1. Term 1 TheoryTask:
SpacedAnalysis:
Task 1
Spaced Season 2 Episode 5
1. Mise En Scene
2. Camera
3. Editing
4. Sound
5. Intertextuality
6. Context
2. Quick action cuts in the shoot out
2. Camera zoom to focus on which character is speaking during the face to face confrontation
3. Sound before cut J cut
3. Slide to the left or right with motion blur and a swoosh sound effect, the characters lead the
transition by looking to the side of frame to which the slide transition takes place.
3. Link back to a previous scene in the episode.
4. Piano music to enhance the sad story of one of the characters
5. Link to The Shining, when Tim and Daisy are sat outside they imitate Jack at the end of the film
when he is frozen outside.
5. Link to the Terminator, the line “all men do is destroy things”
5. Link to Jurassic Park, when Duane is driving he crashes into the “red hand gang”, he gets out the
car he starts to shout at one of the gang members but the gang member stands there silent, then
Duane notices that he is surrounded by the rest of the gang, which is a homage to the scene from
the original Jurassic Park when Muldoon goes to hunt the Velociraptor on his own, he spots one and
then gets surrounded by Raptors.
6. Context: The director is Edgar Wright, the show was made in March of 2001, the show was
targeted at a younger audience around the 16-18 range as at this point in time the references and
jokes that the show make are a lot less mature and sometimes rely on physical, slapstick style
comedy.
2. In Episode 5 of Season 2 of Spaced the episode is very well-constructed as it has the basic
elements of any story but some of the elements are in a different order. The episode likes to link
itself to other forms of media which is very clever as it is a form of media that can work well on its
own but if the person watching the show understands the reference the showbecomes funnier as
the reference is very subtle but can be very effective. I think that intertextuality is highly under-
utilised as if it is used correctly the effect it has is very efficient in portraying a nod to some original
work and ideas. One of the best and unnoticeable nod to some original work is something that I
didn’t find out until I researched this episode. The voice that Duane Benzie has is a homage to a
previous role that the actor Peter Serafinowicz had before, the role he had before was the voice of
Darth Maul in the first Star Wars film from the Prequels. On first viewing of the episode this wasn’t
something that I noticed but after the research and then another watch of the episode I found that all
the intertextuality added to the viewing experience of the episode and that all the little nuances
added to the story of the episode.
One of the nice things that Edgar Wright does and still does to this day is his use of j-cuts and
camera swipes, he uses this in his show to transfer from scene to scene and sometimes even from a
person to person to emphasize something as simple as a conversation that is tense. The show also
uses intertextuality in the forms of Alias and Spaced uses the style of Alias in the forms of all of the
date/time subtitles and the flashbacks, the flashbacks tell the story of the different characters such
as Daisy and the reasons that men don’t like her, the flashbacks also told the story of Duane and
Tim and their last encounter which happened in a previous episode of the show. The show also uses
the Alias style when Tim and Daisy are talking a bar, they talk about how sometimes it can “pay to
be single” as the show goes on to talk about Marsha and how when she was single she was on track
to be an Olympic athlete but then she was hit by a car when cycling and began drinking and started
dating the guy who hit her in the car and then fell behind on her training and lost her shot on being
an Olympic athlete.
About 6 minutes into the episode 3 of the male characters begin to have a finger gun fight, this
scene is very effectively shot, to portray the fact that the scene is an action shoot out Edgar Wright
uses quick and concise jump cuts to push the focus from one person to another when they are going
to do something in the fight, the scene only last for a minute but the quick action cuts mixed with the
slapstick style comedy of a fake gunfight make this personally one of my favourite scenes in the
episode as it shows the fact that the show doesn’t always have to be serious. The cuts are usually
used in an actual, real gun fight but when being used in a fake gun fight the show is very good .
ConflictTask:
3. MediaTheory2
So thisisscene isfrom the filmFightClub,Idecidedonthisfilmasthere isa lotof conflictinthisfilm
fromthe twomaincharacters (Tyler – Brad Pitt*Left andThe Narrator – Edward Norton*Right).Inthis
scene we see the twomaincharacters discussingfightingandnotknowingmuchaboutthemselves
because they’ve neverfoughtbefore.Inthe scene there are the twocharactersTylerand “The
Narrator”, Tylerisdressedalot more freelyandcarelessthanThe Narrator,Tylerwearsbrightercolours
and more “odd” clothingcomparedtoThe Narrator whowearssuitsand a lot of blandcolourssuch as
blackand grey.I thinkthat the screenwriterhasusedthese coloursforthese charactersas theyhelpto
translate anddescribe andgive anideato the vieweronthe characterspersonalities.Tylerhavingalot
more brightercoloursinhiswardrobe meansthathischaracter is a lot more free livingandmore
recklessasthisisshowninthe scene ashe isthe one who talksThe Narrator intopunchinghiminthe
firstplace.Thenwe see the more blandcoloursof The Narrator’swardrobe come intoplayas we see his
more blandand timidwardrobe thathe usesto fitincome into playas he isunsure aboutpunching
Tyleras he has neverbeenina fightbutthe recklessnessandcare-free life thatTylerlivesstartstorub
off on The Narrator. The coloursof the backgroundalsohelptoset the scene as the bar that theyare
drinkingatis verydelapadatedandrundownandthe use of minimal lightinganddarkcolourswith
thingsinthe scene such as the garbage cans and trash bagsalso helptoportray this.Thiscouldalsobe
seenthe bar beingrundownand usingsimilarcolourstoThe Narrator to portraythat The Narrator
himself isalsorundownhimselfwiththe onlythingbeingclose thatisn’tthisblandboringcolourbeing
Tyler.
4. As I saidbefore the lightinginthisscene isveryminimal andthisleadstoadark overtone tothe scene.I
thinkthat thisingeneral leadsto a darkertone of the scene ingeneral asit the start of the filmandthe
start of the mainstoryarc of the film.Inthisscene TylerintroducesThe Narratortothe worldof fighting
and the darkerside of the worldand himself thathe hasneverseenbefore,afterthisscene The
Narrators life becomesdarkeranddarkerwithhimbecomingmore andmore violent.Butthenthere is
the contrast of the character lateronin the filmschangingwhatclotheshe wearsashe is seeingthe
worldhowTylerseesitand beginstolive like Tyler.The lackof lightingalsoaddstothe ideathat the bar
isa run downanddelapadatedaswiththe lackof lightingyoucansee that there isa minimumamount
of effortorcare surroundingthe bar.
I thinkthat thisscene isvery effective atshowingthe confrontationof the scene aswell asthe contrast
betweenthe characterandthe settingandhow the differentelementsshow the contrastandhelpto
enhance the conflict.
AmyAnalysis:
In the final 15 minutesof the AmydocumentaryAsif Kapadiausescinematictechniquestobuildupthe
emotionsof the final scenesof the film.
Nearthe end of the filmAsif startedtoadd mire tense backingmusictohelpbuildupamore serious
note to the film.Earlierinthe filmone of the intervieweestalksaboutAmy’sbodyandhow well she had
beendoingbutwhenshe wentfora check-upthe doctorssaidthat if she continueddrinkingthatshe
coulddie,she wasthenaskedif she wantedtodie and she repliedthatshe didn’twantto.It then cutsto
whenshe wastouringand hermanagersaidshe didn’thave todo itbut she saidshe wantedto.She
thengot toldshe had to go soshe starteddrinkingtogetherself takenoff the tourbutshe got taken
fromher house whenshe waspassedoutandwoke up at the airport andwas flownawayoma private
jet.Nearertothe endof the filmAsif startedtoput some more sad andseriousmusicoverthe topof
the footage,the editorwoulduse longerandlingeringshotsorwouldevenslow downfootage togive it
a longerlastingeffect.The editoralsousespianoand/orviolinmusicof the topto helpportraythe
sadnessandto portray the emotionfelt,inthe endingminutesof the filmthere isno
talking/monologue,itsjustthe musicinthe backgroundoverthe footage.
The filmhas a fewwordsfromsome of her idolsandclosestfriendstalkingaboutherdeath,fromthe
voicesof the people youcanreallyhearthe emotionbehindwhatthe people weresaying.The editor
and film-makerusescinematiceffectsto helpportrayandgive more emotionandhelpthe viewer
emphasize withthe peoplewhowere closesttoAmy.Ithinkthat the mix of the footage afterthe
5. funeral andthe musicalongwiththe montage of Amy throughhercareer andseeingherthroughsome
of the bestpointsof herlife isveryeffective atcreatingthe emotionandportrayingthe empathy.
Duringthe creditsof the filmthe editorhasa smallermontage nexttothe rollingcreditswiththe BBC
Live Lounge versionof Valeriewhichatthe time of writinghasover170 millionstreamsonSpotify
alone.Thisversionof the songisverygoodat usingthe viewersemotionsagainstthemasLive version
containsa lotmore emotionfromAmyherself asthe live versioncontainsminimal editingtohelp
containheremotionbehindthe song,whichthe filmhasbeenbuildingupall thistime talkingaboutthe
passionthatAmyhad around hermusicas all she wantedto dowas justmake her musicand she wasn’t
botheredaboutbeingfamous,she justwantedtomake musicandthisisevidentfromthe filmandthe
interviewsthe Amyhadearlierandlateroninher career.
Factual AnalysisPt1:
The Mighty Redcar
I believethatnodocumentarycanbe objective asif itisproducedbysomeone whoisclose tothe topic
of the documentarythe final productwill be biasedtowardsmakingthe productlookgoodandshow
the bestside of the topic.Whereassomethinglikethe documentaryaboutRedcarisalmostalways
goingto be biaseddependingonwhere the shootingandeditingcrew are from.If the filmingcrewfora
small industrial townwere fromabigcitylike London,thentheyare instantlygoingtohave apositive
biasedtowardswere theyare frominsteadof the place theyare havingto portray.Anotherreasonon
whyI believethatdocumentariescannotbe objectiveisbecause of the waythatthe documentaries
portray the showto the publicforthe bestviewingandone of the bestwaysto do so isby usingpoverty
porn to drawin more viewerstomake the show more commerciallysuccessful.
I thinkthat we shouldstartto accept thingsthatwe read/watchto a certainextent,we canbelievethem
slightlybutonlybegintofullyandtrulyacceptthemafterdoingthe researchandverifyingthat
everythingthathasbeensaidandread is the truth andnothingbut.Because I believe thatforusto just
accept everythingthatwe readstraightaway withnocontextor proof wouldfundamentallychange
humanity,asif we believedeverythingonfirstsightwithnoresearchthenthe justice systemwould
completelychange,andthiswouldbe anegative change.Ithinkthatwe shouldonlytrulybelieve things
afterall the evidence isonthe table andit has beenprovencorrect.
The onlyway to make sure that everythingbeingsaidinadocumentary istointerview the people inthe
documentaryif possibleortryget yourhands onthe raw footage,andthensitthroughall of the footage
to make sure that none of the footage hasbeenfranken-bittohelpfurtherthe course of the
documentary.Apartfromthat I don’tthinkthatthere isany otherway to verifythatthe contentinthe
documentaryisinfact true so we justhave to eitherbelieve everythingthatthe documentaryissaying
6. or believethatthe whole documentaryisfalseandhasjustbeenmade tobe worse thanthe actual
situation.
Factual AnalysisPt2:
The differentrepresentationsof peopleinThe MightyRedcar,BenefitsStreetandSkint.
I thinkthat the aimsof eachof these showsistomake the viewerwatchingwhoismostlikelygoingto
be in a higherclassthan the people presentedinthe showsandthisgivesthe viewerapositive feeling
aboutthemselvesandthisisthe aimof the show.It letsthe viewerlookatthe show andthe people who
are a lotworse off in life andthenlookatthemselvesandthenfeel alotbetteraboutthemselvesas
theycan go I mightnot be the bestoff,but I’mnot that badoff.The mainthingthatthese showsare
knownforis PovertyPornandthisis whenproducersanddirectorsof the showscut and show the worst
parts of the subjecttomake the viewerfeel betteraboutthemselvesandthatiswhatshowslike these
are made for.Some of these trynot tohave this theme asmuch as others,suchas The Mighty Redcar,
thisshowtriesto be lessbiasedbynotshowingthe worstof the worst of the town andactuallyshowing
the victoriesof some people sothatitsnotall bad.But thenthere are the extremeslike Skintand
BenefitsStreetwhichjustshowthe peoplesworstmomentsandseeingthemdownandthisgivesthe
viewerasense of higherself-worthbecause theirlifeisn’tthatbad.
I thinkthat all of these showswill alwaysbe biasedasthe producers,directors,filmingteamandeditors
will mostlikelybe fromahigherclassthan the people inthe showssotheywill wanttoedititto
make themselvesfeel better,theymightnotgooutof theirownwayto do thisbut itmightbe
subconsciousinthe waythey doit. One of the examplesof thisisa close up,confessionalstyle
shotin BenefitsStreetof apersontalkingabouttheirlife inthe pastandabout theirdruguse
and howit struckbetweenherandherfamilyandhertryingto get toand talk to the person
whocares for herson,there isalsoa scene lateronwhere the mothertriestoring the person
lookingafterhersonto say that she hasbeenworkingongettingbetterandhealthierandbeing
a betterpersonandaskingif she couldsee herson and the persononthe otherendof the
phone justhangsup and doesn’twantthe mothertosee herson or to talkto her.Then there is
the scenesof some of the charactershavinglow pointsbutit alsoshowspeople havinggood
timesintheirlivessuchasKaitlyn whogoesfromtalkingaboutherGCSE’sand worryingabout
college tohergoingto promand havinga great time.ItalsoDylanwho movedtoRedcar when
he was youngerandwas adopted,he talksaboutthe difficulttimesthathe’shadbuthe also
talksabouthow hismusichelpshimgetthroughall of the difficulttimesandhow makingthe
musiche makescouldhelphiminhislife andalsogettinghimtolive withhisadoptedbrother
and thenitshowshimgoingto Londonto talkto Universal MusicStudiostotalk aboutthe music
he is makingandthenon the train back to Redcarhe ringssomeone whointroducedhimto
Universal andthe personsaysthat Universal are 100% inand it cutsto Dylan sayingthathe has
hisbrothersback andhe will lookafterhim.
7. Final Task:
1. I thinkthat I have triedtowork to all of the conventionsof amagazine andthe similarproducts
as I have beenworkingtothese conventionsforthe past3 years sothese codesare alwaysin
consideration andthe freedomof afanzine thatIdidn’thave all of the conventionsthatIhad to
conformto. Afterthe lecture andlearningsome of the thingsthatMediaIn Minuteshave taught
me that thingssuch as everythinginthe mediaisactuallysomeoneelse’sview,andlookingback
at everyproductthat I have made I have realisedthatthisistrue.The videotalkedaboutthe
productionof mediaandhowthere are 3 stepsin mediaandtheyare Selection,Omissionand
Construction,thenwhenIlookbackon the productsthat I have made there will have beenfacts
and informationthatIwill have missedoutornotincludedinmyproductbecause Ieither
doesn’tfitmytheme orputs the productin the negative light.Thisvideohasreallyenlightened
me in howI make productsmyself andthisisprobablygoingtomake me rethinkorthink
differentlyaboutwhenImake productsandthe contentthat I putinside them.One of the
biggestthingsthatI have nowseenisNegative andPositive Representation,this isone massive
thingthat I neverthoughtabout.There are onlyeverytworepresentationsof thingsinthe
mediaandthat is positive andnegative,there isneveramiddle groundorunbiasedopinion
aboutanythinginthe media.
I thinkthatmy fanzine usessimilarconventionstoothercontentthathassimilartopicsasmine,
whenitcomesto
2.
Whenit comesto mywork I thinkthatit has similaraspectsto
a professional magazine aswiththisspecificissue of Metal
Hammer, whichisa massive magazine inthe rock/metal
community,ithassome similaraspectstothe
content/materialsthatIput intomyfanzine. Sothisspecific
issue isdedicatedtoIronMaidenandthe frontcoverof the
issue isjustartworkfrom the bandsmanydifferentalbums
whereasItooka differentapproachandone that issimilarto
some magazineslike Kerrang!,whichisanothermagazine that
isverybig,so I decidedtouse a shot of the band all togetheras
thisissomethingthatallowsmore peopleto engage withthe
material astheymightnot be familiarwithall of the bands
artworkbut if theyhave seenthe bandthemselvestheymight
feel aninterestinreadingthe magazine oratthe leastpickingit
up.
