How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'?
In your answer you should:
- analyse aspects of the extract giving detailed examples
- judge how far these aspects create a sense of watching 'real life'.
The extract aims to portray a sense of real life however this can be difficult and if done wrong the extract could look false. In cuffs the extract looks real because of the use of stereo types and the range of natural locations. However the shots from the point of view of a camera from ranges many people have not seen could make people lose the sense of realism created by the extract
In this extract, stereotyping is used to make the extracts seem more realistic because it does not make us want to question whether something is real or not. We are used to seeing some stereo types, which makes us think instantly that it is exactly like real life. An example of stereotyping in this extract is that the criminals are male. This is what the audience would be used to seeing, however it may not be true, and will seem normal for the audience and make it seem more real. Stereo types could make is seem as if you are watching real life because it seems like ordinary life not out of the ordinary.
Another way the extract could seem realistic is the range of realistic locations in which they go to. Natural lighting is used rather than artificial light to make it seem like the locations they go to are exactly like locations they go to in real life. The shop and area around it, which is being broken into, is very realistic due to the normality of everything that happens before the criminals arrive. There are many people in the background and a family is shown as worried when they see the criminals. Being worried at this point would be most people’s reaction to the criminals arriving and can help to make the extract seem realistic.
Although there are many aspects to this extract that make it portray real life there are also many shots showing the extract as far from real life. If we see camera shots from points of views we may not be used to seeing then it could make us question what we see and detract from the sense of realism. In the extract, we may question whether the extract is real or not due to some shots like an Ariel shot. This is used when we see the car chase going on and could make us see the extract as false because we are not used to seeing a car chase from this perspective.
Mark 15 out of 15. You are getting there.
ReplyDelete1. Good: the lighting looks realistic / natural.
2. Good: locations such as the shopping centre are naturalistic.
3. You are right that hand-held suggests documentary realism.
4. You are also right that the 'cinematic' shots such as the aerial shot of the car chase might detract from the realism by drawing attention to themselves.