A01 Research Task 1 The Role of the BBFC in Film and an Analysis of a Film Extract

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As a part of my A01 project I had to conduct research into the role of the BBFC and the film industry, as well as this I had to analyse a film and discuss how meaning is created.

As such I chose the Disney Pixar film Wall-E to analyse with particular focus to the space dance extract.

The medium I chose to present my research is within a pitch-styled presentation which I will show to my class mates, I have posted a link to my presentation on google docs on this post. However the primary intention of presentation is to present it to my class and as such my presentation skills won't show through in the presentations. As well as this some of the points made will be elaborated within the presentation.

A01 Research Task 2 - Xfactor and Ofcom

As the second part of my Media Project I had to analyse a live television program and it's involvement with Ofcom and how the show creates enjoyment for the audience, as such I chose the Xfactor.

I'm afraid I went a bit too in depth during my analysis and because I only have a cheap editor avaliable to me at the time I can only top and tail the clips I've recorded, however to make it easier to take in I have divided the video into sections, and embedded each into this post, however there is a link at the bottom for the full video if you so desire to use it.



















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A01 Research Task 3 - Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog for my second year media national certificate research project.

As a part of my task I am to research into a Soap Opera of my choosing and post blog entries on my findings.

As my first post I will be establishing my choice of Soap as well as giving a general background to the program, its institution and its success over the years.

Firstly, my choice of Soap is the long running BBC program, EastEnders.



The program first aired on the 19th of Febuary 1985 and since posting this blog entry the show has aired a total of 4291 episodes, not including its spin-off E20 series.

An average episode of EastEnders tends to draw in 40% of the market to view the show. With nearly 3million viewers tuning in for the shows sunday omnibus.

To mark the shows 25th anniversary the BBC put on a live episode to mark a pivitol moment in a long running storyline, this showed a beloved character dying. That episode drew in an audience of 16.41million viewers and saw one of the highest ratings for the show.

On Christmas day 1986 Eastenders attracked 30.15million viewers which marks the highest viewing number in any British soap in history.

The show reached its lowest point on the 21st September 2004, when it had its lowest viewings at 6.2million, less than an hour long Emmerdale special ran to oppose it which reach 8.1million viewings. The cause of this was heavy criticism over the shows unbelieveable storylines.

EastEnders has been successful in raising awareness for a number of domestic situations, for example after the child abuse storyline of Kat Slater and her uncle, calls to the NSPCC went up by 60%.

However the show has also come under massive critisism over stereotyping foreign characters and portraying the police and nurses in a false manor while falsely doing their practise.

EastEnders has won 260 awards for the show including a number of BAFTA's,British Soap Awards and National Television Awards.

In conclusion, EastEnders is a long running British sitcom and one of the best in the country, making history for viewing figures and sparking a great response to raising awareness for domestic causes, the program has a long running history and in 2010 the show embraced modern technologies by using HD cameras and broadcasting in full HD.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 1: Electrical Department

When researching into my chosen Soap Opera, it is a part of the course to research the individuals and their roles within the production team, to further my understanding of how each episode is created. As such I have decided to post blogs on each department, starting with the electrical department.

As a whole this department can be summed up as the operators of general equipment on set, including Camera Supervisors, Crane Grips, Lighting Directors, Riggers and Steadicam Operators. Because of this department, each episode can be filmed and lit correctly, with the right equipment used efficiently each time.

The individuals who work in this department are:

Camera Supervisors: Dave Bowden, John Corby, Matt Hart, Chris Miller and Peter Woodley.

Crane Grips: Warwick Drucker and Mathew Forrest.

Lighting Directors: John Carberry, Roger Francis, Martin Kempton, Jemma Drake and Andy Louca.

Rigger: Ian Murray

Steadicam Operator: Mike Scott

A Camera Supervisor, operates the cameras which are used to film each episode, this is a vital role in any moving image product as without a camera there is no image for the program. Their role includes following directions given to them by the directors to capture the right angle and ensure the cameras move correctly and smoothly as well as keeping the right framing desired for each shot.

Crane Grips are specially trained members of the production team and are the members trusted to use the camera crane, these allow for high angled shots including the conventional establishing shot at the beginning of most episodes. The Crane Grips are the names given to the crane operators. They will have full control over the angle, focus, movement and framing of the shot, and will follow directions of what to film by the director.

Lighting Directors work closely with the director to light each scene to create the correct image, be it a dark setting with a single light highlighting the point of interest or naturalistic lighting, it is the job of the Lighting Director to light a shot to get the best and most desired look for each shot. On EastEnders this is most commonly a naturalistic lighting effect which doesn't interfere with the camera and makes the scene look as good as possible.

The Rigger is the man that sets up the heavy duty equipment and ensures its safety on set, this could include stunt wiring, boom mic's or the cranes.

A Steadicam Operator is a member of the production team that specializes in the use of the steadicam, a special type of camera which is used to give a natural flow to shots as its isn't set up on a tripod, this enables the camera operator to hold the camera and move it while filming with smoothness no matter what the movement of the operator is like. These shots give the audience the feeling of being in the scene as the camera moves naturally rather than being still.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 2: Production

The production team is made up of producers and scripters, the departments overall role is to supervise the project, be it every so often checking goals are met to satisfy the investors or distributors, or to supervise the project and ensure all daily goals are met, the producers usually have a part in every stage of production. Producers are usually the members of the team who have to overall idea and image for the product they work closely with the scripters to write the product.

The current team includes:

Executive Producer - Bryan Kirkwood

Line Producer - Susan Mather

Series Producer - Lorraine Newman

Series Story Producers - Sean O'Connor, Brigie de Courcy, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Emily Gascoyne and Kathleen Beedles

Script Producers - Vicki Delow, Liza Mellody, Tom Mullens and Lorraine Newman

Story Editors - Louise Berridge, Sean O'Connor, Catherine Cook, Daisy Coulam, James Hall, Alexander Lamb, Jake Lushington, Dominic Treadwell-Collins, Tim Vaughan, Simon Winstone

Senior Script Editor - Sharon Batten

Script Editors - John Adams, Aamina Ahmed, Gabbie Asher, Sarah Barton, Vicki Bayard, Matthew Bouch, David Boulter, Casey-Anne Brackstone, Colin Brake Polly Buckle, Leslie Cruickshank, Paula Cuddy, Lynne Dallow, Samantha Davey, Michael Dawson, Julie Dixon, Neil Duncan, Pamela Hansson, Tony Holand, Louisa Hopgood, Irma Inniss, Helen Jenkins, Yasmin Kalli, Charlot King, Martina Lloyd, Liza Mellody, Jod Mitchell, Paula Mulroe, Abby Munson, Sara Murray, Caroline Ormerod, George Ormond, Jane Perry, Natasha Phillips, Lucy Raffety, Gaby Robinson, Bianca Rodway, Emma Sheperd, Lorna Sherriff, Kay Sherwood, Kristian Smith, Noemi Spanos, Richard Stokes, Ben Vanstone, Laura Watson and Simon Webbon

Script Supervisors - Jenny Bowman, Dale Byrne, Rosemary Carr, Emma Jameson, Abbie Deleval, Robert Smith, Claire Chang, Hilary Charles and Helen Dobson

Executive Producer: as previously stated, the executive producer checks the project meets deadlines, to satisfy the investors and distribution company, in this case the executive producer will be a representative of the BBC who fund Eastenders.

Series Producer: the series producer is second only to the executive producer, they supervise the general production of the show on a more frequent time frame, they're the member that started off the project and has the vision for where the show is going with the story and message.

Line Producer: the line producer supervises the day to day workings on the TV set, ensuring that all the equipment is there to be used and all the budget for each day is met.

Series Story Producers: their the producers that supervise the overall development of the multiple plot lines of the show.

Script Producers: focus on the development of the scripts, making sure the script writers keep up with the goals set to them by the producers, making sure the show can run smoothly.

Story Editors: these editors change stories to screenplays, they also supervise the development of stories with writers, often being an active part of the development, they are also in charge of whether the end story is suitable for public release.

Senior/Script Editor: the script editor will work closely with the writers to make sure the storyline is correct and suitable for the public, in the case of EastEnders, there are multiple editors with multiple writers, these are to work to a quicker pace on the range of story arcs and narratives. The senior script editor is in charge of the entire script team supervising the flow of work and making sure all work is done correctly and fits the overall narrative.

Script Supervisors: they focus on the continuity of the story, making sure the stories make sense and are more believable for the audience. With back stories fitting together.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 3: Casting

When creating a soap opera one of the most important things is making sure there are actors which fit the roles they need, as the the actors are a vital role in EastEnders, they need to be good and effective in portraying a range of emotions which are suited to the roles they will be playing, as such a team of casting crew will search through applications to find the best actor for any new characters too the show, as well as recasting any leaving actors/actresses (as seen within the past few years with Lauren Brannings actress leaving and Ben Mitchells actor leaving). The casting crew are made up of general Casting Members, Background Casting and Casting Advisors.

The current members of the casting crew are:
General Casting Members - Julia Crampsie, Julie Harkin, Matthew Hickling, Sam Stevenson, Tim Watson, Phyllis Chengetai, Stephen Moore and Jane Deitch.
Background Casting - Chuck Douglas.
Casting Advisors - Julia Crampsie and Jane Deitch.

General Casting Crew, they filter through applications to the show when a new character is written into the story, either that or they will go searching for a new actor in local theaters and drama schools, the casting crew will also host auditions, usually with either the producer or the director or both present, ensuring the best actor is chosen.

Casting Advisers, supervise the overall operation of casting for new actors and ensure the general members make the right decisions and don't dismiss suitable candidates.

Background Casting, is the role that deal with extra's that fill the scene to make it look like a realistic living environment.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 4: Sound Department

The sound department deals with the sound part of a moving image program, recording, composing and mixing the sound for the final product to be aired. This is important as a lot of emotion and story is portrayed through the audio and it is vital that the dialogue is captured without distortion or interference to make sure the quality is of the finest standard. The sound department is made up of Composers, Boom Operators, Sound Mixers, Sound Recordists and
Sound Supervisors.


The Sound Department is made up of:
Composers - Simon May, Leslie Osbourne and David Lowe.
Boom Operators - Craig Burns, Nigel Holmes, Mark Nicoll, Anthony Brown, Dave Fuge and Clive Richardson.
Sound Mixers - Robert Miles and Safiyah Suleman.
Sounds Recordists - John Mooney
Sound Supervisors - Lance Andrews, Anthony Brown, John Downes, Nigel Holmes, Dave Howell, Kevin Miller, Mark Nicoll and John Relph.

The Composers, wrote the iconic EastEnders theme tune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek8Gex_NYwQ) which has been a well known song that most people will hear and know its EastEnders which is starting.

Boom Operators, are specially trained technicians that handle the boom mic, that will be on set during filming and will position the boom mic in the correct place to pick up the dialogue clearly without dropping the mic or leads into shot, multiple operators will be used for different sets.

Sound Mixers, take the recorded audio and balance it, making sure conversations sound clear and realistic, while also positioning the sound in the stereo scope to set the positions of the characters in the sound. Sound mixers will mix the audio for the final product.

Sound Recordists, will go around on set during filming and will record any location based sounds that may be needed in the final mix, this will include shutting doors, breaking glass, rustling crisp packets etc.

Sound Supervisors, will work with the directors, producers and picture editors to make the final product, ensuring the audio matches the visuals and then will go back to the sound mixer and recordist if any further editing or recordings need doing for the final product.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James