Targets

• I hope to increase my grade by two grades from a D to a B. I must put more effort into work set.
• Increase my overall attendence in both Mr Bush and Miss Holliday's lessons
• Continue with editing production to gain best possible grade
  

Media Audience

• • It is almost impossible to go through the day without being exposed to some form of media. This means that we are part of the audience for that particular media. People have feared that media audiences are easily manipulated by mass media such as advertising and propaganda. People have also feared the effects of media texts and how it could influence people to behave.
  
  • In pre-media times people used to do things such as reading by themselves or they would involve in mixing with other people and doing things such as playing music. This leads people to believe that the media nowadays has made people less social and can seen to split people up.
  
  • The media are often experienced by people alone. (Some critics have talked about
  media audiences as atomised – cut off from other people like separate atoms). Wherever they are in the world, the audience for a media text are all receiving exactly the same thing.
  
  • These points led some early critics of the media to come up with the idea of media audiences as masses. According to many theorists, particularly in the early history of the subject, when we listen to our CDs or sit in the cinema, we become part of a mass audience in many ways like a crowd at a football match or a rock concert but at the same time very different because separated from all the other members of this mass by space and sometimes time.
  
  • Media is a powerful tool in influencing millions of people, e.g. Election Posters – These are used by leaders to influence a mass audience to vote for them using propaganda.
  
  • media producers and institutions like to consider audiences in groups. This is particularly true of advertisers, who have led the way in targeting groups of consumers.

• Audience is segmented, marketing strategies are based around these particular segments. You can classify audiences by age, gender, race and location, also you place people in terms of their class.

Film Language

I have chosen to analyse an extract form the film The Shining (1980) directed by Stanley Kubrick. A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future. The extract that I have a chosen is near the end of the film and it involves the child running away from his psychotic father in order to escape from a maze. This extract uses a lot of media techniques to create an atmosphere. The extract covers all main areas of media language and uses it to great effect. The costumes used in the scene are casual clothes, the director could have chosen this to put across the fact that they were once just a normal family, this could also relate to the audience. The father is also wearing a red jacket, as red can connote danger, this can help us distinguish that he is evil. The costumes are also typical of that time period, e.g. the jumper the child is wearing. The lighting is used very cleverly during this extract, in the shots during the maze scene the only lights are the ones at the bottom of the maze hedge. The low key lighting combine well with the setting e.g. the snow and the mist, and creates a dark and menacing atmosphere. The lights also create a under lighting effect on the father and the son, highlighting their contrasting facial expressions. As there is no natural light at all in the sequence, it helps us recognise the genre as horror. The shots with the mother are generally lighter as she is inside the hotel and is light up when she is outside by the hotel lights. This also shows us that she is the good character in comparison with the father. Actor’s expressions are a key element in this scene, shown through the use of close up’s and medium shots.

The various emotions and body language helps us understand each character better. The close up shots of the father shows us his menacing expression, whilst the close up of the child shows us a deeply worried expression. The body language of the father in particular gives us a idea of what his character is like, the way he walks with a limp dragging an axe shows us the menace whilst the mother is running around with her arms flailing and look of horror on her face which could show that she is the victim, the director uses the body language to show the audience the contrasting feelings of the characters. They also use long shots to show us the actor’s expressions and show a large amount of mise-en-scene. Things like make-up would usually be used in this type of horror film to create effects such as cuts and bruises, although in this scene this is not used. The props used in this sequence are iconic, such as the axe that the father is wielding and the knife that the mother is seen with. These props are typical for a horror film, and can be instantly associated with the horror genre. Whilst the women is inside the hotel the walls are red, connoting danger, the director added to signify to the audience that there is danger ahead, the setting adds to the eerie effect, the abandoned hotel and the deserted maze are both used to heighten the sense of atmosphere. Both settings are large in scale helping the audience understand the isolation the characters are feeling, combined with the lighting, the setting helps develop the narrative towards the climax of the child escaping from the father. As the film was made in 1980 the special effects were not as advanced as they are now, but the director makes use of the special effects in the sequence to create the look of blood flowing out of the elevator. The representations of the characters are binary oppositions, with the father being the villain and the mother and child being the victims, this film follows all the traditional codes and conventions of a horror film, this gives it a wide range of audience. The sound in this film creates an eerie atmosphere, a non-diegetic soundtrack is used which consists of high pitched screeches that are used to create suspense, as we don’t know what’s going to happen to the child. The sound is parallel to sequence, helping to create the tension for the audience. This kind of sound track would normally be used in a horror during a scene such as this, like when a killer is pursuing a victim. Diegetic sound is also used for character dialogue, with the father having a sinister tone to his voice and the mothers voice is shaky and fearful.

Film Clips From Different Eras - Cinematography

Young Frankenstein (1974)

This extract is from the film Young Frankenstein (1974). The film is directed by Mel Brooks and the cinematographer is Gerald Hirschfeld. In scene Frankenstein is saying goodbye to his wife at the train station. The first 8 seconds of the extract consists on of a long shot which pans towards a medium shot of the two characters, the use of the pan can emphasise the setting that surrounds the characters as it plays a key part in the narrative of the scene as the character is leaving by train. Through the extract medium shots are frequently used to show the actors expressions and emotions. When close ups are used on the female character the camera appears to at a high angle to show that she could be inferior to the male character as she is begging him to stay, similarly the male character is shown higher up showing he has more power. The various close ups used in the extract portray the emotions of the characters as it shows their facial expressions in detail such as the happiness of the characters compared to the sadness in previous close ups. The medium shots also show us the elements of mise-en-scene, like the costumes and setting. From their costumes we can guess that they are higher mid class. The setting is continually shown in the medium shots reminding us of the situation that the characters are in.

Film Stills - Camera Shots and Angles

Indiana Jones

This a shot from the recent film Indiana Jones : Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008). The shot used in this still is a long shot as you can see the whole of the characters body. This shot enables us to see facial expressions and body language which can give us clues as to the narrative. From this angle we can see their expressions of puzzlement, the way they are sitting can also give us clues to the narrative as you can see they are looking down somewhere at something unknown. The long shot also shows us various elements of the mise-en-scene such as the setting, lighting, costumes, props and make up. The setting makes a narrative enigma as we do know where they could be and what they are doing although from the costumes we can interpret they could be adventurers uncovering mysteries, this is supported by the use of props in the frame. This shot also emphasises the situation the characters are in whilst creating a sense of mystery.

The Shining
This is a film still from the movie The Shining (1980). They use a close up in this still to show the expression on the actor's face. From the close up we can distinctly see the emotion conveyed on his face, from his expression we can interpret that he could be evil due to his sinister smile and the menacing expression of his eyes. and the lighting also makes us believe this because of the shadows that are cast on his face. This shot does not give much away in terms of the mise-en-scene, this makes various narrative enigmas as the audience would want to know who he is and what he is doing. From this shot alone we can guess that the film could be a horror, and also imply that he could be the bad against the good.

Spiderman 3
This film still is form the film Spiderman 3 (2007). This shot could be interpreted as either a long shot or a medium shot, as one character has their whole body shown in a long shot whilst the main focused character is show in a medium shot. The use of the medium shot shows a portion of the characters body expression as we can see he is struggling. This shot also shows some elements of mise-en-scene, the most predominate are the costumes, one costume is red whilst one is black which can connote evil. The angle of the shot is also significant as its at a high angle looking down on the scene, the character in the foreground could be shown as the hero whilst the character further away in the blurred background could be the villain. This shot poses some narrative enigmas, such as what situation the protagonist could be in and what could have unfolded.

The Royal Tenenbaums
This film shot is from the film The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). This is medium shot of multiple characters through the eyes of another character in the form of a point of view shot. We can tell that its a point of view by the fact that all the characters are looking directly into the camera as if looking at the character. The expressions of the other characters faces may indicate that the character has said or done something rude or shocking. From the frame we can see many elements of mise-en-scene, props, costume, setting, make up, actors expressions and lighting. The narrative is unclear from looking at this still as nothing from the still can be interpreted to be part of the narrative form, enigmas are present as the audience wonders who these group of characters are and who is the character who is looking form the point of view. This type of shot (POV) can make the audience identify with the character and the situation.

Film Technology - 1920's

The first commercial screening of movies with fully synchronized sound took place in New York City in April 1923, they helped secure Hollywood's position as one of the world's most powerful cultural/commercial systems. It would still be seven years before talking pictures gained supremacy and finally replaced the silent era.

http://www.1920-30.com/movies/talking-pictures.html

The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson was the firsr movie with sound. Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino were tremendous movie box office draws. Walt Disney would produce his first cartoon, Alice's Wonderland. in 1926, the invention of Technicolor made movies more entertaining and memorable. Consequently, the movie industry became a major part of American industry in general.

Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation (a subsidiary of Technicolor, Inc.). Technicolor was the second major color film process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color motion picture process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952. Technicolor became known and celebrated for its hyper-realistic, saturated levels of color, and was used commonly for filming musicals (such as The Wizard of Oz and Singin' in the Rain), costume pictures (such as The Adventures of Robin Hood and Joan of Arc), and animated films (such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Fantasia).

Mise-en-scene

Costume - The costume used in this poster gives us a clue as to what genre the film is about. You can identify that it is a women that is sitting in the device as she is wearing high heeled boots, this could tell us that she may be helpless or defenseless to what happening. The use of a red cloak could connote that there is danger present and it is the thing that stands out most which could mean the idea of danger is highly significant to the movie. Her face is covered by a pig mask, which could imply that the captor could regard her as pig and gives her animalistic qualities whilst it could also be used to cover up her identity and create a sense of mystery. By analysing the costume you can tell this movie could be of the horror genre.

Lighting - The lighting in this poster is very dark as low key lighting is used. Several objects are lit up such as the mask and the contraption she is sitting in. There is a contrast of light and dark lighting which empathises whats in the poster but also gives it a dark and scary atmosphere. The lighting makes the audience focus on the character and could make the audience wonder what is going on.

Actors Expressions - The character appears to be motionless as shes its on the chair, this could show us that maybe shes not panicking or worrying. Her stance is strong as her back is straight and her legs are firmly on the floor this could show that maybe she is not a victim but she could be the captor testing out the contraption, this could also represent that she is a strong independent character, this makes several narrative enigmas that the audience would want to find out by watching the film. From knowledge of the previous films the audience know that she is an accomplice.

Make-Up - There is no visible make-up used in this poster, as her face is covered by a mask we do not know where she is wearing any. The use of a pig mask could suggest that she might be being tested as make up is tested on pigs.

Props - There are not many props used in the poster, but the main prop is highly significant as the mechanism she is sitting on is a primary focus in the poster. The audience do not know what the device does or what its for, but from the tag line in the poster "Its a trap" the audience can tell its a trap used for torture. Previous Saw film viewers would know already what the device is for. The shackles round her ankles could also show that she is helpless and that she is restrained, this also has sexual connotations.

Setting - The setting does not give much away about the film as it is not a specific location, this adds to the mysterious atmosphere and poses more narrative enigmas. The setting is dull and dark would could suggest its in a isolated place, where no one else would really go. This use of the setting is typical of the genre as horror films usually use no specific setting and are usually isolated and dark with a sense of mystery of not knowing where it is.

Institution Case Study

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. It was one of the so-called Little Three among the eight major film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The studio was founded in 1919 by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn. They released their first feature film in 1922. In 1982, the studio was purchased by Coca-Cola; that same year it launched Tri-Star Pictures as a joint venture with HBO and CBS. Gower Street in Hollywood was the company's home. Columbia produced many westerns and comedies. which helped maintain the company through the Great Depression.

History of owners
Independent (privately held) (1919-1926)
Independent (publicly traded) (1926-1982)
Coca-Cola Co. (1982-1987)
Columbia Pictures Entertainment (publicly traded) (1987-1989)
Sony (1989-present)

Examples of other texts
Spiderman Series









Gothika










The Da Vinci Code

Columbia Tristar is currently responsible for recent releases like Quantum of Solace and The House Bunny. Columbia Tristar are currently owned by Sony Pictures which a subsidiary of Sony. They produce films of all genres, from horror to comedy. Sony also uses facebook to promote, this an example of how Sony is using Web 2.0 to reach to more people.

Institution Study #2

Pinewood studios is a major British film studio based in Buckinghamshire. It was founded in 1934 and in 2001 meregd with Shepperton Studio. The studios have acted as the base for two long-running British film series, the James Bond films and the Carry On films, both of which also used the studio's main buildings to represent various locations. TV shows are almost produced here with programmes such as Extras, Weakest Link and The IT Crowd.

Pinewood as played a part in producing many big name films.

Interview with the Vampire (1994)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The Fifth Element (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
Die Another Day (2002)
The Hours (2002)
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(2005)
United 93 (2006)
Stardust (2006)
Casino Royale (2006)
Sweeney Todd (2007)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Quantum of Solace (2008)

Peer Assesment of Trailer Analysis

Ahmed
http://ahmeddahir.blogspot.com/
(www): Excellent analysis of the themes of the production
Shows good knowledge of the production and its content.
Good use of media terminology

(ebi): More detail of mis-en-scene
Explore more key concepts

Most of this production the cuts are fast and frequent showing different faces close-up, which promotes the different society Greenford High has and again emphasises the multi-culturalness of the school. However at the beginning this isnt the case as the production begins their alot of fades in slow motion to emphasise the old school and the great significance of it now that it is gone. On 1:36 in their dining hall their is a high angled shot of regular people enjoying themselves this angled shot gives an insight of what the school is really like and again emphasises its multi-cultiralism.


Most of this production the cuts are fast and frequent showing a wide variety of different faces close-up, which connotes the different society that Greenford High has and again emphasises the multi-culturalness of the school which could also promote the school as a friendly enviroment, the use of the different close ups of people faces could also link into the song lyrics. However at the beginning this isnt the case, as the production begins there are alot of fades in slow motion to emphasise the old school and the great significance of it now that it is gone in comparison of the new school. On 1:36 in their dining hall their is a high angled shot of regular people enjoying themselves this angled shot gives an insight of what the school is really like and again emphasises its multi-cultiralism.

Saving Faith Analysis

Stranger Analysis

Props

The props that are used in this trailer are generic of this type of film such as school bags, school lockers and school books. These props link into the theme of the setting which is school. All these elements help to emphasise the trailers realistic objective. So that the audience is able to relate to the characters and surroundings. They also use everyday objects such as mobile phones, ipod and an umbrella also creates an authentic take on student life.

Setting

The settings used in the trailer are mainly in school such as the classrooms, corridors, toilets and library. The use of the toilet cubical which shows her isolation from the school and cuts her off from fellow students. The setting is typical of a teen drama as they are usually set

Snatch Trailer

Self Evaluation

• Attainment - 2
  
• Effort - 2 (I have put alot of effort into my classwork and homework but I think I could make more effort to my homework)
  
• Punctuality - 3 (I have missed quite a few lessons but I have not been late to a lesson, I try and catch up with missed work. I haven't forgot my media folder or anything else for the lesson but I need to work on my attendance)
  
• Submission and quality of homework - 2 (I have missed a few lessons but have tried to catch up on missed homework, I think the quality of my homework is good but I could put more effort into it)
  
• Ability to work independently - 1 (I think I can work idependently quite well and have not had too many problems with homework and classwork)
  
• Quality of writing - 2 (I think my quality of writing is good but I could use more media terms and write in more detail)
  
• Organisation of Media folder - 1 (My media folder is organised well, with each topic put in order and arranged by teacher, I have also printed off the lesson powerpoints and put them in my folder)
  
• Oral contributions in class - 3 (I could contribute abit more in lessons but I am able to answer questiosn with confidence when asked by the teacher)

(www): I think my understanding of media has improved really well
I have been able to work well idependently
I have enjoyed the course so far

(ebi): I could improve my attendence
I should ask for help when I dont understand something
Complete all homeworks on time

Media Production Reviews

The Monologue
This production was very good as it made me think about it as at first I was led to believe that he was talking about a girl but really he was talking about a gun. It was very effective as it was cleverly made and well produced, it has a striking ending which makes this production stand out from the rest. The camera work made you feel as though you could understand what he's going through and when the camera pans around to the three guys you was as though you could see it through his eyes. The location they used also adds to the atmosphere as it looks isolated and run down. They use black and white throughout which sets the mood of negativity as it looks as though he spends his last moments monologuing in his head as it good be interpreted the gun had got him into a lot of trouble and that he could lose his life.

Stranger
This is a well made production which deals with an important issue. The issue bullying is portrayed very well with the group using several techniques which emphasise the loneliness and rejection the girl is feeling. The music used sets a depressing tone and is used throughout the production, the suicide attempt by the character emphasises the importance of the issue. At the beginning they have a shot of the clouds in the sky, this sets a moody tone and it occurs more than once in the production. They rewind the majority of the movie at high speed as it is a flashback that she sees whilst shes in the bath trying to kill herself. They use many camera angles such as close ups, high angle, medium longshot, low angle and birds eye. Angles such as close ups portray her emotions, high angle shots give the effect of the audience looking down on her.

Magazine Pitch

Kerrang! has a weekly circulation of 70,000, and a readership of approximately 542,000.
The core target audience for Kerrang! is 15-24 year olds with a 60:40 male/female split.
Kerrang! readers are sharp, individualistic and above all fanatical about their music, buying on average 31 CD albums a year. The readers are also immensely loyal to Kerrang! The brand helps provide a group of "outsiders" with a sense of community. Their hobbies might include playing a instrument, going to gigs and more obviously listening to music. Readers would want to aspire to be like the musicians and look up to them. Readers would be considered "alternative" in their music taste as the bands and music would not be as mainstream as other genres of music, they also are influenced in the clothes they wear like band t-shirt's, skinny jeans, vans.

Target Advertisers

• Vans Shoes
• Ibanez guitars
• Iron Fist Clothing
• Guitar Hero
• Xbox 360
• Fender Amps
• Hot Topic
• Grindstore
• Apple
• Sony
• Converse
• Nintendo
• Warner bros
• O2
• Drum Workshop
• Nike

Design a T-Shirt
"One lucky reader could win £200 worth of Iron Fist Clothing with Kerrang! and have their winning design sold by Iron Fist"

• The reader would have design a t-shirt and the best one would be the winner. The winning one would be decided by a panel of judges and made into a actual product.
• Iron Fist would appeal to the target audience as its desgins and style would be more for 15-24 year olds and would be considered alternative, the result of this is that more readers will enter the competition.
  

Benefits for Iron Fist Clothing

• The competition would be advertised on Kerrang! TV, Kerrang! Radio and the Kerrang! Website as well as the magazine. This would spread the brand name around to potentially thousands of people.
• Whilst entering the competiton readers might like the clothes and purchase them, they could also tell their friends who haven't entered the competition, this also spreads the brand name and can lead to a increase in sales.
  

Internet Regulating System

Devising a system for regulating the internet would have to be done by a agency or a specialized company e.g. like OFCOM. It would be hard to regulate the whole of the internet so instead it would be best to put in place a code of regulations or some laws. Trying the regulate the internet would also raise concerns for the users and consumers as they might see it as an infringement on their right to speak freely as the internet is a place where you can do so. I suggest that a regulating agency should check all major sites (YouTube, Myspace, Facebook) and censor inappropriate content or make sure that it can only be accessed by the appropriate audience. In terms of illegal downloading the agency could liaise with ISP's and track people who regularly download pirated content. As the internet is global, there should be a agency set up in every country that is not under the influence of local government or a biased religious group, users will still have the right to freedom of speech but it will be made sure that its addressed to the correct audience, e.g. if a 10 year old child was on YouTube it wouldn't be appropriate for them to watch a video about knife crime. As a whole the internet would be almost impossible to regulate but its possible to regulate a large number of popular sites.

An anthropological introduction to YouTube

• 0:00 Introduction, YouTube's Big Numbers (YouTube as broadcasted over 6.1 million hours of footage in 6 months compared to ABC which has broadcasted only 1.6 million hours over 60 years. Youtube produces 9232 hours of footage a day compared to TV which produces 385. 88% of the content is new and original)
• 2:00 Numa Numa and the Celebration of Webcams (How a music video spreads across the globe via YouTube which then leads to other users producing content about it with animation and webcams, allows people to express themselves and they can also become famous or a “cyber star”)
• 5:53 The Machine is Us/ing Us and the New Mediascape (user generated organisation. User generated distribution. After uploading it on YouTube the video gets spread around many sites, showing a integrated mediascape)
• 12:16 Introducing our Research Team (The research team participate in what they are researching, they most videos and vlogs onto YouTube aswell as analyzing other people videos. Once they have researched it they upload their data onto a database for everyone to see)
• 12:56 Who is on YouTube? (25% 35+, 25% 12-17, 50% 18 – 24)
• 13:25 What's on Youtube? Charlie Bit My Finger, Soulja Boy, etc.(Most videos are home videos that are meant meant for less than 100 viewers)
• 17:04 5% of vids are personal vlogs addressed to the YouTube community, Why? (To create a sense of community within YouTube
• 17:30 YouTube in context. The loss of community and "networked individualism" (Wellman)
• 18:41 Cultural Inversion: individualism and community
• 19:15 Understanding new forms of community through Participant Observation (to learn about something you must participate in it)
• 21:18 YouTube as a medium for community (When posting a vlog via a webcam on YouTube the up loader does not know who they are being watched by or when they are being watched, which means anyone in the community can access it.)
• 23:00 Our first vlogs (Posting first vlogs they found that it was awkward and felt like they were talking to no one, but they knew whatever video they posted it would eventually be seen by someone somewhere in the world)