First Photography Shoot

Landscape shot's

Close up Shot

Extreme close up

Over the shoulder shot

Two shot 

Wide Shot

Extreme close up

 

Research Stranger Things episode 1 season 1

Stranger Things:

It is a three season sci-fi horror drama on Netflix written and directed by the brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. The series is set in the 1980's in a fictional town in Indiana. The reasoning behind this was because Sci-Fi horror isn't very prominent at the moment so setting it in the 80's helped some viewers to draw similarities to 80's films. The opening series was released on the 15th July 2016 with season 2 following on the 27th October 2017 and season 3 being released on the 4th of July 2019. Season 3 broke records by being watched by 64 million people in the first four weeks. The show has won Prime Time Emmy awards and has been nominated for Golden Globes and BAFTA's. 

Netflix:

It was founded in 1997 making it a year older than Google. But it only started streaming in April 1998 under the name of Kibble and had 925 titles available to watch. As of 2019, there are 151 million paying subscribers using Netflix worldwide and there are 13,941 titles now available to watch as of April 2020. It also generates 15% of the worlds internet traffic.  

Season 1 Episode 1

The episode opens with the camera panning down from the night sky and the location of 'Hawkins National Laboratory.' It cuts to inside on a man in a white lab coat running. There are a collection of wide shots and point of view shots. 

This wide shot shows the viewer the relief of the scientist as he has escaped what has been chasing him.  

However, the POV shot shows the viewer that there is still something coming and he is not out of the dark yet. 

The final shot of this scene is an extreme close up birds eye shot which highlights the fear on the scientists face as you can see the sweat on his forehead and the worry in his eyes. It could also be argued that this shot comes from the creatures perspective which is on the roof above him. 

At this point the four boys have been playing their game and are about to head home. Dustin and Lucas have already ridden off leaving Will and Michael.

They have a conversation before Will leaves using a collection of over the shoulder shots. Little does Michael know that this is the last time he will see Will. 

As Will rides away, it cuts to a wide shot showing Michaels house. It highlights the flickering lights, like those in the laboratory at the start, foreshadowing something bad is going to happen. 

This wide shot highlights the danger Will is approaching. The signs are for the same Laboratory as the opening scene.

The camera then cuts to a medium shot of Will riding his bike. His light can be seen flickering which is another link to the opening.

 

It then cuts to a point of view camera of what Will can see. The loud sound effect also at this point is cleverly designed to scare the viewer, just like Will.

Straight after this there is a close up shot of Wills reaction to what he has just seen. You can clearly see his fear and confusion.

Later in the scene, there is an extreme close up of his hands which show them violently shaking in fear. This is very effective in building up the fear and tension in a multitude of different ways. 

There are also other key settings in episode 1 such as the school when we find out that the main characters are nerdy and are bullied and also the woodland area where there is the large hunt for Will. 

Genres:   

There are many genres apparent in Stranger Things such as Science Fiction and Horror. The Sci Fi aspect is heavily present throughout the first episode. From the beginning in the Laboratory. The horror genre soon follow with the creature that follows. There are repeated motifs that come with this genre such as the sudden surges in electricity. 

Representations:

The main characters are the four boys. They are not popular and only have each other. This shows a clear contrast from when they are alone together and act lively and bounce off each other but when they are at school they are very much trying to keep their heads down and stay under the radar. In the first episode, the representations of family also juxtapose. Michael is from a nuclear family and is very well off which is why the four friends come around to his house to play. However, Will's parents have split up and is living with his mother. When he gets home, there is nobody there and he is found by the creature. 

 

Research of Shot Types

Wide shot:

The subject takes up the full frame. This helps to see body posture which is a leading form of communication. It is also known as a long shot or a full shot. 

Close Up:

A specific part of the subject takes up the frame. This helps to see facial expressions. 

Extreme close up:

It gets even closer and shows extreme detail. This works well in particularly tense scenes when you can see a persons eyes darting or a bead of sweat. 

Two Shot:

A shot of two people similarly framed. It is good for getting two subjects reaction to an event. 

Over the shoulder shot:

Looking over the shoulder at the subject. It is effective in the portrayal of conversation.

Point of View shot:It is shot from the subjects perspective. This is used to get a viewers reaction to the subjects situation. 

In addition to this, there are different shot angles. I made this to show them.

Research of The Guardian Newspaper

 - The newspaper was first published in 1821 under the title of 'The Manchester Guardian' and was a weekly newspaper.

- It became a daily paper in 1855 when the government dropped the stamp tax for newspapers meaning it could be sent out for less money.

-The word 'Manchester' was dropped from the title in 1959 to help reflect the papers national coverage of news. This was followed by all the staff moving from Manchester to London in 1964.

- The Guardian has remained a daily newspaper but like many other pairs, it isn't published on Sundays. 

- The paper politically describes itself as centre left and mostly supports labour in general elections, like when Tony Blair became prime minister. 

-In 1999 theguardian.com started which is the online side of the paper. At the time is was called 'Guardian Unlimited'. 

- In 2018, The Guardian reformatted to become a slimline tabloid due to a loss of £38 million the year before. Before this, the paper was a mix between a broadsheet and a tabloid called a Berliner. The tabloid is clearly seen in the alliterative "p" in the headline with "pile pressure" and "police."

Research of The Daily Mail

- The Newspaper was first published in 1896. 

- It is published everyday except for Sundays when its sister paper "The Mail on Sunday" is published.

-The paper sells over a million copies every day making it the second most popular newspaper in the country.

-Its political view is right wing so it supports the conservative party in general elections. 

- The paper was originally a broadsheet, meaning that it was formal, but now it is a tabloid paper which uses metaphoric titles and sensationalist stories. (like in the image) 

-The tabloid nature of this paper can clearly be seen in the image with the play on words "force" and "farce" and the more important story about the floods is second to a more sensationalist story which grabs the readers headline.

-The Mail Online is the online side of the newspaper where they cover mainly UK and US news in an average of 600 daily updates.