Representation of Gender In 'Rome'

I have watched a clip from a Periodic TV Drama called 'Rome'. In this clip i can see how 'Gender' is represented through the use of Camerawork. The clip is shown below:

At the beginning of the clip, there is a scene of a man and a woman having a conversation. The first shot of the male character is a long shot with a low angle, this connotes that the man has a powerful presence in the scene. Whereas, the shot then changes to a high angle midshot of the female character which would represent her to be playing a more vulnerable role. As this is a period Tv Drama the stereotype that men are more powerful than women is seen as an archetype of the time period, but in modern times this is a representation of a stereotype which can be seen as sexist. During the conversation between the two characters a close up of the females face is used to emphasis her emotion in her facial expression. This can also lead to the stereotype many males have of believing that females are very emotional human beings in comparison to males, which isn't necessarily a negative representation but is seen as a inaccurate one. As the conversation becomes more heated the male character moves closer to the female which is shown by a series of close ups between characters which are played at a quick pace which could represent a males inability to control their emotions in this case: anger. The camera shots that follow are close ups/over shoulder shots to show the conversation between the characters while emphasising the emotion between the two, as they get closer the camera shots hold a lot more tension and the characters eventually kiss. After the male character leaves and another female enters, they are again conveyed with low angled shots.

The next scene in the clip is of two male characters having a conversation around a fire. This is mainly represent with two shots/close ups/ midshots with no angle. During this the camera shots focus is usually selective, which generally means it will focus on the main subject of the frame. During this scene the focus is always on the character speaking which means that both males have equal power in the shot.

The following scene is of a female character and a male character exchanging dialogue. This is mainly represented through the use of over shoulder shots. In this scene there is a close of the male character saying "you know what i want" to the female character which he is implying that he wants sex, which is representative of a male character of having shallow characteristics therefore having a negative representation of the stereotype that males only want sex, which is contradicting the love of the man to the mother of his child in the first scene. This is followed by the female character slapping him to show that she is more than just a mere sex object and she is not happy about the way he just spoke to her, this is represented through the close up of her face and the unimpressed facial expression she had. The conversation then continues to her saying he will be 'properly rewarded' if the job is done to her satisfaction. The scene ends on the male character touching the females breasts via a two shot, which is representative that females are only there for sex, which is a inaccurate and negative stereotype of females.

This clip is full of negative and inaccurate stereotypes which are demeaning of the genders. Therefore this clip is not a fair representation of society as a whole, but as it is a period Tv Drama it could be seen as partially accurate in the time period that it is based in.

Representation of Ethnicity on 'Freak'

I have watched the first 3 episodes of 'Freak', which is an online TV drama. I have analysed the representation of ethnicity in these episodes. Throughout the episode there is a majority of characters in the TVdrama which are white, and online one black/mixed race girl. This absence of a variety of ethnicities in this show is not an archetype representation of London, as London has a variety of races in society, which is clearly visible to people in real life. The 'Freak' the lack of a variety of ethnicities for the characters shows that there is an inaccurate representation of society in the area.

Also the fact that the main character is mistreated and you could even say bullied by some of the other characters, and in relation to the fact that she is a different race to the rest of them could represent some of the white characters of being racist towards black people. This is a negative and inaccurate representation of caucasian ethnicities.

The white characters are stereotypically represented as going out a lot and partying. This is represented by their presence at the party in episode 1, and how they are out at the cinema the next day, and also in the park during the same day or the one after. This re-enforces the stereotype that white people are always out, especially teenagers.

The stereotype of a black girl usually being out a lot and being a 'typical' teenager being interested in sex, drugs and alcohol is broken by the fact that she is actually represented as a female gamer, which isn't obsessed with her own appearance. Also black girls are stereotyped to have a very strong and rude attitude towards people which has also been contradicted by the fact that the main character take trouble from the other characters and walks away sensibly, ignoring the comments unlike a stereotyped female black character which would have caused an argument etc. This small stereotypes have been disapproved of by this TV drama by making her a very unique and different character, which makes allows her to breakdown any negative and untrue stereotypes about black women/girls.

The absence of asian characters in this TV drama could mean that this program is mainly targeted at a white audience and some black, but not at asians as it does not appeal to their ethnicity in any way.

To conclude, i would say that the white characters in this TV drama are represented negatively and inaccurately as they could be seen as bullies due to racism. The black character is represented to be very different from common stereotypes, which abolishes the possibility of the stereotypes of black ethnicities to be true.

Analysis of Gender in 'Skins'

This clip of Skins represents Gender very well through the use of editing.

The clip begins with a shot of a character, presumably male by the denotation of trainers and a skateboard which would be stereotypically related to be male. The clip initially begins as a black screen with the sound playing from what is happening, which creates a sense of suspense for the audience as it makes them eager to know what's happening. The fast paced shot of the character on the skateboard is a close-up of the feet from the side, to also create more suspense towards seeing the face of the character, and then a motivated cut takes it to a low angle which tilts upwards to focus on the skateboarder once again, which connotes the character is in a powerful position, which could represent the person to be a brave, reckless and daring character. These personality traits are usually related to be male ones from a stereotypical point of view, which is a way in which gender is represented in this clip. When the skateboarder comes to a stop we can see some minor special effects used, at the back end of the skateboard there are slight sparks coming out to represent the speed and which he was going at, this could have also been used to increase verisimilitude of the skateboarding. The close-ups of this male character skateboarding of his feet also connotes that he is very good at it, and is showing off when doing it, this show-off characteristic can also be related towards a 'typical' male character.

The next part of the clip focuses on the skater, going down the rest of the road using very fast paced editing which seems as if it based on continuity editing, therefore trying to keep the fluidity of the shots going. We can tell this as it changes from different angles of the skater, from behind to suddenly in front of him till he collides with a policeman's bike and then round to the back once again. This fast paced editing is usually used for fast paced scenes, to keep the action going.

The next scene of the clip is when the skateboarder and his two friends are sitting at the table having a conversation. During this scene the 180 Degree rule is followed and at all times the camera shots are filmed from one side of the 180 Degree line. As the conversation ends when the car crashes, the 180 degree rule is then broken and the camera goes behind the characters to show their point of view of the focus point which is the car and the driver of it. This shot is a Reaction shot as it faces the car which is the bit which is emphasised in the shot. As this part of the scene continues and the middle-aged man is talking to the elderly woman, the 180 degree rule is formed again to bring some orientation to the scene after the car crash.

To conclude, this clip has a clear representation of the male gender throughout with editing. Different types of editing are used to do this, for example the special effects and the matched cuts throughout the clip. The long take at the beginning of the clip created a strong sense of suspense to be followed by the fast paced editing throughout the middle of the clip and then again the long takes near the end lead to a sense of speed during the male characters part of the clips, representing them to be fast paced.

Fantasy Film Making Pt.2

Synergy

Product Placement:

1. Kellogg's 'Coco Pops' - Young audiences will be appealed to this breakfast cereal.
2. Coco-Cola - Fizzy drinks attract the target audience.
3. Vauxhall 'Zafira' - A Family car for a Family Film.
4. Hamley's - Huge toy store will attracts children

Music Synergy:

1. Justin Timberlake - Tennman Records - Attracts a family audience.

Commercial Synergy:

1. Vauxhall Zafira - Family car advert using the characters from the film.

Money from Synergy: £3 Million

Budget Review

Gained from Synergy: £3,000,000

Production Budget: £10,000,000

Money remaining from stage 1: £9,098,000

Current Budget: £22,098,000

Crew

Director: Shawn Levy - £2.5 Million.

He has created films in the same family genre, e.g. Night At the Museum.

He's not a world class director, only beginning his career in making successful movies so he isn't very experiences either.

Production Team: Professional British - £500,000.

Professionals and are british like the movie.

Not as much experience in production as hollywood production teams like ones that work on Disney movies.

Editor: Pro Hollywood - £2 Million.

Well established hollywood editing.

Film production will not be totally british.

Special Effects: Pro Hollywood - £2 Million.

Increases verisimilitude and kids will enjoy it more.

Too much special effects may ruin the film.

Total Cost for Crew - £7 Million.

Technology

HDR - FX1:

Quantity - 5

£10,000

HD, Good maneuverability

Sony DV Tapes (63 Mins):

Quantity - 200

£1400

A lot of tape in HD.

Computers:

8-Core

Quantity - 2

Cost - £5000

HD Monitors

Quantity - 2

Cost - £2300

Macbook Pro

Quantity - 2

Cost - £2300

Editing Software:

Final Cut Pro

Quantity - 4

Cost: £3200

Special Effects:

VisionLab Studio

Quantity - 4

Cost: £900

Budget Review

Budget: £22,098,000

Total Cost Crew: £7,000,000

Total Cost Equipment: £25,100

Remaining Budget: £15,072,900

Analysis of Gender in 'Cold Feet'

This is an analysis of Gender in 'Cold Feet'. It is based on a four minute clip from the TV drama. From this clip i can familiarise myself with some of the stereotypes of gender.
At the beginning of the clip there are two characters, a male in a suit that seems to be reading something, maybe a newspaper, and a woman who is by the kitchen and in casual clothing. The actors/actresses are part of the mise-en-scene of the TV drama. The male and female characters are represented to be married due to the house that they seem to live together in and the relationship with each other that they have. The male character is represented to have just come back from work and sitting at the table waiting for dinner, this is done by the suit that he is wearing and the fact that he's sitting by the table. This would connote that the male character is the provider of the family, due to the business like attire. Whilst the female characters positioning in the set (at the kitchen) would represent her to be the housewife. This common stereotype of married couples is negative, as in this day and age it is not likely for the male of the relationship to be working and the female to be in the kitchen cooking dinner. This is not a very accurate view of couples and gender in the time that we live in, but it can be accurate in the past.
The low key lighting during this scene may represent the time of day, or maybe even the fact that the relationship between the two characters is argumentative.
The next scene is based in a supermarket, where a female character is shopping whilst the male character is being silly and questioning everything she buys. This is representative of how a female is stereotypically viewed, as a woman who shops for the family, being the middle and back-bone of it, the one that takes care of the children and knows what to buy because she's the one cooking. This is partially an accurate view of a female depending on the point of view taken, mothers are usually the ones to go shopping as they are the main person that cooks for the family, just like my mother, so i would call this a polysemic stereotype. Again in this scene the male character is wearing a suit which conveys the possibility of him coming back from work, which leads to the stereotype of the male characters being the providers of the family. The two characters are having a discussion about what baby product to buy, as one is 30 pounds more expensive than the other. The male character is more concerned with the price, whereas the female character is thinking what is better for the baby. This represents how the male and female characters would think in terms of money, and how the female would take the more responsible approach and buy the more expensive item as it is better quality. This also enforces the common stereotype that mothers want what's best for their child, which can be seen as a positive representation of a female character.
The last scene of the clip is done in low-key lighting with the use of neon lighting as part of the set, with red gels. The red gels can be connected with the two female characters as red is commonly representative as the colour of love, which is then intertwined with the female characters, which could possibly connote that females are usually more emotional than males, therefore the use of red. This stereotype of females being more emotional can be seen as sexist and therefore is negative and inaccurate of females.

Both genders are represented in this clip of 'Cold Feet', through the use of Mise-en-scene. Most of the representations in this clip have been inaccurate and old fashioned, for example a common housewife figure.

Compare and Contrast '24 Hour Party People's production to that of a hollywood film

'24 Hour party people' is a british film made by Film Four, which is an independent film production company. This means that in contrast to a hollywood film, my hypothesis would expect this to contain less use of synergy and cross media convergence than a hollywood film would. I believe that this film and a hollywood film would both use as much New media technology as possible.

'24 Hour party people' have used one main type of synergy during film production. This type of synergy would be the use of music, which relates to real music groups from the real world. This is considered as synergy as it promotes and advertises the music soundtracks to the target audience of the movie which is usually also the kind of audience which the record company target with their artists. An example of this synergy in '24 Hour party people' would be the track from the 'Happy Mondays' in the opening credits of the film. In contrast to a hollywood production companies film which would use a lot of different types of synergy, e.g. In 'Transformers' the 'Apple' logo is seen on a macbook, during the film, which is noticed to be right in the center of the frame to emphasis the product, yet subtly advertise the product to the target audience. A Hollywood film would be more eligible for synergy as it is targeting a more mainstream audience in contrast to an independent movies niche audience, therefore it will gain more views making it more likely to be successful. Most of the time a company want request to have their product placed in a film, it is more likely to go into a film which is for a wider audience whilst keeping it on the products target consumers, therefore it is a lot more likely to see any type of synergy more often in a Hollywood movie than in an independent.

Film Four production company can make good use of Cross media convergence. This is because they are all part of the Channel4 Parent company, this means that during the release of this movie, it could be advertised via many different ways, for example, it could be advertised on Channel 4, Film4, e4 and More4. This can become advantageous toward the company as it can save money for the production company so that they can use the budget towards something else. This also means after the release of this movie it can be broadcasted on these channels without it costing the company for it. Hollywood Companies also do this with their media texts, but instead of doing it like this, they do it on a larger scale as hollywood companies are seen as more successful in terms of profitability. An example of this would be Vivendi Universal, which is the parent company of Universal Studios. It also owns many other companies, including record labels like BMG and Universal Music Group. As Universal Studios are part of a huge 'Media Conglomerate' they have easy access to many different formats of media to advertise and market their films with the advantage that it will not cost them and it will increase awareness and appeal to the film by a massive amount. This enables Hollywood productions companies more than Independent production companies to advertise and also create a bigger appeal of their film by creating usually biased reviews of a movie because the review company (newspapers, review sites etc) is owned by the media conglomerate.

Hollywood films tend to have a lot more of a variety of editing, cinematography and special effects mainly due to the difference in budget between the companies therefore hollywood films are seen to be more impressive in terms of production quality. An example of this would be a movie like 2012, which had a budget of $260 Million, therefore they are allowed to perfect production quality in the factors of special effects, cinematography and editing. This also allows a hollywood company to increase verisimilitude throughout their movies meaning they can make any type of movie which would contain content that is not possible in the real world, but seems so believable in the fantasy world of the movie. This has all came from New media technology, which has allowed creating a film to be a lot more easier, cheaper and impressive. In '24 hour party people' new media technology has allowed editing software to be made which will make it a lot easier for an editor of a movie such as this to add content like soundtracks onto a scene without having to use a moviola etc. Digital Video was used to record the movie which shows how New media technology has affected independent film companies as it costs a lot less money to film therefore money isn't lost using film reels etc. Special effects are also used in '24 hour party people' when a spaceship was in the movie, which was made by CGI technology to increase the look of it being real. Hollywood companies will vert frequently spend more money on their use of new media technology as it is easier, cheaper and works better.

New media technology has obviously effected production companies, an independent film production company is more likely to use this new media technology as it can save them costs hugely which means they can spend more money on their film. Hollywood production companies have also been effected by this, they now use the best of the best software and hardware to create their films to ensure that their audience can view to allow them to want to continue watching their movies because they produce the best viewing quality films.
The new technology has also effected audience, it has made them excited about the increasing use of CGI technology in films and i believe that in the near future film audience will constantly expect too much new technology and they will ruin the conventional way in which movies can be made, which is why some directors like Steven Spielberg do not make films the new way but the old way to conserve the original values of film making.

In conclusion i believe that '24 Hour Party People' is different to a hollywood company due to the financial restraints experience by a independent company. This is in many factors of the film production stages of industry but some are similar like the use of new media technology because it will save both companies costs whilst making filming and production a lot easier. Therefore the main aspect that production companies can be contrasted by is finance between the two different companies.

An Analysis of Age in 'Skins'

By watching the clip of Skins, which is approximately the first 4 minutes of Season 1 Episode 1, and the analysis of sound, we can gain an insight towards these characters and the narrative of the TV drama. One of the main representations of this clip is Age. At the beginning of the clip Tony (the main character) is lying in bed awake whilst a the sound of a Church bell is in the background. From this sound we can tell it is distant sound perspective and that it is obviously diagetic as it is keeping him wide awake. We can also tell that the Church bell is probably foley sound. This sound could have possibly been used to show that Tony is wide awake which can create an morning atmosphere. It is then followed by a diagetic alarm clock sound, which leads to Tony getting out of his bed. This alarm clock can represent that Tony is a teenager because many teenagers including myself wake up in the morning to the alarm clock, which is also a fair and accurate representation of them. As Tony gets out of bed and begins to stretch, a music clip is played throughout the time that he is working out and in his room. This sound is synchronous as it follows the quick pace of editing to create a lively effect. I think that this sound is non-diagetic because the sound clip continues as the pace of the editing slows down and focuses more on other parts of the scene than just his workout, and as he turns on loud music just after this sound clip fades out. This sound clip is heard to be quite fast paced and with a type of hip-hop beat which is representative of a teenage age group. As this sound clip is played during the introduction of Tony and also his sister Effie, it may represent them both to be teenagers due to the appeal of the music towards the 13-19 audiences.

Now as we move onto the introduction of the Dad as a character, he begins with dialogue. One of his first lines being "every f*cking morning", which can be interpreted as colloquial language which is informal and a londoners accent which isn't very recognisable. This line is used to represent the father as a short-tempered, partially uneducated and rude character. Stereotypically from this piece of dialogue we could come to the conclusion straight away that this character is working class and slightly less educated than other people as he swears throughout most of his dialogue during the clip. The dialogue between Tony and his father are swapped so that the father is in terms of stereotyping, to have the more formal and a wider variety of language than Tony to have the more colloquial, informal and uneducated language. This would mix up the representations of Age because from sound alone we would believe that Tony is the older character and the Father is the younger, but along with the clip we can tell that Tony is represented as young in other ways, and that the father is represented more from the visual aspects like his beer-belly etc. Also another interesting piece of dialogue that the father uses is "you take me for a complete James Blunt don't you". This is a use of 'Cockney slang' which is representative of his level of education as he is talking in a colloquial and informal way. This cockney slang can is mainly recognised by an older audience around 18-25, which portrays who the father character is appealing towards.

Through the use of sound in the clip we can conclude that age is represented in many different ways. Evidence of this is that Tony and Effie are both represented using stereotypical views of music which is seen to appeal to a teenagers. I believe that this stereotype is nor positive or negative and cannot be said to be untrue as it is common for a teenager to listen to hip-hop music more than any other age group. Stereotypes have also been gone against as the use of colloquial language and constant swearing from the father when a stereotypical view of them would be to be a loving and calm parent figure that would use a friendly tone instead of a more hostile tone that was used towards Tony in the clip. Therefore in this clip stereotypes of age have been met but some are seen to go with them whereas the others have gone completely against it, conveying that this clip is partially accurate in terms of representation of Age.

Research on Special Effects & Graphics

Special effects and Graphics focuses on computer-generated imagery (CGI). This is the use of 3D computer graphics to special effects in the Film Industry. This is based on Computer generated Characters or Locations using 'Virtual Wireframe' and is then manipulated by the animator. CGI is used due to its ease of doing whatever you want to with it, as they are more controllable than real-life physical people/objects.

Along with this CGI has many other advantages. One is that computer generated characters can be created to look like what ever the animator wants, there are no restrictions when it comes to imagination and creativity. For example, throughout the Star Wars Saga, we are introduced to hundreds of different species of characters all created by CGI animation.

Another advantage is that CGI reduces costs for actors/actresses appearances in movies and the cost of set design and props, as they are not needed because they can be generated by Computer animators. An example of this is 'Toy Story', where Disney's 'Pixar' the costs of sets and actor/actress appearances (Voices were still used) were not an issue as the whole movie was computer generated.

One more benefit of CGI technology is its increase in verisimilitude, as todays technology allows computer-generated elements to seem as real as possible in relation to the world of the films narrative.

30 Years ago, before special effects & graphics were a lot more difficult to create. The props department were then main method in creating non-real characters and sets without the use of CGI. It used to be that a character/set was created without computer-generation because that technology did not exist back then. This meant that a lot of restrictions effected a production company in terms of what they could produce. As everything was made into physical objects it meant that it would have to be manually operated but also that it could not defy gravity unlike computer-generated imagery. An example of this would be 'King Kong' made in 1933, which used no CGI technology as it did not exist back then. Now if we watched this movie we would believe it to be a very unrealistic, due to our expectations of the movies from the present time period.

In contrast to 30 Years ago, now special effects and graphics have been revolutionised. Computer-generated imagery is the in which movies have made their movies seem more realistic and attractive to its audiences. In 2005, a remake of 'King Kong' was made by Universal Pictures. This is an example of how a massive change in this aspect of digital technology has occured, in the 2005 remake King Kong is recreated using CGI technology which makes the movie seem a lot more realistic in and believable, along with its factor to attract the audience. Also, along with the fact that King Kong, T-Rex and other creature in this movie are made using CGI technology, so is the setting in some areas of the movie.

There are many types of special effects and graphics available in this era. Computerised effects including:

- Blue Screen/Matte

- Computer Animation

- Compositing

- Rain/Snow/Wind/Fire

- Explosions

- Computer Generated Imagery

Human Effects:

- Pyrotechnic Machinery to create explosions etc

- Blood Bags

- Latex

The first movie to be fully made out of CGI animation was 'Toy Story' made by Pixar. This movie was seen as a commercial success and triggered other companies of the Big 6 production companies to move from traditional animation to CGI technology.

In 2000, CGI became a dominant figure for special effects and is now one of the most used methods of special effects for Hollywood production companies.

One of my favourite titles of all time is Final Fantasy, from the long list of game releases to its films. Final Fantasy: Spirits Within made by Square Pictures is a created to be a CGI film throughout and was seen to be a movie which attempted to create 'Photo-realistic human actors'. This movie along with Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children are examples of entire CGI films. When these movies came out it was seen to be impressive to look so realistic and cinematic, along with being attractive to audiences which enjoy innovative ideas in film-making.

Audiences have definitely been effected by the innovation in special effects and graphics. This digital technology should impact an audiences viewing experience, i believe that it would attract and appeal to an audience more because from this technology they can now watch more creative and diverse films as CGI can allow anything to be made which means the same restricted narratives would not be repeated, but instead more compelling and intriguing storylines can be produced.

Due to the reductions in digital technology equipment e.g. PC's and Mac's with software for CGI animation and other special effect technology, it means that more money for a film can be focused into a marketing campaign to attract an audience which film viewers would appreciate and attract them more meaning revenue can increase from this and costs can stay low in terms of digital technology.

Now that anything is possible in movies due to CGI animation, being a film writer is broadened and will allow more creative people to access this kind of profession and gain success for films which are made that were not possible 30 years ago.

Negative comments are bound to occur due to digital technology, an example would be a group of people believing that CGI technology removes the real and everyday life aspects away from a movie which means that classic movies which did not use this kind of technology are over shadowed by these over-expensive movies about things that are not even possible.

Some upcoming movies which will include CGI technology in 2009 are:

-2012

-Avatar

This shows that many movies created by hollywood production companies or their subsidiaries have at some point in the movie, a use of special effects or graphics, it could be as little as the weather in the background or a group of characters and the set made by CGI.

Here is the link to Amandip Singh's research on Editing:

http://amandipasmedia.blogspot.com

Homework Key Questions - Channel 4

Do you see any similarities between the early channel 4 and an independent film production company?

There are similarities between Channel 4 and an independent film production company to a certain extent. What Channel 4 broadcasts is similar to the movies that an independent film company would produce. An independent production company takes risks in the genre of film that they create, the narrative and the scenes within it that may contain something controversial back in the 80's. This is similar to Channel 4 and how they would broadcast a program which contains something that the audience will talk about, in their Remit they include innovation, experimentation and creativity. The experimentation is where they would include controversial subjects like homosexuality and racism.

Also Channel 4's Remit discusses that they will appeal to the tastes and interests of a culturally diverse society. This means that they will be targeting a range of audiences instead of the same audience that hollywood production companies would target to ensure their returns of finance. This is similar to how an independent production company targets a small audience which isn't part of the crowd, they type of people which would be diverse to the common population.

How do you think the move in 1993 to being a more commercially motivated broadcaster, with the ability to sell their own advertising space, affected Channel 4's acquisition and commissioning decisions?

I think that Channel 4's decision making changed for the wrong reasons in 1993. The fact that they would now be getting commissions for selling advertising space made them greedy for revenue therefore they began to forget their Remit and how they were supposed to broadcast innovative and creative programs and appeal to a diverse audience and society. Therefore they began to broadcast programs which they knew would target a mass audience so that they gain more viewers which lead to the channels ratings increasing meaning its popularity would sky, which would then enable them to get more commissions as advertisers would recognise that buying advertisement space on Channel 4 would increase the audience's awareness of their product/service and therefore increase their sales.

In what ways do you think Channel 4 have lead to innovations in British Television?

Channel 4 have lead innovations in British Television. For example, Channel 4 News triggered other broadcasters to begin with news programmes to educate and inform their viewers of recent events. Also Channel 4 lead in News programs popularity as it is seen to be the least biased and mostly viewed news programs on British Television. In the 1980's Channel 4 had developed a reputation as a broadcaster at the cutting edge of youth programming with shows like 'The Tube'. This lead to channels like ITV beginning to create programs which targeted a certain group of audience with different programs. Channel 4 was seen to give a voice to a part of the British population which didn't have one, for example the children who call graffiti an art, instead of an act of Vandalism.

But Channel 4's desperation to be the leaders of innovation in British Television lead to them showing controversial content like Racism and Homosexuality which wasn't perfectly accepted by society at the time.

How has Channel 4 strayed from the ethos of it's original remit as a public service broadcaster to showcase innovation and diversity in television?

Channel 4 strayed from the ethos of its remit as a public service broadcasters by becoming part of the crowd, and making profit maximisation their first priority even though they have claimed to stay as a broadcaster that shows innovation and diversity in the programs they broadcast. An example of this is Big Brother. Even though we can argue that BB is a innovative program which is different to all others as a reality show, and contains a diverse range of people to cater all audiences, it is mainly due to the ratings that Big Brother has brought, that Channel 4 have continued to broadcast it. I can say this as BB has created a lot of controversy through out its time on air, this is because it is aired live, therefore the people in the show are not playing a role, but themselves, and show real human emotions which occur as normal. They get angry like normal people, and get into arguments just like everyone. This is a reason in which audiences are so fascinated by the show and continue to watch it. In BB a controversial moment occured when a Celebrity Big Brother was on and Jade Goody was seen to say a racial remark towards Shilpa Shetty. Even though this occurred, and Channel 4 were in risk of being fined for this content being broadcasted, they continued to broadcast BB for further seasons, as it brought revenue to the channel. This is an example of how Channel 4 have strayed away from its original remit to satisfy a diverse audience and be innovative, but instead they broadcast the programs which attract the most common british viewers.

Does the factual programming on Channel 4 today have the same educational value as it did 25 years ago?

I believe that Channel 4 has lost a lot of its educational value in the past 25 years. Back then programs were specifically aimed at increasing a individuals knowledge on a certain interesting subject, for example A documentary on a specific breed of Animal. But now Channel 4 broadcasts programs like 'The F Word' in which Gordon Ramsay continuously swears at the kitchen staff, therefore creating that identity of himself and being passed on to the title of the show. This program doesn't have much educational value but instead contains entertaining aspects like when Ramsay begins to get angry and swear in the kitchen. A more suitable program which would fulfull the the Ethos of Channel 4 would contain more focus on the cooking and how to make it and other things like how to run a restaurant etc. This suggests that Channel 4 have lost the seriousness and importance of thier educational programs by turning them into a joke of which it brings just as much entertainment as educational value, therefore these programs have become less factual and more commercial and popular for the audience which could also lead to people saying that British Television is a cause of a less educated society.

Are there any arguments to say that Channel 4 still, in some ways maintain it's original remit?

In certain aspects Channel 4 do still maintain their original remit. They still continue to have innovation in their content, for example the Dispatches Series, and Extraordinary People. This is an example of programs which contain a factual and interesting aspect which will appeal to less of a main stream audience which want to see something different, they type that don't mind watching things that may make other think urghh! It also broadcasts many independent production companies movies as Film 4 is a subsidiary of Channel 4, they are entitled to free broadcast on Channel 4. A distinctive characteristic is seen in Channel 4, to broadcast a wide range of programs instead of the same genre of show through out the day.

Is Channel 4's ownership of Film 4 Productions an example of Horizontal or Vertical Integration?

I believe that this is an example of vertical integration. This is because whilst Film 4 are a production company which create the movie from start to finish, Channel 4 is a British Television Broadcaster therefore they are part of the exhibition sector of the film industry whereas Film 4 is involved in the Production sector. Whilst they both are part of the same single entity of Channel 4, they both work on different jobs for the same movie.

Welcome To London Zoo

In class on 8th October 09, we had a lesson based film making. We were given the chance to randomly pick our Production company, Budget and Scenario. As a group, we got Hollywood Flix (production company), a £20 Million budget and the scenario of 'A fantasy film about a boy who discovers London zoo is filled with magical animals'.

Synopsis

The synopsis of the story that we came up with was kept conventional to make it less risky, just as a Hollywood film company would conventionally do to make sure they receive views from a big target audience.

A Boy called Nicky has a day trip to London Zoo with his parents, when he gets there he is amazed by the Zoo, he loves it and wants to enjoy every moment he has in there. Nicky goes to the toilet just before leaving the Zoo, being such a clumsy child Nicky falls over in the toilet. When he comes out he notices everyones gone, and the Zoo is closed up for the night leaving him very confused and frightened without his parents. In this Zoo there are magical animals, both good and bad. The first group of animals to meet Nicky are the bad ones, the plan of the bad animals is to make them think that the animals are his friends so that he trusts them, and then they will attempt to trap him and eat him. Whilst this is going on the good animals are reviewing this and secretly protecting Nicky from the bad animals evil plans. Eventually Nicky is told that the animals are trying to hurt him, he gets close with Leon the Lion who eventually become best friends. Now that Nicky is with the good animals, the group of bad ones are planning to take him away.

As the ending approaches, the whole Zoo is forced to divide into good and bad to protect or eat the innocent child. As a conventional Hollywood children's movie, the good side wins, but at a cost. Leon the Lion dies to protect Nicky, as the heartbroken child cries away into Leon's chest, the whole surrounding fades away and he wakes up in the same place that he initially fell over in the toilet. He gets up and leaves the toilet, to see that everyones is actually there and his parents are waiting for him ready to leave. On the way out, Leon the Lion winks at Nicky, bringing a big smile to his face as the story ends.

Locations/ Sets

We had £20 Million to spend on this movie. We had 5 locations to film at.

1. London Zoo, costing £1 Million, this is for the main location of the movie.
2. Regents Park Station, £1000 to film the way to London Zoo via Transport for London.
3. A Friends home was another location, this wouldn't cost anything as its a friends property. This is to film the family's home when they're getting ready to go to the Zoo.
4. The toilet is another location, to do this we will use a public toilet which won't be a set location. This is where the kid will have his dream.
5. The last locations is the Bus stop which is free which shows the way to the train station at the start of the journey, this is also advertisement for TFL (transport for london).

The Total Cost for Sets and Locations came to £1,001,000.

Characters & Actors

Nicky is the Main character of the movie. He's a cute little 5 year old boy who is seen to be innocent and vulnerable. He will be played by Ellis Hollins, who has had experience of playing the role of 'Tom Cunningham' for the British Soap: Hollyoaks.

George the Giraffe is another character from the movie who is a Dumb, clumsy yet funny giraffe. The character is the main funny character of this children's movie, voice played by Ricky Gervais costing us £1 Million.

Leon the Lion is a Brave, courageous but reckless lion. He is the closest friend to Nicky and would do anything for him and to protect him. His voice is played by Zac Efron, the well known upcoming star from the teenage movie High School Musical. This actors cost us £5 Million.

Maya the Monkey is the wise older character, seen to be matriarch. Voice Played by £2 Million actress Julie Andrews.

Chaud the Cheetah is the final main character of this film. He is an evil and manipulative Cheetah that leads the Bad animals. His voice is played by Alan Rickman for £1 Million.

Total Cost for actors/actresses is £9,001,000.

Music

We wanted music in our movie aswell, so with our left over budget we were payed for 5 different tracks of music during the film.

A full orchestra score the the main battle of the film costing £500,000.

For the introduction of Maya the Monkey we got Miley cyrus, an International Artist costing £100,000.

The radio in the background at the security office of the Zoo will play Vanessa Hudgens which will cost £100,000.

To introduce Leon the Lion we will have Zac Efron as he already plays the character of Leon. This will cost £100,000.

To introduce the Main character: Nicky, we will use Justin Timberlake because children know of JT from a young age. This will also cost £100,000.

The Total Cost of Music is £900,000.

The Budget Review

Initial Budget: £20 Million

Total Cost for Sets and Location: £1,001,000.

Total Cost for actors/actresses is £9,001,000.

Total Cost of Music is £900,000.

Remaining Budget: Total Cost of Music is £9,098,000.

Film Audience

As this film is a hollywood movie, it will target a wide range audience to gain an appeal to all audiences. This movie is targeted at Young children and their families as the characters include a family with a young child. It would have an Age Range of 4 - 35, this is because it would appeal to a family which could have a young child in it, therefore the age range includes parents and young kids. The movie is supposed to appeal to both males and females as it has both male and female characters, also it has both male and female appealing music throughout the movie, e.g. Vanessa Hudgens for females and Justin Timberlake for the males. 'Welcome To The Zoo' should appeal to all cultures and doesn't have a specific culture or ethnicity to appeal to but instead all as its a hollywood film company therefore tries to gain as much appeal as possible by all viewers. A family from london would mainly be appealed towards as the movie is based in london in their area. Also as this movie is within britain mostly british audiences would be appealed to this as its a movie which represents british backgrounds and society. Audiences that would watch this would other hollywood family films, mainly animated e.g. Bolt. Also this movie is similar to 'Night At The Museum'.

Representation Of Britishness

My film will represent Britishness by having scenes of way to London Zoo via Train. This is a representation of British transport in london which is well known around the world. It will also use other locations like London Zoo itself, which will give an in-site into british family tour attractions. It may also show how a british family would have a day out compared to a american family. Also the use of many British actors/actresses for example, Ricky Gervais and Ellis Hollins represents this movie to be british. Ellin Hollins would not be known outside of british soil therefore this is an appeal towards british audiences more than others like american audiences.

The Chase by Shani Naik

The Day After Tomorrow vs. Flood

'The Day After Tomorrow' is about when global warming strikes by triggering a new ice age, tornadoes and floods run through major cities of America. The Northern Hemisphere freezes over leaving people to be left vulnerable to such extreme temperatures that if caught in the 'eye of the storm' would be frozen on the spot, therefore left for dead. As a leading climatologist 'Jack Hall' pushes through this disaster to try and save his son. This movie was produced by 20th Century Fox along with other producers like Lions Gate. With a budget of a massive $125,000,000.

'Flood' is about when a raging storm hits the UK, but more focused the affect on London. It overwhelms the Thames Barrier therefore flooding the whole of London creating a natural disaster never seen before. Its down to the barrier engineers to save millions of Londoners from such a devastating event. It is no longer a question of if london will flood, but when. This Movie was produced by Independent companies like Power, A Muse Productions, Flood Productions and Muse Entertainment Enterprises. This movie is seen as a 'low budget american disaster movie'.

These movies are similar due to genre of action/ disaster and thriller. I picked these movies because there is a clear comparison between these movies considering the stories are similar yet they have differences like location etc. Flood is an independent film which is also a british movie, which is not unseen before as the 'Big 6' are located in Hollywood, USA.

The Actors/Actress' and characters usually vary depending on institutional factors of a movie. In Hollywood movies character are usually based by the Protagonist and Antagonist, this is good because it makes the audience easily understand which character is the likable one and which is the one that is disliked. In 'The Day After Tomorrow' the protagonist is 'Jack Hall' (the climatologist, but in this movie there is no antagonist, but instead the problem, in this case being the Ice age storm. Also in Hollywood movies we see the characters to be brave and heroic, unlike independent movies where the characters are usually normal everyday life people. For example Jack Hall is a heroic characters as he travels through the storm to save his son. Also the actors and actress' will vary depending on the institution, for example in 'The Day After Tomorrow' well known actors like Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal are part of the movie as main characters, whereas in 'Flood' actors/ actress' like Rob Carlyle Jessalyn Gilsig are involved, who are only known by a british audience due to there part in british films.

In 'Flood' there are many times of sounds, from dialogue to music. But in 'Flood' as it has a smaller budget it cannot include as much music and sound effects as a hollywood movies therefore more dialogue is used instead, but this is not a bad thing because in some cases more dialogue can further the narrative of the film. For example in 'Flood' the movie focuses on the main characters lives before getting into the action of the flood, this is done by dialogue, in this movie the story line is focusing on the bad relationship between the father and son, which later on in the story is resolved. Unlike 'The Day After Tomorrow' where the story line is focusing on the strong relationship between father and son and how they will get through the storm as survivors. But where 'The Day After Tomorrow' is superior in comparison to 'Flood' is where the movie contains more suspenseful and dramatic sounds compared to 'Flood'. As producers of 'Flood' have to be more aware of copyright it is reflected by the fact that they have no soundtracks throughout the movie.

In both movies camera work was used well, but you can tell which one is the hollywood movie and which is independent. This is through different ways like the variety of shots used during one scene, the frequency of tracks and pans, and the use of expensive shots like Crane shots which require more expensive equipment on site to film with. In 'The Day After Tomorrow' you can notice that there is more coverage of a location, this means that the focus of the scene would be filmed from many different angles to show different perspectives of the scene, whereas in 'Flood' you can see that there is coverage but less than a typical hollywood movie.

Editing is a huge aesthetic factor in both these movies. This is because both movies use visual effects in this movie to create the sense of realism about the natural disaster, in 'The Day After Tomorrow' they use editing and visual effects to freeze over the whole Liberty statue, which would cost a lot which is a reason why this movie was made by 20th Century Fox. Along with this, 'The Day After Tomorrow' has other visual effects including tornadoes and other aspects of a major storm. The image beside is an example of one of 'The Day After Tomorrow' effects.

'Flood' uses a lot of visual effects in their movie but we can notice that it is not as frequent as 'The Day After Tomorrow' because of institutional factors such as budgeting. In 'Flood' there is an effect of a major tourist attraction: The London Eye being swallowed by raging barrages of water which have come from the storm and through the Thames. Here is an example of the effect to show how it would seem realistic towards an audience.

Other editing includes transitions e.g. Cuts, fades and dissolves etc. Hollywood movies have frequent cuts and usually do not have a frame that lasts longer than a few seconds depending on dialogue, if there is long dialogue than the camera will usually move to a different location to increase coverage and keep the viewer interested so they don't get bored of the same frame for a long period of time. 'The Day After Tomorrow' cuts frequently and uses different frames to make sure the audience don't get bored. 'Flood' does this but it lower frequency as cuts and more coverage are expensive which cannot be budgeted by a independent production company.

Mise-en-scene focuses on everything within the frame apart from the characters. This can include locations, props and costumes. The locations of these movies are important as they relate to the narrative of the film. Also the independent production company that is based outside of hollywood and in England decided to do so as they could not afford to make a film in the USA, therefore this was made as a british film. Whereas 'The Day After Tomorrow' is set in Los Angeles and New York are major cities in America, which would cost a lot more to film in. 'The Day After Tomorrow' films in more locations compared to 'Flood', for example New York, Los Angeles, the library in New York and even on a Boat. Whereas 'Flood' films in locations within the known areas of London and inside the Thames Barrier etc.

Both movies are differently styled, British films and American Hollywood films are very different types of movies yet they both work well. There are basic differences between them, for example in British Films like there aren't superheroes or extreme characters, there are basic normal characters with normal flaws. 'Flood' shows this as we learn that the main male and female characters are divorced but eventually realize that there is still love in their relationship, and get back together. We can see this happening in a real life situation.

From all these comparisons we can tell that Independent movies will not be as popular as Hollywood films due to the lack of resources, the main resource being money which can be budgeted towards the production of the film. But an independent film can also have some advantages over hollywood movies, for example they appeal more to a certain audience therefore the certain type of audience will enjoy the movie a lot and another type wont, but compared to a hollywood movies audience which is usually aiming to be a wide range of audiences therefore it will not be appreciated by all types of audiences but instead more from some and less from the other. By from this, Hollywood films would still make more movies because they gain more viewers as they target the wider range of audiences, also because these production companies can afford to have a larger range of exhibition locations, e.g. Vue, Cineworld and Odeon.

These are all reasons why Hollywood Movies are more Successful that Independent Films.