Prelim Task

Check out my Prelim Video
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=55559d84e52cde70c658

Meeting Russell Howard, After Hours! - "IS THAT ANY WAY TO BEHAVE!?!?!"

Well...where to start??!?

Tonight, after a long time waiting (and literally counting down the days) Kelly and I finally saw Russell Howard Live at the Corn Exchange. The show was seriously amazing i think it had to have beaten anything i had seen before!!!!
it started with a 20 minute warm up act which, and though everyone was itching to see Russell, was of a high standard and went down well with the anxious audience. Then after a further 20 minute interval Russell Finally stepped on stage!

The show itself had everyone in stitches! our jaws hurt from laughing so hard, not only was his jokes intelligent but they were also highly energised and had a childish physicality to them, and really brought out everyone's childish sense of humour and really made you feel great! I really cant do justice to the awesomeness :P that was tonight and after the show and spending £15 on a Russell t-shirt(....... definitely money well spent!!) we thought we had seen the best of the night, however the best was yet to come.

After the show we were waiting to be picked up, we had just said goodbye to Nat and Rob and were now freezing our arses off waiting in the cold by the side of the theatre near the toilets. while we were waiting we made jokes about how we should go and stand by the stage door, and how amazing it would be if we were to actually meet Russell and made jokes as to how we would probably react. But anyway as we were waiting 3 guys walked passed us in the direction of car park behind the Corn Exchange, and seeing nothing special we thought nothing of it, another 5-10 minutes passed and we were passed by another 3 guys this time coming from the Corn Exchange car park, thinking it was merely the same 3 guys from before we thought nothing of it until after they passed Kelly said "hey, wasn't that the warm up guy?" referring to one of the guys, I said i didn't know as without my glasses I'm pretty much blind! Kelly then said that one of the guys with him was Russell as she recognised his white trainers from the show, we didn't recognise him at first as he was wearing his glasses and a high-collared coat, so unsure if that was him or not we decided to go for a walk and realised that we were heading in the same direction and these guys........ what a coincidence lol. Our walk eventually took us to outside Chicago's were we were shocked to find that we were actually standing right behind the guy with glasses when to our supprise we realised it really was Russell Howard, we were about to speak to him when he entered the club with his friends. Kelly and I, not wanting to follow him inside and having a lift on route, decided to carry on our walk and loop it back into the town centre. as we got about 50 yards down the street we decided to try and call to see where our lift was. so we pulled into the inset of a shop window as Kelly's feet were hurting from wearing six inch heels (that's right.... big old whore shoes! lol :P) and to make our call, after attempting to ring (but having no luck due to a lack of credit) we decided to wait around for a bit to allow Kelly to rest. We soon became aware of the police over the other side of the road as they made their way over to the club and followed the bouncers inside, soon after a small group of drunken girls we escorted from the club and told to leave, one of them was wearing a Russell Howard top and therefore we believed that they had recognised Russell inside and began harassing him, we then carried on talking about the show and where our lift was when before we knew it Russell and his friends were walking straight towards us!!!!!!! :O

I froze and said to Kelly with no pretext to the comment "They're coming this way". Kelly, unsure of exactly what i meant seemed almost shell-shocked as they walked right past us. As they did I knew i couldnt forgive myself it i had passed up on an opportunity to meet one of my comedy heroes so as he passed by me I quietly called his name, as i did he turned promptly to see who it was. And then before i really knew what was happening i was face-to-face with one of my favourite people on the planet!!! Plucking up the courage i extended my hand to shake his and as i did i said that i jsut wanted to say well done and that we immensely enjoyed his show, he then, after giving his sincere thanks asked "whats your name?" i told him and then introduced Kelly, to which he again thanked us for the comments and was glad we enjoyed the show, we then said our goodbyes (him saying "it was nice to meet you both" and our reply of "you too") at this our encounter with Russell Howard came to an end and Kelly and I were left with a pounding heart, jelly legs and awe struck faces!!! kinda like this ............. :O
lol
Our only regret of the night was that we didnt bring a camera!!

We would've asked for his autograph but didn't want to bother him more than we had to as we were sure he was already unsettled by the events in the club and knew that he just wanted a night out with his friends. We were greatful for his politeness in stopping and asking our names, a small token gesture to him no doubt but meant a fair bit to us...... expecially shaking his hand.... thats right.... he touched me :P muhahaha

....just a thought to leave you with ... next time you see a person yawn make sure to yawn rape them with your finger :D......................... i know i will. *creepy grin*

....oh and Russell as i know you often google yourself if you read this, just to say well done dude, hope we didnt bug ya too much and next time we meet (because we evidently will lol) i'll make sure to buy you a pint.

Buffy - The Body - How the editing and use of camera constructs meaning.

For this assignment I will be studying a powerful episode of Buffy called The Body in which Buffy discovers the body of her dead mother. This episode is mainly for the long term fans of the show who have built up a relation to the characters and really touches on a subject that many people can identify with in a realistic, respectful way.

This episode really shows off the talents of the creator, writer and director of Buffy, Joss Whedon, with his extreme attention to detail and how he uses numerous techniques to change the audience from merely watching to becoming involved.

I will highlight some techniques he used and to what effect.

The Photo above is taken from one of the first shots of the episode as Buffy goes to the stairs calling after her mother, Joyce, who she believes is upstairs at the time, however the audience is shown what appears to be a body lying on the sofa and given her position implies to the audience that something isn't right. This is very blunt and almost non-dramatic in its showing, however the view of the body on the sofa is intentionally out of focus and leaves the audience to question whether the body is dead. It also allows the audience to share the experience alongside the character rather than giving the audience the full grasp of the situation. The suddenness of the death is unusual for a TV drama as it is very anti-climatic, this is done to emphasise that in real life a loss of a loved one is often unexpected.
Buffy, after trying to wake her mother, rushes to the next room to the phone in order to call 911, this entire section has no camera cuts and is filmed continuously without the use of a steady cam in order to show the sense of urgency of the situation and is displayed in such a way that makes you feel like you rushing to keep up with Buffy, almost following her with the same sense of confusion that we get from the character as it were your own experience. It is an extremely long take (over several minutes) without a single edit, this is done to almost trap the audience in the moment without giving them the sense of relief or allowing them to escape what is happening, this again is another reflection of real life as in a situation like this you cant simply escape from it.

The use of sound is vital to the effect of the episode, as throughout (barring the opening titles) there is only diegetic sounds, emphasising this idea of distance and isolation that the character is feeling. Also the sounds used are almost brutal, as when Buffy attempts to apply CPR and there is this loud blunt cracking sound as she cracks one of her mothers ribs.
There are also numerous shots in which Buffy goes to front and back door of the house and looks outside, and thought we see the sunlight on her pale face we never see a POV of the outside nor do we see her step out of the house, this again gives the audience this idea of being trapped in the situation and though we hear life going on around Buffy for example hearing the neighbours talking, unaware of the situation, we never see them, showing this idea even though the world keeps on turning around us, to us we feel as if we are almost trapped in time and that our world has stopped.

Just before the ambulance arrives there is another example of Buffy walking to the front door, opening it and looking out to the street however again we only see her face, but we hear the sound of the ambulance sirens in the background. when this happens Buffy rather than waiting for the paramedics she returns to the living room leaving the front door open. immediately as the paramedics enter the house the pace dramatically changes it goes from very long takes to rapid succession of cuts as the paramedics try to resuscitate the body, during this we barely see that faces of the paramedics themselves, this shows that she is unable to relate to these people and gives this air of confusion and almost disbelief, emphasising that they are a blur to her.

While the paramedics are attempting to apply CPR a lot of that time we don't see them doing it but instead we see a CU of Buffy's face showing her reaction to what they are doing, again putting this distance between Buffy and these 'outsiders'.

The picture above shows a really brutal moment when Buffy walks to the back of the house and vomits, again you cant see the action itself but you are left with the brutal sound of it, also there is a clear shot of a small window again reminding the audience that the world does keep on going, but its important to note that it is a small window and the angle in which it is shot really emphasises Buffy's distance from it and the outside world.

Also a great use of editing and sound is used when Buffy breaks the news to her little sister, Dawn, while she is at school. Buffy takes Dawn outside of the classroom leaving the camera and the audience inside allowing us only to see the Dawn's reaction through the classroom window without actually hearing it. We then see Dawn collapse in despair and her class mates begin noticing that she is recieving bad news, leaving this very poignant but understanding silence where you know what is being said without actually hearing it.

I think i'll stop there otherwise i'll never stop writing, this entire episode could be written up in this manner as every detail is deliberate and has a purpose, so much so that i couldnt get passed the first 10 minutes of the episode. Without writing an essay on it so ive had to cut it down to what you see here.
:D

"Eastenders" reaslistic or real flop?

For this entry i will be studying an episode of Eastenders to evaluate its construct of realism, or lack of realism as the case may be.

The creators, writers and directors have used many techniques in their attempt to achieve realism.

Setting - Eastenders is set in North London in a community that resides around "Albert Square". There are numerous sets within each episode:

• Interior of houses (kitchen, lounge etc) - this allows the 'target' audience to increase their belief of the characters and plot and to stabilise the believability of the acting that the actor presents. it also exaggerates the idea of 'real' people and contemporary issues that can be raised within a private household.
• Market Square (stools etc) - This again is a part of a person's daily routine, it helps incorporate a 'real' persons behaviour in public and also their reactions to the people whom they meet.
• Local Pub - this allows the show to connect to their audience by showing a local pub where the local community socialise, this allows the characters a place to interact with each other and to show that regardless of the plots each character can be seen dealing with their issues at the same time as others, this is as real life as everyone has their stories and issues to deal with and do go on at the same time as everyone else.
• Workplace (Cafe, Laundrette, Garage) - This displays another aspect of a working person's life.

Continuity plays another key role in realism, Eastenders uses strong continuity, from the same characters that sometimes still there decades on or some that leave and later return, to the houses and even decor of the homes around the square that remain constant.

Camera shots effect a persons subconscious while watching Eastenders, the director will only use very basic camera techniques in order help the audience forget that they are watching a programme but instead to be taken into the story lines.

All this is done to conform and connect to a very specific target audience, mainly middle-age women and men. however though this is a strength in the terms of its target audience, it becomes a weakness when trying to attract a new audience. for example though the continuity of the decor in the houses strengthens the familiarity of the show for the 'long term' target audience it does nothing to attract a new modern audience. also i believe that the story lines provide strengths and weaknesses to the effect of realism, as all the plots can be seen in a news paper and therefore does apply to real people however they are not concentrated in such a small area as Walford ergo the show does lose an air of realism, also the stories themselves can often be very black and white and can struggle to connect to more contemporary audience and don't raise enough thought provoking issues that relate to more than just the target audience

Sound - basic realistic sounds are used to increase the idea of realism, the use of colloquial language and often accents make an audience more susceptible to realism.

This has effectively covered every aspect of an 'average' persons life; Private, Public, Social, Workplace, even down to the things people see and even the sounds they hear.

sorry i know its not really a complete analysation of realism in Eastenders but will provide a summary on my thoughts.

My Use Of The Media.... Wheeeey

My first task was to produce a table in which i had specify my use of today's media be it:

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Radio
• Television
• Film
• Music

Then i had to answer the following questions regarding to the media specified above

• How often do you use it?
• What texts do you use?
• How do you access this media?
• How do you use it/what do you use it for?
• What do you think you gain from its use?
• What do you think you should know more about, relating to this form of media, and why?
  

After completing the table it clearly showed the form of media which i used the most, these were:

• Film - (used most)
• Music
• TV

Unlike most of my class, my favourite and most frequently used media is film, this i because of my great love for films. When I get stressed from college work, amongst other things, films have this great ability to take me away from my life and can throw me into a whole new situation, be it in the past, present or future, realistic situations or surreal, ones that i can relate to or ones that can show me a whole new perspective. I also love the diversity in the choice of film genres allowing a greater range of free choice and expression. I cant go a day without watching atleast one film if not more.

Another media I use frequently is music this is greatly influenced by its availabilty, be it on my laptop, CDs, ipod or online. Music as a media is very important to me as a single song can take me immeditaly back to a point in my life, be it from childhood or a memory of a time with friends. Music is an incredibly powerful media and can evoke a series of emotions.

Though I do watch TV its only a few paticular programmes that i watch religiously; these are Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Lost and Heroes. However my TV is used on a daily basis it acts more as background noise if im on my laptop, playing piano or doing art work.

The media i use the least is Magazines this is mainly due to their lack of daily avalabitly, also the main target audience of most magazines are women, and the diversity for males lacks in comparrison. Also they can be quite expensive if they are magazines like "Neo", however I will now and again by manga and animaiton based mags but rarely.

The different texts that i use for defferent media are as follows.

• Film - Thrillers, Dramas and Psychotic thrillers.
• Music - Classic Rock, Metal
• TV - Comedy shows (stated above)
• Newspapers - Mirror
• Radio - Radio 1
• Magazines - Neo, Classic Rock, Country & Western

With Films I feel I gain a greater range of perspective and understanding even from a cultural point ofview also an understanding of cultures through different time periods.

Out of all the Media I feel that I dont read newspapers as much as I should as it enables me to keep up to date with current affairs (regardless of how dull they can seem).

eek First Post....

umm.. i'll be honest im not too clued up to these blog things, never really used them before but hey kinda tuff really considering i have to set one up for Media .... so here it is :S

.... Do i have to write as if im writing to someone?? meh well i suppose i already am so i shall just carry on and see what happens :D