Monday, 4 February 2019
Monday, 27 August 2018
Monday, 18 June 2018
Sunday, 17 June 2018
Thursday, 10 May 2018
Scheduling for Life on Mars
Importance of crime
dramas to channel/ ratings- this is important For life on Mars to be scheduled at a
time that they are allowed to show accurate representations of crime in the
1970s because if they show it at an earlier time then they can’t show the accurate
representations, which may affect the ratings for the program as being able to
show the accurate representations may engage the target audience to the program
as they will get an accurate representation on how crime was perceived back in
the 1970s and compare it to the way that crime is perceived today.
8 X 1hr episodes on Monday nights at 9pm. Peak
viewing time. Post- watershed. After EastEnders and Outtake TV, but before the
BBC News at 10pm- This
is important to the scheduling for Life on Mars as at peak viewing time is when
most people view shows so they may view this, it’s after EastEnders son it may
catch the eye of the audience and may make them stay tuned to watch the
program. It is also before the news so that the audience may be able to see a
difference in the police force from the way that they are represented in the
show in the 70s, and the police force from today in real life situations.
Finally, it is post- watershed which means that they can include graphic
details within the show and swearing
Zoning of crime
genre at this time is standard. Sometimes stripped over a number of evenings- this is important to the scheduling
of Life on Mars as it is scheduled at the same time as many other TV crime dramas
have, meaning that the viewing figures could be high as it is the peak viewing
time. Also this show is scheduled weekly rather than over the course of a number
of evenings as each episode doesn’t follow on from the previous episode so it
would lose the audience if this scheduling was used.
Repeated April 2006 Sundays 10pm- This is important to the scheduling of Life on
Mars as it allows the target audience to freshen up on what had taken place in
the previous episode before the new episode airs on the Monday night.
BBC pure drama video
The video suggests that the BBC are
showing through the dramas that they produce all aspects of life, from being born
in Call the Midwife, to falling in love with Pride and Prejudice, and to
changing throughout life with Doctor Who. They also portray historical factors
in their dramas and to allow the audience to see how we have got to where we
are today in the most accurate representation that they can portray. The BBC
needs crime drama to engage a whole host of generations from the new
generation, and watching how crime happened back in the time that maybe their
parents and grandparents were born and how it has changed throughout the years
and the older generations that may look back on how the world was back then and
how the world is today.
Sunday, 29 April 2018
Thursday, 26 April 2018
Life on mars analysis
Life on Mars- The story so Far
1. Sam Tyler is a normal DCI in 2006
when he is hit by a car whilst chasing a criminal and ends up in a coma
2. When Sam is in the coma, he ends up
in 1973 which was the year he was born.
3. In 1973, Sam works for Manchester and
Salford police under DCI Gene Hunt.
4. During the first episode, a murder
has been committed and it is up to Sam and Gene to find the murderer.
5. Sam then returns to what his home is
in 1973 and through the TV, Sam sees the doctor that is trying to save him but
the doctor can’t hear Sam’s response and so he disappears off the screen.
6. Sam then goes to the store that he
bought his first record from and sees a piece of material that he had seen
whilst examining the body of the woman who had been killed underneath her
fingertips.
7. Sam and Gene then interview a next
door neighbour of the criminal and she says that she had called the police
about the noise but now she can’t hear anything because it’s been blocked out,
which then alerts Sam and Gene to the material and go after the criminal
8. Sam and Gene then go after the
criminal and arrest him. Then Sam sees a young boy who he recognises from his
own time as he turns out to be the criminal that they arrest in the beginning
of the episode
9. Sam is then told how he can get back
to his own time via a character who is representing the doctor
10.
Sam
then goes to the top of a building and is inches away from jumping off so that
he can return to 2006 when he is stopped as he is told that what he was told
was a mistake.
Title sequence
It starts off with Sam being hit by
the car and on the floor in 2006 and a bright colour pallet is used for the
sky.
We then see Sam looking at himself in
a car wing mirror in 1973
We then see Sam in a black leather
jacket and a beige shirt to symbolize 1973.
The voice over in the title sequence
is Sam’s voice and telling us the story about how he ended up in 1973 and if he
was mad or in a coma, which is a linguistic code for modern day.
We also iconography used when we are
shown the police station and what is looked like in 1973
The titles then come in and fades in
onto multiple screens and the title
of the show fades also fades in with the last part of the title flicking
through the years up until 1973 and then changes to the word Mars. The way that
this title sequence works is that it represents 1973 as the title is blurry and
not clear to the audience.
We are then drawn to the actors who
appear in the show and the first one that we see is John Simm, which could
symbolize that the character that he plays is the one that we go on the journey
with the most. There is also iconography used here as we see Sam with his badge
which symbolises that he’s got a high status.
We are then shown the next actor, and
we see that his character is smoking and is scruffy to symbolize the difference
between the police force in 2006 and 1973.
The next thing that we can see is the
way that the role of criminal has been stereotyped as they are represented
wearing a balaclava and pointing a gun.
We then see Sam and Gene bringing in
the criminal together to symbolize that they worked together
Title in crosshair- like a rifle
sight
Tyler framed dominantly right suited
with a tie- precise and by the book
Classic convention- 70s action music
The Accident
Tyler’s emotion is revealed by the cu
in the car of his tears. He hits the wheel and mouths expletives, revealing his
vulnerability and enabling the audience to empathise with him once more.
Diegetic sound resumes abruptly and
shockingly with the squeal of breaks as he just misses the car. The cu on the iPod
reveals low battery (foreshadowing his own “battery life”)
The parallel soundtrack is running “with
the clearest view” and as Tyler exhales, the car that knocks him down comes out
of nowhere, creating a sense of shock in the audience. There has been no
narrative set up for this.
We cut back to the BEV and there is
another canted shot of Sam lying on the floor.
Diegetic sirens and the soundtrack
are heard.
Is it a flashback? A dream? A flash
of red is seen through the trees- enigma codes and symbolic code of danger or
warning
As the heart monitor beeps, another
edit on a flash occurs on Sam’s eyes open and he sits up- suddenly in one
uncanny moment.
1973
Tyler is revealed wearing a leather
jacket and flares. As he attempts to recover, a uniformed PC with a nostalgic
helmet and 70s moustache appears. These visual codes indicate the transition in
time.
Tyler’s papers indicate that he is a
DI (demoted) from Hyde (cultural code connoting duality within personality, an
alter ego)
The camera pans up a billboard of the
Mancunian Way (coming soon), an intertextual reference to the “Lyon Estates”
billboard seen by Marty McFly in “Back to the Future” which is also yet to be built.
As the camera reveals the costumes and the cars, he catches sight of his
reflection in the wing mirror. He is evidently shocked by his costume but the
distorted image has dream-like qualities. The iconic but nostalgic police badge
implies to the audience that we are in a different era.
Cut to a bridging shot of sky
(connotations of other-worldliness) as Sam walks into shot. Again, there is a
low angle shot of police station HQ- but this time with bicycles, a lamp and
panda cars. We are clearly not in present day.
When we enter the police station we
can clearly see that it’s not the same as 2006 as there are no computers in the
office and there is a load of paperwork as that was how the police worked back
in the 70s.
We also notice that the lighting is
darker than 2006 which could imply the idea that at the time the wat that the
police dealt with crimes was more serious than today. The HQ back in 1973 also
looks claustrophobic. If we look at the police HQ back in 2006 there is a lot
more space for people and that the HQ is bright.
We can also notice that the
characters are smoking which connotes to us that at the time the police could
smoke in the office. We see this by the smoke in the air which would make the
air that they are breathing in dirty. If we look at the office back in 2006, we
can see that no one is smoking in the office and that the air is clearer.
In 1973, we can see that the characters
have a relaxed attitude to the amount of work they had to do, whereas in 2006
the characters, particularly Sam as he’s trying to catch the criminal who committed
the crime before they commit another one.
Finally, in 1973, the way that the
characters dressed was scruffy as they had their shirts untucked and top
buttons undone which could suggest that they didn’t care about their
reputation, whereas in 2006, Sam wears a suit and is smart which symbolizes
that the police care about the reputation and that they want to be treated with
respect and symbolize to the criminals that they are serious about their job.
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