The first series of I'm Alan Partridge was produced in 1997 and was filmed with an aspect ratio of 4:3 - the traditional television standard during the 20th century. [1] The second series was produced in 2002 with an updated aspect ratio of 16:9, the standard for HD TV.
Even though 4:3 was the standard aspect ratio, watching as a modern audience this aspect ratio almost seems intentional rather than being used just because it was the standard. The 4:3 aspect ratio and standard definition gives the show a lower visual quality, which helps to reflect the low quality of Alan's life. This is also aided by the mise-en-scene used within scenes such as the recording studio and the cheap hotel in which he is living. The recording booth has a dark interior with dark walls and dim lighting, helping to convey that his slot on the local station is the graveyard slot. The scenes within the hotel follow a similar theme, low practical lighting and bleak coloured walls. This is something I will consider as Director of Photography. I will work with the director to decide on the mise-en-scene used within our piece. As our production is likely to be similar in style (i.e. following a vet through his misadventures), borrowing some ideas from the production of I'm Alan Partridge will help to give our production the appropriate look - these ideas are laid out further in this blog post.
I'm Alan Partridge has a single camera set up and is shot in a handheld manner, following Alan through the day's adventures. The single camera set up means that whilst the handheld method is used for comedic effect, it is also practical. The handheld nature also makes the sit com feel authentic and is the audience are being brought along with the action.
To really study the cinematography, I focused my research on one episode.
Watership Alan
Like all episodes throughout both series, the episode begins in the recording studio. This establishes Alan's occupation and shows him as being the central character of the show. I would like to bring this idea through to our production (i.e. establishing our character as a vet and displaying that he is the central character of the show in the beginning scenes.) However, this is not solely my decision as DoP - I will need to discuss this with the director of the production.
The lighting used in the hotel room seems to be practical natural lighting (i.e. just the natural light coming from the window and the lighting within the room). Whether this was achieved using artificial lights or natural lighting is unknown, however, the look of the product would make it seem that it is naturally lit. This adds to the authentic look (aided by the handheld camera) which makes the audience feel they are observing Alan Partridge naturally in his daily activities. This adds to the comedy of the piece as it puts the focus is on Alan's humorous dialogue and comedic actions. Within this medium shot, framing Alan in the centre of the frame helps to keep the focus on him. The audience also assumes Alan is alone due to him singing and exercising in his inappropriately small outfit, however, a quick cut to a two shot reveals Geordie Michael fixing something in the corner, adding to the humour of the situation.
As well as the handheld shots following Alan, during conversations two shots and shot-reverse-shots are used (the majority of the time these are also filmed in a handheld manner). The two shots are filmed in a very practical manner, placing the emphasis on the content of the conversation rather than on the shot type (making the camerawork seem unnoticeable). This shows that good camera work doesn't always have to be extravagant - sometimes it needs to be used in a practical way to communicate the content of the programme - and when done well this camerawork is invisible to the viewer. This scene switches between a two shot and a shot-reverse-shot of Alan and Geordie Michael - in all of which the lighting and colours remain consistent. A fairly deep depth of field is used in these shots (shown by the focus stretching from the characters to the background as well) - this again adds to the authentic feel and makes the audience feel like they are just observing the action (instead of using a shallow depth of field to throw the background out of focus and make the audience feel as if they should be focusing on a particular part of the frame).
This is something I will need to consider as I will also most likely be using a single camera method as well - I will need to ensure the aperture, shutter speed and ISO are all set correctly to ensure the right exposure and to ensure this exposure remains the same over the different shot types. From the Transitions shoot last year I found that a lower ISO worked the best to ensure the least grainy footage and using a slower shutter speed and wider aperture to compensate. This will be something to experiment with in my test shoots.
The framing of some of the shots helps to enhance the mood of a scene. In this scene, Lynn has suggested she could pretend to be Alan's wife, yet Alan is not keen on the idea - this leads to an awkward silence in the lift. The framing of this shot enhances the awkwardness as it keeps Alan and Lynn in a consistent position in the frame - the camera also stays on this same frame for the whole lift journey, dragging out the awkwardness.
This is something I will consider during our production. Often camera shots are cut between quickly in situation comedies, however, this offers a different approach and works to the advantage of the situation. I will experiment with shot lengths in my test shoots.
As well as just filming the conversations between the characters, the camera is also used to move the audience through the locations. In this scene, the camera follows Alan and Lynn from the lift to the hotel lobby (with them walking towards the camera in a medium shot). A deep depth of field is used whilst using moving through to the lobby - this means that there is a larger depth of focus meaning that the characters remain in focus whilst moving. I will test this in my test shoots as this would be a good technique to use to follow our character (as opposed to merely cutting to another shot in their next location).
The dim lighting and desaturated colour grading also help to suggest the time of day - again adding to natural, authentic nature of the show. In this scene, the only light source is coming from the lamp - this casts a shadow over the side of Alan's face facing the camera - this helps to show that it is evening in this scene. Whilst the desaturated colour grading helps to suggest the cheap nature of the hotel, like the dimmer lighting it helps to suggest nighttime.
This is something to consider in my test shoots as artificial lights may need to be used in our production to get the best visual result - however, these artificial lights will still need to look appropriate for the time of day at which the scene is set. I will test this through setting up the lights and adjusting them to simulate different times of day.
In the following scene, the use of handheld camera is particularly effective. The handheld, close up, frantic movement of the camera once the cow has been dropped onto Alan helps to convey the panic and confusion of the situation. The close up nature of the handheld shots adds to the confusion as the audience are only seeing parts of the picture at one time, keeping the footage exciting. This, accompanied by the snippets of sound ("where did the cow come from?", "I know it's not funny", "get the cow off the boat please", "I'm not okay") makes the viewer feel as if they are involved in the action - they are getting the immediate reaction of the characters.
When Alan is sat up finishing his piece to camera, the camera zooms out to reveal that he is in a stretcher and that the hand that he drinks with isn't actually his. This adds to the comedic effect as the audience has presumed one thing (that Alan is sat in a chair, drinking with his own hand) but the reveal suddenly throws them off, making the situation humorous. I hope to use similar zooming shots to act as reveals in our production.
What I have learnt from this research:
Handheld camera is very effective in making a production look authentic and making the audience feel as if they're watching natural activity. This adds to the comedy of the piece as Alan's dialogue and actions are at the centre of the audience's attention.
Zooms are effective in revealing things to the audience. Slight zooms in can be used to emphasise a feature to the audience or zooms out can reveal the bigger picture to the audience.
Desaturated, slightly warm toned colour grading gives the production a natural look. This colour grading accurately resembles the lighting that is often seen in the locations the sit com is set (recording studio, hotel etc.) - adding to the idea that we are following this character through their daily life.
Sources:
[1] https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/film-studies-101-aspect-ratios/
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