Film4- Marketing

Slumdog S

Film4 Distribution

• In 2002 Tessa Ross was introduced to the company and become the controller of Film4 and Channel 4 Productions.
• The company needed to boost annual investment after almost going bankrupt and they managed to do this through third party partnerships.
• After this the company will no longer distribute its own films. They are now partnered with Studio Canal and Warp Productions.

• Film4 make and distribute around 6-8 films per year.
• They set up a low-budget studio with the film council and distributers Optimum and Warp X which were their digital production house.
• As the company work across TV and film drama this allows for economies of scale and cross-fertilisation so therefore this ablest hem to think carefully about where to position each of their films.
• Ross see's Film4 as a part of a wider creative community e.g Working Title, The BBC and BBC Films
• Warp X and a Film4/UK film council joint project with the Sheffield bases indie 'Warp'- this means that they can definitely finance three low budget films each year

Working Title Distribution- Hot Fuzz

• Hot Fuzz is film which is based around the story of a London 'cop' which is transferred and paired with a new partner. Whilst at work the pair stumble upon a number of events and suspicious incidents. 
• The film was released on the 19th February 2007 in the United Kingdom
• The film was produced by Big Talk Productions, Ingenious, Studio Canal, Universal Pictures and of course Working Title Productions.
• Distribution company's that distributed the film were Universal Pictures and Working Title
• The film starred big names such as Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman
• Budget= $16 million
• Gross Profit= $80 million

Film Four Production Practices

Film Four is an independant British Film Company which is owned by Tessa Ross. The company was founded in the year on 1998. After the recent 50% rise the company now has a budget of £15 million per year.

Film Four's philosophy is to experiment, innovate and cater for audiences not addressed by other channels. They tend to look for a distinctive films which will make their mark within a competitive cinema market. The company tend to focus on films which are based around social realism. One of Film Fours' huge successes was the film Slumdog Millionaire; this is not your typical film.

The company have said that they would like to produce films which are 'British Talent Led'. Film's that are shown on the FilmFour channel are usually around 2 years old from the original theatrical release. Film Four are joined with 'sister channels' such as Channel 4, E4, More4 and 4music.  Originally it cost £6 per month to view the channel until it changed on the 26th of July when the channel then changed to a free air service.

The Film Four website allows visitors to preview and read up on the new films which they are produces throughout the year. This contains key information such as producers, director and cast.  http://www.film4.com/features/film4-in-production

The website also suggests and post pages containing the top 50 films they suggest you see. These come under different genres for example; 'Top 50 horror films to see before you die' and another example would be 'Top 50 British films to see'.

Film Four have recently partnered with 'Filmflex' which is now a Film4 on demand service. It will supply a selection of films to rent online, with a lot of them available on the same day as the DVD release. 500 films will be available at launch to rent from 50p-£3.99.

Working Title Production Practices

Working Title is a British film company which consists of co-chairpersons; Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. The company was founded in 1984. The company have been described as having the most powerful figures within the British film industry. The size of the company is reflected by the number of staff. There are only 42 full time staff which are also split between the low budget sister company; Working Title 2.

The Working Title philosophy has always been to make films for an audience- by this they mean play in a multiplex. The company are linked with the Hollywood company; Universal Studios. Universal own a 67% stake in the company and many of its recent films are co-productions with Studio Canal. The rest of the shares are owned by the company's founders which are BBC films and private investors.

On average Working Title make 4 films each year. More than 85 of Working Title films have grossed over $4 billion worldwide. The company are recognised due to their catologue of wide genre. Mainly for their punchy romantic comedies. Some of Working Titles' successes are About a boy, Notting Hill, Dead Man Walking, Billy Elliot and Hot Fuzz. On the other hand the company has experience the flop of films, for example, Wimbeldon and Thunderbirds. Working Title are known for working with fresh new talent and directors. Names that can be recognised within WT productions are Joe Wright, Stephen Daldry, Shekhar Kapor and Stephen Frears.

Working Title 2 creates films as an independent film company. The films that they create are of a low budget. Something that they are known for is their long history with American actors playing leading roles within their films.

On the Working Title website, they reguarly offer video blogs and updates of films that are currently in production. These can be found here; http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/features/video/id/194/hello-world-from-simon-and-nick

How is regional identity represented in the clip?

Within this clip two Northern workers are taken out for dinner by their Southern bosses. Firstly the clip begins with a close up on the meal they have chosen which consists of steak and chips. Straight away the characters of the North are stereotyped in relation to their food. The meal that is present is something that is not seen as your typical sophisticated business meal. It is honest food, which does not try and hide the simplicity of the Northern lifestyle. As well as the meal, we are also shown the drinks which have been brought by the characters. The two Northern men drinking beer which is most likely to be bitter following the typical stereotype. On the other hand the two Southern boss's drinking wine showing the difference in class. Also we are shown as the camera zooms out, the bosses are sat on one side of the table whilst the Northern workers are sat at the other. Here we are able to see an example of binary opposites between the two sets of characters due to their regional identity.

They then engage in conversation which involves the topic of the 'Trade Union'. We once again get a view of the Northern stereotype which is that they 'know their rights'. The camera then moves into a mid shot which allows us to see all of the men sat at the table and the type of environment they are in. We are shown that they are eating somewhere which represents a pub rather than a restaurant. From this we could assume that the bosses have chosen a setting where the two workers would feel more comfortable and 'fit in' better. It also triggers the enigma code at this stage to question as to why they did not take them to a higher class restaurant.

During the conversation which is taking place we learn the different social status' of the sets of characters, due to many different noticeable points regarding regional identity. A Northern character which we are able to refer to as 'Roy' portrays a very arrogant and stubborn personality. Whilst he is speaking the facial expression from the character appears be angry and we are able to see the lack of trust Roy has in the much more presentable character in the grey suit which seemingly is his boss. Although our two Northern workers are dressed smartly and have clearly made the effort, going on the stereotype we can see that this would not usually be something they would choose to wear and have gone out of their way especially.

The only point where the characters seem to have a connection within the scene is when Roy makes a sleazy remark towards the waitress. Playing on the Northern stereotype, Roy matches the creepy Northern man, with the cheesy chat up lines. The male gaze is clearly introduced to us here, as each characters eyes are focused on the waitresses features which would typically be noticed by a man. As the narrative continues, another typical Northern stereotype is presented within the scene. This is the fear of homosexuality. Roy says to his fellow worker the rude statement which is that his 'kid' goes to a 'poncy toffs academy'. This is said in the manner which implies that because of this his child is not 'hard' or tough' as he should be. The different levels of formality between the two groups are made very clear at this point during the conversation. The workers happily swear and use a lower standard of language in comparison to their bosses. The cultural code is introduced here as we are able to understand this is mostly likely a consequence of the North having 'little education' according to their stereotype. The fear of homosexuality is then repeated towards the end of the clip when the other worker begins to make jokes about it. He informs his boss of the nickname his son has received which he states as being 'Bent Rotter' rather than being called by his real name 'Ben Trotter'.

After being informed of the situation the camera then moves into a close up on the bosses face which shows he is shocked by the remark and also a little worried. During the scene no soundtrack or background music is added, as a result of this, social realism is created. To conclude, regional identity is represented in the clip with the use of stereotypes. It may seem that these stereotypes are very judgmental but by associating these the regional identity of the characters is able to be clearly understood throughout the clip.

Regional Identity

The Northern Stereotype
- Flat cap wearing
- Pigeon racers
- Friendly but 'bloody minded'
- Stubborn and argumentative
- Whippet owning
- Manual (hard) jobs
- Very little education
- Sexist
- Thick accent
- Bitter drinkers
- Hot pot
- Miserable weather
- Cobbled streets


The Country Stereotype
- Scrumpy addeled yokels
- Inbred
- Happy
- Stupid
- Livestock bothering
- Farm hand yokel
- Hunting toff
- Lord of the manor
- Slow pace of life
- Owners of animals
- Landrover/Tractor owners

How is disability represented in The Street?

During this clip we are able to see the different ways in which disability is represented. Firstly the clip opens with a close up of barbed wire which could straight away be representing a cage. We then get a close up of a characters face, standing behind what could be referred to as 'the cage' just before the camera moves onto what is known as the 'disabled' character throughout the clip. This is surrounded by the diagetic sound of voices and movement which would be something that is naturally found within any working environment. This helps to create the thought of social realism. Also straight away we have the use of the enigma code, this is the audience posing the question as to what happened to his face to result in the scars he has at present.

The first line of dialect that we are able to establish in the clip is our character with the scars stating that he wants his job back. This could represent that he is trying to rebuild his life and look into to futute rather than dwell on something that has clearly happened to him in the past. Shot reverse shot is then being used on the two characters which are engaging in conversation. Something that is extremely noticable is the focus the camera has on the scarred side of his face rather than the healthy. This is when we able to guess the way in which the rest of his society look at him. Relating to the dominant notions of disability, we can see that the social model of disability is being cast upon the character rather than the impairment that he actually appears to have. As the narrative continues it becomes clear to the audience that what we assume to be his previous work mates, are wary of what has happened to his face. Also the characters seem as if they pity the character with the scarred face and also try to avoid eye contact as if he is not would what be considered as 'normal'.

As the 'disabled' character is declined of his job and walks aways from the building site, we are once again shown a close up of barbed wire with our character walking behind it. Relating back to the thoughts on society putting him behind bars, due to his impairment. When the clip moves into the next scene a women who  appears to have been shopping drops her goods whilst getting out of a taxi. The character then speeds up pace to help her retrieve what she has dropped. As he 'gives her a hand', the camera quickly flashes onto an extreme close up of the scars on his face which then triggers an action code of the women reacting with a slight scream. This may allow us to recognise the real view that society have on the character. Nick, our main character immediately assumes her reaction is down to what he has on his face. This could representing disabilty as something that people fear and the lack of relation people may have towards it. At this point Nick walks away, whilst the women attempts to dig her self out of a hole after realising the offence she may have just infliced on the character.

Whilst this is all taking place no sound is used, once again to create social realism. Also to enforce and put emphasis on the descrimination he is recieving as a result of the way he looks.

As the narrative continues a sound bridge is used to connect our present scene with the next one. Asyncrynous sound is used as he is walking which ables the audience to realise the anger the character is experiencing. The music which is played sounds rather 'tribal' like which could relate to something rather animalistic. If we were to connect this with the previous theory of society putting him into a cage, we are able to establish a strong connection between that and the present music. Whilst walking the camera switches on close ups of members of society that we assume are reacting to seeing Nick's face. The social model of disability is able to be applied at this stage. Nick is clearly being seen as something which is not 'normal' and therefore being looked upon as having a 'difference' to other members in society.

We once again witness another sound bridge being used from this scene to the final one. We see that our character has visited the army recruitment office.  Straight away we are able to see the shadow cast upon his face which may represent that he wishes to hide away from society from the person he has now become. This shadow is being cast by the blinds which once again creates the caged effect upon his face. Editing is used several times within this scene to show the different sides that Nick's character may have. The camera switches from extreme close ups on each side of the face. One being the scarred side and one being the previous 'healthy side'. Something that could be taken into consideration is that the two sides of his face are infact binary opposites. It seems that the character has taken the option to visit the office for honesty. What i mean by this is that he is not treated differently by the character who is addressing him and he tells him straight. Also the army relates to expressing violence to settle matters. This relates as to why Nick is there, as he is angry but also expressing the feelings towards himself due to his impairement. Lastly, we capture the fact that Nick also has part of his hand missing. The reason for this being displayed near the end of the clip is to show the impressions that society have cast upon him. By this i mean even though he has had more than one injury, society are only focusing on the more noticeable one, and therefore judging his character by this.

To conclude i feel that a very stereotypical view of disabilty has been represented throughout the clip. It delivers the message to an audience that disability or impairement is something that is treated different within our society. It seems that in relation to this clip, many members of society may choose to treat someone like Nick different due to the way that they look, before engaging with the character and then gaining an opinion of them which is how it should be.

How is sexuality represented in the Skins clip?

During the 10 second clip we learn a lot about the Skins character Tony. The clip has no dialect and is based around sound which influences thoughts and feelings. The clip begins with an extreme close up on the characters eyes which then the camera slowly begins to zoom out. At this point we are able to hear church bells in the background. The asynchronous sound is what appears to wake the character.The church bells automatically represent that the day is Sunday and that it's likely a British Sunday service taking place. This is a clear cultural code which would be recognised by all British civilians.On the other hand this could also be interpreted as the enigma code due to the audience asking questions such as why is he awake so early on Sunday morning? This would be questioned due to the fact teenagers are portrayed stay out very late on a Saturday night which would then result in a lie in the next morning.

As the camera continues to zoom out the next thing that comes into view during the clip is the characters bed spread. It is a clear picture of a naked man and naked woman's body next to each other. Tony's head is directly in the middle of these two bodies which triggers the enigma code of his sexuality. Him being in between the two genders, whilst looking deep in thought and little intention to sleep makes the audience question if he has been awake all night, questioning his sexuality. This once again has connection with the church bells we are able to hear. This is the sign of disapproval towards his mixed opinion on his sexuality. Due to this he is immediately being reminded of how complicated it can sometimes be to be accepted in society after releasing and coming out with new thoughts on ones sexuality.

Relating back to his duvet, another enigma code is influenced at this point as to what his parents would have to say about the explicit bed spread. The options could be that he is a comfortable, confident teenage lad and feels he can be open with his parents or simply the fact that his parents do not care. Something else we are able to learn from the image on his duvet is a snippet from his personality, this would be maybe that he really is just a typical teenage boy. We are next able to pick up on the fact that the character has very little intention of sleeping due to the abrupt wake up, the bed which has not been slept in, and the light which is shining on his face. The curtains are not drawn, the light as a consequence of this casts a shadow of the characters face, this is sat either side of him which once again relates to his questionable sexuality. On the other hand this could illustrate his face being hidden due to his thoughts on being bi sexual or even homosexual. Either option this could be representing two possible frame of minds and represent confusion towards his sexuality. 

The last part of the camera slowly zooming out allows us to get a glimpse of Tony's bedroom. The organisation of the teenagers room is something that is easily noticed. This is because it stands out due to the fact it is the opposite of a typical teenagers bedroom. Everything is perfectly positioned, clean and very neutral which influences the symbolic code that he may be a character that enjoys control and needs to be in power. Relating back to the neutral colours of his bedroom, these contrast the two naked characters on his duvet which leads them to stand out much more. Once again drawing the audience's attention to his approach on his sexuality. From what we can already see, he appears to be fairly wealthy but then questions are raised as to why he has supermarket storage item standing in place as a bedside table. Taking this into consideration, raises the enigma code once again. We then consider the fact he would have to get the trolley into his house and into his bedroom. This makes us wonder if his parents care about him very little. Also if it reflects the type of teenager that may make a habit of stealing.

Next we are able to hear the diegetic sound of his alarm. This once again raises thoughts as to why he has an alarm set on a Sunday and why he was previously awake before his alarm. The alarm in this scene is an action code as it leads him to abruptly get out of bed and move into his morning routine. Lastly the camera throughout the clip moves very slowly and calmly, which is actually the opposite to a teenagers hyper and hectic weekend. Contrasting this though is the connection between the camera and the day of the week which is Sunday; due to this day being laid back and 'the day of rest'. Overall the clip from first glance would seem that it does not hint towards sexuality what so ever, but taking the above points into consideration we are able to see they have been added to influence questions as to where his thoughts may be regarding his own sexuality.

How is editing used in the film Momento?

As a class we watched the first 10 minutes from the film Momento. From these 10 minutes the editing within the film was crucial to our understanding. The film begins using an extreme close up of a polariod photograph, which the camera focuses on this for a fairly long time before any action begins. Along side this non-diegetic sound is added and this is to connect with the audience, create emotion and to inform that this is a key element of the story. This immediately triggers the enigma code for the audience, due to the photo having an unknown explanation. The photo itself raises many questions as to what has taken place due to the gruesomeness displayed within. At this point the character who is holding the photograph influences the audience to think he was guilty of a murder related crime. As the editing continues throughout the film we learn in fact this is not the case.

The narrative of the film then moves onto our character continuously shaking the photo which gradually fades out. This was the first noticeable piece of editing within the clip, which also raises awareness of the enigma code once again as we question as to why this photo is fading away. The next scene actually is reverting back into the past. A quick snapshot of the scene is shown which then follows with everything returning to its starting position. For example, glasses returning off the floor back onto the victim, a bullet entering back into it's gun and the helpless yelp of the victim making its way back to it's throat. Beginning to slightly unravel the polariod photo we firstly had glance of, the help editing ables us to establish thoughts on what maybe has taken place. As the narrative moves into the next scene of our film we are immediately able to notice the sequence of monochrome shots taking place. This scene would be labelled as a sequence of shots due to the substantial amount of editing throughout. It begins with once again an extreme close up which is on the characters face and abruptly moves into another close up of the characters hand picking up keys. This occurs again with our characters face parallel to the camera in a mid shot. We then become the eyes of our character looking at objects based around the room he is in, which stands out as being unfamiliar to him. Along side the monochrome sequence is what appears to be a commentary from the character we have been shown, discussing the issue of his illness; amnesia. The editing which we are shown here allows us to take a step into his mind and the way in which he is thinking.

As the story continues the film moves away from the monochrome sequence of thoughts and moves back into what seems to be the story. An extreme close up of a poloriod photo, the same as in the previous scene, is being spoken about by our main character. We are then introduced to a new character walking into the scene which links to the polaroid he seemed to be investigating just a few seconds before. The shot is edited as many close ups are used on the new character which ables us to gain slight knowledge. As the two characters head towards what appears to be a previously planned destination, they engage in conversation. From what we hear, we assume our main character may be a police man or a detective due to his comments such have 'i got a lead on a place'. We also learn more about how little he can remember due to his condition. Action that takes place in the next scene ables the us to now pick up on what is happening in relation to the time and previous events. As our main character is holding what appears to be a pistol we then get a close up from the camera which implies and relates to the previous murder scene. The picture of 'Teddy' the character that he has just been sharing conversation and time with is in another one of his polariod photos with a caption that reveals many clues to us. It reads 'don't believe his lies, he is he one, kill him.' Once our character has viewed this a sequence of editing begins when a slight 'fight' arises. A series of what are called invisible cuts are put together during this action which results in each moment of editing piecing together smoothly and makes change very unnoticeable.

We are then shown the second monochrome sequence of editing in the film. This once again consists of a mixture of close up and extreme close ups helping up us to understand his frame of mind and lets us into a more detail of the actual plot itself. Within these small snippets or editing this allows the audience to gain vital information, that if this editing had not taken place, they could find it extremely challenging to grasp the film. The colour sequence once again takes place and begins with an extreme close up of the polaroid photo our character had just used to help him track down what seemed to be a suspect for something we are still unsure about. Just from the focus on these polaroid photos we are taught a lot about his mind set, due to his thoughts and memory being written down on these. The first editing sequence that we were shown is actually the result of the action taken place in the film so therefore we have a backwards narrative rather than forward.

Throughout the film we are constantly shown monochrome editing sequences which we discover are working backwards in time. Then from this we are able to spot the link that they are working forward from the previous one shown. The colour sequences appear as if they do not link, as a consequence of them working backwards in contrast to the monochrome scenes. The editing is used in a way which puts the sequence of the film into a broken up and non-chronological order. The editing allows us to understand what the character is trying to gain and what is thoughts are. Something that i have mentioned in the second paragraph was the fading away of the gruesome photo. After watching more of the film we could now make the connection of this with the characters mind. What i mean by this, is his condition only allows him to have a very short term memory which fades away and does not remember anything, and the fading action taking place appeared to be a clear reflection of his memory. The editing of the film may seem confusing and very mentally challenging to the audience, but actually it allows a deeper understand of the backwards sequence to be accessed. Overall the editing could be seen a form of enjoyment which helps the audience to grasp a deeper opinion of the film.

Sound

Throughout TV programmes and Film there is always sound. Dependant on what is going on there are different types of sound;


Diegetic- natural sound within a scene, for example the characters speaking on the scene


Non- Diegetic- sound which is added to a scene such as a soundtrack. Potential problem is that is seems very unrealistic but a bonus is that it adds a lot more dramatic effect.


Sound Bridge- sound which carries on over two different scenes which then literally  creates a bridge between two events. (two different locations)


Incidental Music- small, very brief snippets of sound to create emotion or feeling. (cultural code)


Asynchronous Sound- a natural sound, which is out of place and without a source on the scene.


Contrapunctual Sound- sounds which create opposite emotion to the one which is on screen.

Moral Panics, Hypodermic Theory and The Passive Audience

In groups we had to focus on an area within the media that has previously caused public outrage. We did this using the 'xtranormal' website to create our own presentations and discuss the information we had found out.

Colombian High School Massacre
An issue was discussed that violent video games are influencing destructive and dangerous behaviour among youths.Both the suspects of the High School Massacre were regular players of the games, but actually began to have restricted access as punishments, so therefore this contrasts the outrage the media have brought up. Something else to bare in mind was that the media reviewed the game 'Basketball Diaries' which was very controversial and violent but actually named it 'impressive' and it then went on to have thousands of downloads in 2006. Another argument to support that they boys were influenced by this game is that they actually began to get creative and started posting their own destructive work online. Violence throughout this game was also seen as a good thing as murderers are repeatedly praised by Satan.

Facebook
The social networking site Facebook now has over 400 million accounts created worldwide. The media realise that it is a very common place to socialize and keep up to date with everything that is going on in the environment around us. The issue that has been raised is the lack of security, and the availability to access of almost everything. The site is very vulnerable to children that are signing up more and more now a days. Another problem that seems to have been pointed out is the fact that if someone wants to disconnected them self from the social area, Facebook are always going to have hard copies of personal information which has been previously disclosed. Examples of outrage caused by Facebook is the women who had her identity stolen for 17 months and the teenager which advertised a local gathering which then ended up 21,000 people confirming their attendance. A couple of other bad examples of the website are cyber bulling and people losing jobs due to boss's and employee's seeing inappropriate information.

Call of Duty- Airport Level
This game was said to have negative contributions towards destructive, anti social behaviour.  When a player becomes part of the game at this particular level they are able to see through a terrorists eyes and commit actions such as gunning down people within a Russian Airport. The game actually states that it does not force players to carry on playing these levels but they must keep up with the terrorists to succeed in the game. Something that appears to be a good factor of the game is that they don't actually get rewarded at the end of the level.

Manhunt
After this game was released it was said to be extremely controversial as the aim of the game is to kill innocent people. The media announced that the game had a high influence on violence and killing which also was leading youths into a life of crime. A boy in Leicester was brutally murdered by his best friend who was a regular player of the game itself. The game was then band in New Zealand but surprisingly not in Britain. It seems the media's bad portrayal of the game actually helps sales as this is a form of advertising.

Paranormal Activity
The horror film sent over lots of rumours to Britian before the actual release in this country. These consisted of things such as it being 'banned, driving people crazy and even to the extreme of suicides. The media complained that the film was far to scary after being named by several press as the 'scariest film ever made'. Outrage was raised as the knock on effect from the film was said to be health problems and people continuously scared to leave their houses. Consequently this attention from the media was nothing but success for the producer as it lead to huge amounts of publicity.

Rap Music
Several rap music and musicians have caused problems with their music in the media. It's been said that they are corrupting children with the music they produce. The music has been called brainwashing as it can be listened to over and over again which eventually may even be called a 'sleep state'. The problem is that listeners are dwelling on thoughts of the music and the topics are always trending. When explicit warnings are being put on the covers of Cd's this is just an even bigger influence for the public to purchase. When the stars talk about drugs, domestic violence, alcohol this may get into peoples head that it is the okay thing to do as it is repeatedly being sung about.

Hotel Babylon- How is Ethnicity represented in the clip?

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Throughout the short clip many different ethnic stereotypes are presented. It starts off looking at the ethnicity of black people. The scene is set at the hotel's swimming pool area. It opens with a pan, and then the camera moves into a close up which we then begin to see shot reverse shot. The lighting is dimmed and the music appears to be calm, sensual and creates a very relaxed feel. As the two characters are introduced we are able to see that they are in fact binary opposites. One of the men is presented as a casual laid back character, that uses a lot of slang, and seems to prioritise party's, girls and drugs over work. This character is also wearing very little clothing in comparison to the other which may be representing lower status.Whereas the other character is smart and appears to come across quite anxious and nervous as the above character is addressing him. The more casual character states that they haven't met for 7 years and this may lead to assumptions that the other character used to have a past like himself, but got out of that and changed for the best. This looks at the two different sides that blacks are tend to be stereotyped as.

We are the introduced to two french maids as the next stereotypes to ethnicity. The scene opens with a mid-shot and this ables us to recognise their occupations as they have their work trolleys. The camera then goes into a close up onto the room service card which shows two stars which is a code for him 'paying double for double'. The maids have stereotypical French accents and seem to only be able to use vocabulary which relates to their work. As the maids enter the room we become to understand of what the term 'he pays double for double means' the maids begin to dance for extra money. This is very stereotypical as it seems a foreign worker will do anything to make any extra cash. The music at this point is a very cheesy pop song, that also appears to have french lyrics which is in relation to the maids themselves. Whilst they are dancing the camera enters a mid shot and switches from this to a close up of the Japanese characters eyes which are watching them.

The Japanese character portrays a very typical ethnic stereotype. First of all we get a mid shot of the man sitting on his bed in a dressing gown. This automatically gets the audience assuming he may be slightly 'pervy' or waiting to expect something from the maids. The camera then moves into a close up on to the two piles of money for each maid on the table. As the maids begin to dance we then once again experience shot reverse shot. The stereotype that the Japanese are very wealthy is straight away met and made very clear by this shot. Although he is paying workers extra cash for them to strip and dance, which follows a clear stereotype of him being dirty and pervy his room appears to be extremely tidy and well presented. The Japanese are known for keeping their belongings very tidy and clean so we are shown another stereotypical view of this particular ethnicity. The camera focuses on the characters eyes which are focused on the maids body whilst she is undressing this uses a close up. This perfectly represents that he is a character fascinated and thoroughly enjoying something that he should not be looking at.

The next part of the scene we are shown is set in the kitchen of the hotel, which focuses on on two main characters which appear to be the head chefs.The first chef is introduced with a mid shot which switches from him and the British chef gives the impression that they are opponents in the kitchen. The ethnic of this chef is Italian. The typical stereotype of this ethnicity would be that they have a strong accent, very overly friendly and generally well dressed. We then get a mid shot of the two chefs standing next to each other being very pleasant which is clearly an act. From this shot it is easy to identify the two stereotypes. The British chef is overweight, tall, has much paler skin and dressed in white in comparison to this the Italian chef is skinny, relatively small, has a dark skin tone, and dressed in black. The two characters being dressed in black and white may be signifying good and bad between the two ethnics. Later on after we have been introduced to the characters an argument takes place, during this the background music gets faster which builds even more tension between the two characters. The English chef seems rather pathetic and hopeless at this point in time which represents what a typical overweight Brit would be stereotyped as. On the other hand the Italian picks up a knife, and at this point we see a close up from the camera which puts emphasis on the fact that the character is dangerous. This is following the stereotype which plays on men from foreign countries being very sneaky and unreliable.

To conclude,ethnicity is very clearly represented in the clip by using stereotypes which are usually associated with a certain type of ethnic. The clip does not explore any contrasts which may go against a typical stereotype and instead sticks to making each characters role very predictable due to their ethnic.

Stereotypical Ethnicity- British TV Dramas

Within the group we were each given a area to focus on regarding stereotypes. I am working on the stereotype of Ethnicity, the task that we were given is to choose a character from a British TV Drama that matches the stereotypical view of ethnicity.


Within a TV Drama or Series a stereotype of Ethicity can come in different forms. One example would be characters from a different race such as asian or african carribean would be stereotyped as being thug like, a bad influence, lazy, unwilling to work, and associated with gangs and general bad behaviour. On the other hand their are stereotypes which have very strong morals and religious views, and are always out to achieve their very best. The character that i have chosen to write this peice on is 'Chesney Karib' from the TV series Shameless. The program is based on the 'Chatsworth Council Estate' in Manchester which the series then follows the lives of The Maguire and The Gallagher familys. The character Chesney is the teenage son of two parents which own the local corner shop.

Firstly Chesney is involved in plot which of course does follow a typical stereotype. A nomination came about to vote for a local mayor of the Chatsworth Estate. Chesney playing the character of a teenage muslim who went forward as a candidate and did all he could and went especially out of his way to be allocated this spot. This is following the sterotype of acheiving a high status within a community. Even though this may not seem very much of a high status. It still means he has slighty more power than everyone else within the society and has also achieved slightly more than any one else at that moment in time.

Chesney uses his campaign for a different reason though. This is to fund an elderly Pakistani women he has connections with for her to take a British Citizenship Test. This again appears that he is trying to help and achieve the best at all times. Which is still following the stereotype. He is also attempting to do right within his family and his particular ethnic group. This follows the typical stereotype that Asians may just always tend to do what is right by there family and their own community.

On the other hand later on in the series Chesney takes part in a plot that follows the path of the other stereotype that would be associated with ethnicty. In a moment of rage within the programme Chesney knocks out his father. This is totally portraying the thug like stereotype. He cannot control his anger at this point and storms out of his house wearing hooded clothing and ends up walking around the streets. At this time he seems very unnapproachable and many would assume that he is out to cause trouble.

After this point in the programme, the character Chesney begins to steal from his own family, stops working in the family business and becomes part of a gang. This totally supports today's typical stereotype of ethnicity as it backs up the way that they are put into a catogory of being lazy, unwilling to work, part of a gang and generally a bad influence.

Overall Chesney appears to be the character which can be associated with several parts of stereotypical ethicity. In this case it explores the two different sides that may appear and people may expect of a character of this type. Chesney acts how people would portrait a teenager of different race part of an ethnic group by first of all doing all good to support his community but then contrasting this by acting lazy, rude, and generally very 'yob' like.

How does Calvin Klein represent Males in adverts?

Calvin Klein in the above advert represents males in a way that we would not usually assume. The model in this photo does not follow the typical stereotype of a man which would be strong and in control. Instead the model has been placed into a pose which portraits him to look vulnerable and lost. The reason for this is his arms are loosely draped down the side of his body and they are also looking 'limp'.

I think that the advertisement itself is aimed at both women and men. The reason for this being aimed at the male population would be mainly his posture and the way that his body is structured. His body is generally well toned, but not so much that it is unachievable for a man to reach. The main focus and attention of the advert appears to be on the top half of his body rather than the lower half. Even the label is based nearer the top of the photo. There is no emphasis around the groin area where the actual product is being advertised and this is because it avoids any intimidation that men might feel if it was overly emphasised. The image itself is generally simple, and this is relates to the typical stereotype of man being plain and not overly exciting.

The picture is also represented in a way that a woman would be pleased to look at. For example he is presented with well groomed hair that most women would agree is nice. It has a sophisticated look about it which definitely is also another reason for appeal. The logo which has been added to the photo by Calvin Klein is positioned for the womans benefit. It catches the eye which then gets drawn in to look at the models body. Something else to notice about the advertisment itself that the logo has been place overlapping the model rather than to the side or underneath. This once again links to the thoughts of him being vunerable and not in control. It seems as if the logo is dominating him, which may have a connection with the thoughts that the advert would like women to generate.

Linking this to the female Calvin Klein advert it seems as if the two genders have switched roles. What i mean by this is that the female's pose has much more attitude and actually appears quite masculine. Whereas the photo above has elements of which we expect to see in the female advertisement. The reason for this may be that each advert wants to appeal to both genders rather than just the one for the sexual appeal. This is done by using models that are ideal aspirations, but using features that also attract the same sex to have postive opinions about the advert. So overall i do think that that models are objectified but only in some ways intended to come across sexually impowered.

Trevor Millum

Millum also identified 5 different types of images.

This is the Seductive facial expression. Eyes are less wide and the expression tends to be less reserved but still presented as confident.

The Carefree pose. This consist of the person in the imagine being nymph like and looking healthy and active. They also have to look vibrant and an outdoor girl. The most important part is that they are smiling or grinning.

An image presented in this way would be named Practical. The woman has to be concentrating and engaged in business. As you can see from the example the mouth is closed and the eyes are directed at an object. The hair is often tied back or a shorter style.

This is an example of a Catalogue pose. The woman looks neutral, articficial and slightly wax like. The features are able to be in any position but facial expression has to be wide eyes and smiling. The personality tends to be removed.

Facial Expressions- Marjorie Ferguson

Ferguson identified four different types of facial expressions on the front cover of British women magazines.

This would be what is known as the Chocolate Box. This pose consists of a half smile, lips together or slightly parted so the teeth are barely visible and lastly a full or three quarters of the face to the camera. Overall generally a sweet pose, hence the name. The effect that is created from this expression is uniqueness and also an uniformity of beauty.

This is what is called the Invitational pose. The main focus is the emphasis on the eyes, which looks inviting. The mouth has to be shut with a small hint of a smile. The head is either to one side, or looking back over the shoulder at the camera, as you can see from the example. The effect created from this pose is the suggestion of mischieve and rather than a sexual promise, it's more a hint of contact.

The Super-smiler. This pose has to contain a full face which contains a wide open and toothy smile. The head can either be thrusted forward, or the chin can be thrown back slightly. The hair in the photo often looks softley wind blown. The effect created by this facial expression and body language is a slightly aggressive and 'look at me' attitude.

This is known as the Romantic or Sexual pose. It includes a male or a female, often two-somes. The photo itself needs to be dreamy, sensual and sexual. The model tends to be heavy lidded to create this effect. The main effect created by that the person in the photo is presenting themself as 'available'.

Laura Mulvey- The Male Gaze

Laura Muvley is a feminist who identified 'The Male Gaze' itself. This is men dressing and positioning camera angles on woman deliberately in the way in which most men would appreiciate to see them.


3 areas of the gaze
- How men look at women
- How women look at themselves
- How women look at other women


The concept of the gaze is one that deals with how an audience views the people presented. Film audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a hetrosexual male.


Features of the Male Gaze
- Camera lingers on the curves of the female body
- Events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a mans reaction to the events
- Regulates women to the status of objects.
- The female viewer must experience the narrative secondarily

Stereotype Presentations

As a class we were put into pairs to create a Prezi Powerpoint on one of the seven re-presentation areas. We also had to relate these to stereotyping and stereotypical tv and film to the area we were specified. In the group we watched the end results and learnt the following information about each area.


Age-A baby or very young child is typically stereotyped that they cry, moan and scream a lot. Or the opposite which is that they are very cute and cuddley. On the other end of the scale eldery or 'old people' are classed as often being insane, helpless or even wise.Infact the two stereotypes are different extremes but do actually have in common that they are helpless and need to be cared for by someone. This is the symbolic code between the two age groups.
A clip of Vicky Pollard, from Little Britain was shown to give an example of an over exaggurated teenage stereotype. This stereotype includes teenagers being classed as, short tempered, loud, gobby, rude, bad grammar and committing a crime. We were then shown a picture of a much calmer, hardworking and outgoing teenager which is the opposite to the previous clip.


Regional Identity-The North of the country stereotypically are known for moaning and being miserable about how bad their every day lives are. Something is that is classed with Northerners is that they aren't the brightest bunch of people.Many citizens up North are associated with farming or working in factories due to the stereotype of not being extremely clever.
The opposite part of the country in the South is stereotype with a city design which tends to be grey and monotone. For example 'Hotel Babylon' the characters are dressed with sophistication and look very money based.
The country side is stereotyped to having a different lifestyle to everyone else which is much more relaxed and casual. The pictures that we were shown of characters from tv series bases in the countryside appeared to look much more casual, and down to earth in the way in which they were presented.


Sexuality -A male homosexual stereotype is assosiated with tightly fitting clothes, being a drama queen, and a lack of interest in sport unlike a straight stereotyped male. For example in Little Britain exaggurate a gay stereotype which is always put infront of a dark background to make him stand out much more and seem as femine as possible.
On the other hand a female homosexual stereotype is pretty much the oppostite of a the above stereotype. For example they are assumed to be butch, have deep voices, and enjoy playing sport. A contrast to this is Lindsay Lohan as she would not be stereotyped as a lebsian due to the clothing she is wearing. Many tv shows focus on plots which show homosexuals finding out about their sexuality, telling people, and dealing with the reactions.

Ability and Disabilty-In some of the clips we watched during this presentation on ability and disabilty it stereotypically showed the disabled in housewear. The location of a disabled is also very stereotypical as they are assosiated with living in bungalows, or shabby areas. An example of this was Andy and Lou from Little Britain. In many TV programmes when a character has a disability it is emphasised more than it would be in the real word, this comes across slighly critisizing. The camera angle that i picked up whilst watching and looking at photos of the disabled was that it will be commonly looking down on the character which influences the audience to think of the stereotype which is that they are helpless and small. Something else which implies this is that a helper is always in the frame which once again stereotypes that they are much less capable than everyone else. Lastly, a personality trait that is stereotypical associated with a disabled person tends to be either that they are stupid or less intelligent than others or that they are evil and bitter.

Gender-The stereotypical view that we were given of a man was dressed in trousers, short hair, more money, and much stronger. The contrasting stereotype of a woman is usually, dressed in skirts and dresser, long hair, the housewife, and less able to defend herself.
Males are always portrait as the more dominant character within TV programmes and are stereotypically known as the 'supporters' and 'protectors'. A female which is reguarly portrait on TV are crying and overreacting, which is then resolved by being restrained by a man. Another stereotypical view on men as a gender is that they are associated with fighting. The man is seen as someone who is supposed to understand the situation which a woman is in. Some programmes do not show gender which is represnetative of everyday life, for example Hollyoaks as the characters are models and something to look at rather than realistic figures. Something else that is now very stereotypical is that when a woman is acting independantly and fighting her own battles, this may be frowned up on and seen as a bad situation.

Film Habits Questionnaire

Film Habits Questionnaire

Narrative Codes- Roland Barthes

At the beginning of the lesson we learnt a little bit about the man Roland Barthes himself. He was a semiologist, which means he basically studied different texts for a living.
When a story is being told the narrative either has to be open or closed.

Open Narrative-Can be unravelled in many different ways, and lead to many different things. For examples many soaps have any open narrative like Eastenders or Hollyoaks.
Closed Narrative- There is only one obvious thread to pull on. Which means that only one outcome could be possible instead of various choices. Examples of this would be children's programmes as they nearly 100% of the time finish with a happy ending.

In media there are different codes. These examples explain what each code contains:

Action Code- Applies to any action that implies a further narrative or action. An example of this would be if someone draws a gun, something else has to take place next.
Enigma Code- This refers to any element in a story that is not explained, and therefore exists as an enigma for the audience, raising question that demand an explanation.
The Semantic Code- An element in a text that suggests a particular, and often additional meaning. For example it may say something, but wants to imply a completely different thing.
The Cultural Code- Any element in a narrative that refers to a 'science or body of knowledge'. In other words the Cultural Code tends to point out our shared knowledge about the way in which the world works.
The Symbolic Code- A code which is very difficult to be explained. The code that shows what makes the different within certain things.

Rushmore- Is Max a stereotypical teenager?

I think that is made clear from watching the montage that Max would not come under the class of what is supposedly your stereotypical teenager. Just from viewing the short montage clip it is obvious the Max does many more extra curricular clubs than what would be expected of the usual stereotypcial teenager. As the years have gone by not the best picture has been created of what would a stereotypical teenager actually be classed as. The image which is tended to be portrayed of a teenager is not necesserily entirely true and most likely does not apply to the majority of teenagers themselves. It is assumed that a teenagers prioritys is to smoke, drink alchohol, take drugs, hang around on street corners, and commit general anti-social behaviour.

At the beginning of the montage we may assume that Max would be classed as your typical teenager. We then begin to see that he appears to be a leader of many unusual and definitely not typical clubs. By taking note of all the types of clubs he is a part of, it becomes much clearer that Max is certainly not your typical teenager and a picture begins to be created that he may even be a social outcast and extremely lacking in friendship. By just looking at the photo above, it shows Max in a mid shot and in the center of two other characters. His postion being central shows that he does like to be the at the main point of attention, and this links back to the way in which he is in control of many clubs and groups. I think that his body language just from this one photo shows that he thinks highly of him self in comparison to others around him. Also from the montage we get to see this more and more throughout every club he is involved in.

I noticed when watching the montage, every type of person that he hangs around with, involved in these groups are allyounger than him. This is not usually typical of a teenager to hang around with people who have a large age gap in comparison to yourself. The reason why Max may be part of all these groups is that it is the only time he may feel he can gain respect from others as they are younger and could possibly look at him as a role model. Once again relating back to the picture, his dress sense is much smarter than a typical teen would be expected. This could be that he thinks of himself superior and once again wants younger age people to follow in his footsteps to show that he has a place in society.

If we were to step back and look at this montage from a completely different perspective, it could seem as if he is very much the typical teenager. For example from his parents view he would seem a very sociable and an outgoing character that seems to want to be involved all the time. He obviously cares a lot about his education and wants to exceed to the very best that he can, which is realistcally what most teenagers would love to do. It would also seem that Max is having a lot of fun doing these activities as it may be the only place he feels comfortable with his social status. In the photo, Max is the Russian Leader of the 'Model United Nations'. This could largely relate to America and Russia being the two largest economies in the world. He feels as if he is not accepted in his own country and does not have a high enough status to take any control, so therefore he then heads to the other option which would be Russia, because he thinks he would have a much more appreciated status. Something to notice is that Max is wearing a stereotypical Russian hat in the photo, which may assume his little knowledge of their culture and countrry. So this could be classed as a very stereotypical teenager thing to do.

Overall, i do not think Max is a stereotypical teenager.

Re-Presentation

My definition of Re-Presentation is using different media to present a copy of something which was original to try and make it seem as real to the orginal version as possible.

Re-Presentation- The way the media present 'something' as though it were real, it is not real merely a copy of something.

Signs- Something which communicates a piece of information.

Signifiers- Multiple 'ideas' or 'feelings' behind a sign. All signs belong to cultures.

Gate Keepers- The people in charge of what we get to see.

Ideology- A belief system.

Before watching a clip from the film Rushmore we were told to consider Mise en scene:
- Camera Angle
- Props
- Setting
- Lighting
- Acting

We then watched a short clip without sound from the film Rushmore and answered the following:

1. Where is the film set?
A private, christian, all boys school in America.

2. Describe the main characters personality?
A serious character, clever, daydreamer, quirky, smug and maybe lonely.

3. What is he excellent at?
Maths or maths equations.

4. How do others view him?
As a genius or a hero.

5. How was he dressed?
Smart, in a blazer, smarter than everyone else around him.

Magazine Prelim- Production.

I began the production part of my task by getting into a pair and going off to take photos for each others magazine covers. We had to take a mininum of 12 mid shot photos as this then made us able to choose from a wide selection and not wasting any time having to take new photos. I chose to take photos of one of my friends agaisnt a white background, as when it came to putting the footage onto Photoshop this would allow me to see easily what i had to cut out. This part of the task was fairly straight forward.

After gathering my photos and uploading them to the computer for the next part of my production i started to edit and create my front cover on Photoshop. I began by cutting out my photo using the Magnetic Lasso tool, which i found a simple task. I then began to create layers and started to add detail to my cover. I added the Masthead and chose to colour it in a lightblue, similar to the school colour. The background i filled my cover in with was just plain black, and the reason for chosing this was that it complimented the two other colour i chose to write in. These colours were, light blue and white so overall i stuck to a three colour palet which was black, blue and white. I had to decide on a font that i was going to put my masthead in. I knew i had to choose something thick so it was eye catching and easy to read but also something that looked quite smart and presentable. After i had picked a  font for the Masthead, i then went on to choose to others for the other coverlines that matched well.

So after deciding colours and fonts i then started to use the layers to put my magazine cover together. I added a date, price and bar code to make it look complete. Something i struggled with throughout using Photoshop was forgetting to add a layer with every new thing that i did. Apart from that i feel that i used the program as well as could have as i hadn't had much experience of using it before. The skills that i picked up throughout the production stage were using quite a few of the tools on Photoshop and also how to make my magazine look more proffessional by editing the smallest things. For example making sure that the text is aligned correctly etc. I feel that by doing this task i will have much more knowledge that i can put towards my final product to make as well as i can.

This is what my final product looked like.