Cuffs Camera Work

PREP Analyse how camerawork is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer.

There is a focus-pull after the blond hippy is being locked up, she threatens the desk Sargent, telling him that her mother is a lawyer. Ryan says "We don't care what people's parents do" and the camera changes from focusing on Ryan to focusing to focusing on Jake. This is because Ryan is referring to Jake and how he has a father who is a superintendent, he is saying that he doesn't care about that. Reaction shots are also used to show the reaction of the other police officers and the reaction of Jake when he realises what Ryan meant by his comment.

After Jo is turned down by the superintendent, there is a close-up on Jo's face. It is very harshly lit casting a lot of light on one side of her face and exaggerating her facial features, making her look older. The other side of her face is quite dark. This shows many emotions on Jo's face. It shows: Hurt, rejection, embarrassment, frustration and sadness all at once.

In conclusion, Cuffs uses camerawork to accomplish a multitude of things. It can very clearly show how someone is feeling, can make it clear what is meant by certain comments made and can help create an atmosphere for what kind of scene is being shown (e.g. emotional scene, action scene etc.)

Exam Question 5

Social context can have a large influence on television and how certain things are portrayed. The Avengers was a television show that first aired in 1965 and several things that are shown in the series relate directly to the context of the time. In season 4 episode 1, "The Town of No Return", there are a lot of references to context made. 

A very obvious part of context in 1965 is that the Second World War ended 20 years prior. This is shown by the air field, the abandoned soldiers quarters and the underground bunkers that Steed and Emma find in the episode. The war is also verbally mentioned several times and there is even a scene where Steed is remembering his time he served in the RAF. Even the plot was about a secret invasion of Britain and one of Hitlers plans for the war was to invade Britain but his failed. 20 years isn't a long time in a persons life and the war would still be very fresh in their memory.

Another context relation is that of social class and accents. John Steed and Emma Peel both have posh or RP accents and dress in rather sophisticated upper-class clothes. In 1965 there were plenty of posh or wealthy people who dressed well in rather dapper outfits. Piggy Warren also has a RP accent and certainly seems quite middle-class. Steed carries around an umbrella with him even though it is not raining, wears a bowler hat and even his walk is quite posh. Emma Peel is often wearing gloves and a beret, which is also very upper-class attire. At the start of the episode Steed and Emma start fencing which is often considered a rather posh sport. Afternoon tea is another thing that would usually be done by people of middle or upper-class. Steed and Emma have afternoon tea on the train on the way to Little Bazeley. 

Yet another reference to concept is how equality between men and women is show. In the episode Steed and Emma are both equal. They are both shown to have the same skill and they both do the same amount of work in solving the mystery of what is going on in the town. At the beginning of the episode when Steed is asking about where the coffee and the cream are, Emma simply tells him where it is rather that getting it  for him like women might have been expected to prior to or even at the time the episode was released. Another way Steed and Emma are shown to be equal is when they order the same drink at the pub. In the 1900's many people might have the opinion that Brandy was more of a manly drink. The fact that Steed and Emma are shown to be equal relates to context because around 1965, there became a rather prominent feminist movement campaigning for more equality  between men and women. 

In conclusion, The Avengers relates to social context in many occasions and does this to help the audience feel like they can relate to several things referenced and also so that they can remember other things as well. 

Exam Question 2

The police are presented as having a hard job and there is contrast between the voice-over and what is being seen on screen. Ryan has to deal with a group of stag-do revellers, harassing a group of people on a nudist beach but the voice over from the chief super. He says that police officers "Ensure cohesion and security" as Ryan struggles to stop a fight between the stag-do revellers and the naturists and when he says "earning the enduring respect of the people they serve" Ryan is then insulted by the people he was trying to help despite him trying his best and desperately requesting back-up. Never the the less this scene is quite comic. Here the polices point of view is depicted as being very annoyed that despite doing all he can to solve a dispute and keep the peace, he is still insulted and shown no respect by the public.

When dealing with the drug addict, Ryan comes across as a very kind officer. He uses a very gentle and reassuring voice to calm the drug addict down, so that he can get him into hospital. The experienced police officer shows the rookie police officer the way. He teaches him how to be more sympathetic, and as Jake looks around the room he realises that things can get on top of people. He realises that the addict is a damaged creature that needs help and Jake starts to reassure the addict that everything is alright and starts to see the world more like Ryan, who is more experienced, sees it. Here we see that the police's point of view changes with experience, Jake doesn't start off very sympathetic for the drug addict, but Ryan does because he knows how to deal with these situations. The drug addict is not really portrayed as a criminal and Ryan certainly doesn't see him that way. By the end of the scene Jake changes and, like Ryan, feels sorry for the addict.

This is the first serious crime scene in the episode. We see a, recently released from prison, racist who stabs an Indian 21-year old man. The criminal uses racist slurs like "Rag-head" and "Mussi"before stabbing the boy with a screw-driver. Joe is the detective who comes in to try solve the crime and clearly wants to solve the crime as quickly as possible. Joe tries to be gentle but firm to get information out of the boy and his father but the father is very reluctant to let his son be interviewed.  Joe is clearly annoyed about this. She clearly tries everything she can, whilst still being a nice person, to get information and arrest the man who stabbed the 21-year old. Here, although Joe is more of a detective, the police's view is presented as always wanting to bring criminals to justice. In the first two examples you wouldn't really describe the people as criminals but this time you definitely would. Joe's point of view is clearly that she is annoyed that the father will not allow his son to be interviewed and even more annoyed at the lawyer that is backing him up.

Overall the police are shown to always want to bring criminals to justice, but be nice to and help others at the same time. They also clearly want to be respected by the public because policing is a hard job and the police officers certainly agree.

Exam Question 1

Question: "Analyse how sound is used to create meaning. Refer to at least two example from the extract in your answer. 

Sound is used in several ways in cuffs, the main one being music. Faster-paced, dramatic and more intense music is used for more high-action and intense scenes. Some examples are: The opening when Ryan (Ashley Walters) is trying to deal with a situation on a nudist beach, the scene when Ryan and Jake are in a high-speed car pursuit of the van that stole the safe from a shop, when the Indian boy gets stabbed and when Jake, Ryan, Lino  and Donna are chasing and trying to arrest the Bulgarian woman who shoplifted. More relaxed and emotional are used for somewhat intimate and emotional scenes such as: When Jake is helping the man who self-harmed and the scene towards the end when it is showing what people's home lives are like. 

There are also examples of diegetic and non-diegetic sound used in Cuffs. There is diegetic sound; such as voices, radio chatter, police sirens and vehicle noises. Then there are examples of non-diegetic sound like: music and voice-overs. There is a voice-over used in the opening scene of the episode. It helps create a sense of irony as the police chief describes how being a police officer is a glorious and glamours job. However, the voice-over is being played over a scene where Ryan is struggling to handle a bunch of hooligans, harassing a man on a nudist beach. 

The many types of sound used create a sense of meaning and tell us what kind of scene it is, weather it is intense of emotional, and how we should be feeling.