Gender in the Media

Gender In TV Drama from meghanmooreg321

Analysis of Gender in the "Mistresses" Clip, only on Cinematography

Analysis Essay

In the clip from the TV drama “Mistresses”, I am looking at the cinematography of the piece in relation to gender.   The cinematography is used very well to highlight the problems that can occur between men and women.

We begin with the establishing shot of a woman and man.   The camera is tracking the woman as she enters and is handed a cup of coffee.   The camera continuously pans as we continue to watch the scene from the mid-long shot.   The woman stops opposite the piece of paper, which has the words pros and cons on it.   The man stands opposite, looking at the piece of paper with her.   The two characters are a similar height, and at this point neither seems to be more of a presence on screen than the other.   This highlights the equality that can be found within their relationship.

The camera cuts to a mid-close up reaction over the shoulder shot of the woman as she looks at the list.   As we look over the shoulder of the man, we can tell that he seems to be looking for her reaction to the list, as are we.   This highlights that this is a very important part of their relationship, with him trying to please her.   Their conversation is interspersed with shots of her reaction to what he is saying to highlight that she thinks he’s being ridiculous.   As she moves away from the list, she stays on one of the main lines in the rule of thirds, meaning our focus is on her.   This highlights that she is the important one over him in this relationship, which contradicts with the first idea we have that the two are equal in their relationship together.

As they continue their conversation, there is a cut to a mid-shot as the woman gets on with things at the table.   At one point, they are both on parallel lines with each other, as he believes she is saying that she doesn’t think he can get a job.   They look at each other, framing the space between them to emphasise the rift that is occurring.   This is also an interesting moment in the clip as it demonstrates a woman’s dominance over a man, something that isn’t common as it isn’t stereotypical.   She is quite willing to work while he is a stay at home Dad, which is quite a modern idea.   The space then is shown between them as he mover away from her, into a separate mid-shot, with him in shallow focus to highlight that we are focusing on him.   The audience is meant to relate with the man’s pain.

Next, we are shown the outside of a pawning shop.   The camera pans suddenly to highlight that the place can also cash your cheques.   The camera tilts down as a man exits the shop carrying a stash of what we can assume is money in an envelope.   The man seems shifty, as if he is hiding something.   He seems scared, which demonstrates that something truly bad has happened as stereotypically men are supposed to be strong.   He walks towards the camera, into a mid-close up.   The camera is tilted down to look at the money, and back up to see his reaction; a smile, but not necessarily one of happiness; more of relief and sadness.

We cut to a mid-shot of a woman standing behind a counter, looking at her phone.   The same man as before climbs up the stairs to see her, and the whole of their interaction is done continuously through a master shot.   They seem happy, and their closeness seems to highlight an element of trust and dependability on one another.   However, we can assume that the man has not told the woman that he was pawning items, which highlights that the closeness between them is a lie.   This is then revealed as the man goes to the door to discover the bailiffs, which the woman knows nothing about.

Through cinematography, relationships between people can easily be shown, which can also highlight the lies, which people are also telling.   For example, the man who went to the pawnshop has obviously been lying to his wife or girlfriend about his financial situation despite the fact that their closeness on camera would highlight that they are close.

Analysis of my work: Obviously, this is not as long as a normal media essay would be, however, since I was only discussing cinematography, it could be assumed that a longer essay would be written concerning all the micro-elements and how they create meaning.

Cinematography Documentary

(With some weird cutting thing at the end which removed focus related clips- see below for vocabulary).  Thanks to Sarah for helping me film it).
Deep Focus- a technique using a large depth of field.   In deep focus the foreground, middle ground and background are all in focus

Shallow Focus- in shallow focus, one plane of the image is in focus while the rest is out of focus.   It is typically used to emphasise one thing over another

Focus Pulls- this is where you change focus during the shot

Kingsman: The Secret Service Institutional Information

Name of Film: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Film Rights: Marvel Comics (comic book), creator-owned
Film Budget: $81 million
Production Company: MARV Films (predominantly)
Shangri-La Entertainment
TSG Entertainment
Distribution: 20th Century Fox

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Main Star 1:
Main Star 2:

Brief Storyline: A spy organization recruits an unrefined, but promising street kid into the agency's ultra-competitive training program, just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.

Production Details: Locations- Deepcut church, Deepcut, Surrey ,England, UK

(Kentucky church)

Alexandra and Ainsworth Estate, Camden, London, England, UK

(council estate where Eggsy lives)

Sydney, Australia

(beach fight) 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

(destruction city scene)

Sharpthorne tunnel, Bluebell Railway, West Sussex, England, UK

Wrotham Park, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

(studio)

6 Black Prince Rd, Kennington, London, England, UK

(Pub scenes)

Leavesden Studios, Leavesden, Hertfordshire, England, UK

(studio)

11 Savile Row, London, England, UK

(Kingsman Store Headquarters)

Holborn Police Station, London, England, UK

(Outside shot of where Eggsy is taken after the car chase)

London, England, UK

Principal photography began 6 October 2013 in Deepcut, Surrey, on a budget reported to be one-third of the $200 million budget of Skyfall.

The Alexandra Road Estate in Camden was used for Eggsy's home area, and some scenes were filmed at Imperial College London. The Black Prince Pub in Kennington, South London, was used for various fight scenes and the car chase. Savile Row in Mayfair was also employed as a location and the exterior of tailors Huntsman, which provided the clothes.

Release Date:13 December 2014(Butt-Numb-A-Thon)
29 January 2015(United Kingdom)
13 February 2015 (United States)
How wide was its release? :
Two other films released the same week:
Main Competitor film:
Target audience for the film:

What are the films main selling points:
Example of Promotion 1:
Example of Promotion 2:
Example of Promotion 3:
How large was the marketing strategy? :
Are there examples of:

• Toys
• Website
• Social Media
• Video Game
• Fast Food merch
• High profile premiere
• TV Appearances-
• News Reports-
• Other (please specify)-

What do you consider the aim of the campaign to be?

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Producers: Adam Bohling

• David Reid
• Matthew Vaughn

Script Writer: Jane Goldman

• Matthew Vaughn

Starring:
Taron Egerton- Gary "Eggsy" Unwin
Colin Firth- Harry Hart/ Galahad
Sophie Cookson- Roxy
Mark Strong- Merlin
Michael Caine- Arthur
Samuel L. Jackson- Valentine
Sofia Boutella- Gazelle

Music: Henry Jackman
Matthew Margeson

Cinematography: George Richmond

Editing: Eddie Hamilton
Jon Harris

Production Company: Marv Films
Shangri-La Entertainment
TSG Entertainment
Distribution: 20th Century Fox

Release Dates: 13 December 2014(Butt-Numb-A-Thon), 29 January 2015(United Kingdom), 13 February 2015 (United States)

Running Time: 129 minutes

Budget: $81 million

Box Office: $414 million 

Profit: $333 million (not including other costs)

Awards: Nominated for 4 awards, won 2 awards- Empire Awards, UK (Best British Film, Best Male Newcomer)

Guardians of the Galaxy Institutional Information

Name of Film: Guardians of the Galaxy (Working Title- Full Tilt)
Film Rights: Marvel Studios (film), Marvel Comics (comic book)
Running Time: 122 minutes
Film Budget: $195.9 million (the film came in at costing slightly over at $232.3 million, with Disney recieving a rebate of $36.4 million from the British government)
Box Office: $774.2 million
Profit: Net profit $204.2 million when factoring together "production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs, with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV" (Deadline.com)
Awards: Nominated for 87 awards, including 2 Oscars, and won 44 awards
Production Company: Marvel Studios
Distribution: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Director: James Gunn (Director of Slither, James Gunn's PG Porn, Super)
Main Star 1: Peter Quill (Protagonist)- Chris Pratt ("Cursed Part 3"- Short film, 2000; "Jennifer's Body", 2009; "Moneyball", 2011; "Zero Dark Thirty", 2012; "Movie 43", 2013; "The Lego Movie", 2014; "Jurassic World", 2015; "The Magnificent Seven", 2016)
Main Star 2: Ronan the Accuser (Antagonist)- Lee Pace ("Soldier's Girl", 2003; "Infamous", 2006; "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 2", 2012; Lincoln, 2012; "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey", "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" and "The Hobbit: The Five Armies", 2012, 2013 and 2014)
Other people who worked on the film:
Producer: Kevin Feige

Script Writer: James Gunn
Nicole Perlman

Starring:
Chris Pratt- Peter Quill
Zoe Saldana- Gamora
Dave Bautista- Drax
Vin Diesel- Groot (voice)
Bradley Cooper- Rocket (voice)
Lee Pace- Ronan
Karen Gillan- Nebula

Music: Tyler Bates

Cinematography: Ben Davis

Editing: Fred Raskin, Craig Wood, Hughes Winborne

Brief Storyline: A group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe

Production Details: Locations- Longcross Studios, Chobham Lane, Longcross, Surrey, England
Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England
Millenium Brdge, River Thames, London, England
Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California
Pre-Production- Gunn pushed for practical and make-up effects, head and body casts were created pre-filming for SFX makeup designer David White to play with- created upwards of 1,000 prosthetic makeup applications and 2,000 moulds of different coloured aliens
Filming- people stood in for Rocket and Groot/ had two life size versions of Rocket and Groot to assist with lighting, the physics of the film and aids for visual effects; used Arri Alexa XT cameras for the film, during the opening scenes in the 1980s, Davis chose JDC Cooke Xtal (Crystal) Express anamorphic prime lenses because they "had more anamorphic artifacts and aberrations"
Post-production- had enormous sets, "we have a prison that is 350,000 pounds of steel", used as many practical effects as possible to aid the use of CGI and motion capture; The film featured 2,750 visual effects shots, which make up approximately 90% of the film. The visual effects were created by: Moving Picture Company (MPC), who worked on creating Groot, as well as Morag, Xandar, the Dark Aster and the final battle on Xandar; Framestore, who worked on creating Rocket, extending the Kyln prison set and constructing Knowhere; Luma Pictures, who worked on Thanos; Method Studios, who worked on creating the Orb opening and revealing its powers, as well as the holographic displays at the Nova Corps command center; Lola VFX; Cantina Creative; Sony Pictures Imageworks, who worked on Howard the Duck and creating the Dark Aster shots with MPC; CoSA VFX; Secret Lab; Rise Visual Effects Studios; and Technicolor VFX. Pre- and post-visualizations were done by Proof and The Third Floor, with Proof also contributing to the creation of Rocket and Groot
Release Date: 21st July 2014, Dolby Theatre
31st July 2014, UK
1st August 2014, US
How wide was its release?: Aasdfghjkl
Two other films released the same week: "Get On Up", "Lucy"
Main Competitor film: "Lucy"
Target audience for the film: Aasdfghjkl

What are the films main selling points: Based off a comic book which people may have read; mixture of male and female characters; has famous people in it that people may want to see; 
Example of Promotion 1: Poster
Example of Promotion 2: Advert
Example of Promotion 3: Soundtrack CD- Awesome Mix Vol. 1
How large was the marketing strategy? :  
Are there examples of: 

• Toys- Action figures, Bobbleheads, Lego (Lego Marvel Superheroes Guardians of the Galaxy)
• Website- http://marvel.com/guardians (the official site for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy)
• Social Media- Although there is a Twitter, Facebook, Google +, Tumblr, YouTube and Pinterest for Marvel itself, there is no Guardians of the Galaxy specific accounts
• Video Game- Guardians of the Galaxy: The Universal Weapon is available on Android, iOS and Windows phones, but there is no physical game for any bigger devices.   The characters are also involved in lots of other Marvel based games but with characters from throughout the Marvel universe (http://marvel.com/news/video_games/22962/sdcc_2014_guardians_of_the_galaxy_in_marvel_games)
• Fast Food merch- Featured on Subway meals and merchandising
• High profile premiere- The red carpet event was held outside the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood and Highland.   Lots of new websites reported on it, such as thehollywoodreporter.   You could also watch the premiere from the Marvel website- http://marvel.com/guardianspremiere
• TV Appearances- Almost all of the main cast members were interviewed by someone at some point about the film, at premieres, panels and in TV interviews
• News Reports- There are hundreds of articles on Guardians of the Galaxy throughout the internet on hundreds of different news websites
• Other- the soundtrack was released with music that was not created for the film (Awesome Mix Vol. 1); you can buy t-shirts, lunchboxes, cups, posters, badges, phone cases and film replicas such as jackets and helmets

What do you consider the aim of the campaign to be?:

An Analysis of Age in Waterloo Road

Micro features are very important in the creation of a scene in TV drama and are used for many different reasons, especially when it comes to conveying a representational issue.   Sound can be used to demonstrate how a character feelsin a scene.   Mise-en-scene can be used to demonstrate a character’s identity.  Lighting can also give us an idea of how the character feels without the use of dialogue.   The use of different camera angles and movements can demonstrate to the audience the character’s motivation.   The director of the clip has presented age through the use of all of these features.

The establishing shot we have in the clip is a close up of someone's feet.   We can assume they are a man's due to their size and the design of the shoe, as they are more masculine than feminine.   Also, they are not black leather shoes, which is the typical uniform of school boys, so we can assume that the man is a teacher.   We see his shoes behind a number of chair legs.   He seems to be walking extremely slowly, which creates drama.   The movement is similar to that of something stalking it's prey.   Due to the fact we then cut to a mid-close up of two older school boys, we can assume that the man is "stalking" them.   The two boys are talking, and seem to have done something wrong as they discuss hiding a video camera.   We can tell that the video camera is important, since there is a cutaway of the camera on it's own in a close-up; we can see the camera is broken.   We cut back to a view of the man's shoes going towards the school boys (again in a stalking manner) and they jump apart as he coughs.   There is a quick montage of inserts as we watch the boys jump around and put things in pockets from a variety of angles and shot types.   This makes the boys seem suspicious- we know that they have done something anyway, but in this way we see them seem even more guilty as they try to hide it.   Although we could assume that we are meant to be feeling pity for the teacher, the way the teacher reacts to the boys suggests other ways.   The earlier prey-like walking is now also added to by the tone that the teacher takes as he towers over the boys, slightly taller than both.   The teacher is also particularly patronising in the way he slightly moves his head down to talk to one of the boys, as if he has to physically lower himself to be able to talk to the boy.   This is a strong representation of age in the clip; it represents the older generation as being overly critical of the younger one.   The teacher seems to be out to get them, which is unfair as that would mean he is being biased towards other students, which is not what teachers are supposed to.   He belittles the boys in the movements he makes, and due to the variety of mid-long shots and mid-shots we can see all these movements in close detail.   He is using his age against the boys, as he knows that others are much more likely to believe him than the two younger boys as he is the stereotypical "responsible adult" due to his position as teacher.   He makes one of the boys so embarrassed that he has to cover his face, which does not show a particularly kind type of teacher.

When the female teacher (Mrs Choudhry) comes over, we see the concept of age come in when she merely accepts that the teacher has already got a story out of the boys; she does not truly allow them to explain why.   However, the boys do not try to defend themselves either, which also shows a problem with age.   It could be seen that the boys find it easier to take the punishment despite what happened; teenage boys are stereotypically characterised as lazy. However, we could also see their lack of defence as a sign that the teacher, or teachers in general, will never believe them no matter what they say as since they are older they know best.   However, we also see age in the way that the male teacher belittles Mrs Choudhry like a child, asking that she "does have insurance?"; since he is an older male, he feels he has the right to speak this way to her as he is more important.   This further demonstrates this teacher as being a horrible man; due to his age, it could be seen as him being stereotypically bitter.   She even comments on the injustices later, complaining about the way the man spoke to her, demonstrating the injustices of people exerting their age over you, as well as their gender.

However, later on in the clip we see a difference in the way that age is represented.   A boy asks the site manager if he can help to fix one of the windows in the science block.   However, the man does not belittle the boy, but speaks to him as an equal.   This is represented through the eyeline shots we can see as the two speak; the over-the-shoulder shots demonstrate that they are speaking to each other with no chastisement.   This clip represents age as something that doesn't need to affect all relationships, as people can be mature whatever age, despite the fact that the boy stereotypically "slumps" off- his shoulders seem to hang forward in a caveman-like fashion and he seems heavy in his footsteps.

Further on, we see the similarities in age groups and how although people are older not a lot has changed.    An older man walks in to the sound of non-diegetic rap music.   This is typically music that younger people listen to.   Due to his age, and the fact two girls call him sir, we can assume he is a teacher.   The cameraman tilts the camera up so we can see the entirety of the man's outfit.   He is dressed in stereotypical clothes of teenagers, including the trousers pulled down so that you can see the male's underwear.   With the use of the sound and mise-en-scene combined, the teacher seems almost pathetic.   This is aided by the use of the girls laughter, that is heard first off-shot, as if they walked on laughing at him.   We can see his face after they left, and he's obviously embarrassed.   This highlights that even adults can be made to feel ridiculous, just as Mrs Choudhry was made to feel earlier for not having taken out insurance.   It also highlights that it doesn't matter the age of the people making fun of you or making you feel foolish just as it doesn't matter the age that you are when you get horrible comments- either way you are not made to feel happy.   This is further emphasised with the close-up reaction shot of Mrs Choudhry when she sees the teachers clothes, with a disgusted look on her face.   "You look ridiculous", she says, which further demonstrates the idea that younger people as well as people your own age can make you feel bad.   The whole scene is almost immature, as by the way the man ran after, it is reminiscent of a school playground, where a boy fancies a girl and will do anything to impress her.   This highlights that not a lot changes when you grow up.

The Waterloo Road clip's main comments on age are that it can be used as a weapon as well as not used at all, as well as the fact that despite all stereotypes not a lot changes when you grow up.   We see an older man belittle children as well as another teacher who just so happens to be a woman which highlights how it can be used to hurt people.   We see the relationship of the site manager and the student who wants to help him- he talks as if the boy is his equal, which shows that age doesn't have to matter at all.   Finally, we see the male teacher trying to impress the woman we assume that he likes by dressing younger than himself.   He is then humiliated.   This demonstrates that you shouldn't have to change your age for someone to like you, and also that at any age people can make you feel bad.