TV News Case Study 1: Channel 4 News

Basic details

when is Channel 4 News on?
Monday - Friday 7:00pm - 7:55pm
when was the programme first broadcast?
2 November 1982 at 4.45pm.
What awards has the programme won?
Drama, Comedy, TV News etc. What is the media institution that produces Channel 4 News?
Advertisements and it's a terrestrial channel.

Presenters

Who are the presenters?
Jon snow, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Cathy Newman

Presenters  

1. The main presenters are John Snow, Cathy Newman, Kirshan Guru and Matt Frei.

2. The presenters are wearing formal clothing the men are wearing suits and the women are wearing dresses. This suggests they want to be taken seriously .However the colour of the clothing is not like as seen on other news shows this is suggesting that the news show is trying to not be like BBC news at six or like ITV news at 6. In the video Jon Snow’s tie the colour or pattern looks different. I think this relates to the News program itself as it wanted to target minorities this is its remit.

3. The news program presenters otherwise it will become uninteresting without a variety .The audience will become disengaged with the show .If a news program uses a variety of presenters .The variety of presenters means that they have particular presenters for each type of story at the current time .

4. The other reporters in the program investigate stories this is what makes channel 4 different from other news shows as they investigate deeply into stories. And are live from wherever it is this makes it more edgy for the audience and the reporters this cause’s people to feel more involved with the show.

5. There are more male presenters but this news program but in the program itself on each story there are male and female journalists presenting the story this is done in order to show the program is not sexist. The program use people from different ethnic backgrounds the presenter Kirshan Guru is of Asian background. When you see the Channel 4 News team it is clear that there are not just white British presenters this is very different from other News program's such as BBC News at six. The institution do this in order to represent more ethnic groups/ nationalities.

Opening sequence  

1.     The first shot is a 3-D four in purple this is the brand identity for channel 4.

2.    The opening sequence features use of animation this causes the audience to want to watch it as in the animation it shows you video footage of the stories this allows the audience to know what parts hey want to watch. Also this opening sequence use of graphics is unique to channel 4 so the audience recognize it as Channel 4 news. The graphics look modern so this may suggest it’s aimed at a younger audience.

3.    The music used in the opening sequence sounds dramatic this is similar to other news programmes such as Sky News. The music is suggesting that the program is reporting dramatic stories in the news and it’s serious. The music starts at the same as the graphics after the brief commentary of a story.

4.    In the beginning of the program one of the presenters introduces the stories in the news at the current time and state what the stories are about. There are a few stories they tell you what stories are coming up later and precisely what time they will be presented at. This means the audience don't have to watch the entire program in order to see the story they want to know about if they are busy. Therefore they can come back to watch the program at that precise time this is good as it means people don't have to watch the entire program as they may not want to know about every story . 

Studio mise en scene 

1.    In the show there are parts of it where the presenters are sat behind desks this is an aspect of more traditional news shows but there are also parts of the show where one of the main presenters are stood in front of a screen this has moving graphics on it or video or picture footage  .This is done because the news show wants to be modern as well as traditional this news program tries to be different this is because the channel itself was set-up to target minorities in society  however, now it targets a wider audience .

2.    While the show is on, it presents national stories first this is because they view stories that happened here as most important .Channel Four News then present international story this is normally serious .They typically report a story in British politics recently since the general elections are approaching they present stories relating to this they report stories linked to the election.

3.    The presenters and the technology are easily visible from the audience's perspective .This suggests to the audience that the program is being professional and its showing the studio is legit .They want the audience to feel like they are watching a good news show.

4.    The colours used are purple and orange .The colour purple has connotations of wisdom, ambition and independence. This links to the program as in a way it is creative as it is meant to be different from other news shows and its remit is to bend the rules in a way. The studio used the colour orange but the main colour is purple.

How are news stories presented?

1. In the studio the main presenters are stood in a studio with a decks and chair behind them this is an aspect of traditional news shows. In the background though as the audience you can see the rest of the studio this is not graphics this is the rest of the building. And you can see a screen behind the presenters this has whatever story they are reporting. Also the audience can also see the cameras and lighting above. This News program use's aspects of other news programs as it has a balance of moving graphics and the studio itself.

2. During the running of the program there are different techniques .An example of this is when in the program a reporter is live from wherever the news story has taken place also they have use of images .This is using modern technology to report the news the audience want to see how the issues look in real life .Also use of image is more powerful than the use of words .The program use graphics.

Film posters and trailers

My film pitch

Film trailer and poster analysis

 Poster key convention:

In the film poster '12 years a slave,' it would have the central image, name of the movie, the director, the actors, the institution, release date and the star ratings.

The central image is of Chiwetel Ejiofor who plays Solomon North up. The editing of having a fade on his trousers look like grass; therefore this will make the audience want to see this because it shows that he's free or that he's escaping.
The title ' 12 years a slave' tells the audience the narrative of the movie by using a statistic and 3 words. Also we can see that the number 12 is in orange, perhaps to show freedom/ escapism.Additionally, the specific font used for the number could emphasise how long it has been.
The release date will always be at the bottom of the poster in bold. I can also see that the number '30' is in orange just like the number '12' in the title, this could symbolise that the numbers are very important.
The critics views would be found under the star ratings at the top of the page. They said "... A moment of such humanity and grace that at every moment you feel you're seeing something essential."
The ratings of the movie was 5 gold stars, this will make the audience watch this because it has been rated 5 out of 5, which must mean it is a good movie.

Film trailer

Normally the institutions are shown in the beginning 

Film Institutions

12 years a slave

My chosen movie:

1) I've chosen 12 years a slave.

2) The reason why I chose this film is because Steve McQueen, who is the first black movie director who won an Oscar. On top of that, it is based on a true story of Solomon North up.

Institutional background:

1) The production company is Regency Enterprises, River Road Entertainment, Plan B Entertainment and many more. 

2) It was distributed by Fox searchlight pictures and Entertainment one.

No brand loyalty:

1) The genre of 12 years a slave is historical drama.

2) I know that the genre is historical drama. This is because black people getting whipped and the discrimination against the blacks.

3b) No. Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o ect

It's all a matter of timing:

1) It was released January 10th 2014.

2) 16th of July 2013:

It's a social thing:

1) The movie '12 years a slave' got a lot of good review about how emotional and infuriating it was. Also a few mentioned how there were unfamiliar faces in the movie a part from Brad Pitt, which was good because they got to feel true emotions.

2) Quote: "Lupita Nyong'o is the emotional epic enter of the entire film."
Quote: "Chiwertel Ejiofo executes every emotion flawlessly."

Risky Business:

1) The original budget of 12 years a slave is roughly $20,000,000.

2)  The film made $923,715 on the first opened weekend.

3) The total amount the money made was $56,667,870.

Star in the eyes:

1) Steve McQueen has also directed a movie called 'Shame' in 2011, the genre is drama only. Another film called 'Hunger' in 2008 however, it is a biography and drama similar to 12 years a slave apart from the historical bit.


2) The main character is Chiwertel Ejiofo who started in 12 years a slave.


3) He also stared in quiet a few other movies such as; Inside, Love actually, SALT, Melinda and Melinda and 2012. However, these movies are not the same genre as 12 years a slave, in fact majority of them are action and a bit of romance.

4) Yes the director and actors/actresses are mentioned at the end of the trailer as well as the end of the movie.

magazine cover draft

magazine audience profile

Minority Report shot-by-shot analysis

shot 1

This medium close up shot shows the audience that there are a lot of people on the hunt for Tom Cruise's character. This could suggest that they want him quite desperately and it's almost an emergency which make the whole atmosphere quite serious and tense. It also gives us a chance to see the characters' emotions, which is desperate and serious.

Shot 2

This establishing shot with Tom Cruise's character in the corner shows that the local area is quite derelict and abandoned. Also, it seems that Tom Cruise's character knows this area well so this could imply that he's had to hide there before when being chased. This could lead to further interpretation that maybe he's been sleeping rough ever since he's been a fugitive. Also, since he seems to have a clear strategy in his head, this could show that he's very experienced in running and hiding whilst in pursuit. This could elude to the fact that this is not the first time he's been chased by the authorities which could then lead the audience to think 'when has this happened before and why?' They then want to continue watching. The size of the car in this shot in comparison to Tom Cruise's character could show that he feels everything is a lot bigger than him and he feels very small being on his own, even though he seems to know what he's doing.

Shot 3
This close up shot of Tom Cruise's character's face shows his full emotions. In this shot he looks tired and a bit irritated, and it's possible he's looking at someone else which could elude to the fact that he's thinking of giving up running away because he has a certain look in his eye which could suggest sadness or despair/panic. He also has his mouth slightly open which could mean that he's about to speak or he's breathing heavily, as a result of being out of breath or scared.