Hurt Locker Questions

1.Explain two ways the characters and/ or events fit the action adventure genre

The main characters William James fits the action adventure genre because he is portrayed as a hero who tries to do the right thing by helping the suicide bomber. This shows he is the main protagonist as he is the one who risks himself to help someone else even when everyone else tells him not to which reinforces the point that he is a good character and a 'hero' He is the typical protagonist in an action adventure film because he is a male and is in the army. The character carries weapons and other kinds of technology which fits with the genre as it shows that there will be action. The main character also has a sidekick who helps him when he's trying to save the suicide bomber even though he doesn't fully agree. This fits with the action adventure genre as there is usually a character who is always with the protagonist and helps them with whatever they are trying to do. In this clip the sidekick is shown bringing bolt cutters to help the protagonist get the bombs off of the man.

The other main event in the clip is the main protagonist attempting to remove a bomb strapped to a man. The time taken for him to try and remove the bomb is dragged out a lot to create a tense and dramatic atmosphere which fits with the action adventure genre. Because of all the shouting the whole event feels very chaotic and intense which also fits the genre. The bomb eventually explodes and the man isn't saved which is a convention of the genre as it is more realistic and shows that everything doesn't always go to plan. 

2. Explain how each of the following is used to create effects:

soundtrack- 
Throughout the scene there is the diegetic sound of the soldiers shouting as well as the suicide bomber shouting in a foreign language in the background which adds to the feeling of chaos. The shouting increases and gets louder right before the bomb is about to explode which makes the tension build up and makes the viewer feel more involved and anticipate the explosion. The shouting finally goes silent and you can just hear the suicide bomber say something before the explosion happens. This makes his words have a bigger impact as that is the only thing you can hear and it also means there is a contrast between the silence and then the loud sound effects used for the explosion. There are then sound effects of the rubble being thrown by the explosion and the men falling down until the explosion settles and the scene goes quiet again.

 editing-

Exam Question

Soundtrack-

The clip opens with a non-diegetic sound that increases in volume to build up tension. The sound is dramatic and gives the viewer a feeling that a lot of action is about to take place. You then hear the diegetic sounds of alarms and shouting from the ship, this makes the scene feel chaotic and more dramatic. Amongst all the shouting the words of the protagonist are louder and more clear so the viewer focuses on what he is saying. There is then a loud explosion and diegetic sounds of explosions, shouting, and the noises made by the alien protagonists. There is also non-diegetic music playing that builds up tension as the battle continues which creates a chaotic atmosphere.

Editing-

CGI is used to make the large amount of ships seen at the beginning which gives the audience a feeling that the battle about to happen will be big and intense. when they are on the ship Cage is shown and then the camera switches to the officer who is shouting orders. It then goes back to Cage which means it is a shot-reverse-shot. This is done to to show how the officer is ignoring the protagonist which creates a feeling of worry amongst the audience because they know he has something important to say. This builds up tension and connotes that Cage knows what he's doing more because he has already experienced the events a number of times. During the battle scene there is a lot of fast-paced editing which intensifies the upbeat pace of the battle and keeps the audience on edge as they are worried that the protagonist could die at any moment. There is also a lot of CGI used to make the explosions to make the battle look more realistic and dangerous. A jump cut is used when Cage dies because it emphasises how he suddenly restarted and has gone back in time. This is non-continuity editing because the scenes don't flow, however this is done purposely for effects because the plot revolves around the fact that his day keeps restarting.

Camera-

The first shot is an establishing shot which shows all of the aircrafts leaving. This informs the audience what is about to happen in the scene and also creates an uneasy feeling because of the vast amount of ships going to battle. The camera then switches to a hand-held camera which makes it more shaky and gives the audience the feeling that they are actually their in the action. Doing this means the audience is more engrossed and they feel a bigger impact from what happens in in the battle. Next there is a point-of-view shot which shows the camera looking down at the main protagonists gun. This makes the audience relate to Cage more and root for him to survive. During the main fighting scene there are lot of tracking shots to keep up with all of the action that is occurring. When Cage dies and is shown waking up back in time there is a shallow focus shot. This focuses on the main character and blurs the background which means the viewer is concentrated on Cage's face and can see his emotions and reactions to what just happened.

Mis-en-scene-

The setting in the opening shot shows a lot of industrial buildings which makes it seem more futuristic, the ships are the seen moving over a cliff and the sea which suggests they are going somewhere far away. The lighting is ambient daylight. All of the characters are wearing a uniform which shows that they are part of an army. They also have the futuristic armor and weapons on shows they will be fighting. During the fight scene there are a lot of different ships and aircrafts in the background to show that the battle is very large with a lot of people involved as well as a lot of dark smoke to make it look more realistic. The lighting goes quite dark because the sky is grey with smoke and clouds which gives the scene a feeling of danger.

Compare how and why two programmes were scheduled on different channels

Bad Education was first shown on BBC Three on Tuesday the 14th of August 2012 at 10.00pm and Friday Night Dinner was shown on Channel 4 on Friday the 25th of February 2011 at 9:30pm. Bad Education was commissioned by the BBC and produced by Tiger Aspects Productions. Friday Night Dinner was commissioned by Channel 4 and produced by Big Talk Productions and Popper Pictures.

The target audience for Bad Education is teenagers between the ages of 13 and 19 because the humor is quite immature and it is also set in a school which is relatable to that age group. It may also be directed towards older people in their 30s and 40s as there are pop culture references that younger people probably wouldn't understand. on the other hand Friday Night Dinner has a more specific target audience of Jewish families because they can relate to it because having a Friday night dinner is part of their culture. 

I think Bad Education is shown at 10.00pm after the watershed because a lot of the content isn't suitable for children, similarly, Friday Night Dinner is also on after the watershed at 9:30 for the same reason. This is because it is known that after the 9 o clock watershed shows being shown are likely to be inappropriate for children because they contain things like strong language, sexual references and violence. In the case of these two shows it's mainly strong language and some sexual references. Bad Education is shown on the BBC because the humor on it is more controversial, this is allowed on the BBC as it is a public service and doesn't have to meet advertisers demands.

I think the audience demographic for Bad Education is mainly category E because students watch the show, however also people in category A because a lot of the jokes are more complex and refer to things in the 80's and 90's which a lot of people in those categories can relate. The audience demographic is category B because the audience is slightly older. 

Audience Pleasures- Bad Education

The Narrative pleasure in Bad Education is that the main character Alfie gets into trouble about something and then continues to lie about his problems which lead him into worse situations. This always ends in the lies and problems coming out in a humorous way. In this episode there is the problem of marking the papers which he keeps putting off, he then thinks he has solved the problem however the audience know it won’t work and therefore find it funny. This then comes out later on parents evening when he has to tell the parents which is humorous for the audience as they can watch him struggling. The other main lie he tells in this episode is that one of his student’s parents has a disease in order to get a date with another teacher. He continues lying about it to her and the narrative is snowballing until the truth comes out at the end of parents evening which provides audience pleasure as they can laugh at him embarrassing himself. In the end this is resolved as parents evening is over and Alfie isn’t fired, it also shows him and the student at the end to leave the audience with a feeling of satisfaction that everything has gone back to normal after the incident.

The suspense of waiting for the poor decisions the main character has made to catch up to him keeps the audience entertained. Even though the main character makes a lot of mistakes and isn’t a very good teacher, the audience still supports him and stay on his side because a lot of the other characters aren’t likeable and Alfie is the most realistic and relatable one even though he gets into extreme situations. The show also makes the audience feel like they are part of the class who also laugh at their teacher even though they like him because he has good intentions and is entertaining even though he makes poor decisions. This is because he acts like a teenager and the target audience is older teens who can relate to him and therefore he is more likeable. For example in this episode he avoids marking the papers in a way that teenagers avoid doing their homework and he also makes references to pop culture which will be amusing to teenager and people in their twenties.

The audience also has pleasure of recognition which means they understand the personalities of the different characters. This is because each character Is a very over-exaggerated stereotypes of different groups of people. They enjoy the anticipation of what the character will say next including things like catchphrases. An example of this in bad education is how the head teacher always talks about ‘banter’ or how Chantelle always tried to flirt with Alfie. These running jokes are pleasing to the audience as they find them familiar and have a sense that they are in on the joke.   There is also difference within repetition which means the audience recognise how the narrative is similar in each episode however there is a different problem and different gags in each episode which keeps it interesting and entertaining for the audience.                                                                                                                                                                                   

Research- Scheduling

Bad Education-

Bad education was first shown on BBC Three on Tuesday the 14th of August 2012 at 10.00pm. It was commissioned by the BBC and produced by Tiger Aspects Productions. I think the target audience is teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 because it is set in a modern school and they would find it relatable. I also think it is more aimed at males. I think it was shown at 10.00pm because some of the jokes can be rude and it also contains strong language which means it isn't suitable for children therefore is shown after the watershed. It may also be because Jack Whitehall is a well known comedian and the anticipation of the show could be why it was shown at 10 which is a prime time for television comedy. It was probably shown on BBC Three to attract a younger audience and because the channel may also be popular with the shows target audience



Friday Night Dinner-

Friday night dinner was first shown on Channel 4 on Friday the 25th of February 2011 at 10.00pm. It was commissioned by Channel 4 and produced by Big Talk Productions and Popper Pictures. I think the target audience for this show is families with teenagers as they can find it relatable and the Jewish community as dinner on a Friday is part of there culture which makes it appealing to them. It is on this channel because it is a popular channel with the target audience.

Magazine Research

Magazine research from livbarnes

Magazine