Self Evaluation

• Attainment – 2 – i think that my achievement has been quite good, by adjusting to the amount of work and doing it with the best of my ability possibly continue to do this to produce better work.
• Effort - 2 – the effort is there however can be much more whilst being independent in class and at home.
• Punctuality – 1 – Throughout this term, I have always been on time ready for lesson.
• Submission and quality of homework – 2 - Homework is on time however sometimes last minute therefore I can plan my work in advance to increase the quality of it.
• Ability to work independently – 3 – sometimes I feel that I need others to understand how to construct a piece of homework. Need to be more independently thinking.
• Quality of writing – 2 – I use key words appropriately, possibly think about structure and variety of conventions
• Organisation of blog – 1 – all work is dated, and clearly separated and when each was done.
• Oral contributions in class – 3 – I think I need to engage more into the discussions and share my ideas.

WWW:

·         I put in a lot of detail and analysis into my work

·         Gained a greater knowledge into a variety of media platforms old and new

·         I put in good research in depth and developed my own understanding.

EBI:

·         Organise timings and when to do work in the week rather and last minute.

·         Research into a greater variety of films rather than the most common.

·         Contribute more in the class by sharing with own opinions.

Next Step

The mise en scene within this short clip primarily shows a stereotypical view of average modern American class citizens. You can gather this from the casual clothing they wear however the man is dressed slightly smarter. You could connote that he has more of an importance with the film compared to the woman.

The surroundings are set in a cafe amongst other people which shows that the area is quite popular and casual and public.

Moving onto when both characters go back to reality in the dark and empty room the mise en scene is quite evident that the whole emotion and feel of what can see changes. The setting is dark with only light shining though which creates a mysterious surrounding. The woman in this case is wearing hospital clothing which shows she is being treated or tested which questions the audience to understand what the scene is about.

 

New Moon Trailer - Textual Analysis

Media Language: What techniques does this trailer use to persuade an audience to see the film?

Firstly, there are many techniques to how the trailer persuades the audience to see the film; this involves missed en scene, camera angles, editing and sound. 

In this movie the theme was apparent that it was quite traditional and rich yet modern with the variety of settings. To compliment the settings, the Valtory characters wore big long robes, and rich jewellery which suggests that they have power and a positive or negative impact in the film. This attracts the audience as they want to understand how they use this power on the weaker characters such as Jacob and Bella who seem to wear stereotypical modern teenage clothes which represent most of the population. This way, the audience can relate to who and what they are as people. 

Throughout the trailer, a lot of effects were used to enhance the characters profile and to create a more glamorised effect in the movie. In the beginning of the trailer, most of the cuts between scenes were transitioned with a fade to black. This was effective as it seemed to cover up a dramatic scene that was approaching which engages the audience to find out what happens next. Also, it was more calm then a straight cut which suggests that there is some kind of happiness as more can be revealed in a softer way. Towards the end, the transitions became fade to white, in my opinion this suggests that the narrative is changing, and white connotes purity and happiness. This may persuade the audience to see the film as it may have a happy ending which most people enjoy in a film rather than a cliff-hanger.
 

Representation: How is gender represented in this trailer?

In my opinion, gender is represented through, camera angles and a few effects on the characters. To begin with, the men in the film always seem to be seen in a low angle shot which creates a big superior character that has a lot of control in this movie especially the vampires when they look down at Bella as she is a ’normal’ girl. Bella is therefore always portrayed from a high angle shot to justify that she has no power or significance in the movie. However, when she runs through a mass of people, it is shown in a long shot which suggests through the film she has gained power as a woman and not vulnerable and weak. Her running to save the man, shows courage and those women can be strong and independent. 

These ideas change for the Valtory, who seem to be the leaders of the vampires whereby they follow rules and abide by them otherwise there may be consequences. What attracted me was that most of them were men, and their eyes seemed to be in a strong red colour which possibly emphasised the power they had. In the trailer, I noticed that there was one woman who seemed to be a part of this but wasn’t shown in as much power as the men. She was seen on an eye level camera angle compared to the men again that were shot from a low angle. 

 

Audience: What target audience would be attracted to this film? Give evidence.

In this film a variety of target audiences can be attracted but due to the romance and love triangles young women would be mostly interested. Factors that contribute to this are when the men are objectified by them being topless. Naturally, women especially teenagers are attracted to this therefore would be interested to watch the film.

Also, the romance and love in the film is adored by women to because it’s quite calm and soft. The confusion and jealousy created by the two men and the women creates a typical love triangle which engages the audience to find out what happens in the end. Another aspect is that, Bella the main woman character, can relate to their general storyline of a real woman and her own love life. It can create a sense of reality to the film. 

As this film was also adapted from the book initially, stereotypically, women are more likely to read books therefore the film has already gathered its target audience to the film before its release.

Lastly, you could gather that the secondary audience are young males, because from the trailer we acknowledge quite a bit of violence which can relate to the male’s stereotypical interest. Possibly, the male audience can relate to the male characters and the love problems they go through with women, however at the same time, males might not be interested as they may be jealous of how the men look in the film.

Institutions: What Hollywood values can you identify in this trailer?

Throughout this trailer you can defiantly acknowledge that this is a Hollywood trailer due to its effects, the actors, clothing and settings. Also, all the scenes are glamorised with wealth and actions from each character. Generally, Hollywood movies seem to create hybrid genres, in this trailer a mix between violence, love and drama is evident throughout. 

Firstly, the two male characters, Tony Lautner and Edward Cullen are famously recognised by a majority of different audiences which automatically draws the audience in to watching a Hollywood movie. They are very well known and cost a lot of money to hire for the film which is a big spend and one of the main characteristics of producing a Hollywood movie. 

In the trailer, they mentioned that the film derived from a worldwide bestseller book, which in itself is a big achievement. Hollywood movies only create movies which they know people will watch therefore by already acknowledging the interest it got from a book, they will certainly make a movie from it to get lots of viewers and money.  

Effects have a big impact in the way the movie is created and how successful it can be. Effects represent a lot of money being invested into the movie and from this trailer you can clearly see how effective it is. For example, most characters have their eyes in different colours which seem enhanced but none the less create reality. Another example throughout the trailer was the transitions between scenes using fade to black. An effect that was really effective was shown in the sea when the male character disappeared into smoke with a wave of a hand. This is a clear example of the detail and effectiveness CGI can have. 

Lastly, all the settings were quite rich and eye catching which represents the thought and high budget used to create this. Some are natural, but most are a studio setting which costs a lot of money to produce. 

Inception Scene - Film Language Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPvZlsj4n fQ

Firstly, the scene opens with two characters sitting at a table in a cafe in a public discussing an important issue. The camera shot used is a medium close up to make us as the audience their clothing, pose and some expressions in the initial viewing of them. There is a constant switch between over the shoulder shot and shot reverse shot to relate to when the character talks during the conversation. This is effective as it allows us to feel a part of the conversation rather than just observing it. Throughout this scene, it is all quite natural therefore the sound is diegetic due to the conversation. 

Both characters are wearing stereotypical middle class average American people, its shows that they are not superior or have too much power in society. They both have ‘normal’ lives possibly with a few problems. As the scene is quiet, it allows itself to build suspense which it does by quick cuts going back and forth between the two characters. This leads up to a very interesting scene and it changes from normality to mystery and questions. 

In this scene, the main focus is on the special effect of various places exploding and shattering pieces around the setting. Before this happens, you see a close up of the girl and her distressed emotions about her surroundings. We then understand as an audience why this is due to the close up of the rattling coffee mug. This builds up to a long shots of the setting a multiple areas being exploded. In my opinion by slowly introducing a few shots which could be classified of enigma codes, it makes the audience ask this question, ‘What’s going to happen next?’ This is successful for the director as it was their initial thought to create this in an audience’s mind.

The effects specifically, represent a high quality and high budgeted film that can afford to use such effects. In my opinion these are really effective because they blend in the scenario and make the audience experience reality rather than ‘fake’ viewing. It’s trying to encourage real life viewing. The sound is also diegetic as the explosions occur which helps towards the reality of it. There are a few pans around the scene to get different angles of the area. Throughout the explosions, tension builds up towards the characters especially the woman as she is distressed. This is enhanced through the gradually increasing loudness of non diegetic sound of long mysterious notes. Before the scene ends, she questions the man as something hard hits her head. There is a straight cut back to reality and the close up of the woman’s eyes opening. 

In the reality, the room is quite dull, with light coming through the windows which seems quire natural rather than enforced lighting. It also creates shadows of the characters, this could emphasise the fact the setting is empty with no one around to disturb the men who are examining the woman, and we gather this due to her hospital patient clothing. During the long shot of the setting, there is a slow pan just to get a bigger image round the three characters to make us aware about the surroundings of reality. 

Lastly, we go back to the woman dreaming, but assumedly we as the audience thought that she died in her previous one as she got hit. This is important as the audience to understand the key narrative of the film which is that it’s all about examining and controlling your dreams. As we go back to the dream, it is instantly in a point of view shot looking down and searching the area in the woman’s perspective. This could represent nervousness and distress as she wonders what is happening. Throughout the scene there is diegetic sound used.

London to Brighton - Textual Analysis (48marks)

London to Brighton Trailer – Textual Analysis
(48marks)

Media Forms: how does the trailer use media language to establish the film’s genre?

From watching the trailer there are various aspects where you could gather the overall genre of the movie which is a mix of thriller and drama also classified as a hybrid genre. From the reviews, Times wrote ‘compelling drama’ and the film review wrote ‘brutally raw thriller’. Alongside these quotes, the music, setting and mise on scene creates an overall image of the genre of the film.

In my opinion, the music creates a great representation to what kind of genre this movie is. At the beginning in the first half of the trailer, the music is quite calm and soft played by a piano. This could represent the innocence of the young girl and all the troubles she has been through. This reflects the drama in the movie. The second half of the music is more upbeat and exciting which is a dominant aspect of a stereotypical value of a thriller movie.

The fast music is complemented by the fast editing and camera angles. This creates an intense mood for the audience and suggests that by viewing these scenes; surely something mysterious must occur in the climax of the movie to create a disequilibrium which revolves around the thriller characteristics of the fast pace cuts and music. In this part of the trailer, the scenes became slightly blurred which could connote that the narrative may create confusion and excitement for the audience which is another characteristic of a thriller.

In contrast, the first half had slow edits to relate to the slow music which again builds tension to some extent. As the calm music relates to the innocence of the girl, creates the audience to feel that something dramatic has happened and the young girl creates sympathy. The slow edits allow us to witness in detail what the young girl’s appearance and setting is in order to understand the drama involved with her. 

This moves onto the mise en scene of the whole movie. From the trailer you can gather that what you can see is placed in an urban run down area. This is represented through the homeless girl in the tube station and the graphitised toilets amongst other settings. From this you could connote that through the narrative it will be dark and gritty which coincides with the drama and thriller genre.

The clothing seems to be quite ‘normal’ or poor looking which relates to how the characters are and where they live. From an audience’s point of view, it makes us understand the themes of the characters and the general narrative of the movie. Both the woman and young girl are dressed scruffy to represent their desperate need for money creating the drama in the movie.

Media Representations: How is gender represented in the trailer?

In this movie, the main focus is on both the older and young girls who revolve around the main narrative. They seem powerless, desperate for money and lacking moral values.

Their powerlessness is shown through one specific scene in the trailer. This is when the man is shoving both of them into the car regardless of them screaming and resisting. They have no say or power to reject the man pushing them into the car. This proves the stereotypical view that men have a higher and more controlling role than women even though this movie is relatively modern.

The young girl specifically, seems to be quite innocent, what you would expect an 11 year old girl would be like. However, in the trailer, they show her dressed up in a red dress with red lipstick which seems to be quite sexually promiscuous and disturbing. In the modern days girls can be quite mature however this young girl is offering her body for sex in order get money. Women in this way seem to be very desperate and this is mainly how they are represented in this movie.

The men on the other hand seem to be the leaders, the ones with money, opportunities in life and accomplishments. Money is shown when the man in the cafe offers the young girl lots of money in order to do a certain job for him.

Another scene where the man showed great power and presence was when the old man was leading between the two women into his rich bedroom. The fact that the man was in the middle and in front of the women suggests that he has the power to control the women and how close they can get to him. Also the setting was in a very rich and beautiful room which represents the money he possesses alongside the power that comes with it.

Media Institutions: In what ways is the film London to Brighton a typical low budget British film?

There are many aspects to how you could classify this film through shots, settings, quality and actors. By analysing these aspects you could gather that this film is low budgeted.

Firstly, the settings all round through the trailer are set in London itself, you can tell this from the first scene which is the Sanyo buildings which is a trademark in London. This sets the appearance of the movie for the audience. Also a couple of other scenes like the graphitised toilets, rich traditional looking houses, and run down flats. These all represent London or Brighton in its pure state. The reason why this is important is that they all give an impression of a true low budget film. Generally, Hollywood movies are over glamorised and they are manmade sets however in this movie, it is all naturally set and recorded which makes it low budgeted as they don’t have to pay money to build sets.

The recording aspect leads onto another point that the producers may have lower quality equipment which may affect the viewing of the movie. In some ways in the beginning scene, it was quite blurry or hazy and wasn’t clearly viewed. You could connote this to be due to the equipment hand how expensive it is. Also, through the trailer, there wasn’t much hi tech effects which also suggest that that they may not have software to create visual effects for the audience.

Secondly, the actors used in this film are unknown and potentially cost less to hire which saves money. Sometimes they are easier and more professional to work with because they have the drive to make a stamp on the film and their success rather than money as many Hollywood actors focus on.

Overall, by creating a low budget film, they are allowed to take risks in the scenes they shoot and there are no consequences to lose anything if they are only starting off. All the factors above state why London to Brighton is a typical low budget film.

Media Audiences: In what ways does the trailer promote the film to its target audience?

From watching this trailer you could gather that the main target audience for this film is 16-34 of the C2DE socio-economic group. The reasons for this is due to the setting, the characters and the film overall.

In my opinion, the main ways the film promotes itself to its main target audience is through the various film reviews by different newspapers and film magazines such as the film review or the Scotsman. Alongside the reviews they use a rating system where 5 stars is the best possible rating. By selecting the reviews which gave a good opinion are shown through the trailer to promote to the audience that these media companies really enjoyed the movie so they would too.  

In conclusion, the trailer through scenes and settings also address to their target audience which creates an overall impact to how the audience feel about watching the movie after seeing the trailer.

Camera Angle Analysis

Easy Rider

Most of the scenes through this extract from the film relate to the simple calming music that goes along with it. Firstly, it is set in a natural deserted mountainous area where you could say that it is quite difficult to record and take smooth camera shots; however they have achieved this very well.

At the beginning, more close shots of the road, the wheels and biker’s boots were shown. This seemed to be an introduction to their long adventurous journey ahead of them. As audience it made us feel as if what is the next scene and what it contains. It doesn’t reveal too much information at the beginning.

The most used camera shot was long shot, from this as an audience you could understand and acknowledge the setting of the scene in which the bikers were driving in. It made us more aware of the mood in general which was quite happy, fun and relaxed.

There were a couple of medium shots to show some of the biker’s emotions and pose on the motorbike. They again seemed relaxed and chilled out and just enjoying the atmosphere.

Overall, there is continuous camera movement whilst they are driving along the road, you could suggest that as an audience we are following the journey with them. This is an example of tracking shot because the camera is following the action in the scene. This is normally created with the use of tracks, but in this case it seems to be another car driving alongside the motorbikes. 

Dear John – 0sec-45sec

In this scene the focus is mainly the introduction of the arrival of the army into an urban town in Turkey. In the beginning the focus is to introduce to the audience the area of the setting, people and the jeeps entering the town. The first camera angle was a medium close up, where the jeep’s were in focus because the man in front of the camera was blurred. This enhanced is as the audience to take notice of the army jeeps entering the town.

Then there were a series of medium close ups of the people in the jeeps and their expressions and emotions whilst entering the town which seemed run down due to the fire. The main protagonist seemed quite serious and emotionless where you could connote that he was nervous. This is what a medium close up enables us to gather from the scene. There was also a point of view shot through the jeeps window and what the driver saw as they were entering the town.

Within the medium close ups, there were a couple of long shots to make us aware about the surroundings.

When the army approaches the man from the town, the camera movement seems quite shaky which could connote the tension in the scene. Overall there are calm yet tense moments in this clip and this is portrayed through the various camera angles and movements.

Differences

The main difference between these two eras of clips is that the Easy Rider is more natural with the way the camera moves with the bikers and actors rather than lots of cuts through scenes which are shown through Dear John.

Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch - The Daily

1. Why are Steve Jobs and Rupert Murdoch working together on this joint venture? What will be the benefits for each of them? Could collaborating present any disadvantages for either Murdoch or Jobs?

Steve Jobs who works with Apple, and Rupert Murdoch who owns a vast majority of the media in the world, teamed up to produce a new digital newspaper available on iPads. In my opinion, this is a very good idea to team up and produce a product like this because in these modern days, newspapers are becoming old fashioned and digital media is becoming more n more popular. Each business will benefit as more and more people will buy iPads as time goes on, and media will supplement them in a positive way. A disadvantage could be that, their power in both markets increase which could be seen as a negative for consumers. 

2. How will other media institutions be affected by the introduction of the Daily for the iPad?

Media institutions such as print, newspaper’s websites and TV news could be affected as the iPad is portable and on the go news and also has many other functions rather than pages of writing.  Websites sometimes have too much information where you have to access it through the internet whilst travelling which may be an issue with connecting with the signals. In some ways, Daily could be more interactive and user friendly whilst travelling.

3. Write a definition for the term synergy. Is the Daily an example of synergy? Explain.

The term synergy means where other products through the same media produced are derived from it, for example, Spiderman games from the Movie itself.

In my opinion, the Daily is in some ways an example of synergy because originally media was mainly print and with the developing technology, a new innovative product has been derived from the original. However could be questioned in the fact that the iPad and Media are 2 different products.

4. Write a definition for the term convergence. Is the Daily an example of convergence? Explain.

The term convergence means the coming together of media technology for example Sony and Ericson.

Using this definition, you could clearly state that the iPad and Media are two different products that are coming together to produce a new product.

5. Which other newspapers have successfully launched web editions?

From my knowledge there are many web editions of tabloid newspapers such as the daily mail, the daily star and the sun which are all successful within print and e-media.

6. Why is Murdoch "running counter to current thinking" regarding online newspapers?

7. The Daily is intended to combine "a tabloid sensibility with a broadsheet intelligence". Explain what this means.

Tabloids which are classed as fun, gossipy newspapers will combine with broadsheets which bring true and detailed news stories about real life problems. The Daily will bring real news in an interactive and appealing way to a greater audience where they can be educated about the world in a ‘fun’ way.

8. A survey found that "...readers spent more time immersed in their iPads than they did – comparatively speaking — on the internet, where unfocused surfing is typical." Why do you think this is?

This is because iPads are a new invention that has amazed a lot of people therefore more interest would go towards them and their features. In some ways they are easier than using the internet on a computer as they are not easily portable whereas the iPad is. Generally, when people surf the internet, there is so much information that the main headlines and real topics get blurred away because of this.

9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this collaboration between News Corporation and Apple for the audience/consumer? Explain your ideas in as much detail as possible.

Some advantages for both companies is that they have integrated to form a new product and possibly dominate parts of the market which may lead to more innovative products for consumers. As a vast majority of the population are interested in the news, the collaboration enforces the audience to look for something new whilst searching the news.

A disadvantage of this is that too much power in the market could lead to higher process, lower quality and possibly biased opinions when making the product. Initailly this product will not be mainstream everywhere because of the possible expanses consumers have to pay before actually purchasing the Daily.

10. Do you think the Daily will be a success? Why/Why not?

In my opinion, the daily will be a massive success in the future as iPads will become more mainstream and affordable for all people, but at the moment as it is quite expensive, by inputting the news via the iPad may not be quite popular to all users. The iPad hasn’t been classified as a ‘must have’ product in the market because of its price and capability.

However in the future, where technology will increase more, the iPad will be popular amongst everyone to possess and use there for the Daily will automatically gain a massive interest to supplement onto the iPad. This product will become very successful due to its possibilities.

Film Distrubution

Pathway –

• Someone starts off with creating an idea
• Create an overview in order to start promoting interest
• An investor makes decision whether they want to purchase rights into it
• People(actors, producers, editors) all brought together
• Settings all decided with permissions
• Shooting takes place
• Final editing and music are created on the filmed movie
• Licensing agreement is organised with a distribution company
• Distribution company then organises, advertising and prints
• Then sell to theatres and cinemas
• Buyers negotiate with lease agreement
• Theatres receive movie prints before the day of opening
• Movie is shown for a specified amount of weeks
• Consumers buy ticket and watch film
• End of engagement – theatre makes payment on the lease.

Studio System in 1930s/1940s – people stopped going to the cinemas due to the growth of TV’s in the 1950’s which caused the studio system to break up. Each film then became their own product to sell rather than one big company in charge.

Studios became the distribution companies in order to own rights of the film and earn the most profit from them. Ancillary markets were markets that sold separate products such as TV, Cable, and DVD. 

Horizontal Integration - when competitors merge together within the same section of industry. It ensures ownership and control to sell a product in many companies. Also companies could increase the percentage share in the market.

Advantages:

·         increase amount of companies round the country

·         share more resources, becomes cheaper

·         more market power

·         reduction in cost for consumers and traders

Disadvantages

• increase in size may lead to ‘anti-trust’
• sometimes clear strategies are not represented

Example

• Car manufacturer merging with a sports utility manufacturer

Vertical Integration - when companies merge to control production, distribution and exhibition. It also ensures that both companies become stronger and perhaps become a monopoly. They integrate each of their products together to create one to satisfy a common need for a consumer. 

Advantages

• Increase in supply of products
• More opportunities
• Invest more in highly specialised products

Disadvantages

• Capacity may become any issue
• Higher costs due to less suppliers
• Less variety of products