 8 May 2011
How is gender represented in this extract of Primeval?
Gender is represented in this extract of Primeval through the use of mise-en-scene, camera angles, editing and sound. Primeval is a sci-fi TV drama and typically in Sci-fi males are seen as the dominate more active, involved in solving the problem whereas the female characters are often providing information or being saved.
True to this, the extract begins with Abbi sat in the tractor with Nick doing the manual work, he is wearing ordinary everyday clothes, t-shirt and combats which are muddy which suggests he is more involved in the work than Abbi is who is wearing more fashionable clothes which are clean. However, she challenges the typical stereotype of a weaker character when she gets more involved and saves Nick by distracting the creature when it attacks. Nick takes on Vladimir Propp's role of the typical male hero when he draws the creature away from Abbi. He is more active when dealing with the situation by running and climbing whereas Abbi is more stationary. This suggests that the female character is more prepared to tackle the situation head on whereas the male character wants to more physical in his approach. Abbi challenges the stereotype of the damsel-in-distress role when she comes to Nick's rescue by shooting at the creature. The group is mainly and is dominated by male characters, who decide what action is going to be taken. The group decide to save Jenny who seems to have take action into her own hands, this suggests she is challenging the stereotype by taking the heroic role however this is reversed by the fact she has to be rescued. Jenny's character looks out of place on the farm as she is smartly dressed, obvious make-up and hair done up. This contrasts from the male farmer who is in working gear which is more practical to the setting which suggests the female character cares more about her appearance. She seems aware of her looks and she tries to use it to control the farmer who ultimately ignores her argument so she ends up having to be saved by the others.
The close-up of the severed hand uses Barthes' code of enigma to make the audience wonder what it's doing there, it also builds up the plot and adds intrege. This extract uses a lot of low and high angle shots to show the control and power of the male and female characters. When Nick is in the trench and is being attacked by the tiger, low angle shots are used to make Nick look vulnerable and high angle to make the creature intimidating to Nick and the audience. Fast pace panning is used for the shots of Abbi in the digger and the tiger to add to the excitement and movement in the scene. It also gives the audience a sense of confusion as they can't see clear what is happening. These shots are cut between shots of Nick in the trench which makes him seem out of the action and shows that he is concerned for Abbi's safety. When Nick climbs the ladder there is a jump cut to him taking his belt off and tying the belt to the zip wire to speed up the action and give the audience a feeling of urgency. A tilt shot is used to show Nick on the zip wire and the tiger on the ground to suggest to the audience the danger he is in and how close he is to the creature. There is quick cutting between shots of Abbi running with the gun and Nick with the tiger which builds up the tension for the audience who want her to get to his rescue on time.
A slow motion edit is used when Abbi shoots the tiger which is quite effective after the fast pace cutting as it shows the action is over and gives the audience time to recover from the excitement, it also gives them the opportunity to see Nick's emotion. It then cuts to the panning shots of the group which cut several times to show the different characters talking, this makes the audience feel more involved in the conversation than if the camera where stationary.
The diegetic and non-diegetic sound also helps builds up the tension and sense of action which is key to the sci-fi conventions. It is also used to get the audience to build up emotion towards the characters. At the beginning of the clip the non-diegetic music is ominious and imposing which builds suspence and suggests to the audience that something dangerous is about to happen to the characters. The music then gets quieter and the diegetic sound of the JCB is heard this makes the action seem more real and the audience more involved. There is a dramatic beat when Nick spots the hand in the mud which suggest to the audience that this is significant. When Abbi turns off the digger the growl and crunching of twigs implies that the creature is close and the characters are in danger. The camera then uses quick panning shots off the trees to add to the tension and fear of the characters and audience. When the tiger appears the sound increases with the noise of the JCB, the growling and the non-diegetic music all adding to the tension and action of the scene. When Nick runs away the music becomes more louder and quicker to show the urgency of his situation. When the tiger is shot the music slows and becomes almost a fuzzy ringing sound which coinsides with the slow motion edit. During the conversation the music is still in the background loud and slightly ominous but increases when they decide to take action and save Jenny.
The music is used as a sound bridge from the scene of the group and the scene with Jenny in the barn, the music becomes softer and less intimidating which suggests the situation isn't dangerous yet as they are just having a conversation. It also suggest that Jenny is unaware of the danger she is in which represents the idea that the female character is a bit reckless and haven't thought it through. At the beginning she seems to be in control of the situation however when the farmer picks up the shotgun and she falls over she becomes very vulnerable. Low angle shots are used to make the audience feel sympathetic towards Jenny and make her seem small and helpless. The diegetic sound of the gun shot and the dogs barking add to the feeling of helplessness of Jenny's situation. The dogs barking make the farmer seem more imposing and threatening and suggest to the audience that even if Jenny tried to run he would only set the dogs on her. Slow motion edit of Jenny on the floor is used to suspend the time between her lying there alone seeming helpless to the shot where Steven, Abbi and Connor arrive. When she falls the audiene can see she is wearing a black dress and tights which seems like an inapproprate thing to wear in a farm whereas all the other characters seem more approprately dressed. This represents that this female character is not used to this country setting, she seems more like a business woman than the type who would get involved in the action. The female character is shown as being more caring and sensitive to other's feelings as Abbi is the one to ask if Jenny is ok. Whereas Steven and Connor are more interesting in dealing with the farmer, again the male character is shown being more active and the one to deal with the situation.
In this extract, male and female stereotypes are used and challenged. The male characters are generally represented as the ones who get activly involved in the action and are the dominant figures as they outnumber the female characters. However, in some cases the typical stereotype of the damsel-in-distress is challenged with Abbi being the main one who gets rid of the tiger. Also Jenny tries to take action by going to deal with the farmer herself however this backfires and leaves her having to be rescued which backs up the idea that the female character is weaker and has less control. Also the male stereotype is challenged when Nick has to be saved by Abbi however the typical stereotype is used as he is represented as the active if reckless hero of the story.
Ownership.
Convergence/cross media - Two or more types of media coming together e.g. Kick Ass - comic & film, TRON - Daft Punk soundtrack
Synergy - Different elements of a company working together to promote related products e.g. The Boat That Rocked soundtrack & film, Paramount Pictures, Film 4
Concentration of media ownership - The process by which an increasingly smaller number of companies own most media outlets e.g Big 6 Studios
Cross-media ownership - When a company which produces two or more types of media
Conglomerate - A large parent company which owns a range of smaller companies
Subsidiary - Smaller companies owned by a parent company
Oligopoly - When the market is dominated by a smaller number of companies
The Big Six film studios dominates the US film industry: (largest to 6th largest)
Implications of this ownership structure
18 out of the top 20 most successful films at the UK Box Office were made by the Big 6 Studios.
75% of the total UK Box Office is accounted for by US films.
Institutions used in British Film Industry:
Synergy - Different elements of a company working together to promote related products e.g. The Boat That Rocked soundtrack & film, Paramount Pictures, Film 4
Concentration of media ownership - The process by which an increasingly smaller number of companies own most media outlets e.g Big 6 Studios
Cross-media ownership - When a company which produces two or more types of media
Conglomerate - A large parent company which owns a range of smaller companies
Subsidiary - Smaller companies owned by a parent company
Oligopoly - When the market is dominated by a smaller number of companies
The Big Six film studios dominates the US film industry: (largest to 6th largest)
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Universal Pictures
- 20th Century Fox
- Paramount
- Columbia Pictures
- Warner Brothers
Implications of this ownership structure
- US domination is crushing British film industry
- Everyone else potentially can only make indie/niche films as they don't have the money to make films with wide appeal/ 4 quadrant pictures
18 out of the top 20 most successful films at the UK Box Office were made by the Big 6 Studios.
75% of the total UK Box Office is accounted for by US films.
Institutions used in British Film Industry:
- Independent companies
- TV
- Government bodies - UK Film Council
- Co-productions with Hollywood Studios
Friday 6 May 2011
Case Study - The King's Speech.
The King's Speech is a British film about King George VI who reluctantly becomes King after his brother abdicated the throne. King George has a stammer and is consider unfit to be King, with the help of an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue, George is able to find his voice and lead Britain through the war.
Britishness
What makes a film British?
According to government in 2003 -
"Most people would define a ‘British’ film with reference to obvious cultural elements such as: a setting in the UK or a focus on British people abroad; a predominantly British cast; a
storyline about some aspect of British life (past, present or future) or notably by/based on a work by, a British author. The nationalities of scriptwriter, producer, director and, perhaps
especially, the ‘investment’ seem less obviously significant. However, both artistic and financial considerations serve to complicate this issue."
Things have changed since then, as now a British film does not have to be based on British culture or focus on British people e.g Slumdog Millionaire. What classes as a British film would have a predominantly British class but may have actors of other nationalities starring. The main body of the crew - producers, director would be British. Some of the production companies would be British however they might get the bulk of the budget from international production companies.
Surprising Box Office hit
It exceeded Momentum Picture's expectations when it gained £3.52 million on the opening weekend which is almost double the opening gross of Slumdog Millionaire at £1.83m, Atonement at £1.63m and Pride and Prejudice at £2.53m.
It's appeal to a wider audience
The King's Speech is a very British film - it is about the royal family near the beginning of the Second World War - a time where the class system, that Britain is so well known for, was starting to break down and there was a bigger sense of national unity. The film represents this through the friendship George VI makes with a "commoner", Lionel Logue. The film has an appeal, not only to a British audience because it shows a story where the royal family are seen in private and are humanised by their troubles, but also to an international audience - members of the old British colonies in particular - because it shows a story where a "commoner" from the colonies develops a friendship with the King. This draws in a large audience from American who like their connection to the British monarchy and the idea that someone like them from a colony country could develop a friendship with a member of the royal family.
Reviews and the film's reception
Philip French of the Guardian gave it high praise and said that The King's Speech was "the work of highly talented artists who might be regarded as British realists" - the crew was made up of talented, experienced professionals that have worked in many other successful productions. He praises the film of not being triumphalist or sentimental and says that the film follows themes of courage, responsibility and duty over personal contentment - like popular films Casablanca and High Noon. He also says that it is more significant and ambitious than The Queen.
However, The Times says although it is great work there is still flaws to the film. "Hooper's framing and shot composition leave something to be desired" and that "Guy Pearce (who plays Edward VIII) is too young for the part and doesn't sound English at all. Timothy Spall as Churchill resembles a distended bulldog who's been chewing wasps, and that the characters of Helena Bonham Carter and Jennifer Ehle are under-used." However he does comment that although it is not as deep as it could be, it was enjoyable in seeing royalty humanised as in The Queen and The Young Victoria.
Other more critical reviews have criticised The King's Speech for making errors about the historical accuracy of some aspects of the film. For example the font used for the text in the BBC broadcasting room not being a font that was available til the 50's. The fact some women were shown wearing seamless stockings when they did not appear until later. Other continuity and editing errors were also pointed out where the King was shown throwing his speech then shown holding it in his hand the next shot.
Other than small criticisms of accuracy errors the film has mostly received praise and good reviews.
Award nominations and Oscars
It received nominations for 12 Oscars including best picture, best director, best supporting actor and actress, best screenplay, best editing, best art direction and costume. It won 4 Oscars for best picture, best director, best Actor (Colin Firth) and best original screenplay. It was also nominated for 14 BAFTAs of which it won 7. Mark Kemode comments that Oscar and BAFTA nominations and awards are often expected when playing a monarch for example with Judy Dench - Shakespeare in Love Helen Mirren - The Queen etc. and especially when the story is about humanising the monarchy.
Production Issues
The King's Speech is an excellent example of an indie film that can receive major global success without the help of a major Hollywood studio. See-Saw, a British/Australian company, financed and produced the film by getting deals with key distribution partners - The Weinstein Company (USA) Momentum Pictures (UK) Transmission (Australia) and Alliance Film (Canada).
See-Saw faced a big decision when Fox Searchlight showed an interest in The King's Speech but they wanted worldwide rights to the film. This meant they would have to cut other partners See-Saw chose to turn down Fox Searchlight and keep the original partners to keep the control in their hands.
The Finance
Prescience saw the film's potential early on and became the key financier of the film. The Weinstein Company and Momentum Pictures were also large investors for the film. The UK Film Council gave See-Saw £1 million for the production. Together they created the budget of $12 million.
Distribution and Marketing Issues
These posters use large bold text with simple messages to draw in the viewer. The poster with Geoffrey Rush uses words from reviews from various different sources. They used words have British connotations and link to the monarchy. "Majestic" and "Exquisite" suggests a royal, grand film. The poster directly addresses the audience when it says "fills you with joy" which encourages the viewer to go and see it. The Colin Firth poster is simpler - it uses God Save The King. The font and style is similar to the famous "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster which was first used around the time the film is set - which shows the context and attitude of period. The main information about the film's cast, release date and companies involved are placed at the bottom. The large image and text would draw the viewer in. The images of the characters are close up to make the viewer feel connected to the characters.
From the trailer the audience can understand more about the film genre and it's appeal.
The international trailer for The King's Speech:
The UK trailer:
The trailers differ slightly. The UK version shows Colin Firth's character more and shows the journey and struggle over coming his stammer but also his family troubles and concerns about the war with Germany. Whereas the US trailer focuses more on Geoffrey Rush's character and how he helps him overcome his speech problems. In both they use famous London landmarks e.g. St Paul's and Tower Bridge, also landmarks that are linked to royalty e.g. the Queen Victoria memorial statue. The UK trailer uses a well known quote from Shakespeare "some men are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them" this adds to the sense of Britishness in the trailer. In the Us trailer Helen Bonham Carter's character calls her husband the King rather than the Duke of York which is what she says in the UK trailer. The word King might mean more and give an international audience more understanding of his importance if they did not understand the monarchy/nobility system.
The various posters, trailer and film's synopsis all play an important part in the marketing of the film. The posters were placed everywhere; the sides of buses, billboards, bus stops etc. The idea of the posters is to grab people's attention, having them everywhere means people can't avoid them, which makes them want to watch the trailer and find out more about the film. The trailer then aims draw the audience in completely and to get them to see it. The film synopsis tells the audience enough about the film for them to understand what it is about but not too much to leave the audience wanting to find out more about the story and experience it themselves.
Major issues facing British Film Makers
According to King's Speech director, Tom Hooper, there has been a revolution in British film making due to the rise in digital technology. When he was younger digital technology was not available so he had to use film and could not afford to add sound so his films were silent. Today gadgets like iPhones etc have the ability to film in HD with sound so everyone has the opportunity to make a film. Digital is a lot cheaper way of film making however there hasn't been a reduced cost of marketing a film to the public. E.g. from The King's Speech budget of $15 million dollars it takes $25/30 million has to be spent marketing it to the US. Tom Hooper says that there is still a restriction to who can make a film that will reach everyone because even if you manage to make a film for nothing you still have to have millions of dollars to market it.
So despite the revolution the digital technology makes to the actual production of the film it has had little impact to the cost. He also mentions that the use of big name stars is a large part of the appeal to films and that also is very expensive. So although the digital revolution has change and given the British film industry opportunities film makers are still restricted by costs of marketing and distribution, and also the ability to make a film with wide appeal with blockbuster stars.
Britishness
What makes a film British?
According to government in 2003 -
"Most people would define a ‘British’ film with reference to obvious cultural elements such as: a setting in the UK or a focus on British people abroad; a predominantly British cast; a
storyline about some aspect of British life (past, present or future) or notably by/based on a work by, a British author. The nationalities of scriptwriter, producer, director and, perhaps
especially, the ‘investment’ seem less obviously significant. However, both artistic and financial considerations serve to complicate this issue."
Things have changed since then, as now a British film does not have to be based on British culture or focus on British people e.g Slumdog Millionaire. What classes as a British film would have a predominantly British class but may have actors of other nationalities starring. The main body of the crew - producers, director would be British. Some of the production companies would be British however they might get the bulk of the budget from international production companies.
Surprising Box Office hit
It exceeded Momentum Picture's expectations when it gained £3.52 million on the opening weekend which is almost double the opening gross of Slumdog Millionaire at £1.83m, Atonement at £1.63m and Pride and Prejudice at £2.53m.
It's appeal to a wider audience
The King's Speech is a very British film - it is about the royal family near the beginning of the Second World War - a time where the class system, that Britain is so well known for, was starting to break down and there was a bigger sense of national unity. The film represents this through the friendship George VI makes with a "commoner", Lionel Logue. The film has an appeal, not only to a British audience because it shows a story where the royal family are seen in private and are humanised by their troubles, but also to an international audience - members of the old British colonies in particular - because it shows a story where a "commoner" from the colonies develops a friendship with the King. This draws in a large audience from American who like their connection to the British monarchy and the idea that someone like them from a colony country could develop a friendship with a member of the royal family.
Reviews and the film's reception
Philip French of the Guardian gave it high praise and said that The King's Speech was "the work of highly talented artists who might be regarded as British realists" - the crew was made up of talented, experienced professionals that have worked in many other successful productions. He praises the film of not being triumphalist or sentimental and says that the film follows themes of courage, responsibility and duty over personal contentment - like popular films Casablanca and High Noon. He also says that it is more significant and ambitious than The Queen.
However, The Times says although it is great work there is still flaws to the film. "Hooper's framing and shot composition leave something to be desired" and that "Guy Pearce (who plays Edward VIII) is too young for the part and doesn't sound English at all. Timothy Spall as Churchill resembles a distended bulldog who's been chewing wasps, and that the characters of Helena Bonham Carter and Jennifer Ehle are under-used." However he does comment that although it is not as deep as it could be, it was enjoyable in seeing royalty humanised as in The Queen and The Young Victoria.
Other more critical reviews have criticised The King's Speech for making errors about the historical accuracy of some aspects of the film. For example the font used for the text in the BBC broadcasting room not being a font that was available til the 50's. The fact some women were shown wearing seamless stockings when they did not appear until later. Other continuity and editing errors were also pointed out where the King was shown throwing his speech then shown holding it in his hand the next shot.
Other than small criticisms of accuracy errors the film has mostly received praise and good reviews.
Award nominations and Oscars
It received nominations for 12 Oscars including best picture, best director, best supporting actor and actress, best screenplay, best editing, best art direction and costume. It won 4 Oscars for best picture, best director, best Actor (Colin Firth) and best original screenplay. It was also nominated for 14 BAFTAs of which it won 7. Mark Kemode comments that Oscar and BAFTA nominations and awards are often expected when playing a monarch for example with Judy Dench - Shakespeare in Love Helen Mirren - The Queen etc. and especially when the story is about humanising the monarchy.
Production Issues
The King's Speech is an excellent example of an indie film that can receive major global success without the help of a major Hollywood studio. See-Saw, a British/Australian company, financed and produced the film by getting deals with key distribution partners - The Weinstein Company (USA) Momentum Pictures (UK) Transmission (Australia) and Alliance Film (Canada).
See-Saw faced a big decision when Fox Searchlight showed an interest in The King's Speech but they wanted worldwide rights to the film. This meant they would have to cut other partners See-Saw chose to turn down Fox Searchlight and keep the original partners to keep the control in their hands.
The Finance
Prescience saw the film's potential early on and became the key financier of the film. The Weinstein Company and Momentum Pictures were also large investors for the film. The UK Film Council gave See-Saw £1 million for the production. Together they created the budget of $12 million.
Distribution and Marketing Issues
These posters use large bold text with simple messages to draw in the viewer. The poster with Geoffrey Rush uses words from reviews from various different sources. They used words have British connotations and link to the monarchy. "Majestic" and "Exquisite" suggests a royal, grand film. The poster directly addresses the audience when it says "fills you with joy" which encourages the viewer to go and see it. The Colin Firth poster is simpler - it uses God Save The King. The font and style is similar to the famous "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster which was first used around the time the film is set - which shows the context and attitude of period. The main information about the film's cast, release date and companies involved are placed at the bottom. The large image and text would draw the viewer in. The images of the characters are close up to make the viewer feel connected to the characters.
From the trailer the audience can understand more about the film genre and it's appeal.
The international trailer for The King's Speech:
The UK trailer:
The trailers differ slightly. The UK version shows Colin Firth's character more and shows the journey and struggle over coming his stammer but also his family troubles and concerns about the war with Germany. Whereas the US trailer focuses more on Geoffrey Rush's character and how he helps him overcome his speech problems. In both they use famous London landmarks e.g. St Paul's and Tower Bridge, also landmarks that are linked to royalty e.g. the Queen Victoria memorial statue. The UK trailer uses a well known quote from Shakespeare "some men are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them" this adds to the sense of Britishness in the trailer. In the Us trailer Helen Bonham Carter's character calls her husband the King rather than the Duke of York which is what she says in the UK trailer. The word King might mean more and give an international audience more understanding of his importance if they did not understand the monarchy/nobility system.
The various posters, trailer and film's synopsis all play an important part in the marketing of the film. The posters were placed everywhere; the sides of buses, billboards, bus stops etc. The idea of the posters is to grab people's attention, having them everywhere means people can't avoid them, which makes them want to watch the trailer and find out more about the film. The trailer then aims draw the audience in completely and to get them to see it. The film synopsis tells the audience enough about the film for them to understand what it is about but not too much to leave the audience wanting to find out more about the story and experience it themselves.
Major issues facing British Film Makers
According to King's Speech director, Tom Hooper, there has been a revolution in British film making due to the rise in digital technology. When he was younger digital technology was not available so he had to use film and could not afford to add sound so his films were silent. Today gadgets like iPhones etc have the ability to film in HD with sound so everyone has the opportunity to make a film. Digital is a lot cheaper way of film making however there hasn't been a reduced cost of marketing a film to the public. E.g. from The King's Speech budget of $15 million dollars it takes $25/30 million has to be spent marketing it to the US. Tom Hooper says that there is still a restriction to who can make a film that will reach everyone because even if you manage to make a film for nothing you still have to have millions of dollars to market it.
So despite the revolution the digital technology makes to the actual production of the film it has had little impact to the cost. He also mentions that the use of big name stars is a large part of the appeal to films and that also is very expensive. So although the digital revolution has change and given the British film industry opportunities film makers are still restricted by costs of marketing and distribution, and also the ability to make a film with wide appeal with blockbuster stars.
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