Sit Com Analysis of 'My Family' and 'Friends' including a comparison.
Initial Research
Sit Com Analysis of 'My Family' and 'Friends' including a comparison.
The mise-en-scene in any program is important because obviously it is what you see in each shot, but in situation comedies it is the most important aspect because if the content does not make you laugh then the genre is not working.
The mise-en-scene within 'My Family' adds to the genre because of the way that the different room's etc have being set out. Each different scene has a different camera angle and I think this has a massive part in the reflection of the genre.
A way in which the mise-en-scene reflects the genre is the use of large rooms. I think this reflects the genre because I feel that sit-coms are remembered as open. I think that the large rooms are re-instating the openness. A good example of this I think is when Ben is trying to wake Scott. They use the large bedroom to great effect I feel because it emphasises Scott's size. They use the big, open bedroom to get the humour across about Scott being particularly large.
I think that because some of the shots are in long shot this reflects the genre to more effect. I think this because when there is a long shot of a scene, it shows more. And so I think that the director can then put incidence in the background which is humorous and yet still have comedy and humour in the foreground to add to the comedy that is within the background.
An example that I can think of within 'My Family' is when Nick is doing his stunts or acrobats onto the sofa. In the background you can see Susan and you just know that when Nick has done his stunts then Susan is going to tell him off. Nick thinks that it was one of his best one's yet and when he's done it Janey tells him that mum was watching and his reaction is that he knows he's in trouble and all this adds to the reflection of the genre.
Within 'Friends', even the opening frames of the programme reflect the genre because of the mise-en-scene. Within the opening frames you see short clips of the friends splashing about in the water fountain. This reflects the genre because it gives you an understanding of humour, enjoyment, and youth, which really is what situation comedies, are all about.
A better example though is the shots of the cafe, 'Central Perk'. This is the central meeting place of all the friends. It reflects the genre because all the bright colours within the café give the impression of laughter and enjoyment along with the feeling of relaxation. It also reflects the genre because it is a large room and is quite open and full of people in the background and situation comedies are usually an experience with and for a collection of people.
Another example that 'Friends' has within it that reflects the genre is Monica and ...
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A better example though is the shots of the cafe, 'Central Perk'. This is the central meeting place of all the friends. It reflects the genre because all the bright colours within the café give the impression of laughter and enjoyment along with the feeling of relaxation. It also reflects the genre because it is a large room and is quite open and full of people in the background and situation comedies are usually an experience with and for a collection of people.
Another example that 'Friends' has within it that reflects the genre is Monica and Chandlers flat. It reflects it because the flat is generally untidy and not organised and in a way I think that generally most sit-coms are generally untidy/unorganised and I think that all this adds to the humour. In general I think that they both reflect the genre but in very different ways.
Camera Angles
The best example I can think of in 'My Family' that really presents ideology is when all the family (except Ben) is sat around the table. This presents that a strong family would all sit around a table whilst madly in conversation. Also within this shot you see Susan in the kitchen cooking breakfast and I think that this is very stereotypical but also gets across that there should be a mum cooking for a strong family in the morning, again this is ideology.
Another camera technique that is used is when Ben is trying to explain to Susan about Scott, it is called editing. It happens when Ben is explaining to Susan about Scott lying dead in their bed. Whenever Ben is talking it shows you 'Susan' in the frame listening. Yet when Susan starts to talk, the camera switches to 'Ben' as he is finishing his comment and will stick on Ben as Susan is speaking, this carries on and on, switching between Ben and Susan talking.
The other technique is one that is called panning. This only happens once in 'My Family' and it is before Ben enters the room where Scott is. The camera pans from the 'English' money that Scott said he hadn't changed slowly across to the, what looks to be cold, still face of Scott. This has the effect of humour because you expect that when Ben wakes him, he will collect the £50 that Scott owes him.
The first camera angle that I can think of that presents ideology in 'Friends' is the one that shows the friends collected together in the 'Central Perk'. Firstly the camera goes from showing the logo of 'Central Perk', onto the sofa where the group is sat. The break from the two frames is interesting though, because it is a clean break from the logo to the friends and has absolutely no dissolving or blurring within the change.
I think the shot of the friends sat together on the sofa presents ideology because it shows a good, strong group of friends sat together in conversation and a good friendship is vital to society. Also, when you see the friends sat together you can see that Ross is sat reading and the rest are talking together and I think that this reflects their personality.
Another camera technique that is used during this scene is panning. If you remember this was also used in 'My Family'. It is used in 'Friends' when Melissa comes into the scene. The camera pans onto Melissa as she appears from behind an extra and stays with her till she talks to the bar tender. I think the camera did this to get across the importance of Melissa and to tell us that she is going to be an important part of this scene.
Audience Expectations
'My Family' reinforces and manipulates the audience expectations very well on several occasions
One example of how 'My Family' manipulates the audience expectations is when Ben and Janey are struggling to carry the mattress down the stairs and Janey runs off because she has broke a nail, and the mattress falls down the stairs with Ben and covers him at the bottom. Then, Michael is stood at the bottom of the stairs just watching his dad (Ben). Then when Ben asks for help from Michael to lift the mattress off him, Michael just goes out of shot for a few seconds and then just places a cushion under his dads' head and ensures that he is comfortable when he returns to the scene.
I don't think that the audience expected this at all, because I certainly didn't. I didn't expect him to help his dad in the situation he was in but what he did was I think different because I don't think that this would of happened in any other regular household.
An example of reinforcing the audience expectations within 'My Family' is when Ben is expecting help from Michael and Janey to get rid of the mattress off the bed. Ben is stripping the sheets off the mattress and then the camera flicks from Ben across to Michael and Janey and when you see them leaning on the wardrobe you just get the feeling that they are not going to help within this job without a reward of some kind. Then, because you know that they are teenagers, you just know that they are going to do it for money and money only.
Actually in this scene there is another time when the audience expectations are reinforced. We know that, when Ben refuses to give the money to Michael and Janey that they are then going to do something or say something that will really get Ben to pay up. Janey and Michael promise to their dad that without paying up, he cannot possibly face the forfeit that they are going to challenge him with. So, they give him the forfeit, they bet him that if he doesn't pay up then he would have to face the fact of Janey and Michael standing in front of him frustrating him.
Then as we expect, after a few seconds of Janey and Michael frustrating him, he gives in. He finally agrees to give them both five pounds each if they helped him with the mattress, and as we also expect, Janey and Michael agree because they've got what they wanted.
In comparison to 'My Family' I think that 'Friends' reinforces the audience expectations in similar ways. In 'My Family' you have the situation of Ben requiring help from Michael and Janey and I think the best example of reinforcing the audience expectations in 'Friends' is the occurrence after the meal with Rachael and Melissa.
At the beginning of the programme we had just seen Melissa talking to Rachael over away from the friends. Then when Rachael returns to the group, we hear the discussion between the friends asking Rachael who that was. Then Monica asks Rachael, with a smile on her face if that is the same 'collage girl' that she kissed. The next thing we hear is that they are going to have a meal together and so after hearing what Rachael and Melissa had got upto at collage, we expect them to do a similar thing after the meal. As Melissa is leaving she is still denying that she kissed Rachael. So, then Rachael tries to get her to remember what they did and so did it again. I think that this was expected by a lot of us but it was what I definitely expected.
Next we have the way in which 'Friends' manipulates the audience expectations. The best example of this is when Febe kisses Rachael immediately after Rachael had just kissed Melissa. We certainly don't expect what we see here. As Rachael turns around we just expect to see Phoebe amazed at what she just saw but the total opposite happens. When Rachael had turned round we then see Phobe kissing Rachael full on and Rachael is stunned and doesn't know where to put herself. Then Rachael asks Phoebe "What the hell was that?" and Phoebe's reply is one that I think we should expect from her as she replies with "I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about". This is, I think, a typical thing that we expect Phoebe to say after an incident like this.
I think overall that 'My Family' reinforces and manipulates audience expectations than 'Friends' because I think that within 'Friends' what we see is what we expect to see and I think this happens because we know more about the characters and the way in which they react in different situations.
Darren Gladstone 13C Miss Scott Initial Research
