Analysis of 'After Child'

Analysis of BBC’S short series ‘After Child’

After child is based on a mother and sons ordeal set in 1993, and believed as a true story of a child with autism.

Mise En Scene

·         Lighting- Dull miserable day to represent sadness or confusion; red is present when Bus drives by before road incident to present danger; after beginning  credits ‘White Screen’ is present to show different scene and to show emphasis on the title or life after death.

·         Costumes Clothing- Dull colours on costume used, formal coats and other clothing to suggest sense of wealth perhaps. This is also portrayed by their housing and perhaps the father’s job as it seems relatively professional.

·         Colours- Colours used are mostly dull and boring to represent a normal day in life. The white colour after the credits co notates Life after death and a new start perhaps.

Camera Angles/Movement

·         Close ups and extreme close ups are use dint he start  and throughout to capture the detail of the child and the mothers relationship, sometimes they are used to depict surrounding characters expressions.

·         Over the shoulder shots are used in the shoe scene to show the agony and stress of the child. A pan is used when they are about to cross the road to co notate perhaps life going by.

Narrative Time

·         Subjective Time- In the start of the clip the scene Is in slow motion to capture detail and emotion in the scene, we also feel what she feels

·         Real Time before the road crossing incident a red bus is seen which co notates danger, after the incident the bus is seen again which presents real time.

Narrative Theories

·         Challenges Toldorovs theory, as the problems and issues in the clip starts from the middle of time, skipping the beginning.

·         Enigma/Action codes-These are both present as we never find out

·         Protagonist=Mother

Sound

·        Non Diegetic- Cars screeching, this is to emphasise the danger of the situation, heavy wind and breathing is also present.

·        Diegetic-Distressed, screaming sound, agony moaning and groaning. Child screams frequently.

·        Contraputanal- The non diegetic doesn’t match the original diegetic the lively piano and soft violin, is matched to a screaming child in the start.

·        Sound Bridges-As the new scene comes onto the screen, all sound from the background and on the screen is sucked out almost as if time travelled back.

Editing/Transitions/Effects

·        After opening a fly in transition of the ‘1993’ date shown on the screen so audience can contextualise.

·        There is frequent action editing that ensures the story is fast paced and emphasises the tension.

Stereotypes

·        Child-People judging the mother as being unfit as child is acting out, even though they are unaware of his disability.

Success Criteria

Success Criteria

Editing Examples

Editing examples

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Sound Anylsis-Apocalypse Now (Helicopter Attack)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vHjWDCX1Bdw

In the Helicopter scene of Apocalypse Now, there are various examples of sound which all create a dynamic effect that helps with the flow of the scene as well as making it impact the audience. In the beginning of the scene there is Diegetic On screen sound which simply means sound that matches the action happening in the film; also it is sound that we can see (People talking). In this part a conversation between soldiers is taking place.

 30 seconds into the scene we begin to see Off screen Non Diegetic sound, which is sound that cannot be seen but we still know the origin of it, during this a helicopter is covering and we hear a soldiers voice. More on screen diegetic sound is presented, at 0.50 we hear an instrument playing as the helicopters leave the base this is firstly on screen Diegetic and then moves to off screen when the camera is focused on the helicopter. In this scene parallel sound is also presented as the instrument matches the mood of the scene, as in preparation and beginning of the attack.

 Until 1.30 all we hear is helicopter noise and voices (Diegetic Sound), however from 1.30 we hear very discrete music which is parallel to the action of the scene, this is because the music suggests suspense and confusion, which I assume the soldiers would have been feeling. The effect is simply the massive suspense built while the audience would watch and the calm steady mood that would also be set. At 2.20 diegetic conversation is resumed, this breaks the suspense but also prepares the audience for the scene that is about to unfold.3.21 is a key moment in the scene as Parallel sound is presented with the famous music of the movie, it is parallel sound as the music attaches itself to the intense feelings of the characters, as well as the drama of the scene.

At 4.38 the scene switches to a school, the parallel sound has stopped and various diegetic sounds is presented from people and objects. This calms the excitement of the scene, and also shocks the audience when the intense parallel music is resumed at 5.11 which is a sudden change in sound from the calm peaceful school to the intense music being played, then at 5.39 the action begins with diegetic gunshots and other weapon sounds as the attack begins, other sound is blocked out or made discreet at this point to make the explosions etc sound harder.

07.18 The Parallel music is stopped and diegetic sound is heard from a conversation between soldiers after the first wave of the attack. At 8.05 the parallel music resumes and the action is put in place again. The second wave of the attack is in position and the parallel music matches the action in the scene as the soldiers prepare once more to eliminate the enemy, by doing this the advice would be captured by the music as ell as the action in the scene as they are matching it increases the dramatic effect of the violence.

At 9.16 all sound is slightly lowered to increase the effect of the solders screaming and pain, this is of course on screen diegetic sound. As other sound is made distort for a short amount of time, the soldiers’ pain and agony is made to be more important and increase the effect on the audience. At 13.19 off screen diegetic sound is presented as a soldier on the ground is communicated with a pilot in the plane or air crew. The reason I think it was made to be off screen, was too allow the audience to see the plane and feel the suspense.

Up until 16.20 Diegetic sound is present with various conversations and noises of planes etc., however at 16.20 music is played with personally I believe is parallel to the action as the music is energy and suspense building, it is almost preparing thru audience for the next scene. This happens until the end of the scene when at 18.02 it finishes.

Overall the sound used in the scene is amazing, it compliments all that is going on and builds suspense thought. Where I have mentioned exact timings of bits in the scene where different sound is portrayed, in between there is various Diegetic sound.

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