term 1 theory tasks

1. Spaced Analysis
• Copy and paste (and add to if your work is limited) your Spaced analysis
• Include images as necessary
• Watch the episode of Spaced (Series 2, Episode 5 GONE) and discuss the use of two or
more of the following;
• 1.Miseenscene (colour, costume, props)
• 2.Camera
• 3.Editing
• 4.Sound
• 5.Intertextuality (other products that are referenced in it)
• 6.Context (who made it, when was it made, who for, etc.)
• Reference your observation and critically discuss its use (is it successful/funny? Why?
Etc.)

2. Camera movement, angles and speeds in Spaced are all done deliberately to show moods in
characters and situations. In the particular episode that I was given to analyse, the camera begins
steady and focused on the main characters as they enter the pub and begin their night of fun and
no special effects are used. As the night goes on, the camera quickly begins to lose focus and looks
to be handheld rather than on a tripod - this shows clearly to the reader, among other hints, that
the characters are starting to get drunk. Later on in the episode when the main characters get
confronted by the 'chavs', the camera stays in one place for a longer period of time which helps
emphasize the fact that the characters are in a standoff. It creates tension in the situation and slows
the pace of the episode to allow the viewer to catch up with the characters' night. Once the
characters begin to battle, the camera transitions speed back up again along with the shakiness and
blurry effects to show the viewer how important and intense the scene is (however silly it may
look).
The editing in this episode is mostly used to tie in the two stories happening around the same time
with Simon's character's night out and Nick's character's dog hunt. Each characters stories are
interrupted at specific points to create mini cliffhangers to leave the viewer excited to see what
happens.

3. Conflict Image

4. Conflict Analysis
• Copy and paste (and add to if your work is limited) your conflict analysis
• Choose a screenshot from a film/TV show with at least two characters in it that are in conflict
• Not necessarily physically fighting. This could be an argument, a clash of ideals or simmering tension
• Analyse the image in a PowerPoint, annotating the image or write out as more of an essay style
response (ensure you include the image).
• Discuss the creation of meaning through the use of;
• Colour
• Costume
• Props
• Lighting
• Setting/Location
• This should be developed and detailed.
• Consider using the PEEL method

5. Colour is used in The Green Mile to shed a very subtle light on which character is good and the
other bad. For example, the inmate’s uniform sports the traditional criminal grey/blue and white
stripe pattern. This will click straight off the bat with the audience telling them he is not a good
character and foreshadows possible conflicts between him and other good characters later in the
film. On the other hand, the prison guards wear only single neutral coloured plain uniforms.
This leads me on to my next point which is that the clothes that the characters are wearing in this
film can also reflect the kind of person they are and what their motive/mindset could be. The
prison guards are all well groomed, formally dressed and clean looking which can form a sense of
familiarity with the audience and the guard characters that they otherwise would not get with
looking at the inmates who are often looking dirty, wearing ripped clothes and bearing raunchy
tattoos which may be acceptable nowadays but back when the film is set would have been
frowned upon quite a lot. All of these signs further try to persuade to the reader that the guards
are the good people and the inmates are bad if they could not yet tell by the behaviour of all the
characters.
The badges, ties hats and batons on the guards' belts are also used to link the guards to being
authorotive figures. Historically, the police had been created to safeguard ordinary people from
bad things and people and uphold the law. This has obviously gained them a rather positive
reputation up to this point and that is also used in this film to show us who has the best interests.
Lighting is arguably one of the biggest uses of symbolism in film as a whole as there are so many
things associated to different colours and shades such as brighter colours being happier and
positive and darker colours being sad, angry and evil. This exact example of symbolism in lighting
is used in The Green Mile in every scene shot in the prison wing itself.

6. Amy Analysis
• Copy and paste (and add to if your work is limited) your Amy analysis
• Include images as necessary
• Task
• Watch the sequence Recording the song Back to Black
• 1. To what extent has Kapadia manipulated this footage to create a different set of meanings and responses?
• 2. What function does this sequence have in the narrative as a whole?
• 3. How might contextual factors (knowing the larger story of her life) impact on the way that you read this scene?
• or
• Watch the sequence Addiction to crack cocaine and Blake
• 1. List the techniques used by the director to show Winehouse’s battle with drug addiction and why they may have been used.
• 2. What do you feel is the overall effect of this sequence?
• or
• Amy’s death and its aftermath
• To what extent does Kapadia use filmic techniques to generate a response in the climax of Amy ?

7. In the 'Recording the Song Back to Black' scene, Kapidia has manipulated the footage in a few ways to give the
audience more context and to add more to the song.
The first addition to the footage is Amy's reaction while recording the song. In the footage shown we can clearly see
Amy putting her heart into her singing and feeling the lyrics. It adds a sincerity to the scene and creates emotion
towards the audience. The song's lyrics also appear while she sings.
There is an extremely effective use of silence at the very end of this scene to add emotion. The song finishes and the
last word: 'black' is slowly repeated in a quiet and fading voice, symbolising an empty and depressing moment in
Amy's life.
This scene is important to the whole narrative and functions as a turning point in the documentary in which she
finally channels her feelings into the limelight through her song lyrics. It is also just before a section of the
documentary in which Amy seems to be turning herself around slightly and everyone can see a glimmer of hope. This
scene after watching the documentary and seeing the larger story of her life opens the audience's eyes to her
struggling and exposes her as actually not being okay despite looking like she is slowly recovering.
The song also bares a more deeper meaning than the audience would have originally thought as they have context to
the lyrics and can relate certain lyrics to events that Amy had experienced and suffered through. The people that Amy
hung out with and recorded the song with all never noticed how much she was suffering at this point but after
watching the scene with the knowledge of her wellbeing, you can read her body language, attitude towards things
and her music a lot deeper than anyone else would have at that time.

8. Factual Analysis
• Copy and paste (and add to if your work is limited) your Amy analysis
• Include images as necessary
• Can a documentary be objective? Why do you believe this?
• How far should we accept what we watch/read? Why?
• How can we make sure what a documentary presents as fact, is true?

9. As a student studying in the area of media, I believe that a documentary can most definitely be
objective. I believe this primarily because of the fact that some documentaries use interviews and
opinions from all sides of a story to leave the audience to speculate whereas other documentaries
use a more biased stance and only choose to show the best or worst sides of a story of sometimes
even filter interviews and footage to fakely persuade the audience of something.
I think that we should think about the purpose of the documentary and the subject before we
watch them and keep a neutral opinion as some documentaries are objectively trying to make a
group or community of people look good or bad. Take 'Benefit Street' for example where we are
shown only the roughness, laziness of the community and dangers as opposed to the lengths that
some of them go to to get out of a bad situation or lifestyle. We should let these documentaries
help us form an image of the subject but be sure to keep our own thoughts and opinions in mind.
We can make sure that what a documentary presents as fact is true by conducting our own research
on the subject. You could get in contact with anyone with family or who lives there themselves and
find out firsthand if the documentary is truthful. Searching the subject online could show some
results and from many different sources too with wikipedia or even online forums giving many
opinions and facts. The law also prevents any misinformation from happening too by forcing the
creators of a documentary to prove their sources and information gathered is truthful.

10. Factual Analysis
• Copy and paste (and add to if your work is limited) your Amy analysis
• Include images as necessary
• Compare the differing representations of people in ‘The Might Redcar’,
‘Benefits Street’ and ‘Skint’.
• What do you think the aim of each of these programs is?
• Are these programs biased?
• Use specific examples to show how the different representations and aims have
been achieved.

11. Personally, I feel that the aim of 'The Mighty Redcar' was to more inform the audience of the type of life people live in
Redcar daily and how much they struggle. Due to this, the documentary wants to try and create a sympathetic
attitude amongst the audience. The program doesn't seem to have a bias to it as it portrays some people positively
and others negatively depending on their attitudes to their life, others and their effort to make a living. There are
people in it who are working multiple jobs and making as much money as they can who are struggling and there are
also people who are associated with gangs and crime - some are roped in while others by choice. For example, we
meet a man named Dylan who from the very beginning seems extremely into the music industry, using whatever
cheap software and instruments he can find to create songs. He constantly bares a positive attitude and remains
hopeful even if negative events happen. On the other hand we have James, a young offender who has been in jail 5
times by the age of 19. Following these two stories alone has achieved the documentary's goal of giving the audience
a glimpse of life in Redcar and how different people cope with it.
The likes of 'Benefits Street' and 'Skint' are quite different. They both regard the people and their stories in a negative
fashion and seem to be biased against people who are on benefits and those who are not so wealthy, portraying them
as being lazy, unmotivated and unpleasant. Their aim is clearly to paint a negative picture of benefits and
communities such as the ones shown in these documentaries. For example one of the main people followed in
'Benefits Street' is a woman nicknamed 'White Dee' and her family. She is almost immediately shown to be very
common, rude and extremely lazy.

12. Final Task
• Discuss the topics covered in today’s lecture in reference to your own
work (Fanzine/Factual)
1. Explain how you have worked to the expectations and conventions of the
medium of factual production/fanzine with specific reference to;
• The content of today’s lecture
• Factual theory and conventions discussed in previous week’s lectures
• Existing products exploring the same/similar topics
• How have you explored context (the background of your topic, who made it, when it was
made etc.)
• How have you explored style (everything that is written/said)
• Do not reference your/existing product visuals in this section
2. Compare and contrast your work to one or more professional productions
• Discuss visuals – consider stylistic decisions, technical processes, use of information, etc.