Tuesday 10 May 2011

Media Homework

   I will be telling you of the importance of technological convergence for instuitutions and audiences based of the media area in which i have stuied.
   There has been a vast change in technology over the past few years of how people are now able to view media content. This is known as convergence, where people can now do more things with new methods. An example of this would be using an Iphone to watch movies in a good quality, play games, watch TV and listen to music.
   This has had a huge impact in the successful outcome of films. This is becuase people now do not need to pay for watching a movie in the cinemas, as do not have to buy a films DVD or Blue-Ray; as they can are now able to download these onto their personal technology devices. As of this the movies do not get to make a great turnover in the box office which could determine how long the movie will be placed in cinemas.
   Institutions are suffering in the distribution field of their not just their movies but other movie which have used this particular institution to get their film viewed by a wider range of people in different countries such as: Working Title joined Universal in order to get their movies out around the world due to the success of a well known company, with films of 'The Boat That Rocked, Four Weddings and A Funeral and Love Actually'.  This is because the generation in which most of their products are aimed at is of a younger audience, which are the main generation to have the new better technology. By this, a movie doesnt get viewed if the movies were to be put out in cinemas meaning that they wouldnt last very long which is very deverstating for these big organisations.
  Statistics show that over 50% of the overall budget of from the pre-production, production and post-production has been spent on the distribution of the movie and due to the fact that people can now use Computers, Iphone, Laptops, Mobiles to view media, shows us that a lot of the money has been wasted as well as a lot of time has been spent. The money that had been spent could have been saved and spent more on improving the movie and any other important things that come under production.
   The convergence of technology is still rapidly changing at present, this could means that in a few years time the only part that the institutions need to focus on, is the making of the movie for it then to go on and be downloaded. However, if institutions where clever about the way they did this they would still be able to make a profit out of this form of distribution by charging the people to download. If this was done, then the pricing would need to be thought of and reasonable because if it was seen to be too expensive, then the audience/target market may find other ways in which they can get hold of the movie.
   There is another way in which the institutions could keep up with the change in convergence by mega-franchising products which are to do with the specific movies. For examplke, Twilight created bed sheets, mug, pencil cases, T-shirts, bags and many more items to keep their audience interested in the movie. If the institution was to carry on doing this type of promotion, then the audience may become more interested in the product and therefore encourage them to download the movie.

Thursday 5 May 2011

Prime Evil (Thursday 5th)

In this essay i will be talking to you about Camera movement/compostiton, Editing, Sound and Mise - en - scene and the way that each of these have been used to show Representation of gender from watching a clip of Prime Evil a number of times.
Camera movement/composition:
   When we are firstly introduced to the clip, we see a male and a female who seems to be upset about  something and is being comforted by the man who is also in the shot. This was shown in an Over The Shoulder shot where we were able to get a look at both of the characters. This could represent that woman are in need of comfort and support due to being emotional people.
   In another shot, we are positioned at a high angle looking down on one of the characters who appears to be in a whole. This represents gender of the male as being the weaker sex, showing that he is not dominant in this scene which we don't class to be a typical male as being heroic and masculine. We then get to see the woman figure who is placed in the tractor as being the dominant person in this shot as the camera is placed at a low angle medium shot to show her dominance and power at this point where she is fighting off the tiger. This representation of females is not the typical stereotype where woman are the domestic sex doing all the domestic work, but instead fighting off a predictor protecting the male figure who is in the whole.
  Point of view shot was used when the male character, who seems to be some sort of leader of the team was sliding down a zipline. This could have been done in order to show that he is looking down towards the ground to see if he could spot the tiger underneath him. It signifies he may be a bit fearful and worried about what is happening, representing his male figure as scared, whereas we usually associate this sort of behaviour as females. Therefore this is not a typical stereotype.
   Wide shot also being a long shot at the same time sets part of the location to where the team  appear to be carrying out some sort of mission. It shows the female figure in the distance holding a gun, the camera could have been positioned like this to show that the female is good at that type of work showing she has scared the tiger off rather then being a close up shot to show the relief on her face,  this shot is shown after we get a close up of the males face to show his expression of relief after he just got saved by a woman. The representation of this part of the clip is that the female (Abbi) is not seen as a weak sex due to doing masculine job that are normally done by men.  


Editing:
   180 degree rule use was during a conversation between a woman and a man. This was done to show the continuity of the conversation keeping the story running smoothly and so that the audience wasn't confused with what was going on. This meant that throughout this scene the eye line was always matching showing the viewers that they were always talking to each other and not anyone else. This could represent men and woman to be equal to one another, where neither sex is more dominant, which was not shown in olden times where men were always the dominant sex no matter what.
   Panning was used at the part where the woman was fighting the tiger, this could have been done to keep the audience involved with the action that is taking place at that time. It could have also been done to show part of the characters personality in the sense that she likes to get involved with things that are dangerous and scary. This goes against the stereotype of woman being scared and rely on the men to fight of any danger that occurs as we see for ourselves that she does it all by herself.
   Quick cutting was used at the point where the predator  attacked the two characters who are digging the whole. This signifies that there is danger and fear within the members. Cutting the shots quickly together added to the atmosphere  and builds the tension, always keeping us up close with the fight that is going on with the machine and animal, this is seen as objective to the action as the camera isn't place far away from what is going on. Again as mentioned, the stereotype isn't typical to men being the 'heroic' figure but the woman is as she is saving him from being harmed by the tiger.
   Wipe Cut  is shown when it cuts from the forest area to somewhere a bit more open where we are able to see more of the location. This is done to keep the fast pace moving and building up the tension as the audience wants to know what is going to happen next. Also by doing this sort of cut it shows to the viewers that there has been a jump from once place to another. Jumps cuts have also been used between characters to establish who they are but at the same time keeping the story going, as well as showing the different parts to the location/setting.
Sound:
   The first sound that we are introduced to is a diegetic sound of dialogue. Just after the conversation between the man and woman, the male of that shot looks over to two other characters as if he is hoping to get some sort of advice, support over the situation that has just happened where he is then told by what seems to be the leader to leave it. This represents that it isn't just woman who look for support and advice due to being emotional people, but men do it too which we do not class to be normal.
   We are introduced to a barn not too far away from the pervious setting, where again a man and woman are talking, but as we can see it is mainly the female that is doing the speaking. This could represent that she has the authority over what is being said and that she appears to have some sort of power over this male figure.
   Non-diegetic sounds are also used in the background music. Most of the background music that is used is relevant to what is going on as it is it alerting the audience that something dangerous is happening, which keeps building up the tension until it reaches its peak where we think that the tiger is going to hurt the male character. It is very deep sort of music again showing the danger that is involved with what the group are doing.
   Another non - diegetic sound that we get to here is the special effects (SFX) of the tiger as it is not actually present for the characters to hear, however some people may disagree that it is a diegetic sound. This isn't played when the actually get to see the tiger, but before it has appeared on the screen meaning that this is a non-visual sound.     
Mise - en- scene:
   There is many different styles of costume that is used in this clip. Where we see three of the characters look very out of place. For example, one of the males in the group is wearing qwerkey coloured type clothing of a hat, jeans, waist coat and a t-shirt. Another character is wearing a suit which could represent he is the head leader and more powerful over the group, which is a typical representation that men were to look good at all time and be the dominant gender.

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Role and Responsibility of The Producer

Role and Responsibility of The Producer is -  The first person who has something to do with the overall movie from start to finish. They plan the ideas, choose the characters and director, come up with the budget in which the movie is going to follow whilst in the making, call sheets, locations and other important factors. 
They also work with the script writer after coming up with ideas in order to make sure that they come up with an interesting unique story which will gets people attention. Once the film has been made, they then distribute the film to different parts of the world depending on if they have enough money to do so; it is then viewed my a large number of people. While this is happening, they market in significant methods to what the film is about, it then gains popularity for the film which then turns in to profit/turnover.

Thursday 28th April (Hotel Babylon)

Camera Shots/ Angles/ Movement/ Composition:
The first shot that we see is with an Asian man an White man who appear to be engaging in a conversation. The Asian man has less power in this scene due to the fact that he is sitting down,  looking in an upwards direction to the White man who is standing up. He is positioned lower in the frame signifying he doesn't have a lot of authority compared to the other man who is in the scene along side him. The White man was positioned to stand above the Asian man, suggesting he is at a higher level in the work place, in the frame he is seen as tall and towering over the man who is sitting down again showing that he is more powerful. Medium shot were used showing each of the characters face, this is to show their facial expression a long with establishing who they are. 
Editing:
When we see all of the workers running around in a panic. The shots have bee cut very quickly together, this could have been done to show that there is a sense of fear within the people. Also by doing this to the scene, it is showing a fast pace where we get to see how the characters behave when in trouble, as well as getting to understand there is a great deal of tension and so we are trying to keep up with what is going on so that we can watch the storyline run smoothly.
Mise - En - Scene:
One of the locations that we get to see as an audience is of the front lounge of the Hotel, which appears to be very modern and quite elegant. Bright colours are used to make it stand out to the viewers as well as being more appealing to the eyes. also by involving bright colours it makes it more eye catching and keeps people looking at what is going on in the clip. We also get the sense of relaxation whilst watching this particular part of the clip as we get to see with a few shots of different people minding their own business. The lighting that was used for this part was natural so we can see clearly what is going on in the scene and get a good look at what the hotel's appearance is, this helps us to recognise the setting in which the whole thing is taking place, which will then help us to notice this type of location again at a later point. The costume in which the characters are wearing is very smart which includes - suites for both the men and woman. This suggests to the audience that they are all professional business people doing their job, as well as giving off the impression of sophistication, elegant and posh.
Sound:
This TV drama is dialogue based, which means the thing which we are able to hear the most if what they are saying, meaning the audience is able to understand the story through words and not just images. Some diegetic sounds that we are able to pick up things like shutters, signifying someone is approaching or a delivery is taking place. Going back to the first shot that we view in the clip of the Asian man and White man we can hear from how the Asian man is speaking, we see the difference in 


Representation of Ethnicity:



Thursday 24 March 2011

My Three Targets

These are the targets that i have come up with put in to use throughout my Media lessons while coming up to our exam on May 17th
  1. To gain a wider variety of Media Terminology that is significant
  2. Write more noted on relevant information that will help in the exam
  3. Spend more time researching and looking about things that are to do with Media

Notes on 'Life on Mars'.

Throughout last weeks Thursday lesson, as a class we looked at a short 4-5 minute clip on the 'Life on Mars' around about 3 times so that we were able to make notes on the different things that we noticed such as: camera shots, location, costume, sounds and other media elements, this was to prepare us for the TV drama part of our Examination. 
Camera shots:

  • 360 degree track shot - this was used to set the place in where the main character was located, which seems to be a deserted factory site where window were smashed, rubbish was everywhere. The director could have chosen to do this shot to show that the character in this scene had a sense of confusion and disorientated as we are able to see that it is in slow motion.
  • Another shot that we see is different cutting shots - this are used to get closer and closer to the main characters face, were we establish clearly who he is as well as seeing that facial expressions that are present on his face. 
  • Also during the above shots they use an extreme close up - again we see the character expression but is gives the audience some thought to what is going on with him and why is this happening.
  • Flash  cut - While the camera was moving closer, they used some sort of quick cut shot to look as though he may be going in and out of a deep sleep. Could have been used to create a flash back which would be appropriate.
  • Over the shoulder - this shot was used further in to the clip we viewed where the main character had now seem other people where he was engaging in a conversation with them. This shows the audience who each character is talking to and we can follow what is going on.
  • Profile shot - This too was used to show that two characters we talking, we were able to get a better shot of the action that was taking place and felt more involved as we were right up close to what was going on. 
  • Horizontal Tilt - Used at the start to show that character lay down on the floor, it established who he was and where. It created some confusion again as we were wondering why the man was laying on the floor. 
  • Wide shot/ High angle - We got to see the location of where the man had ended up (deserted factory/warehouse). It was also is used in the first shot that we see from the whole clip which is a motorway, again it sets the scene. However they we notice that they are linked together as we get a viewing of a billboard which shows the motorway taking up construction in this empty area yet we had already seen it built as the first shot.
Sound

DIEGETIC
  • The first sound that we hear is sound of the busy cars rushing along the motorway
  • Ambulance which could suggest that there has been an accident that has taken place
  • Dialogue is a diegetic sound as not just the audience but the characters can also hear the sound too. Shows conversations are occurring. We also get to know that the time period has changed as it gets mention by another character in a different scene. We also pick up on the characters accent which sets the scene to where this location is situated (Manchester)
  • Phone ringing in the police station, so give the characters some sort of props to use to make it look more like a police atmosphere.
There are not a lot of diegetic sounds that are used, they could have chosen to do this because they may have felt that non-digetic sounds help to set the atmosphere of what is going on.

NON DIEGETIC

  • Through the flash cut they have a sound that goes along with it which sounds as if it is a hospital machine saving life
  • When the character is going in and out of his deep sleep, he does go in to what seems a flash back of  a little child speaking (Voice off scree). This is could be seen as a diegetic sound however as no other people can hear this sound it is classed as non diegetic.
  • They also used the sound of a hospital heart monitor but we never get to see the actual hospital location itself.
One of the main sounds that we notice that plays while the change in time is taking place, we hear a background song which has some relevance to the whole programme itself as the title is called 'Life on Mars' which is also that songs name. This is non diegetic again as only we as viewers can hear it, but when the change in time has finished they have chosen to make the song from non-digetic to diegetic so now the main character is able to hear it too. If you listen to the lyrics of the song we hear a line which mentions a police which we establish he is through the dialogue which was spoken. This could have been done to show the character is disorientated.

Mise - En - Scene

  • We see that the characters costume has changed from modern time to the past time. Showing that there has been a change in the period of which he is now in. (suite to leather coat and shirt)
  • The cars change in the different shots before and after the period changes. (Jeep to and old fashioned car)
  • Props like mobile are know longer exist however they did in the time where the motorway was already built
  • During the day time so that we use the natural light to view the surroundings as well as the character himself. In the police station they also used the day time however as it is inside it is much more duller, maybe to show the personalities of the people who work in that office.
  • Located in Manchester