Planning-Shot List (NEW)

Shot List

For our planning everyone in the group was assigned a task to do before filming. One of my tasks was to create the shot list so that we had each shot in a simple form with its framing, angle and movement. This would then be particularly helpful when creating our test shots and photographic story boards to see if anything had to be changed.

Created by Georgie Field

Storyboard Formula (NEW)

After completing our own primary product research we gained an idea of the different camera angles and shot that are conventional to Situation Comedies. We began to mind map the different types of angles and shots we should use such as Shot reverse shots and establishing shots to make our product more conventional.  

Pitch Feedback

What went well...

• Detail of characters
• Character stereotypes relate to research
• Lots of information in treatment
• Audience can relate to characters
• Same age cast to audience
• Mood board relates to characters and elements of website
• Moodboard show inspiring shows which are popular with target audience
• Lots of attention to detail

What I could have improved...

• More action in script
• More detail on setting

My Idea

Summary of Secondary Audience Research

Summary of Secondary Audience Research

Georgie Field
My Involvement within the Secondary Audience Research consisted of looking at the audience views and comments on social networking websites and IMDB. I have found out the target audiences of two E4 sitcoms and have learned what the general views are from the audience. Also, I have learned that some fan pages use questions on characters or a specific episode to find out what the audience think of them. This then therefore will help me and my group when creating our own Situation Comedy, as I have learnt why certain characters are peoples favorites.

Charley Maquire
http://mediacharley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/audience-viewing-figures.html
As part of Charley's involvement withing the group, as part of the Secondary Audience Research, she has looked into the viewing figures of our four sitcoms form E4. After looking into the viewing figures, she has found that the most popular sitcoms were The Inbetweeners and The IT Crowd. This may be due to the way in which the situations in the shows are similar to the life of the target audience. I feel that this is the  important when creating our own sitcom as we need to be able to receive the most amount of views possible.

Sam Evans




Lois Brown

http://medialois.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/results-from-secondary-research-on.html
Lois's involvement within the group for Secondary Audience Research consisted of looking at reviews of Situation Comedies. From these reviews she found that people get bored with some sitcoms as they are all the same e.g. the narratives and characters. She also found out that the stereotypes within sitcoms help the audience to understand the characters and that the jokes need to be modern and relatable. 

Summary of Primary Audience Research

Summary of Primary Audience Research

Georgie Field

My Involvement within the group for Primary Audience Research was to create surveys to find out what the target audience like and dislike about Situation Comedies, as well as finding out what they would like in a new one. By completing these surveys I have found the ideal information for what the audience will be looking for as well as relating their views into the codes and conventions of Situation Comedies. 

Sam Evans

Charley Maquire

http://mediacharley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/final-verison-of-focus-group-questions.html

As part of Charley's research she has completed a focus group along with Sam. She has found out what our audience like about sitcoms by asking what attracts them, why they watch them, Favorite, what appeals to them and what characters they like. From this research she has now got an insight into what the audience like about Situation Comedies which will therefore hopefully make ours more successful.

Lois Brown

http://medialois.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/sitcoms-research-pie-charts.html

As part of Lois's involvement within the Primary audience research, she has created a poll asking people what they like Sitcoms to be centered around. Her results showed that the most popular way for a sitcom to be presented was to be centered around friends. This result will then therefore help the group decide the narratives and characters shown through our sitcom as we need it to relate to the audience and to represent what they like.

Summary of Secondary Existing Product Research

Summary of Secondary Existing Product Research

Georgie Field

After researching into what is good and bad to put on a webpage, I have learnt how you can make a webpage look effective with the simplest of elements and that all the "fancy stuff" will make the website look less effective. This has helped strongly within my research as I now know what to include when creating my own webpage, as it will now hopefully be more successful.

Charley Maquire
http://mediacharley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/research-into-sitcoms.html
As part of Charley's Existing Product Research, she has research into the narratives, stereotypes and ideologies of Situation Comedies using text books. This research has helped in giving me and my group an insight in to what codes and conventions are needed to present a "sitcom" style genre.

Sam Evans



Lois Brown
http://medialois.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/wordpress-tutorial-videos.html
As part of Lois' contribution to the Secondary Existing Product Research, she has looked into how to create a WordPress webpage. She has done this by looking at tutorials into making webpages. These tutorials take a step by step  roll in helping us with creating our webpage, which then therefore help our webpage look more successful and creative. 

Summary of Primary Existing Product Research

Summary of Primary Existing Products

Georgie Field

As part of my involvement within my group, for my primary research into existing products I have created a semiotic analysis of the E4 website. From this I have learnt what aspects are included on a webpage aged at my target audience from images, language and colour. Also, by researching into a website that is aimed at the same target audience I have found what aspects are needed to emphasise the target audience and what it represents  This will then therefore help me and my group when creating our own webpage as by using specific images and language recognised by young people in society today, we can therefore attract a young target audience.

Charlotte Maquire

http://mediacharley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/summary-of-narratives-for-chosen-sitcoms.html

As part of Charlotte's involvement within the group, for her primary research into existing products she has researched into the Todorov narrative structure. Through this research she has found that all 4 of the Sitcoms researched have a similar equilibrium that consists of either at the home, school/college or the workplace, which suggests that all sitcoms follow a similar style of equilibrium that is set in a natural environment. The disruptions shown all 4 sitcoms are also similar, they involve either education related problems or the arts, reinforcing that they are so similar. Also, the return/new equilibrium are always similar as the narrative is finished and the characters return to their normal lives. This then fits in with the codes and conventions of a sitcom as there is always a  new narrative for every episode. Overall, as part of Charlotte's research she has found that all sitcoms have a similar style of narrative, which then therefore help us when creating our own.

Sam Evans

http://media-samo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/analysis-of-website.html

As part of Sam's involvement within the group, for his primary research into existing products, he has looked at what interactive elements are included on webpages. He has found that the Fresh Meat and IT Crowd websites included elements such as games, quiz's, a chance to watch episodes and behind the scene videos, giving the audience a chance to get involved with the show. He has found that The Fresh Meat site also includes virtual tours and interviews with the cast and crew, which may attract an audience as they are being able to see how what they watch has being made.

Lois Brown
http://medialois.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/secondary-research-friday-night-dinner.html
As part of Lois' involvement within the group, she has researched into a further sitcom, by completing a Textual analysis of Friday Night Dinner. She has found out that the Mise En Scene within the sitcom represents a normal life, suggesting that the audience can relate to the situations and the characters  which is a common code and convention of a Situation Comedy. 

Primary Audience Research-Survey Results

These are my quantitative and qualitative results for my survey "How do you feel about Situation Comedies?"

After asking this question 50% of the sample said that The Inbetweeners was their favourite Sitcom, with Miranda, Fresh Meat and Mrs Brown's Boys also being popular.

After asking this question I have found that 45% of the sample said that the reason why for they answered what they did for question 4 was because of the comedy aspect of the show. 21% of the sample stated that their answer for question 4 was because of a character aspect. In my own Sitcom I will therefore have a strong link to Comedy and Characters.

After asking this question I have found that the most popular like of a Sitcom is the comedy, with 42% on my sample stating that comedy was one of the aspects of they like most about Sitcoms. Also, 20% answered the representation of characters and how they represent real life and 17% answered characters. This then links with the answers to Question 5, so I will therefore make sure that my Sitcom involves comedy and relatable characters. 

After asking this question, 38% of my sample stated that they disliked the aspects of humor within Sitcoms  As this was an open question, I looked at each comment closely and the answers which described the humor of a sitcom, stated that it was very "cliche" and are not sometimes funny the situation they are said in.  Also, 11% of the sample said some aspects were too unrealistic, including the narrative and the way the characters act.

After looking at these results I have managed to learn what men and women of the ages between 11-30 like and dislike about Situation Comedies. This will strongly help me when creating my own Sitcom as I can then cater for my target audience, which then hopefully make the show more successful. I can now use the codes and conventions of Situation Comedies effectively so that the target audience can relate to what is being shown. I will now create a survey into what my target audience would want in a new Sitcom, which then therefore help me in making own successful.

These are my quantitative results for my survey 

"What aspects would you look for in a Situation Comedy"

After asking this question, I have found that the most popular stereotypes wanted in a character were, "The Joker" and "The Embarrassing Dad" and "Geek". I will therefore try to incorporate these stereotypes into my Sitcom.

After asking this question , I have found that 43% on my sample would like a Sitcom to be set in a school/college and 21% said they would like it to be set in the workplace. 

After asking this question, nearly 75% of my sample said that they would prefer a mixed gender cast. I will then therefore apply this result to my Sitcom.

After asking this question, I have found that the most popular narrative preferred was a party, followed by boys doing anything to get girls, arguments between characters and school/college problems.

After looking at the results of this survey I have found out what men and women of mainly 11-20 years old would like in a new Situation Comedy. This will then strongly help me and my group when creating our own Sitcom as we are now aware of what the target audience would like. This will then therefore hopefully add success to the sitcom as we can apply the codes and convention of the genre to the results of this survey, making the sitcom hopefully relate to the target audience.

Secondary Audience Research--Audience views

The Inbetweeners Facebook page- Audience views on episodes 

Overall, the audience seem to be commenting on the comedy of the episodes and characters  They also quoting dialogue and catch phrases from the episodes which suggests that they have related to it and have found it very funny.

I have counted the number of comments written on these print screens written by both men and women. I have found that 76% (29/38) comments were written by men and 24% (9/29) comments were written by women. I have applied these results to the total number of likes for the page (4,036,222) and have made a sample to represent the whole of the audience. By generalising my results to the number of likes I have found that the target audience has 955,947 women and 3,080,275 men. This then suggests that The Inbetweeners has a mixed gender audience.


The Inbetweeners Audience Views and Ratings on IMDB

http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1220617/ratings

By finding these Statistics both on IMDB and Facebook I can apply the specific target audience to my show as it will then help to be more successful. After looking at these statistics I am therefore able to compare and generalise the views of how people from different genders and ages respond to the show. I can then therefore take these results and adapt them to my own show as it will help me to identify what ages and genders like what, which will hopefully add to success  For example, from the IMDB data both male and female under 18s are showing the highest rating. This then shows that the show is most successful at people of that age as the characters relate to them. This then shows that we should create a narrative that relates to both male and females of under 18 as well as using the codes and conventions of Situation Comedies that are most popular with that age group. However, just because under 18s have the highest rating, I should not discard an older audience as my target audience ranges from 15-35 year olds. I will have to cater for both age groups while still creating the codes and conventions of a young sitcom. I will get my ideas on what to include by asking the whole target audience what they like and dislike about sitcoms and what they would like in one in a survey.

The IT Crowd Facebook Page

The IT Crowd have created some posts to get the audience involved for example the one print screened is a poll and asks the audience who their favorite character is. This then allows for certain characters to stand out when researching. I will therefore look into the popular characters and see why they are popular. There are also comments on episodes containing the idea of wanting the show shown not only in the UK suggesting that it has an international audience.

I have counted the number of comments written on the pages I have print screened and counted how many were written by men and how many were written by women. I have found that 65% (11/17) of the comments were written by men and 35% (6/17) of the comments were written by women. I have applied these results to the total number of page likes to receive a generalised representation on the gender audience, in which The IT Crowd has. Out of 923,545 likes 325,957 of the likes were female and 597,588 of the likes were male. This generalised sample then suggest that The IT Crowd has a mixed gender audience.

The IT Crowd Audience Views and Ratings on IMDB

http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0487831/ratings

By finding these Statistics both on IMDB and Facebook I can apply the specific target audience to my show as it will then help to be more successful. After looking at these statistics I am therefore able to compare and generalise the views of how people from different genders and ages respond to the show. I can then therefore take these results and adapt them to my own show as it will help me to identify what ages and genders like what, which will hopefully add to success  For example, from the IMDB data females of both under 18 and 18-29 years old are showing the highest rating. This then shows that the show is most successful at people of that gender as the characters and narratives relate to them. This then shows that we should create a narrative that relates to both  females of under 18 and 18-29 years old, as well as using the codes and conventions of Situation Comedies that are most popular with that gender group. However, just because females have the highest rating, I should not discard a male audience as my target audience ranges from both genders at 15-35 years old. I will have to cater for both gender groups while still creating the codes and conventions of a female influenced sitcom. I will get my ideas on what to include by asking the whole target audience what they like and dislike about sitcoms and what they would like in one in a survey.

The Character of Maurice Moss-IT Crowd

Age: 32 (lies on dating sites and says he's 22) 

Likes: Masters of the Universe, Trek Wars, Ferris Beuller's Day Off, Magic: The Gathering, computer related things 

Dislikes: Football, Most Telly, non-computer things, The countryside

Moss (Richard Ayoade) is the nerdiest person you will ever meet. He has all the classic symptoms: trousers too short but worn too high, bad hair, clip-on ties, very bad hair, socially inept, an interesting variety of maths teacher check shirts, and really really bad hair. He can use more TLAs than an RFC on ICT so conversation can really make you glaze over. Moss' sense of absolute logic is unending funny.

Moss also possesses the incredible yet useless skill of jabbing a screwdriver into the desk between his fingers at incredible speed. One miss and he'll ruin his typing speed!

“Actually it's TAY-PAS!!”

"Chairman WOW!!"

"Somethimes I get a hot ear..."

"Oh! I am a giddy goat"

"You are not going to Adam and believe this"

"what is he, the soldering iron police?"

"it's off, that means I turn it on and just walk away"

"I don't think I'd flourish in a prison environment"

http://www.theitcrowd.co.uk/characters/moss.htm

Surveys-Primary Audience Research

PLEASE DO MY SURVEYS FOR MY MEDIA COURSEWORK!! IT WILL ONLY TAKE A MINUTE!!!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Primary Existing Products Research

E4 Website Anaylsis

This is the E4 homepage. The main colours within the homepage are purple, black and white. The paradigmatic choice of the colour purple on the logo especially, could suggest that E4 has a mixed gender audience. The mix between pink and blue creates the idea that E4 want to attract a larger audience, which reinforces the idea of a mixed gender audience. Also, the shade of purple could connote with youth as it is quite a young and vibrant colour. The idea of youth is then also emphasised through the style of font in the logo. The paradigmatic choice of a bubble style font is associated with graffiti in society and therefore is a cultural reference. This then creates a young vibe for the website and the company. Due to the "E" in E4 standing for entertainment, the idea of a vibrant and youthful logo could emphasise that the company want to make the audience happy and entertained, emphasising the companies overall genre. 

        The use of having a navigation bar at the top of the webpage emphasises the interaction for the audience. The use of the Anchorage within the text "Do it & win" on the navigation bar gives the audience the opportunity to get involved within the company by winning prizes for example. The use of only having a few words within "Do it & win" creates the impression that it is a very simple process and that the use of the word "win" suggests that there are prizes at stake. This will then instantly attract the audience’s attention as it is pulling them into getting involved with the company. Also, the use of the letters “WFT” on the navigation bar create a cultural content reference as in society the letters represent the phrase “What the F**k”. This reference to cultural content emphasises the young audience between 15-35 year olds as it quite a well known Abbreviation in society with young people today.

 The paradigmatic choice of the image of the Inbetweeners instantly draws attention from the audience as it is so big. The image of the boys sitting at a beach gives the impression that the object being advertised in this case The Inbetweeners Movie  is based on a beach or being on holiday. Also, the use of the bright colours on the image on both the character's clothes and the boats emphasises the young theme for the company and that the film is based at a younger audience. As the characters are in brightly coloured clothes, it suggest that the film will be quite a vibrant and happy film. Also by looking at the character's facial expressions on the image we get the impression that they are happy, which creates quite a relaxed and layed back mood, emphasising the comedy genre and its audience. By linking this image to the Anchorage used on the text "Boys Behaving Badly", it links to cultural content. This is because the phrase "boys behaving badly" has many ideas within society such as acting in a stupid manner, drinking and taking advantage of girls, which creates quite a humorous narrative. This then links with the young audience and genre as they will relate to both the film and phrase, causing the audience to be drawn in. 

By showing images of some of the popular e4 shows on a horizontal stroll, it draws attention to the most popular shows. E4 may have shown specific images of certain characters to create the idea that maybe those characters are significant at this time in the series. It creates meaning by the way in which the audience are drawn into maybe watching the show as they feel some sort of significant event might be about to occur.

This is the E4 “TV Shows” page. The main colours within this page are purple and white emphasising the idea made when discussing the homepage. This idea of the company being aimed at a mixed gender audience is then emphasised through its presentation on TV shows. Also, the aimed audience of 15-35 year olds is reinforced through the webpage’s urban style background. The use of the graffiti style writing on the white E4 logo and the idea of it being set in a car park or garage crates a young feel for the website, which is then reinforced through its shows.

The anchorage used with the word “Telly” outlining the name of the webpage is a cultural reference to society today. With the meaning of the word “telly” being associated with television in society today, it is commonly used by the younger generation aged at around 15-30. This use of anchorage is then created to emphasise the younger audience and it uses their own cultural references. Anchorage is also shown when saying "PARDY!" when advertising Made in Chelsea. This is also a cultural content reference as in society today the term "pardy" is associated the word "party". This then reinforces the idea of a younger audience as 15-35 year olds are seen as quite lively and willing to party. This could then create the impression that the show "Made in Chelsea" has a party vibe, which emphasises its younger audience. 

The paradigmatic choice of the large image of the Skins cast instantly draws attention from the audience as it is so big. It allows for the show to be advertised strongly as it is a simple image of the cast standing up against a wall, making the image more eye catching.  The idea of the characters wearing their own individual costumes creates the idea that they all have their own stereotypes and personalities. For example, the way the one character is dressed in a polo shirt and a stripy jumper suggests that he is the “nerd” style character. This paradigmatic choice links with many shows on E4, as a lot of them contain a “nerd” character and stereotype. Also, there is a character presented in rock style clothing e.g. leather jacket and long messy styled hair. This then create the idea that this character enjoys music and is quite a temperamental character. These stereotypes are influenced through many programmes on E4, which then causes the audience to apply a meaning to certain signifies  The many different styles of clothing that the characters are wearing, creates an urban and young vibe to the show. This is especially emphasised through the urban, graffiti style background as allows for a young vibe to be created. This is because graffiti is associated with young people and how some express themselves in society today.

Also, there is the image advertising "Made in Chelsea". This paradigmatic choice of the image of a couple helps the audience relate to the characters in the show. As Made in Chelsea is a Structured Reality programme and the characters situations are set up, the characters create their own interpretation of the situation and act how they would normally. This then emphasises how the audience would relate to the show. Also, as the image indicates that the show includes relationships, a younger audience may be attracted to watch the show as they find it relatable. However, the facial expression on the character "Spencer" in this image suggests that he is very happy with what seems like his girlfriend, which indicates that the show is both relatable yet fun at the same time, emphasising the target audience.

This is the Inbetweeners webpage on the E4 website. The paradigmatic choice of the black board style background creates the sense that the show is set in a school or college. This may have then been used to get the audience of especially 15-19 year olds to relate to the show and the situations that are portrayed  The black board style then emphasises the youth of the show and that the situations are relatable. Also, by looking at the drawing of the "noughts and crosses" game it could suggest that the show contains a "game like" style where the characters sometimes win or lose. This may then incorporate a sense of comedy into the shows narratives and situations.

The idea of the show being set in a school or college is reinforced through the character's costumes. As shown in the main image on the webpage, the main characters are seen as wearing a school uniform. This paradigmatic choice reinforces the idea that the show has a youthful setting. The use of having a slightly different style of school uniform could represent the different personalities that the characters hold. For example, "Will" is dressed with his blazer buttoned up, tie done up to the top and is wearing glasses. This costume choice could represent the "nerd like” stereotypes in society today, suggesting that he is boring and smart student. This idea of "Will" having a boring mindset could be emphasised through his facial expression on the image as it is quite serious and questioning. However, I feel that this idea then adds quite a bit of comedy to Will's character as it is relatable to the target audience, as they get themselves into awkward situations as often shown through the "nerd" character. Whereas the character of "Neil" is dressed in a blue school jumper with his tie not all the way up to the top. This could suggest that "Neil" is quite a messy and unorganised character. Also, his happy facial expression suggests that "Neil" is a mainly happy character who is not most intelligent. I get the impression from Neil’s overall look on this image that he comes out with very funny comments that are so funny because they are very unintelligent. I feel that this then relates to the target audience as everyone has a "stupid" friend who comes out with very random comments.

Also, by including an image of two characters, one being a girl and one being a boy, instantly creates the teenage relating issue of relationships. By using the paradigmatic choice of the pretty, blonde girl suggests that the character of "Charlotte" is the dumb, blonde who all the boys wish to go out with. Also, the use of the confident facial expression suggests that she is quite a confident and dominating character that may scare "Will". Whereas the idea of "Will" being the "nerd" in the show, suggests that he is obsessed with the character "Charlotte" and wants to go out with her. This issue may attract the audience of 15-35 year olds as they can all relate to a situation like this one. However, Will's facial expression in this image suggests that he is a very awkward character and doesn't know how to act around "Charlotte", which adds further comedy to an awkward situation.

The anchorage shown in the words "Relieve those painful school memories with The Inbetweenrs on 4oD” reinforces the idea that the audience can relate to the situations in the show. Within society today the words "painful memories" are associated with comedy and awkwardness, which represents the situations in The Inbetweeners. I feel that this anchorage was used to cause comedy from the audience and show that they can all relate to at least one awkward or funny school memory that is shown in The Inbetweeners.

After completing my primary research into the E4 website I have found that the colours, logo and language used on the fansite help create the young audience and emphasise that E4 shows are created for younger people aged between 15 and 35. By using specific language and images that are associated with younger people in society in today, help the audience to relate to the programmes, which then attract them into watching the programmes.

Secondary Existing Product Research

The Do's and Dont's of webdesign

Do's

1. Keep your page structured 
2. Focus on what is important
3. Choose the right colour scheme
4. Make it easy to scan through the pages
5. Keep it simple
6. Copyrighting
7. Set up your navigation bar properly
8. Optimize load times
9. Choose the right fonts and sizes
10. Make your page visually appealing

Dont's

1. Place boxes everywhere
2. Place irrelevant adverts across your page
3. Overdo it with loads of colours
4. Write one paragraph per page that is 1000+ words
5. Go on about nothing
6. Full pages with lots of keywords
7. Make your audience search to find something
8. Make everything on the page an image
9. Have 5 different fonts in 10 different styles
10. Throw lots of random "pretty" pictures in just to make it look good

http://webdesignledger.com/tips/20-dos-and-donts-of-effective-web-design

After researching into what is good and bad to put on a webpage, I have learnt how you can make a webpage look effective with the simplest of elements and that all the "fancy stuff" will make the website look less effective. This has helped strongly within my research as I now know what to include when creating my own webpage, as it will now hopefully be more successful.

Individual Anaylsis of Narrative Theories - The Mighty Boosh

The Series 2, Episode 5 of The Mighty Boosh shown below...



Tzvetan Todorov

Equilibrium
The opening scene begins with the characters in the home, one using a hookah pipe.  Two of them walk in as they have just come back form their own gig. The two characters then drive of to a further location, negatively discussing the success of their gig. The content of the situation in this first scene is quite realistic and normal, replicating the Sitcom codes and conventions. However, the way in which the characters portray the surroundings and costumes make it seem slightly unrealistic for a lot of society today.

Disruption
Following the characters  terrible gig, with people throwing rubbish into their house, the two characters head to Black Lake. The characters turn up at a pub and are told to go fishing. Vince then is very successful when catching the fish, unlike his friend. The friend then tells Vince to go back to the pub and leave him to fish by himself. Vince then begins to tell a ghost story and states "Black Lake". The customers and pub staff then tell Vince that there is a "ghost" called "Old Gregg" that comes out when the moon is out on the Lake.

Recognition of Disruption
Howard is Abducted by "Old Gregg" while out fishing on "Black Lake" by himself.

Attempt to Repair
Vince rings up his friend explaining that Howard has been abducted by a sea monster. He therefore get a submarine into the Lake with Vince and they begin to search for Howard.

New/Return equilibrium
Howard is rescued by Vince and his fiend in the submarine  They are then seen performing the pub, which turns into a successful gig. They then drive home discussing their success, however "Old Gregg" is seen on the top of the car.

Vladmir Propp

Hero-Naboo












Villain-Old Gregg
















Princess-Howard

Donor-Vince

Helper-Vince











False Hero-Vince

Princess' father-The barman

Dispatcher-The pub customer

Roland Barthes

Action
By Howard telling Vince to go back to the pub, so he can fish by himself in the dark, instantly creates a mysterious and eerie atmosphere. This is then emphasiesd through the ghost story. The audience then feel that there at an event about to happen that will affect Howard, which is to do with the story.

Enigma
-What happened to the man who survived being abducted by Old Gregg?
-Why does Naboo have a submarine casually waiting around to be used?
-Why are the Naboo, Vince and Howard wearing their specific costumes at the beginning?

Semic
Through the characters strange and vibrant costumes we learn that they are strange characters who create comedy. Also, the pub creates quite a dominating atmosphere, while also creating an eerie mood due to the stories.

Symbolic
The idea of the Lake where the characters fish at being called "Black Lake" instantly connotates with death and darkness, suggesting that maybe something terrible will happen. This is then emphasised through the fishing scene as it is dark and eerie, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Also, "Old Gregg" is seen as the villain in this episode, however the use of his strange costume  makeup and personality creates a strong comedy about his character  which then links in with the Sitcom genre at it is not supposed to be serious.

Cultural
The common stereotypes of a Situation Comedy are relevant situations that are turned to make funny. This stereotype is shown through this episode as Howard is abducted by Old Gregg. In society this incident would be seen as very serious, however it is shown through the comedy of Old Gregg's character and the way in which all the characters act.