Capital: Case study blog tasks

 Capital: Case study blog task:

Reviews and features

Read the following review and feature on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital

1) What positive points does the review pick out about Capital? What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel?



2) What references can you find in the reviews and feature to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?


Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:



1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

2) How does the trailer introduce the different narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?


Capital in Media Magazine

Issue 83 of Media Magazine has a feature exploring Capital as a media product. Read ‘We Want What You Have’ in MM83  (p10). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about the 'state of the nation' genre and how Capital is an example of this?

2) What does the article suggest regarding the setting of Capital?

3) What are the major themes in Capital and what does the article suggest regarding the impact of money on communities?

4) What different representations in Capital are discussed in the article?

5) What does the final section of the article suggest regarding genre and overall message of the drama?  


Capital Media Factsheet

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login) to find Media Factsheet #194 on Capital (BBC TV Drama). 

Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does the factsheet say about the characters on the first page?

2) Focusing on the industrial contexts, how does Capital help the BBC meet its obligations as a public service broadcaster?

3) What do we learn about the ownership structure for production company Kudos? 

4) How can David Hesmondhalgh's ideas in The Cultural Industries be linked to Capital and Kudos? 

5) How does the factsheet suggest Capital meets the genre conventions of crime and social realism?

6) How does the factsheet analyse the DVD packaging and what this communicates to the audience?

7) Look at page 5 of the factsheet. Choose one of the audience theories in the table and apply it to Capital.

8) What does the factsheet suggest regarding binary oppositions in Capital?  


Representations: close-textual analysis

Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.

These notes from a lesson analysing these clips will help with this element of the case study. You'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in the lesson:

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49
Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10
Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35
Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40
Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 
Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc. Feel free to use bullet points for each scene - a summary of your notes is fine.

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?


Industries and production context

Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos? What changes of ownership have there been for Kudos? This is an example of conglomerate ownership.

2) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced and for which channels? What awards have they won?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Editing blog task

HEAT:DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MANN "Heat" (1955) is a classic crime movie directed by Michael Mann. It's known for its exciting story and intense action scenes. One memorable part is the bank robbery shootout, which impresses viewers with its great camera work, sound effects, and how it affects the overall story. The visuals in the shootout are stunning, using different techniques to immerse viewers in the chaos. The lighting, with its contrast between shadows and gunfire flashes, adds tension. Quick edits and changing camera angles make the scene feel fast-paced and chaotic. Sound effects, like gunshots and screams, make the scene intense and realistic. The music gradually builds up, creating suspense and adding to the emotional impact. This scene is important for the movie's story. It not only shows off the filmmaking skills but also reveals key aspects of the characters involved. The robbers are portrayed as skilled and organized, while law enforcement officers show cou
Read more

Mise-en-scene recreation: Learner response

Mise-en-scene recreation: Learner response Create a new blogpost called ' Mise-en-scene video feedback and learner response '. Make sure your completed recreation video is uploaded to YouTube and embedded in the blogpost. 1) Type up your feedback from your teacher in full. This is a good recreation that meets the brief. Picking a school-based scene made sense and I like the way you’ve deliberately picked locations in the school to match as closely as you could to the original clip. Co-ordinating a recreation with five actors is not easy – either in organisation or camerawork! You’ve done well to recreate some of those shots effectively. In terms of mise-en-scene, there are two key aspects to learn from this experience. Firstly, costume (including shoes) communicates a huge amount about character and the shoes in your opening to the clip could have matched the original closer (which links to the stereotypes that the original film plays with). Similarly, casting and costume could
Read more

The British film industry

  The British film industry: blog tasks  Factsheet #132: British Film Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive  on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets)  to find Media Factsheet  #132  on  British Film . You can  find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login .  Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions: 1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British. The  people making the film are British, is it funded from within Britain, are the cast British, is the film’s subject matter about Britain or British culture. 2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film? The Hollywood production context means that most films made by Hollywood studios have high budgets, a heavy reliance on celebrities both in the cast and crew and spectacle driven stories.However,the independent production context films tend to have low budgets, character rathe
Read more