| COUNT
THE CUTS |
TV is two-dimensional, but the image jumps around between
cameras to create the illusion of three — if it didn’t
you’d very quickly to get tired of watching. Count
the cuts for a minute to keep you aware of the medium
as well as the message. |
|
|
| STRETCH
THE SCREEN |
You know ifs all a fake, but they try to make you forget
Widen the view to bring in everything else as well —
the microphones, the cameras, the prompters, the crowds,
the lights. |
|
|
| SPLIT
THE SCENE |
Watch for the hackneyed conventions of film realism -
like cutting from the outside of a building to a group
of people talking indoors. What makes you think it’s
the same building? It almost never is. |
|
|
| MEASURE
THE STATUS |
You never see a pore-counting close up of a Prime Minister
or the Queen; distance on TV indicates respect The authority
system is similarly indicated by who is given permission
to talk direct to the camera — not allowed when you’re
being interviewed. |
|
|
| TRY
TO THINK |
Do you think at all while watching TV? Does it get any
easier to do so without the sound, or the pictures,
or both? |
|
|
| MARK
THE CLICHE |
Television has to be ‘visual’, so reporters
will stand in front of the White House to signify Washington
or the Houses of Parliament for London. Give marks for
the cliches — zero for a blank screen up to ten
for any programme shameless enough to indicate Paris
with the Eiffel Tower.
|
|
|
| CATCH
THE CUTAWAY |
Programmes are made to appear neat and complete—
so you don’t realise what arbitrary slices of life
they really are. The watchful viewer spots the editing,
like the shots of a questioner’s face or back that
splice together the odd bits of a long interview. |
|
|
| RATE
THE ACT |
A film camera can’t point in two directions at
once. So in an interview the questioner may be filmed
separately afterwards, by which time the subject has
probably left the room. Interrogating (or nodding sympathetically
at) an empty chair is quite a difficult acting job.
Hand out your own Oscars. |
|
|
| CLASSIFY
THE ADS |
Break the spell of the ads by thinking —
a
little. See how rapidly you can classify them into:
a.
Humour
b. Sex appeal
c. Macho
d. Romantic setting
e. Slice of life
f. Excitement
g. Fun
h. Irritation
i.
Repetition
|
|
|
| TAKE
YOUR SIDE |
Whatever the broadcasters may say, the news they give
is always from a particular point of view. For each news
item see if you can identify which side they want you
to be on. |
|
|
| SPOT
THE STEREOTYPE |
Think of any disadvantaged group — women, the old,
blacks, the disabled, the poor— and see how often
they are limited to these stereotypes. How often do you
see an Asian or a disabled person play an ‘ordinary’
part in a drama? |
|
|
| TELL
THE STORY |
On the basis of the programme you are now watching try
to explain to any visiting extra-terrestrial what life
on earth is like. Do you want to live in such a place? |
|
Graphics: Clive
Offley
|
new
internationalist 119
