Sunday 29 November 2015

Class and Status

Upper Class




Downton Abbey
The upper class characters in Downton Abbey show their superiority from their clothing, received pronunciation and materialistic possessions. The main family (shown above) care for their their staff and work with charities spending their wealth in helpful ways. Other upper class characters however are more snobby and arrogant fitting the stereotype of upper class.


Game of Thrones


Game of Thrones has a large mix of class divisions and the characters shown in the image above are all of a higher status. Jon Snow (left) is the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch and is therefore in charge of the men of the watch, however likes to be seen on the same level as them. The right three characters are all Lannister's who reign over the kingdom and therefore have a higher status because they are the royal family and treat those below them badly. Daenerys Targaryen (in blue) is the mother of Dragons and rules over the large city Qarth, attempting to help the people and do good but sometimes lets power get to her head and gets selfish.


Middle Class

Pretty Little Liars

The characters in PLL are mostly middle class but with some grey areas. All the characters go to a public school and Emily has a part time job in a cafe. The characters don't really have extravagant possessions, however Spencer is verging on upper class as her parents are both lawyers and they seem to have a lot of disposable income. Emily and Hanna on the other hand live with a one parent family and struggle with money.


Breaking Bad 


The family in Breaking Bad start off as lower middle class. They live comfortably in a home with a pool, but don't have disposable income for cancer treatment for Walt. Walt is a teacher- not seen as a high earning profession- but the family can manage with Skyler not working. After Walt's drug business picks up the family have to launder the money into their banks without people thinking the behaviour and large amounts of money is suspicious coming from a lower middle class family, thus them deciding to dispense of it slowly, keeping the middle class stereotype going.

Lower Class

Skins


Maxxie from Skins is one of the lower class members of the group. He lives in a block of flats with his dad and gets a scholarship to go to dance college when he finishes state school. Sketch (Maxxie's stalker) is a fulltime carer for her mother whilst also being a student, showing that they have no disposable income. Maxxie has a strong Bristol accent and talks using a lot of slang showing his working class characterism and doesn't tend to wear 'posh clothes'.


Misfits


Misfits is a group of criminals in jail for petty crimes and end up doing community service. The majority of the characters fit into the working class as some are chavvy (a stereotype of lower class) and they don't have many materialistic possessions.

Thursday 26 November 2015

Why have a British film industry?

The BBFC- An independent, non-governmental body which classifies and censors film, video as well as computer and console-based games released in the UK





BFI- Promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's rich film and television heritage and culture.



British Council- The official UK agency for international cultural relations. Its film department promotes new British films (features and shorts), internationally, principally through festivals and showcases.





UK film council- Government backed and lead agency for film in the uk ensuring that economic, cultural and education aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad








British Academy Arts- Aims to support develop and promote the art form of the moving image





Films made by the main British film companies


  • Film 4- Ex Machina
  • Momentum Pictures- The King's Speech
  • Working Title- Les Miserables 
  • BBC Film Network- Open Skies
  • Pathe- Slumdog Millionaire
Most dominating UK film industry is Momentum

Do these films qualify as British? 
18+/35= Yes

Ex Machina- at least 30/35

The Avengers Age of Ultron- at least 20/35

Star Wars the Force Awakens-  18/35

OLD BRITISH FILM RULES THAT MUST MEET AT LEAST 3 CRITERIA

  • Have a British director
  • Have a British producer
  • A predominately British cast
  • A British production company
  • A subject matter that informs on British experience
  • British identity defined by the BFI

How do British films attract an audience?

Usually British films have British themes and therefore will attract British citizens to the cultural and historical interest in the country.
British films add diversity to the industry when compared to American blockbusters which aren't necessarily made with intricate detail.   
Also, British films use innovative ways of marketing instead of mainstream TV adverts and posters which adds more kudos.


I think perhaps Aficionados went to see Ex Machina, Suffragette, The Inbetweeners 2, Macbeth, Attack the Block and Far from the Madding Crowd because they are all differ in genre, EG. Ex Machina is a Sci-Fi film and The Inbetweeners 2 is a comedy.
Other categories which may have seen the films are 'Mainstream' and 'Mainstream plus' as they will view popular films and the films listed are well known.

So, why have a British film industry?

Having a British film industry adds diversity to the motion pictures being watched around the world and also gives British citizens a chance for work in the industry, whether it be acting, directing, set design etc. The British film industry also seems to do well on profit and adds friendly competition to the American film industry when it comes to awards.


Thursday 19 November 2015

Representation of Ethnicity in TV Drama

Find examples of how the following ethnic groups are represented in TV drama (British or American):

  • Black
  • White
  • Chinese/ White Asian
  • Asian
  1. Find examples from three TV dramas (not Soaps) for each ethnic group
  2. Are the representations stereotypical or not?
  3. How and why is this the case?

Key Themes in Racial Representations
  • exotic
  • dangerous
  • humorous
  • pitied
(Alvarado et al. 1987: 153)

Unity and Conflict
  • Conflict is often the binary opposition of ethnic groups and the wider society.
  • Unity is often an element of the representation of ethnicity, this hits a stereotype of ethnicity, that of close families and tight communities.

Black people

   Anwar- Skins                                                                   Maya- Pretty Little Liars
 
Gus- Breaking Bad

Anwar from Skins is seen as a humorous character and tends to make fun of his own religion. Anwar is supposed to be a Muslim however doesn't strictly follow the religion and is used in the TV drama for a good laugh.

Maya from Pretty Little Liars is seen as exotic. When she first comes into the series she has large voluminous dark curly hair- which nobody in the drama had, and had a chilled out lifestyle along with actually bringing Emily out of the closet.

Gus from Breaking Bad is probably the most dangerous character in the series. Gus is very intimidating and has a group of assassins to do his dirty work. If you get on the wrong side of Gus, you will most likely end up deceased.

  White people

The Chanels- Scream Queens             Main cast- Game of Thrones             The girls- Skins generation 2       
                                 


The Chanel's in Scream Queens are seen as very egotistical and stereotype the idea that while people think they're superior. They are also represented as skinny and blonde and don't have very distinct curves which white girls are stereotyped for.

The main cast of Game of Thrones (Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Cersi Lannister, Jamie Lannister and Tyrion Lannister) are all very high up and respected- The Lannister's are the royal family. Game of Thrones doesn't showcase many black people- especially not in the main cast but this is due to white people being dominant in TV.

The girls from Skins (Pandora, Emily, Naomi, Katie and Effy) are the main female characters of Generation 2, and out of the girls in that generation, none of them are of colour. The girls are used to represent typical British teenagers but don't showcase any non-white girls in this series. I don't think the casting was malicious as other series' have non-white female characters, i think it was just how the casting ended up based on talent.


Chinese

Glenn- The Walking Dead                                               Chang- Orange is the New Black
  
 

Kimball Cho- The Mentalist


Glenn from The Walking Dead isn't necessarily your stereotypical intelligent Chinese man, but he comes up with the best plans. He is very brave and he died after saving an enemy's life. He doesn't follow a Chinese lifestyle  

Chang from Orange Is The New Black has a Chinese accent and seems to be away with the fairies a lot. Again, she is not a stereotypical intelligent Chinese woman and is used for humorous purposes.

Kimball Cho from The Mentalist is usually seen as a very serious person and always follows the rules, and has a very dry sense of humour. Kimball was in juvenile detention, then got back on track and served Asia in the armed forces. Kimball Cho isn't a stereotypical Chinese man, however does add diversity to the character mix.


Asian

Navid- 90210                                                                                                        Emily- Pretty Little Liars
  
Mike- Glee
    



Navid from 90210 is from Persian decent and runs the school newspaper. Navid is one of the most wealthy characters in the series and is very focused on his work. He is not necessarily super intelligent, therefore not conforming to the Asian stereotype.

Emily from Pretty Little Liars isn't necessarily religious, but when she comes out to her mum her sexuality isn't taken well/ respected. Emily is clever and good at swimming and dancing which links to the stereotype that Asians are good at everything and are exotic. Emily is from a Philippino background

Mike from Glee is also known as 'The other Asian' in the series and is the best male dancer. He is very successful in his dancing field and represents the Asian culture in the performing world. Mike and his family follow the christian faith which is not stereotypical for an Asian family as they are usually represented to be Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim etc.


Wednesday 18 November 2015

Generic Conventions in TV Dramas

TV dramas all have the following ingredients:


  • Characters – even particular kinds of characters: eg, at its most simple, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters.
  • Stories – they all tell stories, whether those stories involve adventure, crime or romance and they often, but not always, end happily.
  • The stories are told against familiar backdrops: – eg, homes, police stations and offices (for crime dramas), hospitals (for medical dramas) – most of which are created in studios. However, most dramas also use outside locations to create particular effects.
  • Camerawork – particular kinds of shots are used: eg, sequences involving establishing shots followed by mid-shots of characters, shot/reverse shots to show character interaction and, in particular,close-ups to show the characters’ emotions.
  • Stories use dialogue to tell the stories. Occasionally, monologues are built in (as voiceovers, a character telling a story).
  • Music is used to punctuate the action, create effects (suspense, tension) and underline emotional moments.
  • Particular subgenres tend to have items which make them immediately identifiable – police cars, blue lights, operating theatres and scalpels, triage/reception areas in hospitals. Icons of the genre, they symbolise the (sub)genre.

Narrative Codes


Narrative Codes

Roland Barthes developed a concept that every narrative is interwoven with five codes that drive one to maintain interest in a story. The first two codes involve ways of creating suspense in narrative, the first by unanswered questions, the second by anticipation of an action's resolution. These two codes are essentially connected to the temporal order of the narrative.

The Hermeneutic Code

The hermeneutic code refers to plot elements of a story that are not explained. They exist as enigmas that the reader wishes to be resolved. A detective story, for example, is a narrative that operates primarily by the hermeneutic code. A crime is exposed or postulated and the rest of the narrative is devoted to answering questions raised by the initial event.

The Proairetic Code

The proairetic code refers to plot events that imply further narrative action. For example, a story character confronts an adversary and the reader wonders what the resolution of this action will be. Suspense is created by action rather than by a reader's wish to have mysteries explained. The final three codes are related to how the reader comprehends and interprets the narrative discourse.

The Semic Code

A seme is a unit of meaning or a sign that express cultural stereotypes. These signs allow the author to describe characters, settings and events. The semic code focuses upon information that the narration provides in order to suggest abstract concepts. Any element in a narrative can suggest a particular, often additional, meaning by way of connotation through a correlation found in the narrative. The semic code allows the text to 'show' instead of 'tell' by describing material things.

The Symbolic Code

The symbolic code refers to a structural structure that organizes meanings by way of antitheses, binary oppositions or sexual and psychological conflicts. These oppositions can be expressed through action, character and setting.

The Cultural Code

The cultural code designates any element in a narrative that refers to common bodies of knowledge such as historical, mythological or scientific. The cultural codes point to knowledge about the way the world works as shared by a community or culture.


Together, these five codes function like a 'weaving of voices'. Barthes assigns to the hermeneutic the Voice of Truth; to the proairetic code the voice of Empirics ; to the semic the Voice of the Person; to the cultural the Voice of Science; and to the symbolic the Voice of Symbol. According to Barthes, they allowing the reader to see a work not just as a single narrative line but as a braiding of meanings that give a story its complexity and richness.

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Mad Max- Fury Road Facts

100 facts on Mad Max: Fury Road
Director- GEORGE MILLER
Producer- DOUG MITCHELL
Co writer- BRENDAN McCARTHY
EDITOR- MARGARET SIXEL
VFX AND THE VFX STUDIO- PETER JACKSON, TOM WOOD AND ILOURA
SFX SUPERVISOR- ANDREW JACKSON
SUPERVISING STUNT COORDINATOR- GUY NORRIS
CINEMATOGRAPHER- JOHN SEALE
FILM STUDIO- WARNER BROS
PRODUCTION DESIGNER- COLIN GIBSON
COSTUME DESIGNER- JENNY BEAVEN
  1. The film had to be delayed after the beginning of the Iraq War as trouble was caused with shipping and security in Namibia. 
  2. The film was going to be shot in 2D and 3D however changing the lenses proved to be an issue so the film was converted to 3D in post production
  3. Filming was delayed twice and pushed back 2 years
  4. The filming first concluded in December 2012
  5. In Nov 2013 the team had to shoot additional scenes
  6. Warner Bros. insisted on getting a script because there wasn't one in preparation for shooting- only storyboards by Mark Sexton
  7. When did the stars sign up to be in the film?
  8. The film was originally going to be produced in Australia but the rain prevented it.
  9. There was $7 million spent on TV advertising
  10. The crew spent 6 months in the Namibian desert
  11. Cameras had to be waterproof and dust proof
  12. Heat was a design issue
  13. Seale shot most of the film on Arri Alexa cameras, supplemented by far less costly Canons for the crash shots.
  14. CGI was used sparingly mainly to enhance the Namibian landscape, remove stunt rigging and for Charlize Theron’s left hand which in the film is a prosthetic arm.
  15. Originally, Mel Gibson was going to have a role as a drifter in the film, but this never came to fruition.
  16. Once into the testing, Seale found the contrast range between the interiors and the harsh desert exteriors a challenge for the cameras. 
  17. Charlize Theron shaved her head for her role of Furiosa, and had to wear a wig for A Million Ways to Die in The West.
  18. Rumours flew that Charlzie Theron and Tom Hardy, who plays Max, did not get along at all, and that Theron got to the point of not even speaking to Hardy on set.
  19. Constant weather delays and location issues caused the film to be delayed more than once, including cold when it was supposed to be hot, and vice-versa. Reshoots also delayed the final product on countless occasions.
  20. Miller has Peter Jackson’s WETA handling visual f/x, makeup and costume designs for Fury Road.
  21. Miller used post-production techniques to degrade the footage, increasing its grain and contrast, and crunched the focus digitally.
  22. Warner Bros. and Miller agreed to a full 12 month delay so he could continue work on Happy Feet 2 but he’s certainly not shy about the frustrations of making this movie a reality.
  23. Miller had spent a long time away from the genre, with his last three films being Happy Feet, Happy feet 2 and Babe: Pig in the City.
  24. Dean Semler had a programme of testing the 3D cameras that were being developed for the movie according to criteria set by Miller.
  25. The 3D camera rig had to be small enough to go through the windows of the truck where a lot of the action takes place. 
  26. Seale explained a raft of cameras would be needed because Miller did not want to be delayed by a simple lens change which, on a 3D rig, results in a time consuming optical realignment.
  27. It was the first digital film that Seale had ever done and it was at short notice.
  28. Seale admits there is a price to pay in lighting compromises for multi-camera shooting, but it is a price he believes it is worth it.
  29. The switch to 2D shooting was a major shift in approach, making the shoot much more straightforward, but loading post-production with a 2D to 3D conversion.
  30. The camera crew were all over the vehicles with handheld Canons. They'd have wide angle lenses close to actors, and they were bumping around and trying to hang on while the thing was belting in across the desert.
  31. It was said that unwanted camera men in the shot were to be painted out, but that proved to be expensive so that style of photography went out the window and was replaced by the Edge arm, which could get to most of the positions we were able to get to when we were strapped to the vehicles
  32. Production began in 2009
  33. DOP John Seale would use multiple digital cameras to capture incredible practical stunts with more than 150 vehicles conceived by production designer Colin Gibson
  34. Hundreds of visual effects artists, spent considerable amount of time crafting more than 2000 visual effects shots and helping to transform the exquisite photography into the final film
  35. More than 1500 shots overseen by visual effects supervisor Tom Wood and producer Fiona Crawford
  36. Additional work was completed by Method Studios and BlackGinger, with early previs delivered by The Third Floor
  37. The film has been promoted as being a live action stunt driven film
  38. There is little CGI in the film
  39. There’s 2000 VFX shots in the film
  40. The Citadel location was produced via a combination of principal photography in Namibia, shooting in Sydney and visual effects work from Iloura informed by actual rock cliffs
  41. Jackson considered reference locations in Jordan, including the famous Wadi Rum Mountains, but ultimately found suitable cliffs in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
  42. We had the chopper standing by for 10 days waiting for the right filming conditions in the mountains. We didn’t have one cloudy day for a week and a half, but the day we went was just perfect.
  43. Iloura spent significant time re-working the cliff textures and geometry to form the Citadel to the required final look
  44. The rock-platform balcony went through a huge number of iterations
  45. The water flow from the pipes made use of a Houdini simulation for wide shots, with some practical water on set from a rain machine
  46. The water machine sprayed out more than a mist - it was more like rain. The rain splashes on some rocks causing a slight flow and everything above that was VFX
  47. A combination of real photography in Namibia of various cars and additional greenscreen and stage shoots was combined with CG car take-overs, digital doubles and complex fluid and dust simulations by Iloura for the storm.
  48. Additional VFX elements were shot to help tie pieces together and provide for more foreground dust
  49. Although the driving sequence could have been achieved almost completely in CG, it was important from the director’s point of view to shoot actual vehicles driving to retain realistic camera movement
  50. On location in Namibia, production approximated where the twisters in the toxic storm would be located, and then had vehicles drive accordingly
  51. Tom Wood was working on concepts and the look of the twisters and suggested the idea of flames being swept up into the swirling dust cloud
  52. Wood engaged some concept artists to flesh out the storm shots and the twister moments, which Miller then approved
  53. The twister moments were all shot in predominantly bright sunlight on a very flat empty piece of desert which proved difficult trying to control the dust layers and lighting.
  54. They had dust kicked up from the car and they were all glinting and very directionally lit, which then had to be suppressed
  55. They would track the vehicles and put CG replacements in with new directional lighting - or flashed from live to CG and back again, so there could be lightning flashing from all different directions and dust shadowing the cars that they couldn’t have on set
  56. Iloura’s CG cars - also used in other crash shots - were built from photogrammetry surveys, again processed in Photoscan 
  57. Early previs for the shot had the War Boys’ bodies as fixed figures spinning up into the air - this was based on Miller’s initial desire that they followed real dynamics and physics, since a great deal of crash reference footage the director had sourced tended to show that movement.
  58. Wood also sourced crash footage, including from Isle of Man TT motorcycle races.
  59. Iloura applied real life movements (having no control over your limbs) to digi-doubles of the War Boys in rag-doll sim software Endorphin when they were flung off the vehicles, however Miller didn't like the end result
  60. Ultimately Iloura went back to Endorphin with more elaborate sims and key frame animation for the final flying War Boys shots.
  61. The cast and crew spent 10 months in Namibia
  62. Both Iloura and Jackson’s Fury FX group took on the canyon shots, which involved significant environment augmentations
  63. For the rock wall detonation, the initial plan was to use CG sims to achieve the effect.
  64. The War Rig stuck in swampy mud sequence was actually filmed in the Namibian desert in bright daylight, but was then transformed into a blue environment by colorist Eric Whip
  65. Jackson’s rational was that an overexposed image would contain more detail and less noise, and on the Alexa would roll off into the highlights while not quite clipping, and therefore be suitable for grading from day to night.
  66. Editing shots from broad daylight to night time had the team doing versions where the sky was more de-saturated and more cyan
  67. A way of getting the exposure to work had shots that start a little darker and then gets brighter
  68. A mobile refinery being pulled by a Mercedes limo truck explodes with an enormous fireball right in the middle of a throng of chasing vehicles. Conceived as a practical effect, the refinery was blown up in Namibia, with Iloura then composting in the other cars and Max on a foreground pole
  69. The main truck was driven remotely, surrounded by camera cars and a helicopter, and blew up
  70. Andrew Jackson went back out and shot equivalent plates for all the chase vehicles to be around the exploding truck
  71. Originally the final chase was shot on very flat desert and Miller wanted to see the start of the canyon around it - and then composting the vehicles around it, with Max on a pendulum
  72. CG car models in previs were built to the same size and specifications as the practical vehicles in order to work within the limitations of how the cameras and actors could fit within that space
  73. It was also important that the cars did not exceed a given speed so that the action depicted would be true to what they could legally and safely shoot.
  74. The previs had to carefully track where everyone was at a particular beat and help work out the transitions so the characters would be at the right place at the right time
  75. The crash sequence made use of numerous Namibia plates, including stationary action that would be enhanced with moving backgrounds, canyon augmentation, a War Rig and other vehicle crash stunts.
  76. A large amount of dry wall rocks and dust and crashed down and was filmed it at 240 fps on an IPhone 6 for the slow mo bit at the end just because Andrew Jackson didn’t want to do CG dust - he wanted to do real dust
  77. Theron wore a prosthetic and a green sleeve during the shoot that the visual effects team then painted out, adding in a central mechanical piece where necessary.
  78. To fight, Charlize Theron wore a green glove and was asked not to use her left hand
  79. Scenes with foggy skies were replaced in editing to match scenes with blue skies
  80. In Baselight, Whipp (colourist) was able to use a ‘mishmash’ of tools to make the sky replacements work.
  81. Initially Whipp took some on-set footage and experimented with looks, but the hardest part was tracking the sometimes shaky plates
  82. Whipp says that for some shots he had to track the camera by hand.    
  83. Traditional roto and luminance keys were used by Whipp and his team where foreground action would take place in front of skies
  84. Realising early on that the film would require significant visual effects work, Jackson engaged an in-house team to perform postvis.
  85. The other thing that came out of the postvis process was, when your shots are half a second to a second long, the postvis was virtually good.
  86. Much of the expense is likely attributed to the road-ripping vehicles and the creative, but savage weaponry that will appear in the film.
  87. Tom Hardy apologised to director George Miller for not better understanding the filmmaker's vision on set and being frustrated with his process.
  88. Film Editor Margaret Sixel was given over 480 hours of footage to create MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. 
  89. The final edit ran 120 minutes and consisted of 2700 individual shots.
  90. By using “Eye Trace” and “Crosshair Framing” techniques during the shooting, the editor could keep the important visual information in the film vital in the centre of the frame
  91. Liam Fountain auditioned for Max but lost the part to Tom Hardy. Liam Fountain played Max in the 2011 short film Mad Max Renegade, which takes place between the first two films.
  92. Once production began, principal photography took the better part of a year — most of 2012, to be exact.
  93. The film has generated $374 million at the box office worldwide, had 22.90 million shares on torrent networks over the 2015 summer.
  94. Thanks to years of delays and cost overruns, Mad Max: Fury Road ended up costing (according to Entertainment Weekly) $150 million to produce.
  95. There is a fifth addition to the franchise in the works, Mad Max: Furiosa, which Miller could shoot right after he finishes Fury Road.
  96. Mad Max: Fury Road was released May14th 2015 (UK)
  97. Jenny Beavan (Costume) brought in collaborators from the U.K., and employed local workers to create (and distress) the film’s largely leather garments and masks.
  98. The crew had a bunch of little cameras aside from the Alexa Ms. John tested Canon 5Ds and ran them past the visual effects department. While the quality obviously wasn't up to that of an Alexas, the visual effects department said they could be used
  99. Hardy was cast as Max in June 2010, with production planned to begin that November.
  100. Once committed to a production, Seale accepts the parameters of the job and works within them, a process he calls locking your brain down.