G322 Jan 2011

Film industry from Great Baddow High School Media

Representation of Gender, Cutting It Clip

This clip from the TV show 'Cutting It' shows representations of gender in through the use of editing, camera work, mise en scene and sound.

From the mise en scene in this clip we can see that the man is presented negatively compared to the woman. This representation of gender is first displayed in the taxi through the clothes the characters are wearing, the man is wearing a dark suit whereas the woman is wearing a bright coat, this subtly suggests the woman is more innocent than the man. As well as this, whilst the couple are outside talking to one another, the light shines on the woman's face compared to the man, whose face is dark and in the shade, representing the man in a negative light. As well as this, after the woman is hit by the bus and is on the ground, we can see that she has been knocked down next to some white flowers, this supports the representation of the woman being innocent we also see here flower patterned dress which she hides throughout the clip which could represent her trying to hide the innocence to make her seem more empowered as both the man and the woman are wearing formal outfits.  

There is minimal editing in the clip which is a transition of a fade to black at the end. This done to show the woman's death, but it also allows us to see how much this is affecting the husband and how he could feel like part of his life is fading away as she does. As well as this, after the woman gets hit by the bus time is slowed and we see the mans reaction followed by a cut to a shot of the woman on the ground. This was done on to capture the emotion in the scene and on the mans face, highlighting that this relationship means a lot to him and that it may have all been taken away. This links into the fade at the end which shows us how much is being taken away from him.

The use of sound plays a part in the representation of gender as at the end of the clip, the woman shouts across the road but is barely heard over the sound of traffic so when she is hit by the car which sound overpowers this portrays the woman as lesser than the man who is stood to the side and you can hear his heart beating and slow breathing at the same volume as her shouting was which makes  us focus on him and see him as the main character and most important character in this clip even though the woman was just hit by a car.

The camera work is also minimal to tell how has more power until the end. The majority of the shots in the clip are at an equal level, except from at the end of the clip where the man is shown to be dominant as when we are focusing on the woman we see it from a high angle which is the man perspective and the woman perspective is a low angle on the man face. The woman's face is also to the left of the screen whereas the man's is centre screen which portrays to us the the man is more important at the crucial moment in the clip even though throughout most of the clip the camera angles and framing suggest equal power. 

Task 4

Representation of Disability - Coming Down the Mountain

Explore the Representation of Disability in this Clip - 'Coming Down the Mountain'

Mise en Scene:

During the first shot, we are shown the bedroom of the two brothers, on the left side is Ben, and on the right David. The left side is very colourful with lots of posters and bright toys and bedding, compared to the right side which is very dull and washed out. This highlights that people with a disability like Bens' are seen as childish and immature, in contrast to the stereotype of a 'normal' teenage that suggests that teenagers shouldn’t have childish items and should be more adult. It also shines a positive light on disability as it shows that they are more creative and less likely to be influenced by stereotypes. However, this could also be a negative view of disabled people as they aren’t it shows that they aren't able to grow out of a childish state until they force themselves to do so. This can be shown as out casting disabled people for being different. 

The lighting throughout the clip is all natural light. This is done to show that none of the characters should be getting any better treatment as we are all human. It also removes any aspect of adding importance to a character and puts them all on a equal playing field as adding lighting to a character makes him/her stand out more and can make them seem more important which in this case is not true for any characters.

Camera:

When on camera, unless there is a close up, Ben is in the corner of the screen when he is around his brother and friend at school, this is a done to try and show that Ben and people with disabilities are being rejected from society or ignored. In contrast to this in the opening breakfast scene Ben is in the centre of the frame and is receiving attention from his family, therefore not following what is normal in society.

The camera is mostly level with the character throughout most of the shots that include both Ben and David. This portrays the idea of both characters being equal by displaying them on the same level. There are scenes where the camera could of easily been titled up or down to make the audience look down on a character or look up at him to portray power levels but this isn't done to make sure that Ben and David are seen as equal. 

Editing:

During the scene where David and Ben are leaving school, there are lots of quick cuts to cause confusion for the audience. This is done to make us feel like we are in Ben’s position as even though the scene is focused on David we see how worried Ben is in the background. at the same time in as this there is a random cut to a boy shouting about a can of petrol, followed by the explosion about 20 seconds later, this shows how chaotic ordinary schools can be and how they might not be suited form someone like Ben as he worries throughout the scene compared to the other students who just see this as an ordinary event.

During the first part of the clip, David is narrating over an random clips of animals and neanderthals which shows evolution taking place. The voice over from David mocks disabled people as the people who went ‘wrong’ during this process therefore adding a negative undertone to the start of the scene.

Sound:

In the opening shot, we hear David narrating about how he decided to kill his brother Ben, he also described Ben as a ‘really big potatoes with eye tentacles’. This sets a heavily negative undertone to how David feels about people with disabilities and also shows how some people consider disabled people as not a part of society due to them being 'different'.

Later we are put into Ben's position, at the bus stop the music slows down and a selection of sounds play. Heavy chatter, narration by David, music and diegetic sound for exapmle the bus and Ben's toys and cars. This is done to create a sense chaos and to make the audience feel sorry for Ben as we hear what he hears and this puts us in his position. This makes us feel sorry for him and will make the audience understand what the struggles of living with a disability is like.

Presentation

Task 2

Film Industry Task 1

Top 5 films of 2016:

1) Finding Dory
2) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
3) Captain America: Civil War
4) The Secret Life of Pets
5) The Jungle Book

Rank	Movie	Release Date	Distributor	Genre	MPAA	2016 Gross	Tickets Sold
1	Finding Dory	6/17/2016	Walt Disney	Adventure	PG	$486,295,561	57,686,306
2	Rogue One: A Star Wars Story	12/16/2016	Walt Disney	Adventure	PG-13	$424,987,707	50,413,725
3	Captain America: Civil War	5/6/2016	Walt Disney	Action	PG-13	$408,084,349	48,408,582
4	The Secret Life of Pets	7/8/2016	Universal	Adventure	PG	$368,384,330	43,699,208
5	The Jungle Book	4/15/2016	Walt Disney	Adventure	PG	$364,001,123	43,179,255