REVISION

 REVISION MODEL ANSWERS + ADVICE FOR EXAM 14/4/20

Media studies

Section A beginning – Cuffs, example answers

Question 1 (5 marks) The extract is from the television crime drama Cuffs - Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract.

Model Answer – REVISE THIS

One way sound is used in the extract is the use of non-diegetic music that connotes danger and a sense of the bottom falling out of your world as the large digger breaks through the shop window. This is emphasised by the sudden cut back to the calm, naturalistic sound world of the canteen where the officers are having lunch.

Another way sound is used is the diegetic sound of the woman officer’s voice coming out of the walkie-talkie in the canteen. This has been altered to sound like it has been transmitted and the high-pitched sound of her voice with lots of background noise connotes panic and chaos.

Question 2 – 10 marks. Analyse how far the extract depicts the police’s point of view rather than the criminals’ point of view

Model answer – REVISE

The extract mostly depicts the police’s point of view. The narrative follows two police officers as they have most of the screen time; the criminals are on screen for much less time – their main role in the extract is to ruin the police officers’ lunch. The extract starts with a series of close ups of some police officers, where the audience get to know them as individual characters. The criminals, on the other hand are only shown in long shot so the audience can only see shadowy figures inside vehicles or masked characters wielding weapons. The soundtrack has the sound of the police’s voices high up in the mix, so the audience can clearly hear what they are saying, which connotes that they are part of the conversation. When we hear the criminals, it is only to learn how threatening they are. The narrative is mostly about the relationship between the police characters, especially that between the hard-boiled older officer and the younger rookie and the emotions that this creates, for example, the insecurity of the younger officer. We also hear the panic in the voice of the PCSO as she calls in the robbery and we are invited to empathise with her difficulty in calling in the description of the vehicle while under threat – the mise-en-scène and camerawork combine to make the PCSO and the police officer look small and vulnerable as the actors used are smaller than those for the criminals. They are shot low down in the frame, sometimes with a high angle shot, and they are dwarfed by the yellow machine. The criminals, on the other hand, have no characterisation other than an easily read stereotype of the criminal: male, masked, working class and angry.

In conclusion, in Propp’s terms, the police as a team are the hero, the criminals are the villain and the narrative represents the hero’s point of view.

Best tips for answering 5/10 markers

·         In 10 markers, always have a conclusion

·         Always thoroughly explain points, and be clear on what you are saying

Question 3: 15 mark question

In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts.

How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying ‘real life’?

The media language is naturalistic – it doesn’t draw attention to itself. Most of the extract is shot outside on location, using the real Brighton area that audiences may recognise. The extract seems to use natural lighting throughout, which fits in with portraying ‘real life’. The actors cast all seem to look like ‘normal’ people rather than stars and the acting style is naturalistic as the roles are downplayed and there is no sense of exaggeration. The camerawork uses some documentary style features, such as handheld camera, e.g. as the PCSO and the police officer are chatting. It also uses open frame shots where people may move across the frame out of focus, e.g. as the pick up truck pulls into the precinct. The extract throughout uses continuity editing, which is designed to hide the artificiality of editing. On the other hand, there are some more stylised uses of camerawork, such as the two shots from the side of the moving car and the aerial shot of the interchange, which look more dramatic and less documentary style. The soundtrack is very naturalistic at times, such as the scene in the canteen with ambient sounds of background chatter and music playing, however, the use of nondiegetic music in the robbery scene and during the chase is rather more dramatic. However, the audience might accept this as portraying real life as the scenes are exciting. The representations try to look realistic. The police are shown as human beings who need lunch rather than as unrealistic heroes. The inclusion of Muslim, gay and black characters may be to reflect the multicultural context of modern Britain and thus to be more like ‘real life’, but this could be seen as an attempt to fit the PSB need for diversity rather than realism. In conclusion, the extract does try to suggest it is portraying ‘real life’ but also tries to entertain an audience with mainstream pleasures such as exciting chase sequences and nice characters to identify with, so is at times very dramatic to fit the uses and gratifications of a prime time audience. It also has to fit pre-watershed requirements, so isn’t as violent or sweary as the reality would probably be.