unit 01 script

Unit 01 Analysing Audiences and Media Products P2/M1/D1 TASK 2 Audio Visual Analysis

Project Title: TASK 2 Audio Visual Analysis

Scriptwriter: Lewis Hughes

Time: Image: Audio:

a) What is the purpose of your programme

I think that the purpose of this television programme is that it tries to make people who don’t normally watch the news or take an interest into it make it a lot more fun by purposely picking topics that are unusual or a little quirky. Then after Russell Howard adds his own views and adaptations of it this draws the audience in to watch his show more as he targets people that already engage with the news. I think that this show is also made to make people realise that the news isn’t always boring or uninteresting in terms of the audience’s perception as there is a lot of things that Russell finds in the weeks news which would not be very interesting but can be turned into an amusing spectacle through his adaptation to the report. This creates an entourage that connects with a certain audience who would find that this program has achieved its purpose as it includes an array of different topics that Russell can then adapt to get the attention of the audience as it involves the types of themes


and vocabulary that they both understand and enjoy.

b) Genre

This programs genre is definitely a sub-genre of comedy as it tries to create comedic irony and focuses on creating a humorous outlook of the news. I think that Russell Howard is very good at doing this because he likes to make sure that the audience is on his side and makes it seem as if they are all on the same page. I also think that the way he structures his jokes is quite admirable as he creates inside jokes within the series that carry on throughout the program and sometimes even carry on through the rest of the series. I also think that his adaptations of certain topics of the news can transpire into Russell creating a very animated response to a certain aspect of the news which links entirely to the genre being comedy as he likes to exaggerate a certain point to get a reaction from the audience.

c) Form

I think that the form of this program is certainly an informal and laid back vibe that is delivered from Russell as he thrives off of making types of jokes that you would hear in a very colloquial and laid back conversation. We can tell this because of the language that Russell uses as it is normally simple words and themes that he uses to get his joke across with frequent uses of profanity. This can tell us that the form of this context would very much be allocated towards an informal media text and does not take it seriously. Also many of his jokes are taken out of context from a short clip of the news to give the audience a different impression of what they were supposed to be


talking about which tell us that unexpected situations within punchlines in this series would be more than expected to get a reaction from the public.d) Style

The style of this programme is quite a vulgar sense of humour that tries to encourage a younger audience. They do this by including stories that young people wouldn’t find interesting until Russell Howard adapts his comical views and opinions. For example in one of his episodes a clip from sky news confirming that soldiers are encouraged to be teachers. This clip does not spark any reaction from the audience until Russell Howard emphasises the ludicrous situations that would occur if this were to happen.

e) ContentThe content that is made in this program include clips from various different media outlets from all over the world that Russell features in his show because there is jokes to be made by him with his quirky take on the stories he includes. He also features comedy sketches in his show for the audience to get a real visualisation of what Russell is trying to get across without having to explain it verbally. Sometimes Russell will use certain themes and clips from popular social media that cater to his audience. For example more than once he uses popular clips from YouTube that can relate to his joke and thus creating a better precedent of what he is trying to get across to his audience. The content that Russell includes from the news is that the fact he likes to


f) Meaning I think that the meaning of this program is to entertain because his personality is something that people admire as he brings a very animated feel to his performances in his program and is not shy of making himself look the fool to get a humorous reaction from the audience. I think that the meaning behind his programs not just to poke fun at the news and create a bad name for news as he balances this out by giving the audience something to think about in a different light at the end with the ‘it’s not all doom and gloom’ section of the program which never fails to be included in the 30 minute show. The reason for this is so that they audience can tell that Russell does not just research the news to make fun of it as this can be seen as quite pretentious so he balances out the comedic value of his show with an uplifting and enlightening story in the news that can make people realise that it isn’t all doom and gloom.

g) Production processThe processes that this programme goes through before it is distributed to the public is the production team research the news and pull out parts that are easy for Russell to adapt to and so that he can have time to create sketches for some if needed to. Within the seven days of preparation before each airing they have to get ready for each show as it happens as the news and headlines are entirely unpredictable so there it is not possible to have them recorded all 9 episodes in advance. The program is then filmed in front of a live audience and Russell follows the script that he has prepared for the show beforehand. However the public broadcast is different to what the live audience see because there are many different times when Russell may prepare for a certain parts of the show where a jump cut is needed.

unit 01 script

Documents