Friday, 9 December 2016

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: 500 CRTICIAL REVIEW - SHERLOCK


The BBC's modern adaptation of Sherlock, uses a range of different codes and conventions to appeal to its audience. Examples of cinematography, mis en scene, sound and editing can be identified as to portray how this adaptation is effective. Sherlock is a crime drama television series broadcast by the BBC, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. A lot of the different conventions that are used are widely connected to the crime drama genre.

The editing of the show is very fast paced. For example within the first episode, when Sherlock is rushing to get somewhere to meet a killer, a range of different shots are used that a tightly edited together to reinforce the rush that the character is in. There is also an idea that the fast paced editing reflects the personality of the main character Sherlock. Sherlock as a character in this adaptation is an extremely quirky character; who acts, talks and thinks extremely fast, this paired with the fast paced editing that we see, establishes the fast paced narrative of the show as a whole and sets the pace for the series as a whole.

In terms of the cinematography, Sherlock uses a range of different abstract camera shots, this instils a sense of difference for this show. Sherlock is a widely known brand and there have been countless adaptations of it; in both film and TV. Creator Steven Moffat wanted this to be different and shine a new light on an extremely well known character, the abstract camera shots reinforce this idea of difference. For example, a low angled shot of Sherlock looking into a magnifying glass illustrates the characters intrusive nature and directs conveys this to the audience, through the fact he is staring directly at them. Many critics of the show highlight the Sherlock's child like nature and some of this can be directed toward the cinematography. For example, a long shot of him standing in front of a fire denotes a sense of danger 

There is mainly diegetic sound within Sherlock, as everything that we see is implied. We hear gun shots and explosions but we see these on screen so the sound itself is implied and fully expected by the audience. The non diegetic sound wouldn't be something the audience expects within Sherlock as everything is mainly socially realistic. 

The Mis En Scene within Sherlock is very important to the audience. As discussed, this adaption is a merge of the old brand and ideas of Sherlock, with more modern concepts, therefore it is important for the audience that they see both old and new iconographies. Firstly, there are two things that we see on screen that could be described as old iconographies of Sherlock, the hat that we see him wearing is a significant part of all Sherlock adaptations and seeing him wear it will make the audience instantly recognise who and what they are watching. Furthermore, the flat that Sherlock lives in looks the same in this adaptation as in them all, when we see long shots of the flat we see recognisable features, such as a brown arm chair and a very cluttered living room. Part of the Mis En Scene, the location of which the programme is set, stays the same, London. However the modern concepts comes from the establishing shots we see of the more modern London buildings, such as the gherkin and canary wharf. 



















Friday, 2 December 2016

FINAL VERSION - REVELATION

Final version of my opening two minutes of 'Revelation'

                                                    https://youtu.be/OWN_Pafvbt8

Thursday, 1 December 2016

SOFT TRAILER EDIT

Using the footage of the 14 minute short drama by Simon Ellis, 'Soft" we were tasked with editing a trailer together for the film. I found this exercise really useful as firstly it allowed me to get more to grips with using Premier Pro for editing as well as having a lot of footage to edit.

My version of the trailer can be found at -

                                               https://youtu.be/wsyHbpf-sCU

PROJECT CRITICAL EVALUATION

Throughout this Storytelling unit, i have learnt a lot about both the technical and written aspects of television production. I hope that throughout my work this term, i have effectively applied what i have learnt, such as the 180 degree rule and exposure.

Within my 2 minute opening, i feel that i effectively used a wide range of shots, such as close ups, wide angle and low angle. Throughout various screenings we had we identified a range of different camera shots which i took inspiration from and hoped to replicate within my own work. My opening included a lot of different shots all cut closely together, as we watch the main character 'Amanda' walk in to her living room. The succession of shots that i included i wanted to demonstrate an element of exposure and focusing, for example shots that focus on her feet whilst her shoes are coming off, or her hand she opens the living room door. I wanted them to look very clear and be tightly edited together. I believe that this is a strength of my opening as i think i achieved this.

There were a few things in my project that didn't go entirely to plan,  however it is good that these things happen so that i watch out for them more carefully next time and will not make these errors again. There were some continuity errors within my opening, for example as "Amanda" is looking at the photo of her father, the close up shot that i got of her picking the photo up (whilst in the other shot she is on the phone) she uses the wrong hand in the close up to pick the photo up, whereas in the main shot that same hand is being used to hold her mobile to her ear and the photo is in the other hand. Moreover, something i also thought i could improve was the main shot that i cut between during Amanda and Marks conversation. Mark was slightly cut off during some of it and he changed positions and i believe a straight shot looking direction at them would have probably been better. Something else that in hindsight i would have liked to have done, would be to add an extra scene showing Amanda leaving the house, as at the end of my opening Mark cannot find Amanda and it is inferred that she has left their house, however after watching it back i believe that it comes across as very ambiguous and an extra scene may have explained it better. Also another continuity area that i made was during Mark and Amanda's conversation, the living room door is open in one shot, closed in another and then back to being open. 

Through writing my script, i changed the story many times, adding in different characters, adding and deleted certain scenes etc. Mainly this was due to me telling too much and not showing enough, as identified by Steve Coombs in one of our feedback sessions. The main change i did was the introduction of Dave's daughter Connie, because it allowed me to add in extra scenes where Amanda meets her sister, this opened the door to have less dialogue and more 'showing'. Overall i believe that the storytelling unit for me, was a success. I learnt a lot about technical aspects of television and can now confidently identify control the Sony camera, as well as this i have learn't to correctly format and write a script, using the golden rules identified by screenwriter Steve Coombs. I hope that i managed to demonstrate this learning within my own work.

















MAJOR PRODUCTION; CRITICAL EVALUATION

Final Unspoken Poster Working on Unspoken, has been one of the longest projects we as students have ever worked on. Myself and my grou...