Practice Edit

  
This was my first time editing using Adobe Premier. I was given a video clip of dancing animals and was told to play around with all of the effects on the programme in order to get to grips with it.
It took me a while to get used to using Premier as I had to understand the layout and what all of the buttons were meant to be used for but in the end I managed to work out what everything did.

Film Language - 21.09.16

Today in class I learnt about Film Language and how the uses of: camera, editing, mise en scene and sound are all considered when creating a film, especially when making or reviewing an important scene within the film that needs to stand out to the audience. I understood that there can be many different camera angles such as: pan, level, high and low which all portray different moods. I learnt that editing is important because the pace of a scene can determine whether the scene is romantic or hectic, and the transitions between cuts can do the same. I also learnt that the Mise en Scene is important because it is the noticeable factors in the film which the audience is able to recognise fairly easily. An example of this is costume or lighting. I also understood that sound is very important when creating a certain type of atmosphere, such as music which could make a scene go from romantic to scary.

Representation

Representation

In today's lesson, I learnt that certain groups of people are represented falsely in the media and are a lot of the time, categorized into one type of person. An example of this is when many people think of a Frenchman, they think of a man with dark hair, a mustache, a stripey t-shirt on, a neck scarf, a bere, and holding a baguette in their hand. The reason you think this is because the media have shaped the french society to represent them that way to their audiences. This is applied to many different types of people such as: the 'ideal' woman, the 'ideal' man, teenagers, middle aged people, muslims, black people etc.

 Another example of stereotypes in the media are the iconic bond girls featured in the famous 'James Bond' films. The film extract shown below demonstrates how the ideal woman is represented as a white, blonde, tall, slim, half naked woman with bronzed skin and a beautiful face. Although this woman is undoubtedly beautiful, like in all of the other films of the sequel, they only cast the same type of tall, slender, young women which sets high expectations for female aesthetic which makes other girls that do not look like that, feel like they are only worthy of the title of 'a beautiful woman' if they look exactly like the women shown in these types of films. What the Bond films fail to do is show that beauty can be in the form of intelligence, confidence, passion, happiness and much more, which is what all women in the world are able to relate to as beauty is not always a physicality.

Another noticeable factor about how men and women are portrayed in this clip is how the man is fully dressed and is awoken because he hears the beautiful sound of a woman, when the woman appears, she is half naked and the man shows an interest in her by joining in on the song and undeniably staring at her. This therefore suggests that she is only there to be admired by the man for her looks, he is not interested or attracted to her because of her personality or intelligence.

Audience

Who creates the content of the media?

I believe that the media physically creates what the audience watches, but the audience decides whether the content is worth watching or not. This could possibly influence what the media creates next, depending on what the audience thinks of it.

 

Could the media exist without the audience?

I don't think that the media could exist without the audience because if there is no consumer to watch the content which the media is creating, the media will lose money and will not produce anything more.

 

Could the audience exist without the media?

I do not think that the audience could exist without the media because without any content to watch, it is impossible to have an opinion on.

 

Does the audience control the media or the media control the audience?

I believe that the audience and the media both have power but the media more so than the audience. This is because the media can manipulate a picture or video to make a person seem better or worse without the audience being able to view the original copy. This also means that the media have more power because it is the only type which is available to the audience, and some people are more gullible than others.

 

 

 

The 'Uses and Gratifications theory'

Blumber and Katz created the 'uses and gratifications' theory which is believed to be applied to all audiences when they are consuming a piece of media. The audience uses the media for: personal identification (relating to a character or celebrity and a tough journey they've been through), information (documentaries, newspapers, Google), entertainment (films and music) and social interaction (social media such as facebook, twitter and instagram).

Semiotics Analysing Film Poster

This is the poster for the film 'The Great Gatsby'. In this film poster, Jay Gatsby (the main character) is the largest character and is placed in the centre of the composition. This means that he is therefore the main character and plays a part in all of the other characters lives. He is also seen wearing a very formal suit and tie which shows to me that he is very wealthy, especially for a man during that period of time. Dynamic gold framing is surrounding the 6 characters which makes the film poster look very glamorous and old fashioned, this is used to signify the 'Roaring 20s' and all of the wealth and money included in this film. The woman in the middle of the poster is located near the bottom of the page while it looks like Gatsby is standing over her, this could be to show that he is protecting her but could also resemble that she is below him and he has all control over her. The four characters are in the background of the poster and look stern and dramatic, this could symbolise that Jay Gatsby has a negative effect on their lives. The women in the poster are wearing headbands, glamorous dresses and fur coats. This signifies that they are wealthy and that the film is set in the 1920s where they used to wear that attire.

Genre Task 2

Ghost Ship

The opening scene for the film 'Ghost Ship' is set at sea on a middle class cruise ship at the night time in the warm but breezy weather. Everyone on the ship is seen dancing to the music playing and the overall vibe is relaxed and happy at first. The main themes within this opening scene are: gore, horror and some comedy. the main icons in this opening scene are: the wire with which all of the passengers get cut in half, the singers red dress because it could foreshadow the danger that was to come, and the blood from the bodies. The narrative of the 'Ghost Ship' opening scene is that all of the middle class men and women on the cruise ship are dancing to the music playing which is made to look very glamorous and happy at first. The happy vibes which were expressed in this scene were soon destroyed when the metal wire on one side of the ship, tightens and flies across to the other side of the deck and in the process, decapitates everyone on board, except for the little girl standing in the middle. She is left as the only one standing and the scene ends with her screaming. The characters involved in this scene were: the glamorous young, brown haired Latino singer wearing a bright red dress, the middle class men and women of all different ages dancing to the music, all white and dressed in light colours, possibly to reflect their innocence, the little girl who was white and had dark brown hair with blue eyes and also wearing a pale blue dress, and the old white man who worked on the ship, wearing white, formal uniform and was dancing with the little girl to try and cheer her up as she was bored. At the start of the scene, the ship is filled with warm bright lights to reflect the happy mood of everybody on the boat, but as soon as everybody gets killed by the wire, very dark cold light is used to reflect that the little girl is on her own and all of the joy and warmth had left. For sound, there is no dialogue, only the classical song which everybody is dancing to on the ship which the singer is performing. When the passengers are killed, there is a long pause until the scene finishes with the girl screaming.


Harry Brown

 

In the opening scene for 'Harry Brown' it is set in a back alleyway next to a council estate and also in a public park in South London, England during the day time. The weather is cloudy and bleak. The main themes within this opening scene are: violence, drugs, gangs and crime. The main icons in this film which create a big impact on this whole plot are: the gun, the pram(to reflect the innocence of the victim) and the drugs. The whole plot line of this opening scene is a young group of boys involved in a gang, taking drugs I an underpass/back alleyway and afterwards, set out on their motorbikes into a public park during the day time and shoot down a woman pushing a pram on the pathway. The boys then flea the scene on their motorbikes and end up crashing into a lorry. The characters involved in this scene are: several teenage boys, different in ethnicity, all wearing black tracksuits, hoodies and hats, a white, blonde young woman wearing light coloured clothes and pushing along her baby in the park and also her baby (who we do not see, but the pram suggests that they are there). This scene is shot using a low quality camera phone in the point of view of one of the gang members who rides the motorbike and kills the woman. Dark lighting is used at first when the boys are taking the drugs (possible to reflect that they are dark characters with bad intentions). As the scene progresses, it turns to bright light when they are in the park (could be to reflect the vulnerability of the woman and the fact that she has nowhere to run or hide. The audience is unable to clearly see the faces of the gang members of the victim which could be to make them appear more mysterious and threatening. At the star5t of the scene, we hear muffled voices with a blank screen so we cannot see who is talking. We hear muffled conversation coming from the boys, encouraging one of the boys to take the drugs.  We hear cynical laughs throughout. Loud and aggressive music was also used every time there was a gunshot, the engine rev from the motorbike was very loud and symbolised chaos. screams were also heard from the victim to show she was full of mercy before she was shot dead.



Clueless
 

In the opening scene for the film 'Clueless', it is set in a variety of different places such as: the city centre, the park, her bedroom, her house and her car but all in America, somewhere wealthy such as Malibu. The scene is set during the day time with sunny, bright weather. The main themes within this scene are: rich teenagers, wealth and glamour. The main icons in the opening scene of clueless are: Cher's bright yellow tartan outfit, her white range rover and her friend 'Dion's house because they all show wealth. The narrative of the opening scene is about a teenage girl called 'Cher' who lives a very wealthy lifestyle as her father is a very successful lawyer. She lives in a mansion in Malibu and believes that she is superior to all the other people of her age as she is labelled to have the perfect lifestyle. She picks up her best friend, Dion on her way to school in her white Range Rover. They both believe that everybody wants to be like them. There are multiple characters in this scene such as: Cher, the main character who is a white teenage girl with blonde hair and wears very unique glamorous clothing for a girl of her age, Dion (Cher's best friend) who is also a teenage girl the same age as Cher but is black and is known for making bold fashion statements and shares the same interests as Cher and the father who is a middle aged, brunette and slightly bald man who appears to be intimidating and moody as his occupation is a lawyer. The film is shot by a professional camera crew as the picture is good quality for the time which it was shot and the cuts are very fluent. Bright lighting used to suggest the warm weather and positive lifestyle that Cher leads. The costumes that Cher and Dion were dressed in were unique clothes that would have been seen as 'cool' for their age group at the time. The sound starts off with the song 'Kids in America' which gives a positive and preppy feel to the film. Afterwards, Cher does a monologue about her life and family.


Guardians of the Galaxy



In the opening scene for the film 'Guardians of the Galaxy', it is set on another unknown planet during the night time as it is dark outside. The weather is bleak, cold and wet. The main icons in this opening scene are: the creatures surrounding the character, his headphones and Walkman, the rocket shoes and the glowing ball he holds at the end. The themes within this opening scene are: science fiction, fantasy and violence. The plot line for this opening scene is not entirely clear. It show a man walking/ dancing through the rocks and ponds of this other planet, making his way to a huge black door within a huge rock, while listening to a song on his Walkman. Inside the doo is an unknown glowing object. The man holds up a glowing sphere which he pulls out from his jacket and holds it up to the other object and attaches itself, then the scene ends. This scene is filmed by a camera crew with high quality cameras focusing on the main character and his short journey through the caves/rocks, has very fluent cuts. The costume he is wearing is all black clothing with boots and a long, leather looking coat. CGI animation is used to portray the mythical creatures but not many props were used and no noticeable or extravagant makeup was worn. There was only one character involved in this opening scene which we do not know the name of. He is a young man, approximately in his 20s, wearing an all black outfit. He is white and has dark brown hair along with an average height and weight or his age. His physical appearance is intimidating at first but when he starts dancing to the music, he becomes a comical character who the audience begin to like. The audio in this film consists of a song playing loudly throughout, which the character is listening to along with noises coming from the fictional creatures, the sound of the huge door opening and the glowing substance within the cave.


What Lies Beneath



In the opening scene for the film 'What Lies Beneath', it is set in the main character's house (mainly in her bathroom) at night time, the weather is unknown as it is not shown in the scene but based in America. The main themes within this film are: horror, paranormal activity and fear. The icons within this opening scene are: the mirror, the bathtub and her computer. The main narrative of this film is about a woman sees steam coming from her bathroom and goes in to find that her bathtub is full of water without her running the water. Her mirror is foggy and when she shouts 'What do you want?', the words 'you know' appears. She then runs downstairs to her computer to find that her initials are being typed into the gambling website over and over again. The only character involved in this scene is a young, white woman in her late 20s. She has blonde hair while wearing a casual shirt and trousers and is o the middle class and her sexuality is not shown in the opening scene. This scene was shot by a professional camera crew as there is a high quality picture and is very fluent. In the par5t where the words appear on the mirror, the woman is in front of the mirror but facing the camera so doesn't see the words at first, this is called dramatic irony. The lighting is standard, reflecting the lighting inside her home and no noticeable makeup was used. The only audio in this opening was the eerie, creepy, slow music, then after the woman shouts 'What do you want?', chaotic scary music was used. The music reflected the woman's thoughts and also built tension.

Genre Photo Task

 These three photos represent the genre, Thriller. I got the inspiration for these photos from the 'James Bond' films, where the character is pointing his gun at the camera. This gives the illusion to the audience that they are about to get shot and should make them feel scared. I the second photo, I also incorporated the body in the background of the photo so it gives a mysterious feel.

The two photos above represent the genre, Musical. On the first photo I decided to have my partner hold the guitar and look as if he was playing it. It was hard to show how a film was musical because that would be more audio, so to represent it I got a member of my group to play the piano and shot the angle so it was closer to the piano so the audience would focus on the keys and the hands, therefore making the photo more dramatic.

The two photos above represent the genre, Action. We dressed a member of our group up in a dark jumpsuit and made sure that in the photos, he didn't show his face. By doing this, it makes the audience wonder who they are, and why they killed the body that is lying on the ground. I also took a photo of him walking away with the gun in his hand to let the audience now that they have committed the crime.

Opening Scene

I like this film opening because it holds a lot of tension due to the dark colours and lack of conversation. This therefore impacts the audience straight away because it indicates that the film is going to be dark and suggests something negative has happened.
The genre of this film is fantasy because the storyline involves mystical returns such as witches and wizards, which also makes it suitable for families to watch together if they like semi-thrillers.