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Q1B Mock Essays - Representation & Audience Theories Applied
Word copies have been uploaded to Fronter - Q1B Topic Folders
Representation and Music Videos
Analyse Representation in one of your Coursework Productions
“I will be analysing my music video which I filmed and edited as my main task which formed part of my Advanced Portfolio in Media. In class, we studied representation in existing music videos such as Doug Walker’s low production value British independent ‘The Mystery’, Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed a Girl’, Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s ‘Telephone’, Ed Sheeran’s ‘Lego House’, and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ ‘Empire State of Mind’. This enabled us to fully understand how representation can be applied to our own productions”.
- Identify the music video and importantly the genre or hybridised genre. Identify also if you think this genre is commonly subject to issues of stereotyping in the media e.g. rap/hip hop and misogyny, representation of ethnicity but also Laura Mulvey’s male gaze which can often be linked to the rock genre, particularly Americanised variants.
- Develop areas of representation in your music video that are relevant to illustrate your points on - social class/status, ability/disability, gender, sexuality, national or regional identity, race and ethnicity. This will involve a close textual analysis (see below). There may also be issues of intertextuality you may wish to discuss that are relevant to a representation.
- Analyse the technical codes and mise-en-scene in your video (literally you are deconstructing your own product). What representations do they reveal linking with theory? If you have strong female characters in your music video for example, Angela McRobbie’s post feminist icon theory is a useful framework for study e.g. as in ‘Telephone’.
- Do you challenge or reinforce hegemonic cultural stereotypes with this representation and WHY e.g. “Female characters in my music video are subject to the male gaze” but think about the WAY they are represented – link to genre conventions if you think it is relevant. Andy...
Essay 2
Section B - Representation Essay
'Analyse one of your media productions in relation to representation'
Representation is a key feature to the development and creation of my product. Representation, as described by Stuart Hall, refers to the idea that all texts are encoded with specific ideas and expressed through careful mediation. Presenting reality is a twisted and specific way. My production is my A2 music video, 'Save the World (tonight)' by Swedish House Mafia, which comes under the genre and sub-genre of dance/pop. I will refer to a range of theories that reflect or challenge the concepts of representation in my music video, analysing and using examples to apply such theories to my product.
Firstly, James Baker's theory can be applied to my music video is a variety of ways. Baker refers to the idea of 'Selection, organisation and focusing' existing within my text, and is constructed to present a specific idea. For example the idea of selection is presented though the use of specific clips and parts, while missing parts out to construct a more flowing video. This was used in my video through the constant changing of scenario and events with the switching of college location to that of the mugging or near-car accident; thus removing the links between them and instead focusing on the key scenes rather than build up to them. Baker also presents the idea of focus existing in my video, which is the concentrating on one specific element of my video. I applied this through the consistent following of the main character (superhero) with varied camera shots and existence of a superhero costume throughout the scenes; and the emphasis on the narrative and its expansion, with the likes of the College merely providing a backdrop from the events that are playing out. The idea of reflective viewing can also link to my music video, with there existing a clear link between reality and the story unfolding in my video. An example of this in my video is reference to college and the life of a student, which has no 'surreal' elements and can be reflected upon by the audience that is viewing it. This in turn allowing a specific audience to be represented and related to, while building surreal and narrative extensions on top of it.
Tim O Sullivan's theory is also applicable to my music video in a variety of ways. Sullivan presents the idea that 'Ideology exists in media texts', presenting the idea that there is a selective view of reality and the idea that characters fit specific stereotypical roles in texts. In my video reality is tailored to my own specific way for the audience with there existing an idea that although the main character goes through the process many ordinary student do, with an added twist of a surreal superhero element, be it that of a daydream or reality, co-exists with the reality element and provides the narrative and representation I aim to achieve. Generic and stereotypical roles do also exist in my narrative, representing the characters in a way in which much of the audience will instantly reference and understand. For example, during the mugging scene the character getting mugged is that of a stereotypical weak, young girl who in comparison to the mugger is helpless unless intervention occurs. This is also reinforced by the use of contrasting costumes and low-angle camera shots which cement the muggers dominant position. Thus giving the clear representation to generic character roles that play out in a narrative. Another example of this is the use of a superhero/'good guy' that is focused upon throughout the scenes, being strengthened by the use of empowering camera shots and a bright superhero costume. This representing the main character is a stereotypical, good light that is present in most narratives.
The idea of Marxism is also able to be applied to my product and it's representation. Marxism mainly presents the idea of there existing a 'Hegemonic view of society' and 'Representations being encoded into mass media'. For example, the youth in modern day society is normally portrayed to that of 'folk devils' (as said by Stanley Cohen), but in my music video the young main character challenges the negative conventions portrayed by the media and instead brings about positive change, through the likes of saving those in need and being 'proud to help'. Challenging society's representation of modern-day youth. The aspiration to be better is also a vital part of my music video, with the main character, a typical bored student, daydreaming to be that of something which makes a difference in society. This clearly representing an idea many can relate to, as most try wish to be something better than they actually are, be that being in a surreal/imaginary way or not. My video is also the 'breaking of the normal', taking the reality element of college life and injecting the idea of fictional superhero elements, creating a spin on reality and expanding on real-life representation.
Dick Hebdige's ideas of 'Subculture being a subversion to normality' and 'Subculture being negative as its not the norm' can however be seen and challenged in my music video in a variety of ways. The dance genre itself can be argued to be a subculture that is a subversion of normal life; embracing common elements, specifically with characters, that can be associated as a representation of a dance audience. An example of this being the use of over-the-head headphones and loose fitting trainers, which can be associated with the subculture of a dance audience. However, the subculture being 'negative' is challenged in my video as instead of being a 'folk devil' of a teenager much of society suggests, my main teenage character goes out to commit acts of helping and saving; creating a twist to the typical negative representation that much of society believes in. Another example being the approach to the 'negative scenes' of my video, which although are distressing, are placed in a concept that results in a positive outcome. Reaffirming the representation of negative points in a positive light.
David Gauntlett and his idea of 'Identity being complicated' and 'Artists play with the idea of identity' can also be applied to my music video is certain ways. For example, my main character, the superhero, has a complicated identity were he is both a 'superhero' while also being a stereotypical teenage student. This moulding a specific identity that is then shown and represented to the audience, which is unique and specific to my music video. This in turn also creates 'layers' to the main character, as he goes beyond the typical place-model of a main character adding various elements, such as being hero and performing music, to the standard main character. In turning creating a more depth that is represented in the way I aimed to achieve.
In conclusion, its clear a variety of theories and elements go into create a full picture of representation in my product. These range from appealing to my specific audience to creating specific elements that attach to my characters for a more unique representation.
Essay 3
Firstly, James Baker's theory can be applied to my music video is a variety of ways. Baker refers to the idea of 'Selection, organisation and focusing' existing within my text, and is constructed to present a specific idea. For example the idea of selection is presented though the use of specific clips and parts, while missing parts out to construct a more flowing video. This was used in my video through the constant changing of scenario and events with the switching of college location to that of the mugging or near-car accident; thus removing the links between them and instead focusing on the key scenes rather than build up to them. Baker also presents the idea of focus existing in my video, which is the concentrating on one specific element of my video. I applied this through the consistent following of the main character (superhero) with varied camera shots and existence of a superhero costume throughout the scenes; and the emphasis on the narrative and its expansion, with the likes of the College merely providing a backdrop from the events that are playing out. The idea of reflective viewing can also link to my music video, with there existing a clear link between reality and the story unfolding in my video. An example of this in my video is reference to college and the life of a student, which has no 'surreal' elements and can be reflected upon by the audience that is viewing it. This in turn allowing a specific audience to be represented and related to, while building surreal and narrative extensions on top of it.
Tim O Sullivan's theory is also applicable to my music video in a variety of ways. Sullivan presents the idea that 'Ideology exists in media texts', presenting the idea that there is a selective view of reality and the idea that characters fit specific stereotypical roles in texts. In my video reality is tailored to my own specific way for the audience with there existing an idea that although the main character goes through the process many ordinary student do, with an added twist of a surreal superhero element, be it that of a daydream or reality, co-exists with the reality element and provides the narrative and representation I aim to achieve. Generic and stereotypical roles do also exist in my narrative, representing the characters in a way in which much of the audience will instantly reference and understand. For example, during the mugging scene the character getting mugged is that of a stereotypical weak, young girl who in comparison to the mugger is helpless unless intervention occurs. This is also reinforced by the use of contrasting costumes and low-angle camera shots which cement the muggers dominant position. Thus giving the clear representation to generic character roles that play out in a narrative. Another example of this is the use of a superhero/'good guy' that is focused upon throughout the scenes, being strengthened by the use of empowering camera shots and a bright superhero costume. This representing the main character is a stereotypical, good light that is present in most narratives.
The idea of Marxism is also able to be applied to my product and it's representation. Marxism mainly presents the idea of there existing a 'Hegemonic view of society' and 'Representations being encoded into mass media'. For example, the youth in modern day society is normally portrayed to that of 'folk devils' (as said by Stanley Cohen), but in my music video the young main character challenges the negative conventions portrayed by the media and instead brings about positive change, through the likes of saving those in need and being 'proud to help'. Challenging society's representation of modern-day youth. The aspiration to be better is also a vital part of my music video, with the main character, a typical bored student, daydreaming to be that of something which makes a difference in society. This clearly representing an idea many can relate to, as most try wish to be something better than they actually are, be that being in a surreal/imaginary way or not. My video is also the 'breaking of the normal', taking the reality element of college life and injecting the idea of fictional superhero elements, creating a spin on reality and expanding on real-life representation.
Dick Hebdige's ideas of 'Subculture being a subversion to normality' and 'Subculture being negative as its not the norm' can however be seen and challenged in my music video in a variety of ways. The dance genre itself can be argued to be a subculture that is a subversion of normal life; embracing common elements, specifically with characters, that can be associated as a representation of a dance audience. An example of this being the use of over-the-head headphones and loose fitting trainers, which can be associated with the subculture of a dance audience. However, the subculture being 'negative' is challenged in my video as instead of being a 'folk devil' of a teenager much of society suggests, my main teenage character goes out to commit acts of helping and saving; creating a twist to the typical negative representation that much of society believes in. Another example being the approach to the 'negative scenes' of my video, which although are distressing, are placed in a concept that results in a positive outcome. Reaffirming the representation of negative points in a positive light.
David Gauntlett and his idea of 'Identity being complicated' and 'Artists play with the idea of identity' can also be applied to my music video is certain ways. For example, my main character, the superhero, has a complicated identity were he is both a 'superhero' while also being a stereotypical teenage student. This moulding a specific identity that is then shown and represented to the audience, which is unique and specific to my music video. This in turn also creates 'layers' to the main character, as he goes beyond the typical place-model of a main character adding various elements, such as being hero and performing music, to the standard main character. In turning creating a more depth that is represented in the way I aimed to achieve.
In conclusion, its clear a variety of theories and elements go into create a full picture of representation in my product. These range from appealing to my specific audience to creating specific elements that attach to my characters for a more unique representation.
Essay 3
Essay Question 1(b) Representation
Analyse one of your media productions in relation to representation.
I feel that the representation of my music A2 brief is very important as if it is not created to what I believe is accurate for my target audience then the full meaning of my production could be seen in a different way as to what I orignally wanted it to be. My A2 brief was to create a music promotion and on this particular subject area, I have decided to show links to theorists such as Hall, Baker and Perkins, as well as showing postmodernism through my music video. This was a small area to the brief and I feel that these theorists can easily relate to my work in this way.
Hall believes that media shows us things about society and that representations should be meaningful. My music production supports this in many ways as the theme is about pressures within society. This can be seen by the type of class in which the costumes withold (smart, formal wear). The lyrics of the song represent pressure in which the audience can relate to, giving the audience a sense of belonging. This reflects Hall's belief that representation should be meaningful as here it is towards the audience. Also the colour choice helps the audience feel that the band understands of how they are feeling as the main colours (red and black) show connotations of the emotion( i.e fustration, anger and pressure) portrayed by the band and the audience.
Baker believes that mediation is represented in 3 ways, selection, organisation and focusing. This echoes my work, as I represented mediation through the selection of shots in which I created jump shots in Fianl Cut Pro,through organisation by creating calenders on the computer for my blog and applying shots in the correct order, i.e the narrative pan shots were displayed gradually boiling and then splashes, rather than the other way round. I also finally represented mediation through focusing as I collected data from my audience research by creating questionnaires and adding there input to my work.
My work also supports Bakers belief of the 3 different views towards music videos. The 3 views in which he researched were, the reflective, intentional and constructionist's view. My production shows the reflective view as in the narrative in which the matchstick was present, when it gets set a light, it represents the pressures building up of someone, almost as if to irrupt. This view is also seen by the film burns I added through the use of Final Cut Pro. This was to share the same type of pressures, only this was the pressures gradually building up. I also showed an intentional view through my effect using Final Cut Pro. I made the lead singer sing at half speed and perform normally so when I sped him up, the lead singer looked fidgety. Here, the lead singer is representing pressures and how it can effect some people. This could be seen slightly as reflective also as the action in what is occuring represents a meaning of what it's like to be under pressure.
Some people think that it is easier to look at stereotypes when putting a music video together however, Perkins believes that ' some of the many ways that stereotypes are assumed to operate aren't true'. My music production challenges as well as supports this theory as the having the band perform their song in their production falls against a stereotypical indie rock band. The meat shots also challenge Perkins theory that stereotypes aren't true as these shots are known to be involved in an indie rock music video. However the costumes in which the band members are wearing, supports Perkins theory as they are wearing formal and smart wear, i.e ties, shorts etc, which isn't known to be a stereotypical costume for this type of band to wear.
I have finally chose to look at postmodernism as the distinction between reality becomes blurred and invisible. For example, whilst filming, the band and I were in a studio which had no windows in. Therefore we were in no specific location for the audience to locate. This also showed no sign of the weather either, leaving no signs if it was summer, autumn, spring or winter. The only lighting I used was artificial light. This is also a good example of postmodernism as the audience is unsure wether it was filmed at night or during the day. Throughout the video there also wasn't any watches or clocks in the distance, showing no significance of the time in which it was shot.
I conclude that the representation is very important when it comes to music productions as if the audience in which you are trying to target doesn't understand, then you are sending a message to people that you are unaware of and by doing this, I personally feel that the director would therefore seem to have lost control of their own work and the representations that comes with it.
Essay 4
Essay 4
xemplar Response for REPRESENTATON
Analyse Representation in one of your Coursework Productions.
I will be analysing my music video that we filmed and edited for our main task which formed part of my Advanced Portfolio in Media – a promotional package for release of an album, to include a music promo video. In class, we studied representation in existing Music Videos such as Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball, Pharrell Williams’ Happy, Katy Perry’s I Kissed a Girland Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s Telephone – I extended this study to look at videos across a range of genres including Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Blur’s Parklife and Johnny Cash’sHurt to get an idea of representation across a range of genres. This enabled us to fully understand how representation can be applied to our own productions.
My music video was a high energy hybrid of both Electro Pop and Dance using the music of a local, unsigned band called Money Honey, making clear intertextual references to the music of Gaga and Beyonce’s Telephone but also Toni Basil’s Mickey from 1982. The song was called Take Me There and our intentions from the start were to represent femininity asempowered, referencing Angela McRobbie’s concept of the post feminist icon. Looking at existing media was important in helping us understand the representation we were looking to achieve, linking with a sense of narrative – in Gaga and Beyonce’s Telephone for example the narrative shows a sexualised, but in control Lady Gaga leaving prison, picked up by a sultry but again in complete control Beyonce. The video then takes on the genre conventions of a road movie while also referencing the Tarantino film, Kill Bill and also the Ridley Scott production Thelma and Louise. Take me There has limited production values but we did manage to film the three characters (one male and two female) in three separate locations and believe we achieved the representation we were looking for.
The narrative of the song was important in terms of how to decide to achieve this representation – as a song about wealthy banker who loves, and cheats on two women, the song and music video has a revenge narrative. As well as challenging hegemonic cultural stereotypes of gender, a more liberal pluralistic view of race and ethnicity is apparent with all three actors being of mixed race origin. The main setting is on the north bank of the River Thames at St Katherine’s Dock, with Tower Bridge in the background establishing regional identity, intercut with two domestic interiors and an exclusive west end club suggesting wealth and status – connotations are made here with the song title, Take Me There which encodes an aspirational representation.
The establishing shot shows the two women at home, isolated and alone while the video intercuts with a male character in a plush west end bar, flirting with women – he is framed using a canted ‘dutch’ angle suggesting his drunken state and insert close up shots of his body indicate his overweight body shape. At this point the music is fast tempo and upbeat which creates the ideal reading in terms of how contrapuntal sound reflects the isolation of the two women – high energy dance music is playing while one character works on a laptop in a sparsely furnished room while the other is seen sitting in a bath with a glass of wine. The shots then cut to the two girls performing the number on St. Katherine’s dock to an elaborate dance routine that uses red filters and extreme high key lighting to frame the action. The girls are wearing elaborate outfits that are similar to Jean-Paul Gaultier fashion garments with dramatic primary colours, high shoulders and plunging necklines – close up shots show knee length black plastic boots, again of elaborate design as the speed of the editing increases and intercuts with the happy, smiling faces of the singers.
The St. Katherine’s Dock setting is then cut with a key narrative moment in the video which sees the two women meet up in the same bar that the male character was initially photographed in, as they engage in clearly romantically provocative action that is filmed by a friend’s phone. The quality of the image and resolution changes to represent this narrative moment as the next shot cuts to an image of the girls uploading the images to Facebook for the male character to see – close up shots of shock on the man’s face mirror a joyous moment in the song as the dance rhythm become euphoric reflecting their triumph. Using Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory, both female characters are framed for the male gaze but also are represented as aspirational and progressive to a female audience. The music video moves from a marginalised representation to an empowered narrative thatcelebrates female sexuality. Dominant, mainstream culture is challenged and usingRichard Dyer’s theory - the initial gendered representation suggests that thesestereotypes legitimise the ideology of patriarchy.
As the music video progresses, the representations become more fragmented and suggest that, using David Gauntlett’s theory that “identity is complicated, everyone’s got one’. A number of diverse representations are addressed in my music video that both reinforce and challenge dominant, mainstream culture that ultimately allow audiences to understandpluralistic representations through narrative and creative visual language.
Monday, 18 April 2016
Q1B Narrative - Mock Essays
G325 1b narrative from Graveney School
Narrative Essay 3
For my AS coursework I constructed the opening of a film in a genre of Thriller. For research purposes we looked at a few films, such as Enemy Of The State, and Pulp Fiction.
The storyline for our film is about a man named Michael, who is attempting to kill himself. He has taken some pills and then has put a gun to his head. Just before he pulls the trigger he hears a gun shot from elsewhere in his apartment block. This stops him from killing himself and he goes to see where the gunshot came from. He walks into a room which has an open door and finds a man dying who has just been shot. Michael passes out because of the pills he has taken with his gun still in hand, which leaves him the prime suspect in the resultant murder investigation.
My group decided that our pre-title sequence should hook the audience into the narrative of the film in a number of ways. Roland Barthes discusses narrative in terms of a number of codes that are used to help unravel the text for the viewer. One of these his his Enigma code - the purpose of this is to hook the audience by not giving them all of the details, and withholding information that would make the plot more interesting and more of a mystery. In order to hook our audience we used the Enigma code, and withheld information such as why Michael wanted to kill himself, who killed the dying man, and how Michael would prove himself innocent.
Barthes also discussed a film in terms of Action codes. In our film we included a gun shot sound effect which tells the audience that there will be violence and the repercussions of it in our storyline.
Semantically, we also included key codes to help our viewers understand our narrative. For example slow cuts to build tension, props such as alcohol and pills (all of which are codes and conventions indicating a movie in the thriller genre with typical storylines such as an investigation into a death)
Valdimir Propp is a theorist who discusses narrative purely in terms of characters and actions. Despite his research being about fairy tales, his work is helpful in decoding our sequence. Michael in our film clearly meets Propp's definition of a victim-hero in that he is dragged into the plot by the Dispatcher being the dead man as he must now find the murderer. Furthermore, Propp came to the conclusion that all narratives can be boiled down to a number off functions initiated by these characters. Our film follows the function of 'Departure' in that our protagonist has to go off and find the murderer by himself, as the police will not believe him that he did not kill the man.
Todorovs theories of narrative discuss texts in terms of the arc of a storyline. His theory splits stories in 5 clear steps: equilibrium, disruption of equilibrium, the recognition of the disruption, the repair of of it and then the new equilibrium. Our title sequence starts with the disruption of equilibrium, as Michael is about to kill himself. This will then go back in time during the film to show a point of equilibrium and then what happened to cause the disruption. The equilibrium will be repaired when Michael is able to prove himself innocent.
Finally Claude Levi-Strausss defines narrative as requiring the constant creation of conflict and opposition. He summarised this in terms of visual opposition (Such as light versus darkness) or conceptual (eg. Love versus hate control verses panic). We included a number of binary oppositions in our option sequence. Our protagonist and our antagonist can be seen as a binary opposite, as one is a villain and the other is a hero. Life and death is another binary opposite that is present in our opening, as we see Michael, who is now alive only thanks to a person being killed.
Narrative Essay 3
For my AS coursework I constructed the opening of a film in a genre of Thriller. For research purposes we looked at a few films, such as Enemy Of The State, and Pulp Fiction.
The storyline for our film is about a man named Michael, who is attempting to kill himself. He has taken some pills and then has put a gun to his head. Just before he pulls the trigger he hears a gun shot from elsewhere in his apartment block. This stops him from killing himself and he goes to see where the gunshot came from. He walks into a room which has an open door and finds a man dying who has just been shot. Michael passes out because of the pills he has taken with his gun still in hand, which leaves him the prime suspect in the resultant murder investigation.
My group decided that our pre-title sequence should hook the audience into the narrative of the film in a number of ways. Roland Barthes discusses narrative in terms of a number of codes that are used to help unravel the text for the viewer. One of these his his Enigma code - the purpose of this is to hook the audience by not giving them all of the details, and withholding information that would make the plot more interesting and more of a mystery. In order to hook our audience we used the Enigma code, and withheld information such as why Michael wanted to kill himself, who killed the dying man, and how Michael would prove himself innocent.
Barthes also discussed a film in terms of Action codes. In our film we included a gun shot sound effect which tells the audience that there will be violence and the repercussions of it in our storyline.
Semantically, we also included key codes to help our viewers understand our narrative. For example slow cuts to build tension, props such as alcohol and pills (all of which are codes and conventions indicating a movie in the thriller genre with typical storylines such as an investigation into a death)
Valdimir Propp is a theorist who discusses narrative purely in terms of characters and actions. Despite his research being about fairy tales, his work is helpful in decoding our sequence. Michael in our film clearly meets Propp's definition of a victim-hero in that he is dragged into the plot by the Dispatcher being the dead man as he must now find the murderer. Furthermore, Propp came to the conclusion that all narratives can be boiled down to a number off functions initiated by these characters. Our film follows the function of 'Departure' in that our protagonist has to go off and find the murderer by himself, as the police will not believe him that he did not kill the man.
Todorovs theories of narrative discuss texts in terms of the arc of a storyline. His theory splits stories in 5 clear steps: equilibrium, disruption of equilibrium, the recognition of the disruption, the repair of of it and then the new equilibrium. Our title sequence starts with the disruption of equilibrium, as Michael is about to kill himself. This will then go back in time during the film to show a point of equilibrium and then what happened to cause the disruption. The equilibrium will be repaired when Michael is able to prove himself innocent.
Finally Claude Levi-Strausss defines narrative as requiring the constant creation of conflict and opposition. He summarised this in terms of visual opposition (Such as light versus darkness) or conceptual (eg. Love versus hate control verses panic). We included a number of binary oppositions in our option sequence. Our protagonist and our antagonist can be seen as a binary opposite, as one is a villain and the other is a hero. Life and death is another binary opposite that is present in our opening, as we see Michael, who is now alive only thanks to a person being killed.
Monday, 11 April 2016
Genre Resources
1b) The media production I am going to write about in relation to genre is my favourite piece from the whole course which is my horror teaser trailer.
The genre of the trailer is obviously ‘horror’ and this in itself allowed us to be creative with narrative etc but limited us because we had to stick to a certain amount of generic conventions in order for it to be recognised by it’s existing target audience. Steve Neal said that ‘genre is a repetition with an underlying pattern of variations’ which meant certain generic features had to be included and repeated which in my case was the use of a creepy location of the woods as well as hand held camera and restricted narration to cause disorientation and suspense within our trailer.
However, the pattern of variation Neal describes also links to my horror teaser trailer because we were able to creatively push the boundaries by twisting some generic features in order to make the trailer interesting and therefore cause the audience to want to watch the full movie. For this my group chose use a female psycho killer I order to subvert the stereotypical male dominated role. This female identification through point of view shots etc captured our female audience because were providing them with power and this is unusual for the horror genre although it is known for its forward thinking approach as it often attempts to focus on sub-cultural views instead of targeting the mainstream. Genre encompasses many parts and the trailer links to it in more ways than one. Its use of enclosed location and the fact the woods attempts to reinforce our society’s fear of loneliness and isolation which the woods creates when the three friends get lost. In these sections of the trailer we used a lot of heavy cross cutting between the female victim who is running anxiously through the woods in order to find her friends and get home safely. We also used the Kuleshov and collision cutting methods as the pace began slow as the friends head our in the car unaware of the danger before them and once they are in the woods we deliberately quickened the pace of editing to cause tension and to show that something is not right, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Editing and mise-en-scene is really important to genre and reflects very quickly certain moods and atmospheres. Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes argued that the horror genre like many others used ‘binary oppositions’ in order to show the contrast between good and evil in order to force the audience to be constantly questioning the trailer for example; in my trailer I used light and dark to connote their happiness and carefree attitude in the daytime and the darkness to emphasise their fear and reliance on their senses. This is particularly important to the horror genre as characters are often shown in high angle shots to appear vulnerable and therefore under threat.
Gore or ‘body horror’ is also a common generic convention used by most horror films that we studied including Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero who used it to make the audience feel sick by forcing them to see extreme violence. In my own trailer we were inspired to use gore differently by showing a hanging scene in slow motion to create tension and the centring in on the face and neck which had been broken and this was shown by the rope burn we had made from latex and the blood pouring down her chest. This shot moves clockwise and slowly zooms in to force the audience to see what the hang (woman) has done. In our final two shots we finish the trailer with the male anti hero being lifted off the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth which causes the audience to assume no one survives because the final girl is stabbed by her friend accidentally which quickens the pace and adds tension but she is the survivor who as Carol Clover suggests will be terrorised throughout the film and finally overcome the monster. This plays with the audiences emotions and links back to the horror genre well by creating our own style of horror. Andrew Sarris argues because it encompasses so much and is key to explaining a film. Genre is the ideas that collectively make a particular recognisable style that draws in its existing target audience. My horror trailer had expressionist camera angles as the female victim desperately trips over the camera and we see her running above it as well as close ups of her facial expression that causes us to identify with her fear and therefore makes us scared. This meant the audience also were forced to objectify the female victim from the high angle camera shot down her top in which we can see her breasts slightly after watching other Hitchcock movies which use the male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey to force us to take a male’s viewpoint.
In my trailer we also used an iconic symbol of the noose because obviously as a hang woman she needed the prop but also as a female the circular shape suggested female power and this is something the horror genre often does but for male characters using guns etc as phallic symbols which we also used as the male anti hero takes out a knife and stabs his friend frantically when she walks up behind him. The horror trailer was made much darker in Final Cut Pro using the brightness and contrast menu and also dragged the saturated colours towards the blue in order to create a dark, dusky night time atmosphere a generic convention of horror trailers.
The generic conventions we chose to use were all important to the success of our product and since distributing it on YouTube we have over 4000 which I am really pleased with and gives me the confidence that we obviously stuck to the genre enough to capture our intended target audience but were creative enough to make people want to keep watching the trailer and virally sharing it with others.
Genre places a media text into a grouping giving it an identity which can be recognised by the mainstream society and I believe my product is successfully fitted to the horror genre using the narrative that Todorov argued was important to the horror genre by following an equilibrium at the beginning then a problem which in our case was the male anti hero playing a joke on the soon to be female victim making jump running after him causing their separation then a pathway to resolution – as they attempt to find each other and then a new equilibrium at the end which we deliberately left as an open ending to capture our audience effectively.
EAA 10/10
EG 10/10
Term 5/5
(24/25)
The genre of the trailer is obviously ‘horror’ and this in itself allowed us to be creative with narrative etc but limited us because we had to stick to a certain amount of generic conventions in order for it to be recognised by it’s existing target audience. Steve Neal said that ‘genre is a repetition with an underlying pattern of variations’ which meant certain generic features had to be included and repeated which in my case was the use of a creepy location of the woods as well as hand held camera and restricted narration to cause disorientation and suspense within our trailer.
However, the pattern of variation Neal describes also links to my horror teaser trailer because we were able to creatively push the boundaries by twisting some generic features in order to make the trailer interesting and therefore cause the audience to want to watch the full movie. For this my group chose use a female psycho killer I order to subvert the stereotypical male dominated role. This female identification through point of view shots etc captured our female audience because were providing them with power and this is unusual for the horror genre although it is known for its forward thinking approach as it often attempts to focus on sub-cultural views instead of targeting the mainstream. Genre encompasses many parts and the trailer links to it in more ways than one. Its use of enclosed location and the fact the woods attempts to reinforce our society’s fear of loneliness and isolation which the woods creates when the three friends get lost. In these sections of the trailer we used a lot of heavy cross cutting between the female victim who is running anxiously through the woods in order to find her friends and get home safely. We also used the Kuleshov and collision cutting methods as the pace began slow as the friends head our in the car unaware of the danger before them and once they are in the woods we deliberately quickened the pace of editing to cause tension and to show that something is not right, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Editing and mise-en-scene is really important to genre and reflects very quickly certain moods and atmospheres. Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes argued that the horror genre like many others used ‘binary oppositions’ in order to show the contrast between good and evil in order to force the audience to be constantly questioning the trailer for example; in my trailer I used light and dark to connote their happiness and carefree attitude in the daytime and the darkness to emphasise their fear and reliance on their senses. This is particularly important to the horror genre as characters are often shown in high angle shots to appear vulnerable and therefore under threat.
Gore or ‘body horror’ is also a common generic convention used by most horror films that we studied including Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero who used it to make the audience feel sick by forcing them to see extreme violence. In my own trailer we were inspired to use gore differently by showing a hanging scene in slow motion to create tension and the centring in on the face and neck which had been broken and this was shown by the rope burn we had made from latex and the blood pouring down her chest. This shot moves clockwise and slowly zooms in to force the audience to see what the hang (woman) has done. In our final two shots we finish the trailer with the male anti hero being lifted off the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth which causes the audience to assume no one survives because the final girl is stabbed by her friend accidentally which quickens the pace and adds tension but she is the survivor who as Carol Clover suggests will be terrorised throughout the film and finally overcome the monster. This plays with the audiences emotions and links back to the horror genre well by creating our own style of horror. Andrew Sarris argues because it encompasses so much and is key to explaining a film. Genre is the ideas that collectively make a particular recognisable style that draws in its existing target audience. My horror trailer had expressionist camera angles as the female victim desperately trips over the camera and we see her running above it as well as close ups of her facial expression that causes us to identify with her fear and therefore makes us scared. This meant the audience also were forced to objectify the female victim from the high angle camera shot down her top in which we can see her breasts slightly after watching other Hitchcock movies which use the male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey to force us to take a male’s viewpoint.
In my trailer we also used an iconic symbol of the noose because obviously as a hang woman she needed the prop but also as a female the circular shape suggested female power and this is something the horror genre often does but for male characters using guns etc as phallic symbols which we also used as the male anti hero takes out a knife and stabs his friend frantically when she walks up behind him. The horror trailer was made much darker in Final Cut Pro using the brightness and contrast menu and also dragged the saturated colours towards the blue in order to create a dark, dusky night time atmosphere a generic convention of horror trailers.
The generic conventions we chose to use were all important to the success of our product and since distributing it on YouTube we have over 4000 which I am really pleased with and gives me the confidence that we obviously stuck to the genre enough to capture our intended target audience but were creative enough to make people want to keep watching the trailer and virally sharing it with others.
Genre places a media text into a grouping giving it an identity which can be recognised by the mainstream society and I believe my product is successfully fitted to the horror genre using the narrative that Todorov argued was important to the horror genre by following an equilibrium at the beginning then a problem which in our case was the male anti hero playing a joke on the soon to be female victim making jump running after him causing their separation then a pathway to resolution – as they attempt to find each other and then a new equilibrium at the end which we deliberately left as an open ending to capture our audience effectively.
EAA 10/10
EG 10/10
Term 5/5
(24/25)
Sunday, 6 March 2016
Friday, 4 March 2016
Q1A & Q1B OVERVIEW
Below is yet another overview of the demands of Q1a and Q1b
25431579 a2-g325-advanced-portfolio-in-media-section
25431579 a2-g325-advanced-portfolio-in-media-section
View more documents from Graveney School
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Wednesday, 2 March 2016
Sunday, 28 February 2016
Uses of Media Conventions & Creativity
(Provided by MEDI@CHS)
Use of real media conventions involves the study of other texts that you skilfully analysed and how skilfully you were in weaving their conventions into your work or ways in which you might have developed or challenged them. You must also be prepared to discuss your reasons for your choices and/or the final outcomes of your decisions.
USING CONVENTIONS FROM REAL MEDIA TEXTS
Use of real media conventions involves the study of other texts that you skilfully analysed and how skilfully you were in weaving their conventions into your work or ways in which you might have developed or challenged them. You must also be prepared to discuss your reasons for your choices and/or the final outcomes of your decisions.
USING CONVENTIONS FROM REAL MEDIA TEXTS
How much was your own production influenced by existing texts?
How did you identify the conventions? How did you research into existing texts?
Why follow conventions? Think about the relationship with audiences here.
Which conventions did you follow?
How easy was it to follow conventions in your own work? Were there any obstacles?
To what extent, if any, did you depart from existing conventions? What effects were you hoping to achieve by breaking some of the conventions?
To what extent did adherence to conventions limit your own creativity?
Essay Plan
In Year 12, my brief was…..
To complete this successfully I had to identify conventions in magazine relating to :
Layout
Use of images
Mode of address
Semiotics (especially in relation to colour)
Use of text
Genre
Representation
(discuss these points adding relevant detail and using as much terminology as possible). This document might help
I used these conventions in the following ways. Give details about how your design followed conventions. Explain if your work departed from conventions in some way. Try to discuss why following conventions is important in terms of the text’s relationship with the audience.
In my Year 13 film promotion exercise
In Year 13 I made a trailer and to do this identified a number of key conventions….(explain what they were). Discuss to what extent you conformed with or challenged these conventions in your work. Use lots of detail.
Monday, 15 February 2016
Section A Q1A & 1B Class Test Schedule
End of A2 Course
In terms of completing the teaching of section A & B and you having the chance to sit a mock and get feedback, we have approximately 12 -13 weeks left - (week beginning 16th May), however, Schedule for the teaching & testing of Q1A and Q1B
Wk beginning 25/1 Last Lesson of the week - Question on Digital Technologies
Wk beginning 1st Feb & 8th Feb - Last lesson of the week - Question on Research and Planning
1/2 term and Wk beginning 22nd Feb - Last lesson of - Post Production - Filmed Presentation -
Research and Planning Revamp Homework Task Due - Friday 26th Feb
Wk beginning 29th Feb and 7th March - Last lesson of the week - Question on Codes and Conventions
The above leaves us with 7 teaching weeks to prepare for Q1B and mocks for both
questions.
Monday, 1 February 2016
Use of Digital Technologies and Development of Digital Skills Sample Essays
Candidates will need to refer to their work for the Foundation Portfolio and
Advanced Portfolio. Additionally, they may make reference to other media
production work but this is strictly optional.
Level 1 (0-9 marks)
The answer is descriptive and may offer limited clarity. There is little, if any, evaluation of progress. Examples are partly relevant and their significance in relation to the set question is partly clear. The answer offers minimal use of relevant media terminology.
Some simple ideas have been expressed. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar which will be noticeable and intrusive. Writing may also lack legibility.
Level 2 (10-15 marks)
Candidates offer a mostly clear, partly relevant and narrow range of examples of digital technology and creative decision making. The account of progress made is limited. Examples are described with some discussion of their significance in relation to the set question. The answer makes basic use of relevant media terminology.
Some simple ideas have been expressed in an appropriate context. There are likely to be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar of which some may be noticeable and intrusive.
Level 1 (0-9 marks)
The answer is descriptive and may offer limited clarity. There is little, if any, evaluation of progress. Examples are partly relevant and their significance in relation to the set question is partly clear. The answer offers minimal use of relevant media terminology.
Some simple ideas have been expressed. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar which will be noticeable and intrusive. Writing may also lack legibility.
Level 2 (10-15 marks)
Candidates offer a mostly clear, partly relevant and narrow range of examples of digital technology and creative decision making. The account of progress made is limited. Examples are described with some discussion of their significance in relation to the set question. The answer makes basic use of relevant media terminology.
Some simple ideas have been expressed in an appropriate context. There are likely to be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar of which some may be noticeable and intrusive.
Level 3 (16-20 marks)
There is some sense of progression and of how examples have been selected, and some useful descriptions of the use of digital tools. Progress made is described and evaluated with clarity.
Candidates offer a mostly clear, mostly relevant and reasonable range of examples of digital technology in relation to the set question. The answer makes proficient use of media terminology throughout.
Straightforward ideas have been expressed with some clarity and fluency. Arguments are generally relevant, though may stray from the point of the question. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar but these are unlikely to be intrusive or obscure meaning.
There is some sense of progression and of how examples have been selected, and some useful descriptions of the use of digital tools. Progress made is described and evaluated with clarity.
Candidates offer a mostly clear, mostly relevant and reasonable range of examples of digital technology in relation to the set question. The answer makes proficient use of media terminology throughout.
Straightforward ideas have been expressed with some clarity and fluency. Arguments are generally relevant, though may stray from the point of the question. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar but these are unlikely to be intrusive or obscure meaning.
Level 4 (21-25 marks)
There is a clear sense of progression and of how examples have been selected, and a range of articulate reflections on the use of digital technology. There is a fluent evaluation of progress made over time. Candidates offer a range of specific, relevant and clear examples of digital skills and creative decision making. The use of media terminology is excellent.
Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently using a style of writing appropriate to the complex subject matter. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
There is a clear sense of progression and of how examples have been selected, and a range of articulate reflections on the use of digital technology. There is a fluent evaluation of progress made over time. Candidates offer a range of specific, relevant and clear examples of digital skills and creative decision making. The use of media terminology is excellent.
Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently using a style of writing appropriate to the complex subject matter. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Click to enlarge image
Candidate 1
Candidate 2
Sunday, 31 January 2016
Q1A: The Development of Research and Planning Skills
The biggest challenge about preparing for this question is preparing notes that highlight research and planning skills developed and gained as opposed to writing in the style of what research and planning activities undertaken and individual outcomes. Use the resources below to tailor new or existing notes.
question.
question.
G325 q1a research & planning notes from Graveney School
Research & Planning - Essay Framework
How did your research into audience contribute to your production work?
How did your research into institutions responsible for the production and regulation of the media influence your production work?
What pre-production planning techniques did you employ (scripting, storyboarding, shot-listing, flat- planning etc.)? How effective was your planning – how did it help you in the production phase?
What did you learn from planning your first production that helped you to improve your planning for the second?
How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work while it was in progress?
Research & Planning - Essay Framework
Ms+g324+q1 from staylorchs
How did your research into audience contribute to your production work?
How did your research into institutions responsible for the production and regulation of the media influence your production work?
What pre-production planning techniques did you employ (scripting, storyboarding, shot-listing, flat- planning etc.)? How effective was your planning – how did it help you in the production phase?
What did you learn from planning your first production that helped you to improve your planning for the second?
How did you use audience feedback to influence your production work while it was in progress?
Saturday, 30 January 2016
Research & Planning Q1A Timed Essay - Before & After
Timed Essay Before - Teacher Feedback.
That highlighted in orange is when the student addresses the question of how their research and planning skills contributed to their creative decision making. Whereas that highlighted in yellow in the improved second essay below, makes clearer/ more direct references to how their research and planning skills developed over time.
That highlighted in orange is when the student addresses the question of how their research and planning skills contributed to their creative decision making. Whereas that highlighted in yellow in the improved second essay below, makes clearer/ more direct references to how their research and planning skills developed over time.
Research and Planning
I am going to discuss how my research and planning skills contributed to the process of creative decision making and my progression from my foundation portfolio to my advanced portfolio.
In my research on youth culture films for our AS production, I found that 5/5 of the youth culture films researched used rap or hip hop music in the opening two minutes, and 4/5 portrayed a young person as being the main character in the movie. The impact that this research had was to follow these conventions, as we could see that these were the most important two. However, we opposed the convention of the main character being male, and instead constructed a representation of a male and a female character. We also decided, converse to our research, that we would not have an underlying plot of a gang war, and definitely not one displayed in the opening two minutes.
At A2, for our music video, I researched more music videos and focused more specifically on a certain genre. I found that 90% of the music videos of the same genre had a dark colour palette, with blacks, dark greens, purples and dark blues. This led me to make the decision to have the bands costume in these colours, and to film everything in low light.
The quantity of research gathered at A2 was much higher than at AS, meaning our creative decisions were made with more depth. For example, while at AS only around 4 or 5 films were looked into, at A2 I researched around 10 music videos. This helped me massively when making my creative decisions as it meant I had much more background information to look into when I needed.
At AS, we had no timetable and filmed shots at random times. We found that we didn't have all the footage we needed at the time of editing. We also ignored the weather, which meant you can see the change of weather between the part with the male character and the part with the female character. We also found that we couldn't get the actors we needed at the times we wanted to film. However, at A2, we followed a strict timetable and alerted our actors weeks in advance, meaning we could film when we wanted and had planned, and our actors were available when needed.
When I researched existing band websites, I looked specifically at the websites typography and colours, which are the main factors that create the look of both the website and and the band. I found that no websites have more than 3 fonts, so I made sure I followed this rule when making my website. I also looked at the page layout and the positioning of elements on the page. Doing this helped me to position all the main elements of the page in the best places.
At AS we did our audience research by hand, gathering peers and filming their responses. We found that lots of people would get nervous in front of the camera and not give a full, or detailed enough answer. This meant that a lot of decisions had to be made by us with little or no impact from the audience. However at A2, we used Facebook and Twitter to gather audience research, where people could give a full answer and go into more detail without getting camera shy. This meant we could get more relevant and elaborate results, and found our research could be much more structured and systematic. For example, the website was impacted by quotes from people about the importance of the font and titling.
We had already gained the skill of storyboarding at AS, but enhanced it at A2. At AS, we couldn't follow every shot on the storyboard exactly to plan. This is shown at the beginning, with the shot of the male character walking which was not planned. We also found that, while some shots seemed to work on the storyboard, they didn't in real life. However, at A2, we planned each shot and made it into an animatic so we could picture how each shot followed on from the other, and could see which shots didn't work. This impacted the end result as it meant that we took out and replaced some shots, for example the shots of the dancer had to be changed, as they did not flow from the shots of band.
Overall, from AS to A2, I improved my research and planning skills in a number of ways, leading me to make better creative decisions to overall create a more professional and better looking final product at A2.
AFTER
AFTER
Research
and Planning
I
am going to discuss how my research and planning skills contributed
to the process of creative decision making and my progression from my
foundation portfolio to my advanced portfolio.
In
my research on youth culture films for our AS production, I found
that 5/5 of the youth culture films researched used rap or hip hop
music in the opening two minutes, and 4/5 portrayed a young person as
being the main character in the movie. The impact that this research
had was to follow these conventions, as we could see that these were
the most important two. However, we opposed the convention of the
main character being male, and instead constructed a representation
of a male and a female character. We also decided, converse to our
research, that we would not have an underlying plot of a gang war,
and definitely not one displayed in the opening two minutes.
However
I progressed this skill at A2,
when for our music video, I researched more music videos and focused
more specifically on a certain genre. I found that 90% of the music
videos of the same genre had a dark colour palette, with blacks, dark
greens, purples and dark blues. This led me to make the decision to
have the bands costume in these colours, and to film everything in
low light.
I
progressed my research skills at A2 by expanding the quantity
of research, making it much higher than at AS, meaning our creative
decisions were made with more depth. For example, while at AS only
around 4 or 5 films were looked into, at A2 I researched around 10
music videos. This helped me massively when making my creative
decisions as it meant I had much more background information to look
into when I needed to.
At
AS, we had no timetable and filmed shots at random times. We found
that we didn't have all the footage we needed at the time of editing.
We also ignored the weather, which meant you can see the change of
weather between the part with the male character and the part with
the female character. We also found that we couldn't get the actors
we needed at the times we wanted to film. However,
at A2, I enhanced my skill of time-management and followed a
strict timetable and alerted our actors weeks in advance, meaning we
could film when we wanted and had planned, and our actors were
available when needed.
When
I researched existing band websites, I
exercised my judgement and improved this skill by looking
specifically at the websites typography and colours, which are the
main factors that create the look of both the website and and the
band. I found that no websites have more than 3 fonts, so I made sure
I followed this rule when making my website. I also looked at the
page layout and the positioning of elements on the page. Doing this
helped me to position all the main elements of the page in the best
places.
At
AS we did our audience research by hand, gathering peers and filming
their responses. We found that lots of people would get nervous in
front of the camera and not give a full, or detailed enough answer.
This meant that a lot of decisions had to be made by us with little
or no impact from the audience. However at A2, I
progressed my audience collaboration skills by using Facebook
and Twitter to gather audience research, where people could give a
full answer and go into more detail without getting camera shy. This
meant we could get more relevant and elaborate results, and found our
research could be much more structured and systematic. For example,
the website was impacted by quotes from people about the importance
of the font and titling.
We
had already gained the skill of storyboarding at AS, but
enhanced it at A2. At AS, we couldn't follow every shot on the
storyboard exactly to plan. This is shown at the beginning, with the
shot of the male character walking which was not planned. We also
found that, while some shots seemed to work on the storyboard, they
didn't in real life. However, at A2, we planned each shot and made it
into an animatic so we could picture how each shot followed on from
the other, and could see which shots didn't work. This impacted the
end result as it meant that we took out and replaced some shots, for
example the shots of the dancer had to be changed, as they did not
flow from the shots of band.
Overall,
from AS to A2, I improved my research and planning skills in a number
of ways, leading me to make better creative decisions to overall
create a more professional and better looking final product at A2.
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