Capital: case study blog tasks
Reviews and features
1) Positive points about Capital
4)Average London house price hits £500,000 as capital's housing market shows no sign of losing steam.
5) Capital is a ‘state-of-the-nation’ drama – designed to capture the issues facing the country at the time it is written and produced. In Capital, it focuses on the economy and the financial crash, immigration, London’s housing market and the incredible mix of people in a city of 8.5 million. Ben Lawrence in the Telegraph wrote: Capital shows "an eternal London, riven by inequality and quickened by diversity". Also, Ben Dowell in the Radio Times: “It shows Londoners trying to work out very real problems… there is a fierce intelligence at work here, a script which asks some very interesting and important questions but doesn’t force the answers down your throat.”
Textual analysis
Watch the trailer for Capital:
1) The initial shot is a bird-eye view shot, it sets the scene. The rest of the clip includes several of montages. These allow the audiences' to see how the members of Pepys road are of varying statuses. This is because we can see how the have different jobs and as a result dress up and act differently. This implies that life in London is diverse.
2) The initial camera shot is a high angle shot and the camera is tracking inwards to the place where the drama is set, then we are first introduced to Pepys road. We can see how the setting is diverse due to the characters and shows the expensive houses they live in which have a high value. The low-angle shot of the letter box, implies that the houses are of high value, because of their decorated doors and stained glass. The camera movement suggests that the drama is suspenseful, this is because the camera is always moving and the scenes suddenly switch to another character. This is also reinforced through the use of close-ups and extreme close-ups on the characters' faces. We can also see how the drama is a family drama because there are several families they show and we will get an insight on them.
3)The trailer uses mise-en-scene to capture the family element. First of all the costumes that they use are normal, everyday casual wear clothes. This is what we see people wear from day to day and what we wear ourselves. Also, they have used high-key lighting in most of the trailer, so its shows how that its not scary or harmful for younger ones to watch. They have used a culturally diverse cast to portray the diverse life of London, they have also used people of different ages to have a personal impact on the audience. You can see the use of make-up and how it was used to change the facial expressions of some characters, for example to make them look upset or angry. Additionally, they have used several props to make the drama for family. The use of the street sign implies that its a place where families live, the use of the scaffolding suggest that the street consists of growing families and the use of the local shops just gives a comfort feeling and family element to the drama.
4) Bastille's 'These Streets' communicates to the audience that the drama could have a sense of unity and togetherness, so the street might come together to fight off the person who is abusing them with postcards. It's effective because of what he says in the lyrics. Additionally, the soundtrack could also be used to juxtapose with the situation of Pepys road. This is because the music is more upbeat at times, where in the drama everything is going wrong, for example the bit here the banker wife was shouting the music was upbeat and sounded happy.
5) The trailer introduces narrative strands because it focuses on one thing but them abruptly skips to the next problem, but never give us the solution. it uses a lot of enigma codes, which creates mystery for the audience. For example, who is sending the postcards?, what will happen to Quentina? and Will the postcards ever stop?. This way the audience members are left hanging to think what will happen next. This is also reinforced by the close-ups of the characters facial expressions, because we don't know what they are looking at that makes them looked so shocked and surprised.
Watch the Episode 1 preview for Capital:
1) This preview clip suggests that the potential subgenres for the drama are:
4) The audience pleasures that are provided by this scene are:
Watch the Episode 2 preview for Capital:
1) Positive points about Capital
- The Guardian- London life is portrayed brilliantly.
- The Telegraph- Shows eternal London, riven by inequality and quickened by diversity.
- The Evening Standard- The cast is excellent, and has a gripping storyline.
- The Telegraph- ...
- The Telegraph- "Yet it was a disappointment. This was no Dickensian bird’s-eye view, but an overly schematic tangle of under-developed plotlines populated by underwritten characters."
- The Evening Standard-"Yes, the series explores how London’s economy affects us all, which sounds a bit dull"
- The Telegraph-"Yet the fact that this TV adaptation is able to tell much the same story in the present day as the novel did set, as it was, in 2008, suggests no one has listened to a word he said."
4)Average London house price hits £500,000 as capital's housing market shows no sign of losing steam.
5) Capital is a ‘state-of-the-nation’ drama – designed to capture the issues facing the country at the time it is written and produced. In Capital, it focuses on the economy and the financial crash, immigration, London’s housing market and the incredible mix of people in a city of 8.5 million. Ben Lawrence in the Telegraph wrote: Capital shows "an eternal London, riven by inequality and quickened by diversity". Also, Ben Dowell in the Radio Times: “It shows Londoners trying to work out very real problems… there is a fierce intelligence at work here, a script which asks some very interesting and important questions but doesn’t force the answers down your throat.”
Textual analysis
Watch the trailer for Capital:
1) The initial shot is a bird-eye view shot, it sets the scene. The rest of the clip includes several of montages. These allow the audiences' to see how the members of Pepys road are of varying statuses. This is because we can see how the have different jobs and as a result dress up and act differently. This implies that life in London is diverse.
2) The initial camera shot is a high angle shot and the camera is tracking inwards to the place where the drama is set, then we are first introduced to Pepys road. We can see how the setting is diverse due to the characters and shows the expensive houses they live in which have a high value. The low-angle shot of the letter box, implies that the houses are of high value, because of their decorated doors and stained glass. The camera movement suggests that the drama is suspenseful, this is because the camera is always moving and the scenes suddenly switch to another character. This is also reinforced through the use of close-ups and extreme close-ups on the characters' faces. We can also see how the drama is a family drama because there are several families they show and we will get an insight on them.
3)The trailer uses mise-en-scene to capture the family element. First of all the costumes that they use are normal, everyday casual wear clothes. This is what we see people wear from day to day and what we wear ourselves. Also, they have used high-key lighting in most of the trailer, so its shows how that its not scary or harmful for younger ones to watch. They have used a culturally diverse cast to portray the diverse life of London, they have also used people of different ages to have a personal impact on the audience. You can see the use of make-up and how it was used to change the facial expressions of some characters, for example to make them look upset or angry. Additionally, they have used several props to make the drama for family. The use of the street sign implies that its a place where families live, the use of the scaffolding suggest that the street consists of growing families and the use of the local shops just gives a comfort feeling and family element to the drama.
4) Bastille's 'These Streets' communicates to the audience that the drama could have a sense of unity and togetherness, so the street might come together to fight off the person who is abusing them with postcards. It's effective because of what he says in the lyrics. Additionally, the soundtrack could also be used to juxtapose with the situation of Pepys road. This is because the music is more upbeat at times, where in the drama everything is going wrong, for example the bit here the banker wife was shouting the music was upbeat and sounded happy.
5) The trailer introduces narrative strands because it focuses on one thing but them abruptly skips to the next problem, but never give us the solution. it uses a lot of enigma codes, which creates mystery for the audience. For example, who is sending the postcards?, what will happen to Quentina? and Will the postcards ever stop?. This way the audience members are left hanging to think what will happen next. This is also reinforced by the close-ups of the characters facial expressions, because we don't know what they are looking at that makes them looked so shocked and surprised.
Watch the Episode 1 preview for Capital:
1) This preview clip suggests that the potential subgenres for the drama are:
- Racism, in particular islamophobia- This is because they are a Pakistani family and the sly remarks about 'white people complaining' and 'islamophobia' implies that there could be an element of racism in this.
- Sexual harassment- The photographs of the mans wife are worrying and the fact that they are only of a young women is more concerning in a society like that.
- Child abuse/sexualisation?
- Family-A family drama, the pictures of the kids etc.
- Investigation-Find out who the culprit is.
- Mystery- Who is sending them the postcards.
- In 2015, there is a larger population of diverse people living in London- 'Diversity mission statement'
- During this time period there is a larger threat of terrorism and Muslims are the main scapegoats-'islamophobia'
4) The audience pleasures that are provided by this scene are:
- Diversion- the audiences get to indulge in something that doesn't concern them. They get to escape their problems and feel relaxed.
- Personal identity-They may feel like they are relatable to some characters, for example Shahid is a student who is outspoken and careless, some students watching may find this relatable.
- Personal relationship-Develop a personal relationship with the character, they might know the character well by now and know what they are thinking and how they will act. E.g. Shahid's sarcasm.
Watch the Episode 2 preview for Capital:
1) This clip represent upper-middle-class life almost as dividing. This is purely based on the fact that this family has a nanny to look after their kids, so they don't connect with them or live as a real family. Additionally, it could represent upper-middle-class life as chaos-free. This is because they have no responsibility at all over their children and get to relax when they come home from work.
2) The narrative strands suggested in this sequence are:
Production and industry context
1) The parent company for Kudos is the Endemol Shine Group.
2)The breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002 was the spy drama Spooks. This came to international attention with the BAFTA Award and was debuted on BBC One on 13th May 2002.
3) Other TV dramas Kudos have produced are; the awards they have won are:
1) The programme information on page 3 makes Capital sound interesting by:
3) Capital was commissioned for BBC by Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One and Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama.
4) Toby Jones says that playing the character of Roger made him feel worried, because he is different. He said that Roger is more of a complacent banker rather than an evil one. He's become used to a certain way of life and has self-imposed pressure to live that way.He spends a lot of money on things that other people don't spend money on but it's normal to him and his wife. He doesn't have full control of his life and work. Jones said the main attraction to playing Roger's character was that he was well educated, functioning human being on one level, who has obeyed the rules and earned a lot of money. He shifts in the story, he is unable to express himself.
5) Adeel Akhtar says that Capital looks at the idea of a community, and what it means to belong to the community from whatever background you are from. However, there is a feeling that a community is lacking because Ahmed's brother Usman, feels ostracized from it. He feels like he doesn't belong and looks on the inside from outside.
6) Shabana Azmi says that her character wasn't the typical stereotypical Asian women. She believes that Capital portrays a fair representation of an Asian family in Britain.
7) Peter Bowker's favourite scenes in the drama were when Roger is left alone on Christmas morning with his 2 kids as Roger realises that his life is changing. He also likes the Kamals' chaotic family meals. This is because they are archetypal family scenes were everybody goes through, but it's just funny. Another one Bogdan the polish builder talks to Matya about they people they work for.
8) Derek Wax produced Capital because he loved how all of London was being portrayed through inly one street. He likes how John gets inside the heads of readers in order for us to engage with thoughts and feelings. Wax says that it tells us how people are obsessed with property, everyone is connected to money through their homes.
DVD packaging
1) It uses other critically acclaimed dramas by having a copy saying 'FROM THE MAKERS OF HUMANS AND BROADCHURCH' So people that have seen those shows may be influenced to watch this one.
2) The London landmarks silhouette implies that the drama is shot in the 'Capital' city, London. The range of pictures suggests to the audience that the drama is about several of people and doesn't just focus on one storyline. it could also suggest that the drama is about family. The tagline of 'SOMEONE WANTS WHAT THEY HAVE' is intriguing and could suggest to the audience that these people are being harassed in some form.
3) They have used 2 review quotes and have placed them above and below the images. The first quote is "INSIGHTFUL AND MOVING...A COMPELLING PORTRAIT OF MODERN BRITAIN...TERRIFIC" This quote was from the Daily Mail. it suggests that the sub-genre of this drama is state-of-the-nation because it talks about the portrayal of modern Britain. it also suggest that there will be narrative strands which are compelling and only resolved at the end. The other quote is "A DAZZLING, ABLE CAST...BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE STORY HAS GOT YOU GRIPPED". This quote is from The Sunday Times. The audiences will be able to gain pleasure by watching this drama because the cast they have used show realism, some of this may be relatable to the audiences. hey will watch this for diversion, by indulging in fictional characters' problems rather than their own. It also gives them a choice to have a personal relationship with a character as they may be able to put themselves in the characters shoes and reflect on their own lives.
4) The DVD package implies that London is a culturally diverse capital. This is seen through the images of people who are different cultures. Alternatively, another representation could be that London is dominated by the elite and wealthy people. This is because the image of Roger, a wealthy baker, and his wife Arabella is significantly larger than the others (They don't have a high profession like Roger).
2) The narrative strands suggested in this sequence are:
- The nanny may get more people to come with her to the house.
- It could be a possibility that the nanny could have some sort of affair with Roger, this is purely based on the fact that they all look so happy when they are singing together, but then they are interrupted by Arabella. Also, Roger and Arabella are having issues, so Roger might turn to the nanny.
Production and industry context
1) The parent company for Kudos is the Endemol Shine Group.
2)The breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002 was the spy drama Spooks. This came to international attention with the BAFTA Award and was debuted on BBC One on 13th May 2002.
3) Other TV dramas Kudos have produced are; the awards they have won are:
- Broadchurch (ITV)-British Academy Television Award, winner of 4 BAFTAS including drama series.
- River (BBC One/Netflix)-
- Flowers (Channel 4/Seeso)-
- Grantchester (ITV/PSB Masterpiece)
- Humans (Channel 4/AMC)
- The Tunnel: Sabotage (Sky Atlantic HD/Canal+)
- Tin-Star (Sky Atlantic/Amazon)
- Diversion- They get to escape reality and indulge in new experiences which are unique, like Humans is a sci-fi drama.
- Entertainment- The audience is allowed to sit back and relax and watch the drama unfold! For example Broadchurch.
- Personal Relationship- They get to have a different perspective on life through the views of others.
1) The programme information on page 3 makes Capital sound interesting by:
- Using persuasive quotes- "BAFTA winning", "bestselling novel", "multi-award-winning Indian actress", "Oliver award-winning", "Who is behind the anonymous hate campaign? And what do they want?", "love and loss, fear and greed, fortune and envy, family and home"
- The several narrative strands
- Anonymous postcards
3) Capital was commissioned for BBC by Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One and Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama.
4) Toby Jones says that playing the character of Roger made him feel worried, because he is different. He said that Roger is more of a complacent banker rather than an evil one. He's become used to a certain way of life and has self-imposed pressure to live that way.He spends a lot of money on things that other people don't spend money on but it's normal to him and his wife. He doesn't have full control of his life and work. Jones said the main attraction to playing Roger's character was that he was well educated, functioning human being on one level, who has obeyed the rules and earned a lot of money. He shifts in the story, he is unable to express himself.
5) Adeel Akhtar says that Capital looks at the idea of a community, and what it means to belong to the community from whatever background you are from. However, there is a feeling that a community is lacking because Ahmed's brother Usman, feels ostracized from it. He feels like he doesn't belong and looks on the inside from outside.
6) Shabana Azmi says that her character wasn't the typical stereotypical Asian women. She believes that Capital portrays a fair representation of an Asian family in Britain.
7) Peter Bowker's favourite scenes in the drama were when Roger is left alone on Christmas morning with his 2 kids as Roger realises that his life is changing. He also likes the Kamals' chaotic family meals. This is because they are archetypal family scenes were everybody goes through, but it's just funny. Another one Bogdan the polish builder talks to Matya about they people they work for.
8) Derek Wax produced Capital because he loved how all of London was being portrayed through inly one street. He likes how John gets inside the heads of readers in order for us to engage with thoughts and feelings. Wax says that it tells us how people are obsessed with property, everyone is connected to money through their homes.
DVD packaging
1) It uses other critically acclaimed dramas by having a copy saying 'FROM THE MAKERS OF HUMANS AND BROADCHURCH' So people that have seen those shows may be influenced to watch this one.
2) The London landmarks silhouette implies that the drama is shot in the 'Capital' city, London. The range of pictures suggests to the audience that the drama is about several of people and doesn't just focus on one storyline. it could also suggest that the drama is about family. The tagline of 'SOMEONE WANTS WHAT THEY HAVE' is intriguing and could suggest to the audience that these people are being harassed in some form.
3) They have used 2 review quotes and have placed them above and below the images. The first quote is "INSIGHTFUL AND MOVING...A COMPELLING PORTRAIT OF MODERN BRITAIN...TERRIFIC" This quote was from the Daily Mail. it suggests that the sub-genre of this drama is state-of-the-nation because it talks about the portrayal of modern Britain. it also suggest that there will be narrative strands which are compelling and only resolved at the end. The other quote is "A DAZZLING, ABLE CAST...BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE STORY HAS GOT YOU GRIPPED". This quote is from The Sunday Times. The audiences will be able to gain pleasure by watching this drama because the cast they have used show realism, some of this may be relatable to the audiences. hey will watch this for diversion, by indulging in fictional characters' problems rather than their own. It also gives them a choice to have a personal relationship with a character as they may be able to put themselves in the characters shoes and reflect on their own lives.
4) The DVD package implies that London is a culturally diverse capital. This is seen through the images of people who are different cultures. Alternatively, another representation could be that London is dominated by the elite and wealthy people. This is because the image of Roger, a wealthy baker, and his wife Arabella is significantly larger than the others (They don't have a high profession like Roger).
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