Thursday 6 February 2014

Peaky Blinders is a six part period drama based in Birmingham in 1919, the programme uses many key factors to attract an audience. The show on a whole is very cinematic, more so than other T.V shows found on BBC 2, the use of large scale panning shots and effects like slow motion help add to the cinematography and gives its audience gratification through adding more entertainment and an extra enjoyment factor. The show also casts movie stars to add to the effect, the use of well known actors can furthermore increase the amount of viewers the show gets as they might already have hardcore fans. The fact that the show has been successfully placed on BBC 2 helps attract an audience as they are the desired target audience anyway.

In the opening scene of the first episode the shelby brothers attempt to make a deal with some black blood gypsies. The short clip of them confronting each other and then fighting is a perfect example of the high level of cinematography used.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

   Mad Men is a period drama based in the 1960's aired on 'AMC' an American subscription based cable channel. The show appeals to its audience through the intricate attention to detail it uses, from the clothes and cars all the way to the colloquialisms used in that period of time. As it is a subscription channel the makers of the programme already know what their audience expects, hardly any enigma is used and it forces the audience to make ties on their own.
   
   The scene I focused on is a prime example of making the audience think for themselves and unlike many other television programmes there is a definite lack of non-diegetic sound. The way this scene is shot and edited makes it look like the two time periods of Don Draper and Joan, and Joan and Herb are running simultaneously. When we see Herb in the room of the conference everything becomes more obvious. It is now clear that parallel editing is not used. The scene ends where it begins - we now have an omnipitant view on the events. Its editing tricks like that that make this show appeal to its audience, it is not a conventional drama.


Thursday 26 September 2013

MAINSTREAM VS NICHE (BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN)

   Batman: Dark Knight Rises is the third instalment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. This film is a large scale Hollywood production intended to appeal to a mainstream audience, as Batman is an ongoing franchise since the 60's there was always a substantial audience targeted for this film, Nolan's Batman trilogy has also found a cult following. This film offers a large entertainment factor for a variety of people, film, magazine, crime and fantasy fans all combined. The film focuses on its action scenes and high speed chases to entertain its audience, high cost hollywood effects help improve the atmosphere given off. In turn giving its audience the chance of social integration, upon its release the film was widely talked about.



  Hobo with a shotgun on the other hand is an independent film directed Jason Eisener. This film follows a vigilante hobo and is definitely targeted towards a niche audience. As this is an independant film it would not be shown in mainstream cinemas. This film offers a large level of violence and extremely risky ideas for example the school bus scene where Slick sets a bus full of children alight, the diegetic sound at this point make it extremely uncomfortable to watch.

Tuesday 24 September 2013

American Beauty (1999)

Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze is clearly visible in the clip of American Beauty, it appears more so in the dance sequence. At first a long shot of the dance group is shown and then a reverse shot of the crowd emphasising the full capacity of the stadium, the diegetic sound of the crowd and music supports this. As the spotlight focuses on the main character  close ups of the mans face are used to show his intrigue with his teenage daughters friend, his performance of slowly dropping his jaw helps to portray this. The diegetic sound then begins to fade and the lighting turns low key. The almost translucent spotlight is now the main point of light, it is clear that he is now fantasising. The female who was first seen as being passive is now acting promiscuous, this is echoed by the camera movements. When the camera zooms in on her body she begins touching herself seductively the camera is also tilting giving an effect that it is caressing her body.

Thursday 19 September 2013

CSI

The short clip shows an equality in men and women, showing that each member of team is important. Although the clip does suggest women are the more vulnerable gender by making them the only victims, although an equality is restored when the women forensic officer finds the most important clue she is also full of confidence and its clear she is the more knowledgable on the specific case. The clip also sends out a clear view to its audience that they are always right and no matter how long it takes to solve a crime, they will succeed.

'The Place Beyond The Pines' - Representation

   The trailer gives a specific representation towards the male gender, they are shown as the provider, either for the police or a child. They are portrayed to have responsibility and are clearly dominant reflecting on how the females are represented. Both men are shown to have a female counterpart and both females are shown to be dependant on them, this is visible through the performance of both actresses, showing a negative representation towards women, making them seem insignificant and weak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz5jTy_lukk