LO1: Task Five - Analysis of a scene from 'Youth in revolt'

Task Five
Analysis of a scene from 'Youth in revolt'

The length of the scene is 1 minute 5 seconds. It is about a conversation-taking place during breakfast. The participants of the conversation are the son, the mother and the mother’s boyfriend. The son is making his mother aware that he does not like what his mother is doing in the house with her boyfriend. The tone of voice he uses indicates that the relationship between himself and his mother is not strong.

The scene is based in the kitchen of the main character. The actors are eating breakfast, we know this because we can visibly see the actors eating breakfast and there is food laid out on the table. The scene consists of mainly close up shots and bust shots. As the conversation is the main purpose of the scene close ups are used whenever one of the actors are speaking. Bust shots are used to show more detail for example what the actor is doing and what is required for the audience to see.

The scene starts of at a quiet family kitchen where the two parents are talking. The teenager looks as if he is ready to interrogate. The character is portraying this by the body language, he is sat up straight with his arm on the table and his hand next to his face and he is also smoking a cigarette.  This portrays the boy as if he is the detective in a dark room with a spotlight on a criminal trying to get a statement out and the adults are trying to avoid the question.  

There was silence at the table When the youth said ‘this is my home too all of a sudden a stranger comes and stays over.’ The pause is from 12 seconds to 20 seconds; this is portrayed to the audience that the adults know that they have been caught on what they were hiding. After the long pause the mood of the conversation changes.

The scene shots are all focused on a conversation.  At the beginning, most of the shots are over the shoulder but then when the conversation gets a bit aggressive the camera changed to mid shots from the waist onwards, this portrays that the conversation is becoming more serious. Finally when the male adult stands up it still is at a mid-shot but then it changes where the adults are standing side by side. In this scene there was no transition included it was just cut and then next clip.

Near the end of the scene the male adult loses his temper because he can’t take the questioning from the youth and stands up to show whom that he is the real man and that the youth has no right to interrogate him. Also the man is a police officer so he has a lot of power because of him job role. Also when the youth exits the scene he shows no respect for example he could of left with no words however he left with attitude, he first throws his cigarette in the bowl of cereal and then throws the bowl across the table, he then turns his face to a side to show that he is disgusted and then leaves. This portrays that the youth is showing no respect towards the adults and that he is sickened by their behaviour.

LO1: Task Four - Narrative Structures

Task four

Compare and contrast ‘Eastenders’ and ‘Doctor Who’. Explain where different narrative structures occur and why they are used

‘Eastenders’ is a realist drama; we know this because Eastenders presents real life situations. In this episode we see topics such as debt, family affairs and work; these are all situations that happen in real life and can relate to most people who have gone through one of these situations in their lives. 

However, this is not the case for 'Doctor Who'. ‘Doctor who’ is an anti-realist drama and is based on fictitious events.  The events and situations shown in ‘doctor who’ usually do not relate to real life as they are fictional. ‘Doctor who’ includes a mixture of human characters and fictional characters, this is because they relate to the situations that take place in the drama. 'Doctor Who' falls into the sci-fi genre, however, the director wants the show to appeal and relate to human relationships also.

‘Doctor who’ is a non- linear drama as the events are not shown in sequence. The drama includes flashbacks of past events; this is to give insight of the characters past and to tell a story of how the character got to where they are now.  In this episode we see two flashbacks, one at the beginning showing the doctors defeat and one near the end telling the audience the story of Oswin and how she got turned into a Darlek.

Eastenders is a linear drama as it is presented in sequence. It is shown in chronological order as it reflects real life for example what happens in the morning, evening and night.

Eastenders is restricted and non-restricted as we can only see what the characters are doing and what they are going through, however,  we do not know what the outcome will be. In some parts of Eastenders we are presented information at the same time as the characters as it makes the story realistic. On the other hand, there are some moments when we as the audience can see what a character is doing but the characters in the soap cannot see it and this makes the soap non-restricted as well at times.

Doctor who is restricted as the drama does not provide a lot of information. We only see from and follow the doctors views as he is the main character in the drama. We are introduced new information at the same time as when the doctor finds out; this helps the audience to engage with the story.

Eastenders has an object narrative as we are guessing throughout the story. We do not know what to expect and can only see the external behaviours of the characters. Soaps like to create enigma, as they want you to guess why a character is acting a certain way.

In doctor who the narrative is subjective as it is from Oswin’s viewpoint and we see how she believes she is portrayed, it then changes towards the end to objective as we see from the doctor’s viewpoint and we able to see that what Oswin really looks like and that she is actually a Darlek.

The narrative structure of ‘doctor who’ is that there are two main stories, the doctors and Oswin’s, and one sub story which is the relationship between Amy and Rory. The main focus of the episode is the story between the doctor and the darlek’s and the kidnap that has taken place and also the story of Oswin and how she got she got kidnapped and became a Darlek. The sub narrative, which is the relationship between Amy and Rory, appears in the episode at random times, it adds a realistic element to the drama.

Similar to doctor whom, Eastenders has a narrative structure of two main stories, the Michael, Roxy and the baby story and the story about Syed and Christian. The Michael and the baby story is a strong story and focus is on a family affair. The Syed and Christian story is focused on Syed’s financial problem and the problems going on between Syed’s and Christian’s relationship. However, different to doctor who, there are three sub narratives which are Max and his family problems, Phil and his loneliness and jack and Michael’s business. These three sub narratives are included randomly in the episode and create a build of their story and it helps to develop relationships and a setting.

According to Todorov, all narratives follow a typical structure, which helps build a story. Propp’s theory doesn’t really apply to Eastenders as there are too many characters and there is more than one storyline. There is no clear view of who fits into which characteristic of the characters involved in Propp’s theory.

However, propp’s theory does apply to doctor who as there are two main stories and the same characters is included in both stories. The hero is doctor as he is the one who always saves the people and solves the problems. the doctors helpers are Rory and Amy as they are his sidekicks and help him in difficult situations. The donor is the doctor’s tardis which is his phone box as it helps him travel through time and space.  The villain in this episode is the Darleks as they are what are causing the problem and the situation. The dispatcher is the prime minister who gives information about what the problem is and the damsel in distress is Oswin as she is the one who needs rescuing.

Todorov’s theory applies to both Eastenders and doctor who. They both start with equilibrium all is calm. Eastenders starts of in a house and it has a calm atmosphere. Doctor who starts off with a flashback it then shows Amy having a photo shoot and showing her day to day setting which is where she lives. The next stage is the disequilibrium where is doctor who Amy, Rory and the doctor get kidnapped, this when the disruption begins to take place. Eastenders however, doesn’t have an disequilibrium as there are too many stories taking place. The recognition for ‘doctor who’ is that the doctor recognises the situation when he speaks to the prime minister. There are more than one recognition period for Eastenders as in the Syed story that he is provided with money from his mother to help with his debt, he also realises at the table that he is beginning to like Danny. In Phil’s story, Jean helps him realise that changing the décor of the pub will not bring back his ex-girlfriend and that the fact is that he is lonely. In Michael’s story the recognition is when he is shouting at Roxy and she reminds him that he has to be a responsible father. 

‘Eastenders’ and ‘Doctor Who’ both have a resolution. In doctor who, the doctor brings down the force field and Oswin helps him to sort things out. In Eastenders, Syed solves part of his financial problem with the money his mother has given him. Michael drinks and expresses his feeling to Roxy. However, Phil story is left on a cliff-hanger as we do not know what he is going to do and do not know how he dealt with what Jean said. 

LO1: Task Three - Genres

Task Three - Genres

Period Drama

A period drama is a drama that is set in the past. 'Downtown Abbey' falls in the genre of period drama as it is a drama that is set in the past. It is aired on ITV 1 during the week. The drama is based in the post Edwardian era. The programme is based in the fictional location of Yorkshire country estate. The costumes worn are old fashioned, the characters wear gowns, and suits and their costumes present their class, whether they are rich or poor. In the time period there was such a big different between social classes and it was evident in the way people themselves. The props seen in period dramas are old-fashioned cars and old furniture, this is so that the audience understand what the setting was like in that time period. They have storylines, which are realistic, can relate to real life situations and are usually about money problems, love, family disputes and marriage problems. These themes were very common and important in households during that time period. The language used is formal and standard English. Period dramas tend to use the black and white effect to add realistic elements to the drama. In 'Downtown Abbey' you see clean streets, castles and mansions these are all things that we expect to see in the past. Some period dramas are linear as they show flashbacks of certain characters. 

Drama

'Grey’s Anatomy' is a drama. It is a realist drama and is based on real life events. 'Grey’s Anatomy' has storylines, which can relate to real life situations such as love, affairs, family disputes and money issues. The main setting for the drama is a hospital. The drama is set in the present day and has a urban setting as we see modern day buildings and modern cars. The language used is modern day English and is usually informal. The drama is filmed with neutral colours as it supposed to look as real as possible. Propp's theory applies to these types of dramas as they include a hero, a villain, a helper and a damsel in distress. 'Grey’s Anatomy' has modern props such as present day cars and up to date technology as the drama is set in the 21st century and at the same time period as the audience. 

 
Fantasy

'Secret Circle' falls into the genre of fantasy, as it is a fictional story based on witchcraft. The programme focuses on fancy effects for example the use of magic and supernatural creatures. Most of the storylines included do not relate to the audience and are situations that do not occur in everyday life. Fantasy programmes use locations such as other planets, battleships, spaceships and castles. Propp's theory can apply to these types of programmes, as you are able to see clearly which characters are good and which ones are evil. The props used are sometimes futuristic technology, modern cars and props related with witches, wizards and aliens. Fantasy programmes are usually set in the dark they include a gloomy effect. Not much lighting is needed as fantasy programmes focus on being dark, gloomy and scary, the setting needed to portray those themes. In 'Secret Circle' the characters have their own unique look; their appearance portrays the type of person they are. The villains usually have a rough look and tend to wear a lot of black and the hero is usually appeared to look innocent by wearing whites. The costumes worn in fantasy programmes range from normal, casual clothing to capes, gowns and head gear. The programme is linear as there are flashbacks included.

Crime

'My Murder' falls perfectly into the genre of crime as the programme focuses on a teenager who gets murdered. The programme was based on a real life event about a young boy who was targeted and was included in a honey trap, against a girl and her boyfriend. The programme focused on the young boy and presented what his life was like and the reason for his murder. The programme is set in an urban setting; locations presented were homes, flats, a school and a park, which all related to the story. The costumes worn in the programme are casual clothing, police outfits, school uniform; all costumes used were strictly related to the story.  The props used in this programme were knifes and also up to date technology such as phones and iPod’s. The characters used in crime programmes are usually detectives, police, ambulances, fire fighters, families and witnesses. Propps theory and Todorov's theory can be applied to crime stories as you can clearly see whom the villain and the stories usually start with a calm setting and then step-by-step a problem unravels. 

Sitcom Comedy

'Citizen Khan' is a sitcom comedy as it is a programme, which is made to make people laugh. The programme focuses on the main character 'Mr Khan' and his family. Comedy sitcoms are usually based in the present day and usually have storylines about love, family disputes, marriage and financial problems but these typical situations are usually made a mockery off. There are limited sets; in 'Citizen Khan' the main locations are 'Mr Khan's' house and the local mosque. The costumes worn are everyday clothing, casual clothing. The language spoken is usually informal and also strong language is presented. Sitcoms have limited characters; in 'Citizen Khan' there is 'Mr Khan' and his family in all of the episodes. There is also use of canned laughter and use of catchphrases purposely to make people laugh and recognise the saying.