Micro analysis + audience and pleasures + Doctor Who micro element

Microanalysis and genre

Genre and audience pleasures

Rick Altman argues that genre offers audiences a set of pleasures:

Emotional pleasures

-        How does the text make you feel? – happy, sad, nostalgic

Visceral Pleasures

-        Gut responses such as excitement, fear, laughter

Intellectual pleasures

-        Does it make the audience think?

The sound doctor who clip

Footsteps to show that they are in rush.

Pips and background noise

Comedic music (birdy music) – creates the intense scene to be more comedic to give the audience more of a smile during the scene.

Star Wars sound effects – this would be for the sci - fi effect of the genre.

Music becomes more intense then switches to when they are having a talk about a character’s dad

Intense, fast paced music builds tension.  Links to the genre as sci – fi is unpredictable and intense

Suddenly shirts to calmer, emotive music as soon as the doctor mentions the female characters dad. This creates nostalgia and makes the audience feel emotional.

Computer/ electricity sounds effects diegetic also link to the sci – fi genre.

Dialogue – carries the story and gives information to the audience

The birdy song – used for comical effect is nostalgic for the audience.

Camerawork

In the Doctor who clip in the 40 second mark they cut to a tracking shot of the doctor and Kate Stewart walking down the sides of the cubes. This could suggest how they are being overrun by these aliens or ‘boxes’ in the episodes and they are small significant to what is really going on in the episodes.

Later on in the clip there is a close up of the doctor when he talks about a previous character to the daughter and it becomes a lot more serious moment. This could suggest how when that the doctor regrets the death of that previous character and feels guilty for what he did due to such an intense switch from the tracking shots.  

Mise – en scene

-        Laboratory location

-        Connotes genre

-        Costume (Dr wears a suit, old fashioned)

-        Lighting in lab blue chilling

Editing:

-        Silhouette – LS – CL very short. This keeps it to mystery and keeps the identy hidden.

-        Dr walks into a lab – quick cuts bombards on by Ecu.

Analyse means to use Denote and Connote for the questions

Point: The lighting used in the laboratory scene

Example: at the computer, whilst the doctor is typing blue, artificial light is denoted. The light is very bright. The rest of the lighting is dark and black.

Explain: this connotes the sci – fi genre as chilling and mysterious. The blue creates a connotation of loneliness and vulnerability as the cubes are attacking earth, leaving humans helpless. The darkness heightens this sense of loneliness and fear, although the blue light could connote the doctor and his Tardis as a ray of light.

Theory: this could link to a visceral pleasure of anxiety and dear, created in the audience as it emphasises the uncertainty of the doctor and weather he can save the world.

Camerawork:

Point: Close up with the Doctor and Kate

Example: coming close to the end of the scene it changes the angle and comes to a close up of when the Doctor talks about Kates dad, a previous character in the doctor who series that had died.

Explain: this connotes the seriousness of how the topic comes up. The close up connotes how the doctor could still feel guilty for the previous character’s death especially while the daughter of the character is there