Lets decode the media

Conventions are the "common features" of a particular type of media or particular genre. In what ways were media conventions adherd to? Was there fast paced editing? did the performer act to the camera? were particula shots repeated? Were the representations appropriate for the genre? which aspects were challenged? Intro - For my foundation portfolio I created a 2 minute opening for a thriller film called 'Classified' in which a mysterious young women is running away from an so-called villain who is eventually captured. Whereas for my advanced portfolio I created a music video of the EDM genre in which was focused primarily on performance. Throughout the construction of both productions my understanding of the conventions of real media texts informed my decision making. Camera: First of all for my foundation portfolio my opening was shot firstly by an establishing angle as a long take. Which we gained from inspiration of the 2003 thriller 'The lif...

Introduction: I believe that I have progressed from AS to A2 as I have developed my skills in post production. At AS I think that my skills in using editing softwares was relatively basic whereas at A2 I could then use my knowledge and gain even more technical ability to achieve a more professional and industry standard level of production of my work. What editing decisions were made? How did they inform the production? For our foundation portfolio we chose to produce a 'thriller' genre opening sequence, in which a young girl was running away from an unknown villain, hence the title 'classified'. We chose to edit using the software Imovie in which we carried out basic editing decisions such as an linear structure, and slow paced cuts. However in order to make the colouration fit the intended mise-en-scene we chose to decrease the saturation thus to enforce a gloomy effect. However for my advanced portfolio we did the opposite. Since our music video was a product o...

Evaluate one production in terms of media language? Plan: Introduction - Every medium has its own 'language'. Thus media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.  Bathes (1977) argued that in film connotation can be analytically distinguished from denotation.  As John Fiske (1982) puts it "dentation is what is filmed, connotation is how it is filmed" Thus I will now discuss this in terms of my AS 'thriller' production 'Classified'. Genre: - Tom Ryall (1978) - "genre provides a framework of structuring rules - thus acts as a form of supervision over the work of production of film makers" - Queer Theory  - Roland Bathes enigma/ symbollic coding Tom Ryall (1978) believed that "Genre provides a framework of structuring rules - thus acts as a form of supervision over the work of production of film makers". Furthermore we used our chosen genre as a form of 'supervision' however ...

Institutional research (titles, legal information, record labels etc.) Audience research (before and after) Logistical research (locations, costumes, actors etc.) Research into real media  To get the HIGHEST grade: How important research and planning was Why was research and planning important What effect did research and planning have on your final work What problems are there with research and planning? What would you not have been able to do without research and planning? How did research and planning benefit you? Introduction - Research and planning played a highly significant importance in relation to my overall success for both media productions. For my foundation portfolio I produced a short film opening in the thriller genre, as for my advanced portfolio I composed a music video in the EDM (Electrical Dance Music) genre. At the start of AS my research and planning skills were limited, however developed rapidly during the course of the year. M...

Identify characters, events or issues within the production to discuss? and what representational concepts are highlights i.e women? Theorist 'David Guantlett' believed that "identity is complicated - everybody thinks they've got one" . To counteract this quote, for my AS opening sequence production we chose to have an female protagonist in order to subvert the typical 'male' stereotype. Thus, we discuss the elements of feminism in our production. Subverting Laura Mulvey's 'male gaze' - our main protagonist is fully dressed, and not sexualised in any way. However, does counter in the stereotype that the female victim is weak and passive to the villain, although the villain would had been later revealed to be also an female, this subverting Vladmir propp's character stereotype's in media texts.  For example the hero/ villain are typically played by a male, whilst the princess is arguably played by an female. We took inspiration f...

Regarding our A2 production doesn't particularly consist of a narrative; I will most likely discuss my AS product in my exam! :) Introduction  What is the narrative structure of your production? Which specific parts of your production relate to this structure? We chose to use a circular structure/ open structure as part of our 'thriller' opening sequence. From inspiration of 'thriller' non-linear structured movies such as 'The life of David Gale' (2003) and 'Pulp Fiction' (1994) which has the opening sequence started at the 'middle' of the movie (which in general was the climax) in which audience are then reversed back to the beginning again in order to annotate how the climax initialized. We chose to use this structure since it is a common convention which has been placed in multiple 'thriller' openings. I also stated that the film has an 'open' structure, in consideration to the opening of our sequence being left unr...

The star is an construction -  Dyer proposes that a star (celebrity) image is not a real person but is instead constructed out as an range of materials (e.g. in advertising, magazines, music videos, sometimes film etc). A celebrities representation may be metonymic (thing/ concept) for examples Madonna's conical bra in the early 1990's, Britney Spears flat belly etc.  For example - Miley Cyrus was recently presented as twerking, and riding naked on a wrecking ball all for the naked eye of public attention. However in real life this is an alteration since in the privacy of her own home she is less likely to be doing the outrageous acts she appears to do in public, alternatively is more likely to be an completely different person without the media's coverage. Stars as an ideology - Pop stars will represent certain social groups and views that will furthermore create certain ideologies As a result of this fans of the star may start to copy them for their style and s...

Richard Dyer analysed three main areas in which the media uses representation: 1) REPRESENTATION IS SELECTIVE: He believed that individuals in the media are often used to replace a group of people. One member of this group then represents the who social group. 2) REPRESENTATIONS IS CULTURE-SPECIFIC: Dyer believed that representations are just furthermore presentations. The uses of codes and conventions available in a culture shapes and restricts "What can be said ... about any aspect of reality in a given place, in a given society at a given time". 3) REPRESENTATION IS SUBJECT TO INTERPRETATION: It can argued as much as visual codes are restricted by cultural convention, they "do not have since determinate meanings". To a certain degree an meaning of a media message is completely down to an persons overall interpretation. 

What is creativity? - "Creativity is the making of new things and the re-arranging of the old", furthermore it is the ability to have your own idea and not just copy others. Where did your original ideas come from? For AS I was creative coming up with the ideas by designing a mind-map, this helped me visualise certain ideas and get a rough idea of the type of story line I wished to portray. I also did creative research such as basic questionnaires to find out what people interpret/ expect from an 'thriller' movie opening sequence. For A2 I was more creative coming up with ideas by not only designing a mind-map but also designing a Microsoft power point which I used to discuss possible locations with the use of 'google' imagery as well costumes and possible story line concepts in order to be more visually appealing and adapting to the use of digital technology. As well by planning digitally makes the presentation more portable and easy to access unlike pl...

What genre is your production? AS - Thriller (More likely to choose for essay) A2 - EDM What are the codes and conventions of your production: AS - Low-key lighting  Quick cuts Shadows Tension music Changes in the angles/ shots Diegetic sound of heartbeat  A2- Bright colours Jumping/ dancing Club/ party scenery Strobe lighing Montage of clips Fast paced cuts/ editing to fit the beat How is the genre established? For my AS production we accurately conformed to our chosen genre 'thriller' by following conventions sum as dim lighting, by decreasing the saturation and contrast of the footage. We also included multiple quick cuts as well as different angles in order to build tension by the intense pace of the shots. We included a 'shadow' figure which walks towards the victim once they had passed out in order to represent mystery regarding who the villain actually is. We also built up the music by starting off slow paced to then intensify once ...

This theory dives into the idea that the media, most in particularly films, represent women as passive objects of male desire. Furthermore, audiences are forced to view women from the perspective of a hetrosexual male. Mulvey believed the cinema was presented to be the perfect time for men to drool over the erotic females bodies shown. Women are therefore to watch from the same perspective as the men, therefore mediates females into believing they must inquire the perfect figure to be desirable in the eyes of men.  The 'male gaze' can be most commonly identified in the James Bond film series (1962-2015). Females are clearly objectified and forces viewers to picture females via the male gaze. Even in the most recent James Bond 'Skyfall' 2012, from the very first opening  we the protagonist 'James Bond' in bed with a woman who he has just had sex with. Which was imperatively insignificant to the plot. The woman, we know nothing about!, she has no dialogue and ad...

Although gender representations have changed rapidly in recent years, in the view of some feminists, the key struggle which was originally regarding portrayals of low-value qualities have moved away and has now been focused on the visual representation of female bodies. In Naomi Wolf's influential book 'The beauty myth' (1991) she argued that ultra-thin supermodels and the perfect bodies glamorised by advertising, fashion and the media in general are indications of patriarchal attacks on women's bodies. Furthermore women's bodies have become commodities and the consequences of this are mental and physical illness, starvation and eating disorders. Wolf can be linked to Jean Killbourne for her well known lectures regarding females in advertising 'Killing us softly'

Planning: Introduction - Digital technologies have had a great influence towards my media production's over the past two years. Since completing my foundation portfolio to my advanced I have learnt many skills regarding the use of digital technologies and the many benefits they entail. For my foundation portfolio I produced an short movie opening in the 'thriller' genre, as for my my advanced I produced a music video in the 'EDM' genre. I will discuss which digital technology I entailed for the PRE-PRODUCTION stages, PRODUCTION stages and the POST-PRODUCTION stages. Definition of digital technologies  - Digital technologies refer to any technology that relies on computers to function. This is a vast and complex concept, as digital technologies can refer to special effects, digital online streaming including catch-up services, social media, digital distribution and digital editing techniques. What software was used? Keynote Imovie Paint/ photoshop ...