Writing an essay

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of REGIONAL IDENTITY using the following: (50 marks)

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise en scene

EAA: Explanation, analysis, argument (20 marks)
EG: Use of examples (20 marks)
T: Terminology (10 marks)

The establishing shot is of an outdated doctor's surgery, lacking many of the modern items one would expect to see, this cultural code immediately positions the audience to regard the countryside as 'behind' in terms of technology and other advancements - this is a common stereotype of the countryside. The use of a wide angle allows the audience to see the contrast between the suit wearing Doc Martin (who represents the 'city') and the two boiler suit wearing tradesman (who represent the countryside). Doc Martin is positioned higher in the frame, which could connote power and authority, whilst one of the two workers appear lazy; he is seated, overweight and eating. The room appears uncared for, it is lit using natural soft key lighting and through the use of mise en scene we can see that there are boxes piled up.

Moreover, the insert shot is of an old fashioned police office which shows an officer is hovering, implying he has free time to clean because the countryside is quiet and crime free. Through the use of mise en scene we can see that the computer is off which could demonstrate there is little work to be done and the fact that it isn't an updated computer might show that there is no need to because there might not be a lot of work to do in the countryside. The use of the tilt on the police man portrays how important he is which is then overpowered by Doc Martin as he is from the city which makes him significant, an eyeline match highlights that Doc Martin and the police officer share the same power. The mid-close up on the police officer's face indicates the surprise when Doc Martin enters the room, this may illustrate the rarity of people entering the office.

Further more, the medium close up shot is of Doc Martin and a woman trying to talk to him. Doc Martin is closer to the camera which could portray the power he has over the woman, it also could imply that he doesn't want to talk to her as he has carried on walking away. The mise en scene shows that the woman has a car which could infer that she might be lazy to walk around or that she has a lot of money to buy a car, when they walk the mise en scene changes to mountains and the ocean which is a stereotypical view of a countryside, the sound of seagulls in the background as they walk are also a stereotypical view of the countryside as it is near the sea and normally has lots of seagulls around it.

In addition, the medium shot is of a woman calling Doc Martin to help her carry vegetables. The old woman is closer to the camera which could indicate the power she has over Doc Martin, and because she is old, it positions the audience to see that she is wise which then is proven to be correct when she tells Doc Martin the teachers name because she knows everyone. Through the use of mise en scene we can see cottages which is a common stereotype of a countryside to have cottages as they are old fashioned, we can aslo see a school which is bigger than both Doc Martin and the old woman to imply that schools are important. The vegetables in the van could connote that she works on a farm or grows vegetables which is also a stereotypical view of people from the countryside, her attire could also show this.


I have under analysed terms for sound and not used any of Roland Barthes narrative codes. I could have put more camera angles in my essay and used more regional identity angles that are shown in the clip of Doc Martin. I haven't mention many editing techniques that was used in the clip and I have only included one thing about the sound used in the background.

Questions for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

1.  Who owns Lucasfilm? Lucasfilm is owned by Disney, they bought it for around $4 billion.

2.  Who formed Lucasfilm? George Lucas formed Lucasfilm, he is an American film maker and entrepreneur.

3.  What year was Lucasfilm formed? 1971

4.  Who is the president of Lucasfilm? With Micheline Chau's departure, senior executives for each of the Lucasfilm divisions will report directly to Kathleen Kennedy.

5.  What other major films have they worked on? As well as Star Wars, Lucasfilm has worked on Indiana Jones.

6. How much was Lucasfilm sold for? Around $4 billion

7.  Who wrote Star Wars: The Force Awakens? George Lucas wrote the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens

8. Who directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens? J.J Abrams directed the film, he is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is known for work in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction

9.  What other major films is the director responsible for? J.J Abrams also direct the sequel to Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness

10. How many Star Wars films have there been so far (list them)? 

Star Wars (1997)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Return of the Jedi (1983)
The Phantom Menace (1999)
Attack of the Clones (2002)
Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The Force Awakens (2015)
Episode VIII (2017)
11. How much money have they all made at the global box office? Here are some examples of how much money the global box office make in the years 1900-2016         
$ 2788.0 Avatar (2009)
$ 2186.8 Titanic (1997)
$ 2066.0 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
$ 1670.4 Jurassic World (2015
$ 1519.6 The Avengers (2012)
$ 1516.0 Furious Seven (2015)
$ 1405.4 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
$ 1341.5 Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2012)
$ 1276.5 Frozen (2013)
$ 1215.4 Iron Man 3 (2013)
$ 1163.5 Minions (2015)
$ 1152.7 Captain America: Civil War (2016)
$ 1123.7 Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
$ 1122.0 Jurassic Park (1993)
$ 1119.9 The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King (2003)
$ 1108.6 Skyfall (2012)
$ 1104.0 Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
$ 1084.9 The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
$ 1066.2 Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
$ 1050.7 Toy Story 3 (2010)
$ 1045.7 Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
$ 1027.0 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
$ 1025.5 Alice in Wonderland (2010)
$ 1023.1 Zootopia (2016)
$ 1021.1 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)                                                                     TOTAL $33224.3
12.  When was the first Star Wars film released? May 25, 1977
13.  What does ILM stand for? Industrial Light and Magic
14.  What do ILM do? They create visual effects and CGI
15.  Who created ILM? George Lucas
16.  Why did they create ILM? For the production of the Star Wars franchise
17.  What do casting directors do? Casting Directors organize the casting of actors for all the roles in a film. This involves working closely with the director and producer to understand their requirements, and suggesting ideal artists for each role, as well as arranging and conducting interviews and auditions.
18.  Where were the first scenes for Star Wars: The Force Awakens filmed? The first scenes were filmed in the desert near Abu Dhabi
19.  What format was Star Wars: The Force Awakens shot on? 66mm IMAX
20.  What types of camera were used to film Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Kodak cameras were used to film Star Wars
21.  What studio was used to film a large portion of the film? Production for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ was predominantly based at Pinewood Studios, where stars Harrison Ford, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley filmed a large portion of the film
22.  Where is the studio? Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. Approximately 20 miles west of Central London
23.  What major franchise is famously filmed at this studio? The James Bond franchise and the Carry On films
24.  How does said franchise link to Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Daniel Craig, the main character in James Bond, played a storm trooper in the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens
25.  Who was the inspiration for the character Maz Kanata? The inspiration of Maz Kanata was J.J Abrams' old teacher Rose Gilbert
26.  What technology was used to create Maz Kanata? The medusa performance capture system
27.  Who played Maz Kanata & what other roles is she famous for? Lupita Nyong'o played Maz Kanata, she is also famous for Raksha in The Jungle Book, Gwen in Non-Stop etc.
28.  Who played General Snoke? Andy Serkis
29.  What is he renowned for in the movie business? He is renowned for playing Gollum in The Lord of The Rings
30.  Where was the final scene filmed? The last scene, involving the mysterious role of Mark Hamill, takes place in the Skellig Michael island in Ireland.
31.  Who composed the film score? John Williams composed the music for Star Wars
32.  How many Star wars films has he composed the music for? 6
33.  What other famous films has he created the music for? John Williams has also composed for the films: Jaws, E.T, Superman, Saving Private Ryan, Hook, Home Alone, and Star Wars I, II, III, VII and the VIII coming in 2017
34.  How many times did John Boyega audition for the film (according to JJ Abrams)?
35.  Over what period of time did these auditions occur? 7 months
36.  How many people operated B-B8? 3, one person operates the head, another operates the body's acceleration, and the last person operates the direction in which B-B8 goes
37.  What type of technology was the main version of B-B8? The ball is giant remote-control robot puppet very much like one called Sphero which was design by Bob Iger, the head is attached to the body with a magnet so that it doesn't fall off but also allows the body to move freely.
38.  What colour suit did the B-B8 operator wear? Green
39.  What did he have to wear such a suit? He had to wear a green suit because it is similar to the green screen that you can edit and put backgrounds on that aren't actually there. So he wears the green suit so that he can be edited to fit the background so it looks like B-B8 moves on his own.
40.  What type of special effects (SFX) were employed on Star Wars: The Force Awakens? CGI
41.  How many people were behind the monitor watching the scene when Han and Chewie returned to the Millenium Falcon? Around 200

42.  Why was Simon Pegg thanked in the credits for Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Because he helped make the film and he played a character.

43.  JJ Abrams shot part of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX. What is IMAX? IMAX is a technique of widescreen cinematography which produces an image approximately ten times larger than that from standard 35 mm film.

44.  How many IMAX screens was The film available on? Only 15 films in North America and 2 internationally are showing in the IMAX screens

45.  What was the age rating of the film in the UK? 12

46.  How much money did the UK government contribute to the production of Star Wars: The Force Awakens? (Express this figure as a percentage of the total cost and as a figure in pounds). £31.6 million - 15% financed by the UK government.

47.  How much was Harrison Ford paid to reprise his role of Han Solo? Around $25 million

48.  How much were Daisy Ridley and John Boyega paid? Between $100k to $300k

Perkins and Festinger

Perkins 5 assumptions: (Task 1)
Perkins believes that stereotypes are not a simple process and contains a number of assumptions that can be challenge which are listed below in relation to Hotel Babylon.

1. Stereotypes are not always negative. In Hotel Babylon, the Asian woman on her computer is stereotyped as smart and is polite when she thanks Adam for saving the diabetic woman.
2. They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful. In relation to Hotel Babylon, this is shown through white people having the better jobs at the front of the hotel where the customers can see them the most.
3. They can be held about one's own group. Linking this to Hotel Babylon, the most of the time, negative assumptions are made stereotypically which make the people that are similar to the characters in Hotel Babylon and are watching it think that it is wrong. For example, blonde people aren't always dumb.
4. They are not rigid or unchanging. In Hotel Babylon, some stereotypes often change a lot for example white people are normally the doctors, where as in Hotel Babylon a black guy was the one to save the diabetic woman.
5. They are not always false. In relation to Hotel Babylon, The blonde woman that is the manager of the hotel, isn't dumb which shows that not all stereotypes are true. However, some stereotypical views are that blonde people are pretty which is true in Hotel Babylon.

Festinger: (Task 2)
Festinger can be used to explain the popularity of programmes like hotel Babylon or other TV dramas, his theory of cognitive dissonance involves conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviours. This produces a feeling of discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviours to reduce the discomfort and restore balance etc. In relation to Hotel Babylon, the audience will see the discrimination and racism to the minority ethnicities, making the audience change their beliefs about the different ethnicities, as they will see it is wrong to be prejudice, racist and to discriminate. 

Star Wars Research

Producers/ Production Companies: Star Wars hathree producers who are, Kathleen Kennedy, J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk, there are two production companies which are Lucasfilm ltd and Bad Robot Productions.
Directors: This film was only directed by J. J. Abrams
Screenwriter: Star Wars was screen written by J. J. Abrams, Michael Arndt and Lawrence Kasdan.
Actors:              

	Harrison Ford	...	Han Solo
	Mark Hamill	...	Luke Skywalker
	Carrie Fisher	...	Princess Leia
	Adam Driver	...	Kylo Ren
	Daisy Ridley	...	Rey
	John Boyega	...	Finn
	Oscar Isaac	...	Poe Dameron
	Lupita Nyong'o	...	Maz Kanata
	Andy Serkis	...	Supreme Leader Snoke
	Domhnall Gleeson	...	General Hux
	Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO
	Max von Sydow	...	Lor San Tekka
	Peter Mayhew	...	Chewbacca
	Gwendoline Christie	...	Captain Phasma
	Joonas Suotamo	...	Chewbacca Double
	Pip Andersen	...	Lead Stormtrooper
	Simon Pegg	...	Unkar Plutt

Budget: $306 million

Locations: The Force Awakens has been filmed basically in England, Ireland, Iceland and the United Arab Emirates.

Critical reaction (Rotten Tomatoes): Packed with action and populated by both familiar faces and fresh blood, The Force Awakens successfully recalls the series' former glory while injecting it with renewed energy.

Box office figures worldwide, US, China: Worldwide- $2.068,223,624

Music (composer of score/ soundtrack): John Williams

Marketing: film trailers, posters, news, websites and social media etc.

Tie-in products: BB8 fruit, Duracell batteries advert, Toothpaste, Make-up collection, its music on Spotify and stamps etc. 

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