Homework - Eastenders

Initial thoughts



Initial thoughts:
The clip starts in the living room with Derek and Kat. Derek talks to Kat about getting onto a plane and she disagrees. He then says he can be quite persuasive and picks up her coat and puts it on her. She moves across the room and takes the coat off and says she's not going. Derek then shouts at Kat and says 'PUT YOUR COAT ON'. Max and Jack then burst through the door and Max tells Derek to leave Kat alone. Max then tells Derek the things he's done to his family Both Max and Derek move in towards each other and Max says 'Im gonna kill you Derek'. Max pushes Derek. Derek then begins calling Max names and shouts at him. He then shouts out 'I AM DEREK BRANNING'. As Derek points at Max, it is shown that Max is crying. Once Derek has finished his rant. He turns to Kat, walks over to her and grabs her hand. She says no and then runs to Max for protection. Derek goes to go after her but instead Jack grabs him and holds him back away from her. Jack tries to take Derek out of the room and get him out of the house. He shouts 'Joey' to come and help. Joey comes in and grabs Derek from the back and helps Jack escort him out. They struggle to get him to the door and the rest of the family is seen looking confused and scared. Derek walks down the stairs outside and is followed by Max, Joey and Jack. Derek slowly backs off shouting at them. Jack, Joey and Max follow. Kat is then seen looking distort. Derek points to everyone and says 'you don't know what I'm gonna do to you'. He then begins heavy breathing. They walk off as Derek is struggling to breathe. Derek moves around slightly and makes loud choking noises as he turns and grabs the fence. Derek then turns around and leans his back on the fence.Derek falls onto his knees in pain. He then falls to the ground. Joey runs down the stairs shouting 'DAD' and stands over his body. Derek is seen lying still on the ground. Max, Kat and Jack all go over to Derek and Max says 'He's dead'.

Second thoughts:

Derek says to Kat that 'she ruined her life'. Derek tells Kat that they'll get a flight first thing in the morning. Max tells Derek that Derek thinks he's big man because he's been bullying women. That Derek has been threatening little girls, threatening Max's daughter and terrorising Max's wife. Max tells Derek that he lied to him about the money, the papers and the baby. Derek says he was protecting Max. Max then says she had an abortion and that she had an abortion because of Derek. Derek then calls Max the 'runt' of the family and that Derek wanted to show Max whose boss by referring to the coffin. Derek then looks at Max and says 'you and that snobby stuck up wife of yours looking down her nose at me'. He then looks at Jack and says 'you and that pill popping girlfriend treating me like dirt. I'm ashamed of you. I'm ashamed of the both of you'. He points at them and says 'he's done. He says he's got his own family and grabs Kat and leaves. They take him out of the room with the help of Joey and they're all shouting 'get him out of here' and 'get out'. Derek then walks down the stairs and threatens Max and Jack. He walks away and holds his heart as he falls to the ground. Joey, Max, Kat and Jack all go over to Derek as he's lying on the ground and then Max looks up at the rest of them and confirms the worst. That Derek is dead.



Shot types:
There is a medium shot that take place during this scene. This occurs when Derek and Kat are talking about what they will do first thing in the morning. An over the shoulder shot in then used when Derek is explaining about getting a plane and Kat reacts to what Derek is saying.

A medium shot is then used after Kat tells Derek no and that she isn't going. This medium shot allows for the viewer to see that Derek is picking up Kat's coat from the sofa and putting it on her. A shot reverse shot is used to show Kat's reaction to Derek putting her coat on her. A medium shot is then used again to show Kat taking her coat off and refusing to go with him.

An over the shoulder shot is used when Max and Jack are in the room and Max and Derek are having a conversation. By doing this shot, it is giving the viewer an insight into the conversation and how each character is feeling and reacting to what the other character is saying.

A medium shot is taken when Max pushes Derek and goes back to Jack. As soon as this happens, a close up is then taken to show Max's reaction.

A close up is then taken of Derek as he shouts at Max. Once this happens, a shot reverse shot is taken to show Max's reaction during Derek's speech about Max being the 'runt' of the family.

An over the shoulder shot is used when Derek continues to talk to Max as they have a conversation. This shot is used continually until Derek leaves the room with Jack and Joey trying to hold him.

A master shot is then used to show where Joey, Max and Jack are escorting Derek. This shows the viewer where the next scene will occur and gives them and shows limit of action.

A medium close up is then taken when Derek gets taken out of the house and goes down the stairs. As Derek walks away, a Medium shot is taken of him and Jack, Joey and Max as they walk towards Derek. A medium close up is taken of Derek as he grabs his chest and begins to start struggling to breathe.

A long shot is taken of Joey, Max and Jack as they walk up the stairs and turn around to see why Derek is making noises. A medium close up is then taken of Derek as he struggles to breathe. A long shot is then taken again of Joey as he runs towards his dad.

A medium close up shot is taken of Derek as he lies on the floor and then a medium close up shot is taken of Max as he looks up at the rest of them and says 'He's dead'.


Sounds:

In the begining of the clip, the Eastenders theme tune is played. The next sound to be heard is the actor's voices. Derek's footprints are then heard. As Derek picks up Kat's coat, a clanging noise is heard and then ruffling is heard as Kat puts the coat on and then takes it off. The next sound to be heard is the opening of the door as Jack and Max enter. As Max begins to talk to Derek, his moves back and forth shuffling which can be heard. As Max and Derek are talking, Max continues to shuffle which can be heard throughout the conversation. The next sound to be heard is the sound of Max breathing just before he goes for Derek. After that, the sound of Max's hands going onto Derek's body are heard and then the banging of a chair as Max falls back into it. Max's heavy breathing is heard as Derek rants at him. The sound of Kat's heels as Derek grabs her is then heard. As Jack and Derek lock each other's arms, ruffling is heard. The banging of the chair is heard again as they stumble into it. More shuffling and ruffling is heard as Joey comes in and tries to get a hold of Derek. A bang is heard as they fall back onto the hallway wall. The next sound to be heard is the opening of the door. After the door is opened, it makes a banging noise as it hits against the wall. The ruffling of feet is heard as they push Derek out of the house. The door is then heard closing. As they walk away from the house, footsteps are heard. The next sound is Derek as he struggles to breathe and begins to struggle as he chokes. A small sound is made as Derek falls to the floor and then footsteps are heard as they go to see him. The last sound to be heard is the theme tune at the end of the clip.

Throughout the clip, there are two types of sounds that are present. The type of sound that is used more is diegetic. The other type of sound that is used is non-diegetic. The times in which the non-diegetic sounds are found are:

• At the start of the clip when the Eastender's theme tune is played.
• At the end of the clip when the Eastender's theme tune is played.

These two sounds are non-diegetic as they do not occur naturally but are instead put in.

The type of sound that is more common (diegetic) is found when:

• Derek's footsteps can be heard.
• The ruffling of the coat as Kat puts it on.
• The opening of the door.
• Max shuffling his feet.
• Max's deep breathing.
• The banging of the chair.
• Kat's heels as she moves across the room.
• The bang when they fall back onto the hallway wall.
• The opening of the front door.
• The banging of the door against the wall.
• The closing of the door.
• Derek struggling to breathe.
• Derek falling to the floor.

These are examples of diegetic sounds as they occur as part of the storyline.

Throughout the clip, there are two different types of sounds. One of which is synchronous and one of which is asynchronous. The sounds that are synchronous are:

• The coat.
• The door opening.
• Max deep breathing.
• The banging of the door.
• The ruffling during the fight/grab.
• The guys banging against the hallway wall.
• Front door opening.
• Front door banging against wall.
• Shuffling of feet as they go outside.
• Derek's choking/heavy breathing.
• Derek falling to floor.
• Guys running to body.

These are examples of synchronous as they can be heard and are onscreen.

The sounds that are asynchronous are:

• Derek's footsteps as he goes towards the coat.
• Max shuffling. 
• Kat's heels.
• Front door closing.

These are asynchronous as they can be heard but are offscreen.

Mise-en-scène:

When observing the clip, I noticed a Christmas tree to the right of the screen. This indicates to me that the time of the storyline was either near Christmas or on Christmas day. By looking at the wallpaper and decor, I can tell that the owner of the house is that of a younger generation as they are very modern. Derek wore a suit which indicates that he has to wear it for his job and that he is very smart. Max is also wearing a suit which indicates he needs to dress smartly for his job. Jack however is wearing a top and a jumper. This shows that he isn't as smartly dressed as the other brothers.

The tinsel seen in the background and the decorations also prove that the time of the year is winter and that it's Christmas.

When the clip shows the women who are in the house, the clothes worn indicate a type of celebration. Tanya is seen wearing a wedding dress which tells me that they were getting married at Christmas.

As they leave the house, a shot is taken above the houses. This indicates that the houses are terrace.

The Christmas decorations found in the street indicate that the whole of the neighborhood like to celebrate the Christmas period by decorating the streets and scenery.