CAPITAL

Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:




1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

There are a lot of medium close-ups and the camera moves more when outside. 

2) How does the trailer use mise-en-scene to capture the family element of the drama?

The shots of the family at dinner are relatable and warm-coloured shots to illustrate family life and what could be under threat.

3) How does the trailer introduce narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?

There are a lot of shots with postage, connoting secrecy, causing tension. There is also an intense close up on the old lady looking down from the window, perhaps seeing something sinister.
Watch the Episode 1 preview for Capital:



1) What does this preview clip suggest about the potential sub-genres for Capital? 

Mystery? 

2) What elements of the clip might suggest this is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama?

The references to Islamophobia and racism.

3) Analyse the mise-en-scene in this clip. How does this provide realism and familiarity for audiences?

It's set in a corner shop, something most of us will have around us.

4) What audience pleasures are provided by this scene?

Enigma codes 
personal identity 
personal relationships? if you really liked the family from the start

5) How is the audience positioned to respond to the different characters in this particular sequence?

The policeman is very professional and seems to want to help them, while the student's comments are understandable and the family's concern is sympathetic.


Watch the Episode 2 preview for Capital:



1) How does this clip represent upper-middle-class family life?

They're not happy, their kids are the last thing on their mind, ready to cheat on each other 

2) What narrative strands are suggested in this sequence?

the mother is angry so the man may have an affair with the nanny.

3) How is the audience positioned to respond to Roger Yount, the main character (banker and father to the two boys)?

Perhaps cringe at his attempt to flirt? before feeling sorry for his tense home life?


Representations: close-textual analysis

Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in class:

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49
-The community used to be white, now ethnical
-sense of community
-Asian family own corner store

Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10
-London is crowded, high profile
-enormous wealth/power
-Roger's wife doesn't ask permission to spend his money
 -high end work is dominated by white men
-German boss

Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35
-Expensive to live in London
-Spoiled trophy wife
-private school
-out of touch
-negative representation
-"I'm no feminist"
-clearly doesn't need empowerment because she has a comfy life stepping all over a man

Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40
-London has a lot of government cut backs
-asylum seekers illegally providing for themselves
-'Black economy'
-London is diverse
-there's a gender imbalance 
-most deprived suffer the most 


You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc.

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?

It seems they tried harder not stereotyping with the Asian family than the middle class white family. Yet, the Asian family still run a corner store and there are recognisable aspects overall.

Industries and production context

Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos?

Endemol Shine UK

2) What was the breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002?

Confidence Lab: one series (2002) for BBC Two – total 6 episodes

3) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced? What awards have they won?

They've produced a wide range of dramas: police, period, sci-fi

4) What audience pleasures does the showreel suggest Kudos productions offer? 

There's the pleasure of recognising shows you may have potentially seen



Marketing and promotion

Read the BBC Press Pack for Capital.

1) How does the programme information on page 3 make Capital sound interesting to audiences?

"As the mystery of the postcards deepens, we learn more about this vivid and unforgettable ensemble of characters. Interweaving stories reveal lives filled with love and loss, fear and greed, fortune and envy and most recognisable of all, family and home - stories bursting with piercing and funny observations on modern life and urban existence, of ordinary people who find themselves caught and changed by a city at a time of extraordinary flux"

They clearly want the audience to feel the mystery aspect of it as well as form personal relationships with the characters.


2) Why does the programme information mention the other shows that the director and producer have worked on?

1) Show that the director and producer are seasoned in the field
2) If someone was a fan of one of the other shows they would be informed it's by the same director/producer.

3) Who commissioned Capital for BBC?

Commissioned by Charlotte Moore

4) Read the interview with Toby Jones. What does he say about the character of Roger?

"Roger isn’t an evil banker, he’s a slightly complacent banker. He’s become used to a certain way of life and has a self-imposed pressure to live that way. He spends a lot of money on things that other people don’t spend money on – for example fixtures and fittings - but that is normal to him and his wife. He is not totally in charge of his life or his work."

5) Read the interview with Adeel Akhtar (page 10). What does he suggest Capital says about the fictional Pepys Road and the sense of community (or lack of it) in London?

"It looks at the idea of a community, and what it means to belong to the community from whatever background you’re from. One of the problems is that some people within a community, such as 11 Ahmed’s brother Usman, feel ostracized from it. They feel like they don’t belong and are on the outside looking in. Capital looks at that concept and also that they are all part of something bigger than themselves"

6) Read the interview with Shabana Azmi (page 12). What does she say about Asian representations in Britain? 

"I think so. If you look at the subject of Capital, and the number of communities that are being represented, there’s awareness that the world is shrinking, and becoming a global village. We are absorbing cultures, and understanding them, or at least trying to understand them within their own paradigms. "

7) Read the interview with Peter Bowker (who adapted Capital - page 14). What are his favourite scenes in the drama and why?

"I have a few favourite moments in the book which I wanted to make sure stayed as favourites in the adaptation. Christmas morning where Roger has been abandoned and left to look after his two 15 children is one that Euros (Director) has done brilliantly. Roger realises that his life is changing but it’s done with such comedy! It is one of those glorious Basil Fawlty moments where the farce is working at one level and the emotional farce is working at another. I also love the Kamals’ chaotic family meals. They are quintessentially archetypal family scenes that everybody lives through, but played with great comedic panache. And when Bogdan the Polish builder talks to Matya the Hungarian nanny about the affluent Londoners they are working for, it’s fascinating. Capital has a wonderful scale but is all about the minute observations of human nature. "

8) Read the interview with Derek Wax, the Executive Producer for Kudos (page 16). Why did he produce Capital and what does it say about the way we live now?

"The novel really spoke to me as it has a sweeping Dickensian ambition to it, all life in one street. I loved the sense of this big, expansive panorama of life as well as the small details of human behaviour. The whole of London seen through the microcosm of one street. And the characters are so complex, real and believable. Sometimes big ‘state of the nation’ novels use characters to illustrate political points, but Capital is far more subtle and nuanced. John gets inside their heads and allows us to engage with their thoughts and feelings, observes them with insight, humour and humanity, allows the story to breathe."