General Zod's Trial
In this scene from Man of Steel (2013), the director, Zack Snyder featured fantasy sound effects and different sounds not normally heard in normal days. For this scene, it was extremely difficult to create foley sound effects, so I resourced sound effects and the music heard from freesound.org and YouTube. I recorded, edited and finalised my project of General Zod's Trial on Garageband, which I found was simple and easy to use. At the beginning of the project, I had to record myself more than once because I had trouble with syncing my words to the actors on screen at the same time. In my final recording, I felt I synced the words at the same time which, in the end, made a better end soundtrack clip. I recorded my voice on Garageband using an Apple laptop and no other recording equipment. I recorded all of my audio at Coulsdon College as I was using my college's media equipment and using my lesson time to record my final soundtrack. For a couple of sound effects I found on freesound.org, I had to repeat the same sound effect more than once as they weren't long enough, some effects were only 5-8 seconds long, so I repeated the audio by copying the clip and putting in on another level, shown below:
As you can see, I repeated the last four sound effects on the bottom four layers
As said in my proposal, in this scene of Man of Steel, the music created and the sound effects used creates a mood in which a character is seeking revenge, and I feel like my scene has effectively communicated this by using a very dark tone of voice which I created and the music in the background which was taken from YouTube and the original Man of Steel soundtrack and the title being 'I Will Find Him', which was a line in the scene. I feel like my practical work does match my intentions in the proposal because I wanted to create a very dark scene in which a character is going to come back after being sentenced almost to his death. I feel my soundtrack production of General Zod's Trial was a success to make and did indeed match my original intentions into what I thought it was going to be like.
Malcolm Tucker Rant
In this scene from The Thick Of It (TV Series 2005-2012), the director, Armando Iannucci tries to make this scene realistic as possible so he includes background sound effects, both on set and foley sound effects. For this scene, it was quite easy to create foley sound effects as they're not a lot in the scene. In my final soundtrack, I created 2 foley sound effects which are everyday sound effects, the first I created when Malcolm Tucker slams his books on his knees, I slammed my hands on a table which created quite a loud noise but I turned the volume down so it didn't dominate that moment. The second foley sound effect I used was the bicycle ring, which wasn't featured in the original material but I included it when the bicycle drives past the car as it made the scene funnier than it already was. I also used sound effects resourced from freesound.org. I recorded, edited and finalised my project of Malcolm Tucker's Rant on a Apple laptop using the application, Garageband, which I found was simple and easy to use. I recorded all of my audio at Coulsdon College as I was using my college's media equipment and using my lesson time to record my final soundtrack.
Overall picture of my project
This scene is very different compared to General Zod's Trial because it is set in real life and modern-day London so it was a lot easier to resource and make all of the sound effects and voice needed for this production. I feel the mood of anger and verbal abuse is very effectively communicated in my scene as I have used swear words which was in the original scene, and I have communicated a very angry type of voice which was also in the original scene and my original intentions for my scene. If I had communicated a very happy and cheery voice, it would have created a different mood and a different reaction and I don't think would have made sense because of the body language the actor uses, it made more sense to use an angrier voice.
Fuck's Sake! Well, now we've got another fucking adjective to add to fucking 'smug' and 'glum', haven't we? Fucking Retarded! Jesus Chri-- Do you not think it would be germane to check who you're talking to?! It's a fucking newspaper office! It's not a fucking sanatorium for the fucking deaf, is it?! Are you so dense?! Am I gonna have to run around slapping badges on people, with a big tick on some and a big cross on others, so you know when to shut your gob and when to open it?! Jesus Christ! Oh, but that'd probably confuse you as well, won't it?! That'd be too confusing! You'd see the cross and go "Oh fuck, X marks the spot! Better tell this little person about the prime minister's fucking catastrophic erectile dysfunction!" Oh, but not to worry, not to worry. You've sent fucking Ollie over there to deal with it. Fucking Ollie! He's a fucking, He's a fucking knitted scarf, that twat! He's a fucking balaclava!!
Man of Steel was released in June 2013, directed by Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300) and starred Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon as General Zod and more. Man of Steel follows the story of Clark Kent, one of the last of a race from a planet named Krypton and are disguised as humans, is forced to reveal his identity when Earth is invaded by an army of Kryptonian survivors looking to destroy Earth. The particular scene I have chosen is General Zod's Trial. This particular scene happens on the planet Krypton, after a fight between the antagonist, General Zod and Clark Kent's father named Jor-El. General Zod and his comrades is presented to the Kryptonian council in which they are sentenced to 'three-hundred cycles of somatic reconditioning'. The particular scene lasts for 2 minutes and 19 seconds, which is quite a long scene full of more sound effects and music than dialogue.
The director of this film is Zack Snyder who started directing in 1990 when he released a short video documentary named Playground. He made his feature-length debut in 2004 when he released zombie horror movie Dawn of the Dead, a reboot of the 1978 film, directed by George A. Romero. Since then, he has directed 300 (2006), Watchmen (2009), Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) and then rebooted the Superman film series in 2013, with Man of Steel and in 2016, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and is now filming Justice League Parts One (2017) and Two (2019).
In this scene, there is non-diegetic music heard throughout, which is from the movie's soundtrack this track being called 'I Will Find Him', which is also a line said by Zod in the scene. The music included creates a mood in which a character is seeking revenge, which is General Zod's intentions for Clark Kent/Superman. This track I am getting from YouTube and downloading it to MP3. There is going to be diegetic sound effects which means sound effects that can be heard in the scene that I will download from www.freesound.org and use it in the scene. These sound effects include ship and prison ship engines starting; and electricity from the prison whirring the prison ships in.
I am going to transcribe the scene's spoken word from each character and lip-sync the scene myself. The original scene creates a mood focused on revenge, which is General Zod's main aim for the rest of the film. The scene shows 2 male characters speaking, so I will speak both characters by using two options, by putting on accents or different tones.
I have the opportunity to invite other people to work with as voice actors in my final soundtrack production, but as this is an individual task, I have come to the conclusion that I will voice-over and edit my scene on my own.
I will be using Apple laptops supplied from Coulsdon College and use recording equipment via the application Garageband supplied within the laptop, which is very easy to record on and include sound effects with. An advantage in using Garageband is that the application is very easy to record with on a computer or a laptop. Garageband can also allow a person to add as many music tracks as they want and can control any instrument or track. This involves adjusting the volume, muting or un-muting a track. Disadvantages to this programme include the application can only be used on Apple iMacs or devices that can download other apps. Another disadvantage is that the Garageband is not web based so I would need a device that already has it or we can download it on. Luckily, I have access to a Apple laptop that has the application and I know how to use it. I will record my voice on a laptop using the Garageband software in a soundproof studio next to my classroom, which would get a better result of no background sound from others in my class.
Malcolm Tucker's Rant - The Thick of It
The Thick of It is a television series released by the BBC and ran for four seasons from 2005 to 2012. The particular scene I have chosen is from season 3 episode 2, released on 31st October 2009. Directed by Armando Iannucci and starred James Smith as Glenn Cullen, Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker, Chris Addison as Oliver Reeder, Rebecca Front as Nicola Murray and more. This episode follows the story of Nicola Murray being in post as Secretary of State for a week, she has got given news that somebody in her department has wiped the immigration records of 170,000 people over the last months. On the same day, she has a press meeting with journalists from the Guardian which Malcolm Tucker attends. This scene happens after the meeting when she learns she revealed this type of news was revealed to a journalist who was in the same meeting, in which Malcolm goes mad at her. This scene lasts for 58 seconds which is a short clip but long enough for using dialogue.
The director of this film is Armando Iannucci who started directing in 1998 when he made a television short 'mockumentary' named Clinton: His Struggle with Dirt. Since this, he has directed many television shows, including I'm Alan Partridge (2002), The Thick of It (2005-2012) and Veep (2012-2015). He made his feature film debut in 2009 when he directed In The Loop, which used many characters from The Thick of It in the story. He is now in pre-production for his new film, The Death of Stalin, which is scheduled to be released in 2017.
Compared to the previous scene shown above, there is diegetic music heard throughout, which sets the mood of the scene as a typical London busy day with sounds like cars passing by and a bicycle bell heard when going past the car. I will create foley sound effects in this scene and also use sound effects downloaded from freesound.org and YouTube. For foley sound effects, I will use books slamming on a table, when Peter Capaldi's characters throws his paperwork very heavily onto his knees. As another foley sound effect, I will also use background voices as people walk past the car, so I might ask people in my class to have a conversation with each other and I will turn the volume down using Garageband software, to make it realistic as possible as it is set in modern-day London. I will record my voice on a laptop using the Garageband software in a soundproof studio next to my classroom, which would get a better result of no background sound from others in my class.
In this scene, there are two people heard, a male character and a female character. The male character dominates the scene more as he has a lot more lines than her so I have two options: to ask a female person in my class to say the line, or if no-one is available, I will record the line myself. I have transcribed the scene onto a separate piece of paper so I can read the paper and say the lines at the same time. The mood or main theme generated from this particular script is anger, which is shown very vividly with the male character using swear words to emphasise his anger towards Nicola Murray. The words include 'Fuck's sake!','Fuck' and 'Erectile Dysfunction', which is not normally heard in conversation.
I have the opportunity to invite other people to work with as voice actors in my final soundtrack production so as there is a female character involved in the scene, I will ask a girl in my class to voice the character.
I will be using Apple laptops supplied from Coulsdon College and use recording equipment via the application Garageband supplied within the laptop, which is very easy to record on and include sound effects with. An advantage in using Garageband is that the application is very easy to record with on a computer or a laptop. Garageband can also allow a person to add as many music tracks as they want and can control any instrument or track. This involves adjusting the volume, muting or un-muting a track. Disadvantages to this programme include the application can only be used on Apple iMacs or devices that can download other apps. Another disadvantage is that the Garageband is not web based so I would need a device that already has it or we can download it on. Luckily, I have access to a Apple laptop that has the application and I know how to use it. I will record my voice on a laptop using the Garageband software in a soundproof studio next to my classroom, which would get a better result of no background sound from others in my class.
Regulatory bodies are organisations made to regulate different media sectors whether that being airing different programmes at suitable times of the day or regulating a specific age to view a film. These type of organisations include Ofcom (The Office of Communications) (TELEVISION industry), ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) (ADVERTISING industry), BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) (FILM industry) and PEGI (Pan European Game Information) (GAMING industry). Thee are sets of rules that a regulatory body has to abide by in order to release a certain product, for example Ofcom have what is called The Ofcom Broadcasting Code. The code not only covers harm or abuse, but other areas including sponsorship, copyright laws, fairness and privacy. There are constraints when in terms of regulation which involve if an advert is too offensive for certain viewers. For example, a television advert might be offensive in the way there is a lot of blood or is sexually offensive for some viewers.
The main regulatory bodies that looks over the television sector is:
Ofcom (The Office of Communications) formed in December 2003 and is the government-approved communications regulator in the UK. Ofcom regulates the television, radio and telephone media sectors. Ofcom's role includes securing a wide range of electronic communications services is available in the UK, securing a wide range of TV and radio services are available in the UK and provides protection for viewers from harmful content on any TV or radio services. If services do not stick to the regulator's rules and codes of practice, Ofcom has powers to punish those who act unlawfully or breach regulatory requirements. Ofcom can make sure a program that breaches regulations not to go on air again and can punish the television companies that are involved in the program. It is important to maintain regulation of TV and radio services to make sure people in the UK get the best from their communication services and are protected from various scams or sharp practices that can affect audiences in the UK.
ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) is the UK's independent regulator of advertising in the media industries. ASA works include acting on complaints given from the people of the UK and to always check every kind of media and to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing. They consider over 30,000 complaints and over 20,000 adverts each year. There are consequences that the ASA sanction to make sure they are not shown again. Broadcasts might face bad publicity if they are complaints given to the ASA. They cannot show advertisements that breach the code and advertisers might lose prime advertising slots and are disqualified from industry awards, denying them to show their work ever again. It is important to have regulations for advertising because they are made sure they aren't shown again on television services if they are deemed offensive and cause controversy amongst an audience. In 1962, CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice) established the ASA as the independent adjudicator under the newly created British Code of Advertising Practice.
The British National Party is a British political party formed in 1982 by John Tyndall and was led at the time by Nick Griffin. This party broadcast was used before the European Parliament election and local elections in the UK and Ireland on Thursday 22nd May 2014, which was then won by UKIP having the majority of the vote and Labour close behind in second, Conservatives being the third party. This party election broadcast by the British National Party criticises muslims and muslim culture and talks about mass immigration that has developed in the UK. The advert features a song sung at the beginning with immigrants being named 'spongers of the Earth' and muslims having 'backward cultures'. This advert was shown on television by all of the leading broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. When the advert was released to viewers, there was an immediate rush of complaints of racial abuse to muslims and immigrants, depicting 'vile cartoons of Muslims swilling alcopops and chasing pre-pubescent girls', as said by the Huffington Post.
The advert was then cut by all the television broadcasters, hence the British National Party having no television advert to motivate people to vote for them. The BNP then responded to the cancellation of their advert by publishing another advert censoring the cartoon involved in the advert and replacing it with Simon Darby talking about BNP 'making a difference' 'making a stand and raising a voice for the silenced British people'. This new advert wasn't released on television but instead on the British National Party YouTube page. PART B - EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Actor - bring a script to life, put flesh and blood in characters/Agent - represent performers and finds work for clients Art Director - project managing the work of the art department/Assistant Art Director - carrying out site surveys of locations Choreographer - training dancers and actors in dance routines/Assistant Choreographer - work with Choreographers to realise their dance concepts Audio/Dubbing Assistant - organising different elements for the final soundtrack Bookings Co-ordinator - co-ordinating work schedules, managing resources and liasing with clients Boom Operator - controlling the long boom arm and fitting radio microphones to actors Broadcast Engineer - operating, maintaining and managing studio equipment Camera Operator - ensuring that cameras are ready for the shots to be taken/Camera Assistant - offering general support to the Camera Operator Colourist - interpreting clients' vision and aspirations Costume Designer - being in charge of designing, creating and hiring all costumes for actors Television Director - being responsible for the look of a production and enhancing the final finished programme Editor - editing all of the filmed footage to make the final product/Edit Assistant - assisting and carrying out basic post-production tasks Executive Producer - being responsible for the overall quality and success of a television production Television Gaffer - responsible for the practical aspects of lighting sets and locations Graphic Artist - creating all the props with graphic or written elements Junior Engineer - maintaining and fixing of technological equipment Library Assistant - filing and storing media and paperwork Lighting Director - designing a specific look required for each shot/Lighting Camera Person - leading a television camera team and realising the Director's vision through the use of lighting Location Manager - identifying and managing a number of locations required for productions Make-up and Hair Artist - creating make-ups and hairstyles to meet production requirements/Make-up and Hair Assistant - setting up and maintaining make-up and hair workstations Make-up and Hair Designer - being responsible for the overall design of make-up and hair throughout production of a television programme/Make-up and Hair Trainee - setting up and maintaining make-up and hair workstations Network Operations Assistant - working for a cable or satellite broadcaster and responsible for ensuring that programme materials are available Post Production Runner - supplying refreshments and keeping edit suites clean and tidy Production Buyer - creating a list of all props and a schedule for when they are needed Production Manager - being responsible for the organisational aspects of production scheduling and budgeting/Assistant Production Manager - work under the supervision of the production manager Prosthetics Artist - designing and making specialist prosthetic make-up Television Researcher - developing programme ideas and presenting findings to decision makers Script Supervisor - ensuring that television dramas end up making sense Sound Engineer - making sure all of the sound equipment works on set/Sound Assistant - helping record the best quality sound in a studio or a location Sound Recordist - recording sound on location or in a studio to enable the most 'realistic' sound Sound Supervisor - identifying the sound requirements for each production and overseeing the work of all multi-camera productions Stunt Performer - performing supervised stunts taking actors' places when the stunt is too dangerous Subtitler - adding subtitles to television programmes for deaf or hard-hearing audiences Transmission Engineer - supervising the transmission of television programmes Television Broadcast Journalist - collecting, verifying and analysing information about news/events Television Presenter - introducing and hosting programmes, reading the news, interviewing people and reporting issues Variety Artist - being a performer of various kinds Video Tape Operators - operating, managing and fixing equipment and making tape copies Vision Mixer - editing programmes live using a variety of transition methods, such as cuts, mixes, wipes and frame manipulation Walk On and Supporting Artist - providing background action on television productions
This diagram shows the overall structure towards the different types of job roles in the television industry. If a person wants to get a job in the television industry, for example as a Chief Engineer, they would have to work up a ladder of different jobs first. As shown in the diagram above, to become a chief engineer, they would, first of all, look for sound, lighting or technical junior engineering jobs within a television company, which involves maintaining and fixing of technological equipment and working mainly in a studio, but sometimes are needed on location sets for a television series. Some jobs like this are difficult to get, as they're are not a lot of opportunities for these type of jobs, so it would be wise to know somebody in the television industry first before starting looking for jobs. There are also jobs online a person can apply for as well from websites such as indeed.co.uk, reed.com and monster.co.uk. If a person becomes very good at this particular job, they could get promoted to maintenance manager, which involves being the person in charge of everything.
There are many different technical courses involved in the job roles of the television industry. The main course that people look at is the Foundation Degree in Technical Theatre and Stage Management. These type of courses are available at different drama schools, such as LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art), Guildhall School of Music and Drama and RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and other drama schools outside of the London area. According to RADA's website, the Foundation Degree in Technical Theatre and Stage Management will give a solid understanding of all aspects of technical theatre including training in set construction, sound, scenic art, props, costume, lighting and stage management. Other courses involve a Mechanical Engineering Degree which is available at universities, which would be useful for those applying for sound, lighting and technical engineering jobs in the television industry. There are also apprenticeships available for those who are not interested in drama schools or universities, at film or television studios, such as Pinewood Studios (FILM) and ITV Studios (TELEVISION).
Name: Christopher Backway E-Mail: chrisbackway2@gmail.com Address: Phone Number:
Personal Statement:
When it comes to film making, I always want to achieve the best. I am a very confident leader and make important decisions that will have a positive effect on the outcome of the production. Being also an actor, I am committed to this industry, I want to inspire future generations with my work in film which shows my deep passion for film making. I want to achieve the best out of actors when I work with them, I want to go to their limits to achieve the best possible outcome in the film. Education (Academic Qualifications):
BTECs: 120 Credit Subsidiary Diploma Media Studies (Distinction), Performing Arts (Distinction)
Coulsdon College (2014 - 2016)
GCSEs: Drama (Grade A)
English Literature (Grade C)
English Language (Grade C)
Mathematics (Grade C)
Science (Grade C)
Additional Science (Grade C) Work Experience:
I found this workshop very easy and simple to do despite never been introduced to Garageband. I had already watched this scene for a number of times and so I knew when to speak and timing accuracy. It was hard to convey sound because at times in the scene, it felt that they are not saying anything when they actually are, for example when the girl is screaming out in pain after being sentenced to 300 cycles of somatic reconditioning. At first, I didn't know what to say, so I transcribed the script of the scene and I felt after writing this, it was a lot easier to do. The script is shown below:
General Zod, for the crimes of murder and high treason, the council has sentenced you and your fellow insurgents to 300 cycles of somatic reconditioning. Do you have any last words?
You won't kill us yourself! You wouldn't dirty your hands but you'll damn us to a black hole for eternity! Jor-El was right! You're a pack of fools, every last one of you!
[to Lara] You... you believe your son is safe... I will find him. I will reclaim what you have taken from us! I will find him. I will find him, Lara. I WILL FIND HIM!
Workshop 2 - Adding Music
I found this workshop a lot more difficult to do compared to the dubbing dialogue workshop. I used a method in which I downloaded music from YouTube and included in my clip. I used the same clip, General Zod's Trial. I found the background music as I had already seen this clip before, the track being 'I Will Find Him'. The most difficult part of this process was putting it in the right place of the scene and in the original scene, some parts of the music is split so I had to split various parts of the music clip and place them in separate parts of the video clip. I also had to control the volume of each clip as they are parts in the music when it gradually gets louder, but I found that quite easy to do because of each level/layer, there is a volume knob that let me control me the volume.
Workshop 3 - Adding Sound Effects
For this scene, I decided to choose another video clip as General Zod's Trial had too many sound effects and was difficult to resource, so I decided to choose Malcolm Tucker's Rant from the hit comedy television series: The Thick Of It. For this workshop, I used some sound effects found online from freesound.org and also foley sound effects which are sounds generated from everyday sounds. I used the London Ambulance Service siren alarm from freesound.org, but in the scene, the siren faded away so I needed to find a way to decrease the volume gradually. This was extremely difficult to do as I did not need to do it until now, so I clicked on my sound effect and went to its track volume and went from the beginning of the sound effect and decreased it to the end of the effect, which I then found easier to do. I also used a foley sound effect as well. In the original scene, Malcolm Tucker slams his books on his lap, so I tried to do the same by recording the audio from an Apple laptop and me doing the action. At the end, it was extremely quiet even at a louder volume so for another idea, I decided to slam my hands on a table which created a louder noise and so I decided to use that instead of the other foley sound effect.
Research the ethical and legal constraints of the television sector
ETHICAL
TV representation of genders Male representation
Representation of male characters across not only the television industry but across all media industries focus on these areas:
Strength - physically and intelligence
Strength has had a major impact in the representations in males across the years. Traditionally, representations of men in the television industry were manly, more masculine characters, such as Thomas Magnum from Magnum P.I. (1980 - 1989) or even in the film industry, with characters such as James Bond from the James Bond franchise. This was more common in the 1970s to the 1980s. In modern representations of male characters, they seem to be more with their feminine side, showing their emotions to other characters and keeping pride in their appearance. These characters include Chandler from Friends (1994 - 2004) who is known as the 'funny friend' in the series or Sheldon Cooper (2007 - Present) who is severely intelligent in the world of science and very little knowledge of sexual activities. Power
Power is represented in many different ways, whether it being the 'man of the house' in a family or in the character's strength but the main and common representation in the television industry in present day would be royalty or the character's hierarchal status. These characters include Henry VIII from The Tudors (2007 - 2010) or Joffrey Baratheon (2011 - 2014) from Game of Thrones (2011 - 2016). Sexual Attractiveness
Sexual attractiveness is probably the most key theme regarding male transformation over the years between 1970s to present day television. Past representations show that the sexual attractiveness between 1960s - 1980s of male characters include: good looks, black hair, golden-tanned coloured body, no glasses and white teeth. These examples include William Shatner from The Original Series' of Star Trek (1966 - 1969) that was shown on television and its franchise's motion pictures: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Stark Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and Dick Van Dyke from The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961 - 1966). These representations have changed over the years. Present representations show that the sexual attractiveness in present day include: muscular body including a 'six-pack', no glasses, smartly dressed and white teeth. These characters now normally appear in reality television shows such as The Only Way Is Essex (2010 - Present Day) and Made In Chelsea (2011 - Present Day). These characters include Mark Wright, Spencer Matthews and Jamie Laing.
Past representations
Dick Van Dyke
William Shatner
Present representations
Spencer Matthews
Mark Wright
Female representation
Representation of female characters across not only the television industry but across all media industries focus on these areas:
Beauty
Beauty has been the most important factor in the representations of female characters in television shows over the years. Beauty is what keeps a woman attractive to the male characters, mainly due to their facial looks and features. Between the 1970s - 1980s, according to uk.complex.com, the more good looking women were singers and were part of the music industry but there were some television stars including Ann Margaret from The Ann-Margaret Show (1968) and Erin Gray from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979 - 1981). These beauty looks involve quite frizzy hair, body-revealing tops and blonde or brunette hair. Compared to male representations being a big change from past to present, female representations have not changed much since the 1970s, with the same beauty features including revealing tops and dresses and some female characters even dressing down to their underwear. These characters include Freya Beauchamp from Witches of East End (2013 - 2014) and Emma Swan from Once Upon A Time (2011 - Present Day). Many costumes presented on women today also seem to be very revealing, which might be inappropriate for some young audiences.
Past representations
Ann Margaret
Erin Gray
Present representations
Emma Swan
Freya Beauchamp
Religious representations
Citizen Khan - (2012 - Present)
Citizen Khan is a British family sitcom, produced by the BBC and is set in Sparkhill, East Birmingham. Currently in its fourth series, Citizen Khan follows the stories of Mr Khan, a loud-mouthed community leader, portrayed by Adil Ray and his wife and two female children. His wife named Mrs Razia Khan, portrayed by Shobu Kapoor, and his two children named Shazia (played by Maya Sondhi from 2012-2014 and Krupa Plattini from 2015 - Present) and Alia (played by Bhavna Limbachia). Each story follows the 'perfect and modern ways' of an Islamic family originally from Pakistan. When the show first aired on the BBC, there were a lot of complaints, 200 to be exact, towards the show stating the programme was 'making fun out of Islamic religion', 'negative stereotypes about Asians' and 'disrespectful to the Koran, the Islamic religious text. These complaints were near to the beginning of the series and since then, viewing figures have been particularly low since 2012.
LEGAL
Broadcasting Act 1990
The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament. The aim of this act was to reform the structure of British television broadcasting. In television, the act allowed the creation of a fifth cable television channel in the Uk, which become Channel 5, which was officially launched in March 1997 and also growth of multi-channel satellite television. It stipulated that the BBC, money sourced by the government, was to now source at least 25% of output from independent production companies. The Broadcasting Act 1990 also reformed the television system of awarding ITV franchises to not only the UK but also the Channel Islands as well surrounding the UK. In 1991 ITV auctioned their franchises and the business, Thames Television bid £32.7 million pounds to keep the ITV London franchise during weekdays and the London Independent Broadcasting bid £7.6 million pounds for during weekends, Channel Television only bid £1,000 for ITV's Channel Islands franchise, Central Independent Television bid £2,000 for ITV's East and West Midlands franchise. These are only 3 parts of the UK where ITV auctioned parts of the UK's regions, other parts include Scotland, Southern England and Northern Ireland.
Ofcom Broadcasting Code
The Ofcom Broadcasting Code follows 10 sections regarding broadcasting television or radio. These sections include: Section One - Protecting the Under-Eighteens, Section Two - Harm and Offence, Section Three - Crime, Section Four - Religion, Section Five - Impartiality, Accuracy, Views and Opinions, Section Six - Elections and Referendums, Section Seven - Fairness, Section Eight - Privacy, Section Nine - References in Television Programming and Section Ten - Communications in Radio Programming
The first section involves outlining the rules about scheduling content in programmes and ensuring that children under the age of 18 are protected. For example, shows that contain swearing, nudity or physical and bloody violence tend to go at a later time to ensure children not viewing this content.
The second section involves outlining standards for broadcast content as to provide protection for members of the public from harmful or offensive materials.
The third section refers to material likely to encourage the rate of crime or to lead to some kind of violent disorder.
The fourth section relates to the responsibility of broadcasters, presenters or news presenters to respect the content of religious programmes.
The fifth section ensures that news is reported with complete accuracy and making sure the item is no where near biased.
The sixth section covers the requirements that has to be applied at the time for elections or referendums.
The seventh section ensures that broadcasters avoid unjust, unbiased or unfair treatment of individuals or organisations in television programmes.
The eighth section ensures that broadcasters avoid any infringement of privacy in programmes and in connection with obtaining material included in television programmes.
The ninth section relates to broadcasters independence and control over programming between editorial content and advertising.
Prepare a case study exploring a particular ethical issue within your chosen sector.
(eg. a film being banned due to it’s representation of a certain religion)
The most common issue presented in the television industry is Race.
The Black and White Minstrel Show
This outdated musical performance show featured white people "blacking up" to perform song and dance numbers. The programme was dropped in June 1978, due to a cut in the light entertainment budget, but times have changed; it is unthinkable that a programme like this would be broadcast today. (IMDb - http://www.imdb.com/list/ls004880434/)
The Black and White Minstrel Show was a television show broadcasted by the BBC and was first aired in 1958 and finally came to an end in 1978. The programme was first a one-off special in 1957 called 'The 1957 Television Minstrels'. After this special, it became popular and was then developed in a regular 45 minute show, airing on Saturday evenings, making it a prime-time television programme. This show normally follows a sing-along format with solos and instrumentals, singing country and western songs. The Minstrels actors mainly consisted of three soloists: Dai Francis, John Boulter and Tony Mercer. In 1964, viewing figures reached 21 million people. It also became a theatrical show from 1962 to 1972 which ran 6,477 performances during this period. This show was one of the first to actually be shown in colour on BBC Two in 1967. Whilst being showed in colour in 1967, this was the same year when people suddenly started to see the portrayal of these characters as 'severely offensive' and so a petition against this show was brought out and was then recieved by the BBC. The show was then cut in 1969 due to racism and was replaced by a show called 'Music, Music, Music' which was reacted negatively by the public and was cancelled. Back in the 1960s - 1970s, this was considered normal and very popular, but if this particular show was released in present time (2000s), there would be a sudden shift in people's opinions and the show might have been cut straight away due to complaints.
