Term 1 theory tasks

1. Spaced Analysis
Discussing Technical Elements Of “Spaced-Gone”
Sound
The producers have used a lot of different sounds throughout to set the “mood” and “theme” of what’s happening at a certain moment, for
example when Duane (played by Peter Serafinowicz) becomes angry when Tim (Played by Simon Pegg) reminds him of past events, I have seen
that the music changes, to a more serious tone. After making more observation I have seen that the producers have incorporated real life gun
sound effects for two scenes throughout this episode, they have also incorporated sad music for when one of the characters gets shot, by
doing this it makes the view feel empathy towards the character and also creates a connection with them. I have also found that the producers
don’t let you forget that this a comedy, one way they do this is creating a scene where all the characters have an imaginary gun fight.
Editing
The producers have used a lot of different editing techniques throughout the episode, a good example of this, would be at the beginning
where they show the last scene of the episode, this is good because it straight away gets the viewer “hooked” it makes them think “oh, I
wonder what happens to them?” so they have to watch to find out. I have also seen that producers have edited certain scenes, so they repeat,
for example when Tim and Daisy (played by Jessica Hynes) leave the flat a person asks if they want a taxi, this line “Do you want a taxi” is
repeated several times throughout the episode. After making a stronger observation I have found the producers have also used “flash-backs”
and this is shown on one occasion when Tim is speaking to Duane and reminds him of a past event. I think this could make the viewer feel even
more connected with the character because they will feel as if they know everything about them and make them feel as if they haven’t missed
out on any information leading up to the present scene. The producers have also used fast paste cuts between some scenes when leading on
to another one,
Context
Who made Spaced?
Spaced was created, written and Narrated by Simon Pegg and Jessica Haynes, two of the leading actors in the show. The show was directed by
Edgar Wright, producers of the show were, Gareth Edwards and Nira Park. Executive producers were Humphrey Barclay and Tony Orsten.
Production
The show had a running time of 25 minutes for each episode. Camera setup for each episode was Single. Production companies involved
throughout the two series were, Big Talk, London Weekend Television and Paramount Comedy Channel. The main distributor throughout the
two series was Channel 4
When was it made?
Spaced was originally released 24th September 1990 to 13th April 2001.
What for?
The genre of Spaced falls under “sitcom” the show is about the often comic and sometimes surreal absurd exploits of Daisy Steiner and Tim
Bisley.

2. Conflict Image

3. Conflict Analysis
I have chosen to analysis certain aesthetic elements within this image from the movie “8 Mile”
Colour
Looking at this image I can see why they have used the colours that they have, if you look at the colours used in this scene, they are very dark
and depressing, telling the viewer that this isn’t a nice place and a shelter isn’t practically a nice place, it’s where people that don’t have an awful
lot, come to express themselves through rapping and doing battles.
Costumes
Looking at the clothes that each character are wearing, you can see that they both don’t have a lot of money, to buy nice clothes. There clothes
in fact look “run down” and old. Also looking at the clothes I can see how they fit in very well with the setting and image that this movie is trying
to portray, rappers usually wear vests and baggy trousers.
Props
Looking at this image I can see that one character is holding a microphone, this shows the viewer that the characters are going to be battling out
with each other, showing off there rap and rhyming skills. I can also see a light that is focused on the main character within this scene, that
shows the viewer that he is the one that needs to be watched.
Setting/Location
Looking at the setting within this movie I can see that it isn’t a nice place, this setting doesn’t show any signs of happiness. People come to battle
with each other in hope that that they go up the ranks and hope that they get spotted by a producers, you see this throughout the film as B-
Rabbit is always hopeful that his battles will pay off and in the end they do. The setting throughout the movie is definitely not bright, you see
where B-Rabbit lives in the movie, it’s a trailer park with his alcoholic mother and little baby sister. You see scenes of conflict and arguments
throughout.

4. Amy Analysis Is anyone to blame for the death of Amy Winehouse? What content in the film makes you feel this way?
After watching the first part of “AMY” and after being introduced to each person throughout the documentary it
was clear to see straight away that Blake Fielder-Civil was a significant influence on Amy, she fell head over heels
for this man. After also doing some research I have found that in 2008 Blake confirmed to the then newspaper
“News Of The World” that he was the person that introduced Amy to hard drugs, he says “I made the biggest
mistake of my life by taking heroine in front of her” he also says “I introduced her to heroin, crack cocaine, and
self-harming. I feel more than guilty”. After doing this research I would say that, Blake was the main factor in
regard to the death on Amy Winehouse. I also read that Amy got a tattoo of Blake’s name over her heart, while he
got one of her name behind his ear… I can’t but think that this has a much bigger meaning to it, when Amy and
Blake met at a bar in Camden 2005, Blake was already in a relationship at the time, Amy and him dated for a bit
and then in the documentary you can see Blake ring Amy up and tell her that he wants to be with his current
girlfriend, and that him and her should just be friends, I feel as if Blake in a way kept Amy in the dark... when it
came to him and his girlfriend at the time, and I think this shows with the positioning of the tattoo, it’s behind his
ear, out of the way so no one can see. I also could tell straight away that Amy was way more invested in Blake than
he was with her.
Do you think the film is, honest, truthful why?
Amy Winehouse had a lot of issues, with mental health, alcohol and drugs. I think this documentary gives you such
a raw insight in to her world, throughout the film you hear from all of the people that were extremely close with
Amy, her manger, father, record label, producer, mother. All of these people recall events that happened
throughout Amy’s life, you hear about the impact of her mother and fathers divorce, I think that Amy never really
got over her father having an affair, throughout the film he is painted as one of the bad guys, along with Blake. In
the film Mitch is heard saying “Amy doesn’t need to go to rehab” After doing research in to this, I have found an
article from American women’s magazine “Bustle” where he is seen saying that the film has misrepresented him
when he talks about Amy and rehab, saying “What I say is misrepresented. I say that Amy didn't need to go to
rehab, right? What I actually said was referring to 2005, Amy didn't need to go to rehab at that point. Later on was
a different story altogether, which gives a totally, completely different meaning to what I said”. If what Mitch is
saying is true and he actually did mean his comments in this way, then the film has been misleading and
untruthful.

5. Factual Analysis Can a documentary be objective?
I think some documentaries can be objective, especially if the documentary is covering a “hot” topic within society, for
example benefits, a large percentage of the general public have views and opinions on this. I’ve watched “Benefits: Life On The
Dole” a documentary series produced and aired by Channel 5, I found as I was watching this, the producer would focus on all of
the negative elements of where a family were living or how a family were living. The producer would only show shots of the
family watching TV or collecting money from the cash machine, I also believe that they would have been edited and
manipulated the footage for viewing pleasure.
Relating this question to “Mighty Redcar” I really think this documentary is honest and gives the viewer a truthful insight to
what life is really like in this seaside town. The producers interviewed around 400 people for this documentary, I think that
shows that they have worked hard to try and make this as honest as possible by getting views and stories from as many people
as possible. I also found that the producers wanted to show inspiration, they did this really well with the Kempen family, the
producers made us well aware of Ms Kempen regret’s for not trying at school, and also highlighted her courage and strength
when it came to making sure her daughter succeeded, Ms Kempen also tells us that she’s had to work a number of jobs just to
pay the rent, and also highlights her own struggle to find full-time work. By adding this in to the documentary, the producers
are bound to get a reaction from their audience, especially because the producers will play on what Ms Kempen says, they’ll do
this by adding music behind what she’s talking about, something slow and sad to trigger and emotional reaction from the
viewer. And hope throughout the documentary with the stories that they found, while also highlighting the bad parts of this
town. I found that the producers created the right balance when it came to this.
How far should we accept that we watch/read?
I think that we should only accept information that comes for a valid and genuine source, for example BBC News, ITV News. I
think it’s extremely easy to get misled, when being shown information, especially if your reading that information from a social
networking site, such as Facebook. We live in a society now where people love to blow stories up, to get a reaction. The Sun
newspaper is notorious for doing this and making a story sound a lot worse than it actually is, although I think that all
newspapers are guilty of this I think it’s defiantly harder now, because social media is such a massive thing, and you have
people like the United States President, Mr Donald Trump lying about a lot of things, can we trust anyone? I think it’s hard to
separate fact from fiction in this society.
How can we make sure that what a documentary presents as fact is true?
I think the only way that we can do this is doing research beforehand, or even after to see if what we have just been shown is
entirely true.

6. Factual Analysis 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?
I think the aim of these programs are to, create entrainment for people that are in a “higher position”
than the people that are featured in these program for example, someone that has a full-time job and
isn’t on benefits. I think these programs are edited and produced in a way so they show off the worse
parts of a city or town, and I also think the producers love to get people talking about the show and
topic, because “benefits” is such a hot topic, everyone has a view on it, I also think that the producers
like to cause some up-roar. I also think that the aim of these programs is to highlight our countries
benefits system and highlight just how many people rely on state payments.
“Benefits Street”
The people in Benefits Street are represented as loud, un-educated and somewhat lazy, I know that the
producers have decided to show the people in this light, for entertainment purposes. Comparing the
representations of Benefit Street and The Mighty Redcar, they are worlds apart, The Mighty Redcar,
gives so much throughout each episode, hearing each story, you get attached to it and the characters.
Each story has some level of hope to it, as the viewer, your sat there thinking, “I really hope they
succeed”, where as when I watched Benefits Street, there was no hope and the people that are in this
show have been represented in a much more negative way.
“The Mighty Redcar”
After watching The Mighty Redcar, I found that the producers had decided to present the people
featured in a more positive light, than those in Benefit Street. The Mighty Redcar, has moments of hope
and happiness, each person you meet has a story, and the producers know how to grip the audience
and get a emotional response out of the viewer. I also found that the producers had also decided to
focus on young people, with that being the main target audience, where as Benefit Street, heard the
stories of a lot older people.

7. Final Task
This is a podcast series created by BBC Radio 1, called “Life Hacks” this episode explores Anxiety. After listening to this podcast I found that the producers have
approached this podcast in a very formal way, the langue that they use is clear and understandable. I have also found that when listening, as the viewer, I felt very
“welcome” and comfortable, listening. Also it is very similar to the Mental Health podcast that I created, both products have people in that are being spoken to
about the topic. I have found, that when it comes to visuals for this product uses a whole range of different colour. They have used what I would describe as “calm”
colours. The font that they have used, is clear, large and readable for there audience. I have explored the context of this product, by looking at the topic discussed,
and seeing who the produces behind this product are, I have also taken inspiration from this product, when I came to produce my own. I have explored the style of
this podcast, by comparing it to other podcasts of the same topic, to see the how they approach the listener, for example, what language they use, if it’s formal or
informal.

8. Final Task
Here you have my own Mental Health podcast that I created and a similar l one that I have found. Looking at both
of these, they are to completely different styles, for example, my podcast is more serious, and I come across in a
more formal way than the existing product. I found that it carries a much more light hearted approach to the same
topic. I also found that the general flow of the podcast was different to mine, the producers behind it made it
sound very neat and professional. In also found that the fading in and out of the backing music flowed very nicely.