Contextual studies essay: Doctor Who Critical review

Critical Review of Doctor Who (Journey's end Series 4) 2008

Doctor Who is a British TV Sci-FI/Drama originally created in 1963 by Sydney Newman and Verity Lambert with William Hartnell as the Doctor, it was revived in 2005 by Russell T.Davis with Christopher Eccleston as the new incarnation of the Doctor. In 'Journey's End' the Doctor and previous companions from earlier seasons prepare to fight off the antagonist (Davros and the Daleks). In this episode the audience catches up with the past companions and sees the sudden development of Donna's character that is accelerated through events in the episode.

In the episode 'Journey's End' the Doctor's companions are consistently referred to as the children of time, one of the visual denotations of this link between characters is the consistent use of the colour blue in their costumes.

Within the Sci-fi genre blues (connotations of the colour blue include tranquility and calmness all things the character of the Doctor is written to stand for), purples and greens often signify space, in Doctor Who the colour blue is a direct link to both the T.A.R.D.I.S and the Doctor's sonic screwdriver further connecting the characters to the Doctor. 

However Martha Jones' costume is completely black, through out the episode we as the audience see Martha going against what the Doctor believes in a follows by choosing a violent route to action. Therefore her costume cuts her off from any connections of the Doctor and what he stands for, in the western world particularly the colour black signifies death and morning which is what Martha's character was intended to bring. [website: FilmDirectingTips "12 colours and their meaning"]

Costumes have also been used as foreshadowing and to link two characters together. 

Rose's character and the meta-crisis Doctor (MD), are both in similar styled clothes in the same colour. This foreshadows their similarities in terms of both of them being human and needing someone to be with, it pairs them together because their costumes are more aesthetically pleasing for the audience together and makes the Doctor seem an outcast towards them. Donna's costume although not identical to the Doctor's still has some likenesses such as the long brown trench coat and the fitted boot cut jeans. This costume however can be seen as implying the sudden development in Donna's character of becoming the 'Doctor-Donna'.

As well as this there are other costumes that denote ages of characters such as Jack Harkness' military coat which in itself signifies he has a military history however the style of it, in addition to the reveal that Jack can't die leaves the audience to question how old Jack Harkness actually is.

The mise en scene in terms of costume doesn't follow generic Sci-Fi conventions, there are no space suits or excessive uses of tech aside from the sonic screw driver however the settings do conform to Sci-Fi conventions in terms of having space ships and aliens in extraterrestrial worlds.

Body language and action within this episode alone subvert stereotypes of women (something classic in the Sci-Fi genre), aside from having an archetypal male lead there are 3 other women who show an equal amount of leadership. Martha's character denotes confrontation in her body language, she stands with good posture and an open body language.

High angle shots are used multiple times through out this episode as a connotation of impending danger. 

One of the first times this occurs is when the T.A.R.D.I.S. is captured, the high angle (h/a)crane shot allows an establishing shot of the now dead T.A.R.D.I.S. as well as doubling up as a shot connoting the danger outside. It's an ever so slightly angled shot (apart of expressionism) that later becomes exaggerated to emphasise the landing of the T.A.R.D.I.S. and reestablishing the sense of danger for the Doctor and the companions. 

(This is mirrored later by a shot of all the companions and the Doctor flying the T.A.R.D.I.S. together and has brought the narration full circle. And is finally used again at the end of the episode when the Doctor is alone, this repetitive use of camera angles denotes the Doctor's journey of moving from companion to companion however the final shot on his own is a visual representation of how alone he truly is.)

Another use of this shot is later in the episode where the T.A.R.D.I.S is being destroyed, this h/a of the Doctor connotes his vulnerability and helplessness, this is reinforcing what's being denoted by David Tennant visually. 

One of the most iconic shots in the episode is the mid shot (ms) of Rose, the Doctor and the meta-crisis Doctor, each character is framed as part of the rule of third, this is not only visually pleasing for the audience but also connotes how torn Rose is between both of them.

Doctor Who follows classical Hollywood continuity editing,

 the most common transition edit in this episode are jump cuts, they help to keep the pace of the episode steady and regular. Because of this when the Doctor wipes Donna's mind, it goes against traditional montage conventions and actually slows down this does two things; brings more attention to it as it stands out more and builds empathy from the audience to the character. 

Because of the jump cuts it's easy to see other elements such as the 180 degree rule being followed (something particularly important in an episode where one actor is playing 2 characters and there is a higher chance of confusion for the audience, generally the Doctor stays on screen left and the meta-crisis Doctor stays on screen right). Shot reverse shots are also common with the episode and allow for full reaction shots of characters, something that is important in scenes such as the T.A.R.D.I.S. being dystroyed or Martha Jones revealing she has the osterhagen key.

One of the trademarks of Doctor Who is it has been renowned for having a very low budget and having to be 'creative' in how they make their effects, because of this a lot of their explosions and fires are done manually. They will do things such as have small explosions in a shot, fill the camera shot with it and that will then give the effect that a huge/devastating explosion has just occurred. [website: Doctor Who confidential] This lack of post production that is needed for things such as fires means that the budget can be put in other places.

Something that is renowned for Doctor Who is the 'regeneration' scenes this episode has a smaller version of the event and the effects don't need to go as extreme for this one, however this and other effects such as the Dalek's guns all follow genre conventions of Sci-Fi.

Sound within Doctor Who is one of the most iconic parts of the show. One of the shows most recognisable parts of sound it the T.A.R.D.I.S. taking off and landing. 

The sound is originally done with a key on a broken piano string for take off, and is just played backwards with a lot more feedback on it for the landing. 

The soundtrack with who especially in Tennant's era is a recorded orchestra, the music helps to guide the visual narrative and in cases such as Donna's mind wipe. In this case the use of silence between this track and the next adds emphasise and importance to what the Doctor is saying. This is also used later when the Doctor replies to Donna's mother with "Maybe you should tell her that once in a while" not only does it add importance but also signifies how important Donna is to him.

In terms of sound effects, the episode follows classic genre conventions of having space ships and guns etc. However one that stands out for the narrative is the heart beat effect from the Meta-Crisis Doctor, from previous episodes the heart beat comes in a beat of four which links to a Timelords heart beat as well as previous story plots. 

Overall 'Joureny's end' is an episode of Doctor Who that will have preferred readings of having strong and independet female characters that are equal to the male lead/leads (Hall 1980), it has very little opportunity for an opposisitonal reading except possibly that the lead character is a male (a debate that is still ongoing as to whether the Doctor should be male or female). 

Critical evaluation

Critical evaluation

Pre-production: I found the process of script writing relatively easy, I found what worked for me was writing loads of random ideas I find interesting down and seeing which I could expand and develop into my script. 

I had slight issues with casting towards the filming date, the actress who was scheduled to play Lucy dropped out the day before and I had to recast. Because I choose a subject that had happened to me in real life, I knew Trans-gender people who would be able to play the role of Matt/Mave. Overall my actors both preformed well and followed the directions well even though they weren't comfortable with each other.

I found I was slightly unorganised in getting permission for my locations, because I used my own house I only had to ask my landlady if I could film there. However I left it slightly to the last minuet to get the permission to film on the path out side of my house, next time I will be sure to do this earlier.

Production: On the day of my shoot my sound person dropped out, I managed to get a replacement just in time which meant I didn't have to reschedule my shoot. In fact because my crew worked so well together we were able to get the shoot done in one day. Thanks to my camera operator (Trine) we were able to collaborate together about which shots would work better, even though this sometimes meant that we went against the shot list I was able to get a lot more coverage then I originally planned for.

One thing that would've meant the story could've worked better is if I had made time to buy the fake blood for Mave's costume, this would've help denote what was intended which was Mave/Matt had been beaten up.

Post: During editing I found that I had encountered issues with the sound being too quiet, a course mate helped me fix this issue and the audio is more audible. Otherwise the editing worked well and I am overall happy with my final edit.


Overall all from this I learnt that I should:
Be more organised with my shoot times
Have back ups for crew and understudies for my actors 
However I did enjoy this unit a lot and learnt a lot about my self in what I am good at and what I am struggle with.

Story Telling Unit: Script Development

Script development

After my meeting with Steve he made it clear that he thought the idea for my screen play was good, it had a clear beginning, middle and end, however the the structure and story-telling needs to be bolder and more surprising. He pointed out that the set up for the meeting between Lucy and Matt is rushed and that the thought that Lucy wants a date is an after thought.
As some pointers for improvement he suggested I add more visuals to Mave's introduction (such as shots of blood dripping on the floor), and to reveal Mave's face as the final shot. Steve also pointed out how unrealistic it would be to have a sudden news report about hate crimes against the LGBTQ community. Finally he recommended that Matt's parents either get seen on screen or I get rid of them all together.

When doing the rewriting of my script I added bits for each character individually:
Gary: I gave Gary more time on screen which allowed me to help added to his character's personality. Through adding Matt's father in script it meant I could set up Gary's way of talking more, I made him blunt and to the point my thinking behind this was that he would be at the end of his tether with Matt's fathers behaviour. In my character profiles I had mentioned that Gary and Matt have a very close relationship (almost as father and child), because of this I wanted to attempt to demonstrate that he was defending his own child.
Mark: I added Mark's character to the script in the rewrite to have a visual representation of Matt's family environment. I made him crass and rude towards his own son in an effort to show Matt's homophobic family environment.
Lucy: Lucy's character didn't change much between the script and the re-write, I actually found it harder then I thought to write an underlying love interest between the two characters and so kept her the same.
Matt/Mave: The main change for Matt's character in terms of the script is the pronouns I used, after my research into pro-nouns I decided that if Matt were a real person they would prefer to have "They", "Them" and "Their" pro-nouns as apposed to traditional male pronouns.

Story telling unit: Casting

Casting

My film had three characters, in the 1st 2 minuets only 2 of them (Matt and Lucy) are seen on screen the other (Gary) is heard out of shot.

The characters include:

River Dana Bloom as "Matt/Mave"
"Matt (Mave) is a 19 year old biological boy from a Military family. They're a skinny and awkward teen who tries to blend into the background, they keeps a very close circle of friends and is obviously uncomfortable in their own skin."

Zak Wilkins as "Dad/Gary"
"Gary is a 39 year old father, his wife died when Lucy was 4. He has spent his entire adult life involved in the army following his fathers footsteps, he takes pride in his appearance."

Grace Buffham as "Lucy"
"Lucy is a 19 year old girl raised by her single father. She is bubbly, social and has been best friends with Matt since they were 5."

Story Telling Unit: Shot list/Story board

Shot List/Story Board

Shot 1= CU side profile of Matt/Mave walking down an empty street in scuffed heels

Shot 2= CU of Matt/Mave's shoes walking

Shot 3= WS Lucy sat on the edge of her bed texting Matt/Mave

Shot 4 = CU of the text conversation between Lucy and Matt/Mave

Shot 5= CU of Matt/Mave turning the corner into Lucy's front garden

Shot 6= CU of Lucy's hand making her bed

Shot 7= MS of Lucy spraying perfume around her room

Shot 8= CU of Matt/Mave knocking on the front door

Shot 9= CU of Lucy missing the last few steps as she goes down the stairs

Shot 10= MS Lucy opening the door

Shot 11= Shot reverse Shot MS Matt/Mave talking to Lucy

Shot 12= MS Lucy pulling Matt/Mave into the house and shutting the door

Shot 13= CU of Lucy looking/rummaging through a draw looking for face wipes

Shot 14= MS Lucy cleans up Matt/Mave's face while they sit on the edge of the bath

Shot 15= MS Lucy sits next to Matt/Mave on the edge of the bath

Story-telling unit: Research into screenwriting

Screenwriting research

What is a screenplay?

A screenplay is the script and shooting directions of a story ready for the production of the film itself. [Merriam-Webster "Definition of a screenplay"] It often has 90-120 pages that are written in Courier size 12 font, this means that roughly one page is equal to one minute of screen time. 

Hence why a screenplay is between 90-120 pages (90-120 minutes), comedies are generally shorter but a drama should be around 120 pages (2 hours). [Mario O.Moreno and Kay Tuxford "Writer's stores"] 

Our brief is for a 10 minute screenplay of a meeting between two characters, therefore they will be ten pages long and when we come to film it will be the first 2 minuets (2 pages).

Screenplays being used

When on a set the; Producer, Director, Set designer and even the actors will all alter the script to what they can do, what they think will work and what they know is achievable, this is because everyone who works on the set of a film is a creative person themselves and a film is a collaboration of these talents. A screenwriter should be aware of the roles people have as well as their individual strengths and weaknesses, this should be reflected in the script. [Mario O.Moreno and Kay Tuxford "Writer's stores"] "A screenplay can survive a bad director and producer but not a bad actor"- Steve .C

A screenwriter should keep in mind that both film and TV are visual mediums (show don't tell), a long monologue from one character works well in a novel but not a script, people don't talk naturally in more then three sentences usually. 

"The very nature of screenwriting is based on how to show a story on a screen, and pivotal moments

can be conveyed through something as simple as a look on an actor's face."-[Mario O.Moreno and Kay Tuxford "Writer's stores"] 

Structure of a screenplay/elements of a screenplay (the first page)

SCENE HEADING/SLUGLINE: A scene heading is a 1 line description of the location and the time of day the scene takes place, it should always be in caps.

SUBHEADER: When a separate scene heading isn't needed but a distinction needs to be made in the action, a sub-header can be used. *should be used sparingly as a script full of sub-headers is frowned upon. 

When there are a series of quick cuts between two locations you'd use the term INTERCUT and the scene locations.

ACTION (AKA= DIRECTION, VISUAL EXPOSITION, BLACK-STUFF  DESCRIPTION OR SCENE DIRECTION): The narrative description of the events of a scene, this is written in the present tense. *Only things that can be seen and heard should be included in the visual action*

CHARACTER: When a new character is introduced their name should be in capitols within the action. After the character's name is always capped and listed above his lines of dialogue. Minor character however can be listed without names and using their job title instead e.g. "TAXI DRIVER"

DIALOUGE: Lines of speech for each character, the dialogue format is used whenever a character is heard speaking even if off screen or through voice-overs.

PARENTHETICAL: Parenthetical is direction for any character, this can be either attitude or action oriented. *Only used if absolutely necessary* this is because if you need to use one to convey what's happening in the dialogue then it more the likely needs a re-write, it's also the directors job to tell an actor how to deliver their lines.

EXTENSION: An extension is an abbreviated technical after the character's name to indicate how the voice will be heard onscreen, for example if the character is speaking as a voice-over it will appear as *LIAM (V.O.)* 

TRANSITION: Transitions are film editing instructions, they generally only appear in a shooting script. 

Transition words can include:

Cut to

Dissolve to

Smash cut

Quick cut

Fade to

*Should avoid using a transition unless there is no other way to indicate a story element*

SHOT: Shot tells the reader/audience the focal point within a scene has changed. *Like a transition there is rarely a time when a screenwriter should insert shot directions, this is the directors job*

Examples of shots:

Angle on...

Extreme close up...

Pan to...
"Top, bottom and right margins of a screenplay are 1" (1 inch), while the left margin is 1.5" (1.5 inches). 

The extra half-inch on the left allows for the binding of the script.

First item on the first page should be "FADE IN", the first page is also never numbered subsequent page numbers are shown at the upper right hand corner next to the right margin."[Mario O.Moreno and Kay Tuxford "Writer's stores"]

From 'Writer's Stores' I learnt the basic structure of a script, what I should and should not be including in it. I learnt how to introduce a character to the script and how minor characters are introduced differently (through their job title not their name), and script terminology such as "extensions", "subhead", "Slugline".

Screenwriters
Youtube channel: 'Lessons from the screenplay'

"Where story meets style- Moonrise Kingdom Wes Anderson"

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola have a distinctive way of writing their screen plays, whenever you watch a Wes Anderson film you know it's his through the style and look. His scripts include things like; writing detail that is relevant to the story however overlooked in the screenplay it is gets written in parenthesis, including very little camera directions, having a narrator that breaks the 4th wall, and have visual details such as props and colour palettes included in it. 

As well as this characters are written so that they are going about their daily routines before being pulled into the story/introduced to the audience. An example of this is Becky from 'Moonrise Kingdom' who is first seen by the audience eating a sandwich, she later offers food to the men around her and only Scout Master Ward takes one. This both sets up a link between Becky's character and food as well as providing the building blocks for the love story between her and Scout Master Ward that occurs in the background. This allows the world of 'Moonrise Kingdom' to apear as an actual reality within itself, the movie gives the sense it will continue when it ends.

Adventures in the screenplay (William Goldman)= "Every movie...sets it's own special reality. Once those limits are established, they may not be broken without the risk of fragmenting the entire picture."

The dialogue in the film is direct and lacks emotions, characters speak with intense emotion but at the same time they are blunt with each other, what ever they think they say. This gives the audience a direct insight in what they might be thinking, it creates a dissonance (a lack of agreement/inconsistency between the beliefs a person holds and their actions [Merriam-Webster definition of dissonance])for the audience.

Youtube channel: 'Lessons from the screenplay'

"Don't underestimate the screenwriter- Gone girl Gillian Flynn"

Gillian Flynn is the original author of the book 'Gone Girl', she is also the screenwriter for the film adaption. 

Flynn writes her screenplay with efficient action lines, this sets the tone for the script but also means that if a actor or a director wishes to make a change to a line they can do it in the context of the script making it easier for them to do.

Another thing Flynn does is make the last line the point of the scene.

The anatomy of story (John Truby)= "The beginning of the scene should frame what the whole scene is about. The scene should then funnel down to a single point with the most important word or line of dialogue stated last."

(I found this source very informative, it provided the information I need as well as visual demonstrations of what it was explaining. I learnt that screenwriters often have their own unique way of writing a screenplay especially when people like Wes Anderson who is a very visual creator is writing as they want what's in their head to be reflected exactly.) 

Story Telling: Location Recce

Location Recce

Location 1:Waterloo Road, the exterior shots of "Matt" walking down the street



Location 2: Exterior of house/doorway



Location 3: Bedroom where the introduction of Lucy's character takes place



Location 4: Bathroom where the main of the interaction takes place between Matt and Lucy

Overall my location recce allowed me to plan my shots effectively around what would work and both in terms of kit and how it would be shot but also what would look aesthetically pleasing. 

Story telling unit: Inspiration for the "Meeting Mave" Screenplay

Inspiration for the 'Meeting Mave' screenplay

The inspiration for my script was a band called "Against Me!" whose lead singer is a Trans woman named Laura Jane Grace. 

The bands song 'True Trans Soul Rebel' from their concept album 'Transgender Dysphoria Blues', is what inspired the initial idea of 'Meeting Mave'. 

'True Trans Soul Rebel' music video

The rest of the story is inspired by events from friends who came out to our group of friends, as well as various stories from my research that I've come across.

Research into the transgender community

Research into the Transgender community

What is gender?

Gender is a social construct in which people are categorised into groups of male or female, it's more of a frame of mind over a physical state. The gender someone identifies as is not always the same as their physical sex.

There are hundreds of genders with the two most socially acceptable being male and female, others include; Cisgender (someone who's biological sex conforms with their gender identity), Genderqueer (someone who doesn't conform to standard gender labels, they are non-binary), Transgender (a person whose gender identity doesn't conform to the conventional notions of psychical male or female sex) among others.

Someone's gender identity does not have a direct influence over their sexual orientation for example someone who is a trans-woman and is attracted to men is straight. Other sexual orientations include; Asexual (someone who does not experience sexual attraction, however experience romantic attraction), Demi-sexual (someone normally doesn't experience sexual attraction however it is possible if they become close to someone they like), Aromantic (someone who doesn't experience any romantic attraction to people), Bisexual (someone who is sexually attracted to both men and women), Pansexual (someone whose attraction is not limited to the two conventional genders, or gender in itself) and homosexual (someone who is attracted to someone of the same gender as them) among others. 

What does it mean to be Transgender?

"Trans" is an umbrella term that can cover people with a gender identity and/or gender expression different to their physical sex. The term "Trans" includes but isn't limited to; Transgender, Transsexual, Crossdresser, Genderqueer and Non-gender. [website: belongto "What does Transgender mean"]

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that can function as a phrase by itself and refers to either yourself (e.g. I, you) or someone else (e.g. she, it, this). 

Common pronouns in reference to gender are he and she, however many Trans people are not comfortable with these established pronouns and come up with ones that they prefer.

How would you feel if someone used the wrong pronouns for you?

Elisha 19 Female: "Slightly annoyed, but it's understandable if the person isn't familiar with new pronouns so it would be a misunderstanding. If it's intentional then I'd be angry"

Kirsty 19 Female: "If it wasn't on purpose I wouldn't be angry, we were all taight the pronouns specifically assigned to gender from day one and it takes a lot to adapt and use something that isn't familiar to certain people. It's a generational thing, in years to come it'll be second nature to not get mixed up but right now it's still new and slightly confusing at times. It's like the whole thing with older people and using words for race that aren't considered PC anymore but they still use it because that's what they were taught. I wouldn't expect people to get it straight away, I'd only be angry if someone was deliberately doing it to upset me"

Skye 19 Agender/Genderqueer: "It really depends on the circumstance to be honest. We live in a society that has conditioned us into assuming that feminine presenting people use 'she' pronouns and that masculine presenting people use 'he' pronouns. If a stranger uses the wrong pronouns it doesn't affect me so much because they didn't know and I can just correct them, the real problem is when someone outright refuses to use the correct pronoun because then they are showing me they don't respect my identity or believe me to be who I am (which is especially common with non-binary people like myself). Because I use 'It' and 'They' pronouns, which make people feel uncomfortable as they say that using 'It' pronouns sound disrespectful, even though it is actually more disrespectful for them to refuse to use it. When people refuse to use 'They' pronouns it is considered grammatically incorrect, despite the fact that they actually already use 'They' pronouns for people that they don't know the gender of. If it's a genuine mistake it's cool, if it isn't then I get annoyed."  

Jemma 19 Female: "If it was an honest mistake then I would have no hard feelings, however if it as someone who repeatedly misgendered me knowingly and with the intent of upsetting me then I would feel pretty annoyed"

How do trans people experience gender?

*Various point of view from an unknown website*

Person 1= felt something was "wrong" in their early teens, they joined the military, got married and had kids (all things stereotypically associated with masculinity). They occasionally wore some of their wife's clothes and were careful not to get caught. During the period of coming out they had a negative experience from their wife, they received counselling from a gender therapist.

[website: Bustle]

Started to struggle when puberty hit, "brain was like a Camry someone had tried to fuel with diesel-it wasn't meant to run on testosterone...wished I could be like the other girls in class, something just seemed right about who they were." Sank into depression, couldn't sleep without drinking and often drunk until they couldn't walk. They started hormone therapy.

10 LGBTQ people and their parents discuss coming out [website: LGBT helpline]

G= 1st came out as gay and then trans, they found coming out as gay easier then coming out as trans. Slowly became more and more isolated before coming out, secretive and did not put a lot of effort into making friends. Her mother was very accepting.

G's Mother= 'Be there for your child'

What it feels like to be transgender

[website: Sophia Gubbs blog]

To this person gender dysphoria is a feeling of strong disassociation from them self when they look in in the mirror followed by shock and confusion. Starting the transition they felt as though they were in a dazed state as if a train had hit, they could feel them self get more grounded and closer to reality/sense of self.  

Story-telling unit review of a British television drama series

Review of a British television drama series- "Banana" Russell T Davis 2015 E4

"Banana" is an anthology series created by Russell T Davis with a different writer for each episode, it aired in 2015 on E4 with it's co-series' "Cucumber" on Channel 4 and "Tofu" on 4oD.

The series looks at LGBT youth specifically based in Manchester (it joins with the narrative of the "Cucumber" series, this series is self-contained and focuses on Henry who also features in "Banana"). Because it's an anthology series each episode follows a different plot all based around giving a mostly comedic yet at times heartfelt look at the LGBT community.

Ep4: The episode looks at Helen, a trans-woman and a restaurant manageress. Helen is stalked by her ex Eddie who still hangs onto the hope that they will go out again. Through an altercation with Eddie where Helen puts him in his place, a racy film of Helen is uploaded to social media the next day. This episode looks at who her friends and family truly are.

The lead character in episode 4 is Helen portrayed by transgender activist and comedian Bethany Black. Her comedy gigs cover a range of subjects that include gender reassignment surgery, however it was her work on 'Banana' and its sister show 'Cucumber' that marked the start of her acting career. She is also the first trans woman to play a trans woman in a leading role on British TV.

Due to her obvious personal experience in the LGBTQ+ community Black's portrayal as Helen is all the more believable. She is able to have an emotional connection with what her character is going through and because of this the audience will have no problems with accepting the character. 

The fact she is also the first trans woman to play a trans woman is a landmark for people in the LGBTQ+ community who are often represented in dramas and films by cisgendered people.

The character of Helen breaks stereotypical special expectations of trans people, she isn't denoted as 'butch' or to have any elements of masculinity which is something the general public might assume to be typical of trans people if they have no experience or interaction with the community. 

This works with the shows intent of denoting the lives of people in the LGBTQ+ community and highlighting that they are just like everybody else.

The most important thing in the scripting of this episode is pro-nouns. Pro-nouns are an important part of a trans person's transition  into their gender identity, for this episode the everyone is accepting of Helen and her identity shown primarily through the correct use of pronouns. However when Helen uses her authority over her employees their way of being defiant towards her is by using pronouns such as "Sir". This highlights the importance of using the correct pronouns as the incorrect ones have been associated with negativity and rebellion against what the person who is transitioning wishes.

One of the biggest denotations of Helen trying to blend in the binary of men and women is her lack of eccentric or out going costume for her. She primarily sticks to baggy monochrome clothes which don't draw attention to her. Connoting that she isn't fully comfortable in her own skin as many trans people who are about to transition feel. 

 

The most common editing device in this episode is graphics, the rising action of the story when Eddie's character has released the video the sudden influx of graphics that repeatedly get cut away from help to build the tension and suspense in the audience. 

They are connoting the anxiety of Helen this coupled with her fast paced breathing adds to the stress of the scene.

Story Telling Unit: Idea development

"Meeting Mave" Idea Development 

(Initial ideas)

(Development of idea)

(Character profile to help work out how character would act)

(Character profile to help work out how character would act)

The character profiles allowed me to work out how my characters would act and talk in their scenes, it made it easier to write their dialogues.

The idea development allowed me to narrow down on one idea that I would be able to work with and expand further.

Story telling unit: Trailers "Soft Trailer"

Story telling unit: Trailers "Soft Trailer"

We were given the short film "Soft" directed by Simon Ellis and tasked with making a trailer for it.

I redid my trailer as I thought my original gave too much away. 

If I had to redo the second trailer edit I'd take out the final scene, I feel this gives away the most important part of the plot to the viewer.

Overall from this task I got an appreciation for how difficult it actually is to both make a trailer that makes people want to watch the film but also leaves some enigma codes as incentive to watch.

Contextual Studies: Sound

David Lynch= "Films are 50% visual and 50% sound. Sometimes sound even overplays the visual"

Objectives:

• To look at the importance and the function of sound
• To look at the elements of sound
• To look at the creative uses of sound

Can you have sound without moving images? 

Examples of films that use sound without moving images include:

Derek Jarman's "Blue"  Link to video (part 1)

Chris Marker's "La Jetee" (1962) Link to video (extract)

Silent cinema showings would often have live musical accompanying it.

What is the function of sound?

Sound can provide an aural narrative to a film in the form of dialogue for characters or a narrative voice over.

Example of dialogue pushing a story forward "Donnie Darko"

Sonic ambiance, it can add to the mood/atmosphere.

Example of how sound effects (breathing, heartbeat and blade effects) can add to the atmosphere as well as music "Supernatural"

Emotional or intellectual resonance or dissonance through music.

Key elements of film sound

• Speech (dialogue or narration) 
• Ambient or natural sound
• Sound effects
• Musical score or soundtrack

Use of sound effects

• Heightens drama- abstract or enhanced effects are designed to affect the audience's perception or emotional state Link to "American Sniper" breathing and gun effects are heightened
• Simulate reality- ambient background that underscores and reinforces unity of mise en scene and editing Link to "Lethal Weapon"background chatter at the start

Aesthetic uses of sound

• Impressionistic- harmonious sound that evokes a mood, atmosphere or tone                          Link to "Pushing Daisies"
• Expressionistic- discordant sound that evokes abstract or dark psychological states              Link to "Donnie Darko"
• Asynchronous- sound and visuals are mismatched for dramatic effect                                   Link to "American Psycho" clip

• Diegetic sound- any sound that is intrinsic to the film space or is implied by an action such as speech or performance
• Non-diegetic sound- any sound that is external to the film space such as a voice over or soundtrack

Music as narrative device

• Music underscores or accentuates the visual narrative, emotion or drama
• It can create emotional or intellectual resonance or dissonance
• Use of leitmotifs: a short recurring musical phrase associated with a certain person, place or idea Link to Star Wars "Imperial March"
• Pop songs as a commentary/dramatic device

Modernism vs Postmodernism

• Modernism- an aesthetic and cultural reaction to classicism, it relies on innovations in form, material and techniques to create new modes of rational and progressive expression and representation. It's broadly ideologically utopian (Soviet montage).
• Postmodernism- a reaction to a failure of modernism's objective rationalism. It playfully deconstructs form, fusing disparate elements of high/low culture and meta reference (intertextuality). It's broadly ideologically disruptive.

Use of narration

• First person subjective (monologues or contributors voice)
• "Voice of God" objective commentary (expository narrative, often used in a classic documentary) 
• Conventions of male vs female voices (male being dominant and female being empathetic)
• RP vs regional (authoritative vs authentic)

Overall from this lecture I learnt how important sound (narration, music and sound effects) actually are to a production and for the audience, it can help the push the story forward quickly and effectively.  

Story telling unit: Story boards, shot lists and trailers

Story boards, shot lists and trailers

The first half of today's lecture covered story boards and shot lists.

Story boards are a series of of sketches which focus on key frames in a story, that visually plan out a shoot. They are used in all forms of film and TV although some genres rely on them more than others do, they are used to coney the concept for the project. Story boards can be used in any stage of the production however are primarily used in the pre-production stage. Although in post they do help the editor visualise how the director intended a scene or sequence to be constructed.
Depending on the preference of the filmmaker the story board will either have a big influence on filming or only be used as a general guide.

Story boards range from being:

• Graphic= these are the most detailed kinds of story boards, they're mainly seen in action films.

• Diagrammatical= these are widely used and although they're less artistic they still give as much detail.

• Plan view= these kinds of storyboards view the scenes from above and are used a lot with more than one camera.

Not everyone uses story boards though, some people prefer to use shot lists.

3 key shots when filming are: 

• Long Shot (LS) these shots feature the entire body of the actor 

• Medium Close Up (MCU) these shots go from the waist/chest to the top of the head

• Close Up (CU) these shots go from the shoulders to the top of the head

Other shots include:

• Extreme Long Shot, shows the character and their surrounding

• Extreme Close Ups (ECU) often features close on a specific point on the face or any other significant feature eg: fingers

Camera movement

Camera movement can help to tell a story without and dialogue.

Types of camera movement are:

• Tilt Shot
• Crane Shot

Examples of tilt and crane shots, "Rocky Horror Picture Show"

• Pan

Example of panning shot "Wolf on Wall Street"

• Tracking Shot

Example of tracking shot "Being Human"

• Dolly Shot (this is an alternative to a zoom, zooming with the camera itself can be clunky)

Example of dolly shots in "Sherlock"

Camera position

• Two Shot

• Low Angle

• High Angle

• Over the Shoulder

Trailers

The second half of the lecture covered trailers. Trailers are designed to hook an audience, they are there to sell the idea of the film to a potential viewer. Trailers where originally shown after a film (hence trailers), however exhibitors found that people where leave during the credits and were therefore not seeing them this is why they were moved to the start of a film. Trailers are often dramatic, comedic or shocking, they are a compilation of moments from the film/TV programme edited together (however some are purposefully filmed) in order to attract an audience. 

"Dr.Strange" trailer 

"Logan" trailer

"Sherlock" trailer

"Doctor Who" trailer

Filming outside Health and Safety

Health and Safety

In today's workshop with Ferg and Sam we looked at health and safety when filming outside. We went over basics such as wearing high visibility jackets and considering having someone on set to explain to the general public what's happening.
We were tasked with filming a few scenes outside, my group came up with the idea of hide and seek.

Next time I try to dialogue from one shot on another I will be sure to either try and match it if the lines are the same or have the speaker out of shot. Another issue we had in this shoot is the overexposure, we failed to remember that the lighting was changing while we were filming too. Next time this happens though I'll be sure to fix it in post. 

Story telling unit: Using Celtx and Final Draft, Steve Coombes Lecture

Steve Coombes: Using Celtx and Final draft

In today's lecture Steve ran us through the basics of using Celtx and Final draft, both of these are script writing softwares. When writing a script Steve encouraged us that if we think we have a moment we need to hold on to the first reaction to it and every time we see that moment again we need to remember the original reaction, trust the first reaction never the last.

Film scripts begin at the start of the 20th century, the first screenplay ever written "A Trip To The Moon", was bullet pointed with no dialogue, it just had vague direction for the camera and actors.

Link to video

Scripts continue as instructions for the camera until 1929 where films started to have dialogue.

In the 1940's Holly stopped controlling exhibiting/cinemas (they used to own cinemas and the productions of movies) Because of this screenwriters needed to write scripts that investors could read, understand and want to put money into, as well as being able to schedule it. Scheduling can be done online.

The main aim when you make a screenplay is not to make it as good as you can but to make it as cheaply as you can. Because of this scenes get recorded in a mixed order which allows money to be saved, for example instead of hiring an actor for a week to film their scenes in order with the story you can hire them for a day and shot all of their coverage then.

To be able to tell how much it would cost them screenwriters and production companies would draw up charts with things like the talent, directors and production staff etc with the amount of days they were needed to work out scheduling and prices etc.

Scriptwriting evolved from being on a typewriter to Final Draft (industry standard), all scripts need to be in courier (the font should never be changed). In Final Draft you are able to get cast "reports", these can tell you how often they speak and their total appearances on scene, as well as a profanity report etc. 

When you're trying to schedule a shoot feed final draft into movie magic you get a schedule and a budget

Elements

Anything not part of the script such as the title should be put in General.

Parenthetical are hints to an actor about how you want something done.

DON'T PUT TOO MANY TRANSITIONS AND SHOTS UNLESS CRUCIAL.

Final Draft will write continued for you.

LEAVE PAGE LAYOUT.

Script notes won't show up when you print out your script.

Production

Scene numbers will number all scene headings, if you then decide to add another scene between 1 and 2 it will become scene 1A. You should lock the script when finished with it so that no one else can change it, if it does get changed it will be on a coloured piece of paper each changed will be on a different coloured piece of paper so that you're able to keep track of them.

2ND HALF OF LECTURE

Before the lecture we were given a script from Steve to save onto our hard-drives.

We had to copy and paste them into either Celtx or Final Draft, before formatting it to look like a proper script. The first 5 pages establishes things (show don't tell), Ayesha is an important character, the first 5 pages show a lot about her and her family.

Minor characters describe accurately and quickly, the small details about the characters is what grabs the audience's attention. (Shown the hospital isn't up to standard because of the misspelt title, demonstrated a character is a diabetic through their insulin and chocolate bar.)

RULES ARE THERE TO BE BROKEN

Ask yourself if you can come anywhere later in the story, look at the script in another way.

WRITING IS ABOUT RE-WRITING, you can come back and fix one scene as the next one might help you to do that.

You also don't have to write about what you know, you should at least know a little bit about it though.

For our 10 page script Steve suggested we try to move the audience instead of making them laugh, we can also have multiple stories but they all need to be caught at the end.

Don't give half a page of description/action, the audience prefers revolution through things the characters do.

Premier workshop with Ferg: working with the timeline 15/10/2016

Premier workshop "Fairly Legal"

In today's workshop we were given various clips and their corresponding audio. Ferg told us we should get a radio edit first to make sure the audio runs together seamlessly and makes sense, we then made sure the videos looked good together. We were shown the rolling tool and the ripple tool which both helped to create a smooth edit.

(My edit)

After we got our audio and visuals all the way we wanted we moved on to colour corrections. In the start of my edit the shot is very blue, this is where I was having a go with different mid tones and how they would look. Through out the rest of the video I lowered the brightness of the windows which allowed it to look crisper.

If I could do it again I would work a little bit more with the audio and not have empty space between lines. Overall I really enjoyed the workshop and feel like I'm getting to grips more with Premier.