English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Category: Review Topic 3 (Page 5 of 5)

All In One Take

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3

After watching the first season of Broad City, the episode that stands out the most for me in terms of its visual design is the eighth episode of season 1, titled “Destination: Wedding.” Right from the beginning, the episode opens with a long sequence of Abbi, Ilana, and some friends frantically running in formal wear down a New York street, late for Abbi’s friend’s wedding in Bridgeport, CT. The opening scene continues in one uninterrupted take, and the camera frames Abbi’s and Ilana’s exhausted faces with the skyscrapers of the city. Broad City usually employs long scenes in each episode because the scene flows more naturally, so the opening scene naturally sets the storyline, and we are drawn in with curiosity to see if the group will reach their destination. It is like we as the viewers are running alongside Abbi and Ilana, making the situation more personal even if we are not physically with them.

Opening scene of “Destination: Wedding”

Another example of these natural long takes occurs within the same episode when Abbi and Ilana board a sketchy bus to Bridgeport. Although Abbi is initially relieved to be on the bus, her relief fades as she observes sick passengers, live animals on the loose, and a tank of frozen fish. The camera takes the place of Abbi’s eyes as the viewer sees the monstrosities on the bus. This perspective camera movement is used in this episode because it elevates the comedy of Abbi’s disbelief without the necessity for dialogue. Instead of hearing Abbi bicker, we as viewers can see what she sees, and subsequently understand her disgust for being on the bus. Therefore, the inclusion of long takes in Broad City, especially in episode 8, helps to make a more natural, flowing, and comfortable scene where the viewers can easily recognize the humor and emotions of Abbi’s and Ilana’s characters.

While Broad City utilizes long, uninterrupted scenes to elevate its humor, the show also uses light to solidify the realistic nature of their situation. In episode 8, the opening scene and the bus scene are normally lit with daylight, implying a passage of time as well as a tone of familiarity with the situation. Abbi and Ilana are late to a friend’s wedding, a very relatable situation to most young people. Also, the color scheme of the show does not pop with certain colors to signify a certain mood. The colors of each scene are relatively neutral, even Abbi’s and Ilana’s dresses in episode 8, because the show is trying to make the lives of these women mimic reality, along with added humor and craziness.

Overall, Broad City has a visual design that plays into the understated yet wacky comedic situations of its two protagonists, Abbi Abrams and Ilana Wexler. Whether they are late for a wedding or having a seriously improvised conversation, the cinematography and direction of each scene exude the natural, realistic atmosphere of these two women’s lives. 

Broad City title card

Knowing Corinne Brinkerhoff

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 1, Review Topic 3, Review Topic 4

As I wrote in my Intro blog, I ended up choosing ‘No Tomorrow’ because it was my sister’s advice. Since my sister has great taste, I am enjoying it so much that I cannot wait to see what is going to happen at the end of the last episode. My first impression was not that good but it has a twist and it has been better than I thought that It was going to be. The writer of ‘No Tomorrow’ is a woman called Corinne Brinkerhoff. She began working in television in 2004 and became a writer in 2006. In 2007 she became a story editor and further on, she became executivestory editor. Before ‘No Tomorrow’ , she had previously written some other TV shows, such as ‘Boston Legal’ from 2006 to 2008, ‘The Good Wife’ from 2009 to 2012, her most recently ‘No Tomorrow,’ that is based on the 2012 Brazilian series “How to enjoy the End of the World,’ among others. In between these TV shows, her second one (The Good Wife) was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for the New Series in 2010. 

Talking a little bit more about why this TV show stands out to me, I can say that every episode is a surprise. When I think that I know what is going to happen, the writer gives us something unexpected and completely new. I am excited to see what is going to happen at the end. 

Besides all of these unexpected directions that the TV show takes, she chose to add some pauses in the middle of each episode. These pauses are a completely blackout and it happens during an interesting scene when you get excited to see what is happening. It makes you curious about the way that the scene is going to take and make you watch more and more episodes.

Jessica Jones is Living in a Dark World

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3

Jessica Jones stands out from every other marvel character that I’ve seen. She has no motivation in life, lives in a dumpy apartment next to a drug addict, and often spends her nights getting wasted at crappy bars. She doesn’t even try to hide her powers very well, often using them to take advantage over someone when they have something she wants. However, she does have a heart as she chooses to stay in New York City and help rescue a captured teenage girl instead of flee half way across the globe.

Jessica Jones Meme

The first episode starts with dialogue over several quick cut scenes which give the viewers a brief overview of Jessica and what she does. But moreover, it sets the precedent for the rest of the series as a dark and gloomy setting. Almost every scene in the first episode has a dark lighting to it. Even when they are walking around the city in the middle of the day it happens to be overcast and moody. This helps add to Jessica’s character portraying her life as dark and depressing.

The majority of the first episode is quick scenes of 30 seconds to a minute with a few longer scenes of up to around 3 minutes. However, at the end of the episode there is a very long 10ish minute scene with the main bulk of the drama and plot of the episode. This is mainly due to lots of different things happening before the end of the episode which help lead in to the traumatic ending. The quick scenes are necessary because there is a lot of information the viewers need to digest in order to fully understand the very intense ending scene.

This episode in particular definitely stands out from the rest of the episodes that I’ve seen so far. The episode focuses a lot of time on changing Jessica’s character of being selfish into risking her life to save a girl. They want the viewers to understand that Jessica cares about other people’s lives, and that she is willing to risk hers to stop a villain who is constantly hurting others. Furthermore, this episode in particular has more dark scenes than the rest. This is probably because her character is already developed in the future episodes, and the show doesn’t need the darkness to contribute to her character as much.

Overall, the first episode was amazing. It introduces a very complex character and horrifying villain both with lots of backstory leaving the viewers hungry to find out more. It was put together very well and makes most people excited to go on to the next episode.

Wynonna Earp: The Bad, and The Ugly

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3, Uncategorized

Wynonna Earp does not put its best foot forward on the first episode, especially regarding the cinematography. If I could pick one word to define the cinematography of the show it would be “bland.” When it comes to how the show is shot and how it looks, Wynonna Earp does nothing to stand out from the crowd.

The way Wynonna Earp is shot is incredibly boring. This is illustrated best in how the show handles dialogue. There are, for the most part, two way the show shoots its dialogue. The first way is what I will call the “play method”. This is when dialogue is shown with a wide shot from the front which is basically what one would see if one was watching a play. This way of shooting dialogue is the most uninspired way possible. It’s how movies one hundred years ago were shot before people figured out how to movie. It’s also the same way High-schoolers do it for school projects. Plain and simple, the play method is incredibly lazy, even for TV standards.

The “play method” is dialogue shot as if the viewer were watching a play.

The second way the show shoots dialogue is the classic shot reverse shot. This is a film technique where the camera faces one direction towards a character and then the opposite direction towards another character. Most commonly, the character being filmed is the one speaking. In Wynonna Earp, whenever the dialogue is not the play method it is shot reverse shot, usually over the shoulder. With this method of shooting, Wynonna Earp succeeds in using an actual film technique. Congratulations! Unfortunately, this technique has become stale because it is so ubiquitous. However, that is not to say it cannot be innovated upon. For example, the Coen brothers are famous for filming the reaction of the character not speaking as the other character speaks. Unfortunately, once again Wynonna Earp makes no such innovations.

Shot reverse shot: One character is filmed from one direction and the second character is filmed from the opposite direction.

Overall, Wynonna Earp lacks any creativity when it comes to how the show is shot. None of the shots are original or even cool in any way. All the shots seem the same which is terrible for the show. It makes the show boring to look at, regardless of how interesting the dialogue is. Simply put, the look of the show is totally bland.

‘I really am going crazy’

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3

Sense8 is an American science fiction drama series that has an incredibly multinational cast. The beginning episodes take place in 8 different parts of the world. Amazingly, the show is filmed almost entirely on location which means that it was filmed all across the world. This is an incredible feat for the crew of the show, and it makes me appreciate it a lot more.

 

The show has 8 main characters are all linked together emotionally and physically. This means that each character has to share a lot of screen time and there are many subplots within the main one. Filming this in such a way that the audience does not get lost must have been very challenging, but they did a great job. They made this show very enjoyable to watch and very captivating so I don’t have to go crazy.

 

Longer takes with more dialogue give background into each of the respective characters lives. Contrastingly, many shorter shots are used to instill a sense of curiosity and confusion into the viewer to resonate with the confusion of the characters as they try to understand their experiences while we do. These shorter shots also tend to have a darker color scheme to symbolize the distress of the characters while portraying the thematic topic of magical realism.

 

At this point in the show the color scheme during the times that the characters interlink seems to remain stark and dull. I don’t know if this is because they seem to become connected during times of distress. If it is because they are confused and scared by the physical and emotional connections between them because it’s purpose is unknown? Or if it is simply because their connection is something bad. I don’t think it is because their connection means darkness or foreshadowing of bad events because their respective connections seems to make them stronger, more insightful, and may even represent inclusion as a whole. Regardless, the show has captivated me the whole time. Can’t wait to keep watching. 10/10 recommend so far!

-Sierra Villarreal

Why Settle For One Visual Aesthetic?

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3

First episodes are a tricky thing to get right. There’s a lot of information to unpack, so many shows’ first episodes are a bit awkward. After watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s first episode, though, I wouldn’t include this show within that category. “Josh Just Happens to Live Here!” is an engaging episode, and its cinematography and direction especially stands out. There’s major visual appeal, and not only does this stand out – this also compliments the show’s other aspects. One example of this: the color tone. The tone of the show varies from scene to scene, based on what’s happening, and this contrast of warm- and cool-looking scenes adds to the viewing experience. By seeing moments like Rachel, the show’s protagonist, first arriving in West Covina tinted with a warm tone – and Rachel’s mom berating her for moving, via-phone call, with a cool tone – we, the viewers, get a better understanding of how different scenes affect Rachel.

As you can see, Rachel is very excited to be in West Covina.

Another example of the show’s quality cinematography and direction comes from the composition of the scenes themselves. The scenes are directed in such a way that they last for as long as the director intends. Scenes that would typically feel too long, like when Rachel waits for Josh to text back, don’t drag at all, and this is thanks to effects like the superimposing of her typing her text. In contrast, any of Rachel’s awkward interactions, especially with Nathaniel at the party, appear painfully long. Besides this, the scenes also don’t feel bloated. For all that’s being introduced, most of the scenes only possess as much detail as is necessary. The best example of this is Rachel’s mom: throughout the episode, the viewer never catches a glimpse of her. All we get of her is her voice – and yet, from the dialogue she has, that’s all we need to know that she’s cold, ruthless, and ambitious. Of course, this only applies to most of the scenes. There’s one significant exception to this observation, and that’s the musical scenes.

These scenes are very elaborate, complete with choreography, costumes, and back-up dancers. There’s a lot of detail within these scenes, and this is best exemplified in how the locations and actual happenings of the scene affect the songs. A shot of the music program being cut is shown just as Rachel sings a reference to it – and later in “West Covina,” the same band plays before being forcibly stopped. The explanation-parts of “West Covina,” where Rachel justifies moving to West Covina, are set to shots of her defending herself in conversation. The rapper in “The Sexy Getting Ready Song” stops rapping after seeing the state of Rachel’s bathroom and leaves to apologize to the women “he’s wronged” (which the show kindly shows us at the end.)

If only there hadn’t been a budget cut…

Overall, the cinematography and direction in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s first episode was excellent and has left me eager for what comes next.

Jessica Jones has a Dark Past, and a Dark Show

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3

Six episodes into season 1 of Jessica Jones and I feel like I have barely scratched the surface. There is so much left to learn about the characters’ pasts, the extent of Jessica’s abilities, and the message the producers wanted to convey to the viewers. However, something that was made clear as soon as the intro sequence of the pilot episode came onscreen was this show’s visual style. Within the first minute of the first episode, it is clear that Jessica Jones will deviate from the cheerful, vibrant visuals of your typical Marvel blockbusters like The Avengers. The intro features a dark scenes contrasted with bright streaks of color on which silhouettes are depicted. And while not every scene is as somber as the opening sequence, the rest of the show echoes a new trend in television: dark and moody visuals.

The visual style of the show is one of its distinguishing features, and it is prominent in every scene. Much of the show takes place in dimly lit apartments, whether it be Jessica’s or one of her client’s. When’s she not inside, she’s interacting with a gray, gloomy New York. These visuals not only establish the scene, but are consistently setting the mood. The visuals represent Jessica’s attitude and perspective that the world is a dark, depressing place. This idea is also reinforced by recurring images of Jessica drinking alone in her apartment and of her somberly looking at herself in the mirror. Everything considered, the visuals is part of what makes this show different from mainstream TV; Jessica Jones isn’t afraid of showing you a world painted in grayscale. This, in my opinion, is one of its strengths and one of the factors that made me choose it.

See below for a series of shots from Jessica Jones‘ intro sequence that demonstrate the type of gloomy images employed by the animators.

I’m as Confused as the Main Characters — Which is to Say, Very

By

On September 11, 2018

In Review Topic 3

I had to switch from reviewing Killjoys to reviewing Sense8 due to difficulties streaming Killjoys.

Sense8 starts off at the end of a dramatic and violent story which, if it had been told, would explain the situation the main characters find themselves abruptly dropped into. As it is, the audience has only slightly more information than the 8 strangers who suddenly begin having vivid and fragmented perceptions of a violent suicide and each others’ lives.

This sense of simultaneous information overload and of lacking key information is reflected in the cinematography and direction of the show.

The main characters are often placed in the middle-ground of a set with obstacles in the foreground partially obstructing view of them. This reflects the limited perspectives the audience and the other seven glimpse of the lives of each of the 8.

Omi, one of the 8, is shown in the middle-ground of the shot. The camera pans left such that the man to whom she is speaking passes in front of her in the foreground.

The 8 are experiencing sensual overload. To reflect that, many of the settings in the show are visually crowded; featuring many vibrant colors.

Will, another of the 8, is in a drugstore. The background is completely full of vibrantly colored products.

Until the beginning of the show, each of the 8 had been living separate lives, each full of unique family and friends. To portray this, many scenes feature a large number of side characters or extras, including at one point an entire pride parade.

This entire pre-wedding celebration, which features at least 6 unique side characters and a backup dancer crew, is all backstory for a single main character.

True to its focus on vivid sensations, the show features multiple explicit sex scenes (which I will not include an example screenshot of). These contribute to the sense that each of the 8 had separate lives before they became inexplicably connected (and also necessarily involve additional side characters).

Despite having many vibrant colors, the show has a very dark lighting and color scheme. All three scenes above are shot at night, the rave lights at the celebration shown are kept to a minimum to maintain low lighting, and scenes are often so dark at first that it is difficult to make out details until more light is (for various reasons) shed on the subject of the scene. This contributes to the theme of incomplete information, as well as giving a somber mood to the show.

The show is comprised of a series of short cuts strung together, rather than longer continuous scenes. This is partly necessitated by the fact that there are 8 main characters who are experiencing things simultaneously in completely different countries. However, even when a scene lasts for a significant length of time and takes place in a single location, that scene is broken up into multiple short cuts from different angles. This gives the story a fragmented and disjointed feeling, as if it is being pieced together rather than unfolding linearly.

 

New Girl: Lights, Camera, and Dialogue!

By

On September 10, 2018

In Review Topic 3

     The visual composition of a shot in a TV show or film acts as both the frame for the elements within the literal camera shot as well as the ideas, themes, and concepts of the piece’s director; cinematography hence becomes vital in facilitating the audience’s understanding and interaction with the meaning of the show or film. In Elizabeth Meriwether’s show New Girl, the general cinematography of each scene — namely the duration of each shot, the lighting of the scene, and visual consistency between episodes — emphasizes the dialogue and interactions between the characters and grounds these characters in a believable and relatable setting.

     While cuts often mark a change or transition temporally or spatially, the quick cuts in the bulk of New Girl instead mark shifts in focus between the dialogue, emotions, and actions of certain characters to the reactions of the others in the scene. For instance, in “Wedding” (S1E3), 7 cuts between Jess, Nick, and Schmidt are made in the first 17 seconds, averaging out to be one cut every 2.4 seconds. These quick cuts, combined with the consistent setting of Nick’s room, exemplifies the purpose of the quick cuts to highlight the exchange between the three roommates, thus demonstrating the priority placed on supporting the characters’ dialogue over progressing the plot through visual storytelling.

     Similarly, the bright, even lighting of the set throughout each episode also serves to focus audience attention on the characters themselves rather than the relationship between the characters and their environments.

Nick and Jess talking, S1E4

Nick and Jess talking, S1E4

screenshots are from a scene taking place at night in Nick’s room from “Naked” (S1E4) where Jess attempts to resolve the awkwardness between she and Nick after seeing him naked, the bright. The saturated lighting in these shots establishes the focus of the scene onto Jess and Nick’s interactions. Beside just creating a clear shot for the camera, the uniformity of the lighting on the two characters also creates a sense that Jess and Nick are physically close in proximity, thus helping to resolve the crisis between the friends.

     In order to increase the relatability of the characters to a viewership as vast and diverse as the watchers of cable TV and Netflix, the cinematography and visual composition from episode to episode stays consistent in order to create a sense that the show’s characters live in the audience’s reality regardless of how crazy their actions and motives may be. For instance, the similar angles, lighting, and setting between the shots from episode 3 above and the shots from “Cece crashes” (S1E5) establishes a basis of normality and consistency in the characters’ lives, thus eliminating the need to suspend one’s disbelief when assessing their motivations and emotions.

Jess and Cece argue, S1E5

Jess and Cece argue, S1E5

     The quick cuts, bright lighting regardless of time of day or space, and consistency of shots between episodes contribute to the focus of the show on how its characters interact with one another in a humorous way while also drawing attention towards the same feelings of joy and pain of living an ordinary life.

 

Netflix. “New Girl S1:E4 ‘Naked’.” Online Video Clip. Netflix. Netflix, 2018. Web. 10          September 2018.

Netflix. “New Girl S1:E5 ‘Cece Crashes’.” Online Video Clip. Netflix. Netflix, 2018.            Web. 10 September 2018.

simpathy22. “Best of Jess | Season 1 | New Girl.” Online Video Clip. Youtube.                    Youtube, 2 March 2016. Web. 10 September 2018.

Visual Design that Fits the Protagonist: Cinematography in Jessica Jones

By

On September 9, 2018

In Review Topic 3

Jessica Jones, the character, is rather bitter, sarcastic and owns a dark personality, as revealed by the first episode of the show Jessica Jones. She often displays rudeness, foul temper, and lives alone in an apartment without a lock in the vast New York City. The cinematography of the show therefore exemplifies many dark elements, from certain dialogues to settings to color schemes, to mirror closely to her dark personality.

Jessica Jones’s Apartment

The first episode begins with a backdrop of New York City during night time, followed by Jessica Jones’s narration: “New York City may be the city that never sleeps, but it sure does get sleepy around here” while overlooking a shady part of the city. In addition to laying the foundation of her current job as an investigator, this opening scene gives a glance towards her sarcastic personality and her self-confidence due to her preference of being a night owl in such a vast and potentially dangerous city. This self-confidence begins to mold into more of self-centeredness as the viewers begin to find out that despite being an investigator and wielding superhuman powers, Jessica Jones’s main motive is to simply be able to thrive each day and keep her powers under cover over excelling in her job, even though she has managed in completing each investigation assigned.

During one of her sleepless nights, Jessica Jones leaves her apartment to pretty much stalk on other people through a balcony of a run-down building like her own apartment, appearing to be one of the side effects of being an investigator. Then, all of a sudden, a man-like figure approaches to her face then disappears instantly, sending her into what appeared as a PTSD panic. This same PTSD panic, which initially seemed very uncharacteristic of the otherwise emotionless Jessica Jones, repeats again two days later in the morning, one of the few scenes during daytime in the first episode. The imaginary man therefore appears to the viewers as some sort of villain who may not only know about her secret powers and be stronger than her but may very well have encountered her before and tortured her, as the echoing audio following each time she encounters him in her mind suggests.

Image result for jessica jones ptsd gif

Jessica Jones’s Only Weakness: Her PTSD

Finally, the first episode successfully lays the cinematographic foundation of, for the most part, all other episodes of the show, starting with the title pattern of “AKA” before its name to display Jessica Jones’s sarcasm regarding most everything. A few of the following episodes also run for nearly an hour, with several long takes to not only make each episode function like a small version of a movie, but also to center most of it around Jessica Jones, the self-centered protagonist. Overall, although the episode was rather dark for my taste, it is rather intriguing to see a female encompass a role such as Jessica Jones in television and I am certainly excited to see more of it!

New Girl: Simple Cinematography Unlike the Normal Sitcom

By

On September 9, 2018

In Review Topic 3

While watching New Girl, the show takes on the generic format of a T.V. sitcom with quick shots where the camera will shift to the character speaking. Throughout the episode, specifically during the most recent episode, “Kryptonite”, the shots would consist of the characters talking to one another, and the camera would quickly shift to the face of another to highlight their reaction to the others. The reactions of characters to each other is the main basis of comedy for this show. The quick shots are important to the show because they keep the audience engaged. In fast-moving shows like New Girl, quick and dynamic shots are important because if the camera work is not crisp, the audience is likely to get bored.

In terms of lighting, the show is very well lit. The episodes are generally colorful as Jess has a very colorful personality and it’s enhanced by the background of the shots. Specifically, in this episode, about half of the episode is shot outside which is different from the previous episode, where most of the episode took place within the apartment where all the main characters live. The color scheme of this episode was still colorful but even when the characters were outside, the colors were still a bit subdued. I believe that the colors were subdued at times to fit the theme of the episode. The episode was about Jess getting over a breakup and finding herself again and it could represent Jess losing the happy part of herself for a guy for a period of time.

The directors of cinematography and visuals of New Girl do a great job of keeping the audience engaged without being overwhelming.  This means that the cinematography is very simple

This shows how the camera shifts from one character to another

Usually, sitcoms have fake audience laughter in the background and more sound effects to enhance the show. This allows New Girl to be more simple and for the comedy to be more natural through the show. Watching New Girl has been great because it’s a simple, funny and unique T.V. show that always finds new ways to make me laugh!

Page 5 of 5

← Previous

Archives

What We’re Talking About

#1102Fem #annotatedbibliography #ENGL1102 #ENGL1102tvfem #English1102TVFem #firstblogpost #gender #genderrepresentation #georgiatech #GreysAnatomy #JessicaJones #Sense8 #televisionandfeminism #theboldtype #unbreakablekimmyschmidt #westworld #wynonnaearp 1102tvfem annotated bibliography cinematography Comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Culture english English 1102 family feminism Fresh off the Boat freshofftheboat gender representation Grey's Anatomy introduction Netflix New Girl newgirl oitnb Orange Is the New Black representation television The Bold Type theme tv women WOVEN writing

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén