Production Evaluation Notes

Level 3 Media Production

George Parkin

Date of production: Friday 19th September 2014 - Mike Hambi

Date of write up: Friday 25th September 2014

Production: SCCB NEWS

Does the product fulfill the criteria set?

I feel that our end product did succeed in fulfilling the criteria set, at the end of the session a relatively professional and well orchestrated news show was produced and performed to camera with minimal preparation and rehearsal time. The criteria set forth that a new show was to be produced and that was met but more importantly a whole series of different were completed and jobs performed in order to reach the stage where the product could be successfully recorded. I will go onto discuss the various tasks we completed during the different stages of the production process in the following section.

Production Process:

Assess and comment on the different stages of the production process:

When beginning the production process the first job we had to deal with was understanding the stories we would be presenting, a table discussion involving the whole group commenced and the diverse stories that ranged from entertainment to the environment were read aloud for the entire to hear and comment upon. 

Next we broke up into smaller groups and selected a running order. This was important  as it gave us an opportunity to converse as a group, we were given a sheet and slowly noted down what was to become our running order we numbered each item that we would present to camera: 11 news items totally 13 when including the opening credits/introduction and sign off. Further preparation included recording how long each item would take to present. Understanding the duration of each item was essential as it allowed us to gain a idea of how long our broadcast would take and allowed to adjust the speed of our reading depending on the time scale, because stories varied dramatically in length pacing became key to creating a successful product. 

Another key task that had to be performed was assigning job roles, I was assigned to reading the news in front of the camera something I am quite comfortable doing and I felt suited me well. My ability to read clearly and at speed with ease enabled me to perform my role within the group successfully. It is important to emphasis that I did not read alone but rather as part of a duo which I think worked well during the recording of the show. Next, we had to familiarize ourselves with the equipment I was not particularly involved with this as I was in front of the camera as opposed to behind it. But nevertheless the various other members of the team had to break up and take on individual roles, one person operated the camera making sure the shot was properly framed and the leveling was correct. This person also acted in something of a dual role taking on much of the responsibility of floor manager; counting down the seconds until broadcast and using a series of arm gestures to aid myself and my partner in front of the camera when it came to time to hand over a story, transition away or rap up. In addition to the jobs in the studio there were also a series of tasks to be performed in the editing room including a mock up of the title sequence, sound checks and most importantly monitoring what the cameras was capturing at any given time. During the production there were a total of three cameras operating, one on each newsreader and one further camera that was static that provided a two-shot. It was the job of the team in the editing suite to switch between the different cameras and the shots they were recording depending on who was speaking. For example, we would each reader our stories into the camera that was directly facing us, depending on who was speaking the camera on either the right or left would have to be focused on in order to capture the delivery and speech accurately, attention also needed to be paid to the static camera as that became the focal shot when both of us were speaking such as during the beginning of the segment and when we signed off. 

How did the production process affect the end result?

I think ultimately the production process was a fruitful one. One particular area that I felt went well was the read through. As a group we moved out of the green room to a quite area in the stairwell and began practicing. Although only two of us were reading this became group activity as one person used their phone to record the duration of each segment and story while the other two members of the group stood in front of us and ensured we were making eye contact when reading, this was important as unlike professional newsreaders and journalists we were not reading of a teleprompter but rather pieces of paper that were lying flat on the desk, it was important to look up into the camera and make eye contact with the would-be viewers at home. In conclusion, I think this aspect in particularly was especially productive and aided the process of creating a respectable end product massively, I am in no doubt that the end product was improved substantially due to this practice method. 

How did you work together as a team?

I felt we worked together successfully as a team and everybody had an important role to play in the production, I think as I have already mentioned the key to creating a successful dynamic was the fact that job roles were always being assigned to the individual and that individual in turn had a role to play and mandate they were obligated to fulfill. Everybody contributed which was important as one weak link would have undermined the overall quality of the product. All in all I think our team work enabled us to fulfill the criteria and product a finished product.   

How would you change or adapt the work practices of your team to enable more efficient production?

Naturally there is always room for improvement this was only our second attempt at producing a product in front of the camera. There is a number of things that could be done to enable a more efficient production but most of them simply come with greater experience and understanding of the brief. In addition to that getting to know one another better in the future is key to efficiency especially when working with somebody in front of the camera, taking note of body language and subtle gestures enables a co-anchor or co-star to recognize when one individual is done speaking and this enables a smooth transition with speaking over one another or lengthy awkward silences. The transition from story to another is something I felt we fell down on and could be improved, I will discuss this in greater detail later on. Efficiency also comes from understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the crew working behind the scenes, recognizing one persons strength as an editor is just as important as paying attention to someones disinterest in or dislike of sound mixing for instance.  

Improvement Notes:

I think on the whole we as a group worked well together, however that does not mean there is not room for improvement, one aspect I felt needed improvement were the instances when one of us had finished reading a story and needed to hand it over so whoever was currently not speaking could begin presenting their piece to camera, I felt one a couple of occasions this transition was not as smooth as it could of been. Bearing in mind however there was a total of eleven stories to present and they were split and read in a alternate fashion split ups are to be expected, however if I had to pin point one aspect that needed work it would be this. In addition to that becoming thoroughly versed in what you are about to read to camera, only minimal preparation time was available meaning I wasn't as familiar with the stories as I could of been, as always practice makes perfect. Nevertheless I persevered and this didn't become a major issue, afterall professional anchors regularly split up, mispronounce words and are unfamiliar with those they are interviewing meaning the minor stutters found in our news show are relatively insignificant by comparison. 

On a more personal note I felt my experience is creating our news show could of been improved if I had been able to observe the more technical aspects taking place behind the camera in greater detail, this is something I would like to explore in future. 

Workflow Comment: 

A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity enabled by systematic organisation of resources into processes that in the case of media organisations (be they large corporate structures or small alternate institutions) manage information. In the case of the media and more specifically news broadcasts the aim of a systematic workflow is to enable said organisation; large or small, local or transnational to collect information that has taken place and process them into a digestible understandable news segment this can be achieved through a simple method or a more complex mechanism depending on the amount of information and scale of the organisation and broadcast. Workflows may be viewed as one of the fundamental building blocks of an organisations structure. It is to be combined with other parts of a corporate or cooperatives structure these may include information technology, teams, projects and hierarchies. 

In relation to our workflow it was remarkable similar to that of any major media outlet, we began the day with a table read, discussed the stories, became familiar with them and decided what was relevant and what wasn't. We edited the stories, cut out unnecessary information, condensed them and fine tuned them. Eventually we settled on a whole host of stories that were now appropriate to read aloud, all this was achieved as part of a group sat round a table democratically discussing the issues of the day and deciding on "all the news that's fit to print," so to speak. Then we broke up into smaller groups where the workflow continued, a running order was decided, jobs assigned and tasks dived out. We also added a last minute story on Scottish Independence and this could of potentially disrupted our workflow but because we had been modeled on successful news outlets we were about to adjust to the changing circumstances we ease, it was essential we were able to do this as the media landscape is ever-changing and it is important to improvise and adapt. I felt we behaved in a fashion similar to that of real news outlets as every network from BBC to CNN to Al Jazeera has to deal with breaking news this may come in the form of a memo right before going on air that might only contain the key facts and the anchor may have to construct a speech in an off-the-cuff manner, bringing the key facts on the page into coherent prose live on air. In other instances breaking news may be received via a tablet or fed into the anchors eye live on air forcing them to abandon one story or cut short an interview because very significant has happened or a scheduled event is beginning earlier than expected such as a press conference, parliamentary debate or a United Nations assembly. Fortunately we did not have to deal with anything of this magnitude, nevertheless our story on Scottish Independence was made available after we have finalized our running order meaning last minute changes had to be made, these last minute alterations were important learning curve for us as a team as they made us aware of the stresses and strains that can come from producing a news broadcast. Even if we only gained a glimpse of what broadcasting is really like we were at least able to understand what some of the stresses, strains and difficulties are when it comes to producing live 24-hour international news coverage. 

Mise-en-scène, film language - analysis Peaky Blinders (TV Series, 2013-present)

Television Series: Peaky Blinders (2013-present)

Analysis - everything that you see and hear has been carefully selected to create meaning. An important part of media studies is exploring how this meaning is created. Mise-en-scène is a media term which means 'put in the frame', everything is in the frame for a reason, I am going to explore and analysis a short 4 minute clip from the BBC television show Peaky Blinders. 

Setting: Where/when is it set? Is it filmed on set or location? Does the setting tell us anything about the genre?

• Birmingham, England - the year is 1919.
• The majority of the series was not filmed on location in Birmingham - Bradford, Dudley, Leeds and Liverpool were all used for filming, some scenes however were shot on location in the second city. Railway sequences were filmed between Keighley and Damems, carriages used were leant to the production from the railway trust, museums and other historical bodies.
• The clip features many of the stables of Birmingham life and culture such as back-to-back houses, heavy industry (Birmingham is known as the city of a thousand trades and the workshop of the world) including ship building specifically narrow boats to be used on Birmingham's vast network of canals.
• Other industries beside ship building are seen during the clip such as steel works and furnaces.
• The heavy industry found in Birmingham at this time is reflected by the smokey atmosphere, the chimneys bellowing smoke and gas into the streets as well as the combustion and flames seen taking place inside the furnaces and work regularly spilling out into the streets.
• The series also accurately includes the hustle and bustle of Birmingham's vibrant Chinatown district that still exists to this day.
• In preparation for the second series of the show auditions were held in the Digbeth area of Birmingham (near where parts of the series is set) for white and mixed race teenage male extras, resulting in lengthy queues.
• Much of the second series takes place in London and features the gang expanding their operations in the capital, this change of setting will warrant new sets and a variety of new filming locations.

Conclusion: The setting itself does indeed tell us a lot about the genre (historical crime-drama) the series is set at a time (the end of the First World War) when men returning home from war could use their skills acquired on the battlefield to further their careers in the criminal underworld, including the use of firearms and hand-to-hand combat. Furthermore the series takes place at a time when urban deprivation was high, the welfare state was almost non-existent, workers rights were negligible and capitalist exploitation was rife; this explains why so many men descended into the cities criminal underbelly. Beside the economic downturn faced by most of Europe after the First World War there is also a different story to tell. In the United States the post-war era during the 1920s was an era of boom and prosperity; the Roaring Twenties as it was known. Despite sustained economic prosperity, jazz music, motion pictures and women's suffrage the era is best remembered for organised crime specifically relating to the prohibition of alcohol. This comparison to what was happening in the United States at the time is applicable to the Peaky Blinders. Many critics have favourable compared the show to other high-end US drama series such as Boardwalk Empire, which shares many of the themes and historical context.

Props: What props have been included? Do they tell you anything about the setting or genre? Connotative meaning?

• One of the most significant props seen in the short clip is the horse. Firstly the animal tells us much about the setting, we are immediately made aware of the times if the series was set in the present day you would not see a man riding a horse, except for recreation. It is immediately clear that Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is riding a horse at a time when doing so was commonplace. The idea of a workhorse congers up images of industry once again. For centuries horses were one of the most important tools of industry they would be used to power machinery before electricity or diesel engines were available, they worked in agriculture pulling ploughs and also towed narrow boats like the ones we see being constructed in the clip.
• In addition to that the horse also informs us about the genre, this is a crime series where the gang in question use illegal gambling specifically fixing horse races. In the beginning of the clip we see Tommy Shelby exploiting the ignorance of the working class in order to trick them into betting on his horse that is destined to win, he convinces them by having a Chinese girl use mysticism and magic to bless the horse and enable it to win, in reality this is an elaborate con job where the horse is front a centre.
• The lack of technological progress and the post-war timeframe is not only represented through the use of the horse, but also through the setting (which I have already discussed) and costumes (which I will go onto talk about later in this piece)

Lighting: Natural or Artificial? Where is it coming from? Intensity? Shadows? What atmosphere is created?

Casting: Who is playing each role? Is there any significance to these choices?

• Main Cast:

• Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby
• Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor from County Cork, this is significant because it could point to the Shelby family having Irish roots, nevertheless Murphy performs the role with a Birmingham accent making it clear if his character is Irish it is merely ancestral as opposed to him being a first-generation Irish immigrant as incidentally many were in Birmingham at this time.
• Murphy has established himself as a presence in both British and American cinema ever since making his debut in his country of birth in the late 1990s.
• Murphy is not what is traditionally considered "Hollywood" mainly due to his rejection of being a celebrity actor. He does not have a stylist or publicist and travels without an entourage. He rarely attends premieres and when he does he is often alone, the same goes for chat shows, when he does make a rare appearance he doesn't talk about his personal life and is somewhat reserved. Nevertheless he is still an extraordinarily high-profile actor especially when it is considered that this is a small BBC series. His filmography includes extensive work with Christopher Nolan on the Batman trilogy were he plays Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, he also worked on Inception and with Nolan's long-time cinematographer Wally Pfister on his directorial debut Transcendence. On the surface the array of critically acclaimed blockbusters, science-fiction thrillers and comic-book adaptations may not suit him to a role in a period crime-drama. However, work on "urban western" Perrier's Bounty, a crime-comedy thriller and Hippie Hippie Shake were he plays Richard Neville, editor of the Australian satirical magazine Oz, amidst the 1960s counterculture as well as his work with Ken Loach on The Wind That Shakes the Barley, a film set during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1922) and the Irish Civil War (1922-1923) have more than proved he is indeed suitable to play the role of gangster Tommy Shelby.

• Helen McCrory as Aunt Polly Elizabeth Gray, née Shelby.
• Helen McCrory is a seasoned English actress who has made regular appearances on television, film and stage since the early 1990s. 
• McCrory is a familiar face in some of Britain's biggest film productions. She has appeared in the 2004 film Enduring Love, based on the novel of the same name by acclaimed writer Ian McEwan. In 2009 she played Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a role she went onto reprise twice in the final two installments of the series. More recently she played Clair Dowar MP in the most recent James Bond film Skyfall.
• McCrory is well versed when it comes to playing real people. She played barrister and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the 2006 film The Queen and reprised the role again in 2010 for the television film The Special Relationship. In 2007 she played Ann Radcliffe an English author and pioneer of the Gothic novel in the historical biographical film Becoming Jane, which depicts the life of Jane Austen. Early in her career she played Freya von Moltke in the 1996 television movie Witness Against Hitler, Moltke was a German dissident and participant in the anti-Nazi resistance group, the Kreisau Circle.
• McCrory also has track record for appearing in historical dramas. In 2000 she played the titular character in the four-part BBC mini-series Anna Karenina based on Leo Tolstoy's novel of the same name. In 2003 she played Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine opposite her future Peaky Blinders co-star Charlie Creed-Miles in Charles II: The Power and The Passion. In 2011 McCrory appeared in Martin Scorsese's Hugo portraying Jeanne d'Alcy one of the earliest French film actresses and wife of cinema pioneer Georges Méliès portrayed in the film by Sir Ben Kingsley.
• When all of these factors are combined it becomes clear Helen McCrory is perfect for a role in the historical crime drama series the Peaky Blinders. She is seasoned British actress and thoroughly experienced when it comes to historical dramas portraying both real and fictional characters. Furthermore her experience on some of Britain's biggest film franchises (James Bond, Harry Potter) as well as notable BBC dramas such as Doctor Who mean McCrory is talented and recognizable, to this day she remains a prominent actress who continues to portray historical characters in period film and television such as Mary Kay in 2014's Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This and Queen Elizabeth I in the upcoming film Bill. The casting of such an actress can only be good for the series as many of her fans will surely tune in to watch her on screen every week.    

• Sam Neill as Chief Inspector C.I. Chester Campbell
•  Sam Neill like Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor, Murphy is from the Republic of Ireland while Neill was born  in Northern Ireland. However, Neill is an interesting case as he may have been born in County Tyrone, he  was in fact raised in New Zealand, currently he holds British, Irish and New Zealand citizenship. He says he primarily identifies as a New Zealander having moved there from Northern Ireland in 1954. To this day he resides in Queenstown, New Zealand. 
• Neill is an international actor active in New Zealand, British and South African productions. Over the last twenty years he worked extensively in the Australian film industry with such as Death in Brunswick, My Mother Frank and The Hunter. Perhaps his best known film produced outside of the United States is the joint New Zealand-Australian production The Piano, a film that won multiple Academy Awards. 
• Despite his extensive work outside of the United States Neill is still considered a Hollywood leading-man and has been for sometime. In 1993, he starred as Dr. Alan Grant in what became the highest-grossing film of all time, Jurassic Park and went onto appear in Jurassic Park III, the third installment in 2001. Other high profile film roles include Omen III: The Final Conflict, Dead Calm and The Hunt for Red October. 
• Throughout much of his career Neill has balanced his work on film with numerous television roles, his appearances on the small screen are regular and date back to the 1980s. Notable examples include 1983 mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies, the 1998 mini-series Merlin and a ten-part role in the Tudors in 2007. 
• Neill enlisted the help of Northern Irish actors James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson to help him perfect a Northern Irish accent for the role of C.I. Campbell. In the end, he had to tone the accent down since the series is being marketed in the United States.

• Charlie Creed-Miles as Billy Kimber
• Creed-Miles is an English actor who primarily appears in British films in supporting roles, unlike Murphy or Neill he does not enjoy the same level of international prestige. 
• In comparison to the other actors and actresses I have talked about previously Creed-Miles' filmography is limited - he has made extensive appearances on television, many times appearing for just one episode. 
• Creed-Miles is recognized for appearing in a series of British gangster films such as Essex Boys, Nil By Mouth, Harry Brown and Wild Bill.
• Creed-Miles extensive work in the crime genre make him suitable for a role in the Peaky Blinders, a series that revolves around organized crime and contains scenes of strong blooded and highly stylized violence. 

• Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby Jr.
• Paul Anderson is a English actor and much like Creed-Miles is relatively unknown to the general public, he has made a number of appearances in British film and on television.
• It can be said that it is his past roles that have made him an appropriate casting choice for the Peaky Blinders. His television roles include playing Gordon Goody a member of the gang that pulled of the Great Train Robbery, in the two-part BBC television film of the same name. Anderson's roles as criminals are not consigned to historical crime dramas but rather extend across the board, in the same year he appeared in Channel 4's drama Top Boy. Set on the fictional Summerhouse estate in Hackney, the series follows the lives of a group of people involved in drug dealing and street gangs. 
• In regard to film appearances Anderson has worked extensively with director Nick Love who is well known for producing gritty urban crime films such as The Football Factory, The Business and Outlaw. Anderson has appeared in Love's last two films The Firm and The Sweeney. The former which came out in 2009 is a film based around football hooliganism and is a remake of the original 1989 version. The latter which came out in 2012 was inspired by the 1970s British police drama series of the same name. Besides playing hooligans and criminals in Nick Love films Anderson has gone onto appear in more high-profile films such as Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in 2011, where he plays one of Professor Moriarty's henchmen.
• Anderson on the whole is known for playing dangerous, charismatic and often psychotic criminals meaning he is well suited for a role in the Peaky Blinders. 

• Tommy Flanagan as Arthur Shelby Sr. (Recurring)
• Tommy Flanagan is a Scottish actor originally from Glasgow. He is a star of both television and film, although primarily known for appearing in small British films, in recent years he has become better known internationally appearing regularly in American drama series. 
• Flanagan began his career in a similar way to other Scottish actors namely Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner and Peter Mullan by appearing on detective/police procedural drama series Taggart.     
• Some of Flanagan's famous roles in British films include Plunkett & Macleane opposite Robert Carlyle, Alan Cumming and Michael Gambon in 1999 and in the same year Ratcatcher by Lynne Ramsay. In 2001 he was directed by Peter Capaldi in Strictly Sinatra. 
• Flanagan's breakout role was 1995's Braveheart and since that time he gone onto appear in many major Hollywood movies, albeit often in small bit-parts. Such as, Face/Off, Gladiator and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In recent years his profile in Hollywood has been raised somewhat and he has been appearing more prominently in big-budget productions such as 2004's science fiction action film Alien vs. Predator, 2005's neo-noir action thriller anthology Sin City and 2006's crime drama Smokin' Aces, returning for the 2010 prequel Smokin' Aces 2: Assassin's Ball. 
• Flanagan's U.S. television work is what has him notable over the last decade or so, he has appeared in a series of high-profile dramas. Transitioning away from British television shows like Taggart, Rebus and Rab C. Nesbitt before appearing in 24, Lie to Me, Detroit 1-8-7 and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. 
• Overall his best known role began in 2008 on the FX television drama series Sons of Anarchy, a show that centers around the members of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club. Flanagan plays Filip "Chibs" Telford. He is nicknamed "Chibs" because of his facial scars. ("chib" is Scots slang for a knife or blade). The distinctive facial scars that Flanagan sports in Sons of Anarchy are real and are known as a Glasgow Smile. They are the result of a knife attack outside a nightclub where he had been working as a disc jockey. 
• Putting Flanagan's sinister appearance aside he is known onscreen for playing dangerous criminals, over the years he has appeared as hit-men, arms dealers and henchmen making him a suitable choice for a role on the historical crime drama series the Peaky Blinders. The seventh and final series of Sons of Anarchy has already premiered, once it concludes it would be advisable to upgrade Flanagan's character Arthur Shelby Sr. to a regular cast member, seeing as his career is going from strength to strength it is better to snap him up sooner rather than later.      

• Tom Hardy as Alfie Solomons (Season 2)
• Tom Hardy is an English actor, appearing in both film and television. He is by far and away the most significant actor to appear in the Peaky Blinders. Hardy is what can be described the cream of the Hollywood crop. His A-list status trumps that of Sam Neill and even the series lead actor, Cillian Murphy. 
• Hardy like his co-star Murphy is a seasoned actor, having worked with Christopher Nolan on two occasions, in 2010 on Inception and again in 2012 when he played supervillian and main antagonist Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Bane is considered one of Batman's most physically and intellectually powerful foes. He is often credited for being the only villain to have "Broken the Bat."
• Hardy's career itself began with him playing though characters in physically demanding roles; his first film was 2001's Black Hawk Down, a film that chronicled the events of the 1993 raid on Mogadishu by the U.S. military aimed at capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid and the battle that ensued.
• Hardy went onto establish himself as leading-man material. In 2004 he starred opposite Daniel Craig in the British crime thriller Layer Cake. He has since gone onto appear in other British gangster films such as the 2008 crime film RocknRolla that written and directed by Guy Ritchie. The same year he made memorable turn in the film Bronson. The film, a fictionalized biographical psychological drama film co-written and directed by Nicholas Winding Refn and starring Tom Hardy as the titular character. The plot surrounds the life of notorious prisoner Michael Gordon Peterson, who was renamed Charles Bronson, star of the Death Wish film series, by his fight promoter. Born into a respectable middle-class family, Peterson would nevertheless become one of the United Kingdom's most dangerous criminals and is known for having spent almost his entire adult life in solitary confinement. In 2012 he starred in Lawless, a film that explores the lives of the Bondurant brothers: Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf), who made and sold moonshine in Franklin County, Virginia during the Prohibition era. This year he starred in American crime film The Drop, the film marked the late James Gandolfini's final appearance in a feature film. Singled out in particular for considerable praise were the performances of Hardy and Gandolfini. 
• Hardy continues to appear in high-profile blockbusters outside of the crime genre, in 2011 he starred opposite Joel Edgerton in the sports drama film Warrior, about two estranged brothers whose entrance into a mixed martial arts tournament forces them to come to terms with their past and each other. The same year he appeared as Ricki Tarr in the Cold War espionage film Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, based on the 1974 novel of the same name by John le Carré. He appeared alongside other heavyweight Brit actors such as Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Graham, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Roger Lloyd-Pack and Kathy Burke.    
• A versatile actor and never one to be typecast Hardy appeared in the 2012 romantic comedy spy film This Means War, opposite Chris Pine and Reese Witherspoon. This continues a trend he began early in his career, examples include appearances in the 2006 historical drama film Marie Antoinette and the 2007 disaster film Flood. 
• The addition of his character to the Peaky Blinders is not a new turn for Hardy, over the past decade or so he has made regular appearances on television, this began in 2001 the same year he made his first film; appearing on the ten-part World War II miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. In 2007 he appeared as Bill Sikes in the BBC miniseries Oliver Twist, a television adaptation of the Charles Dickens' novel of the same name. In 2009 he appeared as Heathcliff in the ITV two-part television serial adaptation of the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. These roles are particularly significant for a number of reasons, firstly both are well known historical texts, the latter being published in 1847. Working with texts of this nature, especially in a lead role like Heathcliff should have more than prepared him for a role in the Peaky Blinders which albeit historical is set much later, getting on for a century in fact meaning difficulties or differences with the English used would be minimal but nevertheless something he was well accustomed to dealing with. Another reason these roles are significant is the types of characters he played, take the former Bill Sikes - he is one of Dickens' most vicious characters. He is a violent and aggressive career criminal prone to sudden outbursts of rage, culminating in the brutal murder of his prostitute girlfriend Nancy. There is without equivocation similarities that can be drawn between Hardy's portrayal of Bill Sikes some years ago and his current role as a violent criminal on the Peaky Blinders. In fact Oliver Twist itself is comparable to the Peaky Blinders as both are notable for their unromantic portrayal of criminals and their sordid lives.  
• In fact Dickens' book is an early example of a social novel, calling the public's attention to various contemporary evils, including child labour, the recruitment of children as criminals and the presence of street children. Dickens mocks the hypocrisies of his time by surrounding the novel's serious themes with sarcasm and dark humour. In a way the Peaky Blinders does a similar thing letting us see Birmingham in all its filthy glory, the cities criminal underbelly is in no way concealed. Moreover, the writers regularly juxtapose different themes such as showing a bustling and vibrant industrial city that is nonetheless home to those who live in crippling poverty and destitution. Highlighting the problems of the time such as inequality, corruption as well as declining living standards and the flaws in the capitalist system the writers of the Peaky Blinders could be said to be making a comment on modern Britain as these problems have not only failed to disappear but are arguably getting worse. 
• It is worth mentioning that Hardy's decision to return to television means in no way that his star is dimming, in fact he has got some his most exciting work yet lined up to be released in the next year or so. Currently in post-production is the crime-drama/thriller film Child 44, based on the 2008 novel of the same by Tom Rob Smith, the plot surrounds MGB Agent Leo Demidov, who investigates a series of gruesome child murders in Stalinist Russia. Tom Hardy is set to star opposite Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman,Vincent Cassel, Noomi Rapace, Jason Clarke and Paddy Considine. Another Hardy film is the upcoming British crime thriller Legend, which deals with the rise and fall of the Krays. Hardy is to take on a dual role, portraying both Ronald and Reginald Kray, twin brothers and gangsters who were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London during the 1950s and 1960s. Currently Hardy is filming western thriller The Revenant. Set in the 19th century, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) a fur trapper and frontiersman is mauled by a bear while hunting. His companions (Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson and Tom Hardy) rob him and leave him to die, but he survives and sets out to get revenge on the men who betrayed him. In recent times this is one of the first supporting roles Hardy has taken on. Finally, he will star as Max Rockatansky in Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth installment of the Mad Max franchise, scheduled for release in 2015.            

• Benjamin Zephaniah as Jeremiah Jesus (Recurring)
• If Tom Hardy is the most significant actor to appear in the Peaky Blinders then Benjamin Zephaniah is the most unique, or perhaps unusual actor to feature during the programs run.
• Unlike all of the previous people I have mentioned Zephaniah bucks the trend, not only because he is primarily known for other things but rather because he acts so infrequently many do not realise he does it at all, his role on the Peaky Blinders is the first in its kind for him. 
• Zephaniah is notably a writer, dub poet, lyricist, musician and Rastafari. 
• Another notable fact about Zephaniah is the fact he is a Brummie. None of the actors I have mentioned previously are from Birmingham but Zephaniah on the other was born and raised in Handsworth, an inner-city, urban area. When talking about Handsworth he called it the "Jamaican capital of Europe". 
• Zephaniah writes poetry that is strongly influenced by the music and poetry of Jamaica and what he calls "street politics". His first performance was in a church when he was eleven and by the age of fifteen, his poetry was already known among Handsworth's Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities. He received a criminal record with the police as a young man and served a prison sentence for burglary. Tired of the limitations of being a black poet communicating with black people only, he decided to expand his audience and headed to London at the age of twenty-two.  
• Zephaniah has said his mission is to fight the dead image of poetry in academia, he aims to take poetry everywhere, to people who do not read books even turning poetry readings into concert-like performances utilizing his skills as a showman, performance artist and musician to communicate his ideas especially to young people. 
• His inclusion in the Peaky Blinders and his character can on some level be described as comic relief, a stock-character found in all sorts of productions and used to lighten the mood, however when you dig a little deeper you begin to realise he has a much more significant role to play than that. He is included because he is a personification of Birmingham, a celebrity nationwide but inside Birmingham he is something else, held in high regard especially among disenfranchised minorities. He is to put it simply one of the cities favorite sons and therefore his inclusion in a series that rests so heavily on Birmingham and its districts from Digbeth to Small Heath, is not only unsurprising but difficult to imagine without. 
• When you look at the extensive filmography of the likes of Cillian Murphy or Tom Hardy you are hard stretched to imagine why such A-list actors would be interested in a small BBC series set in Birmingham, in contrast when you look at Benjamin Zephaniah's filmography (without being familiar with his writing, poetry and Birmingham background) you are pushed to understand why he was cast in such a prominent role.  
• His first appearance on television was in 1988 on an episode of The Comic Strip Presents..., the show itself was a series of self-contained TV films starring performers from London's "Comic Strip" comedy club and their friends. The show was noted for its parodies of prominent films and literature. The series was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternate comedy scene and starred an array of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. The core members of the Comic Strip are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Alexi Sayle, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and others.     
• He didn't make another acting appearance for a further two years; eventually in 1990 he reappeared in the obscure French drama film Farendj, opposite Tim Roth.
• His next role wasn't until four years after that, in an episode of The Bill. In the 1994 episode King of the Hill Zephaniah was credited as Vagrant. 
• Two after that he appeared in one episode of the 1996 television mini-series Crucial Tales. That was the last acting appearance Zephaniah made until his role on the Peaky Blinders in 2013, a total of seventeen years elapsed between roles and the Peaky Blinders is the first time Zephaniah has appeared on the same show for more than one episode. 
• Despite his limited acting appearances Zephaniah makes regular appearances on television, he has appeared on Question Time six times over the past thirteen years. He has appeared on This Week, Mastermind and Democracy Now! In 2005 he wrote and starred in a one-off documentary entitled A Picture of Birmingham.
• Many of his poetry readings and performances are recorded and available online, he makes regular appearances at Poetry Live! for GCSE.
• Once again I will mention the fact that Zephaniah's presence on the Peaky Blinders seems strange and somewhat out of the blue, but it can nevertheless be accounted for. Essentially he is playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself, only in a different era. Without him quintessential aspects of this Brummie series would be lost. 

Costume and Make-up: What are the characters wearing? Does this tell us anything about the characters, relationships between them, the setting? Is one colour more prevalent than others? What effect does this have?

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Movement: What does body language and movement tell us about characters' emotions? What kind of atmosphere is created?

• In the beginning of the clip before have established anything about the titular Peaky Blinders or the Shelby family, we see a variety of Chinese immigrants frantically making their way through the cities bustling Chinatown district; when her father tells another elderly Chinese man that "They have asked for her." The look on his face is that of sheer incredulity. The frantic movements the father saying "Hurry up. Or they will kill us all." clearly demonstrates how fraught the situation is, the sense of turmoil and impending doom is profound. Who has summoned them? Why must they leave in such a hurry? All we know is the atmosphere is tense; these people are clearly intimidated but it is also made clear that this is something the pair must do, the young girl hands the baby she is holding to another young Chinese girl this is clearly an altruistic act as she must protect the child from the undesirables with whom she is about to meet.
• When Tommy Shelby first rolls up on his horse the atmosphere is similar to what we have already seen in Chinatown, only here the people are less frantic and more subdued. The way they scatter behind walls, into houses and down alleyways when Shelby arrives is indication that this is a regular occurrence, if everybody does as they are supposed to then everything will be okay we assume. Nevertheless the body language and movements of the people on the street tell us a lot, they are impoverished and broken down. The way they skulk away when Shelby arrives indicates they are not looking to complicate their already miserable lives, nobody can really imagine the hardship these people have had to endure and the trouble they've seen. 
• Certainly when Shelby arrives via horseback the atmosphere changes and becomes more tense but the general sense of melancholy in the air is to be expected, the peasantry are miserable and this understandable, they are downtrodden, victims of gangsterism, police brutality, corruption and the unconscionable capitalist machine that works them to death and keeps them poor.
• Perhaps the sharpest contrast in the entire clip is that between gangland boss Shelby and the great array of panic immigrants and the huddled unwashed masses. You see, when Shelby comes riding in he is the equivalent of the Lone Ranger, an outlaw, a bandit. The horse he rides symbolises power, but the way the horse moves when he is riding it is indicative of his character, it's commanding but at the same time controlled, calm and measured. 
• The idea that Shelby is able to control the movements of his horse without a saddle and with such ease just reinforces the power that he wields, in parts he only has one hand on the reigns this in particular highlights what a dominant force he is, not even the horse - a powerful and unpredictable creature - is willing to step out of line. 
• His overall body language is relaxed, he knows where he's going, he knows the neighborhood, he commands respect no matter where he is. 
• When Shelby shouts regarding his tip for the horse the movement of the streets dwellers changes, they can be seen stiffening up, if only for a second. This is because they do not know what is going happen next, what is Shelby planning, what is he going to announce? He is in total control of this situation and is keeping them in the dark; hence why they flinch when Shelby raises his voice. Their is a sense of dread, a fear of the unknown.
• Later as Shelby rides off from his meet with the Chinese and proceeds down past the industrial heartlands we see the movements of the people change once again, people move out of the way of his horse and others begin tipping their hats to Shelby; a cultural expression well understood as a sign of respect, recognition and gratitude. 
• At this point we also see Shelby's movements change; he leans down off the side of his horse to put some spare change into the tin of a group of blind men, this is particularly interesting; this is something he didn't have todo, in fact he went out of his way to give the men money and the reason for this is because Shelby is probably trying to foster a sort of Al Capone like image for himself. In his day Capone reveled in the attention, such as the cheers he got when he appeared at ball games, he also made donations to various charities and was viewed by many to be a "modern-day Robin Hood." Shelby is clearly going for a similar image and this is further reinforced moments later when the two policemen tip their helmets and say; "Morning Mr Shelby." The idea of protection and alliances when engaging in blatant gangsterism and criminality is key, as violence and intimidation can only take you so far. Capone received political protection through the Unione Siciliana. The organisation later renamed the Italian-American National Union was a Sicilian-American (and after generally Italian-American) fraternal organisation which was rumored to have controlled much of the Italian-American vote in the United States during the early twentieth century. He also enjoyed mutually profitable relationships with Mayor William Hale Thompson and the city's police. We can assume Shelby has made similar alliances with law enforcement, but the way they address him also implies respect, something that cannot be attained merely through bribes, it's clearly Shelby manages his criminal empire by finding a balance between reward and punishment. Make the people scared of you naturally even make the police aware of your violent ways if you have too but all the while remembering that when you buy people off they have something to lose themselves if you are brought down. This not only incentivises people not to talk but actually makes Shelby's survival as a crime boss advantageous for all.  

Diegetic Sound: Describe voices of characters, sound made by objects within the frame. What do they add to the meaning of the scene?

• During the opening scene in Chinatown we see and hear Chinese characters speaking what is most likely Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin, Putonghua and Guoyu, it is the sole official language of both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan, although it is possible they are speaking another foreign language. Nevertheless, this is an important instance of Diegetic sound; it reinforces the idea that these people are first-generation immigrants. This contributes a lot to the series as it presents a more realistic portrait of Birmingham in the early 20th century, having the Chinese actors speak English would of been too simplistic and taken away from the atmosphere, after all the writers and directors are trying to present Birmingham accurately and it was indeed a buzzing metropolis teaming with Afro-Caribbeans, Irish immigrants and everything in between. This means the different languages we hear throughout the series gives weight to the idea that this is an authentic historical drama.
•  When it becomes to Diegetic sound you can't discuss foreign languages in detail without getting drawn into the issues of accents, this issue is especially important when it comes to the Peaky Blinders. When I discussed the casting choices I clearly established that very few of those who appear in the series are actually from Birmingham this means that many of the characters put on Birmingham accents, you can hear this when Shelby speaks from his horse in the clip above but it is a relatively steady principle that is maintained throughout much of the show; by this I mean much of Shelby family and many of Tommy's criminal associates perform accents for their roles on the show.
• This fact was relatively steadfast for season one but has changed slightly as a considerable amount of the action of season two takes place outside of Birmingham, specifically moving down south to London necessitating new actors with new accents.
• It's worth noting that the reception to the accents used in the show especially the Birmingham ones have been mixed to say the least:
• http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/peaky-blinders-creator-steven-knight-7808392
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29307916
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-2394813/BBCs-Peaky-Blinders-The-good-bad-Brummie-Cillian-Murphy-heads-starry-cast-dark-new-BBC-drama-But-real-star-Take-bow-Birmingham.html
• http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts/television/9025461/brummie-james-delingpole-rubbishes-the-bbcs-acclaimed-peaky-blinders/
• As I mentioned before Sam Neill is one of the better-known New Zealand actors, needed help when it came to perfecting his Northern Irish accent for series; to help him with the role of C.I. Campbell Neill enlisted the help of Northern Irish actors and friends James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson. In the end, he had to tone the accent down considerably since the series was being marketed in the United States.
• After the opening scene which takes place in Chinatown there is a cut; then we fade in from black, before we see Shelby or the horse on which he rides we can hear the sound of the horses hoofs, clip-clopping against the ground. This is a significant sound within the frame and adds meaning to the scene. In fact, it reinforces an idea I discussed earlier that Shelby is the Lone Ranger; the lawless and corrupt times in which he lives are comparable to the Wild West and he is in this highly stylized and sometimes cartoonist world a 20-century cowboy. The stylish cinematography, charismatic performances and film star leads are all compounded in this fast-paced tale of criminality, it doesn't really matter whether or not the real Peaky Blinders rode around on horses that stomped their hoofs, what matters is symbolism and the horse itself combined with the small touches like the Diegetic sound of the horses hoofs immediately symbolize for us who Shelby is and that's whats important.
• Another small instance of Diegetic sound adding meaning to the scene is when the breathing of a small child can be heard after the residences of the street scatter and hide from Shelby, this simply aims to raise the tension - we the viewer at this point have next to know idea what is going on, who is this feared and respected man and what is he doing on this squalid street, is there going to be a fight? A deal? The point is we know as little as the characters on the street and the reason the small boys breathing in particular is raised and emphasized is because he is frightened  and we the viewer should be too.
• Moving away from languages, accents and the general description regarding the voices of the characters, I am now going to discuss some of the Diegetic sounds within the clip that come not from humans but rather inanimate objects.
• When Shelby rides into the street and its residents quickly move out of sight there is a few moments of silence before the Chinese pair arrive; the tension is raised once in this as a almost ghoulish icy wind can be heard in the background, not howling, not overdone and only audible for a few seconds but nevertheless significant. It simply seeks to reinforce the tension, heighten the mood and set the tone for some kind of potential showdown. 
• When the young Chinese girl blows the reddish-orange powder/potion from her hand so that it floats through the air toward the horse there is almost the exact same sound created by her exhaling as there is when the silence was interrupted by a brief gust of wind. This is all part of the shows highly stylized format. What with the fleeing residents, a cold wind blowing in and an eerie silence we the viewer were set for a showdown, a confrontation at best and violence at worst but this is turned on its head, the blowing of the powder and the casting of the spell is shown to be the real event so it is book-ended by the same sound effect, in a sense this should relieve the viewer as nothing else untoward is going to transpire but nevertheless the current events unfolding onscreen are peculiar to say the least.
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industry

accents discuss sam neill

Mise-en-scène, film language - analysis The Shining (1980)

I have chosen a clip from Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror film The Shining starring Jack Nicholson and will now provide an analysis of the mise-en-scène, the clip that I am writing about is embedded above. 

Film: The Shining
Release: 1980
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Jack Nicholson
Length of clip: 2:41

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Costume: Jack Nicholson's character Jack Torrance is dressed in a reasonably smart manner; jacket, jeans, plaid shirt, nothing out of the ordinary. This is how writer/caretaker Jack Torrance is presented throughout much of the film, a down-on-his-luck "everyman". This is contrasted sharply with the Jack we see in the clip above, by the time this scene takes place in the film his descent into madness is complete and his everyday appearance is starkly contrasted by his dishevelled look, a cut on his head from being struck by a baseball bat, limping and hunched over from a fall down the hotels stairs and of course wielding an axe.

When it comes to Shelley Duvall's character Wendy Torrance she is seen in this clip wearing her dressing gown, you could argue that this highlights her vulnerability, she is at her new found home, the Overlook Hotel, holed up during an intense winter the environment is desolate and she is isolated, from other people in terms of geography and from her husband mentally. Despite all of the potential threats (running out of food, an avalanche, a medical crisis involving her son) the threat that actually presents itself comes from within, from her deranged husband and the dressing gown only stands to highlight how unprepared and vulnerable she truly is, meanwhile, the final character in the scene Danny Torrance played by Danny Lloyd is scene in a colourful woolly jumper this conveys not only how cold and windswept the location is but also emphasises his age; he is a young boy and young boys wear colourful jumpers, it could almost have been knitted by his grandmother. 

Setting (1): The set for the Overlook Hotel was then the largest ever built at EMI Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, Britain. During production a life-size recreation of the exterior of the hotel was built at Elstree. Some of the interior designs of the Overlook Hotel set are notable for being based on those of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yasemite National Park.

While most of the interior shots, and even some of the Overlook exterior shots were done on studio sets, a few exterior shots were done on location by a second-unit crew headed by Jan Harlan: Saint Mary Lake with its Wild Goose Island was the filming location for the aerial shots of the opening scene. The Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon was filmed for a few of the exterior shots of the fictional Overlook Hotel, and notably absent in these shots is the hedge maze - a nonexistent feature at the Timberline Lodge. 

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Setting (2): The Overlook Hotel is perhaps the single most important characteristic of the Shining. Architecturally speaking it is an exceptionally large building, isolated and situated upon a windswept mountaintop; the drive up to the hotel is perilous, with the road leading to it winding around the cliff top. The Hotel is snowed in during the winter making the difficult journey to and from the building impossible during the winter months. The Hotel is closed from November to May and a caretaker is brought in to take care of the facilities. The site of the hotel is situated on a Native American burial ground, interestingly though despite this seeming like a staple of the horror genre it may not be as significant as it sounds. The isolation of the Overlook Hotel as a setting contributes far more to the horror that takes place during the film. For example, Jack's motivation for becoming the winter caretaker is due to the fact he thinks the hotels solitude will provide him with the appropriate setting to write in peace over a period of many months, what he does not realise is the ramifications of total isolation and the toll it will take on his mental health.

Film Psychology and the Spatial Layout of the Overlook Hotel:

The hotel itself does not make sense architecturally speaking according to independent film theorists and analysts. The point is the Overlook Hotel is not just a place of isolation its a symbolic maze; a vast disorientating labyrinth of corridors and impossible windows and doors that lead nowhere. There are a vast array of examples that prove this hypothesis and I'm going to discuss just a few of them. One clear error in the hotel's layout is the window in Ullman's office, the surrounding hallway wraps around the office and so makes the window spatially impossible, this anomaly is so utterly blatant that it could not have gone unnoticed in the set design and construction phase. The hotel as a setting is full of impossible and illusory designs employed by Kubrick to disorientate the viewer and simultaneously communicate conflicting schools of thought, namely ghosts versus cabin fever. "It had been pointed out that there's a mirror in every scene in which Jack sees a ghost, causing us to wonder whether the spirits are reflections of a tortured psyche." The question as to whether the Overlook Hotel really is inhabited by a malign presence is never conclusively determined. Others have speculated that Kubrick tried to dramatize a methodical assault by the hotel (it in itself the real malign force) upon Jack. The deep sense of frustration and loneliness he feels is a weapon of sorts used to warp his sense of perspective and his feelings towards his family, eventually his mind is so twisted he can easily find justification for his actions, in the mind of Jack murdering his wife and child is a reasonable response because they are the reason for his failures, his drinking and his inability to write. Furthermore the fact that every time Jack "speaks" to the hotel and the supernatural forces that may or may not reside within it means, to some extent, that Kubrick implicates him directly into the hotel's "consciousness," because Jack is, in effect, talking to himself and the ghosts he meets are simply manufactured in his mind and explained by his psychopathy. On the other hand Kubrick scholar Michael Ciment has written on how Jack's escape from the locked storeroom can only be explained by ghosts:

It seemed to strike an extraordinary balance between the psychological and the supernatural in such a way as to lead you to think that the supernatural would eventually be explained by the psychological: 'Jack must be imagining these things because he's crazy.' This allowed you to suspend your doubt of the supernatural until you were so thoroughly into the story that you could accept it almost without noticing...It's not until Grady, the ghost of the former caretaker who axed to death his family, slides open the bolt of the larder door, allowing Jack to escape, that you are left with no other explanation but the supernatural.

Kubrick in an interview with Ciment commented that; "we wanted the hotel to look authentic rather than like a traditionally spooky movie hotel. The hotel's labyrinthine layout and huge rooms, I believed would alone provide an eerie enough atmosphere." Another example of a spatial defect is the Gold Room, we the viewer are never given an explanation as to how the Gold Room connects up to the rest of the hotel, it is flanked by a hallway that doesn't seem to spatially link up properly with the one in the hotel lobby, other sets are presented without any sense of apparent orientation to the rest of the hotel these include the games room, the basement boiler room and the river of blood hallway but for now I'm going to focus on the Gold Room. If we think of the Overlook Hotel in terms of major set pieces such as the large kitchen, the Colorado Lounge and the Gold Room it would be logical to assume Kubrick and his team of set designs would of at least come up with a rudimentary map as to how these pivotal locations relate to one another and the hotel at large, yet Kubrick plays even more spatial mind games with the audience, one of the most glaring contradictions in terms of layout and space is when Wendy is shown preparing meals in the Kitchen and she then wheels the prepared food through to the lobby of the hotel from the small Gold Room hallway area by the reception, on that basis we can assume the kitchen is near to or just beyond the Gold Room but later as Jack limps through the kitchen to kill Hallorann he enters the lobby on the opposite side to the Gold Room - the kitchen cannot be on both sides of the lobby it is an architectural impossibility. Another paradox involving the Gold Room comes when we see an exterior view of the Overlook Hotel which appears too small to contain the massive Gold Room with its high ceilings and grandeur. Another flaw is revealed through exterior aerial photography which shows extensive sections of the hotel built at odd angles to each other yet once inside another spatial contradiction reveals itself, all of the interior sets feature rooms and halls that contain perfect right angles, much like a maze. The end result of designing the hotel in the same manner as a maze only stands to increase the tension and heighten the audiences sense of terror, the feeling of being chased is intense enough but accompanied by the inescapable Steadicam and the sense of running in never ending circles as communicated by the tricycle scenes helps cement The Shining as a quintessential horror film. 

Finally, scale is also key to the Overlook Hotel. the imposing size of the building, its oversize and unnerving carpet patterns, the mountain ranges and especially the large Gold Room and Colorado Lounge make the characters look like small and defenseless child (which incidentally Danny is). Add this to the solitude and circumstances of the Torrance family (Jacks abusive parenting) the physiological brew as it were is potent, when coupled with deliberate spatial defects Danny's attempts to escape from his homicidal father are that much more vigorous and sinister as we the viewer do not understand the hotel's layout and are indeed not meant too, this leaves the viewer at loss as to whether Danny can really escape, we have seen him repeatedly making laps of the hotel on his tricycle and given the nonsensical layout its perfectly possible Jack could be lurking around the very next corner. The cat and mouse game that takes place between Danny, Jack and to a lesser extent Wendy and Hallorann foreshadows the final showdown between Jack and Danny in the hedge maze. Overall, these intentional and subliminal set designs are one of the key elements of the films setting and make The Shining unique in its ability to unsettle and disorientate the audience and it does this almost entirely without the clichéd cobwebs, dark shadows and haunted castles seen in other horror movies. 

Props:

One of the most prominent props seen in The Shining is Jack's axe. In fact, the clip I selected above is properly the most iconic seen in the film specifically because of the sequence where Jack uses it to hack his way into the bathroom. In the film, the basic model used is a pick head American fire axe. Several different axes were used in the production, including a few hero axes, several fiberglass stunt axes and at least two "gag" axes which were used in Hallorann's death scene. 

The significance of the axe in The Shining is paramount; firstly the choice of axe is important, the decision to use a fire axe is symbolic. The fire department itself is often portrayed as heroic and as coming to the rescue in moments of despair; this idea is turned on its head in The Shining as that is precisely what is not going to happen. Wendy and Danny are totally isolated; nobody is going to save them, not even Hallorann. They must save themselves. In addition to that red is a symbolic colour of the fire service, their trucks are red, the hydrants are red and so on. But as we know from The Shining red is also symbolic, specifically it is the colour of blood. From the elevator full of blood to the crimson bathroom (which I will discuss in detail later), the blood we see foreshadows the eventual massacre that is destined to take place at the Overlook Hotel, it almost preordained. Moreover there is the rather perverse idea of a fire axe being used as a weapon, when the fire axe originally installed it would have been for safety and security, but instead it is used destructive purposes. This is interesting as Kubrick develops the idea of taking the mundane or even the positive and using it for evil and destructive purposes. While the intended use of the fire axe was positive and yet it ends up being used to kill Hallorann, the hotel itself is supposed to be positive; the Torrance’s stay there is meant to provide them with sanctuary and solace but rather pushes them to the brink of sanity. By taking the most benign object or environment and making it malign the ensuing horror is that little bit more unexpected and that is ultimately what any horror director’s intention is: to shock, frighten and confuse their audience.

Finally, I have already mentioned how the colour red is visible, either overtly or subtly, in nearly every shot of the film. This use of colour links into the props used in the film, namely the axe. The combination of the colour red or more specifically blood and the axe lead to some of the most iconic and dramatic imagery of the film. For example Danny’s vision in the corridor of the twins brutally hacked to death, blood drenched walls and the axe itself resting on the blood soaked carpet is very memorable, naturally the audience at this point should imagine this is what is going – history is going to repeat itself and like Grady the previous winter caretaker Jack will go insane and culminate in the murder of his family, however this scenario never materialises, there is no bloodbath and the other death besides Jack himself (that’s if you believe he died) is Hallorann. Even the one murder Jack does commit is less bloodbath and more of a well executed slaying. Therefore the blood drenched axe never really comes to fruition. It is likely Kubrick did this intentionally in order to deceive the audience as well as relieve them when Wendy and Danny do indeed escape.

As a side note when Jack uses his axe to break through the bathroom door, he shouts “Here’s Johnny”. Many consider this a probable reference to the catchphrase of chat-show legend Johnny Carson. However an alternative explanation is that it is a reference to an incident that occurred in the 1960s when Johnny Cash used a fire axe to break a connecting “doorway” between two motel rooms that he and his band members were using while on tour, the story goes that he then proceeded to break through one of the doors that lead into the corridor to make it look as if a thief had broken in and trashed the place. Either way the film’s most famous line and one of the most prominent involving the axe was improvised by Nicholson on set. 

Another notable prop is the lipstick Danny uses to write the word "redrum" (also stylized as REⱭЯUM) on the door In the film Danny is an ordinary child with a preternatural gift - it is clear that his apparent imaginary friend "Tony" is really a projection of the hidden parts of his own psyche. It is indicated that Danny's "shining" abilities may manifest themselves in the form of his imaginary friend, Tony. The reason many people think is because toward the end of the film Danny goes into a trance and begins calling out "redrum", once in the trance he begins referring to himself as Tony. Using Wendy's lipstick Danny begins scrawling across the bathroom door (the same one Jack will hack to pieces). The fact that Danny uses a crimson lipstick is yet another metaphor for the blood that will split, much like the death seen involving the Grady twins, which I mentioned earlier. The fact he writes his message on the bathroom door is extremely important, it can be considered as a warning to both the audience and his regarding the events that are about to transpire. When Wendy sees the reflection of his message in the mirror it becomes apparent that the letters spell out "murder". This is yet another use of a mirror - I have already mentioned how mirrors are present in any scene where Jack communicates with a ghost, thus raising the question as to whether he is really talking to himself. It could be argued that mirrors in the film on the whole act as a kind of window into the mind of the Torrance family. Mirrors help the audience understand Jacks crazed mind as well as unraveling Danny's premonition for Wendy and the viewer.

It is also worth mentioning the fact Danny repeats the word "redrum" so many times it begins to almost sound like "red room", this is interesting because the crimson bathroom is indeed a red room and may perhaps be a window into Jack's violent mind, but this is an idea I will develop in greater detail later.    

Hair/make-up:

Wendy Torrance is an almost ghoulish figure. Various film critics have described her as meek, submissive, passive and mousy. She defends her husband and engages in pathetic apologetics, she stays with him despite his abuse toward Danny and it is implied that she may have been abused by him as well, in fact judging from her demeanor this seems more than likely. Shelley Duvall's long dark straight hair complete with bangs frame her face, the darkness of her hair contrasts with her skin tone making her appear even more pale than she already is, in addition it is possible that make-up in the form of white powder was applied to Duvall's face to further dim her complexion. 

The idea of presenting Wendy Torrance as a gaunt, ghoulish figure is significant. Firstly it hearkens back to the central theme of family. Author and Historian John Baxter proposes a theory that puts family as a theme front and centre in every scene. He writes, "this is a story of a family going insane together. Jack is already unhinged - on the verge - gradually his wife and child are drawn in." This theory provides us with an explanation as to why Wendy appears ghoulish, she is vulnerable and frightened having married a man who is a lunatic but she herself is also somewhat unstable and this relates strongly to the idea of The Shining not having a reliable observer. If Wendy like Jack is also insane, Danny a child and Hallorann dead then whose perspective and relocation of events can we trust? Secondly, in the film the apparent motivation of the ghosts is to "reclaim" Jack, who seems to be a reincarnation of a previous caretaker of the hotel, as suggested by the 1920s photograph  at the end (although it should be noted there are other theories regarding this enigma) and Jacks repeated claims of déjà vu. "When I came up here for my interview, it was as though I had been here before. I mean, we all have moments of déjà vu, but this was ridiculous. It was almost as though I knew what was going to be around every corner." In the film Jack is told by Grady, "you've always been the caretaker," this idea of Jack being part of the hotel and the events of the film leading up to his reabsorption may also apply to Wendy as Jack may not be the only character with supernatural qualities be them ghostly in nature or otherwise. It may in fact apply to the entire Torrance clan, after all Jack is able to communicate with ghosts, ghouls and spirits with ease, while Danny is psychic and able to communicate using telepathy. Continuing with this line of thought it remains possible however remote that Wendy herself maybe deceased or trapped in some kind of purgatory and her ghoulish appearance conveyed through the intelligent use of subtle makeup techniques hint at this. Evidence for this theory could be hidden in a scene that was cut after the films premiere and a week into the general run. With a running time of 146 minutes Kubrick cut a scene at the end that took place in a hospital. The scene shows Wendy in bed talking with Ullman who explains that Jack's body could not be found. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert noted:

If Jack did indeed freeze to death in the labyrinth, of course his body was found – and sooner rather than later, since Dick Hallorann alerted the forest rangers to serious trouble at the hotel. If Jack's body was not found, what happened to it? Was it never there? Was it absorbed into the past and does that explain Jack's presence in that final photograph of a group of hotel party-goers in 1921? Did Jack's violent pursuit of his wife and child exist entirely in Wendy's imagination, or Danny's, or theirs?... Kubrick was wise to remove that epilogue. It pulled one rug too many out from under the story. At some level, it is necessary for us to believe the three members of the Torrance family are actually residents in the hotel during that winter, whatever happens or whatever they think happens.

Facial expression/body language/movement:

Wendy Torrance:

While Wendy Torrance may appear as a fragile, damaged and relatively passive character in the early stages of the film she later becomes hysterical and unrestrained, totally unable to deal with the situation at hand. Earlier I discussed how in the clip above Wendy is seen in a dressing gown which symbolises her vulnerability and how ill equipped both physically and emotionally she is. When it comes to this scene it is also essential to discuss her facial expressions, body language and movements in detail in order to gain a greater understanding of the collection of elements that make up the characters in the film. In regard to facial expressions much of Shelley Duvall's performance rests on a melodramatic almost overacted scenes that show a petrified women, shrieking and overcome by a sense of horror and despair almost to the point of being incapacitated, Duvall's level of horror and ability to deal with her surroundings serves to heighten the tension and make what can already be described as bleak appear extraordinarily sinister. Wendy's body language early in the film mirrors her meek and mild personality - her small stature coupled with the fact she is often hunched up is a sign of her nervousness, anxiety and general defencelessness. In addition, the fact she is often accompanied by Danny makes her seem childlike and helpless, almost as if she needs to be taken care of herself. Later in the film as Jack descends into madness and his homicidal urges take over Wendy's body language just like her facial expressions change dramatically, the progression of her character over the course of the film starting out restrained and ending up unhinged almost mirrors how the family as a whole is gradually overwhelmed by the evil forces in the hotel, in one way or another every character has a part of their soul destroyed after staying in the Overlook Hotel, you could almost say Danny and Wendy are robbed of their innocence and good nature.

The final element to deal with is Wendy's movement - some writers and film pundits have criticised Duvall's performance as an "exaggerated portrayal of Wendy as Olive Oyl revisited: A simpering fatality of forces beyond her capacity to understand, much less surmount," (also in 1980 Duvall starred in Robert Altman's live-action adaptation of the Popeye comic strip). Co-screenwriter Diane Johnson stated that in her contributions to the script, Wendy had more dialogue, and that Kubrick cut many of her lines, possible due to his dissatisfaction with actress Shelley Duvall's delivery. Johnson believes the earlier draft of the script portrayed Wendy as a more-rounded character, rather than the hysterical screaming wreck she becomes. Throughout much of the latter half of the film as Jack rampages through the hotel Wendy collapses in a total frenzy, even when wielding a large kitchen knife she does not appear intimidating, rather reckless and perhaps more of a danger to herself. The way Wendy frantically slashes at Jacks hands as he tries to smash his way into the bathroom is another indication of how out of her depth she is, inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat, overwhelmed by the supernatural elements and only survives the ordeal as a whole due to her sons ingenuity and bravery. All the frantic arm-waving and wild movements we see Duvall perform make for a more dramatic climax and make Wendy into an archetypal damsel in distress.

Jack Torrance:

Initially Jack is seen as a reasonably likable and well a intentioned man, although there are elements of his personality that appear sinister and unsettling from the films inception. Even by this point in his character Jack Nicholson was known for taking on unique and challenging roles, many of which included dark portrayals of excitable and neurotic characters often with psychopathic tendencies. The sorts of characters he played indulged in black comedy and were often troubled, suffering from neurosis, alcoholism or some other form of addiction. See 1968's Psych-Out, 1969's Easy Rider and 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Because of Nicholson's reputation for playing dark and mentally unstable characters author Stephen King tried to talk Kubrick out of casting him before filming even began, on the grounds that he seemed vaguely sinister from the very beginning of the film, Jon Voight was suggested by King as being more suitable for the role.

In the early portion of the film Jack seems flamboyant, upon his arrival at the Overlook Hotel he meets with Ullman and proceeds to laugh almost manically at the slightest things, he eyebrows are often raised and his eyes wide giving the look of excitement, enthusiasm and surprise simultaneously. Much of Nicholson's facial expressions are exaggerated and he says many perplexing things in an enthusiastic fashion, but true to form Jack's personality changes on a knife-edge:

Have you ever had a single moment's thought about my responsibilities? Have you ever thought, for a single solitary moment about my responsibilities to my employers? Has it ever occurred to you that I have agreed to look after the Overlook Hotel until May the first. Does it matter to you at all that the owners have placed their complete confidence and trust in me, and that I have signed a letter of agreement, a contract, in which I have accepted that responsibility? Do you have the slightest idea what a moral and ethical principal is? Do you? Has it ever occurred to you what would happen to my future, if I were to fail to live up to my responsibilities? Has it ever occurred to you? Has it? 

In the quotation Jack reveals his true colours, he reacts ferociously, belittling his wife and talks about himself in a narcissistic manner when all his timid wife did was try an secure her sons safety. Even after he descends into madness Jack still manages to express his dark sense of humour, finding comedic material in the darkness and most sinister moments: "Wendy? Darling? Light, of my life. I'm not gonna hurt ya. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just going to bash your brains in." The fact Jack maintains his exaggerated facial expressions even as he goes mad could on the one hand symbolise how he always insane and the isolation and the responsibility of the hotel simply exacerbated things, however it could also be a conscious decision on Jack's part. The idea that his "nice guy" exterior is just that, a thin exterior, an beneath he harbours deep-seated feelings of resentment and anger most of which is directed toward his family, in particular his wife. It remains possible that Jack brought his family to the Overlook Hotel to settle a score if you will, he is a failure as a father, husband and writer therefore his wife and child should suffer. What appears to be a descent into lunacy may just be Jack unable or unwilling to contain himself any longer, his psychopathy may not have progressed at all during his time at the Overlook Hotel, he may have just stopped pretending. This theory would explain why Jack conspiracies against his family with such glee, he even seems to enjoy the chase as evidenced in the clip below:

While many of Jack's mannerisms and facial expressions remain the same throughout the film, unlike Wendy for example, what you do see though is a stark change in movement and body language as the film progresses. In the early stages Jack has what can be described as an open body language, he talks with others without difficulty and is light on his feet, appearing more than up to the task of performing general maintenance on the hotel over the winter. However, once he is struck by Wendy and subsequently falls down the stairs, landing at the bottom as an unconscious heap, all this changes. He now moves in what can only be described as cross-between a hobble and a hop. He is hunched over, head slung low, because his chin is pressed downward it means he has to roll his eyes upward to make eye-contact. Jack's one neatly back-combed hair now drapes forward bathed in sweat, probably detoxing from his lack of alcohol. His once powerful stride with a hint of swagger is reduced to a mere shuffle. The sound of his staggering along the hotel corridors chasing Danny, combined with his teeth grinding and almost incomprehensible ramblings are all synonymous with the horror genre. By the end of the film Jack's body language and movements have changed such that he is almost a personification of destruction and decay, as his futile attempts to murder his family have only rendered him speechless, immobile and ultimately totally incapacitated.

Lighting and colour:

Does fall guilty to genre clichés.

5. Garrett Brown had “many, many arguments” with Kubrick over the camera’s crosshairs being in the middle of frame; if it hit on an actor’s left nostril, that’s exactly where it had to be. Framing had to be symmetrical. “Kubrick insisted every image be framed in 1.66:1 ratio, something between wide screen and cinemascope, (so that) people fill the frame.” Brown used an Arriflex-35BL and spoke of having to pace himself. There were “forty takes of nearly everything” and he had to learn to hold the camera absolutely still. “Half the time Stanley used his handheld to continue the scene.”

2. According to Steadicam Operator (and Inventor) Garrett Brown, the color of the opening titles were something Kubrick agonized over, changing the color until he got it exactly right. Brown also claimed the “rolling, brightly colored lettering stuck with Stanley since his earliest days,” but in fact, many Kubrick opening credits are done in white lettering and/or a non-rolling format; Killer’s Kiss, The Killing, Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, Eyes Wide Shut.