First cut feedback

Things that need to be improved:

- in the opening, our actor was ready in the shot 

- in every shot the camera zoomed into the actors when not necessary 

- audio and dialogue

- camera work and framing

Points we have met:

- shot reverse shot

- 180 degree rule

- match on action

Continuity Task - First Cut

Evaluation

One positive aspect of our first cut continuity task is that we have met most of the requirements which were shot reverse shot, 180 degree rule and a match on action. This made it easier for us to meet the requirements and make further improvements on our second cut of the continuity task. However, a negative aspect of our first cut is that we needed to improve on was that in the opening our actor was already in the shot, when she wasn't supposed to be, in every shot the camera zoomed into the actors when it wasn't neccessary, the audio and dialogue and camera work and framing.

- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

- What kind of media institution might distribute your media and why?

- Who would be the audience for your media product?

- How did you attract/address your audience?

- What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

Evaluation questions

- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

- What kind of media institution might distribute your media and why?

- Who would be the audience for your media product?

- How did you attract/address your audience?

- What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

- Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

Contiuity task: Problems we faced

Problems we faced:

Availability- making sure all actors were available when we needed them to be. 

Location- We filmed it in the school cafe and there where lots of other students and staff walking around and making noise that we didnt really want. 

Time- we had less time then we thought we would have and felt some of the filming was rushed. 

Lighting- one of the days we filmed the natural light from outside was too bright but the second day the lighting wasnt so bright.

Noise- there were lots of other people in our location that we didn't really want.

Our lack of knowledge- when we started we didn't no much about how to handle a camera on a tripod and how to get the angles and other technical shots they we wanted to use.

Other media students- the cafe was also being used for another groups setting and so we had to keep stopping so the other group didnt have us in their shot. 

How we dealt with the issues:

Availability- we had to eventually just used the actors that were available on one of pur days of filming. 

Location- we had to ask some people to move just while we did a few seconds and we found the added noise wasnt a problem as when we looked back, we could still hear all of our actors. 

Lighting- when the light was too bright we closed blinds and curtains and adjusted the camera so it wasnt focusing on the incoming light. 

Other media students- 

Continuity task

This is the task we have to do in the next few weeks. We have to make a 60 second clip that has to include the technical requirments mentioned above.  

Shot list

This is my groups shot list which shows what is going to happen and what camera and editing techniques we will be using. 

Thrillers from the 1920's to 2013

1920-1930's

A man called Alfred Hitchcock made his first thriller (the third silent film in 1926) this film was called 'Lodger'. It was one of the first thrillers to be made and is about a landlady who suspects her new lodger is a madman killing women in London. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dfyhFWoNARk

His next thriller in 1929 was a film called 'Black mail' this was notable for being his and Britain's first sound film. From this point Alfred Hitchcock was known for producing thrillers.

There were also many other notable british directors who produced thriller films such as Walter Forde, Victor Saville,  George A. Cooper and the young Michael  Powell up to the years 1940.

1940's

Alfred Hitchcock went on to direct more suspense thrillers, in this year he produced two films in which one was oscar winning. These films were 'Foreign Correspondent' and 'Rebecca'. Rebecca being the oscar winning film. In 1941 he went on to release a film called 'Suspicion' and then released a film called 'saboteur' in 1942 and 'Shadow of a doubt' in 1943 which was one of Hitchcocks own personal favourite.

1950's

In the 1950's was when Hitchcock started adding technicolour to his thrillers, as the time changes you can see the development. Strangers on a train, made in 1951 is about a psychotic socialite who confronts a tennis star on how two complete strangers can get away with a murder, a theory that he plans to follow through.

1960's

By 1960's

Modern Day thrillers

Most thrillers now borrow themes and elements from those in the past, but to avoid repetition they often use ideas and aspects from other genres such as horror where they add things in such as sadistic violence/gore etc which is why some people mistake thrillers for horrors. This is when we get sub genres and hybrids.

Music used in thrillers

Thriller is a genre of literature, film, video gaming and television that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements. The best examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. 

Sub-genres include crime thrillers, mystery thrillers, paranoid thrillers, psychological thrillers, and horror thrillers.

I am now analysing 4 different titles sequences' music throughout them and comparing them to one another. With this I am seeing if there is a trend in the type of audio used in Thrillers or if there is a variety. My aim is to find out as much about the sound in thrillers by analysing these following four movie title sequences: Inception, Shutter Island, Seven & Limitless; and from this hoping to gain knowledge in what is typical music of a thriller which my group and I can therefore go on to use when creating our own for our title sequence.



Inception:


loud dramatic 

symphonies 
building 

up
repetition
 loud 

dramatic 

build up 

fades out to loud 

waves
 

ambient sound of waves 


sound of children in distance


ambient 

calm tide coming in
 

eery sound developing


calm eery beat with calm tide


loud shriek/scream of a child in the middle of peace


sudden noise.



Shutter Island:
long orchestra sounds


sharp sounds


deep loud sudden sounds


loud to quiet


repetition


build up


deep horrific trumpets and symbols


small sharp blips


replica siren sound



Seven:


lightning and thunder like sounds


static sounds


repetition


computer generated sounds


robotic


sci-fi sounds-space


sudden sharp sounds


radio tuning


strange sci-fi/space fake eery music


constant beat


music layering


fast beat
non-digetic narrative or speech


quiet end



Limitless:


silence


loud bangs


sudden sound


quiet ticking clock in background building up


banging getting slightly faster


quiet speech in background begins


louder bang and narrative starts


mellow melancholy quiet noise


faster banging and mechanical drills


digital sounds


non digetic up-beat music


quiet low sounds


parallel foley sounds of police cars


parallel sound and gun shots




What have I learned from my group members work?

I have leaned that depending on which sub genre of thriller it is depends of the type of music and or sound effects played. For example, I can see that Limitless which is a mystery/psychological thriller, uses music and sound effects to build tension for the audience. This has been done by the use of bangs getting louder and quicker as this could create the effect of signifying someones heart beat and as tension and mystery builds it gets more intense. However, the sci-fi thriller Seven uses different sound effects and music. For example it uses effects such as static, robotic and electric sounds which gives the effect of reinforcing that is is a sic-fi thriller as these sounds are quite futuristic. 

Questionnaire

Please fill in the questionaire if you get the chance to. Thank you.
 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16jhLZsNIGKDPn-d8wotbGSSxFaCTFccNs8RcYlomqQU/viewform

Difference between a 15 and 18 rated film

There are age limits on films as the media believe that some content is unacceptable to be shown to certain ages. With 15 certificate films No-one under 15 is allowed to watch a film in cinemas without ID or buy/rent a 15 certificate film. Films rated 18 are for adults only. Again no-one under 18 is allowed to watch  films in the cinema or buy/rent a 18 certificate film. This is because the film is considered unsuitable as it contains explicit content.

A 18 certificate contains:

-very strong violence
-frequent strong language and very strong language
-strong portrayals of sexual activity
-strong verbal references to sex
-strong horror
-strong blood or gore
-real sex (in some circumstances)
-discriminatory language or behaviour (e.g racism or homophobic)
-drug taking.

A 15 certificate contains:

-strong violence
-frequent strong language
-portrayals of sexual activity
-strong verbal references to sex
-sexual nudity
-brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references
-discriminatory language or behaviour (e.g racism or homophobic)
-drug taking

This is a piece of work done by one of my group members.

Thriller genre

Research on the Thriller genre.

What is the Thriller Genre?

The thriller genre is the type of films that use intense excitement, suspense, high level of anticipation, anxiety and tension. Thriller and suspense films are literally the same types of films with the same features and categorizations as each other.

The aim of a thriller film is to leave the audience constantly on the edge of their seat in suspense and anxiety with cliff hanging experiences as the plot builds up to a climax. Tension usually arises when the main character is dealing with a mysterious situation from which either he could be in trouble or escaping on some dangerous mission that seems impossible or shocking. When their life itself is threatened and they are in the unknown or not expecting something when in or potentially involved a dangerous situation or atmosphere. Thrillers usually involve characters that come into conflict with each other or with outside force.

Thrillers are often sub-genres of the genre ‘thriller’ as there are so many varieties that also fit into other genres. For example:

• action-thrillers (Kill Bill - 2003)
• sci-fi-thrillers (Donnie Darko - 2001)
• psycho-thrillers (se7en - 1995)
• romantic-thrillers (Live Flesh - 1997)
• political-thrillers (Malcolm X - 1992)
• psychological-thrillers (Requiem for a Dream - 2000)

Horrors are commonly closely related to thrillers. As the horror genre are designed in the same type of way - to provide the audience with intense suspension or tension, however horrors take their audiences through agony and fear. Suspense-thrillers come in many different ways: there are murder mysteries, chase thrillers, women-in-danger films, courtroom and atmospheric, plot-twisting psychodramas. Thrillers tend to stay away from crime, gangster and detective related plots and rather focus more on the suspense and thrill of the film.

Thrillers include such characters as convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassin, innocent victims, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and more. The themes of thrillers frequently include conflict, terrorism, conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder or danger.

The reason there are so many different sub-genres of thriller is because within one thriller there may be other aspects of say a romance, horror, sci-fi or any others. This may be because of different directors intentions or their target audiences; furthermore even down to the evolution of genre or thrillers to be exact in which films are now being changed to set to the current time in which they are made or evolving to the new likes and dislikes of the mass.

Evolution:

The first thriller was made in the 1920’s with a film called ‘The Lodger’ by Alfred Hitchcock which was made in Britain. This therefore brought a new type of film to the world. HItchcock took influences from German expressionist techniques as well as murders by “Jack the Ripper”.

Thrillers then in the 1940’s changed when director George Cukor in 1944 created a psychological thriller called ‘Gaslight’ which gave insight into the different sub-genres within the thriller genre itself. This film was about a scheming husband planning on making her wife go insane to gain the inheritance. Then in 1946 Robert Siodmak directed the film ‘The Spiral Staircase’, which was also a psychological thriller about a serial killer murdering disabled-young women in the local community.

In the 1950’s Hitchcock went on to adding Technicolour to his films, which led to the classic film ‘Strangers on a Train’ in 1951, where two passengers join in a battle of wits and exchanged murders with one another.

Cape Fear was then made in 1962 by director J.Lee Thompson which is a psychological thriller about an ex con seeking revenge on his attorney who holds responsible for his convictions. However this film had aspects of crime too which made it a crime-thriller and therefore emphasised the use in sub-genres within the thriller genre.

The 1970’s of film were very different as Hitchcock hadn’t released anything for 2 decades. where he released the violent film ‘Frenzy’ which came about when films were now containing R rated scenes with viscous and explicit footage which Hitchcock therefore used in ‘Frenzy’.

In the 1980’s  Stanley Kubrick directed the film The Shining made in 1980 which was a psychological thriller as well as a horror, mystery and drama. This therefore emphasises the mix of genres and how thrillers evolved over time due to the change of other genres and audiences enjoying psychological films. The Shining is about a family going to an isolated hotel where the father gets influenced by a spiritual presence, while his psychic son sees horrific and violent memories of the past and future. This film can be debatebly a horror or a thriller.

The main theme throughout the thriller genre in the 1990’s was the psychological kind, of mental themes and character’s escape. For example Rob Reiner’s ‘Misery’ based on the book by Stephen King in which the character Annie whom is a unbalanced fan, terrorizes an immobile author, where in one scene she actually breaks his ankles. This shows just how much the thriller genre had evolved by then as before it would be too horrific for a thriller to even show such scenes let alone any movie.

In modern day thrillers compared to earlier thrillers tend to divert from the traditions of a classic thriller towards the more horrific and gorey themes. This is because the mass audience have become so desensitized to the classic thriller scenes that they find it boring and therefore need something else to keep them intrigued and ‘on the edge of their seats’ with anticipation like thrillers should do. This is why thrillers and any other genres evolve as they need new aspects and ways of keeping their audience’s happy. Therefore this is why the thriller genre has evolved the way it has and how I have said turning from the classic thriller through psychological to a more horrific theme where it seems to be argued to cross over in cases.

What I have learnt from this research. (Done by a member of my group)

I have learnt from this research, done by a member of my group, what the thriller genre is and what the codes and conventions of a thriller film are, to make it what it is. I have also learnt that thriller can be combined to make a hybrid thriller such as, an action-thriller, and also to make sub-genres.

I have learnt from the evolution of the thriller genre, that is was founded by a man called, Alfred Hitchcock. As he was the first ever person to make a thriller film (‘The Lodger’). 

And after this event thriller became hybrids and sub-genres which revolutionized the genre we have in today's society. 

Typography

Inception: The typography used is set in a bold, san-serif font, and is red. This makes the title stand out from the background images. The text has a large font size adding to the clearness and boldness of the title. The colour red is associated with anger, blood and danger which connotes that this thriller film involves action. The colour red can also connote love and desire in this thriller. 

Shutter Island: The typography used is set in a bold, san-serif font, and is red. The style of the fonts looks like the text has been blurred. This connotes that the film involves hidden identities or actions that should not be scene.  The large font size and the colour of the text makes the title stand out from the background images. The text has a large font size adding to the clearness and boldness of the title. The colour red is associated with anger, blood and danger which connotes that this thriller film involves action and murder.

Black Swan: The typography used is a serif style of font. This symbolises the elegant aspect of this film, as serif font styles are commonly associated with females. This connotes that the target audience for this film is woman. The font size is large to make it clear and bold to read. The black text colour links to the title of the thriller and connotes a dark or evil sense to the film.

Casino Royale: The typography used is a san-serif font with a blurred ultra blue effect. This connotes a hidden identity or criminal offences, that should not be seen, involved in this thriller film. The blurred effect connotes speed and pace to the film, suggesting this film involves action.

Taken: The typography used is a san-serif font to connotes masculinity. This suggest this film involves action and violence. The white text colour with the large font size and all the letters in capitals, makes the tile bold and stands out from the background. 

Se7en: The typography used is a san-serif style of font which makes the title bold. The white text with the large font size an the text in capital letters, adds to the clearness and boldness of the text from the background images. The font also has a blurred effect. This may connote crime and hidden identity as blurred images are commonly associated with things that should not be shown.
The number '7' replacing the 'v' in the typography links to the title of the film and makes the title unique and creative. 

Identity: The typography used is a serif style of font with a black to red colour fade/gradient. The colours red and black connote: anger, blood, danger and darkness within this thriller film. The colours also link to the images shown above. The large font size make the title clear to read and bold and outstanding from the white background.

This piece of work was done by one of my group members.
I have learnt from this that typography can differ depending on which sub-genre of thriller it is, what year it is from and what is going to happen during the film. I can see the most popular type of font used is sanserif which may be because it can have a range of different meanings to it as apposed to serif font, which is typically used in romantic comedies as is can have a feminine feel to it. 

Key Terms

Camera Shots

Ariel shot: This is when the camera is above the characters and scene and is looking down on them. It is similar to a birds eye view.

Tilt shot: This is when the camera is stationary but moves up and down. It gives the effect of allowing the audience to see the full scale of something or someones size.

Pan shot: Is when the camera moves across the screen side to side. This allows the audience to see a wider shot of the scene.

Tracking shot: This is when the camera moves with the character or things within the shot. It creates the effect of showing speed and energy. It is used mainly in car chasing scenes or fighting scenes so the audience feel more involved.

Close up shot: This is when the camera is right up to someone or something and it makes the audience focus on what is in the shot. Usually see closeups of faces' as to show characters emotions.

Long shot: This is when the whole of a character can be seen to either reinforce their body language or to show isolation within a large area.


Sound And Music

Parallel sound: This is sound which links in with what is happening in the scene. For example, a siren when seeing a police car.

Non digetic sound: This is sound or music used that only us as the audience can hear. For example, classical music used in a romantic film.

Analysis of thrillers

Psycho:

The first thing we see is the company the film is representing which in this case is "Paramount Release"  which can interest the audience as it was not seen to present a thriller. In the background we can hear upbeat music which creates tension for the audience. Hitchcock is the first name to appear on the screen which suggests he is the most important. The name of the film then moves across the screen which creates tension


Seven-1995

"New line cinema" is the first thing we see as it is the company the film is representing which is typically how all films open with. We then see someone opening a book which is unusual in a thriller as a lot of fantasy or childrens films have the opening of a book. However, the book used is unlike a fairy tail book as it is empty as in has no words or pictures. This could give the effect of making it look suspicious to the audience and therefore reinforcing the fact they are about to watch a thriller. The music playing in the background is very tense and eerie. On top of the music we can hear digetic sound of the pages of the book being turned which suggests it is significant to the story. The music contrasts the book as it is intense yet the book seems quite boring as there is nothing in it yet at the same time quite the book and the musics contrast could be quite intriguing. The typography used for the names of actors and crew is filmic and looks like un-neat handwriting which gives it a creepy feel. We then see a drawing of a pair of deformed hands which again could make the audience suspicious of why they have been drawn, and who ever drew the hands are clearly artistic and detailed. A shadow then moves across the scene and we hear a door creaking as the light moves over the drawing it brings the focus onto it. Jump shot is used as we see different images of unusual tools which suggests the character is planning to make something. 'Brad Pitt' name is parted and flashes to bring focus and attention on the actors name for audience recognition and interest. There is then a split second scene where we can see writing on a wall which says "D-35" which might give the audience clues if it is relevant later on in the film. The last thing we see is someone scraping their skin off their fingers which makes the audience uncomfortable and wonder why someone would want to do that and what must of happened to make them do it.


Limitless - 2011 - mystery/sci-fi/thriller

The music played throughout the opening is quite upbeat and new which reinforces the fact it is a modern type of thriller. We see images of planets and stars when showing which company is representing the film which in this case is "Relativity Media", this denotes the film is going to be a science fiction thriller. There is then a close up shot of a crystal ball which gives the idea of looking into the future - again a sic-fi feel. the first name to come up is Bradley Cooper, this is shown in the bottom right corner where actors names are typically shown in openings of films. the typography used is white, bold, capitals which stand out from the background and makes the audience focus on the name. Unlike most of the thrillers I have previously looked at, the main colour used is blue which gives a mysterious feel to it. It also suggests the film is not going to be dark or scary. We then see the crystal ball moves across the screen at the same time revealing an actresses name. This could connote mystery and hidden meanings within the film. Jump shots between names of crew and actors creates tension and excitement. Producers and crew names are only shown for a few moments which is less than actors as to show importance for the audience. The name Neil Burger is shown at the beginning and the end of everyone elses names to show how important he was i the production of the film. The music fades out and the screen goes black to confuse the audience as this would normally happen at the end of a film. We then hear bangs in the background which reinforces the mystery and tension. The screen then lights up and and we see a metal door shaking. This intrigues the audience as they now want to know who of what is behind it which makes it thrilling.

Codes and conventions of a thriller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Codes and conventions used in a thriller

Mirrors:

Mirrors are used in a thriller through the use of reflection of someone’s soul and inner self.

They could also represent darkness within a character

Shadows:

Shadows, like mirrors could also represent a characters inner darkness being exposed

Obstructive editing:

Quick shots and obstructive editing are often used in a thriller to increase the state of suspense and tension

Used in “thrilling” scenes sometimes creating disorientation of time and space by using montage editing

Flash backs:

Contribute to the idea of disorientation as this confuses the audience

Also gives the audience an insight of the characters past

For example, Momento by Christopher Nolan

Black and white:

Accentuates the use of shadows and can often appear quite eerie and dark.

For example, Psycho.

Selective:....

Selective exposure is when we try to expose ourselves only to information that seems to confirm our behaviour and attitudes.

Selective perception might refer to the number of cognitive biases in psychology, related to the way expectations affect perception. Process in which people perceive what they want to in media messages while ignoring opposing viewpoints.                                                                                    

Is censorship a way to control a mass audience

Is censorship a way to control a mass audience?

Censorship is the practice of officially examining the media and suppressing unacceptable parts.

In the 1920’s, I believe that censorship was a way to control a mass audience because of the Hay’s code which was put in place. The Hay’s code censored films so they weren’t allowed to show things such as: a woman’s leg above the knee, saying God, Lord or Christ in an offensive or rude way and showing scenes of actual child birth. However, I think that some things such as not showing leg above the knee was a but silly and harsh not to show as today we see much more than that, but in the 1920’s it was just as bad as us seeing complete nudity today.

Censorship now comes in many forms and one of them is watershed, which is not showing violence, sex ect before 9pm. The reason watershed was introduced was so young children up to the age of 15 didnt see certain things, as they presumed children would be asleep by this time. However, ‘presuming’ children would be asleep isn’t good enough as most 10-15 year olds go to sleep after9pm. When children do see programs or films after 9pm and witness certain things, this might encourage imitation as if they see things like it on television, they might assume it is acceptable to do.

Music and music videos played over the radio and television also have censorship as images and or bad language get edited out , or in some cases they will only be played after 9pm. Personally, i don’t think there is much point in bleeping bad language as the audience will most likely to guess what is supposed to be said. On internet websites such as youtube, nothing is censored and so young children are able to see and hear music such as “talk dirty to me” and miley cyrus’ song called wrecking ball where she is shown nude in the video. As a passive audience we have become so desensitised that we don’t really give it a second thought if we hear or see things that we know is not morally correct. This is because things like this have been exploited so much that we have become used to seeing it. to conclude, I do think that censorship is a way to control a mass audience, but only if it is seriously improved as it is not strong or strict enough. 

Censorship continued....

Censorship

Censorship is the practice of officially examining books, films, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts. Censorship was introduced back before the 1920’s when Hay’s code was in place. At the time, things we see in films today were censored for audiences and would be considered completely unacceptable. Some of these things include: showing actual childbirth, white slavery, misusing the American flag, ridicule of the clergy, showing leg above the knee and using words such as Christ, Lord and God in a rude way. However, now a days, the only censorship we have is age limits on films which go from U to 18. Even though we have censorship some of the things show are still not good and some things shown on a rated 12 film I believe are not suitable for a 12 year old to see such as: sexual scenes, violence and back language, (for example in the Twilight saga). Censorship also takes the form of water shed which is the time that certain programs are allowed to be shown on television. A lot of programs shown after9pm will have sex, bad language, violence etc in as television people believe young children will be in bed by this time and won’t see the programs. On channels which show music videos, also have to consider when the videos are allowed to be aired as some songs or aspects of the videos are not suitable to be shown at certain times. For example, most videos include nudity and or swearing. As time has changed, the things we consider acceptable have also changed as young people are always being presented with ideas of sex things that they shouldn’t have to see at such a young age. As a passive audience, we are constantly being injected with messages portrayed by the media such as stereotypes, ideas of gender and what we should consider to be acceptable to witness. To conclude, the purpose of censorship is to help defend the audience from bad ideas and messages. 

Passive audience

The Hays code:

In the 1920's, the following were considered to be not suitable to show in films and thus film audiences:

- white slavary

- scenes of actual child birth

- showing leg above the knee

- using christ, lord or god in a rude way

- ridicule of the clergy

- misusing the american flag

They didnt show certain things to audiences as it might have created conflict by inflicting other ideas on the audience and therefore influencing them to think things were ok to do when traditionally they werent. Things we see in the media allow us a the audience to think in positive or negative way. This is done by society injecting us with messages passively. 

We were given this list of words and asked to use one to describe the image being shown. We found that our gender and stereotypes played a part in how we each described the image which is alsk because of what we have see in the media. 

Audience theory

- Target audience

- age

- gender

- experience

- race/ethnicity

- hobbies/interests

- class

- regional identity

- disability

- culture

There are three theories to help us understand the relationship between texts and audience. 

1) the effects model

2) uses and gratification

3) reception theory

We will also be learning about 2 step model and agenda setting theory. 

Primary: actually engaging with the media

Secondary: seeing the media but doing something else at the same time

Tertiary: when you know of it but havent payed attention to it. 

Primary and secondary are examples of an active audience while tertiary is an example of a passive audience. 

Ideologies are a set of values and or beliefs - for example, the idea that blondes are dumb is a dominent stereotype. 

Effects model:

Imitaion - copy what you see

Cartharsis - like soap operas

Desensitisation - negative things

Uses and gratification:

. Personal identity

. Surveillance

. Pleasure/entertainment

. Diversion/escapism

. Learning/understanding

Links

During todays lesson we made links between everything we have been learning in the past few weeks in both classes. I found that everything starts with either genre, narrative or representation. For example, camera angles links to representation as different camera angles represent different things such as: long angle shot could represent isolation as we might be able to see the character on their own in a large space or area. Another example is a high angle shot which could suggest that the character is inferior as the angle couls represent other characters or the audience looking down on them. 

Another example of links is between editing and narrative. This is because the way that films or television series are edited creates narrative. For example, the series big brother tells the audience it is a live show but it is really shown 15-20 minutes behind so they have time to edit it to make it most appealing to the audience. Also, in films they used editing to get from one scene to the other using different ways. For example, if they use a jump effect then it creates a scary tension for the audience which also creates narrative and therefore meaning. 

changing the narrative

During todays lesson we used our "terror in the night" story boards to see what happens if the narrative changes and what effects it would have. We started by putting our second to last scene first. This automatically changed the meaning and narrative to the story. Our story started off in the narrative off as Todorov's theory and with a linear structure, but as soon as we put the last scene first, it changed to Levi Strauss' theory as we found it had binary opposites such as: life and death, day and night and man and woman. We also found it took a different structure as it is now a circular structure as it starts in the ending events. Changing the narrative also changes the way the audience can identify and understand the characters. This is because the audience now start off thinking the character is strange and a killer as before they didnt find that out until the end. This is a good example of a film called Psycho as at the beginning the audience think the story is about the woman but the half way through she dies and the audience realize that the story isnt actually about her and is about a man who has mental disabilities and the people he ends up killing.

Meaning

Creating meaning: semiotics - the study of signs.

We as the audience believe what we are told to believe about what things mean which makes it harder for us to interpret things ourselves. 

Meaning is defined by opposites. 

Derrida believes binary pairs (opposite things, for example, hot and cold) are not equal culture tends to favour one side of each and judge it in a more positive light.

Signified: What something represents.

Signifier: Whats being shown (the object).

A sign is the smallest element of meaning. Signs will be grouped together to create larger units of meaning: this is called codes which can be decoded or interpreted. For example, a person wearing particular items of clothing together might take on a cultural identity.

Denotation: this is the literal meaning of a sign

Connotation: this is the interpreted meaning of a sign

Polysemic: refers to the capacity of all signs to be many signed i.e. have more than one meaning.

 

Representation

Representation is the way people, groups, cultures, and ideas are shown by the media.

Narrative theories

There are four main structure that a film can have which are linear: a story that has a beginning, middle and ending; open structure: which is when the audience wonder what happens next to make sense of it themselves; closed structure: which has a definite ending and a clear conclusion for the audience; circular structure which has the beginning and ending events in the same place. There are four main theorists called Propp, Barthes, Todorov and Levi Strouss.

Propp's theory of narrative was it is driven by the characters using a set of narrative functions: a hero, a villain, a princess, a father, a dispatcher, a donor, a sidekick and a false hero. Functions - the victim fooled by a villain, the false hero gets exposed and the hero saves the day. Propps theory applies to most films especially action films as they include most of these characters.

Barthes theory of narrative was that it is a series of codes which include: the action code which is literal, enigma code which is hidden, semic code which is recognised by connotations, symbolic code which is abstract concept and the referential code which is cultural understanding.

Todorov theory describes narrative as going from equilibrium to disequilibrium back to an altered equilibrium.

This image illustrates Todorov's theory of narrative.

Levi Strauss theory on narrative was that it is created by constant conflict of binary opposites. For example, 

• love and hate
• light and dark
• peace and war
• black and white
• young and old
• man and woman
• strong and weak
• rich and poor
• control and panic 
• mankind and aliens 

Hollywood studio system

In the hollywood studio system, films had a specific narrative structue. There was no hybridisation or subgenres, they only had classic forms of genre. It was used as cinimatic expressions of narrative which was had a reliable return of investment. Stars and directors became synonymous with genre which mean they stayed working in the same genre. For example, if an actor was seen playing a character in an action film he or she would only star in action films. This is because the public had expectations and an identification process. However, not long after the studio system fell because of reasons such as: virtical integration which is when the company owns the production distribution and theatre venues block booking and blind bidding were outlawed, rapid growth of the independents, sound was introduced, the rise of television and films started to become television series.     

Storyboard

Story board lesson

We were given a the task of doing a story board of a short ten minute film with the stimulus of the title: terror in the night. The point of the task was to get us to know how to use editing with narrative to create meaning. In my story board we used editing between scenes such as a jump which has the effect of suggesting to the audience something scary or shocking is going to happen next. Another example is using a dissolve effect which give a softer effect of a hard cut so that it doesn't shock the audience too much. We also used a wipe which gives a smooth effect and allows the audience to see the next scene slowly.

Editing and narrative

Editing and Narrative

Editing is used in most things in media such as magazines, television and films, the role of editing is to create meaning for the audience. Editing takes place in post production. You can edit many different things in media such as time by making it longer or shorter - even cutting certain scenes out and putting them back in before or late after it even happened. Another example of features to edit is the camera shots because in films the audience will generally see the camera cut from one scene or character by either using a wipe effect, a simple jump or  dissolve. Depending on which one the editor decides to use it will create different meanings to each scene. In some horror film a jump will be used to create tension so the audience know when something scary is going to happen. another way of editing is when there are blank spots in the film or if the screen goes black and it says for example "20 minutes later". this technique is called an elipses which give the effect of allowing the audience to fill in the blanks on what they assume will happen during that time period. Editing constructs a narrative out of footage.

Genre

How can genre aid you in relation to your brief?

Genre is a key concept in the area of media studies as it forms a relationship between the industry and the audience. My brief is to create the titles and opening to a new fiction film to last maximum of two minutes. One way that genre can help me in relation to this is by giving me an idea of what the audience will be expecting from the film opening. For example, if I decide to do a horror film, they would probably expect it to set in a dark place such as an old house or in a grave yard. The characters that the audience would most likely to expect to see in it would be a young child, a family or some sort of devil. However, as time has changed, peoples expectations of genre has also changed, so instead of seeing normal people or families in a horror film, people used to expect to see fictional characters such as vampires or monsters. The way genre can give the audience expectations helps me by giving me something to work towards so I can appeal to the audience by giving them what they want to see. Another way genre can aid me when creating my film opening is that genre is not just one thing, it is many. For example, there are hybrid genre, which is when two or more genres have been mixed up together, such as romantic-comedies or fantasy-thrillers. another type of genre is sub genres which are genres inside main genres. For example, if you have a thriller it could be a psychological thriller. the way in which genre helps me when creating my film opening is by giving me lots of choices of what genre I could choose, and doesn't limit me to just one. by doing a hybrid it is more likely it would appeal to a wider audience.  

Task

main task: titles and opening of a new fiction film to last two minutes.
i will be assessed on

• research
• planning
• filming
• editing