3. CHANNEL 4
In this newspaper advertisement mise-en-scene is particularly evident. The lighting in this advertisement is an
essential part of character profiling, The left hand side has darker and more shadowed lighting therefore causing
the person to portray aggressive antagonistic behaviour therefore signifying to the reader that he is essentially
representing the ‘bad guy’. On the right hand side we see the lighting progressively becoming brighter and less
shadowed. This, when combined with the facial composition of the actor allows the reader to acknowledge that
he represents the victim, there is no heroic stance which indicates a protagonist but a submissive anguishing
facial expression therefore allowing the audience to assume he going to be the potentially injured party.
As well as this hand gesture represents the image of a gun, this emphasises that the show is in fact about
‘disarming Britain as the web link suggest. It allows us to see how the a white man in a hooded jumper is the
stereotypical representation of a gun owner. However this subverts from the dominant ideology; typically we
would associate gun crime with gangs of young men in their late teens from a city background. Although the
dirty wall and typical hooded jumper partially fits this profile we lack the image of a gang therefore allowing the
audience to assume that it is a more serious issue than they may realise. It does not only exist in a city setting but
also in unexpected environments.
4. FEATURES
The red Channel 4 symbol is a key feature in this newspaper advertisement. It works to promote the show as
specific to this channel, however is cleverly constructed to connote the situation presented. Red emphasises
the violent imagery causing the audience to understand the severity of the shows contents. However also
causes the 4 to stand out against the dull background emphasising that this is the show presenting it.
Channel 4 uses this type of advertising throughout their promotion therefore they are recognisable simply
through the symbol ‘4’. The simplicity in this symbol leads to a more complex idea ( representing blood on
the wall) which simultaneously promotes the show as well as channel 4.
As well as this they have a small tag line to show the website and name of the show. This minimal advertising
allows the audience to focus on the imagery presented therefore causing it to become more effective. The
singular word ‘disarming Britain’ is written in small text, this emphasises the idea that the imagery is supposed
to do most of the advertising and the tag line simply defines where it can be found and what to look for on
the channel. No more advertising is needed.
5. AUDIENCE
This documentary advertisement is aimed at a more mature audience as it target their sympathetic
parental natures. The explicit imagery intends to shock and scare the audience into understanding the
reality of the situation, especially as it is called ‘disarming Britain’. These issues are often more prevalent
within the late teenage to adulthood years of someone's life, therefore by targeting this audience as
opposed to one of younger children they are forcing it upon an appropriate age to understand as well as
facing an audience who may have to deal with such a situation themselves. The setting is one which
would be recognised throughout an older society causing their message to have the necessary effect and
bring in a wider audience base. The use of young male actors allows us to assume the target audience will
be both male and in late teenage year to early 20’s. It allows us to recognise that this is the prominent
group within society that gun crime is associated therefore by using them in their advert it will allow their
target audience to relate to image, thus relating to the documentary, and making them more likely to
watch it.
