Doc Martin: Regional Identity

Doc Martin Regional Identity

Regional identity is constructed in the extract to reinforce the stereotypical binary opposite of city life (well mannered, smart and professional) and the working class people who live in the town (lazy, scruffy and loud), this brings most of the comedic aspects to the show as us as the audience watch Doc Martin, a professional doctor, interact with the people living in the town.

In the opening scene we shown an old doctors surgery that local workers are trying to fix, though Mise On Scene we can see that the room is messy, dirty and dark with most of the light in the room being natural from the sun, this enforces the stereotype of the country being dirty and not well maintained or looked after. This is shot with a wide shot to establish the area the characters are in and to not only focus on how the characters interact with one another but what the location looks like, and Mise On Scene and detail in the scene shows us how boxes are positioned and piled in every corner of the room. In the first scene Doc Martin in interacting with two working class people, they are dressed in scruffy, dirty overalls showing how they are the working class in society, this contrasts with the smart clothes that Doc Martin is wearing in the same scene and shows clearly how class division is separating these characters just though appearance. The wide shot however is mainly used to show the contrast between the characters of Doc Martin and the workers with him, the camera takes a low angle shot and acts as a way of displaying a social hierarchy as Doc Martins position of standing up and acting like the likely boss in smart clothes and not working contrasts with the workers who appear lower than him, with one of the overweight workers seated and eating to display the characters laziness and greediness, this is to show how Doc Martin asserts his authority. In this opening scene the characters, though diegetic sounds, display their stereotypical, northern way of talking and speech with the characters living in the north using words such as "Bodmin" which over there means "going mad" a clear example of the character’s particular sociolect and accent, this character also begins by mumbling his words displaying the stereotype that all country folk are uneducated. This again contrasts with the formal way of Doc Martins speech who again, over the stereotypical loud speaking mannerisms of the north, struggles to speak over the workers, this doesn't last as once he starts shouting to the other people in the room he makes his voice heard in a way as if he's literally giving orders to the people near, this shows how, where and who he can assert his power to. The editing of the episode is done in a consistent and structured way with the camera following the dialogue, when the characters speaking, the camera only focuses on that particular character.

When Doc Martin exits the house at in the first scene the camera focuses on this character though one continuous tracking shot to establish the location the characters are in. It shows Doc Martin walking in the streets to display the pressure the character is feeling and is as if the walls of the buildings display the close, suffocating emotions he is feeling when not in the city but in a place he hasn't been before. In the police station Doc Martin visits he tells the policeman to basically not notice him, this could be an indication of how the character doesn't want to be out of the ordinary when compared to the local people of the town and would prefer to not be attached to the regional identity of the city doctor.

When outside we hear sounds of the sea and the seagulls, the non-diegetic sounds associated with the country side and places near the sea. Before this point Doc Martin had stood out for his formal way of speaking and professional mannerisms, the only person to act against the stereotypes of the town but to act on the stereotypes of the city professionals. However, when the character played by Celia Imrie begins talking to Doc Martin she speaks in a more formal, upper class accent this shows that even in a small town the groups and classes of people who live there still contrast and class divide, this contrast is important because with both of these “upper class” characters aren’t seen in their stereotypical environments and that is clearly seen when they interact with the people in the town.

In the final scene we are introduced to a female working class character that is seen to many as the stereotypical, country elderly lady, who works on a farm as Cornwall is mainly seen as the people living in rural areas and working hard on farms, she orders Doc Martin to come and help her with some of the work, this defeats the stereotype of the man always being in charge but adds to the stereotype of the working class being loud and demanding.

To conclude the extract, we watched on regional identity reinforces the binary opposites of country and city lives and the effect it has when they communicate and the contrast it creates. In the extract we acknowledge how Doc Martin is seen as the upper-class character and how the locals label him as if he’s somebody completely different, though Mise On Scene and his costume is smart, which ultimately contrasts with the environment he is in. The working class are mainly portrayed as lazy, loud, and rude compared to Doc Martin which recognises and applies the stereotype of the characters.

Ex_Machina (2015)

Ex_Machina (2015) Directed by Alex Garland

•Producer- Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich

•Director- Alex Garland

•Distributor- Universal Pictures

•Cast- Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno

•Budget- $15 million

•Locations- Shot over four weeks at Pinewood Studios and two weeks at Juvet Landscape Hotel in Valldalen, Norway

•Technology- It was filmed in digital at 4K resolution.

•Number Of Screen - Opening Weekend- 4 in the USA

•Number Of Screens - Peak Number- 1279 is the overall peak of the film screenings  

•Box Office Figures- $36.9 million

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice: Ex Machina had a well rounded, well known production team of three well known, popular teams, DNA films who brought both 28 days and weeks later films that were wildly successful in both UK and US box offices with 28 Days Later on a budget of $8,000,000 and grossed up to $45,063,889, Film 4, who pride themselves on the fact they release new and original films (usually on a small budget) such as FRANK and The Lobster, and Scott Ruddin, who are well known of for making successful films worldwide. So with production companies with this much of a reputation the production teams for Ex Machina were able to build up a budget of $15,000,000 approx. this allowed the film to have good looking, convincing special effects which wouldn't normally be seen in a film with a budget of this size, which in the end allowed the film to gross up to $25,440,971 in the US alone.


The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing: As stated previously in question one because of the combination of all three of these successful production companies they were able to create a bigger, better looking film, if not for the cross media between Film 4 and DNA films the film wouldn’t have been created to as high of a standard or even created at all.  

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange: Marketing a film has become far more easy in recent years with the introduction and rising popularity of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it’s become free and easy to market your film to the demographic who is on your site. TV advert breaks are usually advertising some sort of new release either coming to cinema or the production teams are in post-production and is now marketing for the DVD and BLU-RAY sales, to advertise a film in an ad break it’ll usually cost the production company up to £50,000 on ITV at primetime.

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences: In today’s society with audience’s attitudes of film watching changing and more and more, especially younger people who are one of cinemas larger demographics, streaming films off sites from the internet. When a film is released it can take up to a couple of days before it is on popular streaming sites on the internet, with some big budget films available to be viewed in 4K, a camera quality only available on IMAX and Blu-Rays. However, studios also do decide to release DVDs and Blu-Rays because many people still buy and view the films on this format with people not using streaming sites and services. Although DVD sales are huge chunk of their market, streaming is still the way many view films and TV with services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and ITunes being vastly popular and common today with Netflix having up to 29.4 million customers by January 2013, and production companies recognise that this is the bigger demographic today, the more services they provide for the more audiences they attract and there should be an increase in profit.

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences: When creating a film with a smaller budget than the films they are competing with the production companies had to invest in areas of the film making that would allow the film to stand out. Linking it back to the film Ex_Machina, apart from the films lead (Alicia Vikander) costume being created completely out of computer generated effects and CGI becoming more and more popular with mainstream audiences the rest of the effects in the film being practically made to save money but to also give the film a realistic feel and atmosphere such as costumes of the other characters, the birds eye views in the film and the camera work and the locations used. The effects used were similar to motion capture, which in later years have influenced and shaped the way films are made, actress Alicia Vikander was required to wear a skin suit to edit the effects on to.

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions: In the case of Ex_Machina and its budget of only $15,000,000 the production companies may be unable to afford marketing that’ll create a big enough ‘buzz’ for the film, this could create some potential audiences being unaware of the film’s release. Another issue is the fact that even thought the film will be marketed and advertised they may not get enough encouragement to their main target audiences, and only taking a smaller audience instead of a wider one. However, with the convergence of companies such as DNA Films and Film 4, they were able to release their film in formats such as IMAX and 3D which is a way to market the film for people to want to go and see it. The cast of the film will probably go on late night talk shows to promote their new release, this is a good way to promote the film but only gets to the audience watching the show, who may not be the teenage audiences that the film is aimed at.  

The ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour: As a member of the audience I agree and have my options on a film and how it is made. When discussing media ownership in contemporary media practice when developing Ex_Machina I see it as a positive to have the main production companies be, although not as well known as companies such as 20th Century Fox or Warner Bros., but instead have two production companies who are familiar with the certain style of a film with a smaller budget. As a member of the audience the importance of cross media convergence is important, especially in the case of Ex_Machina that without the financial and marketing backing of studios such as DNA Films and Film 4 wouldn't be able to raise as big of a budget as it was able to. With the studio backing this picture marketing became much easier with the experience of these titles who create films that aren't blockbusters. The technologies that have been introduced in recent years has really effected the levels of production, distribution, marketing a film like this is able to make an impact with viewers. The film had a budget of $15,000,000, which is out of the ordinary with so many big budget films out every year, but with the convergence of the production companies and the technology they were able to use, they were able to create a well looking, realistic look at the sci-fi source material. One of the most recognisable benefits of having a convergence between two production companies is the fact that marketing becomes a lot easier for them and the film becomes a lot more noticeable to us as the audience, this is very important because marketing a film is nearly as important as the end product, no 'buzz' for the film will result in their being no audience so money will be lost. trailers, posters and adverts are all important for the audience to get up and view the film. 

Representation Of Age

Representation Of Age

We watched a clip from the channel 4 drama series Humans, for the task we examined how a scene from the show represents the topic of age in a world where humans and robots live in society together.

Camera Work
When the scene starts it takes an establishing panning shot of the inside of the older characters house, this allows the audience to see how the character acts inside his own home. When he answers the door there is a establishing shot of the house he lives in, his big house allows us to recognise he is more well off than other people in the show and his house is defiantly expensive, but at the end of the scene we learn he'd rather stay with an older robotic model than a newer version, this shows that even the elderly people in society can form an emotional attachment to these non-human synths. However when offered a new robot they offer him a model with older features whereas all the other synths in the show are based and styled on younger, more attractive people, this shows the rift between the ages as older people are put with older looking robots. When the sellers of the robots knock on the house door it focuses on a sign of "No Visitors", this shows that in a time where robots have a far to striking resemblance to real people, and stereotypically older people are seen as people who are more likely to be scared of the changing world and would to refer to become secluded inside their home.

Sound

Ethnicity Textual Analysis: Hotel Babylon

Ethnicity Textual Analysis: Hotel Babylon

We watched a five-minute extract of Hotel Babylon and analysed how the extract studied the concept of ethnicity in modern society, and how the authorities hunt and arrest people who are in the case of the show, powerless. We studied the four different media area that are the use of camera work, the sound (music or otherwise), editing of the scenes and the mise on scene and how the scene looked.

In the opening scene the camera work that is used is an establishing the scene from the warehouse to the reception of the building. Panning shots of the entrance was used to establish the whereabouts of the characters and the situation that they are in.  When the police and the workers of the building are rounding up the immigrants working they uses a tracking shot to establish the contrast between the rich and the poor. When they hide in the staff room the camera is mainly out of focus and sinks in with the hiding characters, this is to give the impression that the audience is involved in the situation.  It focuses on the characters needed and who is the centrepiece of the scene. When one of the immigrants is caught it uses the technique of Dolly Zoom to increase the tension of the scene so we can get a feel of the characters emotion at the time. At the end of the scene the camera tracks all the other workers praying and eating dinner together, this gives the sense of community and peacefulness that wasn’t seen before with the contrast of a hopeless, innocent man was arrested, this could suggest that they are use to the constant threat of being caught by the authorities and now is a way of life for them.  

Intense diegetic sounds are used to bring the audience into the scene to increase the tension, to give the audience a sense of panic of the workers and their allies attempting to hide them. When the police enter loud intense drum diegetic sound are used to imply a sense of danger when they are present as if they are the villains in the situation. The diegetic tune continues to go on until they hide in the staff room where all diegetic sounds stop and we're left with Non- diegetic sounds to increase the tension at act as if we are involved in the situation, the quietness shows they are hiding like animals, trapped in a cage. The scene ends with calm music to show they are used to the constant threat of being arrested and they do not speak or use non-digetic sounds to portray the loneliness of the character even when they are together. 

When immigration and the police enter the building and when they are seen in the lobby the editing is quite slow in pace switching from character to character in a turn taking conversation way. But as soon as the female protagonist begins to hide the immigrants working in the building the shots pick up pace and becomes more intense and exiting, this is to portray the panic of the helpless people. They take hold to the use of a continuity editing keep the viewers involved and to keep them involved in the story and to act as a way to involve the audience as if they were there.  As soon as they are hiding in a room it begins to slow down to give the audience the time to relax with the characters as if we are in the scene with them this creates the emotional attachment between the characters and the audience that it needs.

When the police enter the building you are able to see they ‘re in an expensive and high end location in probably the city, the consumes is mainly made up of police uniforms and suits, the contrast of the rich and the law. But when they begin exploring the building and finding the immigrants they are looking for there is a definite contrast from rich to poor as the workers are seen in only working overalls compared to the other characters who are in suits. When in the staff room it’s very dark and dirty, this displays the dreadful and despite conditions these people are involved in and how they must hide when being hunted by the authorities who should be protecting them, a contrast of who are good and who are bad.