Representation of Regional Indentity - Doc Martin

Regional identity is the notion that part of a person's identity is rooted not only in the country but also in the region they live in. In this clip of Doc Martin, it explores regional identity through dialogue, setting and the way of living any many more aspects that will be defined in this essay.

Firstly, the clip begins with a low angle 
. long shot of the room where two men are on camera, one attempting to mend a broken sink and the other sitting and watching with a cup of tea and a biscuit. The colours introduced in the beginning are all of very dull shades such as dark grey, beige, pastel green and black. These colours are quite negative tones and could possibly represent the boring lives that these people in the region live, and portray their monotonous manual labour jobs such as Plumbers. The man who sits their like a sack of potatoes undergoing no sign of work could be classed as the stereotypical obese Cornish man through his accent and scruffy work attire. His work is obviously laid back with no pressure to work for every penny he earns as his lifestyle in his region may be relaxed allowing him to act casual with his job.

Doc Martin then enters the scene dressed in a slick posh suit looking well groomed in contrast to the plumbers. He arrogantly tells the stereotypical obese Cornish man to "treat yourself to a noun" mocking his lack of vocabulary and perhaps intelligence. Doc Martin speaks in a much clearer and sophisticated manner in comparison to the two working class individuals which separates their level on the class and status ladder; Doc Martin being a lot higher above them. The costume that he and the plumbers are dressed in illustrates the difference in regional identity between rural and urban areas. The Dr is dressed in a sophisticated suit whilst the plumbers are dressed in overalls. 

During the plumbers conversation the "dad" mistreats the sinks condition which results in the water bursting from the pipes, whilst the Doc just leans and stares at the situation in shock, baffled and looking down on the two men at their senseless personalities.

A variety of chaotic scenes then play, ranging from a broken sink to a ringing phone to a barking dog to an additional two characters entering the room increasing the unorganised and cluttered atmosphere. Fast paced editing and cuts are introduced here to indicate the high level of stress and manic atmosphere. From this overload of disarray the audience may gather the assumption of the regional identity being quite a disorganised and crowded area. Not many people seem intelligent during the first minute and 30 seconds of this clip and everything is very unorganised and sloppy. Perhaps the region isn't very rich, meaning Doc Martin is unable to get access to two plumbers that can actually perform a good job as the best plumbers in the area are the two dim men introduced in the beginning.

When Doc Martin roars "and as for you" the camera switches to his point of view looking down at the barking animal providing a sense of intimidation whilst approaching the pestering pooch. At this point non-diegetic music begins to play and increases in sound as the scene switches to the Doc marching down a small, enclosed street with, not a lead, attached to the dog. The tight street emphasises the regional identity as being quite traditional and sticking to its roots. It is evident that the location used in this clip isn't an extremely wealthy one but it's also not one with a poor living condition either.

He passes a store with fishing nets outside. These could demonstrate the region as being close to the beach, which is then also reinforced by the sound of the squawking seagulls that are usually found flying in the sky when the sea is close by. A lady was walking out of the store and the door performed a ringing bell noise as it drifted shut. It's very rare now a days that you'll find a shop with a bell at the top to indicate someone's entrance or departure, so this enables the audience to assume the region is old fashioned or not set in today's age.

During the tracking shot of Doc Martin, the hills in the background are displayed which perhaps represents the area as being a village. There are no busy roads cluttered with cars being introduced throughout any of this clip and neither any tall buildings so the location is extremely open, fresh and relaxed. The mise-en-scene constructs the representation of regional identity further by the brick built areas that are not very modern. In this location there are also more miniature shops rather than supermarkets. 

Just before Doc Martin enters the police station there are two older women sat outside their house supposedly enjoying the fresh air and watching the world go by. This identifies the region as a safe and friendly place as the audience would assume that walkers passing these women would say hello on their journey to wherever they were heading. You wouldn't find two people sitting outside on their front lawn relaxing in a city.

What do we have here, a police officer hoovering? This is quite an absurd prop to give a police officer. However, the fact that the police officer is hoovering could indicate how he has nothing more to do with his time except for clean the station as the village in which he lives, practically experiences no crime. This is an extremely refreshing thing to see as an audience because we know that there's crimes being committed all over the world, but not so much here which is welcoming. This also reinforces the fact that the village is neighbourhood friendly with a distinct lack of corruption. The Doc enters the station, looks at the police officer and shouts "stray dog!" before untying it from whatever was controlling its movements in the first place. Shot reverse shot is planted here when the Doc and the Policeman communicate. The policeman seems to already know of Doc Martin even without meeting him. This indicates how news travels fast in small villages. Furthermore, the police officer joins the other characters introduced in this clip as one to own a strong Cornish accent, which further implies the regional identity of the area. Once again, Doc Martin does not have one of these which an audience may assume means he does not come from this specific area of England. Another point that demonstrates the officer as having nothing better to do is the fact that Doc Martin just abandons the dog and leaves him in the station expecting the policeman to deal with something that isn't even his specialty. Considering the police officer has no crimes committed by humans to inspect, he may aswell take in stray dogs instead.

The audience are then welcomed to a female character who speaks in a posh and sophisticated manner similar to Doc Martin's. A two shot is used when she welcomes him to "Port Wenn" which number one, confirms him being a new member to the village and number two, also confirms the area being close to the beach as every port needs the sea. She tells him that he's "exactly what this community needs". By calling Port Wenn a community it emphasises the small scale of it's grounds and the friendly nature shared between every individual living there. Furthermore, by saying that the Dr is "exactly what this community needs" it portrays perhaps the Dr as being well educated because he's an improvement of the previous doctor who could have been extremely awful at his job. Better education is found in towns and cities rather than villages. 

This new female character seems to like the company of Doc Martin yet she's only just met him. Her role provides the audience with awareness of just how welcoming everyone can be in a rural neighbourhood, even if the Doc does throw in arrogant and rude remarks during their conversation (portraying him as a city snob). However, Doc Martin eventually ends up handing the woman her prescription. This displays how he is relaxing to the rural way of living, whereas in a city or town you'd have to go into the Doctors to pick up a prescription. Everything's a lot more secure in a town, whereas in this village it's relaxed and easy going.

An establishing shot of the building that Doc Martin walks past is introduced next. This is actually a primary school, which would usually have strong and tall metal bars surrounding it for the children’s safety. The fact that here there's no such thing further indicates the safety of the village. It definitely seems like a positive area to live in. As Doc Martin walks past the school, he is walking downhill. This could metaphorically portray how he is out of his comfort zone being here in Port Wenn as he's unfamiliar with his surroundings. As he is so used to towns and cities, he seems to be uncomfortable with his location and this is emphasised by the use of camera position.

An older woman then calls him over whilst handing crates of vegetables which is a prop used to portray regional identity. This is an extremely old fashioned way of food being transported. Usually in a city food would be distributed in the back of a large lorry but here it is evident that the woman's grocery store is independent instead of one that's known world wide like Tesco. The woman also seems to know the name of the teacher that Doc Martin was admiring in the window of the school, which, yet again, demonstrates how well known everyone is by the villagers. They then take the vegetables into a small store ready to stock. The store being miniature indicates how it's a local shop that's most likely only ever used by residents living in the area. The costume the old woman is dressed in consists of earthly colours such as khaki green and brown which demonstrates her rural way of living. The fresh produce also represents that those living in the village are supposedly a lot more healthy.

Analysis of videos checklist

Editing

CUTS - most common and invisible. When one shot moves straight in to the next with no obvious join. Cuts help the piece to retain its reality as they do not break the viewer suspension of disbelief.

MATCH ON ACTION - A shot that emphasises continuity of space and time by matching the action of the preceding shot with the continuation of the action. (For example a shot of a door opening after a shot of a close up of a character’s hand turning a door handle)

Mise-en-scene

Setting

Decor

Lighting

Body Language

Props

Costume

Make-Up

Sound

Diegetic
Non-Diegetic
Synchronous
Asynchronous

Camera Work

Establishing Shot
Tracking Shot
Close Up
Master Shot
Extreme  Close Up
Reaction Shot

Representation of Disability - A Touch of Frost

During this five minute clip of A Touch of Frost, disbility is presented many times throughout. Camera work, editing, sound and miss-en-scene are all contributers to the display of disability.

The first thing the audience hear is a sentence about a character called 'Billy'. From this, they will gather the assumption that he could perhaps be the disabled individual that they'll be introduced to shortly. The comment comes from a woman who states "I didn't think there was anything strange....about Billy" the pause she inserted creates a dramatic feel for his character. Her talking about him also demonstrates her understanding of disabled people.

After her statement, non diegetic music begins to play as a different scene falls on the screen. It was the kind of music that stood for suspicion. A tracking shot was used to follow, what the audience would consider to be Billy, out onto the road in the pitch black. He's dusting himself off which suggests 'wrong doing'. At this point, disability is associated with deviant behaviour, which is then further reinforced by the continued use of low-key lighting that portrays the stereotypical horror movie. Scenes in the dark always create a sense of spookyness which may be complimenting the danger Billy could possibly be in, as police dogs are then introduced, sniffing around the woods. Disability is demonstrated as being a negative issue here that needs to quickly be resolved as most disabled people are unaware of any 'wrong doing' that they perform.

Billy appears to be naive to the large amount of police presence during the tracking shot of him peacefully strolling down the road. The close up shot of his reaction presents disabled individuals as being easily frightened, vulnerable and innocent. His first reaction is to run. This could be seen by the police officers as a criminal escaping from a life behind bars, but Billy is disabled and doesn't know any better. The audience therefore feel sympathetic towards him and build up hatred for the police officercs that are evidently petrifying him. Shouting men and barking dogs are heard just a few seconds after Billy strarts running. These are intimidating noises that any startled disabled person would try to hide from.

Unfortunately the police officer catches Bily, wraps his arms around him whilst then rolling around on the floor. Billy makes an attempt to escape from the officers hold but is being overpowered. Disability is presented here as being a lot more weaker and in need of being controlled. Billy cries out "I haven't done anything wrongggg" in a purely innocent and vulnerable tone, speaking how perhaps a toddler would. The previous music plays again during the last few seconds of Billy's plead to reinforce the tension and conundrum. The police officers ignore him and keep him held by his collars to illustrate the disabled as being powerless.

The combination of a crabbing shot, a collection of neighbours gathered late outside of Billy's home as well as a police officer standing on guard, are all film techniques used to represent disability as a potential threat to the local community.

Detective Frost tentively asks Billy's father whether Billy would be considered as 'mentally subnormal', but is then corrected and told that Billy is infact 'handicapped. Frost apologises for his mistake and nods his head in acknowledgement, which could be displaying how those who are abled bodied are ignorant about those with learning difficulties.

Detective Frost tentively asks Billy's father whether Billy would be considered as 'mentally subnormal', but is then corrected and told that Billy is infact 'handicapped. Frost apologises for his mistake and nods his head in acknowledgement, which could be displaying how those who are abled bodied are ignorant about those with learning difficulties. Frost stating that he'll need someone in there with him incase he breaks the rules displays the need for disabled individuals to be handled with care. 

His mum then comes into shot asking if she'd be able to 'clean him up'. A mother with a child, whether they be disabled or not, will always make her care about her babies no matter how old they are; motherly love. Nevertheless, disabled people are generally prone to being treated like baby's, and the washing pot of water that his mother is holding portrays that. 

Billy's father goes in to explain what's happening to him, and introducing him to the detective that 'wants to ask him something'. His dad is knelt down beside him with his arm firmly spread around him and his hand placed on his shoulder to again display the idea of Billy being treated like a child. High angle shots are typically used to suggest that those being 'looked down on' are easily intimidated, and this is used at this point of the clip. The detective holds the authority.

When the camera focuses on Billy, his head is tilted to the side with a confused expression printed on his face. He could perhaps be overly suspicious of those in authority. His father sitting closely behind Billy could indicate how he's acting as a much needed anchor for his son.

Billy needs to be gently handled, hence why the inspector briefly goes over the situation that Billy was in to remind him of what had happened. The tone that the detective uses could be seen as slightly intimidating for us as an audience. Furthermore, the use of a high angle from Billy's perspective combined with the dialogue "I was frightened" could further reinforce the representation of the abled bodied being in control and more dominant to those weaker.

Billy is shot using the film technique low-key lighting that casts a shadow over his shoulder. Given that darkness is culturally associated with 'evil' it could be argued that at this point, disability is being displayed as slightly untrustworthy or potentially having a sinister side.

In contrast, the combined techniques of reverse editing, low angle framing shot, close ups of the inspectors facial expressions and the use of high key lighting further leads to the representation of the abled bodied bein more trustworth and genuine.

Billy responds to the inspectors question of "you saw Trisha this evening didn't you?" with a few nods of his head which children are usually known for doing when being spoken down upon. When talking directly to Billy, the detective's tone is very low and his use of dialgoue is very precise and slowly spoken all very typical of how one might speak to a child. Billy in return gives short, straight to the point replies to avoid being made to look like a criminal. This also portrays his lack of communication skills as he probably can't string together long sentences; neither can young children.

The detective runs through parts of Billy's night and then says "is that when you saw Trisha? You saw her again after tea?" expecting Billy to agree. This use of language is manipulative and intimidating for Billy, but he answers with a shake of his head, disagreeing with the detective's assumptions who ends up having a 'proved wrong' expression on his face.

The inspector forces lots of questions upon Billy and he eventually reacts with a baffled expression and response of "I don't know". The inspector huffs and looks unimpressed by his lack of success with his investigation. Frost refuses to give up his inquiry and therefore continues with his accusation, making Billy feel bad for Trisha perhaps being "hurt, frightened, or fallen down unable to get up". His tone sligtly increases when he asks "Can you help, Billy?". This portrays his dominance that he comfortably advances throughout the inspection.

The patient tone adopted by the inspector combined with Billy's sharp correction of his father and the fact that Billy is shot in the foreground with his slightly blurred father in the background, connotates that Billy is in control. He however doesn't look the inspector in the eye after correcting his father of where he actually went. Could this be because Billy is lying or just feeling extremely intimidated by him?

The clip ends on Billy becoming defensive and repeating how he didn't see Trisha three times. At this point he grows agitated and raises his tone, whilst also bending forwards closer to the inspector. Disabled individuals in this clip have been presented as helpless and interrogated until they become uncomfortable, making the audience feel sympathetic towards them along with perhaps threatened at the same time. A mixture of interpretations can be discovered in this five minute clip.

How I consume and produce films - Essay answer

How I consume and produce films
(Improved)

The cinema is a theatre where films are shown for public entertainment. I do not actually visit the cinema on a regular occasion, in fact I probably only go there to see a movie a few times a year. When there's a film that's recently been released that I'm dying to watch, me and some friends will gather up and go see it. There has been some movies before that have been released, but not in my local cinema which causes trouble as it means I can't go and watch it. I think for a film to be extremely successful it should be released in practically every cinema. One of the major advantages of the cinema is the popcorn and tango ice blasts. These food and drink products are main attractions that I sometimes look more forward to than the actual movie I'm going to see, and i'm probably talking on the behalf of some others here also. I am aware that the prices are ridiculously high, but these are what allows the cinema to gain most of their profit. Movie theatres make 85% profit at concession stands. In America, Warren Miller, a senior equity analyst for Morningstar who tracks the theatre chains, says that "Of each dollar spent there, roughly 85 cents is profit". 

I have access to a satellite TV in my mum's, dad's, nan and granddad's house etc; everywhere. It's something that I regularly sit down and watch, however most of the time I'll miss my linear TV programmes and therefore watch them online instead on sites like BBC iPlayer, 4OD, ITV Player and Demand 5. So I probably end up watching more television online than I do when it's actually aired on TV, which is called smart TV. This allows members of the public to watch miss shows online if they have access to the internet. Industry statistics from the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB) show that around 96% of homes have a television set in the UK. However, this does not capture viewing on other devices such as laptops, tablets or mobile phones. The experiences are different, because those who own a portable device such as a smart phone are able to watch  a tele programme on the go when waiting for a bus for example. This however is a much poorer quality of embracing television because your eyes will be strained trying to watch something on such a tiny screen. In 2003 there were 2.03 television sets per UK household but by 2012, this had reduced to 1.83 sets, according to the TeleScope report. Although sales of traditional TV sets are in decline, smart TV sales have increased by 211% over the past two years and 11% of UK households now own a tablet device. A little more than Britain, 96.7% of American households now own sets, down from 98.9 percent previously. One reason for the decline is poverty: some low-income households no longer own TV sets, most likely because they cannot afford new digital sets and antennas.

My satellite TV at home has a few film channels on them, such as Film 4, Movie Mix and Movies4Men. Quite popular films are played on these channels which will attract an audience that are interested in movies. My mum owns a DVD player for the TV downstairs which will perhaps be used when guests are over, otherwise it will just continue to collect dust unless we have a social gathering. I do not own a DVD player because I have a disk drive in my laptop which is where I'll play any movies I own on disk. I usually watch movies on my laptop alone as I like this method because you can have the screen in front of you on your lap or you can lay the laptop at a certain angle that suits your position when watching it, instead of worrying about others trying to watch the same screen as you. On most occasions, if I don't have the movie on disk I'll watch it online on sites like Megashare and Putlocker. These sites are free with no download so it's a lot more practical than having to pay for or download movies online. They also come with no hassle because you can just type in the film you want to watch, click it and enjoy! This provides such an easy and relaxed viewing experience, and who doesn't want that?

Internet is key for me. It allows me to complete research for a-level homework, use social networking sites, watch online streaming television, youtube videos etc etc. I am able to access the internet on my phone, my laptop and my tablet, where I am usually indoors. I do not need the internet when I'm outside because this often means you're meeting people or having a day out; internet shouldn't really interrupt these occasions, therefore I access it in the front room or my bedroom when I'm at home. For most people they can get free internet on the go, and will therefore use it in and outside the house. Those who go online "mostly via desktop" are now a tiny minority:

- Mostly via Desktop: 11% 
- Evenly Split between both mobile and PC: 28%
- Mostly via mobile: 37%
- Only via mobile: 23%

eMarketer expects 4.55 billion people worldwide to use a mobile phone in 2014. This will increase the amount of online streaming occurring on the internet as everyone who has a smartphone has access to the internet. The only downfall of the internet would have to be it's faulty connection and broadband speed at times. Sometimes the internet i'm using will die for a while, which means that if I'm watching something online it will buffer. Buffering plays a large contribution in why I eventually end up buying a movie on disk. Recently I became addicted to a movie that I could only watch online, but because it decided to start buffering I chose to actually buy the movie as a DVD. This avoids becoming annoyed with the buffering symbol half way through a movie you're loving. I think that being able to watch movies online for free is a positive thing. It lets people see if the movie is worth buying, and they may even purchase it for friends or for family members. So you could say that this method encourages more sales for that certain film. A DVD is practical as you're able to take it round friends houses to enjoy with company. You can't sit round a computer with a bunch of friends watching a movie. So using a DVD in a TV is so much more efficient. I often watch movies with my friends as this is something we'll do when staying round each others, but this doesn't change the fact that I also watch movies alone. If I'm interested in a movie online, I'll check it out; friends or no friends.

I have access to a video camera but have not posted an online video for people's entertainment. There is, however, a lot of inspiration on the internet that makes me want to film my own videos: YouTube. I am subscribed to some YouTubers on this social networking site who create entertaining videos for all types of different individuals. More than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month, and over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube which is almost an hour for every person on earth. 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, constantly increasing YouTube's content and the competition amongst its community. Mobile phones make up almost 40% of YouTube's global watch time which relates to the percentage of people who go online via their mobile devices. An example of some videos I watch on this social networking site would be an English fashion and beauty blogger Zoe Sugg who is best known by her fans on YouTube as Zoella. Her channel is mostly fashion, beauty hauls and monthly favourites, therefore attracting practically every female on Earth; me being one of them. There is a variety of male and female internet personalities on YouTube who attract such a large variety of audiences, and there is most certainly something for everyone. YouTube never fails to disappoint.