Representation of Homosexuality in Maxxie from Skins

A scene shows him being outside in the cold which represents the feeling of segregation. The use of the yellow wall connotates the happiness which his back is turned against, and as if he is facing the miserable side. The ambience sound use of party music in the background inside emphesises the fact that he cannot enjoy himself due to his sexuality. The camera angle is shot above Maxxie which makes him seem emotionaly unstable and  weaker, however when his friends come into the scene the camera level comes down to the same level which shows he is equal to his friends. The tone of his voice is obviously unhappy and demoralised which reflects his emotions.

Deconstruction of a TV Drama

This clip can show the true power of a drama program. Although being on youtube, the title does give it away. However, the emotion and sadness from this scene deeply relies on the high level of acting skill from the actors and the use of non diagetic music added for dramatic effect.The camera edits in the beginning are very faced paced, showing which shows how fast they need to work during this emergency. We see many camera shots being taken behind props and equipment, this makes it seem as if we are there and trying to get a glimpse of what's going on in the room.  When the music cuts in, there is a montage of what everyone is doing, and this softens the blow to the viewer that the baby is slowly dyeing. The piano notes played are only 3 notes, possibly symbolising the uncomplicated innocence from the baby. From the body language of the character, the viewer can feel exactly what is being felt throughout the montage when shots of the clock are edited over the main footage. Close ups are used many times along with match on action shots to emphesise the emotion and effort being done to save this poor baby. This allows the viewer to see in depth the characters facial expression and a chance to read their body language.

TV DRAMAS

The reason why tv dramas are so popular is because its a type of genre that many people can relate to because the story plots are very realistic and represent normal aspects and problems of day to day life. It is done in a multilayered format so the plot is ever changing and this is what makes them very addictive to watch. Examples of popular British tv dramas are Eastenders, Skins, Coronation Street, The Bill and Casualty.

I believe that the most common theme that is represented through British tv drama is relationships between people. It emphesises the fact that Britain has a very poor standard of couples trying to keep a relationship going for a long period of time. There is constant cheating, mainly with young characters, and couples mearly last a few episodes until they break up or cheat on eachother. Only the older generation with people over the age of 50 have managed to keep their relationships and marages going possibly due to the fact that in their time the culture was very different compared to the younger generation of today. The topic about sex and relationships keeps viewers very intruiged and wanting to know what happens next, even thought no sexual scenes are shown, otherwise the shows wont be allowed during prime time. However, because dramas are aimed people aged 16 and over who are fully aware of these topics, they would understand what would be happening even if they didnt know the exact details. Especially in programs such as Hollyoaks where the symbol of sexual nature is displayed in the logo with an arrow and a cross in the two O's.

But the main reasons why British television drama is so entertaining and watched by so many people is due to the fact that it represents the problems of day to day life. It specifically shows mainly the lives of lower to middle class people because thats what the majority of Britain is, and this would mean the media institution who creates the Drama would have a larger target audience. But also, the extremely high, professional level of acting must be considered when looking at the entertaining experience of British drama. Many emotions can be displayed through the actors body language and facial expressions alone, triggering emotions from joy to sadness within the viewer.

Shot/ Reverse Shot

This type of shot is used to show that a character is looking at another character or object. Ussually the shot is close to the other characters face which eyes are pointing off-screen but because the characters are facing in the opposite direction, the audience will establish that they are making eye contact and therefore communicating with eachother. The 180 degree rule is also used while making this type of shot. When using this type of shot, the director must be very carefull that everything in the scene was exactly the same as it was when the next shot is taken from the other characters perspective. For example, if a character had their hand raised or was scratching their head, then when the shot switches round, that same character must have their hand and body in the same position. Many movies have made mistakes with this and props not being in the right place. Pretty much every film sequence and movie uses a shot/ reverse shot, where there is a conversation happening or communication between 2 or more characters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLkUHZ1qips&feature=fvw

This movie shows the basic shot/ reverse shot. Everytime the other character is about to speak, the camera moves to look at them. This enables the audience to look at facial expressions and body language within that character. It is also very effective, because it happens quickly without the audience realising, whereas if the camera kept on moving and didnt cut, then it would look very unproffessional and cheap, and also very annoying. 

A very famous film called "the good, the bad and the ugly" very cleverly used a 3 way shot/ reverse shot during the final duel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6x401CGAl8

The main part of the scene starts at 2.15 and from this point there is no dialogue until the enemy is shot. From 4.14 the director constantly uses shot/ reverse shots to build up tension because the audience knows that someone is going to die very soon. For example, at 4.52 it shows Lee Van Cleef looking to the right, and another shot at 4.53 it shows Eastwood looking to the left. But us as the audience autimatically assume that they are looking at eachother from the positions we saw them standing in earlier in the scene. This constantly happens with a few cut in shots of their hands near their pistols to build up the tension even further until Lee Van Cleef gets shot.

Match On Action

This is a continuity editing technique. It is when an edit is taking place in the middle of an action. It connects two different views of the same action, ussualy used to emphasise the action taking place to the audience, or even to build up tension is some cases. For example, if a very scared person is in a dark house and needs to open a door to get out, the action would be their hand opening the door. The shot would then zoom closer to their hand, which may be shaking in fear while opening the door, this would build up tension and explain in more depth the characters feelings. However it can be used in many different scenarios.
This is a video taken from the first matrix scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX8Y5-BZLaM

• A match on action shot is used twice at 1 minute 46 seconds and again at 1 minute 48 seconds. This is used to emphesise the trememdous amount of firepower used. It is corresponding with what is happening in the scene at that time, because the bullets being used are coming from Neo, and then one of the security officers are shot straight after the match on action shot, so the audience easily pick up that Neo was the one who shot that gaurd.
• Another match on action shot is used at 2 minute 53 seconds to 2 minutes 54 seconds. As Neo is in the motion of kicking the security officer, the match on action shot happens just as he kicks him in the head. While Neo is rising up in the air to unleash his furious kick, everything is in slow motion until the match on action shot happens. This gives the audience a feel of how painful that kick must have been to that officer which completely flips him over, and then everything goes into slow motion again.

A scene where match on action is used is from a very memorable fight scene from the movie Kickboxer, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27FAZUGsUKs

• Despite the cheesy 80's soundtrack, Jean-Claude wants to remove his gloves while his oppenent is getting closer to him. The match on action shot is used at 52 seconds and 1 minute 03 seconds where it shows the woman trying to cut the glove which is taking a long time considering his opponent is almost next to him. Then again the match on action shot is used at 1 minute 5 seconds where there is a sign of relief and he is free to take the glove of his hand and proceed with kicking his opponents "butt".

The 180 rule

The 180 degree rule is very common in filming and is used in almost every film. It is used as a basic guideline in film making. If two characters, or another object in the same scene, an imaginary line is used to make a rough guidline of where the camera shots can take place. This is so that the objects or characters are always in the same place and dont confuse the audience, because if the camera shots where to happen in the other side of the line, the two characters or objects would look as if they have swapped positions. The 180 degree rule is only ussualy broken if the director wants to make a point of whats happening in the film. It can be used in moving shots iswell, such as car chase scenes. The 180 degree rule was very well used in the film Bullitt chase scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMc2RdFuOxI

During most of the chase scene, the camera is always ussually on the left side of the cars. If it were to break the 180 degree rule it would confuse the audience and make them think the cars had suddenly changed direction and were going the other way. (taken at 04m50s)

The director cleverly breaks the 180 degree rule only when he wants to make a point, for example when the motorbike is coming towards the cars, the camera shot is taken from the other side so that the audeince knows the motorbike is heading towards the two cars, and a collision is likely to

happen.  (taken at 05m49s)



Propps theory for narration of a film

The main idea of Propps theory for how the narration of a film should be layed out:

1) Preperation (a community or family is in an ordered state of being, everything is fine or normal)

2) Complication (a villain comes along and harms someone that is close to the hero, so the hero plans action against the villain) 

3) Transference (the hero is given a magical gift, or tought to fight against the villain and arrives at the place he can fullfil his quest)

4) Struggle (There is a struggle between the hero and the villain)

5) Return (hero escapes, task is set for hero and he accomplishes it)

6) Recognition (the hero is rewarded)

Propps theory of character types

Hero ( someone who saves the day )
Villain (the bad guy)
Prize (reward for hero if he acomplishes his task)
Mentor (someone who guides the heroes to victory eg. gandalf in lord of the rings)
Helper (People who stay side by side helping the hero, eg robin with batman)
Blocker (people that stop the hero from his tasks, eg the germans in enemy at the gates)