Representation

What is representation in media?

REPRESENTATION is the way an idea is shown through characters, setting or any other filmic feature.

For example here is the representation of the character Michael Scofield from my favourite TV Drama Prison Break:

Influential, never gives up, heroic character, decisive, intelligent, selfless, loving and caring. These are all characteristics and what his personality is like. But representation is also physical. Michael Scofield is male; so in a male prison, he is also an attractive man, which warrants him nicknames from other characters (pretty) and causes attention in his environment. The background of the characters also represents them and can affect what is happening at present in the show. Michael went to college, and in prison this is a big factor; he is intelligent. Also the character T-Bag has a history of molesting and murdering young children, this causes things to happen in the present in the show and also helps to represent the character through his actions.

The show is also represented by the setting, and not only the characters. In Prison Break it is set in a prison (obviously) and so it acts as another character almost, as the show is based on escaping from the prison.

Thriller/Drama Macro – Prison Break

Prison Break

Thriller/Drama: Fast paced, exciting, action packed

Presentation: The opening consists of shots of the prison the characters are in, clips of the characters each one at a time then very short clips of action scenes from the series, all this with the soundtrack music playing over the top getting louder and as the clips get more and more thrilling.

Overall: The story is overall about a man (Michael Scofield) breaking his brother out of prison because he is wrongly accused of murdering someone and is on death row as a result. Michael has planned the escape perfectlybut complications make things not all go to plan..

A clip from Prison Break…

Sub Genre – Comedy (The Office)

For our subgenre we watched a clip from ‘The Office’. The subgenre we looked at was comedy and The Office was an interesting one to choose as its very different in media terms. First of all the way it was filmed was different form every other fictional program, not just comedy. It was shot as a documentary of an office. Many people thought it was a real documentary when it first came out because of the way it was shot and how the characters acted. The camera became another character in the show, as people would look at it to show they know its there or would act differently around it. The comedy of the show was very character based, David Brent being the main source of the comedy.

Hollyoaks Analysis

Editing Experience

My first experience of editing for AS Media Studies was a good quick introduction to the school program. I have used editing software before so I found it quite easy to edit our Preliminary Task video, just had to locate the basics and apply my own knowledge of editing to what I was doing. Using the keyboard to go through the video frame by frame made cutting shots and fitting pieces together alot easier also. I also tried out a few effects for the clips, but didn’t get a chance to see them all. I’m looking forward to editing again so I can see all the capabilities of the software.

Preliminary Task

This is mine and Luke’s fully edited version of the “DVD borrowing” scene…

Continuity Analysis

I think the level of continuity in this scene as a whole was good. The shots of Luke walking through the door in particular ran very smoothly. In my opinion a few shots could have been better, for exmaple where Luke walked from the door towards me sitting down with his back to camera. Although it was obvious what has happening I think the camera should have been positioned so Luke was seen more in the shot. Also the last shot at the end where luke walked out could have been better. The continuity between the shot of him standing up and the shot of him walking to the door could have been alot more smooth. Maybe a quick shot of him walking towards the camera in there may have made the transition better. As a start to filming I think we applied continuity quite well, but still with things to improve on for next time…

Camera Angles

Just a short video I found about camera angles. It shows how the camera angle can be used to portray the personality of a character in the scene…

Analysis of Eastenders Clip

The clip of Eastenders was one where Kevin and Shirley had a heated argument about her absence in their childrens life. This scene was made very dramatic in a soap opera sense. The content alone was very tense, the death of one of their children and Shirleys absense in all their lives. The camera angles varied from middle shots, to close ups, to shots that included panning. The setting of this scene created a big contrast to the content aswell. The background was bright and cheerful, cloudless sky, sound of the sea and the birds, but the conversation was very dark. Also the way the scene ended with a cliffhanger was very sopa-opera-like. Leaving the audience wanting more and tuning in next week for the much desired climax to the storyline.

Our First Filming Lesson in Media Studies

My first experience of using camera in Media Studies was an exciting one. The prospect of deciding everything that’s seen by the camera and in what way with my partner was interesting. I was working with Luke for this task and we worked well together, both sharing creative ideas. To start with we decided initially who played who and where we were going to sit/walk/speak. Then came the more challenging part, deciding the camera angles and shots we would do. We both we familiar with the camera straight away as we have both used cameras to make short films before. The basics like how to record, playback, zoom, etc didn’t take a lot of time to locate on the camera. Deciding the camera angles and how many different shots was something we both enjoyed as we could try lots of things. There were only two of us, and we both had to be in the scene so finding an angle for shots where we were both included was challenging but at the same time gave us a chance to be creative with camera placement. Once we had organized what we ourselves were doing in the shots, where we were being filmed from, how long we were being filmed for and what we would say in each shot we were ready to film. Filming the short scene was enjoyable, as we would come up with ideas during filming to improve our initial ideas, but the time constraint did prove to be limiting onto how much we could do. We completed the task efficiently while also enjoying the experience. I think given more time to experiment a bit more would allow us more options but as an introduction to filming on the Media Studies course it was very useful.

The camera on the right is the type of camera we used for filming. Although it is not the exact model it is very similar and has all the same essentials. Cameras like this are perfect for homie movies or amatuer projects. The camera on the left has a higher resolution and is more likely to be used for feature films, TV shows, adverts, etc. The price difference between the two cameras shows the quality of the cameras. To buy a higher resolution camera you would have to pay atleast 3,000 pounds. Also they are more expensive because of the quality of the entire camera. For example the ‘shakeyness’ of ordinary camcorders are not a problem with cameras like these, the film is alot smoother. That’s is why documentaries use cameras like this (espicially the picture one, a handheld) because they are being held by a person the film is bound to be a little shakey but the quality of the camera means it will be alot smoother.

Media TV Drama Questions

What TV drama do you watch?

Eastenders, waterloo road

Where do you watch it?

At home on TV

What concepts of it do you like? Why?

Story line and cliff hangers, the shocks and secrets being revealed.

What are your favourite characters like?

Tedious, cunning, funny and sarcastic.

Why do you like them?

They are the most used characters and relate to people around me

What do you like about the storyline?

The major cliff hangers e.g. finding out who dies?

Do you like any other dramas?

Not really, I haven’t watched American dramas but they look better, because they contain more action.

Are they similar to each other?

No, waterloo road is set in a school and is mainly based on children, but it still has cliff hangers.

What type of genre do you like? Why?

All types because I enjoy a variety of programmes

Are there any characters that you love to hate/hate to love? If so why?

I love to hate the annoying characters because they are annoying.

How often do you watch this drama?

Every now and then, once or twice a week, or to see a secret get revealed e.g. Bob comes back from prison?

What part of the series do you like best? Beginning, middle or end and why?

End because it’s so dramatic!

Questions answered by Luke Darling