EXAM QUESTION 1 - CAMERA WORK

PREP Analyse how camerawork is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer.
Worth 5 marks: write half a side of A4


In one of the beginning scenes we see a hippy, who has previously been arrested, protesting about her imprisonment and how it is unfair. The two detectives handling the case are Jake and Ryan. She states that her mother is a lawyer and Ryan says " we don't care what peoples parents do" the camera then does a focus pull to Jake's face which at first he looks confused but he then realizes the comment was actually about his Father so Jake gives the camera a sarcastic laugh. This specific technique can transition from one person saying one thing and the camera then transitions to show us the other characters reactions, especially Jake's . After the first focus pull the camera then moves to the other police officers show us that they are also laughing at the comment which then hurts Jake as the camera swerves again showing us his reaction to their reaction.

When Jo, a female police officer, is in the chief constables office and casually asks if he would like to go out with her, he immediately rejects her offer. The camera is then seen using a point of view shot of a picture frame sitting of the chiefs next of his wife and daughter. This specific shot cna help us as the audience figure out a bit more of these two character relations with each other. Showing us that they had an affair but the chief is stopping it and the reason why is because he has a family took protect, all this is shown by the camera pointing out the family portrait of his desk. Soon after being rejected there is a slow zoom onto Jo's face showing us the other side of this character. She is seen as old and drained due the the camera and the lighting.

During the chase between the burglars and the police force we see the camera change to a birds- eye view shot of both cars and the roads. This can allow us to see how hard the police force's jobs actually are as all the roads are very confusing and the speed of the cars is very high. This also allows us to sympathize with Ryan and Jake as we see it from above which gives us the whole idea of the difficulty, that is chasing someone down.

EXAM QUESTION 5

'Explain how social contexts influence television programmes. Refer to The Avengers.'




Social context can effect a television programme a lot, it can not only effect the people starring in the programme but also the audience and can change there views on what is going on. A good example for a series being effected by the outside world is the Avengers. The Avengers was first aired 20 years after the second world war had finished. Twenty years is not a very long time and WW2 effected a great deal of people as it was the time for England to step up and show the world what they could do.
 Many things had been completed before the avengers aired such as the suffragettes winning the vote, Hitler coming to power and both world wars starting and finishing. The Avengers expresses a lot of these points. For example the two main characters, Mrs Peel and Steed, are seen as equals maybe even Mrs Peel being slightly more important. This shows the world how woman can be independent and that Mrs Peel is expressing that in different ways. Like when she is fencing and Steed comes in and they start play fighting and Mrs Peel expresses a lot of independence. Not only are they equal in there bravery but they are also given the same opportunities and responsibilities to handle and complete.
A big part of this time period was your status and the amount of money you had. Throughout the 1900s you were judged upon because of your class, there was upper class, middle class and lower class. In this episode of the avengers you can see that Mrs Peel and Steed up from a higher class as in one scene you witness Steed taking china and porcelain teapots out of a bag and offering them to Mrs Peel. Clothes as well as the props can help you understand what class people were from for example Steed is always wearing a suit and Mrs Peel likes to wear her tight and very fancy outfit, this is suggesting that they like to look there best and can afford nice clothes like these. The last thing that could determine someone's class is the sound of their voice. Mrs Peel, particularly, has a very well-spoken and posh accent, suggesting that she was brought up in a wealthy family and taught well. An audience of this time period would look out for all these things so that they can have a rough background of the main characters.
 As I previously send the show was aired 20 years after the second world war. Many items and scenes suggest that the people of England still thought about the war greatly and were still recovering from it 20 years later. In the pub that Mrs Peel and Steed are staying in, there are many war related pictures showing the audience what the war was like and the steps that people are taking to get over it. You see many fighter planes hung up around the pub room, showing us that people are still thinking about the items used in the war. There is also a scene where Steed is shown putting bits of writing together, in a playground, the writing is talking about a man who was killed in action, in the war. This suggests that although these people died over 20 years ago, they are still memories of them all over the place and that the show is trying to make sure people don't forget about the soldiers who fought for us.
 In conclusion, the social context of the world around us effects all TV shows all around the world. They influence the actors and the audience to act upon the issues that have faced the world and are making sure people don't forget about the past.

EXAM QUESTION 2

  

In this episode of Cuffs we see many different events which can change our perspectives on how we see things. In the opening scene we see a camera panning across Brighton and its landmarks. Whilst the camera is panning we hear a voice over talking about the roles of a police officer and how you have to respect them and what they do. This voice over gives us a general perspective on what to expect of the police force and how they should be acting in this programme. We see Ryan, the main character,  walking across a naturist beach as he has heard there is trouble, as this is happening they use cross cuttings to go back to the chief constables speech about the roles of a police officer. This makes us see Ryan as a professional and they we should expect him to shut down any sign of trouble in an instance. Ryan approaches the beach where there is an affray of stag revellers taking the mick out of a naturist. The chief constable can still be heard in the background whilst Ryan is trying to sort out the situation this gives us a sense of irony towards the scene as Ryan is not being respected but the chief constable is saying all police officer should be respected at that they are "the centre of the community". This scene is very comedic and ironic and gives us a perspective that the police force are not respected or looked upon and that they are a bit pointless. 

In a future scene we see Jake, an inexperienced police officer, with Ryan. They have both been called to a situation where a drug addict is elf harming himself. Jake is seen looking very nervous as he tries to talk to this drug addict his tone is much more aggressive and his voice is raised a lot. When Ryan takes over we see the drastic change in personality as his voice is much calmer and much more reassuring then Jake's. The difference in their tone of voices tells us how experienced Ryan is and that Jake needs to start learning. Further into this scene Jake is bandaging the man and again he is being quite aggressive and forceful but suddenly non diegetic music is added and it expresses to the audience that Jake has finally learned something and he says to the drug addict, "I am here. I am not going to leave you". We feel a lot of sympathy for the police force in Brighton having to deal with big crimes like knife crimes. 

In the last scene that i am going to analyse today we have witnessed a racist act of assault towards a Indian boy. He has been stabbed in the back with a screw driver by a gang of white boys just because he has different coloured skin. This gives us a background of Brighton and how there is a lot of group divisions in it. After the attack a different police officer, a woman this time, has been brought onto the case (Jo Moffat). She needs to get information off a little boy who witnessed the attack. We see her talking to the young boy in a very calm but stern voice she's not trying to be too sympathetic but not too harsh either because she still needs information out of him. This shows us that Jo Moffat is a very sympathetic and sensitive person and shows us that she is a professional and is handling the situation in the right way.

EXAM Q1

Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer.


In this episode of Cuffs sound is used throughout it, which can help set the mood and add that finishing touch to a scene. One of the first scenes we, as the audience see is the scene where the camera is panning across the Brighton beach showing us Brighton's citizens, and how they act. Without music this scene would be very simple and boring but in the editing suite they have added quick and upbeat music. This music relates to the scene as in the scene we see people messing around on the beach, which shows the audience that this could be a simple and slightly funny scene. This sound is a non-diegetic sound as the music was added after the scene, in the editing suite.


However there is a very contrasting scene in where a boy is being attacked as he is of a different race and religion. This scene is much more tense as you have a build up before the actual attack. The music that has been added here is much darker and faster drawing the audience in and getting them interested. This sound is also non-diegetic sound as it was added after the scene was shot. In this scene you also see the boy, who was attacked, drop something. You hear this sound in the background so this is diegetic sound meaning it was shot the same time as the normal scene was shot.


In conclusion by adding sound the producers and editors of Cuffs has given the show more of a feeling and it immediately makes the audience want to sit up and watch. By combining both sound and dialogue the producers give the show more of a feeling and can make it more authentic.