Research of 'The Take'

Name Of Program: The Take (Episode 1)
Broadcast Date: 17 June 2009
Director: David Drury
Production Companies: Warner Sisters Productions
User Rating: 8.6/10
Target Audience: Males Aged 18-29


The low angle shot used makes Freddie look more important thank everyone else in the prison. The fence in front of the camera makes the audience seem trapped and worthless. The colours in the prison are dull making the prison seem sinister and, but also gives the sense of danger. This connotes the hardness of the prisoners and the storyline. The sound is of other prisoners calling Freddie's name and cheering, this shows him as an important figure in the prison and makes the audience know that he is dangerous. The other non-diegetic sound is the tension music quietly in the background. The diegetic sound in the mise-en-scene is of Freddie's slow clunking footsteps, this puts fear into the audience as if something dangerous and horrible is coming.

The camera angle makes Freddie seem like he has got the audience up against the wall, making the audience scared of him. The way he was walking up to the camera, he was strutting, also makes the audience scared of him as he seems like a strong and dangerous person. Freddie is about to see his boss and the high angle camera shot shows that he is entering a place where he has less importance than where has just been. The voice over of Freddie's boss talking about crime makes Freddie seem like he is under his control.

The dark background symbolizes the darkness of the characters, this gives the audience a clue that something bad is going to happen. The font is big and urban with a dirty look, this symbolizes the characters and where they live. The soundtrack to the credits is 'Club Foot' by Kasabian. The song has a urban feel to it suggesting where the program is located. The song gets the audience's blood pumping as if they are getting ready for a fight, this symbolizes the danger of the characters lives and gives the audience a sense of what is to come.

The lighting in this shot shows the two different worlds between the innocence of Jimmy and the violent and cocky character of Freddie. The light represents good and the darkness of the prison represents evil. The darkness of the prison show that there is a lot of evil in there. The deserted road shows that good and evil never cross each other.

The camera angle gives the sense that they are being followed by someone or being watched, this could be that they are being followed by the audience. The deserted road gives the sense that something could happen to the two characters. The dull colours in the shot represents urban London and the underworld of gangsters. All the light arrows are pointing to the exit of the tunnel suggesting something might be following them and they are in danger, the lights are symbolizing a fire exit/escape. The sound of the car echoing in the tunnel suggests there maybe two cars in the tunnel, one of which is following them. This shot is similar to the one in "Essex Boys" where Billy and Jason are driving through the tunnel. Freddie and Jason are very similar characters, they are both just out of prison after someone else got away with all the money and didn't visit them in prison. They are both angry characters and it doesn't take them much to get into or solve a problem a fight. The tunnel looks like a barrel of a gun, this suggests that the pressure (their anger) will get too much for them making them explode, not controlling their actions. This ends up being their weakness and it gets them killed. This shows the similarities between both scenes and thriller conventions.

The close up of Freddie and the tension music in the background makes the audience know something is going to happen. The close up of Freddie makes him look dominant, dangerous and strong compared to the small figure, weak figure of Jimmy in the background.