CUFFS EXAM Q. 3 is worth 15 marks.
3. In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical
framework and media contexts.
How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'?
In your answer you should:
analyse aspects of the extract giving detailed examples
judge how far these aspects create a sense of watching 'real life'
In this extract, it is obvious to the audience that what they are watching is intended to be based in a 'real life' situation. Firstly, the locations are very realistic, for example the shopping areas that we see, full of people, create a sense of realism, because a shopping area is so common and usual in everyday life. The natural lighting and the conventional clothing also adds to the sense that this is a scene based in everyday life. Without the normal clothes and lighting, the scene would be so much less realistic because clothing and what we see play a massive feature in our everyday lives. In addition to the media language used, is the use of the generic conventions of the police drama. For example the new policemen, Jake, and the old policemen, that is showing him around, both fit stereotypical ideas of how they should act, therefore they fit audience expectations and it doesn't undermine the sense of realism; rather enhances it.
There is also the use of stereotypes added in, to create the normality of an everyday scene in the audiences minds. For example, the fact that the criminals are obviously male, may make the scene seem more 'real' and scary because it is a generalisation that it would be men and so because they are men, it would enable instant interpretation into what is commencing. There is also the deliberate use of anti-stereotypes. For example, the beat officer wears a head-scarf and so may undermine the sense of realism, depending on the audience member. However, it is also natural to have racial diversity mixed within the show, because it gives the show an all-around approach - which is now almost a need within the media, because of how our society now views things.
In addition to this, they use gender equality and diversity, which could take away or add to the realism, depending on the audience member. It is likely to be more realistic though, because this representation of diversity used, fits into the modern timeline of equality requirements - for example, they have a gay policemen, a women policemen that is clearly respected by others, and an officer from ethnic minorities.
There are also more understandable, able to relate to, scenes. Firstly, the crime scene would be hard for an audience member to relate to, however the tension built through sound and camerawork makes the audience members feel a sense of fear, which opens up an opportunity for the audience to be able to relate to the policemen. We also enter a lunchtime scene, and experience more natural and inside scenes from some of the policemen's lives. As we can relate to these scenes and know what it is like to have lunch with our friends, this mainstream effect and gratifications allows the enhancing of a sense of realism for the audience members.
when the camerawork gets involved, there is a technique used where they use handheld camerawork. This is when the officer is threatened and it creates a sense of documentary realism. The continuity of the editing and the shot-reverse-shot used also does not draw attention to the artificiality of the scene and therefore enhances its effects.
The actors and actress's within the extract also act very convincingly. They stick to the roles given and display fear and banter in relevance to their role. Therefore, everything seems incredibly more real then it would, if they actors didn't play their roles accordances.
Tuesday 27 February 2018
Tuesday 20 February 2018
QUESTION 2// CUFFS
2. Analyse how far the extract depicts the police's point of view rather than the criminal's point of view.
In this extract the police's point of view is the one from which the audience sees it, because of several factors. Firstly the camera-shots enable us to see the police in a variety of ways through the camera, for example there are several close-ups of the policemen, as well as other shots and angles used, like medium-shot, letting us familiarize with the policemen. Whereas the criminals are simply shown in longer shots. The close-ups make the policemen stand out more and appear more unique from one another, as well as it gives the audience a clearer knowing of each of the policemen. However, because we don't see the criminals faces very clearly, we generalize them as just criminals, with no characterisation.
In addition to this, the editing allows for the policemen to dominate the screen. When the policemen act, we don't see any reactions from the criminals. However when the criminals act, it is followed by shots of reactions from the policemen. This shows to the audience their higher significance to the criminals because we see the policemen's emotions, rather than the criminals and this also gives the policemen more screen-time than them.
A narrative is also created, in which the relaxation of the characters we have already got to know, has been disrupted by characters not yet met by the audience. For example, we were watching an unwinding scene, where the younger, new policemen was waiting to receive his lunch and, just as it is placed in front of him he has to be dragged away because of the criminals, and is unable to eat. This is a fairly relatable scene, as no-one likes to be taken away from their food, and therefore makes the audience biased into disliking the criminal.
Additionally, the narrative follows the world of the police, not the criminals, who are only seen in the presence of the police and this, therefore, makes the police seem more important. For example we are closer and no more about the police because we saw them eating their lunch, however we did not see the criminals eating their lunch.
However, there are some sections that we can't see from the police perspective. For example, when the truck crashes into the shop, we see a clip from the CCTV footage and this, obviously, would not have been seen by the police yet.
In this extract the police's point of view is the one from which the audience sees it, because of several factors. Firstly the camera-shots enable us to see the police in a variety of ways through the camera, for example there are several close-ups of the policemen, as well as other shots and angles used, like medium-shot, letting us familiarize with the policemen. Whereas the criminals are simply shown in longer shots. The close-ups make the policemen stand out more and appear more unique from one another, as well as it gives the audience a clearer knowing of each of the policemen. However, because we don't see the criminals faces very clearly, we generalize them as just criminals, with no characterisation.
In addition to this, the editing allows for the policemen to dominate the screen. When the policemen act, we don't see any reactions from the criminals. However when the criminals act, it is followed by shots of reactions from the policemen. This shows to the audience their higher significance to the criminals because we see the policemen's emotions, rather than the criminals and this also gives the policemen more screen-time than them.
A narrative is also created, in which the relaxation of the characters we have already got to know, has been disrupted by characters not yet met by the audience. For example, we were watching an unwinding scene, where the younger, new policemen was waiting to receive his lunch and, just as it is placed in front of him he has to be dragged away because of the criminals, and is unable to eat. This is a fairly relatable scene, as no-one likes to be taken away from their food, and therefore makes the audience biased into disliking the criminal.
Additionally, the narrative follows the world of the police, not the criminals, who are only seen in the presence of the police and this, therefore, makes the police seem more important. For example we are closer and no more about the police because we saw them eating their lunch, however we did not see the criminals eating their lunch.
However, there are some sections that we can't see from the police perspective. For example, when the truck crashes into the shop, we see a clip from the CCTV footage and this, obviously, would not have been seen by the police yet.
QUESTION ONE// CUFFS
1. Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer.
In this extract, sound is used to create meaning from the use of background sound, sound effects and off-screen speech. The background sound is incidental music used within the background of the action scene. The music is fast past, repetitive and on-going which creates a sense of tension in the watcher because it connotates the action, the danger, the excitement and the urgency of the situation. Without the music, the scene would be more calm for the audience and less exhilarating to experience.
Sound effects are, additionally, used, for example the screeching of the police cars as they zoom off and the shattering of glass as it is smashed. The use of the screeching sound represents the speed and urgency of the police car, which also shows that there is an exciting situation about to occur. Whereas the smashing of the glass, another semiotic, shows us that there is a crime being committed and it is a violent action.
Off-screen speech is also used, for example the sound of the police-officers call for help over the walky-talky creates contrasting connotations of emergency to those of the canteen. Therefore the audience gets a bigger understanding of both situations.
In this extract, sound is used to create meaning from the use of background sound, sound effects and off-screen speech. The background sound is incidental music used within the background of the action scene. The music is fast past, repetitive and on-going which creates a sense of tension in the watcher because it connotates the action, the danger, the excitement and the urgency of the situation. Without the music, the scene would be more calm for the audience and less exhilarating to experience.
Sound effects are, additionally, used, for example the screeching of the police cars as they zoom off and the shattering of glass as it is smashed. The use of the screeching sound represents the speed and urgency of the police car, which also shows that there is an exciting situation about to occur. Whereas the smashing of the glass, another semiotic, shows us that there is a crime being committed and it is a violent action.
Off-screen speech is also used, for example the sound of the police-officers call for help over the walky-talky creates contrasting connotations of emergency to those of the canteen. Therefore the audience gets a bigger understanding of both situations.
Thursday 1 February 2018
EXAM Q8 (x2)
On the Observer's home page, particular language stands out to create meaning and intrigue for the page. Firstly, we are drawn to the page because it is full of colour, and the colour isn't just all over the place, it is nice and unified. The page also grabs the readers attention because every single article featured, shows a person/ human. As most people are usually more interested about what is going on within human lives, this is a great way to have people focusing more on the texts. The main article is the biggest one and draws the reader in because it uses a rhetorical question, 'Can I forgive the man that raped me?' The affect of this makes us want to know the answer, as well as hear the answer from the interviewee, and know what the story is. Using a question mark is a great way to entice the reader. The deep blue that frames everything implys depth and stability. The colour blue is often associated with trust, confidence and intelligence, which makes readers more able to trust the news story's and read the content more often.
The title typeface is a font that mixes both old styles and modern styles. This suggests that the observer covers all types of new and targets both audiences, not just one. This would give a chance for everyone to read the Observer because it shows that most age groups are able to read the news they wish. The typeface of the headings are styled in a way so that the reader is almost left on a cliff hanger. The main article is the biggest one and draws the reader in because it uses a rhetorical question, 'Can I forgive the man that raped me?' The affect of this makes us want to know the answer, as well as hear the answer from the interviewee, and know what the story is. Using a question mark is a great way to entice the reader because we are produced with an un-answered interesting question.
The other articles are smaller because they are not the featuring ones. This means, after having looked at the big one, we have to focus more on the next ones. Another example of an interesting caption is 'GIGI HADID, a model with a fabulous figure (30 million instagram followers)' This is another good way to draw audience in because it straight away mentions a famous model which most people have probably heard about and want to hear more. It adds extra information as well, for people who don't know who she is, such as the fact that she is a model and the fact that she has 30 million followers on instagram. This is a very clever technique to list both of these things because instagram is an extremely well-known social media app which most people have and know a lot about. By stating her figures of 30 millionf followers it makes people want to know more about Gigi Hadid because 30 million is a huge following. The articles also target certain people. For example, the Gigi Hadid article mainlt targets women and her fans. Whilst the main article targets all adult audience.
The home page is presented extremely neatly with the same colour regime and pretty much the same fonts. This shows it takes its news seriously because the whole page is uniformed and uniform usually means objectivity and authority - which gives off a very strong sense of objectivity.
In the titles of the articles, there are a range of literary techniques used to draw in the readers. In the Gigi Hadid article it uses alliteration of 'fabulous figure'. There is also a lot of use of emotive language used in the form of quotes, for example the headline for another news story was 'The traditional duet has the women reliant on the man, I'm sick of it.' is a good way to express emotive language and draw the reader in. It is effective because it states a point and an opinion, which a lot of people may be able to relate to but also people want to hear why she has this opinion.
The title typeface is a font that mixes both old styles and modern styles. This suggests that the observer covers all types of new and targets both audiences, not just one. This would give a chance for everyone to read the Observer because it shows that most age groups are able to read the news they wish. The typeface of the headings are styled in a way so that the reader is almost left on a cliff hanger. The main article is the biggest one and draws the reader in because it uses a rhetorical question, 'Can I forgive the man that raped me?' The affect of this makes us want to know the answer, as well as hear the answer from the interviewee, and know what the story is. Using a question mark is a great way to entice the reader because we are produced with an un-answered interesting question.
The other articles are smaller because they are not the featuring ones. This means, after having looked at the big one, we have to focus more on the next ones. Another example of an interesting caption is 'GIGI HADID, a model with a fabulous figure (30 million instagram followers)' This is another good way to draw audience in because it straight away mentions a famous model which most people have probably heard about and want to hear more. It adds extra information as well, for people who don't know who she is, such as the fact that she is a model and the fact that she has 30 million followers on instagram. This is a very clever technique to list both of these things because instagram is an extremely well-known social media app which most people have and know a lot about. By stating her figures of 30 millionf followers it makes people want to know more about Gigi Hadid because 30 million is a huge following. The articles also target certain people. For example, the Gigi Hadid article mainlt targets women and her fans. Whilst the main article targets all adult audience.
The home page is presented extremely neatly with the same colour regime and pretty much the same fonts. This shows it takes its news seriously because the whole page is uniformed and uniform usually means objectivity and authority - which gives off a very strong sense of objectivity.
In the titles of the articles, there are a range of literary techniques used to draw in the readers. In the Gigi Hadid article it uses alliteration of 'fabulous figure'. There is also a lot of use of emotive language used in the form of quotes, for example the headline for another news story was 'The traditional duet has the women reliant on the man, I'm sick of it.' is a good way to express emotive language and draw the reader in. It is effective because it states a point and an opinion, which a lot of people may be able to relate to but also people want to hear why she has this opinion.
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