Waterloo Road Essay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSA1cKaCbC4

In the sequence from Waterloo Road, we are looking at representations of Ethnicity. The first thing that I noticed was that the main character in this sequence (Bolton) is in jail and gets searched by the police officer. This shows a negative stereotypical representation of black people as he is made to look like a criminal. This links to the use of mise-en-scene as the setting (the prison) reflects this negative representation, alongside use of lighting by having high-key lighting on the authority figure (Miss Mason) and low-key lighting on so-called ‘criminal’ (Bolton). This use of lighting through mise-en-scene shows status in the scene, by making Miss Mason seem much more of a higher status over Bolton with other things such as costume with Miss Mason in a suit and Bolton and the other teenagers in a school uniform. This sequence shows negative representations of ethnicity even further through by having Bolton acting hard as if he doesn’t care, using his body language and facial expressions show make him seen arrogant and defensive.

There is also a contrast between the prison officer and Bolton when he decides to search him for drugs as the black police officer reflects an authority figure and is very much in power through the use of force. This shows an obvious higher status level from the officer to Bolton, emphasising this clear contrast in characters. As well as his school uniform, Bolton is also wearing a grey hooded jumper which through the use of costume presents him as a hoodie which is the persona he is giving off, overall showing a negative representation that black people are hoodies. If you continue looking at mise-en-scene as the scene moves on, lighting is used again when a man enters the same cell as Bolton, having low-key lighting on him to symbolise his dangerous and fearless character. In this same scene, there is a juxtaposition between the man and the vest he is wearing. The vest is bright blue in colour which is a feminine and happy colour. This contrasts with the man wearing it as he seems very dangerous, very manly and almost angry at Bolton.

If you look at the use of sound, sound is used as Bolton is walking down the stairs, by having the faint noise of people shouting and screaming in the background. This is to give the full effect of the prison in order to create tension and make Bolton scared. As well as this, there is an eery sound almost like a horror movie as he is placed in his cell which is for the same purpose as the men screaming in the background. If you look at cinematography, a whip-pan is used when Bolton is looking in the mirror in the cell, as the man in the blue vest enters the camera moves towards his face, doing an eyeline match between them to show the audience what a scary and potentially danger position Bolton is in. An over-the-shoulder shot is also used here showing the scary man over Bolton's shoulder. Close up shots are also used a lot on the man's face to show the anger he is feeling towards Bolton. Editing is also used as they have used the 180 degree rule here in order to show continuity editing by always keeping on one side of the actors.

Key Terms I MUST Know

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition
• Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.
• Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.
• Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.
• Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing
Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.
• Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.
• Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound
• Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.
• Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.

Mise-en-Scène
• Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.
• Lighting; colour design.

Soap Opera Report

Soap Opera Report

The main soap operas that I have focused on are Eastenders and Hollyoaks. These shows are perfect examples of how soap operas can construct reality as they both, as well as other popular soap operas such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale, contain lots of different themes that relate to the audience’s lives therefore making it seem more realistic and therefore constructing our ideas of these themes in the real world by the way that they are portrayed. Some of the many themes and issues that are tackled in soap operas nowadays according to Colin Stewart would be love, conflict, secrets & confidences, sickness & injury, skeletons in the cupboard, and plans going wrong.

These themes are used as story lines in many soap operas frequently, as the mainly working-class target audience can relate to these issues as they have happened, or are happening in people’s lives as we speak making the soap opera seem extremely realistic and naturalistic which ultimately equals to higher ratings. As I mentioned earlier, I researched further into the recent story lines and plots of both Hollyoaks and Eastenders to see if these two current soap operas reflect this use of realism in regards to such taboo themes. As I had guessed, even though both shows have a completely separate target audience from one another, they both reflect the use of realism in the above themes.

If you look at Eastenders, a recent theme that reflects soap operas use of realism would be one that is very current to the show which is conflict. An example of this would be the conflict between Janine and Stacey in which Stacey has a baby with Janine’s husband and Stacey still loves him but he wasn’t interested in the baby and Janine just wanted him to herself. This reflects the theme of conflict as in a very recent episode, Janine and Stacey both had a fight in which Stacey grabbed Janine by her hair and threw her in the bush all because of the fact that Janine knows her husband doesn’t want to know his daughter, which is also Stacey’s daughter. This is just one story line from the soap opera, but already this plot does not only reflect the theme of conflict, but also the theme of love as it is like a very complicated love triangle between them.

If you now look at Hollyoaks, a recent theme that they use in order to make it seem more realistic would be secrets and confidences. An example of this would be how a boy from the show visits his friend’s house from school and stays for dinner. As he walks into their kitchen his dad walks in a says, “I’m home” and sees his son. He looks shocked and asks what he’s doing there only to find out that his dad is also the father of his friend and is married to his friends mum. This is a perfect example of the secrets and confidences theme within a soap opera. This is because his father has been keeping this huge secret from him for years and not only has he found out, but he found out in such a strange and surreal way, finding out dramatically by his dad walking in as he stands in his friends kitchen, which reflects how soap operas construct reality as the way these themes are presented make the specific theme itself seem more dramatic and surprising were as in a normal situation you’d find out in a more simple way. This therefore constructs how the audience reacts and feels about these themes and how they would react to them if it happened to them based on how the people in the soap opera reacted.

If you look at the codes and conventions of soap operas, they have many in order to make the show familiar to the audience and use these in order to associate the conventions with the soap so it is instantly recognisable. An example of this would be the typical setting of Eastenders. Everybody knows that if you hear “The Queen Vic” then that is automatically associated with Eastenders. Another setting that is associated with Eastenders is Walford. Everybody knows this to be the small little town of Eastenders so it is immediately associated, and also the title sequence in which the sound and the clip zooming out of the Eastend is one of the most associated things with Eastenders. They also have the use of archetypal characters in which characters from the soap influence the show and future characters of the show. A perfect example of this would be Peggy Mitchell. She is know for being the Queen of the Vic and the queen of Walford, therefore definitely leaving a lasting and influencing impressions for characters to come. If we link back the use of codes to the themes in soap operas, you get recurring themes that come up in these soap operas such as in Eastenders, you constantly have some sort of conflict going on in the Queen Vic in which Peggy says her infamous line, “Get outta my Pub!"

All soap operas such as Eastenders use mise-en-scene in he show in order to get something across to the audience. An example of this would be the use of colour, setting and facial expression in a soap opera. If you look at the photo on the right of Peggy Mitchell, she is wearing bright red clothing, standing behind the Queen Vic and with a no-nonsense look on her face. All these aspects of mise-en-scene work together in order to get across the message that Peggy Mitchell is not to be messed with. This can be told by the red of her clothing as it symbolises the anger and fire she has inside her if you mess with her, but also the passion she has for the Queen Vic behind her. She uses facial expressions to show people that she’s not to be messed with, and finally the use of setting by having the Queen Vic in the background to show how she is the Queen in that town and nobody is going to change that.

If you look at the theories of realism and link this to Eastenders, you will notice that Eastenders is the prime example of of social realism. This is because it refects many real life issues that are current to today's society. These are all the themes that are portrayed in soap operas of which I mentioned above. The makers of Eastenders are very aware that they reflect social realism and that that is what makes the soap opera so poular, but do not like to describe themselves as 'Issue based', in which the only intention of it is to takle taboo issues. They refer to themsleves as reflecting 'documentary realism', as the dramatic and conflictial situations in the soap opera lead to the tackling of these issues making it seem more naturally occuring rather than just tackling issues for the sake of tackling them.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

'Elizabeth' Essay Analysis

'Elizabeth' Essay

Throughout the whole scene from the movie ‘Elizabeth’, there are lots of interesting and symbolic things going on with the specific use of mise-en-scene and camera shots in order to portray how the main character is feeling and what she is going through at this particular time. If you look back to the very start of the scene then you will see that symbolism is used right away just as the scene opens. This is by having the scene open to a maid cutting the soon-to-be Queen’s hair. If you notice the colour of the Queen’s hair, you will see it is a very bright orange almost verging on red. The colour orange is created by the mixing of the colours red and yellow. This means that orange had the symbolic qualities on both of these colours.

Therefore the use of orange is symbolic as it can represent passion, which is given from the redness, and also the energy, creativity and enthusiasm that comes from the colour yellow. This mixture describes the personality of the Queen, so having the maid cutting of all of her hair brings the use of symbolism even further as it is as if she is cutting away all of her personality and sexual desires like when she says, “I have become the virgin” which shows a mid shot of her with very short hair, and uses body language by gripping her hair tightly before letting it fall to the ground as she excepts that she has no choice but to let it go.

Another colour that is used in this scene frequently and is very significant to emphasizing the message that the scene is trying to give is the colour white. The colour white mainly symbolizes innocence and purity, and this is used repeatedly in the scene from ‘Elizabeth’. The first example in which white was used in this symbolic context would be when the Queen is painted all over with a white clay-like liquid. This is because it symbolizes how she is leaving her old life and personality behind and becoming the Queen, and with the title it also comes with a certain image that has to be up-held, this image being the image of pure innocence and virtue that is held by all of the citizens of England so they believe that the ruler of their country has only one desire. The desire to rule England.

Another significant use of the colour white would be when the Queen walks into the huge hall, entering from a bright white and proceeding down to the thrown. This also shows how she is going through the change from having a vibrant and erotic personality to becoming pure and innocent, by physically walking through the white background and changing the way she lives her life forever. Finally, there is one last significant use of white in the scene. This is by having the Queen wearing a long white dress as she walks to the throne. This is significant as has more than one context to it. The first context is the same as before, in which it emphasizes the fact that she is becoming pure and innocent as she becomes the Queen.

However, if you put this in a different context, you will notice that with the way that she walks towards the thrown and mentions that she is married to England, it is as if she is actually getting married as she is wearing a white costume and walking down an isle. This represents the commitment and belief she is going to put into ruling England as marriages are know for the commitment that you have. Also in other countries such as Asia, white symbolizes mourning and death. This works hand-in-hand with the message that is being given off as it shows a contrast between the huge and somewhat exciting task of becoming Queen yet the mourning of her personality, which has been lost, as she became Queen.

If you focus more on the camera shots used in the short scene, they are also used specifically in order to emphasize the overall message that is given off to the audience. An example of this if you notice the first shot you see as the scene begins, it starts off with a close up of the Queen’s face as she sits there with a blank and almost un-hopeful facial expression during the cutting of her hair. This emphasizes to audience how she feels about losing the individuality that had made her and becoming nothing more than an image of innocence and purity that is the Queen. This is emphasized further by having the scene end also with a close-up which shows the transformation between the previous her and the new her, using facial expressions and use of colour to show this as she looks on expressionlessly and covered in white clay.

Another example of how a type of shot was used effectively in the scene would be the use of the Point of View shot. This is a very helpful shot, particularly for the audience, as it allows them to see the actions going on straight form the actors eyes which helps them really connect with the emotions the actor is feeling. An example of how this is used in the scene is when the Queen is walking down the hall as people moved aside her just like the story of Moses and how he parted the sea (showing the power she has now that she is Queen) and she notices the face of her previous lover. From facial expressions alone you can tell that he almost looks heartbroken by this unwanted changed taken on by the new Queen. Another advantage of this point of view shot is that as they were all bowing down to the Queen, we saw this man from a high angle shot also which emphasized the low status of this man now that she is the Queen of England and he is a nobody.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

Skins Analysis 2

If you look at this image, you will see that there is only one character within it. With this character, much like the main character in the image I analyzed before, they are not wearing any clothes. I think the reason for the costume in this image or lack of it is very much similar to the reason why there was a lack of clothing in the previous image. If you notice what this character is doing you will see that he is hiding his body under the water. This straight away gives the impression that he also doesn’t think very highly of himself (has a low status) and doesn’t like what is happening in his life. Therefore the holding of himself under water makes it seem almost as if he is trying to escape his normal life and being under water is like hiding from that like it is a different world were he is not who he normally is and can escape his old life.

This is the same message that is given off in the previous image, and also a lack of clothing like the previous image, which not so much tells us of his careless personality like the fact that he is under water but just because he is in the bath and clothes are not normally worn in the bath. The thing in this image that most shows of his reckless and oblivious personality is just the pure fact that he is laying under dirty water risking his own life as he could drown to death just to escape a few seconds of his old life before he runs out of breath and has to return back to the normal world. This is very similar to the way that the previous image showed the main character gazing out of the window hopelessly like they also wanted to escape from their day-to-day life as he is trying to by hiding himself under water.

There is not a huge usage of additional props in this image. The most noticeable use of props would be the small pieces of bathroom equipment in the corners of the bath. These are bath liquids, soap, a razor, and a toothbrush on the windows sill. This indicated that, regardless of he fact that he is under the water in the bath and the whole room is a mess, this bathroom has all the equipment of a normal bathroom. This shows that if you take away the mess this would be a very normal and ordinary bathroom, just like the room in the previous image was an adult’s room and very ordinary and stereotypical to what and older persons room (compared to a younger persons) would look like. This shows a slight contrast as the props within the bathroom are relatively ordinary and what you’d find in a normal bathroom where as what this character is doing in this bathroom is far from normal behaviour.

There is not much to talk about in terms of the setting on the image. One thing that is interesting about the setting on the image is the fact that it is in a bathroom and bathrooms are places in which you have total privacy. If you look at how close the sink is positioned to the bath then this indicates to you that the bathroom is very small and cramped. The fact that he is in a small and cramped bathroom could be symbolic as, just like bathrooms are a away of gaining privacy and being away from the rest of the world, he is doing exactly that by holding himself under the water.

By holding himself under the water it is the same principles as being in a bathroom as he is trying to be by himself and get away from his normal world. Another thing that may have some symbolic meaning could be the fact that he is choosing to hide away from the world under water out of any other place that he may also be able to do that. If you think about water, water can represent the calmness and tranquility of a still ocean. This is a huge contrast to the miserable and depressing reason why he is using the water as the water he is in is green and dirty, almost like because he is in this water, the un-natural and carelessness of why he is in this water has turned it from a calm blue to discoloured and filthy.

If you look at the interior design on the image, there are lots of things that are similar to the image I had analyzed before, in which the design of the room is extremely messy and dirty. In this image the tiles on the walls are broken, with mould and dirt all over the walls and on the bath and sink. Similar to the other image, this is also symbolic of the characters life and personality. The breaking of the tiles symbolizes the almost brokenness of his life as he feels he has to escape from his old life only if for seconds because he doesn’t like what’s going on.

The use of interior design is used in a similar symbolic way as the previous image as it is used to represent the characters life and personality and give out the message that they certainly are not happy with whatever situation they are in. An also obvious contrast takes place within this image in which the whole interior design and setting on this image is essentially old where as the character within the image certainly is not even though the interior design symbolizes him as a character. This is reflected in how the image is advertised with the boxed holding the information about the show emphasizing this use of symbolism as it is made to look like a worn out wallpaper as it does with the other image.

If you notice the main usage of colour in this picture, there is hardly any use of bold or significant colours within the image. This had been done on purpose in order to get emphasize the miserable and depressing message given off. As you can see, the image mainly consists of the colour green but severely off-coloured to keep with the tone of the image. Most of the main things that you can see in the bathroom are a discoloured green such as the bath, sink, mould on the walls and also the water. The colour green is associated with nature and life, and just like I said with the previous image, there is a contrast between this and the character as it shows how green means life and nature but what the character is doing in this image is far from natural but normal to him.

Lighting is used shrewdly in this image in the same fashion as it was in the previous image. If you also look at the corner of the image, it shows the edge of a windowsill, which indicates that there is a window in the bathroom. This has specifically been shown as the image is made to look as if the light from the room is coming from this window. This can be told by the way the shadow in going diagonally down in the right-hand corner. This is very similar to the previous image in which the light from the window was shining on the character to emphasize her as the main part of the image. As the image is very bright, it can be inferred that it is around morning as it was in the previous image. However, what is different about this image is that in this image he is trying to hide away from the bad things in his life where as the main character in the previous image was staring out the window and almost longing for something better.

To conclude, I believe that this image is the same as the previous image in terms of the way that teenagers are represented. I believe that this image represents teenagers to be miserable and un-happy with their life. I believe that unlike the previous image this image is not as realistic. This is because I believe he is laying under the water for the use of symbolism when in real life we do not do things in order to make them symbolise something which makes this image much less plausible than the image I had analyzed before. When I look at this image, I consider it to be a negative representation of what teenagers these days are like. This is because it gives the impression to the audience that most teenagers these days are very un-happy with their lives and would do anything in order to escape it even if it was for a few seconds as you hold yourself underwater in an attempt to lose attachment from you day-to-day life.

I think that, similar to the previous image, the response to this representation would depend on the age of the audience member. This is because teenagers would disagree with this as not all teenagers are stereotypically un-controllable and un-happy where as the older audience members may agree with this representation, as they believe that a lot of teenagers do in fact act this way. If anybody were to find these images offensive it would be teenagers as it only shows a negative representation of what teenagers are like causing some of the more older audience members to be fooled by this representation and believe that this is in fact common amongst teenagers when really it is not.

By Harry Luke Mulvany

Skins Analysis 1

 
 

If you look at the way the main character is dressed in the image above, she is sitting on the bed and dressed in only her underwear. She is wearing a pair of tights up to her knees and a see-through black cardigan hanging from her arms. You can also see that she has been crying as her mascara has run down her cheek and her hair is also in a mess. These things can tell you a lot about her character. One of these things would be that she doesn’t think very highly of herself (has a low status). You can tell this because of the way she is dressed and also her body language, as she is slouched over like she is not proud of herself. Another thing that indicates that she doesn’t think highly of herself is her facial expressions, in which it looks as if she’s gazing out the window, which is shown by the lighting, crying and wishing she was somewhere/somebody else.

If you combine the way she is dressed, her body language, and her facial expressions then you can tell many things, including the way she normally behaves. Taking in all of the factors, and many more that I will mention later, I have a pretty good idea that her behavior is pretty reckless and out of control. This is shown by her lack of clothes, emotionless, verging on longing facial expression that she has, and her body language by having her arm on her leg and both legs open like a man would sit. This shows that she is not very feminine and doesn’t behave like a normal girl would indicating that she doesn’t care about the way she acts and is pretty reckless.

If you take a look at the character at the back of the image, he has a different posture and facial expression than the main character in the image however the costume, or lack of it, remains the same. If you look at his body language and the way he is sitting up, he is made to look nervous about something. You also get this impression from his facial expression as he is staring blankly into space that he is worried about something. This also links to his costume as he is wearing a hat and pair of glasses. This costume, particularly the hat, represents how he is a shy and timid person who is scared and afraid of things which is the exact expression that is given off by his face and body language.

There is a small use of additional props in the image above. An example of this would be the lamp that is used in the background. This lamp is used in the background in order to highlight the things such as the character wearing the hat that is lying on the bed in the corner and also the wallpaper and how old and torn it is. This allows the main character of the image to be the first thing you see as the window light is shining on her yet the character behind her will also be noticed as a light is shown in his face too. Other than this prop, the only other main prop that has significance in this image is the small-framed photo on the wall above the lamp.

This small photo is used in the scene, as well as the lamp and other things that I will mention later, in order to show the audience that this bedroom is not in actual fact what a young person’s bedroom would look like. It is made to look like and older persons bedroom, such as a parent or a grandparent. This could symbolise how all of these characters are still very young but all of the things they are doing in this image are very adult, and by the room being a mess it could mean how they have grown up way to fast so they are messed up and reckless just like how the room looks.

If you look at the setting around the main character in the middle you can see that the most noticeable thing are all of the people at her feet who, like her, are barely clothed. This is a main part of the image as it gives a huge indication about what might be happening in this room. By looking at this, it is there in order to give the impression to the audience of huge orgy-like behaviour. This indicated, just like the main character, that they too are carefree and reckless which is shown by their use of body language, facial expressions and costume. This is all in place in order to back up the main character in the image in which the main focus is pointed on.

If you look at the interior design of the room, there are many things that are in place for a certain reason in order to back up the main character in the image. One of these, of which I touched on earlier, was the wallpaper in the walls. This wallpaper is torn and dirty and literally hanging off the wall. This is done specifically, alongside other parts of the interior design, to symbolise the reckless and un-tamed life of the young people that are all around the room. This is reflected by the way the image is advertised in which they even make the boxes holding the information about the show in the style of the old and withered wallpaper on the walls that furthers the use of symbolism even more.

There is also a huge contrast between the room and the people within it as, like I said earlier, this room looks like the room of an older person as it has old-fashioned wallpaper on the walls, an old picture and picture frame hanging on the wall, and an old-fashioned lamp beneath the picture which all contrast with the people in the room as they are all in fact young when everything else is old. The less significant interior design features such as the bed frame and bed cover emphasize the contrast even more as young people tend not to have large beds with big headboards and old fashioned bed covers.

There is not a huge use of bold colours in this image. This is because it is made to look dark and dreary in order to match with the message the image is trying to give off. The only bright colour that is used is the colour of the main characters bra. There are a few reasons why this is the only use of bright colour in the image. One reason why this is is in order to attract the audience to the main character from the moment you see this image. Another reason why this is used is because it shows a contrast between the bright colour of her underwear and the bleakness of her and her surroundings. One final and very significant reason why she is wearing bright green underwear is because green is known for symbolising life and nature.

This image shows the downsides to this character in specifics life. It is if the wearing of green is saying that the things going on in the image are natural to the characters life and a daily part of her life even though in reality this situation that she is in is far from natural, which shows a huge contrast between the two. Other than this bold colour, the rest of the colours in the image are very bland as I explained before. This is in order to go with the mood and message of the image as the colours of the older persons room are very uninteresting when what is happening inside the room in far from uninteresting which shows yet another contrast between the colour and the characters in the room.

This image uses lighting very well in order to communicate their message to the audience. The main yet less obvious lighting that they have used in the image that effects the way the image is presented the most would be the way it is made to look as if the light from the window is pouring in the room. The character is made to be looking out of the window with an emotionless yet slightly longing facial expression as if she is wishing that she wasn’t in this situation which was something I slightly touched on earlier. This gives the impression that it has just turned morning and the sun has come up so obviously she has been in this room since the night before. When I see that she is looking almost hopelessly out of the window it reminds me of when you see in movies a little girl staring out of her window into the sky and longs for a better or more exciting life just before she goes off to bed.

This is the same impression I get when this character looks out of the window, like she wishes something would come to make her life better or more exiting rather than being stuck in a horrible situation like she is now. This is an example of how lighting in this image is purposely to create symbolism. One other more noticeable use of lighting would be in the corner with the lamp which is used to emphasize the less significant character in the back which a talked about slightly earlier. This lighting allows the character in the back to be noticed as he gives off the same impression and message that the main character gives off in which they both are not happy with the situation they are in and do not think very highly of themselves.

To conclude, I would say that in this image teenagers are being represented in a negative way. This can be told as it shows them as careless and reckless people who seem to have low statuses and are not happy with the situation they are in. I believe that this image is a realistic portrayal of how life, especially for out of control teenagers such as these ones, can be and is plausible as many teenagers around the country go through similar situations to what these people are going through daily. When I see this image, I definitely consider this to be a negative representation of teenagers these days as this only shows them as sex-obsessed people who have no real fulfillment or meaning in their life. I think that the different responses made about these representations depend mainly on the age of the viewer.

If it is a young person responding to these representations then they are more likely to say that it is negative as they are teenagers themselves and know that there are teenagers out there that do have fulfillment and meaning in their life unlike what is seen in this image. This contrasts to what older people may say about these representations, as they may believe that lots of teenagers do act recklessly and selfishly and have no life fulfilment’s like hat is seen in this image. If any group of people were to find this image offensive it would be teenagers. This is because it gives no positive representations of what teenagers are like, except that all they do is sleep around and live un-controllably with no ambitions in their life.

By Harry Luke Mulvany