AUDIENCE PLEASURES OF THE IT CROWD

Today I watched the IT Crowd and analysed the audience pleasures in it.

The IT Crowd was written by Graham Linehan, who said that his aim with the IT Crowd to write a 'sweet, old-fashioned comedy like Dad's Army'. For this reason, none of the episodes include vulgar language or poke fun at anyone or anything in a nasty way; it is a family programme and the traditional comedy, for example physical comedy and farcical situations are part of the audience pleasures of watching the show. The episode called 'The Work Outing' is a good example of this, because when Roy says that he 'doesn't know many heterosexual men who read Heat' it is not intended as a way of making fun of homosexuals, but instead as a way of highlighting Roy's own insecurities about his sexuality; the way he vehemently denies this when Jen suggests it is part of the comedy. 

The IT Crowd constructs stereotypical characters like Roy and Moss as 'standard nerds'. They are constructed this way because of how they look, for example despite the fact that he is in an office environment Roy does not wear a suit, but instead jeans and T-shirt. This makes him appear less adult and more childish. This trait is further constructed by the way his desk contains lots of childish items, for example a rubber duck, a comic book, a Rubix cube and two toy figurines; this displays his childish nature. Roy's desk is also very messy, for example it is covered in empty mugs and an apple core, suggesting that Roy is unable to look after himself or be responsible. There are posters all around the office of different bands, which look unprofessional and also show that Roy and Moss have childish mindsets. The computer hardware around the office, such as monitors, laptops, speakers and mobile phones demonstrates that Roy and Moss are very interested in computers and builds up the image of them as 'standard nerds'. The audience pleasure of seeing the way Roy is constructed is that his insecurities and flaws, such as his lack of responsibility and childishness, make the audience feel protective and affectionate towards him.  

Moss is constructed as very buttoned up and protective. He is constructed this way because of the way he looks, for example he keeps his shirt buttoned up to the neck, making him appear formal and closed off; this suggests he is insecure socially and likes to keep to himself. Moss wears big, chunky glasses and has a large mop of curly hair that he unsuccessfully tries to tame; this shows how he cannot control most aspects of his life, and mimics how he cannot control his social life. Moss is extremely neat and tidy, for example he has to know how many staples he uses each time and has an obsession with counting things like money. This suggests he likes to try and control his life because of his ineptitude in other areas, such as his social abilities. Moss always uses a lot of technical language, such as 'RAM', 'invalid memory' and 'firewall' and is very good at understanding computers, creating the stereotype of him as a 'nerd'. However Moss takes everything people say to him very literally, meaning he often doesn't understand jokes or what is appropriate to talk about and what isn't, for instance when they have an office party and Roy tells Moss to tell 'the story about Amsterdam' Moss doesn't think which story would be appropriate for a social occasion, or that he should invent a story, but instead tells a truthful one about how he and Roy hired prostitutes. Because of this, Moss easily alienates people he doesn't know very well, however one of the audience pleasures of the IT Crowd is understanding Moss's little quirks and finding them an endearing personality trait. 

Jen is not constructed as a nerd; she is the social relations manager of the office, and the IT department's link to the outside world. Despite the fact that the IT department is way down in the basement, forgotten about by the rest of the company, Jen manages to boost Moss and Roy's popularity 'upstairs' by using her social skills, for example when an office worker comes down to beat Roy with a shoe for being rude to her, Jen diffuses the situation by complimenting the woman's fashion sense, and offering to go shopping with her. Jen's easy, relaxed social manner makes her appealing to the audience because it is a familiar part of her personality. Jen is also constantly looking for a boyfriend, however her dates always go wrong, for example when she agrees to go to the theatre with a man who turns out to be gay. Jen's hapless love life is a running joke in the IT Crowd and her vulnerability in this area endears her to the audience; being part of the running joke is another of the audience pleasures of watching the IT Crowd. 

17/3/15 | CONSTRUCTION | FILMING THE SIGNING OF THE FORM

17/3/15 | CONSTRUCTION | FILMING THE SIGNING OF THE FORM

Today we filmed the shot of Erica’s medical forms being signed. We thought this would make Erica’s condition of multiple personality disorder and her early release clear. We panned across the form to show Erica’s medical details and personal information. We also got a shot of the form being signed. We are going to add this to the beginning of the film during the voiceover of the doctor talking to Erica’s parents about her medical record.  

HOW SUCCESSFULLY OUR PROJECT FITS THE BRIEF

HOW SUCCESSFUL OUR PROJECT IS AS A FILM OPENING

FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF OUR FILM OPENING SLIDES

These are the slides I created on the forms and conventions of our film opening, Erica:

MAKING OUR SECOND IDENT

10/2/15 | CONSTRUCTION | MAKING OUR SECOND IDENT

Today Amber, Harriet and I decided to make a second ident using iStopMotion. We wanted this one to be different from our first one to provide contrast, so for this one we used an ornate fan. The fan would open and when it closed it would revealed the name of our production company. Because of this we decided to call our company ‘Revealed Productions’. Like before, we used dafont.com to find a suitable font. We chose one that was an oriental style to go with the oriental theme of the fan.

This is the font we chose. We had to size it carefully to ensure it fitted beneath the fan and remained hidden until we wanted to reveal it.

 This was the way we set up the camera and the fan. We had to set it up carefully to ensure everything was in shot.

  

This was me opening and closing the fan to practise how to make the fan move slowly to make the animation look smooth and realistic. 

X MEN EXAM QUESTIONS

1.    Explain 2 ways in which the narrative (characters and events) fits the action and adventure genre. Use examples from the extract.

The extract is a fantasy-superhero action adventure hybrid. I know this because the people in it have supernatural powers, such as Quicksilver slowing down time. It displays typical codes and conventions of this genre, such as speed and motion. Time is slowed down in the extract as Quicksilver races around the room. The bullets fired from the guns stop moving in mid-air and objects falling, like the oven trays and pans full of soup, hang in the air. Quicksilver runs around the room at a normal speed, showing his power to control speed and time. Combat and conflict is another typical convention shown in the extract. The soldiers hold guns and fire them at the men at the door, showing conflict between the two groups.

There are also typical action and adventure characters in the extract. For example, Quicksilver is an archetypal heroic protagonist. He saves the lives of the men by the door, including Wolverine, by using his powers to move the bullets on their path to kill them. This is a heroic act. He also stops the soldiers from attacking them again by making the soldiers punch themselves or fall over. These acts of heroism construct Quicksilver as the heroic protagonist, as well as his heroic qualities such as the fact he is calm, cool and collected under pressure, never displaying signs of panic. However, as he causes harm to others like the soldiers, even willing to kill suggests he could be an anti-hero. There are also villainous antagonists; the soldiers. They are constructed as antagonists because they are trying to kill the hero, Quicksilver, by shooting him as well as trying to kill his friends. They also vastly outnumber the hero and his friends they are trying to attack, positioning them as antagonists.

2.    Explain how the following are used to create effects, using examples from the extract:

·        Soundtrack

There is non-diegetic sound in the form of the music when Quicksilver runs around the room. The music is calm and delicate, with an acoustic guitar; it is not fast paced or dramatic. This creates the effect of a contrast between the life threatening situation he is in and the calm way he deals with it using his superpowers. It is an almost comical effect as the contrast is so great.

There are also diegetic sounds such as when time speeds up the sounds of the metal and glass hitting the floor and shattering. This loud, crashing sound is violent and brings the audience back to the real time action. The suddenness of the sound also highlights Quicksilver’s powers over time. 

·        Editing

There is CGI, such as all the objects being suspended in the air, like the bullets and the pots and pans. This emphasises the extraordinary powers that Quicksilver has as he can change and move things before they fall to the ground.

Slow motion is also used, for example, while Quicksilver is running around the walls it slows down as he sticks his finger in some soup. This emphasises his calm and collected manner as he stops to try food. It shows how he has complete control over the situation.

·        Camera work

There is a close up of Quicksilver’s face putting on a hat and then suddenly speeding away. The effect of this is to show how quickly Quicksilver can move; he is there one minute and gone the next.

There is also a bird’s eye view shot to show everyone and everything falling down to the ground, demonstrates the hero’s powers and the huge effect he can have. It contrasts with the situation before (the X men were going to die) and shows how Quicksilver has managed to turn the situation around using his incredible skill. It also heightens the drama as the huge impact of what he has done at the speed of light hits the audience.

·        Mise-en-scene

The extract is set in a kitchen, full of dangers objects like pots, pans, knives. This heightens the tension and drama as it sets up a dangerous situation full of potential hazards, creating suspense. The risk is high and this makes it more suspenseful for the audience watching, therefore engaging them in the action.

Quicksilver wears a leather jacket, a hat and dark glasses. The dark clothes create the effect of a mysterious being, which is built on by the fact he has these supernatural abilities. It constructs Quicksilver as a supernatural, maybe even dangerous but incredible character and so makes him interesting to the audience.