Monday 15 December 2014

Representation - 500 words

In the trailer of devil wears Prada the female protagonist (Miranda) is represented as a dominant portrayal as it reinforces the stereotype that women are portrayed as powerful and dominant in the media. They are also seen with high jobs which in this case the female is seen to be the boss of the business.

However, another woman (Andy) is presented in the trailer too. This female character is in New York and wants to become a fashion designer but she has been told that the Boss of the company is quite spiteful bossy and rude. As she spends increasing amounts of time at Miranda's beck and call, problems arise in her relationships with her college friends and boyfriend. In my opinion, I think Miranda is represented as an alternative portrayal as she is seen as the strong powerful one. This is because; she is the main owner of the company and is shown to be very rude and controlling. The representation theory that can be applied to the females would be Richard Dyer as he suggested that those with power stereotype those with less power. This occurs in the middle of the trailer where the second female (Andy) character shows the audiences, discretely, that she is beginning to change and become like the Boss so then she starts going to a person stylist and transforms herself into a more fashionable and wealthy lady. Therefore the female character is represented a a dominant portrayal in the trailer as working class people are performed to be more weaker than higher class. Higher class women being dominant in society tell us that women in the working class are seen as less powerful than them and that women who are high classed have the authority to give orders from people below them. In addition, you can instantly tell that the female immediately wants to become a good fashion designer and wants to be treated like everyone else is treated because they are shown to be different than Andy is which is the reason to why Miranda treats Andy unfairly and gives all orders to her. Towards the middle end Andy starts to be liked by Miranda when she starts to change and become like the others. Also, from this you can tell that she is a confident and outgoing person due to her bashful personality. You can also tell that Miranda starts to like and respects Andy as she accepts her the way she is and realises that she is dedicated and hard working within the job. In the beginning/middle scene in the trailer the representation theory that can be applied to the female character is Laura Mulvey. She came up with the idea of 'female gaze'. This is where females gaze upon men due to their attractiveness. In the trailer, this occurs in the scene where Andy wants to change and become like the others but her boyfriend doesn't like that she has changed, and he liked the way she was before and the clothes she wore. This means that men can be attracted to women who aren't dressed in fancy designer clothes and falls in love with girls for who they are not who they want to be, also to their natural beauty. Furthermore, another theory that can be applied to the trailer is Tessa Perkins. Her theory is that some stereotypes can be positive or partly true. This occurs in the trailer as the female protagonist (Miranda) is seen as powerful and dominant as she is the boss of the company. This is a positive stereotype and is partly true. In addition, this is intentionally what the director has given us to create a character in our minds of what we think the characters in the trailer are like.

Friday 12 December 2014

Status Update

You need to post regular status updates to your blog throughout your MEST2 coursework to make sure you're keeping up with the work and documenting tutorial feedback. Your first status update needs to include the following:

1) Your finalised group

Sarese, Dhruvina and Ashmita

2) Your initial plans for your new TV programme that meets the MEST2 brief

dhruvina has a sudden death and her best friend ashmita goes off the rails and turns out to have mental problems.

3) A link to your research blogpost - the five TV/film opening scenes you have analysed that will help inform your own ideas and production work.

4) A write-up of your tutorial.

  1. decide on narrative; have a clear idea.
  2. think about linking character to propp.
  3. location scouting; identify settings. 

reearch and planning : institution research

E4
Channel History:

E4 began transmission on 18 January 2001 at 8.30pm with a night hosted by Ali G
New Girl - critical reception 5.3
First broadcast back in 2005, the countdown/clip show/special discussed twenty controversial moments in TV history.
Historical and drama programmes
Notable success:

  • The Inbetweeners
  • Hollyoaks
  • Big Brother
  • The Big Bang
  • Friends

In 1996, Channel 4 purchased the broadcast rights to the popular American sitcom Friends. The series proved to be very popular amongst the UK audience


Target Audience 
Demographic:

AGE Under 18's (63%)  18-24 (29%) 25-34 (5%) 35-44 (2%) 45-54 (1%) 55+ (0%) 
GENDER - Female (59%)  Male (41%) 

Demographic means information the media uses to divide there audience into gender, age, race and other categories it also pinpoints potential audience. Every media product is targeted to certain audiences E4 viewers are predominantly young and between the ages 16-24 and dominantly females. They target this demographic because they broadcast good quality drama, comedy, features and having diverse entertainment formats making E4 and E4 +1's both have a very strong impact on16-34s.This demographic is mindful, sociable, connected, heavy internet users, they love going out and tend to use advertising as one of their many information sources.

BBC3:
Channel history

Their plan was for BBC Knowledge to be renamed BBC Four, and indeed this took place in 2002, and for BBC Choice to be renamed BBC Three.

Drama, comedy and documentaries
Notable success:

  • Doctor who
  • Eastenders
  • Family Guy
The channel airs various dramas and comedies; one of its most popular sitcoms was Gavin & Stacey, which first aired in May 2007 and was written by and starring Ruth Jones and James Corden alongside Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, Alison Steadman and Rob Brydon. The sitcom was an instant hit, with subsequent series being moved to other BBC channels and the show being granted a Christmas special. Another example is Being Human, a drama in which a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf share a flat, which has become a success and heralded several new series. American programming also features, with American Dad! and Family Guy being the notable examples.

Target audience:
The channel's target audience is 16 to 34-year olds,  In 2008 it reached 26.3% of 16–34-year-olds in digital home. It has a  2.6% share of the 15–34-year-old audience and 1.4% of the whole population.

The channel needs to be disciplined about focusing on the young - its centre of gravity will be 16-34 year-olds: people who are young in spirit and mindset. BBC Three is ‘Never Afraid to Try New Things’ and that’s why we will continue to innovate with breakthrough comedy, stand-out entertainment, brave documentary and intelligent factual formats. Our content needs to have potential to innovate across platforms. BBC Three should provide an environment for the development of new ideas and talent and for existing talent to take risks, becoming a genuine laboratory for BBC One and BBC Two

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Representation task

The devil wears prada




In the trailer there are different people/groups represented. We see bossy rude women who like designer clothing, and is the owner of the company, we see rich, working class not as wealthy people too. 
One of the stereotypes in the movie is about women being materialistic and women who love designer clothing, we see this when the main character and other employer are speaking about who wants to become the main bosses favourite, by making the new girl turn against her she is telling her bad things about the boss. It stereotypes females as being in ignorant and want to compete against each other, also it shows how the working class are treated differently than others. Also females who are only confident when dressed in expensive designer clothing, this is when the main character changes how she dresses, which affects her personality too. Overall the representation is a dominant portrayal.

Friday 5 December 2014

research and planning


Gossip Girl 


Setting:
The setting of this scene in Gossip Girl is very romantic as its at a train station which emphasises the emotion of love shown in the two characters feelings and actions towards each other. The train station connotes that people usually leave each other there and say there farewells as trains are going. It emphasises the two characters situation as one is leaving but the other is stopping him from leaving.
Costumes, hair and make-up:
The dress on the girl is very fancy and fairytale like as its a red long dress. They both have a rich, fancy attire on suggesting that their 'love' or 'relationship' is luxurious. Make-up on the actress is simple but stands out, bringing out features that make her look upset, support them, giving emphasis on her reaction towards the actor leaving. 
Lighting:
The lighting in the opening scene is dark but a few lights on giving it the romantic atmosphere towards the scene. There is a hint of Chiaroscuro being used as its light and dark also backing up the point of it being romantic in a case. There is top lighting used on the actor and actress at the top of a railing showing that they are both the main people to be focusing on and to show their 'love' in their reactions as it focuses on the features of people making them look 'glamorous'. 
Sound:
The sound in this are both diegetic and non-diegetic. The non-diegetic part is the romantic music in the background which also still plays when the two actors are speaking to each other. The diegetic sound is the people in the background walking and the outside which is the rain, trains etc. It also uses sound bridges from the actress from outside walking into the train station towards which is the footsteps from outside coming inside too (the next scene)
Cinematography:
This opening scene uses a lot of long shots, medium shots and a few close up shots. The long shots are from the girls coming out of the taxi walking into the train station. The medium shots are then towards the actor and actress that are on the railing. The close up shots are used to emphasise the reactions on the actors and actresses face - reaction of him leaving etc. 
Friends


Setting:
The setting is outside a mansion next to a fountain. The setting and atmosphere is very 'happy' as everyone's laughing and having fun with each other, laughing e.t.c. Gives a friendly environment hence the series name which is 'Friends'. The props they have is the sofa in front of the fountain, and the objects that they play with in their hands. It shows that they have a very fun atmosphere around themselves and a weird one too as they have a sofa in front of the fountain which is odd. 
costumes:
Their attire is very plain and simple which contrasts in the scene as its very odd but fun. black and white however it could connote that the group of friends have a simple but fun friendship. 
Lighting:
In the opening scene they use a lot of top lighting as the light shines on the characters showing the features portraying them as glamorous friends. However the own lighting of the mansion behind lets the audience believe that there are no lights involved just the natural light from the mansion. 
Sound:
The sound used in this opening scene is non-diegetic because they are using music throughout the whole opening scene. The music however is parallel as we would expect that type of music to be in the scene as the characters portray it as having fun.
cinematography:
The shots used in this scene are mainly long shots and medium shots. These shots are used to show the atmosphere around them all, However there are a lot straight cut shots as it combines with the music because its rapid in how they all move quickly and how the shots change. 
Coven

Setting: 
The setting is in an old mansion but that also has a rich look towards it making it seem that the people that live or go into the mansion also look rich, of course as having the rich luxurious attire. However although it looks luxurious, it does have antique objects and is very simple with hardly anything in the settings except a coven, which is usually used to describe a group of 'vampires'. 
Costumes: 
The attire the characters are wearing is very formal and mainly black which connotes that its something dangerous but also something serious, that no one jokes around in the situation or theme the series is in. At the beginning of the scene there is a 'coven' of women walking into the same mansion all wearing the same clothes, also wearing a sun hat preventing the sun from latching onto them.
Lighting: 
The lighting is very dull inside the mansion, backing up the point that there is a coven living there, not letting much daylight into it. There is a lot of chiaroscuro used in this opening scene emphasising that the coven cant take as much light for themselves. 
Under lighting is also used at the end of the three tall women in the long black dresses, presenting them as superior, strong prestigious women as they are also the only ones with different clothing from the other group of females.
Sound:
There is also a lot of non-diegetic sounds as there is music playing in the background of the opening scene, the music is also parallel as we would expect it in the scene, fits perfectly into the psychotic theme. However it also uses diegetic music as we hear footsteps of the women from outside walking into the mansion which is apart of the scene making it diegetic sounds. 
cinematography:
This opening scene has a various amount of shots as they use low and high angle shots, long and medium shots. They switch the shots abruptly emphasising the psychotic and freaky mysterious ways. 

Youngers


The setting in the opening scene of this series tells us a lot about what the show will be about as it is on  council estate which tells us that it will have something to do with council estate kids who maybe are trying to find a way out of that life. Another thing that tells us this is the outfits worn by the actors in the scene as they are dressed like teenagers with the hoodies, trainers and hats. This Tells the audience that the show will be about some typical teens who hang around in a council estate. What tells me that at least one of these teens wants to be better than the council estate is what he says about the GCSE results "this is important" shows that he cares about his future and wants to something about it and that is what the narrative is going to be about.The first opening shot is a medium close up of the two boys talking which is a normal shot for a conversation however when the two boys start talking to the three boys on the wall it goes into a wide shot. This fits the conversation as close us are used to show the emotion in someone's face so the wide shot shows the audience that they really are not bothered about their results. The close up at 0:24 shows the audience that he doesn't care about his results from the wide shot but the close up shows that he cares about getting into that from the close up.The way that they talk tells the audience that there will be some comedy in the show as they are talking like kids there age do but they are exaggerating it to make it funny. Also the setting shows that it will be a teen drama. From this we can tell that the genre will be a teen drama, comedy.


The Inbetweeners

Setting- 
The setting here is set a high school/sixth form. This is meant to be set at a school as they are wearing school uniform and need to be shown at their school. They have to make sure that they show this as their audience need to be able to relate to them and be able to see where they attend.
Lighting
The lighting in this clip has got more natural light to it so not much artificial light is being shown in the clip. As this is set at a school they had to show what is going on at normal school times and set it at the right times of day.
Actors-

The actors in here are the main characters. There is a group of 4 and they are all good friends. They are there as they have a lot in common with one another and have known each other from times before. The characters are all dressed in school uniform so younger people would be interested in watching this programme as its a comedy and they are teens. The main character who is in front and got the egg thrown at him is dressed more smartly than all of his friends or the extras. This tells me that he is quite a good boy and does what hes told and tries to achieve his best in life.
Make-up- 

As these are male characters there isn't much to say about make-up as dont wear make-up. If they are wearing make-up then its very subtle and natural.
Setting- 

The setting here is set a high school/sixth form. This is meant to be set at a school as they are wearing school uniform and need to be shown at their school. They have to make sure that they show this as their audience need to be able to relate to them and be able to see where they attend.
Camera-
the camera shots are really smooth. It goes with the pace of the clip which is really good.There are some short shots that are being shown.There is panning, below shot, close-ups, long shots, medium shots, over the shoulder shots and birds eye view. There is some good camera shots being shown which is good as they can get all of the right aspects in place. The birds eye view is being shown in the beginning as when the characters are getting out of the car one by one. This is a good technique that is not often shown in programmes.There was a below shot when a character was throwing an egg at the main character towards the end of the clip. This is a an another technique that would make the viewer want to watch more.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Interrogation



Evaluation:

Our preliminary exercise involved filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. In terms of planning we came up with an idea of an interrogation. In order to start recording we had to plan the following:
- story board
- script
- camera shots
The following helped us as a group to help us create a trailer as it organised us, and we knew what to do as soon as we received the camera. The story board allowed us to plot the story in our head, and we were able to visualise it. The script helped in terms of knowing what to say and when to say it, we had to change our lines continuously as we had to make sure it was similar to our theme. The camera shots was mainly useful as we know exactly what camera angle to use for the different scenes by using the story board. If I was to do this again, I would make sure as a group we have more time to prepare to plan, and to work on the camera work. The strengths of this trailer was that the use of close ups was used effectively and shot precisely. the close ups in the film stood out the most, as it focused on one object, and was shot with stability and accurately. The weaknesses of this trailer was that apart from the close up shots, the other camera angles were not shot to its full standards, as it wasn't shot with a steady hand which made the film lose the tension and made it lose its focus. Another weakness was some of the shots were not focused well, which went wrong by not setting the camera to the right focus before shooting, and made the film again very messy and confusing. Overall the main weakness was the camera work for the longshots, and tracking shots. 

There were a few weaknesses like not having a lot of time to do the video and getting used to the camera. This is because when we using a camera for the first time in a while we didn’t really know how to use it properly and it made the video a bit difficult and at times blurry or shaky. We didn’t have enough time to do the video. We were all on  time to do the video but it was hard to get everyone together and keep it all on the ball. If we had a bit more time, I think our skills would have been shown more. We also wanted to keep the story of the clip a secret so it would build suspense. This was the first initial idea but we then decided to cut down the story so, it still kept the story a secret but we kind of just shortened it.
There were a few strengths of our video. For example, we kind of knew how to use the camera. If we never knew how to use or be around a camera we would be stuck. The people in the group I was in all had an idea on how to use a camera etc. We had a strong script. We had an idea of what we wanted to say, how to act, what the whole video idea would be. This was a good thing as we were all on the same page.  Another strength was that we all helped each other as much as we could so we worked as a team. Our whole production i think was filmed well. We got a few good shots. Like over-the shoulder, extreme-close-up of a shoe, the panning was quite steady. I think that the speech in the clip was good as the people in my group spoke clearly and the facial expressions were how they were meant to be. All the shots we used were there to create suspense and emotion.

Learner Response

20/48  MTE:1 

WWW:good use of media terminology
EBI: You need to do more than describe- you also need to analyse- say what the purpose/effect is. Find the sentences from each question and do this.

How is editing used to create drama and tension in the opening scene?

In the opening scene there are mainly different shots, there are some quick shots that show us that there is going to be some fast, paced action. There is also some shadows that are created when the character is in the scene as we cant see his face and also we cant see or sense any emotions happening.This does create tension for us as we don't know who is/what he's doing. Slow paced editing builds tension in the audience, as the fire usually happens quickly so the pace of this fire makes the scene look more realistic.However as the man walks down the stairs the pace becomes a lot slower due to emphasise  how mysterious he is. Eye-line match from Keaton towards killer is not followed by editing - raises tension as audience because we want to know who the killer is but get denied. slow motion used for cigarette on to petrol and final shot of flames shooting into the sky - increases emotional impact and add to the atmosphere as well as fitting with the music. slow dissolve into final scene swerves to link opening scene with the press conference that follows. 



Uses and Gratification

Diversion: Eastenders as it allows the audience to escape from reality and allows them to laugh and enjoy the show. its also a way for them to pass their free time. 

Personal Relationships: Undercover World enables the audience to become entrapped in a world that isn't portrayed realistically on the news. This means that they become a part of these people lives as it is going on not far from the audiences doorsteps.

Personal Identity: Educating the East End creates personal identities as we can relate to the situations that the actors are going though in this show. We have mainly all been in education so we understand the education system which makes it easier to identify.

Surveillance: BBC Weather allows us to know what is coming, and surveys us with knowledge about life on the other side of the world.

2) Read this Mail Online article about the effects of video games. How does this article link to the hypodermic needle model?
This article relates to the hypodermic needle model in many ways. This is because the games 'forcefully' feed us information that we subconsciously believe and take in. This means that we are mindless to stop believing in the information, and after a while, we start to copy the actions of the game.


Thursday 13 November 2014

Preliminary Production

Shot no:
Shot
Filmed
1
Close up of 1st detective feet

2
Detective walking down the stairs

3
Close up of Suspect’s feet tapping in interview

4
Other detective walking down the stairs

5
Medium shot of suspect sitting with head down

6
Detectives walking towards to door

7
First detective leans to open door with card

              
8
Other detective walks in from behind

9
Over the shoulder shot, watching both detectives walk in interview room

10
2nd detective is holding papers 

11
long shot of detectives walking towards suspect

12
they both sit down

13
Suspect is looking down

14
Medium shot of detectives of sitting down

15
Close up of suspects face



16
Extreme close up od dhruvina hand turning on tape.

17
Medium shot of sarese

18
Medium shot of dhruvina

19
Close up of ashmitas face when she slowly looks up

20
Over the shoulder shot, over ashmita

21
Close up of dhruvina shouting

22
Log of ashmita stands up and starts shouting

23
Last shot of black screen.


Preliminary Production - Script.

*Heartbeat Track*

(scene starts with a medium close up of sarese's feet walking down the stairs using a tracking shot which follows the feet down)
(straight cut to a close up of ashmita's foot tapping then medium shot of ashmita sitting with her head in her hands)
(Back to dhruvina's feet walking down and then close up shot of dhruvina's hand opening the door - straight cut to long shot of dhruvina and sarese's back walking towards the table and taking a seat)
(camera facing towards finger playing the tape - goes to dhruvinas face)

Sarese: wednesday 12 november 2014 at 11.04am. *Beep* okay so we are going to ask you some simple questions, you are obligated to cooperate.

Dhruvina: so lets cut to the chase. where were you on the 11th of november 2014 between 9.00pm-1.00am. *raises her voice* and i dont want any crap!

(camera shifts to Ashmita, she raises her head)

Ashmita: *shrugs shoulders* i dont know.
sarese: okay lets make this more simple for you to understand, WHERE WERE YOU LASTNIGHT?!

Ash: no comment

dhruv: ANSWER THE QUESTION

ash: NONE OF YOUR F***ING BUSINESS.
(ashmita slams the table and kicks the chair)


THE END.









Monday 10 November 2014

Clips

SHOT REVERSE SHOT




180 DEGREE LINE




MATCH ON ACTION

>

Pyschographic groups

Psychographic group: Reformers

Couple: Phillip and Poppy

Phillip and Poppy both go Oxford University.
Phillip is studying crimonlogy and is a part time policeman.Poppy is studying Biology and is an aspiring doctor.

They are mostly both together in their free time and they like to go to the theatre, practice waltz dancing and like to shop in London.They also like to relax at their semi-detached house.Poppy likes to bake when her partner is at work and Phillip likes to read about sports cars.

They dont really watch T.V.But when they do they watch the documentary channels. They read the Independent newspaper and like to read daily mail online on their phones and ipads.They both own iphone 5s and both have an ipad between them.They have twitter to see whats going on around the world and what their favourite celebrities are doing.

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Editing



The movie silence of the lambs is an american thriller about a young F.B.I. cadet who must receive the help of a manipulative killer on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

In this scene the serial killer switches the lights off in the house, so the room is pitch black, and the main protagonist, Jodie Foster is trying to make her way out of the house, unaware that the serial killer is wearing night vision goggles to trace her moves.
The mise-en-scene is a vital feature as the setting of this clip is in a very strange place, and this relates to the title of the film 'silence of the lambs' which is also very unusual. In the scene the characters facial expressions show she is completely terrified, as she is panting and sweating, and slowly moving from place to another in complete fear. 
Many editing effects have been used In the climactic, terrifying chase sequence in a dungeon-like hideaway, the shots show The FBI agent following the serial killer Buffalo bill  down the stairs into the cellar with her gun.
Their is a continuing flow of action as the woman is going from side to side with her gun for protection.A more vital method is that the editing is used to create a more realistic feel through the camera framing and camera movement. This is seen with close ups of the serial killer buffalo bill wearing wearing night vision goggles, this builds up the drama, and creates tension for the audience, as they want to know what happens next. Also we get to see what he can see through his perspective in the goggles, this is a point of view shot. This shot is shown out nearly through the whole of the scene, as it creates a very mysterious atmosphere.

There is diegetic sound used through most of the clip which can be heard by both the audience and characters in the scene. Most of this diegetic sound is of her panting, showing she is danger and is scared of what might happen to her next. Non diegetic sound is used towards the end of the scene, as mysterious music which suits the theme and is playing which creates tension and can only be heard by the audience. This music starts to play when she enters a room which she shouldn't be in and creates more pressure for the character and the audience.
Overall the director shows editing as a main source to establish this tense scene in the movie 'silence of the lambs'. Many factors such as lighting, sound and mis-en-scene all collate this great scene from the movie.