For my foundation portfolio my task was to create a short thriller opening lasting between 3-4 minutes in a group of 3. The opening shows a teenage girl, the protagonist (Beth) who is in her room crying over her breakup as she is still in love with her ex-boyfriend. The break up causes her to become greatly obsessed with him and plans on getting revenge by crushing pills and ends by her walking out of the room.
Our aim was to create an enigmatic effect right from the start to keep the audience engaged at all times, as the beginning is the most important part of a film, to keep audiences attracted and involved where possible. Roland Barthes enigma code can relate here as his theory suggests that films include enigma which is solved usually at the end of the film, or continued in a sequel. As we didn’t need to produce an ending, this had no effect on our product.
During our research and planning we looked at films that were already on the market to recognise the codes and conventions required for a thriller opening. Films that we came across were ‘Obsessed’ and ‘Prom Night’. Having enigma was one of the conventions we interpreted from the films, in which we got our inspiration from. Other elements of a thriller that we obtained from watching the opening and trailers were using familiar objects and concepts so that the audience can assume the film process (David Bordwell). This included the music choice, (using an enigmatic and eerie non-diegetic soundtrack to create an intense atmosphere) and the emotionally distressed protagonist, who we made seem vulnerable; to enhance the sympathy we wanted the audience to feel towards her.
Levi Strauss’ Theory of binary oppositions suggests that films usually create conflict in which we considered such as the use of desaturation to represent the past, making the use of black and white clear for audiences about the tense shown. By showing clips of their relationship in the past can be argued that the genre for this opening is in fact a drama-thriller hybrid opposed to a thriller genre. We also used the use of lighting, starting in a dark environment outside of the bedroom, which then turns light when the camera moves into her room. The last opposition we used was love/hate, between the two characters. We used a blurry effect at this stage to help signify a distorted and unclear mind of mixed emotions.
We portrayed a stereotypical character of a girl who is upset and broken-hearted which conforms to the hegemonic ideology expected of the character. Propp and Todorov’s theories include the protagonist to be a male character whom is often the hero, but we subverted to this as there were no main male characters until we see her ex-boyfriend, making him the antagonist.
In conclusion my film opening mostly conformed to the stereotypical conventions required in a thriller opening and can be related to many narrative theorists. It enables audiences to relate to the product but I think due to our time constraint, it limited us from exploring contents of a thriller opening in which we could further subvert to.
Friday, 8 June 2012
Sunday, 27 May 2012
How is the group you have studied collectively represented and provided for in the media?
The representation of youth and youth culture in media is commonly exaggerated, misleading and stereotypical. It is for these reasons as to why there is constant conflict between how youth perceive themselves and how others perceive them. The media are a powerful source and have the ability to sway views, opinions and create a hegemonic ideology within society. Michel Foucaults theory relates to this as his theory suggests that our identity mediates as we grow older and create collective identities by integrating with other people. However he believes it is also limited because stereotypical assumptions are made by others, restricting our identity.
It is simple to say that youth are represented in a negative light (especially in the Media realm). Spectators, such as myself are often marginalised on the sidelines and bombarded with mixed messages. To understand how youth are represented goes beyond the representation presented to us in news headlines. If we consider newspapers such as tabloids, we can say that they are exaggerated and made to seem worse than the situation actually is, as that’s what sells, and profit is the aim for any business. During the London riots, The Daily Mirrors front page said “Yob Rule” and gave the youth a name whereby most newspapers and articles continue to use whenever they refer to the youth doing anything destructive. The term ‘Yob’ immediately brings a negative feel towards the youth making them look worse than they actually are via the use of such bias words and phrases. It is because of such powerful media that makes it almost impossible to change the perspective of youth as this is just a one sided view, disregarding the positive aspects of them as it creates the buzz in which they desire for, and therefore constructing their identity. Certainly, the perception and the representation are very different to half a century ago. Jacques Lacan says ‘we try to gain an understanding of ourselves by looking through a mirror’, - the Media act as our mirror and we ‘copy’ what we see. So if the media continue to project the youth as rebellious, careless and in a negative light then it comes to no surprise if we replicate what we see.
The stereotype of drugs, sex and violence is a 21st century view which is mirrored in current Media texts particularly films. For example if we consider Kidulthood, a y2k film by Noel Clarke, it contains a great amount of the stereotypes mentioned, exaggerated for entertainment purposes. The youth are presented to the viewers as rebellious, up to no good and dress in a similar way to which the stereotype follows (hoodies , caps and tracksuits) creating moral panic as those watching, (adults in particular) will be under the assumption that everyone who follows that clothing is just like the characters in the films. This view of the youth has been present for a long time. For example if we consider an older film, Rebel Without A Cause (RWAC, 1955), the protagonist, James Dean conforms to what was expected of a disobedient teenager for that time period. Within the first few minutes of the film opening we sense his rebelliousness as he is in a police station, drunk. Furthermore, he disobeys his parents, and gets into arguments and fights. Overtime, the level of anarchy has increased as in society, we are desensitised to what we see as it doesn’t shock us to hear about youth involved with drugs, sex and violence because we are so used to it, but would have had a different reaction during a previous era. The contrast between youth and youth culture which enables us to see how complex representations can be certainly in current media texts on the market. Many film characters mark a clear contrast between press representations and misrepresentations.
There is a common thread throughout Media texts, violent words such as ‘thugs’ and ‘yobs’ were used in articles online, with the use of web 2.0 to portray the youth this way. This relates to Strinati’s post modernism as our reality is constructed and led by the mass media. Articles about the London Riots were viral, one of which read “I predict a rioter” containing a description of a stereotypical teenager. The audience who read the article decode (Stuart Hall) the messages in the way they see fit. For example, youth will feel victimised, especially those who do not partake in such anarchy which may lead them to express their opinions online (web 2.0) via Facebook and Twitter, updating statuses and profiles (Jenkins), thus constructing their identity collectively.
The arrival of ‘the teenager’ came after the war and was forced into the public eye (though only shortly). Subcultures and tribes were derived from post war depression as youths wanted to catch attention. Such films as ‘The Wild One’ represent the emerging awareness adults had about the fear of youth and youth destruction. The characters in these films can be seen to be uncontrollable and out of control to society.
With the negativity surrounding youth, is there any hope for the future? The evolution of such films as Fish Tank and Shank only enhance and create further opposition. Shank is set in 2015 and gives us an assumption of what to expect, which isn’t bright or blissful. Unfortunately due to the mass media dominating our views, it will be almost impossible for them to reflect youth in the positive light in which we all wish to see in the near future.
It is simple to say that youth are represented in a negative light (especially in the Media realm). Spectators, such as myself are often marginalised on the sidelines and bombarded with mixed messages. To understand how youth are represented goes beyond the representation presented to us in news headlines. If we consider newspapers such as tabloids, we can say that they are exaggerated and made to seem worse than the situation actually is, as that’s what sells, and profit is the aim for any business. During the London riots, The Daily Mirrors front page said “Yob Rule” and gave the youth a name whereby most newspapers and articles continue to use whenever they refer to the youth doing anything destructive. The term ‘Yob’ immediately brings a negative feel towards the youth making them look worse than they actually are via the use of such bias words and phrases. It is because of such powerful media that makes it almost impossible to change the perspective of youth as this is just a one sided view, disregarding the positive aspects of them as it creates the buzz in which they desire for, and therefore constructing their identity. Certainly, the perception and the representation are very different to half a century ago. Jacques Lacan says ‘we try to gain an understanding of ourselves by looking through a mirror’, - the Media act as our mirror and we ‘copy’ what we see. So if the media continue to project the youth as rebellious, careless and in a negative light then it comes to no surprise if we replicate what we see.
The stereotype of drugs, sex and violence is a 21st century view which is mirrored in current Media texts particularly films. For example if we consider Kidulthood, a y2k film by Noel Clarke, it contains a great amount of the stereotypes mentioned, exaggerated for entertainment purposes. The youth are presented to the viewers as rebellious, up to no good and dress in a similar way to which the stereotype follows (hoodies , caps and tracksuits) creating moral panic as those watching, (adults in particular) will be under the assumption that everyone who follows that clothing is just like the characters in the films. This view of the youth has been present for a long time. For example if we consider an older film, Rebel Without A Cause (RWAC, 1955), the protagonist, James Dean conforms to what was expected of a disobedient teenager for that time period. Within the first few minutes of the film opening we sense his rebelliousness as he is in a police station, drunk. Furthermore, he disobeys his parents, and gets into arguments and fights. Overtime, the level of anarchy has increased as in society, we are desensitised to what we see as it doesn’t shock us to hear about youth involved with drugs, sex and violence because we are so used to it, but would have had a different reaction during a previous era. The contrast between youth and youth culture which enables us to see how complex representations can be certainly in current media texts on the market. Many film characters mark a clear contrast between press representations and misrepresentations.
There is a common thread throughout Media texts, violent words such as ‘thugs’ and ‘yobs’ were used in articles online, with the use of web 2.0 to portray the youth this way. This relates to Strinati’s post modernism as our reality is constructed and led by the mass media. Articles about the London Riots were viral, one of which read “I predict a rioter” containing a description of a stereotypical teenager. The audience who read the article decode (Stuart Hall) the messages in the way they see fit. For example, youth will feel victimised, especially those who do not partake in such anarchy which may lead them to express their opinions online (web 2.0) via Facebook and Twitter, updating statuses and profiles (Jenkins), thus constructing their identity collectively.
The arrival of ‘the teenager’ came after the war and was forced into the public eye (though only shortly). Subcultures and tribes were derived from post war depression as youths wanted to catch attention. Such films as ‘The Wild One’ represent the emerging awareness adults had about the fear of youth and youth destruction. The characters in these films can be seen to be uncontrollable and out of control to society.
With the negativity surrounding youth, is there any hope for the future? The evolution of such films as Fish Tank and Shank only enhance and create further opposition. Shank is set in 2015 and gives us an assumption of what to expect, which isn’t bright or blissful. Unfortunately due to the mass media dominating our views, it will be almost impossible for them to reflect youth in the positive light in which we all wish to see in the near future.
Saturday, 12 May 2012
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Explain how far understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in you answer to show how this understanding developed over time.
For my year 12 production I had to create a thriller opening lasting for about 3-4 minutes in our chosen groups. In year 13, my task was to create a music video for a chosen song followed by ancillary texts which consisted of a website and digi-pak, once again in a group. To begin creating these products we had to research and investigate on existing products to give us an insight of what we wanted to achieve at the end of it.
My understanding of conventions of existing media was quite poor at the start of year 12. I was new to understanding what conforming to the conventions of certain products meant and was challenged as to why they would want to subvert too. The very first steps to getting my answer and begin my research was using the Internet. By using both Google and YouTube, they allowed me to research existing products already on the market. In year 12, I used YouTube more to find film trailers in order to get inspiration from. Some of the stereotypical conventions that were of a Thriller consisted of: non-diagetic music, a villain, and a male character as the protagonist. Films in which we found these trends for were Devil and Prom Night. Throughout the course of our planning and research stages, the ideas that we began to develop seemed to combine into a hybrid genre; a thriller-drama. This led us to concentrate on two main films; Obsessed and Prom Night. They both contained eerie music and created an enigmatic atmosphere. Other ideas which influenced our product were the use of slow paced edits from Prom Night as it created intensity between the audience and the protagonist from a point of view shot. By already have watched Obsessed, we took the idea of a female character to be infatuated with another character, thus being influenced by existing products.
In year 13, during the creation of our music video and ancillary texts, we not only had to find similar music videos but had to find websites and album covers of the artists too. Popular artists that came across were Snow Patrol, Coldplay, James Morrison and James Blunt.
My music video narrative is about a young man’s mind trapped between moving on or not from a girl whom he has strong feelings for. The music video does not give away if this girl is still alive or not or even if it was his girlfriend or wife. The artist visualises the girl during many encounters but is never really there, and therefore only in his mind. When looking at other Alternative styled music video, we found that they had slow edits, close-ups of people expressions and the video went back and forth evenly between the artist/band playing their instruments and the narrative. Some of these videos had the artist look directly into the camera creating a relationship with the audience, which we found important. We took these themes and ideas and used them in our music video to conform to an Alternative styled music video.
In addition, an interesting aspect we found from one of ColdPlay’s music videos was the fact that the footage was in reverse from start to finish. This effect was favoured by our group and wanted to intertwine that with our storyline in which we were able to do towards the end of the video. By taking notice of conventions like this, I believe, expressed my creativity by exploring further into Final Cut and using more transitions than the basics that were used in AS. Tutorials came into play for the more complex effects whereas in AS tutorials were used to figure out simple things for example how to render.
For the website, the same artists were researched as part of the existing products. The ways in which they influenced our media product was by the similarities between the various websites. For example, there was always a figure of the artist/band on the welcome page, a clear bold name of the artist and links to other social networking websites to keep an integrated fan base. The navigation on the website was quick and easy, influencing us to follow this aswell, keeping the website current and fresh.
The digi-pak was made up of the album cover, the back cover, an insert and a poster. To begin creating these elements that make up our digi pak we had to research existing products on the market. The album artwork of Alternative genres had a simple concept but still made to look effective. For example, simple pictures and natural poses to suggest emotion of the artist. We were influenced by this idea as we too wanted to show great emotion in our Album Cover. We did this by capturing our artist as his natural self, without asking to specify a pose. The colours used were mostly black, whites and neutral colours. For this reason we decided to make our Album Cover black and white all over, as part of sticking to the conventions of existing media and also as a part of our branding consistency, sticking to the black and white theme throughout our main product and ancillary texts.
In conclusion the understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced greatly upon the making of our product. Already having past experience from year 12, I was able to further understand the importance of certain codes and conventions of an Alternative genre and implement them to increase my products effectiveness.
My understanding of conventions of existing media was quite poor at the start of year 12. I was new to understanding what conforming to the conventions of certain products meant and was challenged as to why they would want to subvert too. The very first steps to getting my answer and begin my research was using the Internet. By using both Google and YouTube, they allowed me to research existing products already on the market. In year 12, I used YouTube more to find film trailers in order to get inspiration from. Some of the stereotypical conventions that were of a Thriller consisted of: non-diagetic music, a villain, and a male character as the protagonist. Films in which we found these trends for were Devil and Prom Night. Throughout the course of our planning and research stages, the ideas that we began to develop seemed to combine into a hybrid genre; a thriller-drama. This led us to concentrate on two main films; Obsessed and Prom Night. They both contained eerie music and created an enigmatic atmosphere. Other ideas which influenced our product were the use of slow paced edits from Prom Night as it created intensity between the audience and the protagonist from a point of view shot. By already have watched Obsessed, we took the idea of a female character to be infatuated with another character, thus being influenced by existing products.
In year 13, during the creation of our music video and ancillary texts, we not only had to find similar music videos but had to find websites and album covers of the artists too. Popular artists that came across were Snow Patrol, Coldplay, James Morrison and James Blunt.
My music video narrative is about a young man’s mind trapped between moving on or not from a girl whom he has strong feelings for. The music video does not give away if this girl is still alive or not or even if it was his girlfriend or wife. The artist visualises the girl during many encounters but is never really there, and therefore only in his mind. When looking at other Alternative styled music video, we found that they had slow edits, close-ups of people expressions and the video went back and forth evenly between the artist/band playing their instruments and the narrative. Some of these videos had the artist look directly into the camera creating a relationship with the audience, which we found important. We took these themes and ideas and used them in our music video to conform to an Alternative styled music video.
In addition, an interesting aspect we found from one of ColdPlay’s music videos was the fact that the footage was in reverse from start to finish. This effect was favoured by our group and wanted to intertwine that with our storyline in which we were able to do towards the end of the video. By taking notice of conventions like this, I believe, expressed my creativity by exploring further into Final Cut and using more transitions than the basics that were used in AS. Tutorials came into play for the more complex effects whereas in AS tutorials were used to figure out simple things for example how to render.
For the website, the same artists were researched as part of the existing products. The ways in which they influenced our media product was by the similarities between the various websites. For example, there was always a figure of the artist/band on the welcome page, a clear bold name of the artist and links to other social networking websites to keep an integrated fan base. The navigation on the website was quick and easy, influencing us to follow this aswell, keeping the website current and fresh.
The digi-pak was made up of the album cover, the back cover, an insert and a poster. To begin creating these elements that make up our digi pak we had to research existing products on the market. The album artwork of Alternative genres had a simple concept but still made to look effective. For example, simple pictures and natural poses to suggest emotion of the artist. We were influenced by this idea as we too wanted to show great emotion in our Album Cover. We did this by capturing our artist as his natural self, without asking to specify a pose. The colours used were mostly black, whites and neutral colours. For this reason we decided to make our Album Cover black and white all over, as part of sticking to the conventions of existing media and also as a part of our branding consistency, sticking to the black and white theme throughout our main product and ancillary texts.
In conclusion the understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced greatly upon the making of our product. Already having past experience from year 12, I was able to further understand the importance of certain codes and conventions of an Alternative genre and implement them to increase my products effectiveness.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making.
In year 12, for my AS production, my task was to create a short thriller film opening. In year 13, my task was to create a music video for a chosen song followed by ancillary texts which consisted of a website and digi-pak. In order to begin thinking about the outcome of these products, thorough research and planning needed to be done in order to understand the market with similar products and to figure out who are target audience would be.
In my AS production we used web browsers and the internet such as Google and Youtube for our research and planning stages to search for similar products on the market and to watch trailers to get inspiration from. We looked at films that we had seen before which could potentially relate to our product, and then later we browsed films which we had never heard of or seen, to have an unbiased initial opinion of the film and trailer. We needed to get the synopsis of each film and see which best resembles our idea. Films such as ‘Obsessed’ and ‘Prom Night’ were the two in which we could strongly relate to in terms of having similar codes and conventions in a thriller with an added twist. This was to have the protagonist (a young, vulnerable teenage girl) to turn for the worst and get revenge, in which the audience are unsure about as it ends as a cliff-hanger.
Both Google and Youtube were once again popular in my A2 task as it was vital to use the internet to search for similar artists and products and browse through their websites and watch a wide range of music videos to further our knowledge and ideas. Furthermore, this year I was able to use YouTube to search for tutorials in understanding how to use Photoshop and Final Cut Express. The advances in technology are continuously improving and luckily, the internet is always filled with current and fresh information such as tutorials which I was able to use and develop skills for in order to complete my final product.
In my AS production, in order to make and edit our product, we were first introduced to Final Cut express. As a media student, this was my first time to have heard of the software and to have used it. In fact, it was my first time to use an Apple Mac let alone all the software’s that came with it. Clearly my lack of knowledge meant that the production and editing process would take its time to perfect and finally produce the outcome that we wanted. However, for my A2 product I was able to use these skills developed to contribute to creative decision making as I was more comfortable in experimenting with various effects other than the typical fade in and out tool. I was more confident in showing off these skills and furthermore, much faster at it this year because of the consistency required in editing the product and piecing it together for the final make. For example the wipe effect was used to make our product look fresh and innovative whilst sticking to the codes and conventions of an alternative genre. During our planning and research stages, we thought it would be unique to use a rewinding effect to symbolise our artist going back in time and facing reality by ‘moving on’ in life. We got this idea from a similar video by Coldplay. In their ‘Fix You’ video, the whole music video is rewound from start to finish which we thought was something to consider as many products do not have or use that effect. It was pretty easy to do on Final Cut, regardless of the fact that it was also a lengthy process (by having to individually select the clips that needed to be rewound) but ended up being a success and fitted in with our narrative.
To create our website we used “wix” which enabled us to create a free website to promote our artist. Once again inspiration was taken from similar artists’ websites such as James Morrison and Coldplay, and YouTube was used for further tutorials in how to navigate on Wix as this was new to all of us. It was a challenge to get used to but at the same time a great experience. I was able to use my creativity in making the website as I was used to exploring artists that I favoured personally, and was able to bring ideas in which I thought would work well in terms of the layout and information displayed.
For our album cover the digital technologies used were the professional camera for the photos and later Photoshop to edit and make the picture represent our artist and genre to the best of our ability. The gap from using a normal phone camera or a digital camera to the professional camera was pretty huge. There were a lot of things to be considered such as the focus or to illustrate depth of field. Camera positioning was very important and was a factor I never considered when taking photos in my everyday life. I believe I was able to bring my basic camera skills to capture the images that we did because I had an initial idea in mind in what I wanted to express throughout the photo shoot. During the Photoshop stage, I knew how to use the basics to help strengthen the photos. We made them black and white to conform to the consistent trend kept throughout the main product and website which also had symbolism of the artists’ emotion of sadness.
In conclusion my AS production task helped me to develop a foundation of skills in which I was able to carry onto my A2 product and strengthen them further. AS helped me to incorporate these skills to contribute in creative decision making for my final A2 product. Hopefully these skills were expressed well in my main product and ancillary texts.
In my AS production we used web browsers and the internet such as Google and Youtube for our research and planning stages to search for similar products on the market and to watch trailers to get inspiration from. We looked at films that we had seen before which could potentially relate to our product, and then later we browsed films which we had never heard of or seen, to have an unbiased initial opinion of the film and trailer. We needed to get the synopsis of each film and see which best resembles our idea. Films such as ‘Obsessed’ and ‘Prom Night’ were the two in which we could strongly relate to in terms of having similar codes and conventions in a thriller with an added twist. This was to have the protagonist (a young, vulnerable teenage girl) to turn for the worst and get revenge, in which the audience are unsure about as it ends as a cliff-hanger.
Both Google and Youtube were once again popular in my A2 task as it was vital to use the internet to search for similar artists and products and browse through their websites and watch a wide range of music videos to further our knowledge and ideas. Furthermore, this year I was able to use YouTube to search for tutorials in understanding how to use Photoshop and Final Cut Express. The advances in technology are continuously improving and luckily, the internet is always filled with current and fresh information such as tutorials which I was able to use and develop skills for in order to complete my final product.
In my AS production, in order to make and edit our product, we were first introduced to Final Cut express. As a media student, this was my first time to have heard of the software and to have used it. In fact, it was my first time to use an Apple Mac let alone all the software’s that came with it. Clearly my lack of knowledge meant that the production and editing process would take its time to perfect and finally produce the outcome that we wanted. However, for my A2 product I was able to use these skills developed to contribute to creative decision making as I was more comfortable in experimenting with various effects other than the typical fade in and out tool. I was more confident in showing off these skills and furthermore, much faster at it this year because of the consistency required in editing the product and piecing it together for the final make. For example the wipe effect was used to make our product look fresh and innovative whilst sticking to the codes and conventions of an alternative genre. During our planning and research stages, we thought it would be unique to use a rewinding effect to symbolise our artist going back in time and facing reality by ‘moving on’ in life. We got this idea from a similar video by Coldplay. In their ‘Fix You’ video, the whole music video is rewound from start to finish which we thought was something to consider as many products do not have or use that effect. It was pretty easy to do on Final Cut, regardless of the fact that it was also a lengthy process (by having to individually select the clips that needed to be rewound) but ended up being a success and fitted in with our narrative.
To create our website we used “wix” which enabled us to create a free website to promote our artist. Once again inspiration was taken from similar artists’ websites such as James Morrison and Coldplay, and YouTube was used for further tutorials in how to navigate on Wix as this was new to all of us. It was a challenge to get used to but at the same time a great experience. I was able to use my creativity in making the website as I was used to exploring artists that I favoured personally, and was able to bring ideas in which I thought would work well in terms of the layout and information displayed.
For our album cover the digital technologies used were the professional camera for the photos and later Photoshop to edit and make the picture represent our artist and genre to the best of our ability. The gap from using a normal phone camera or a digital camera to the professional camera was pretty huge. There were a lot of things to be considered such as the focus or to illustrate depth of field. Camera positioning was very important and was a factor I never considered when taking photos in my everyday life. I believe I was able to bring my basic camera skills to capture the images that we did because I had an initial idea in mind in what I wanted to express throughout the photo shoot. During the Photoshop stage, I knew how to use the basics to help strengthen the photos. We made them black and white to conform to the consistent trend kept throughout the main product and website which also had symbolism of the artists’ emotion of sadness.
In conclusion my AS production task helped me to develop a foundation of skills in which I was able to carry onto my A2 product and strengthen them further. AS helped me to incorporate these skills to contribute in creative decision making for my final A2 product. Hopefully these skills were expressed well in my main product and ancillary texts.
Friday, 30 March 2012
1A structure
Paragraph 1
Introduction to product
Brief synopsis
Paragraph 2
Introduction of what was done
Research methods, websites etc
Paragraph 3
Comparison to similar products
Paragraph4
Problems encountered and how it was resolved
Codes and Conventions
Paragraph 5
Research of similar products (trailers)
How the build up of ancillary texts contributed to the main product
Paragraph 6
Conclusion - what was learnt over the course of two years
Introduction to product
Brief synopsis
Paragraph 2
Introduction of what was done
Research methods, websites etc
Paragraph 3
Comparison to similar products
Paragraph4
Problems encountered and how it was resolved
Codes and Conventions
Paragraph 5
Research of similar products (trailers)
How the build up of ancillary texts contributed to the main product
Paragraph 6
Conclusion - what was learnt over the course of two years
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Evaluate A2 production in terms of narrative theories
For my A2 Media Coursework, we had to produce a music video. We chose a song by Meaning in Masterpiece called “Never Again” which is of an alternative genre played mainly with an acoustic guitar. We sparked a few ideas for the storyline and narrative from when we first heard the song. The group decided that we wanted it to represent a sad and depressing atmosphere in which the audience feel sympathy for the protagonist (Jake). We also wanted scenes of Jake playing the guitar in synch with the song as a parallel narrative. It was made slightly easier for us as Jake already knows how to play the guitar and was able to mime and pick up on the song quite quickly.
The lyrics helped us to think of a basic idea to what we wanted to portray to our audience. It shows Jake confused in his life as a girl keep appearing and disappearing throughout the video. As an audience, we have no idea who she is and this creates an enigmatic effect amongst us. We intended to capture Jake’s ‘day out’ and how emotionally scarred he is with the thoughts of this girl who keeps appearing and disappearing, allowing us as audience to make our own assumptions. Levi Strauss can be related to our product as there is a 'constant creation of conflict/opposition', in this case, the difference in colour. The use of black and white presents his mood and the atmosphere, and the colour at the end to show his present life and him literally ‘moving on’.
In comparison to other music videos that were similar to ours (eg Coldplay and James Blunt) we noticed a few codes and conventions used in their videos in which we decided to implement in ours. They seemed to have slow edits, slow movement and a simple narrative/storyline. In one of Coldplay’s videos – “Yellow”, he is seen walking on a beach, stressing how simple music videos of this particular genre can be. However we subverted to this as we wanted to bring something different to our audience, by having a complicated storyline with fast cuts where needed and rewinding to make a difference to the typical music video. Slow edits are evident in our music video, as our chosen song is slow. This subverts to similar products on the market, as discussed before.
A narrative theorist that our product can relate to is Roland Barthes and the "enigma code". The enigma code is that the narrative will establish enigmas or mysteries as it goes along. We see the appearance and disappearance of the antagonist which creates questions that remain unanswered until the end of the music video. The use of black and white also brings to attention on what the current tense may be and whether things are set in the past or the present.
Both Propp and Todorovvs theories suggest that there is a protagonist who is the hero in the narrative. It can be said that in our music video, Jake plays this part. The antagonist can be said to be the girl in which he keeps seeing therefore conforms to both of their theories. However there is no villain or 'princess' present, in which this subverts from their theories too. It can be argued that he needs 'saving' from himself as he is confused and broken and needs to escape his mind.
In conclusion, it is clear to see that our music video consists of many narrative theories, both conforming and subverting from them. The codes and conventions are clear and apparent for our audience to refer and relate to. Our music video brings something new onto the market, with unexpected scenarios; creating difference and uniqueness which is what most products aim to achieve nowadays.
The lyrics helped us to think of a basic idea to what we wanted to portray to our audience. It shows Jake confused in his life as a girl keep appearing and disappearing throughout the video. As an audience, we have no idea who she is and this creates an enigmatic effect amongst us. We intended to capture Jake’s ‘day out’ and how emotionally scarred he is with the thoughts of this girl who keeps appearing and disappearing, allowing us as audience to make our own assumptions. Levi Strauss can be related to our product as there is a 'constant creation of conflict/opposition', in this case, the difference in colour. The use of black and white presents his mood and the atmosphere, and the colour at the end to show his present life and him literally ‘moving on’.
In comparison to other music videos that were similar to ours (eg Coldplay and James Blunt) we noticed a few codes and conventions used in their videos in which we decided to implement in ours. They seemed to have slow edits, slow movement and a simple narrative/storyline. In one of Coldplay’s videos – “Yellow”, he is seen walking on a beach, stressing how simple music videos of this particular genre can be. However we subverted to this as we wanted to bring something different to our audience, by having a complicated storyline with fast cuts where needed and rewinding to make a difference to the typical music video. Slow edits are evident in our music video, as our chosen song is slow. This subverts to similar products on the market, as discussed before.
A narrative theorist that our product can relate to is Roland Barthes and the "enigma code". The enigma code is that the narrative will establish enigmas or mysteries as it goes along. We see the appearance and disappearance of the antagonist which creates questions that remain unanswered until the end of the music video. The use of black and white also brings to attention on what the current tense may be and whether things are set in the past or the present.
Both Propp and Todorovvs theories suggest that there is a protagonist who is the hero in the narrative. It can be said that in our music video, Jake plays this part. The antagonist can be said to be the girl in which he keeps seeing therefore conforms to both of their theories. However there is no villain or 'princess' present, in which this subverts from their theories too. It can be argued that he needs 'saving' from himself as he is confused and broken and needs to escape his mind.
In conclusion, it is clear to see that our music video consists of many narrative theories, both conforming and subverting from them. The codes and conventions are clear and apparent for our audience to refer and relate to. Our music video brings something new onto the market, with unexpected scenarios; creating difference and uniqueness which is what most products aim to achieve nowadays.
Monday, 12 March 2012
| THEORIST | IDEA | ARGUMENT | APPLICATION TO OUR PRODUCT / OTHER PRODUCTS |
| Berger 1995, Hoynes 1997 | The Magic Bullet Theory | The "Magic Bullet" theory graphically assumes that the media's message is a bullet fired from the "media gun" into the viewer's "head" | We used mixed stereotypical codes and conventions of a thriller/drama hybrid to direct at our audience in order for them to capture the what we were trying to portray. |
| Blumer and Katz | Audience Gratification Theory | Escapism - Escape from everyday problems and routine, Personal Identity - Seeing yourself reflected in texts Personal Relationships - Finding a connection with someone in a text Surveillance - Keeping up to date with news and current information | Our product may relate to some of these theories as they may be going through similar situations regarding relationships or seeing themselves go through a similar situation (personal identity & relationships) |
| Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet (1994) | Two Step Flow Theory | That informal, personal contacts were mentioned far more frequently than exposure to radio or newspaper as sources of influence on voting behaviour | If we consider the film Inception, there were many views on that as it was something different on the market. Some liked the confusion and enigma it brang and therefore could have recommended it via word of mouth (part of the two step flow theory) Others may have read reviews on websites and magazines which has an influence on a person to watch it. |
| Abraham Maslow | Maslow's Hieracy of Needs | Often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top. | Sympathy and vulnerability towards the protagonist. |
| Denis McQuail (1987), James Lull (1990), Richard Kilborn (1992) | Uses & Gratifications | DM - information - finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world. Personal identity. Integration and social interaction - identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging (social empathy). Entertainment - escaping or being diverted from problems. JL - offers a typology of the social uses of television based on ethnographic research. RK - offers a few common reasons for watching soaps e.g. regular part of domestic routine and entertaining reward for work, identification and involvement with characters and a kind of critical game involving knowledge of the rules and conventions of the genre | DM - may relate or identify themselves to our product or they may want to escape from problems in their everyday lives by watching a genre they haven't seen before or enjoy that particular genre. RK - similar reasons to DM. May watch a film as they deserve a break, 'entertainment' and 'reward for work' |
| Hans Robert Jauss | Reception Theory | Reception theory is a version of reader response literary theory that emphasizes the reader's reception of a literary text. A text (book, movie etc.) is not simply passively accepted by the audience, but that the reader / viewer interpret the meanings of the text based on their individual cultural background and life experiences. In essence, the meaning of a text is not inherent within the text itself, but is created within the relationship between the text and the reader. | An extension of Stuart Hall’s theory. A viewer can interpret our product depending on how their lives are lived. For example some may feel sympathy towards Beth as they may assume she is a vulnerable and innocent character, whereas someone else may think she doesn’t deserve happiness. |
| David Morley (1980) | Nationwide Audience | Nationwide was a popular news/current affairs magazine programme which had a regular early evening slot on weekdays from 6.00 to 7.00 pm on BBC1. It followed the main national news from London and included human interest stories from 'the regions' as well as a 'down-to-earth' look at the major events of the day. Morley conducted qualitative research with various participants from different educational and occupational backgrounds. He observed different responses to a clip of its budget special to see whether they would construct dominant, oppositional or negotiated readings (the three categories of readings proposed by Hall). | |
| John Fiske | Television Studies | Fiske disagrees with the theory that mass audiences consume the products that are offered to them without thought. Fiske rejects the notion of "the audience" which assumes an uncritical mass. He instead suggests "audiences" with various social backgrounds and identities enabling them to receive texts differently. | |
| Stuart Hall | Encoding & Decoding Theory | The media encodes messages within texts for audiences to decode. The audience does not simply passively accept a text and decode these messages according to their lives and what is relevant to them to interpret it in the way they want. | Encoded messages are in our film opening in which the audience can decode to what they want it to mean for them. For example, someone going through a breakup may decode the message in a different way to someone who is single, as it is more relevant to them. |
Audience Gratification Theories
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Narrative Theories Analysis
For my AS Media Production task we created a film opening to a thriller called "Behind Closed Doors." The synopsis, in simple terms, is that the protagonist is still in love with her ex boyfriend and the break up causes her to become greatly obsessed with him and plans on getting revenge by crushing pills and walking out the room. By doing so, we wanted to create an enigmatic effect right from the start to keep the audience engaged at all times. The unawareness of why Beth (protagonist) was crying as she was first introduced created suspense and anticipation for the viewers. The crying portrays a typical female character as they are stereotypically known to be quite weak and emotional, and this conformed to that assumption. Gaye Tuchman's theory can relate as Tuchman found that men were always portrayed in a dominant and superior position to women and our film opening shows she is upset about a male which supports that women are weaker and emotional because of the male figure.
Roland Barthes' enigma code can relate to this as our thriller opening includes enigmas/mysteries as the film develops. In this theory, it is solved usually at the end of the film, or continued in a sequel, but as we didn’t need to produce an ending, this didn’t matter so much.
Our film opening holds many codes and conventions towards other theorists such as Levi Strauss's binary opposition theory. In regards to the love/hate and control/panic relationship, it is obvious to see that this is presented in our product when we see that the protagonist is upset with the given situation but her feelings soon changes into hatred as she switches from a calm mood to an angry one as she starts tearing down the photos. We used the blurry effect at this stage to help signify a distorted and unclear mind of mixed emotions.
With regards to Propps theory, we subverted to this as his states that the hero is usually the protagonist, but ours clearly shows the 'victim' turning into the 'villain' thus opposing to his theory and making her the protagonist and perhaps the 'hero' the antagonist. (We are unclear as to who the antagonist is as we only see one character within the film opening)
In comparison to the other products we studied such as Prom Night, we aimed to stick similarly to the common codes and conventions of the film genre. Mise-en-scene (such as the use of the colour pink and messy room) automatically stereotypes a teenage girl’s room which suggested that the target audience would be towards a feminist approach, but aimed to appeal to both sexes with the thriller/drama hybrid.
With regards to lighting, it was hard to conform to the typical conventions into making it gloomy for the sad and upsetting scenes and vice versa. It was difficult to block out the light from outside and control the natural light into creating the perfect setting due to our limited budget, creating a constraint. We instead used the aspect of looking back into the past colliding with present events and differentiating the two with the use of black and white to represent events from the past.
In conclusion my film opening mostly conformed to the stereotypical conventions required in a thriller opening as it followed similar patterns and trends as opposed to subverting from it. Due to the lack of time, I think it limited us from exploring contents of a thriller opening in which we could subvert to.
"Analyse one of your products against narrative theories"
Roland Barthes - The enigma code
Going against Propps theory - victim turns into villain - is the protagonist
Levi Strauss - love/hate - binary oppositions
1) What product did you make and when?
2) What is the synopsis and a brief idea of what your intentions were.
3) Key questions that arrised for the production in terms of the specific construction: narrative, genre, audience, representation, etc.
4) Codes and conventions that relate to the specific theory - subvert/conform, pos/negative?
5) Analyse against theories and explain why.
6) Evaluate the codes and conventions against theories and explain why.
7) Conclude how it conformed or subverted conventions and explain why...
Roland Barthes' enigma code can relate to this as our thriller opening includes enigmas/mysteries as the film develops. In this theory, it is solved usually at the end of the film, or continued in a sequel, but as we didn’t need to produce an ending, this didn’t matter so much.
Our film opening holds many codes and conventions towards other theorists such as Levi Strauss's binary opposition theory. In regards to the love/hate and control/panic relationship, it is obvious to see that this is presented in our product when we see that the protagonist is upset with the given situation but her feelings soon changes into hatred as she switches from a calm mood to an angry one as she starts tearing down the photos. We used the blurry effect at this stage to help signify a distorted and unclear mind of mixed emotions.
With regards to Propps theory, we subverted to this as his states that the hero is usually the protagonist, but ours clearly shows the 'victim' turning into the 'villain' thus opposing to his theory and making her the protagonist and perhaps the 'hero' the antagonist. (We are unclear as to who the antagonist is as we only see one character within the film opening)
In comparison to the other products we studied such as Prom Night, we aimed to stick similarly to the common codes and conventions of the film genre. Mise-en-scene (such as the use of the colour pink and messy room) automatically stereotypes a teenage girl’s room which suggested that the target audience would be towards a feminist approach, but aimed to appeal to both sexes with the thriller/drama hybrid.
With regards to lighting, it was hard to conform to the typical conventions into making it gloomy for the sad and upsetting scenes and vice versa. It was difficult to block out the light from outside and control the natural light into creating the perfect setting due to our limited budget, creating a constraint. We instead used the aspect of looking back into the past colliding with present events and differentiating the two with the use of black and white to represent events from the past.
In conclusion my film opening mostly conformed to the stereotypical conventions required in a thriller opening as it followed similar patterns and trends as opposed to subverting from it. Due to the lack of time, I think it limited us from exploring contents of a thriller opening in which we could subvert to.
"Analyse one of your products against narrative theories"
Roland Barthes - The enigma code
Going against Propps theory - victim turns into villain - is the protagonist
Levi Strauss - love/hate - binary oppositions
1) What product did you make and when?
2) What is the synopsis and a brief idea of what your intentions were.
3) Key questions that arrised for the production in terms of the specific construction: narrative, genre, audience, representation, etc.
4) Codes and conventions that relate to the specific theory - subvert/conform, pos/negative?
5) Analyse against theories and explain why.
6) Evaluate the codes and conventions against theories and explain why.
7) Conclude how it conformed or subverted conventions and explain why...
Friday, 6 January 2012
Internalised Stereotypes
Kidulthood, Adulthood, Fish Tank.
Correct or Incorrect portrayal?
These films are arguably a correct portrayal as they represent the youth negatively, no different to how we are presented within the media of today.
"Based in West London, where rich and poor rub shoulder to shoulder, treading the same playgrounds in very differently priced shoes." This helps portray a clear juxaposition of class and shows what happens when the two clash. It becomes apparant that those of a working class are out of control, filled with anarchy.
Noel Clarke, a young black male is known to be more involved with the youth to portray them the way they actually behave and discourse. Exaggerated truth, to cause an effect on both adults and the youth. apathy, raising awareness, glorifying, able to change our views, youth do have hope, can act rebellious but repent too.
whereas Andrea Arnold, who is an older British white woman may just bring her stereotypical persopective into the film. H
*shabby apartment block
Accurate to actual experiences of teenagers?
An adult fascination of youth?
Conforming to stereotypes ciculated by news media?
Who makes these media texts and for who?
Correct or Incorrect portrayal?
These films are arguably a correct portrayal as they represent the youth negatively, no different to how we are presented within the media of today.
"Based in West London, where rich and poor rub shoulder to shoulder, treading the same playgrounds in very differently priced shoes." This helps portray a clear juxaposition of class and shows what happens when the two clash. It becomes apparant that those of a working class are out of control, filled with anarchy.
Noel Clarke, a young black male is known to be more involved with the youth to portray them the way they actually behave and discourse. Exaggerated truth, to cause an effect on both adults and the youth. apathy, raising awareness, glorifying, able to change our views, youth do have hope, can act rebellious but repent too.
whereas Andrea Arnold, who is an older British white woman may just bring her stereotypical persopective into the film. H
*shabby apartment block
Accurate to actual experiences of teenagers?
An adult fascination of youth?
Conforming to stereotypes ciculated by news media?
Who makes these media texts and for who?
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Do Kidulthood and Fish Tank create a realistic representation of youth?
The youth are generally represented in the media to be quite negative and are generally the focal topic of debates, reports, and in recent news, associated greatly in the Riots with the words such as “destructive”, “yobs” and “thugs”. Michel Focaults theory is based on the fact that everyone is born with a basic identity, which is then mediated through the people we meet and soon becomes limited as stereotypes are created. Both Kidulthood and Fish Tank can support this.
In Kidulthood, we immediately see a clique of young boys in their uniform in school. However, they have adjusted their uniform, with a hoodie, hat and a loose tie which creates their own sense of collective identity and a sense of rebelliousness. This can be said to be true as youth these days like to have their own recognition within their groups whether that is a symbol or a particular item of clothing, however it forms automatic stereotypes, so the thoughts that the media and outsiders have of us is misinterpreted and perhaps false. The use of hoodies and tracksuits is heightened in the film which creates a dominant view in society. For example, we see them hanging about in street corners, getting into fights and stealing a purse; showing that perhaps youth are in fact immature and troublesome. Print media, like tabloids and broadsheets newspapers, reflect and construct these views of youth, calling us “yobs” and “thugs” during the London Riots which therefore supports the 2k film. Focaults theory can also be related here as in a scene of Kidulthood, a security guard follows Trevor out of the shop as he assumes he stole a hat. This was clearly only done to show how strongly people feel about youth being in hoodies and tracksuits and how quickly assumptions can be made. In comparison to Fish Tank, the protagonist also wears similar type of clothing and is portrayed to be a destructive character as she gets into fights and rebels. These two personas can be classified as the 'in-group' where they see the adults and those who stereotype as the out'group, according to tajfels theory.
"Identity is complicated, everybody thinks they’ve got one" David Gaunlett says this and is presented clearly in both films. Being a youth, especially a teenager is a tough time period as we are still finding out ‘who we are’ for our identity. This is the phase in which we experiment, act both good and bad to see what we prefer, and as we grow older our identity becomes complicated. For example, in Kidulthood, Trevor talks about his notorious uncle who is a dangerous man, where no one believes him. When he goes to visit he doesn’t like the look of hurting others and is forced to use a blade to prove his ‘strength’ and commitment to his uncle. After that he repents for what he does and is highly ashamed as he runs away. His loneliness gives him time to think about what he’s done; therefore demonstrating mixed thoughts and a blurred identity. Furthermore, in Fish Tank the scene of which there is an open landscape and just a horse, presents a lonely identity, and her attempt to free the horse symbolises her attempt to free herself into finding her identity.
Both classes are of a similar type as we are shown they live on various council estates (block of flats) therefore deprived and of a lower class, which could suggest a hard lifestyle and neglected upbringing. This could be a reason as to why they both rebel and perhaps show a realistic representation of youth as it’s usually ones with a neglected upbringing who cause anarchy in society. (quote in-group –out group) those of a higher class are the out group in their view. Character in Fish Tank is impartial as she wants to dance, but to dance alone and not in a group. She likes being with her family but sometimes can’t stand them.
Merlau Ponty's embodied experience theory suggests that we physically use our hands on our phones, the internet and social networking sites to make and form our identity. Technology is a big factor of youth’s identity as we seem to revolve around that in contrast to historical times where family interaction and games used to be a major pass time. In Kidulthood we see a lot of mobile phones used, to communicate and meet up, and in Fish Tank, we also see her using a phone but the digital camera is used more to portray her identity, by dancing. This can therefore be said to create a realistic representation of youth as we highly dedicate a lot of time on technological devices and depend on them majorly.
The elements presented in both Kidulthood and Fish Tank can therefore be said to be a near enough perfect view of youth as it seems as though in society we have become desensitised to the typical hegemonic view of the youths of today. It comes to no surprise if they are recognised in the news as the media will always continue to represent youth in such a way so their story sells, continuing to reflect youth unfairly with the inability to change such a dominant view in society. To some extent it can be argued that Kidulthood holds more of a realistic represenation of youth as Noel Clarke, the producer, is younger and more involved with the youth of today to be able to present his view realistically.
In Kidulthood, we immediately see a clique of young boys in their uniform in school. However, they have adjusted their uniform, with a hoodie, hat and a loose tie which creates their own sense of collective identity and a sense of rebelliousness. This can be said to be true as youth these days like to have their own recognition within their groups whether that is a symbol or a particular item of clothing, however it forms automatic stereotypes, so the thoughts that the media and outsiders have of us is misinterpreted and perhaps false. The use of hoodies and tracksuits is heightened in the film which creates a dominant view in society. For example, we see them hanging about in street corners, getting into fights and stealing a purse; showing that perhaps youth are in fact immature and troublesome. Print media, like tabloids and broadsheets newspapers, reflect and construct these views of youth, calling us “yobs” and “thugs” during the London Riots which therefore supports the 2k film. Focaults theory can also be related here as in a scene of Kidulthood, a security guard follows Trevor out of the shop as he assumes he stole a hat. This was clearly only done to show how strongly people feel about youth being in hoodies and tracksuits and how quickly assumptions can be made. In comparison to Fish Tank, the protagonist also wears similar type of clothing and is portrayed to be a destructive character as she gets into fights and rebels. These two personas can be classified as the 'in-group' where they see the adults and those who stereotype as the out'group, according to tajfels theory.
"Identity is complicated, everybody thinks they’ve got one" David Gaunlett says this and is presented clearly in both films. Being a youth, especially a teenager is a tough time period as we are still finding out ‘who we are’ for our identity. This is the phase in which we experiment, act both good and bad to see what we prefer, and as we grow older our identity becomes complicated. For example, in Kidulthood, Trevor talks about his notorious uncle who is a dangerous man, where no one believes him. When he goes to visit he doesn’t like the look of hurting others and is forced to use a blade to prove his ‘strength’ and commitment to his uncle. After that he repents for what he does and is highly ashamed as he runs away. His loneliness gives him time to think about what he’s done; therefore demonstrating mixed thoughts and a blurred identity. Furthermore, in Fish Tank the scene of which there is an open landscape and just a horse, presents a lonely identity, and her attempt to free the horse symbolises her attempt to free herself into finding her identity.
Both classes are of a similar type as we are shown they live on various council estates (block of flats) therefore deprived and of a lower class, which could suggest a hard lifestyle and neglected upbringing. This could be a reason as to why they both rebel and perhaps show a realistic representation of youth as it’s usually ones with a neglected upbringing who cause anarchy in society. (quote in-group –out group) those of a higher class are the out group in their view. Character in Fish Tank is impartial as she wants to dance, but to dance alone and not in a group. She likes being with her family but sometimes can’t stand them.
Merlau Ponty's embodied experience theory suggests that we physically use our hands on our phones, the internet and social networking sites to make and form our identity. Technology is a big factor of youth’s identity as we seem to revolve around that in contrast to historical times where family interaction and games used to be a major pass time. In Kidulthood we see a lot of mobile phones used, to communicate and meet up, and in Fish Tank, we also see her using a phone but the digital camera is used more to portray her identity, by dancing. This can therefore be said to create a realistic representation of youth as we highly dedicate a lot of time on technological devices and depend on them majorly.
The elements presented in both Kidulthood and Fish Tank can therefore be said to be a near enough perfect view of youth as it seems as though in society we have become desensitised to the typical hegemonic view of the youths of today. It comes to no surprise if they are recognised in the news as the media will always continue to represent youth in such a way so their story sells, continuing to reflect youth unfairly with the inability to change such a dominant view in society. To some extent it can be argued that Kidulthood holds more of a realistic represenation of youth as Noel Clarke, the producer, is younger and more involved with the youth of today to be able to present his view realistically.
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