HOTEL BABYLON - Mock Examination (Immigration bust)

OCR’s Comments on candidates’ responses to Question 1 – Television drama

There was plenty of evidence that the question set on ethnicity and representation and the extract Hotel Babylon achieved the desired differentiation of candidate responses. The extract was approximately five minutes in length and enabled the candidates to engage with the key skill of textual analysis of the four technical features:

Camera shot, angle and composition, mise en scène, editing and sound. Examiners appeared in agreement that this was an excellent extract because it provided candidates with the opportunity to negotiate their own reading which they could justify through analysis of the four technical codes.

There were a number of different interpretations provided by candidates; most of these were entirely valid. There was a wealth of technical examples for candidates to analyse.

It is also important that candidates move from description of key technical areas to analysis of how representations are constructed. This will enable candidates to achieve higher notional marks for their responses. Of these technical areas, camera work and mise en scène were by far the most comfortable concepts the candidates addressed, with editing and sound the least, despite improved attempts to address these technical features. Candidate responses which did not link technical analysis to representation often lacked focus in their answers on how ethnicity was constructed through the technical features of the extract.

Candidates structured their responses in a one of two ways for question one. Some began by addressing the concept of representation in the extract and a discussion of the representational differences between the white authority of the police in contrast to the representation of the ethnicity and status of the illegal migrant workers. Candidates would then analyse chosen examples of representation in a chronological address of the extract, whilst integrating different technical aspects, for example, combining the analysis of camera composition with sound.

On the other hand, and a slightly more popular approach, would see the candidates address the technical areas one by one. Stronger candidates could provide an integrated analysis of the extract through analysis of key examples identified. These candidates explored how the technical features could be applied using a combination of the technical features. Weaker candidates could list many technical aspects, with varying degrees of accuracy, but struggle to say anything meaningful about the representation of ethnicity.

Both of these approaches to the structure of question 1 are valid and centres need to plan and help structure candidate responses in the classroom. It is advised against preparing candidates to word a long and lengthy introduction about what they are going to answer, or give theoretical introductions and/ or historical contexts to television drama. It is good advice for centres to candidates offered quite general textual analysis and these candidates’ responses lacked a focused discussion of ethnicity and thus penalized themselves from gaining a level three or four mark for EAA.

The mark scheme enables credit to be awarded to students at three different levels: Explanation, Analysis and Argument (20 Marks); Use of Examples (20 Marks) and; Use of Terminology (10 Marks). Under the use of examples, the mark scheme does not credit a notional level four (16-20) when only three technical areas are discussed, therefore making it less likely that a candidate can be awarded the highest possible marks.

On the whole the use of media vocabulary was very good, but could centres please note that there are up to 10 marks available for the use of media terminology – hence the previous recommendation that students should be encouraged to use the appropriate media terminology and good advice for centres is to encourage candidates to keep vocabulary lists.

There were a significant number of candidates who still adopted an overly simplistic approach in terms of media vocabulary. Centres need to encourage students to use appropriate technical language for precision in analysis and to make sure that they avoid superficial terms like cameras 'switching' or 'jumping', know the difference between zooms and tracking or avoid describing characters as 'goodies' and 'baddies'.

This mark scheme is more able to credit answers, which have different strengths, and this series, the marking of candidates’ papers revealed the flexibility in its application, according to the standards set. It is advisable that centres make the mark scheme available to candidates for the summer series so that they are aware of how the work is assessed. This could also be used for the marking of timed assignments in the classroom and for the marking of mock exam papers.

Finally it is important that candidates address a balance in their responses to all the technical features used in the extract to construct meaning, at times some candidates would focus too much on specific ‘micro’ aspect of the television drama, for example writing a whole side on the use of mise en scène.

Comments on the ‘micro’ aspects of Question one on Television Drama

The following comments are selected example points to assist centres with the delivery of the topic and to help advise on candidate answers, it is by no means an exhaustive list.

Representation

The sequence offered plenty of opportunities to discuss the representations of ethnicity. Most candidates were able to discuss differences in the status of various ethnicities within the sequence, though only a very small number of candidates were able to develop their answer further by showing how the audience were positioned in relation to these representations. For example, the police clearly have more status than the immigrant workers, but the audience are encouraged to identify with the workers by putting more emphasis on their points of view.

More confident candidates were able to analyse the ways in which the extract attempted to position the audience in relation to the immigration officials and the immigrants. Many identified the construction of the lead immigration officer as antagonist and argued that the extract positioned the audience to be sympathetic to the plight of the immigrants. A smaller number of more able candidates went further by exploring either the apparent contradiction of an antagonist acting within the law or commenting on the way that the extract challenged typical representations of illegal immigrants in the media.

The majority of candidates attempted to formulate an argument about the representation of ethnicity in the extract with the vast majority moving beyond the minimal descriptor for EAA. Candidates that scored less well tended to make points about the representation of ethnicity in an isolated fashion rather than linking their points as part of a coherent analysis or argument.

Camera Shot, Angle and Composition

This technical feature was overall, well addressed by the candidates. Most candidates had a media vocabulary, which addressed the technical features of television drama. Where candidates used the correct terminology and could describe shot composition, this on the whole, was well done. Stronger responses considered a wide range of shots as well as camera movement and the use of framing and composition to further reinforce representation, for example, the framing of all the characters together in hiding and later through panning in the canteen creating a sense of community. Some candidates confuse the meaning of low and high angles and are reminded to be careful when discussing the connotations of these shot types.

Weaker candidates were able to describe key shots used in exemplification, but would often lack explicit links to how these shots assisted in the construction of the representation of ethnicity. These candidates would also tend to focus on just identifying the narrative flow of the extract through the naming of the shots. As with the past two exam series, please be aware that ‘insert’ shots and ‘wide’ shots and the ‘tilt’ shot and ‘jump’ shot are common misconceptions/ vocabulary used by candidates.

It would be useful to see a wider range of examples of shot sizes and camera movement referenced in relation to a sequence's representations, for example very few candidates were able to recognise the focus pull, for example, when Ibrahim was arrested, or could recognise how it reflected his sudden awareness of danger.

Mise en scène

The majority of candidates discussed this area with confidence. The extract itself was rich in mise en scène that contributed to representation. The contrast of the luxury hotel with the cramped storage room in which the immigrants were hiding was mentioned by many candidates, as were the costume of suits for some characters and cleaners and maid uniforms for others. It was pleasing to see many students making reference to lighting with more able candidates confident in using terms such as high key, artificial and low key. The use of colour with the white suit of the receptionist juxtaposed with the dark suit of other the female character was also well linked to representation. Most candidates were able to talk about the contrasting uniforms and the messages and values implied. Most candidates focused on the clothing as denoting power and where they fitted into the hierarchy.

More able candidates would be able to contrast the ethnic representation of different characters through the mise en scène and how power and status is defined by ethnic relations, the most able could reflect on the cleaner who used to be a doctor and explore the nuances of ethnicity and status through the use of the character of Jackie as a supervisor and carer of the immigrant workers. Candidates are also advised to look for the range of representations within the extract with more able candidates commenting on the characters of ethnic minority that held some status within the scene, for example the well dressed black male employee Ben and in the final scenes the wealthy African couple with the female in traditional dress at the reception.

Weaker candidates are still wedded to simplistic colour analysis and ignore all contradictory evidence to claim that characters dressed in white must be 'pure and innocent' while characters dressed in red are either 'passionate' or 'in danger'. This ‘binary’ approach needs refining by centres in relation to debating how meaning is constructed in an extract and it is suggested that

to compare and contrast different elements of representation does involve more examination in the classroom. In addition, too many candidates are still being encouraged to consider the acting/body language/non-verbal communication as part of the mise-en-scène. This leads to candidates spending far too long discussing the acting at the expense of the technical elements, which are constructing representations. Weaker candidates’ responses could identify key aspects of the mise en scène but not always explicitly link this to ethnicity and tended to ‘demonise’ the white characters and over simplify the portrayal of the immigrants.

Sound

The analysis of sound in analysis of the TV drama was satisfactory. Those candidates that could offer a balanced approach to the analysis of the extract did so with a degree of proficiency in relation to identifying the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound (as opposed to televisual terminology of synchronous and asynchronous sound). Again the analysis of sound was used in contrast to the characters’ different roles in the drama, with more candidates steering away from a reliance of an examination of the dialogue used in the drama; centres seem to be heeding the advice that an analysis of the dialogue in the drama is not sufficient technical analysis.

Most candidates were able to use terminology confidently and could describe the tempo and use of music in relation to the representation of characters. Most made reference to the use of foreign languages and accents to reinforce representation of the characters as different or other. Key dialogue was also referred to such as the line 'I wasn’t always a cleaner' and many candidates examined the significance of this statement.

Often weaker candidates showed confusion with technical terminology, referring to ambient sound where there was none in the part of the sequence they referred to, or simply getting diegetic and non-diegetic sound the wrong way round. The analysis of sound is more than just dialogue and weaker candidate responses may interpret the soundtrack/ use of music in too general analysis. It is advised that centres do cover the technical features of sound thoroughly in order to give candidates an opportunity to fully engage with the analysis of the extract.

Editing

As with the January and June 2009 series, this technical area proved to be the most problematic for candidates and the one technical area of analysis that was often omitted in candidates’ answers.

Many candidates ignored editing altogether and only a few of those that did cover it were able to make meaningful links to representations by, for example, showing how the editing created particular viewpoints which we are encouraged to identify with or how screen time indicated the shifting relationship between characters in the sequence, for example through the discussion of the rule of thirds.

Most candidates made reference to the pace of editing to reflect the frantic situation and emotions of the immigrant characters. The use of shot reverse shot and cuts to aid continuity were mentioned by many candidates, as was the use of cross cutting between the two situations to enhance tension. More able candidates demonstrated the ability to link the use of editing to the representation of characters, such as the use of long and short takes to represent power and the use of eye line matches to reinforce a sense of dominance. Most candidates who addressed editing were able to address the type of transitions used and could comment on the pace of the editing. There was evidence on occasion where students engaged with the rule of thirds and juxtaposition of characters in the narrative using editing devices, which is very encouraging.

However, many candidates’ responses seem to be very limited in address of the issues of editing and all too frequently it was absent from their responses – which does not enable candidates to reach a level four on the marking criteria for the use of examples. Weaker candidates often omitted any discussion of editing or offered quite simplistic accounts of how editing was used, for example in the use the shot reverse shot sequence between characters. A common error in the terminology of editing continues to be with the use of jump cuts.

With the right preparation, candidates can engage with the nuances of editing under exam conditions, with evidence that they could discuss crosscutting, eye line match and ellipsis in the extract. As in the previous report, the advice offered to centres is to encourage as much practice on the concept of editing as possible and how this assists in the construction of representation. Again begin with identifying the techniques and encourage students to apply these to a range of examples in class and importantly, test them on this. A balanced and high level notional mark requires all the technical features to be addressed in a candidate’s answer

OCR (2010)

JEKYLL (2007) BBC - Introduction to HYDE (Alleyway Scene)

1.MISE EN SCENE

Description/representation of Dr Jackman

In terms of mise en scene, the lead character (Dr Jackman) is running through the alleyway wearing a smart black suit and white shirt.

He is quite formally dressed but fashionable, which could suggest he is fairly affluent, lives in a nice area and has a good job. His hair is curly and has a medium frame. He is represented as a well-spoken man who has a career path and possibly 2.4 children judging by his age.

Dr Jackman is running in a menacing fashion after a black van, which leads him down an inner city run down alleyway, which invariably has connotations of crime/criminality as a place where bad people hang out. The location is London as signified by the moving red buses in the background.

Jackman bumps into what seem an innocent couple and lands on the ground taking them with him. He gets up alarmed in terms of his body language and behaviour; he is represented as being apologetic, sorry and sympathetic therefore in terms of his gender he is seen as a nice man, who acknowledges what he has done

Description/representation of Billy

The other male character, part of the male/female couple is represented as an aggressive young male archetype. The male is white and in his early 20’s which correlates with youth inner city crime in a variety of locations across the UK. One could suggest he is a ‘Chav’. He has working class clothing epitomised by his grey hoodie and thus has a stereotypically thuggish representation.

His posture, demeanour also suggests aggression in the way he grabs Dr Jackman and forcing him against the wall. At this point one male character in terms of gender is middle class and pleasant the other is a working class thug with a knife who wants to attack Dr Jackman for no viable reason

Description/representation of Girl

The girl, white (16-25) blonde haired and blue eyed. She is represented as an attractive women and emphasis is placed on her short skirt and her tryst with Billy.

She is wearing a wholesome blue dress, which promotes femininity, as does her soft pale look of a traditional English Rose. She is not as aggressive and is indeed represented as being rather weak, soft and stereotypical as a damsel in distress. She verbally pleads for calm from her boyfriend and screams for him to stop as the situation escalates.

The lighting suggests natural daylight in the initial part but as Jackman changes to Hyde it seems to get darker, as dark shadows are cast on Hyde’s face, which shows his change in character. His face is half dark and light, which shows his internal conflict throughout the sequence

2. Camera shots, angles, movement & position and how they are used to highlight GENDER issues

Initially the shots are essentially long shots, which show jekyll’s arrival in the alleyway, and then a range of hand held shots as the group lands on the ground in a huddle.

When the altercation starts in order to see the gender representation closely between the men the director films in a variety of close ups which allows us to the see the angry expressions on their faces and the tension build up from the actors and their dialogue. The close ups show that Billy is dominant and very angry as he grabs Dr Jackman and throws away his Dictaphone, which we are shown in a close up on the floor undamaged.

When Jackman changes we zoom into his eye in an extreme close up which also turns green. This has connotation of a green eyed monster or even the hulk. The colour signifies the change in Dr Jackman to Mr Hyde. Smoking connotations of rebellion

The angle of the shots becomes more swayed/off centre (Dutch tilt) to show that his mindset of Jackman has altered and he has now changed. We see more extreme close up of various parts of Hyde’s face, which give those connotations of madness this his representation has changed and from a placid, none aggressive man he turns into a sexually deviant angry monster

A two shot is shown in a high angle/low angle exchange between Billy and Hyde where Hyde is now dominant. The close ups of Billy now show him afraid thus the representation of Billy has changed from an aggressive male to subordinate wimp who is scared

As Jackman asks to be attacked with the lad and his knife the camera work becomes hand held to give us a realistic insight into such a fight in a documentary, actuality style of representations as it frantically pans around the action

Cutaways are used in medium shots/close ups to show the weak representations of the girl who is crying uncontrollably in a stereotypical female representation of what most girls/women would do in such a situation if they witness violence.

The men are also stereotypical represented as aggressive and egotistical monsters that have split personalities who are constantly trying to confirm their masculinity in front of impressionable women.

The blood oozes from the Billy’s mouth which signifies defeat in the psychical battle between the males, which Hyde compares to a lions pride and takes it back to a primeval, Neanderthal battle between humans and Hyde character does explore the dark side of humanity.

After Hyde defeats Billy he acts like a sex fiend and forces himself on the women in a two shot and we see a close up of his face close to her as he breaths on her, touches her and makes her scared to death of what he may do next. He is now represented not as a middle class family man but a sexual deviant who wants to have sex with the distressed women which shows his change in personality

3. EDITING

The editing starts off fairly pacey during the chase sequence and builds up a climatic fashion when Jekyll crashes into the couple the edits then slow down but are still constructed in a seamless fashion despite the great number of camera set ups

The edits are primarily shot reverse shots, which are edited to show the dialogue between the characters and also show their proximity to one another.

When Jackman changes we have a fast edited zoom in into his eye, which turns green. Fast/speeded up edits are used when Hyde turns quickly away from Billy during the three attacks this represents Hyde as being almost superhuman and represents him as having unique powers that the other male ‘Billy’ doesn’t.

There are various straight cuts as the camera pans as Jackman circles Billy like a lion; this editing creates an un-easy sensation in the sequence.

When the men get up close and personal the director uses faster edits to show their conflict, as this is the key physical action of the scene.

In terms of gender the editing helps to enforce the idea that both men are aggressive and confrontational. The editing shows Jekyll more as he is the main characters as such his hierarchal order is being conveyed through the selection of close up edits on his face.

There are various eye match shots between the three main characters and the tempo and frequency of the cuts increase during the conflict sequences.

The edits slow down as Hyde dances away showing his masculine bravado and confidence in attacking another male without remorse or guilt.

4. SOUND

• The main components of sound are dialogue which is diegetic and through dialogue you can clearly see the behaviour of the men and women in the sequence.

• Billy has a cockney accent which suggests he is from a white working class background in London and Hyde has a broad Belfast accent, which may have a foreign, un-English element to it?

• “Here comes God” which is high pitched and loud demonstrates his power and alter ego and ability to do whatever he likes to Billy, they are both at his mercy and he is all powerful, like god.

• Sound effects such as the ribs crunching are used to show Billy’s weakness and demise from a loud, aggressive, violent lout to a pathetic wimp.

• Girl crying, weeping shows her weakness as a women and inability to stand up for her boyfriend or challenge Hyde in any way

• The sound become louder in terms of pace, pitch and frequency (like a train) as Hyde approaches the girl and acts like a pervert culminating in a lion roar/growl as he shows her his teeth

• Hyde walks away whistling demonstrating his confidence as the Alpha male destroying his rival and happiness at what he has just done which is break someone’s neck. This suggests as Hyde his male representation is violent, aggressive and he treats people with contempt and has a degree of sexual deviancy towards women.

Kjudge©

Oliver Twist (2007) BBC - MUDFOG WORKHOUSE SEQUENCE

GENDER

SOCIAL CLASS

AGE

·        Eg: The children are often shot in close up and cutaways throughout the sequence to show their dour emotions. They are represented as poor, orphan children in terms of class status who serve in the workhouse in horrible conditions.

·        This is further exemplified in terms of Mise en Scene in regards to their costumes which are scraps of material, often brown to represent cheap and inherited clothing.

·        In terms of sound we hear them slurping their food like vultures and the clattering of cutlery as they gobble down their food, this suggests they are hungry and not looked after.

·        Thus the children of a young age are represented as oppressed and vulnerable to the dominant adults who are often filmed from a low angle to show their dominance.

Textual Analysis - The Street (Taxi's HERE!) scene

Study the following the scene and analyse it in terms of the following:

• Camera angles, movement & position

• Editing

• Sound

• Mise en Scene

Also remember to discuss Representation in regards to ETHNICITY (Scene 1)

Context: Eddie (Timothy spall) is a cab driver who has been called to pick someone up

Camera angles, movement & position

• A long shot in terms of framing and in movement and positioning a slow horizontal pan left which fixes onto the front of the cab as it approaches the camera which then goes static.

• Cut to a medium shot of a white, middle aged man wearing a suit and overcoat talking to Eddie, another white middle aged male. Throughout his discussion we see a shot reverse shot between Eddie and the landlord. Then we get some close up of both men who are shot separately throughout the one sided chat.

• Cut to a close up, slight pan left of Ojo coming out of the house. Ojo is a black male who looks bemused and confused in a medium long shot. Then a long shot re-established the space and shows Ojo entering the back of the taxi. Medium shots follow of Eddie getting piece of paper and then cut back out to a long shot of the taxi leaving the street

Editing

• The editing is infrequent at the beginning as the taxi pulls into the street, but soon builds up in pace and movement

• The seamless editing builds up when we see the landlord having a rant at Eddie through various shot reverse shots, intercutting between the two. This exchange signifies and highlights the landlords’ anger and resentment towards ethnic minorities and blames them for the demise of the area. Eddie’s representation is somewhat passive and doesn’t contribute to this xenophobic tirade of abuse towards immigrants. The cutaways of Eddie clearly demonstrate that he is not receptive to the landlord’s diatribe.

• The pace of cuts builds up when Ojo appears and enters the tax, then slows down when the taxi leaves the street

Sound

• The taxi engine can be heard diegetically as it enters the street and then pulls up to a house

• Workmen can be heard in the background knocking walls etc. which builds up the ambient, diegetic sound. The workmen are predominantly white, signifying this is a area populated by white communities.

• The landlord starts talking and over the engine/workmen ambient sound we can still hear him speak

• Through his dialogue, in terms of representation he comes across as being partially nostalgic but ultimately racist in blaming immigrants for the decline of the area

• Eddie doesn’t speak at all and just vaguely listens

• Through sound we can hear the representation of the landlord as loud, abrupt and highly aggressive towards Ojo – both physically and verbally

• Ojo doesn’t speak, his silence suggests the inability to understand English, this could be deemed a stereotypical representation of refuges/migrants etc

Mise en Scene

• The location is a red brick terraced street with most of the houses boarded up with metal shutters

• The red bricks and terraced nature represent Victorian homes from the early 1900’s in the north of the country; Liverpool, Manchester et al

• The street is depleted as no community is present this represents deprived area of a northern city where nobody wants to live

• The taxi is a brownish in colour and is a ‘hackney carriage’ this implies a career taxi driver who works full time

• In terms of representation the landlord is positioned quite negatively as he wears a black overcoat which implies autumn/winter as does the skyline and the fact he has his hands in his pockets. He also wears a black suit which could give us the connation of his sinister-ness and harsh personality, not a very nice man as black can connote evil

• He is white and middle aged with a moustache, old school northerner. He has a regional accent which also gives us the connotation that he is from the north, Manchester, Liverpool etc

• Through his posture, demeanour and dialogue he is represented as a craggy, aggressive and upset and fed up with his current situation of standing in the street waiting for Ojo to leave his house. He psychically forces ojo into the taxi and thrusts a piece of paper in front of Eddie and tells him to put it on the bill which implies that Eddie’s taxi company does quite a bit of work for the landlord or immigration services

• Eddie is represented as a slightly portly white middle aged man, with a poor dress sense due to his type of job, he seems working class

• Another part of his representation is that Eddie doesn’t respond to the landlords gripes about immigration which suggests he may not hold the same prejudiced views and thus isn’t racist

• Ojo is represented as being confused as he exits the house and doesn’t respond verbally to anyone, due to the fact the landlord called him an immigrant this could build to suggest that ojo doesn’t understand English as he doesn’t react negatively to the landlords prejudiced jibes as well

UNFORTUNATELY THE ACTOR THAT PLAYED 'OJO' JAMIU ADEBIYI PASSED AWAY SOME MONTHS AGO.  THE MANY STUDENTS I'VE TAUGHT OVER THE YEARS THOROUGHLY ENJOYED JAMIU'S PERFORMANCE IN THE STREET AND HIS UNTIMELY DEATH IS A GREAT LOSS TO US ALL.  RIP JAMIU ADEBIYI (1972 - 2011)

THE STREET by Jimmy McGovern – Series one (2006) ASYLUM