Single camera formats

1. SERIAL:

	DETAILS
DEFINE	A story or play appearing in regular instalments on television or radio with a continuous plot
YOUR TEXT	Cold feet
Format	Sit – com with 6 episodes a serial
Narrative	Follows a day to day life of people and shows there problems and feelings
Technical	Multi camera from all angles it follows them
GENRES	Comedy, soap

 

2. SERIES:

	DETAILS
DEFINE	A set of related television or radio programs, esp. of a specified kind: "a new drama series".
YOUR TEXT	Peep show, channel 4, 25 mins,
Format	Comedy Series with 6 episodes series
Narrative	Starts with an equilibrium then a problem then it gets solved or not and it ends usually with the problem solved
Technical	Uses over the shoulder, point of view and close up
GENRES	comedy

 

3. DRAMA:

	DETAILS
DEFINE	Dramatic programming is television content that is scripted and (normally) fictional
YOUR TEXT	Ashes to ashes, BBC 1, 60 minutes
Format	Action, mystery, drama with  8 episodes a series
Narrative	Starts usually with the team at a crime scene and they have to work the crime out throughout the episode
Technical	Single and multi-camera uses close ups and over the shoulder a lot
GENRES	Action, mystery, drama and a bit of humour

Narrative structures

Narrative structure, a literary math, is generally described as the structural framework that underlies the order and manner in which a narrative is presented to a reader, listener, or viewer. Two theories have been suggested by Todorov and propp.Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages: A state of equilibrium at the outset. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action. A recognition that there has been a disruption. An attempt to repair the disruption. A reinstatement of the equilibrium. This type of narrative structure is very familiar to us and can be applied to many ‘mainstream’ film narratives.

Vladimir Propp broke up fairy tales into sections. Through these sections he was able to define the tale into a series of sequences that occurred within the Russian fairytale. Usually there is an initial situation, after which the tale usually takes the following 31 functions. Vladimir Propp used this method to decipher Russian folklore and fairy tales. First of all, there seem to be at least two distinct types of structural analysis in folklore. One is the type of which Propp's Morphology is the exemplar par excellence. In this type, the structure or formal organisation of a folklorist text is described following the chronological order of the linear sequence of elements in the text as reported from an informant. Thus if a tale consists of elements A to Z, the structure of the tale is delineated in terms of this same sequence.Propp also suggested there are eight different characters and they are hero,villain,Helper,Mentor,Dispatcher,Blocker,Prize and False Hero.

The two theories when applied to Batman the dark knight rises has different outcomes such as  Todorovs narrative structure does not work with batman the dark knight rises because, like most modern films, the story is too complex. There are to many characters, side plots and defining moments in the story. The structure would work for the film if it was describing sections of the film as opposed to the whole story.Propp’s theory or structure to the narrative side of a story works better than Todorov’s in my opinion because instead of telling events, which limits the description of modern day stories as they are so complex, it describes characters, and depending on how much detail you go into in your descriptions of these characters you can begin to narrate the story a lot better than you can using Todorov’s structure. Although you could argue that Propp’s theory resembles a cast list. Whilst being better than Todorov’s structure it still has its faults. Today’s stories are more complex than the simple structures these two men have devised, sometimes in modern stories the the characters could overlap each other. For example using Propp’s theory to tell the story of the dark knight rises Miranda Tate is a false princess because she also turns out to be the villain. So Propp’s theory doesn’t fit Batman either.Propp’s theory is very good because his 31 part structure describes the story pretty much down to every last detail

realism vs anti realism

Verisimilitude is the appearance or semblance of truth or reality.The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory.

Realism is when something is representing a person or thing in a way that is accurate and true to life.There are advantages and disadvantages to realism an advantage is that you see the black and white of a situation and its is easier to work with reality in moving toward a more correct answer that is real, when making a low budget movie or series it is easier to stick to realism as it is easier to recreate whereas if it is unrealistic you need to invest more money usually on CGI and effects like that to give it a feel of possibly being realistic.Realism can give people a better feeling of the film as it is more believable and they can get possibly relate to situations for example if there is a film about world war 2 old people can relate to it whereas if there is an alien battle in space nobody can relate to it and people will still enjoy it but it wont speak to you as much as a realistic film as if it touches you personally it can make it more memorable and exciting.Ultimately all that matters is that a film maintains believability within its own internal context. The logic might not match up with how it works in the real world (unless the film tries to base itself in a real life situation), but as long as it remains consistent with the information we're given, our suspensions of disbelief can stay.

Being realistic isn't always important and will not destroy the film if it isn't realistic for example Any of Spielberg's more fantastical films are great examples. Sharks don't really attack people in real life like they do in Jaws, but in the film we are told that this shark does, and we run with it. Characters behave in ways that are consistent with who they're shown to be and the world remains solid. Nothing ever happens to contradict the set up rules. Same thing for Jurassic Park.Ultimately, all a filmmaker must ask of its audience is their immediate suspension of disbelief. Anything that violates that is a fault of the artist for not making a cohesive enough world. However anything that isn't real that makes sense within its own context (sound in space during Star Wars for example) is merely a petty subjective grievance.Disadvantages of being unrealistic id sometimes it can be so ridiculous that the audience can laugh at it or find it annoying but alot of the time it works in favour of the director and can sometimes make a film more exciting like the sounds in the space in star wars it is unrealistic but without it the scenes in space would be boring and lightsabers aren't realistic but are cool and people find them a fun idea and it adds something to the film.

The way I see it, realism is just one of many tools a film maker can use to tell a story, and like any tool, it can be used well, it can be used poorly, or can be completely ignored. I think both are good having it realistic can limit it but it can still be exciting and good. When a film is unrealistic it is limitless and sometimes it can backfire and look stupid but can also be fantastic and captivate audience.

Eden lake case study 4

Eden lake

Nursery teacher Jenny and her boyfriend Steve, escape for a romantic weekend away. Steve, planning to propose, has found an idyllic setting: a remote lake enclosed by woodlands and seemingly deserted. The couple's peace is shattered when a gang of obnoxious kids encircles their campsite. Revealing in provoking the adults, the gang steals the couple's belongings and vandalises their car leaving them completely stranded. When Steve confronts them, tempers flare and he suffers a shocking and violent attack. Fleeing for help, Jenny is subject to a brutal and relentless game of cat-and-mouse as she desperately tries to evade her young pursuers and find her way out of the woods.

Horror conventions used are at the beginning are a enigma as behind the sign of Eden lake there is a more threatening message behind it although the characters don't see it the audience do.in the opening credits there is a screaming women covered in blood and this shows the tone of what the film will entail.The digetic music in the film also helps to add a visceral feel to the film other bits in the film that provoke a reaction are when he is getting stabbed and it shows the wounds and when the spike goes through her foot.The lighting is dark and you cannot see much which adds to the fear factor.


Jenny when we first meet her she seems kind,innocent and posh.Her boyfriend Steve seems flirty,kind and rich.The teenagers are made out in a bad light as they are a disruption in the peaceful scenery of Eden lake.There is one leader in the gang and he well and truly dictates what the gang do.Later on in the film Steve and Jenny switch places with Jenny becoming the alpha male and not the damsel in distress.She goes from being clean and tidy to so dirty she looks unhuman and acts unhuman at one point.When she comes out of the bin and stabs that boy that is when she acts unhuman.

There are many different angles and shots used throughout the film.There are many shots such as point of view, montage, vignette,privileged shot,voyeuristic,worm shot,aerial shot,dolly shot,continuous shot,wide shot,one shot,reverse shot,crane shot,360 degree shot and switch angle.A specific example of a camera angle is the crane shot when they are travelling over the forest and it does this three or four times.An example of these shots are when it shows them in the tent and the chavs nearby and this is a wide shot.Over the shoulder is used when she looks in the mirror and it shows her all muddy and bloody and she looks unhuman the mirror can also represent her reflecting on her choices,acts and the deaths of the gang and Steve.Visceral moments are throughout when Steve is getting cut by the gang the amount of blood and pain he is going through provokes a reaction from the audiences and when the spike goes through Jenny's foot this also is a squeamish moment and provokes a visceral moment.

case study 3 REC

The film rec is about a TV news report late at night on a fireman's night duties. when they are called to a apartment they think nothing of it and when they arrive they meet an old lady who bites a police officer then it all goes pear shaped from there.REC  is a 2007 Spanish horror film, co-written and directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza.The film was shot in Barcelona, Spain and the title is an abbreviation of the word "record", as it appears on a video camera.REC follows a television reporter, Ángela Vidal and her cameraman, Pablo, who cover the night shift in one of Barcelona's local fire stations for the fictional documentary television series While You're Asleep. The firehouse receives a call about an old woman who is trapped in her apartment. When they arrive, Ángela and Pablo film the police breaking down the door. The woman becomes extraordinarily aggressive and bites one of the policemen. Meanwhile, the terrified residents gather in the entrance hall and look on as the police and military seal off the building. A firefighter who remained in the old woman's apartment is bitten and plummets through the stairwell to the lobby floor. The camera crew, remaining firefighter and the second policeman go up again and are attacked. The officer shoots the old woman. The camera crew remains trapped inside the building with the residents and continue recording in spite of the policeman's pressure to stop recording. Ángela interviews a little girl named Jennifer who lives in the building. Jennifer is ill with what her mother claims is tonsillitis. She says her dog, Max, is at the vets because he appeared to be sick as well.

Horror conventions are effectively used by the deaths shown as they are quite graphic, noise also as at times it is quiet to show suspense but then at other times it is loud and people are shouting and screaming, darkness as throughout the time in the apartment it is very dark to give it a bit more fear factor, the gore is detailed and provokes a visceral response from the audition, it gives a sense of suspense and mystery because of the darkness and not knowing when the next jump moment will be and the claustrophobia feel to the scenes help create fear for the audience.The film is meant for horror fans as it has the jump scare moments,the gore,many deaths and the gripping suspense.

The characters in the film all have different roles as pablo is the person controlling what we see, the fireman is the alpha male and is the protector until he dies, when the doctor comes in he gives a sense of hope but that is soon diminished, the little girl is the innocence as she is the youngest but she later changes roles and angela plays the typical women at first but then that changes into her as the final girl.It all starts from the dog which we don't see.

The audience targeted are horror fans as it has all the traditions of a horror for example the gore,death,the jump moments,darkness and a sense of suspense and mystery.A specific example in the film for a jump moment is when the little girl spits blood in her mums face as it is unexpected.

The use of camera is hand held to give it a more realistic feel, it gives it a clostrophobic feel to it as well.the way the camera is used makes more tension as of the constant movement and the change in sound from loud to quiet in a few moments. There is a use of enigmas throughout to make you keep questioning what is happening.Numerous shots are used such as close up,over the shoulder,point of view and voyeuristic.sheavy breathing is used a lot to add to the fear factor.A specific example of camera shots is throughout the film it is taken from Pablo's point of view .

case study 1 Tell

case study 1 TELL

 

Tell is a 2012 short psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Ryan Connolly.
Taylor  argues with his girlfriend Jenny before taking a hammer from his car and murdering her. He then wraps her body in a sheet, takes her upstairs, and hides her in his attic. He then phones Ray  and informs him of the crime. Referencing an earlier conversation in which a drunken Ray had suggested murdering Jenny, Taylor tries to convince him to help cover up the crime. Ray declines, leaving Taylor to deal with the consequences alone.He begins to clean the blood from the kitchen floor, and hears something moving in the attic. He goes to investigate, and hears Jenny screaming. Whilst investigating, he finds blood dripping from the loft hatch, and goes up to investigate, where he finds the body as he left it. As he climbs back down the ladder, he slips on the blood, and is knocked unconscious.On regaining consciousness, Taylor finds blood on his forehead, and looks up into the still-open attic, where he sees a hallucination of Jenny looking down at him. He goes to the bathroom and cleans the blood from his hands, head, and clothes, and finishes cleaning the kitchen. Terra , Jenny's friend, arrives, and finds that Jenny is missing. Taylor tells her that she has walked out, and left her phone. Fearing that Terra knows of the murder, he arms himself with a kitchen knife, but she leaves before he attacks her.Whilst disposing of the blood-stained towels used to clean the kitchen, Taylor takes a saw from his garage, and takes Jenny's body into the bathroom. Once he has put the body in the bath, Taylor closes Jenny's eyes, and prepares to cut her arm off. However, he is interrupted at the last moment by the shower curtain moving. He goes to investigate, and looks back to find Jenny's eyes now open again. The curtain moves again, and Taylor jumps back, hits the light switch, and falls to ground. The curtain is then pulled back, and a shadowed figure steps out from behind it. Taylor runs from the bathroom, and then the house. Whilst outside, a police car pulls up, and Taylor returns to the house.When Police Officer Diaz  knocks on the door, Taylor tries to stop her from entering the house. When she does, she begins to search the ground floor and, on finding nothing, goes to search upstairs. Taylor again attempts to convince her that there is no issue, and is forced to remain downstairs whilst Diaz searches the upper floor. Diaz does not enter the bathroom, and therefore does not discover Jenny's body, but Taylor stabs her in the neck as she turns to leave. The two struggle silently, with Taylor pushing Diaz's gun down into its holster to protect himself. He is interrupted by an apparition of Jenny standing at the door, giving Diaz time to draw her weapon and shoot him. The two separate, and fall against opposite sides of the room, where they sit against the walls, dying.

In the short film tell it used many different camera shots such as pan,over the shoulder,birds eye views , wide ,voyeuristic, close up and off camera violence. throughout the film tension was built up using flashbacks , sound effects, music, lighting and shots.with shots like enigma and action code it gave a sense of suspense as there was an uncertainty of what will happen next which gave the audience a sense of suspense.

 

There were many props used such as weapons like the hammer which he killed his girlfriend with using off camera violence , the knife with what he was thinking of stabbing his girlfriends friend but didnt and in the end stabbed the police officer with and the gun he was shot with by the police officer.

 

The use of lighting was used well in the film as it used backlighting to show darkness and half and half lighting to show a dark side to the character this can be symbolic.sound effects are used to build suspense and add a bit of mystery to the film.They are also used to show emotion as when she calls him pathetic in the first scene he reacts badly to this and the music reflects this with a deep bang noise to show he is now annoyed.

 

With camera angles when he puts her in the bath to cut her up he is looking very upset and guilty so the close up is showing emotion and when he is on the phone to his friend and he is looking worried and is panicking. the camera has the habit of following people as for example when the police officer is upstairs looking around it is following her as if we were just behind her.

It has certain horror conventions such as the music to create an atmosphere and it touches on themes that horror films usually do for example guilt and death.Its also touches on real life as he talks to his friend about there social life and arguments between couples as well as typical horror things like suspense, fear, death and emotion.

The camera is used to good effect as it gives you clues to the story line and gives privliged postions as well as pulling you away from the action to keep some of the suspense going and give you a shock when action just appears like when the police officer is stabbed as you are not expecting it he just runs up the stairs and stabs her and when he falls off the stepladder and hits his head it just kept the suspense going.
 

 

 

 

 

case study 2 breaking bad

case study 2 breaking bad

 

 

BREAKING BAD – Series 4, Episode 12 ‘Face Off, October 2011, Thriller, Director: Vince Gilligan

 

When chemistry teacher, Walter White, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given only two years to live, he decides he has nothing to lose. He lives with his wife and teenage son, who has cerebral palsy, in New Mexico. Determined to ensure that his family will have a secure future, White embarks on a career of drugs and crime. He proves to be remarkably proficient in this new world as he begins manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with one of his former students. The series tracks the impacts of a fatal diagnosis on a regular hard working man and explores how a fatal diagnosis affects his morality and transforms him into a major player of the drug trade.

 
This episode is called face off and the plot in the episode is after failing to kill Gus via car bomb, Walter  removes the bomb and asks Jesse if he knows of a place that Gus frequents that does not have security cameras. Before Jesse can think, he is approached by Detectives Kalanchoe and Munn and taken to the police station, where they proceed to question him about his knowledge of Brock's ricin poisoning.Jesse is interrogated for a long time about the ricin, but he claims that it was a lucky guess. Having been contacted by Walter, Saul finally arrives. Jesse tells Saul that Gus often visits Hector to taunt him, which Saul relays to Walter. Upon learning that he and Gus are long time enemies, Walter visits Hector and offers him a chance to kill Gus. Hector contacts the DEA, where he insists on talking directly to Hank but he just curses at Hank through his interpreter and is quickly brought back to the nursing home.Tyrus inspects Hector's room for anything suspicious but finds it safe for Gus' visit, failing to spot Walter just outside. Jesse is released from police custody after Brock's diagnosis reveals that he was not poisoned by ricin, and is immediately kidnapped by Gus' thugs and brought to the lab to cook the next batch of meth.Gus and Tyrus corner Hector in his room. Gus asks Hector to finally look at him, which is something Hector refuses to do during Gus' taunting visits. As Gus prepares to inject Hector with poison, Hector finally looks at him tearfully, then with rage in his eyes, and begins ringing his bell numerous times. Gus realizes the bell is connected to Walter's car bomb under Hector's wheelchair and the bomb explodes, killing Tyrus and Hector instantly. Gus walks out of the room, calmly adjusting his tie appearing to be unharmed; but the camera then pans to reveal that half of his face and scalp were torn completely off in the explosion. He then collapses and dies as care home staff come running to the site of the explosion. Walter hears the news of the explosion on the radio and is relieved that his plan to draw Gus out into the open and kill him apparently worked. He then heads to the lab, kills two of Gus' henchmen stationed there, and burns down the lab with Jesse.

 

In this breaking bad episode there are many different angles and shots used such as there is a montage of Walter white and Jesse are setting up the explosion things and it would take a couple of hours but it is shown in a few moments.there is also at the beginning a dolly as it slowly goes past the cars.there is a birds eye view of Walter sat in the car park then it comes down and zooms in and shows a close up and shows his reaction to the news of the death of hector.There are lots of action code as it zooms in on a knife to give suggestion the knife is important.when the explosion goes off it is off camera violence as you don't see the room blowing up you see outside the room what happens.There are also lots of over the shoulder shots used to show realism as to feel what is happening from the characters perspective to connect better with the character.They generally use natural light to show hector, the light coming through the window shows him and the henchman.