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

Production Team 5: Writers

As a soap opera, one of the most important elements of EastEnders is its story. As the show releases 4 episodes a week, the stories have to be written quickly without fail, as such the BBC have a huge writing team for the show.

The Writers in the team include: Juliet Ace, Carey Andrews, Simon Ashdown, Gabby Asher, S.J Ashford, Al Ashton, Liane Aukin, Tony Basgallop, Gupreet Bhatti, Lucy Blincoe, Helen Blizard, Ray Brooking, Bev Doyle, Colin Brake, Doug Briggs, Gary Brown, David Joss Buckley, Paul Campbell, Gaby Chiappe, Nazrin Choudhury, Jaden Clark, Mark Clompus, Paul Coates, Nathan Cockerill, Lin Coghlan, Andrew Collins, Bridget Colgan, Deborah Cook, Matthew Cooper, Angela Corner, Lynne Dallow, Richard Davidson, Emilia Di Girolamo, Ann Marie Di Mambro, Harry Duffin, Shaun Duggan, Polly Eden, Tony Etchells, Fiona Evans, Matthew Evans, Alison Fisher, Shannon Fitzgerald, Rachel Flowerday, Gilly Fraser, Spenser Frearson, Valerie Georgeson, Julia Gilbert, Rob Gittins, Mathew Graham, Wendy Granditer, Jim Hawkins, Sarah-Louise Hawkins, Nicholoas Hicks-Beach, Mark Hiser, Ming Ho, Tony Holland, Jane Hollowood, Julia Honour, Charlie Humphreys, Gerry Huxham, Michael Jenner, Mark Johnson, Tony Jordan, Lauren Klee, Fred Lawless, Zeddy Lawrence, Karen Laws, Pete Lawson, Richard Lazarus, Wendy Lee, Geoff Lindsey, Daran Little, David Llyod, Anji Loman Field, Bill Lyons, Joanne Maguire, Rosemary Mason, John Maynard, Pippa McCarthy, Glen McCoy, Tony McHale, Colin McKeown, James Melody, Hugh Miller, Simon Moss, Robin Mukherjee, Jonathan Myserson, John O'Keefe, Debbie O'Malley, Tom Ogden, Chris Parker, James Payne, Julian Perkins, Sarah Phelps, Jeff Povey, Christopher Reason, Gillian Richmond, Jake Riddel, Bob Ritchie, Michael Robartes, Paul Rose, Nick Saltrese, Barry Shore, Helen Slavin, Christopher Smith, Simon Spencer, Danny Stack, Andrew Taft, Gert Thomas, Stephen Tredre, Gary Tyler, Ben Vanstone, Nick Warburton, Julie Wassmer, Laura Watson, Katharine Way, Susan Wilkins, Rebecca Wojciechowski, Annie Wood, Colin Wyatt, Arnold Yarrow, Art Young and Richard Zajdlic.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 6: Directors

The Directors lead and guide technical crew and creative crew when creating a media product, directors control the creative elements of films and dramatic aspects of them too. Within EastEnders, the directors will say how each sequence is shot as well as what emotion should be in these sequence, and how it comes across to the audience.

In EastEnders, there are multiple directors, these include: David Andrews, Jamie Annett, Paul Annett, Clive Arnold, Sven Arnstein, Mike Barnes, Edward Bazalgette, Indra Bhose, Antonia Bird, Jeff Lincoln Boulter, Dermot Boyd, Michael E. Briant, Emma Bridgeman-Williams, Michael Buffong, Stephen Butcher, Sue Butterworth, Helen Caldwell, Philip Casson, Lisa Clarke, S.J. Clarkson, Audrey Cooke, Nick Copus, Vivienne Cozens, Mervyn Cumming, Jennie Darnell, Ella Davis, Angela De Chastelai Smith, John Dower, Haldane Duncan, Sue Dunderdale, Christiana Ebohon, Peter Edwards, Matthew Evans, Rob Evans, Brett Fallis, Chris Fallon, Geoff Feld, Michael Ferguson, Steve Finn, Henry Foster, Robert Gabriel, Rebecca Gatward, Martin Gent, Mike Gibbon, Bill Gilmour, Steve Goldie, John Greening, Graeme Harper, Graeme Hattrick, Tom Hooper, Jo Johnson, Nick Jones, Chris Jury, Karen Kelly, David Kester, Tom Kingdon, Tim Leandro, Barry Letts, Jonathan Marks, Dez McCarthy, Tony McHale, Tim Mercier, Chris Miller, Stephen Moore, Brian Morgan, Michael Owen Morris, Jeff Naylor, Karl Neilson, Sean O'Connor, Joy Perino, Nic Philips, Richard Platt, Nicholas Prosser, Chris Richards, Matthew Robinson, Peter Rose, Michael Samuels, Lee Salisbury, Mark Sendell, Penelope Shales, Steve Shill, Pip Short, William Sinclair, Julia Smith, Rupert Such, Malcolm Taylor, Alice Troughton, David Tucker, Gareth Tucker, Susan Tully, Dearbhla Walsh, Claire Winyard, Colin Wratten, Paul Wroblewski and Ali Yassine.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 7: Post Production

Post production, is the final process of making an episode of EastEnders, its where all the audio and visuals are mixed together and all the visuals are put in proper order so that continuity flows and the shots make sense and are effective in creating meaning. Post production teams create the final product.

The post production team includes: editors, dubbing mixers and post production supervisors.

The Editors include - Collo Caulton, Eben Clancy, Jan Deas, Steve Eveleigh, Andrew Frampton, Adrian Gooch, Roger Harvey, David l'Anson, Caroline Judson, Moira Knowles, Ian Merrylees, Chris Murison, Nick Pitt, Rob Platt, Damian Raistrick, Gerry Skinner, Ian Williams and Stephen Young.

Dubbing Mixers - Pauline Gardener, Nick Mottershead, Colin Solloway and Karl Von Bock.

Post Production Supervisors - Ian Campbell, Ayesha Granville and Alison Leon.

Editors, take the footage and piece it together putting each scene and shot in the right order, making sure the timings are all correct so that the scene flows effectively and doesn't disrupt or disorientate the audience.

Dubbing Mixers, will mix together the final sounds for each episode, from the sounds gathered by the crew.

Post Production Supervisors, organize the overall creation of the final product in the post production stages, ensuring the sound and visual departments fit together and are used effectively.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 8: Runners

Everybody who wants to be anybody in the media industry will have to start off at the bottom. And that's where the Runners come into the industry, runners are the newest members off the team and are the aspiring technicians, runners handle the menial jobs, like making and distributing tea, carrying messages and equipment around sets etc. Despite doing small jobs, Runners ensure that the production of each episode runs smoothly and efficiently by lending a general helping hand around set, and keeping staff happy.

The current Runners on EastEnders are:

James H.S. Berry, Casey Levie, Sacha Patterson, Stuart Read, Richard John Taylor, Tim Watson, Chloe Sweeney, Katy Brown and Sophie Peters.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 9: Stunt Team

Although rather view, EastEnders does feature stunts from time to time, the most notable of which being on their live episode a few years ago where Bradley Branning jumped off a building to his death. The stunt team takes charge of planning, organizing and staging stunts. The team is divided into three main roles, this include Stunt Team members, Stunt Coordinators and Fight Coordinators.

The current members for each role include:

Stunt Team members: Lucy Allen, Riky Ash, Elaine Ford, Sarah Franzi, Claire Hayhurst, Tom Kail, Lyndon S. Hellewell, Crispin Layfield, Mark Mottram, Dinny Powell, Lynda Van Den Berg, Derek Ware, Dusty Weaver and Harry White.

Stunt Coordinators: Marc Cass, Peter Goldsmith (Cemex UK), Dominick Hewitt, Andreas Petrides (Brammer ltd), Michael Scott-Law, Stuart St. Paul (IAM), Steve Whyment, Lee Sheward and Andy Smart.

Fight Coordinator: Derek Lea.

Stunt Team members, generally plan when stunts are to be filmed and how they will fit into the storyline.

Stunt Coordinators, plan out how each stunt is filmed and acted out, how to ensure the actors are kept safe and what equipment is needed for the shot.

Fight Coordinators, are similar to stunt coordinators however they are specific to individual fights including the recent Tyler Moon boxing match, they plan how each fight will be played out and then train the actors how to go through a sequence step by step.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 10: Production Design/Art Department

The production design department is in charge of the set, props and costumes of the entire cast, they are in charge of the overall design of the show, fitting the needs of the Producers and Directors to fit their artistic idea for the show.

The team is comprised of Senior Designers, Designers, Art Directors, a Graphic Coordinator, Supervising Art Directors, Costume Designers, Wardrobe Supervisors, Makeup Artists, a Medical Special Effects Expert, Production Buyers and a Construction Manager.

The people currently working in each role are:

Senior Designers: Keith Harris, Nigel Curzon, David Ferris, Laurence Williams, Stephen Keogh, Kennet Tanner, Hannah Daynes.

Designers: Peter Findley, Roger Cann, Simon Castiel, John Collins, Kirsten Dudley, Mary Greaves, Andree Hornby, Tony Moore, Stephan Paczai and John Stout.

Art Directors: Kelly Black, Ross Dempster, Martyn Doust, Lucy Haxby and Rachael Jones.

Graphic Co-ordinator: Lucie Sims.

Supervising Art Directors: Peter Findley and Gina Parr.

Costume Design: Di Humphreys, Jack Waters and Claire Wilson.

Wardrobe Supervisors: Anita Lad, Olivia Chew, Emily Wood, Kathy Barr and Gary Hyams.

Makeup: Paula Cahill, Shaunna Harrison, Neil Marshall, Karen Perkins, Janet Philips and Steven Smith.

Medical Special Effects Expert: Carlton Jarvis

Production Buyers: Quentin Koetter, Tony Moore, Theresa Stevens, Clare Solly, Amanda George, Nick Barnett, Marje Jennings, Sarah Teasdale, Andy Grogan and Sue Claybyn.

Construction Manager: Andy Lindsay.

A Senior and regular Designer, is in charge of the overall stylistic image of the shows looks, this is a key creative element as the mise en scene in the shot can say a lot about a character, a setting or the emotion within a scene, they work closely with the Producers and Directors to get the intended stylistic image. The Senior Designer is in charge of the department, and will be the one working closely with the Producers and Directors to make sure the overall design is what is intended.

The Art Directors, are in charge of the Art Department and supervise the individual roles and direct the department to the desired target to fit deadlines and create the desired image.

The Graphic Coordinator, they control any motion graphics which will be shown on the show, this will include the opening title graphic as well as any others in the show.

The Supervising Art Directors, will take a step back approach to the Art Director role, supervising the goals of the entire department where the Art Director will take a hands on approach taking care of the department on a day to day routine.

Costume Designers, will create and design any outfits for the show which will be made especially for each individual character.

This job varies to the Wardrobe Supervisors, they will pick out a wardrobe from pre-exsistant clothes instead of creating brand new clothes designed specifically for the character, their role is to ensure that the clothes selected are right for the look of the character, be it Alfie Moon and his famous shirts or Bradley Branning and his famous sweaters.

Makeup Artists, make sure that each character has the appropriate amount of make-up on as well as making sure it is appropriate for the character, this may include putting on anti reflective makeup on a male character to make the shot more realistic and remove any reflection from studio lighting. They also make sure female characters make up is consistent from shot to shot to ensure a flow of continuity, they are also in charge of make up to make a character paler or to make them look as if they've been crying.

Medical Special Effects Experts, will rig up scenes to make sure that they look medically correct, like with the recent illegal boxing match scene where Tyler Moon starts to froth from the mouth or the later scenes of him in the hospital, the expert will rig up the medical equipment to make it look like the actor is really attached to the machines.

Production Buyers, have the job of buying any decorative props to make the sets look as realistic as possible, this will include buying items for the 'Minute Mart' set to make the shop look realistic with actual items on its shelves. They will also need to buy props for houses like the Mitchell house hold, buying a pool table and sofa's to furnish the house.

Construction Managers, are in charge of a construction team and supervise the planning and building of all sets used in EastEnders, they are in charge with the physical building of the set instead of the artistic feel of the set, although they do make sure the set is appropriate and supervise the painting of the set, to get the right artistic feel.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 11: Management Team

The Management Team is in charge of organizing the staff and equipment for each shoot, ensuring permission is taken care of, all the security and safety measures are in place to ensure the shoot goes smoothly while following the law.

The Management Team is made up of: Production Managers, an Assistant Floor Manager, a Company Manager, a Head of Production, Location Managers, a Medical Adviser, Production Accountants, Assistant Accountants, Production Assistants, a Production Associate, Production Coordinators and Resource Managers.

The members of the Management Team include:

Production Managers - Mary Baltrop, Kas Braganza, Derek Donohoe, Annie East, Samantha Frith, Frances Mable, Rona McKendrink, Jacqueline Lee, Kayla Miller, Paul Munn, Ruth Peters, Katherine Thomas, Tracie Wright and Faiza Hosenie.

Assistant Floor Manager - Alison Symington

Company Managers - Carolyn Weinstein

Head of Production - Nigel Taylor

Location Managers - Andrew Jackson, Nick Girvan, Jonathan Stott, Chris Bunyan and Jay Harradine

Medical Adviser - Carlton Jarvis

Production Accountants - Pippa Baddeley, Linda Baige, Lucy Drake, Aggie Mensah and Helen Sackville

Assistant Accountants - Laura McGeachie, Layton Narby, Neeta Dhokia, Erin Graham, Lorna Buckmire, Isabel Bancilhon and Isabelle Suas

Production Assistants - Judy Gayton, Corinne Hollingworth, Ian Welbourn

Production Associates - Mike Hudson

Production Coordinators - Pippa Baddeley, Alicia Boden, Suzanne Jones, Val Ellis, Deborah Woods, Natalie Street, Jacqueline Lee, Deborah Smith, Rosemary Plum and Debbie Watts

Resource Managers - Tim Deane, Craig Dancy, Steve Lowry, Geoff Ward and Kevin King

Production Managers: are in charge of the organization of a production including scheduling and budgeting, they work closely with the Producers to realize the Directors vision for each episode.

The Assistant Floor Manager: is in charge of ensuring that everyone on set knows they're place and what they need to do or what to say on the script, they are the Directors representative on set.

The Company Manager: will be a representative from the production company that funds EastEnders,this will be a representative from the BBC, they ensure that the needs of the production company is met.

Head of Production: is in charge of the entire project, ensuring the budgets and goals are met on a day to day basis, making sure all departments gel efficiently.

Location Managers: are responsible for finding the desired locations and securing the rights to use the property, for EastEnders this will mean the Location Managers will need to scout for any locations outside of the regular sets around Albert Square, in recent episodes this will include Craig Moon's house for example.

The Medical Adviser: will be in charge of safety on set, making sure that all the equipment is set up safely and if anyone becomes injured on set the Medical Advisor will take care of them, they also examine individual actors to ensure that any stunts they participate in won't be harmful to them.

Production Accountants and Assistant Accountants: manage the finances of EastEnders, ensuring budgets are kept and keeping the books on all the money going in and out of the film production, the Production Accountant will be a representative of the Production Company, ensuring the BBC's budgets are met and kept to a standard, the Assistant Accountant will take a day to day role in the accounting's.

Production Assistants: are various roles amongst the production, assisting multiple departments where needed.

Production Associates: are those that work closely with the Producer and fulfill the roles the Producers deems appropriate at the time.

Production Co-ordinators: are the vital part of the production team as they organize the communications between the different roles within the departments, they ensure meetings are had as well as all production logs and important data is collected.

Resource Managers: are in charge of the daily goods needed to film and create every episode, this will include film stock as well as staff goods like tea and food.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 12: Scheduling

EastEnders has a team of programme schedulers, they plan when the best time for the shows hour long specials. They also plan ahead, making sure the scheduling of important events in the story, won't have competition from other major television shows, like the X-Factor final etc. As such Programme Schedulers, have to research into future televison events that are already planned. It is important to keep in mind that Programme Schedulers can't predict everything that will happen and some major episodes will conflict with unforseen events.

EastEnders current Programme Schedulers are: Alexandra Bridcut, Kayla Miller, Natalie Wragg, Paul Slavin, Emma Perry, Annie East, David Moor, Jeff Golding and Carrie Rodd.

Production Team 13: Storyliners

The Storyline department, are the ones who deal with the individual storylines and develop the story arcs for each seperate character, and how each character coincides with another and how they all develop over time, this clashes with the writers who will write the script for each individual episode and develop further the storylines.

The storyline department is made up of 3 main roles, these are:

General Storyliners: these are general members of the department who are in charge of writing all of the storylines, possibly taking a group of characters storylines to right and develop.

Storyline Editor: this person makes any changes to the storylines that are needed to make them all fit together, they work closely under the watch of the Chief Storyliner.

Chief Storyliner: their role is the head of the department, they supervise all the developing stories and make sure they are not overly contraversial, and gets the editors to make any necessary changes to the storylines.

The people in these current roles are:

General Storylines - Rob Gittins, Kris Green, Shaun Pendergast, Christopher Reason, Keith Temple, Julie Wassmer and Jake Lushington.

Storyline Editor - Catherine Cooke.

Chief Storyliner - Gabbie Asher.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

Production Team 14: Visual Effects Department

The visual effects department involve all forms of visuals for an episode of EastEnders, these include the cameras, opening titles and any added visual effects which rarely take place.

The department includes four main roles, these roles are:

Visual Effects Assistants - who focus on any effects which will be used on camera, these will be things like fires or explosions, making sure they'll look right on camera etc.

Digital Effects Artists - they specialize in the after effects which will be overlaid onto the shot, this could be enhancing features for explosions or other shots.

Title Designers - these are the men who designed the opening title, which has become an icon for the show, which the audience just has to glance at to associate the image with the show.

Vision Mixers - are used on sets where multiple cameras are used to film a sequence live, they will go through and mix the images together. They would have also been used for the live edition EastEnders had to mark their 25th anniversary.

The people that work in each of these roles are:

Visual Effects Assistant - Mickey Edwards.

Digital Effects Artist - Costas Charitou.

Titles Designers - Alan Jeapes (originally) and Peter Anderson (took up the role in 2009).

Vision Mixers - John Barclay, Hilary West and Tracy Bateman.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

EastEnders Analysis - Cinematography and Mise En Scene

This is my third analysis post, in which I'll be covering the cinematography and mise en scene of the episode.

No establishing shots are used within the episode, this is because the locations show are iconic enough within the show to set the scene. Fans of the show will be able to recognize the walls and carpet of the Queen Vic within the first shot, allowing fans to automatically recognize the setting.

The red and beige furnishings of the Queen Vic as I previously mentioned are iconic within EastEnders, so starting off the episode with a loose long shot of Kat walking down the stairs is effective in establishing the location without showing the exterior of the building and establishing the opening character as she rushes to answer the phone, which in this scene is a symbolic item, as Kat is keeping her affair from her husband Kat fears he will find out through the phone, warning him from it, only for him to later have a laugh with the phone thinking it is who Kat lied and said it is.

Throughout the first scene and the episode a variety of mid shot, and lose mid shots are used, with shot reverse shot to convey conversation, the camera typically stays at eye level, to show the audience the emotion of the characters conveyed through the actors.

In one scene towards the end, between Tyler and Whitney, the shot is a two shot with both characters taking up about half of the screen meaning they are equal within the shot as they are both nervous and this allows the audience to understand how they both feel.
When Tyler brings out a bottle of vodka it is placed on the table and within the shot it is as effective as making the shot a three shot, as the bottle is placed between the two characters, suggesting the now divide between the two because of the suggestion of the alcohol.

Other symbolic objects used within the episode are Ian Beales golf clubs and sports car, items typically associated with luxury and the rich, when Ian implies his girlfriend is a hooker, she takes one of his golf clubs and smashes his car with it, symbolic of his ideal luxury being ruined by his ego, which was caused by these items.

Reaction shots are used effectively within the episode, as one character does an action or says something the camera cuts to give the audience an immediate idea of how the other character feels in response to this action. One good example is early on where Syed walks to meet his baby, his wife says 'here's your father' to her daughter and the camera cuts to a mid shot of Syed smiling from the remark.

Other key use of mise en scene is the iconography within each building, building up a setting which the audience uses to identify each home uniquely and identify it to a character, as an example, the Queen Vic pub with its iconic colouring and then the use of props such as beer glasses and the beer pumps, suggesting the occupation within the set.

The use of low key lighting within buildings is a strong contrast to the natural lighting from outside shots, a key tool to help the audience identify between the locations.

EastEnders Analysis - Sound

ÇThis is my second analysis blog, in which I'll be focusing on the sound of EastEnders.

The first sound in the show is the sound of a telephone, this alert sound immediately grabs the audiences attention, as we get a brief amount of dialogue from Kat, making the audience aware of who is on the phone through her dialogue.

The audience is then alerted of movement behind her through diegetic atmospheric sounds like the door opening and someone moving around, we first hear the arrival of Alfie before we see him, with the diegetic sounds being the initial alert for the audience. Dialogue then continues between the husband and wife. We are then shown a shot of Kat, as Alfie walks of shot, the dialogue between the two suggest to the audience that Alfie has a gift for his wife, diegetic sounds from within the scene suggest to us Alfie's off camera actions, as he's rummaging through things and finding his hidden gift. The use of sound to accompany off screen actions is effective for the audience to fill in the actions they can't see.

The conversation between the two characters carries on as cuts between the two characters show reactions and the character speaking. The use of the cuts during the uninterrupted constant flow of Alfie's sentence makes the audience more hooked into the scene, without the abrupt cuts drawing them away from it, they also help to establish how its Alfie who is talking and that it is Kat reacting to his speech.

The personalities of the two characters are shown effectively through their sound, with Alfie dominating the speech within this scene, showing he is dominant at the time and a talkative character, whereas Kat is feeling guilty and is letting Alfie dominate the speech, as well as this all her sections of dialogue are kept short and quieter than Alfie, this shows how she is feeling down and taking a back step to Alfie.

As the conversation continues and Kat's spirits are lifted her tone starts to get louder and her speech starts to get longer, this is reflective of her change in mood. During Alfie's phone call, his personality is shown through his comedic impersonations, whilst prior to his phone call the silence is used to build suspense within the audience as to whether or not he's found out the truth about his wife.

Towards the end of the scene a faint car engine can be heard, this sound is then carried on as the shot cuts to the next scene within Christian and Syed's flat, this use of sound as a sound bridge helps the audience to ease into the cut and change in scene and story, while also giving the audience a sense of how the enter show is set within close proximity to each other, with each segment of story carrying on in real world time with the last section.

In general within this episode of EastEnders, the majority of sound is cut between dialogue and atmospheric noises, setting the scene and making it more believable for the audience, with noise like footsteps being used for dramatic effect to give the audience a sense of whats happening without needing to look. None of this episodes sound is non-diegetic, a common trait for EastEnders, as it makes the world more believable as we only hear what the characters themselves can hear.

EastEnders Analysis - Editing

The episode I am analyzing for my project is the episode dated Tuesday the 18th of October.

I will be analyzing the episode within three posts.

In this, the first post I am analyzing the editing of the episode and how this effects the audiences reaction to the story.

The episode is divided up between the main storylines throughout, this include Ian and Mandy, Syed and Amira, Tyler and Whitney and Lauren and Fatboy. As well as these main storyline developments, the editing also pieces together sections where characters interact outside their current storyline, adding to the dynamic of the show that this is a living environment and all the characters interact on a day to day basis.

A form of parallel editing is used to piece the separate storylines together, while gradually building up the story within each. The cuts between the storylines build suspense within the audience. As we only gradually receive the narrative for each, whilst we're shown a storyline, we're wondering what we might be shown for the story that's just ended, what could happen, or what is happening while the cameras cut away to something else.

The can be seen within the build up to Tyler and Whitney's 'sex' scene, where they are both getting prepared for what might happen, as they talk about their feelings to a friend, the camera then cuts away, to skip over them getting ready and carries on suspense as the audience is anxious to know whats to happen later on.

During a scene with Roxy and the day-care workers, we get shot reverse shot cuts, to show the two are in conversation, the cuts between them vary to reflect on the emotion, as Roxy is anxious the cuts between the two are quicker but then when Roxy resolves the conversation the cuts slow down.

Elliptical editing is used to cut forward in time within certain shots, this is apparent within the earlier scenes in the show with Kat and Alfie, when they are in an empty pub, when they head upstairs, for what the audience is suggested is sex, within the next few shots the time has jumped forward and the pub is open. This type of shot is done in EastEnders mixed in with parallel editing, to seamlessly move time forward, skipping over irrelevant scenes.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James

EastEnders Research Conclusion

To conclude my research project, I am writing a blog entry to document my final thoughts and feelings toward the industry through what I have researched over the course of the project.

My biggest shock throughout the project was at the sheer number of jobs there are on an EastEnders crew. I initially thought there would be a lot but not the quantity I ended up finding. With particular shock as to how many writers there are as well as the numerous figures they have for individual roles. However considering my shock it is understandable to see these figures when the show is having to produce four episodes a week without fail, filming each episode months before release so it can be properly edited and checked to make sure it fits perfectly.

As a fan of EastEnders myself I wasn't shocked at the popularity figures but I didn't realise quite how iconic it has been for the highest rated moments of all time. With extremely high viewing ratings. Particularly for the recent live episode where Bradley Branning died, that episode in particular brought in a large viewing total.

I personally feel, through the research I found on this show, that the show itself will last for a long time, as it has proved time and time again it has dedicated viewers, with even more viewers catching the show on modern platforms such as BBC iplayer. The show keeps adapting to the changing times, with the move to HD and the introduction of younger characters and the show's E20 spin of providing an even younger bridge for potential audience. The show is set for further success.

Thank You for Reading, Chip James