Theorists!

Audience:

Ien Ang - 'audience must be constantly attracted and lured'

Maz - 'no one if forced to go to the cinema and pay for a ticket' but if no one did then films would not be made, therefore desire for consumer to purchase ticket must be created

Blumler and Katz - 'audience is free to use or play with text meaning' uses and gratifications model

Genre:

Steve Neale - 'genre instances of repetition and difference'

Gledhill - 'There are no rigid rules of inclusion or exclusion'

Altman - 'Genre can be looked at by a Symantec approach whereby certain signifiers suggest genre such as props, characters, locations'

Representation:

Barthes - Enigma Code theory as part of narrative codes theory - 'building up tension and leaving audience with unanswered questions works to entertain audience'

Chandler - Argues that 'representation is always constructed on aspects of reality'

Baker -Argues that 'stereotyping is inaccurate and misinterprets the real world'

Media Language:

Barthes - certain signs encode particular messages and ideologies' an audience understanding of signs comes from frequently told stories and beliefs in society

Fiske - denotation is what is filmed and connotation is how it is filmed

Stuart Hall - media language - meaning is not fixed by the producer, audiences can take their own reading, preferred reading is the one which the producer hoped audience would take

Narrative:

Todorov - Five stages narrative theory - Equilibrium, Disruption, recognition, attempt to fix, new equilibrium

Barthe - enigma code theory as part of narrative codes theory - tension built up, unanswered questions, entertains audience

Propp - Narrative includes stock characters, protagonist and antagonist narrative

Collective identity theorists:

Cohen - moral panic theory, representation of youth can create moral panic

Hebdige - Youth join subcultures in order to show opposition to society

Giroux - representations of youth are an empty category in the media as are constructed by adults, reflecting anxiety's of adults

Acland 1995 - representations of delinquent youths reinforces hegemony in society

Historical = quadrophenia 1979, harry brown 2009, grange hill 1978, this is England 2006

contempory sket 2011, ill manors 2012, young apprentice 2012 eries 3, sky news London riots 2011, attack the block 2011

Question 1B: Audience

Firstly how did you take into account audience in planning and researching for your video?

Intro:

For my main project in my AS foundation portfolio I created a film opening named Only Business based in the crime genre. The basic plot follows a youth who attempts to sell some drugs at the request of his friend, however things do not quite go to plan and the plot see's a twist as the youth flees the location after he is attacked at the scene where the drug deal is supposed to take place. I will be talking about this film opening which I created in regards to audience, how I took them into account and how taking audience into account allowed me to produce an effective crime film opening.

Para 1:

Firstly it was important to establish my target audience before audience as a whole could be taken into account. I was able to identify my target audience by carrying out a short face to face questionnaire in my research stage of the task, where by I asked peoples age and gender, and whether they enjoyed watching crime genre based films. My results proved that on average the age range of people whom enjoy crime genre based films is between 16 and 40, amongst both male and female sexes. Taking audience into account meant that it would be easier to create desire as I would know exactly who to aim my film production towards, Metz's theory would suggest that this is important as he says 'no one is forced to go the the cinema' yet without ticket sales films would not be made, thus desire for consumer to visit cinema and see film must be created.

Para 2:

When looking at my film opening, I took audience into account further during research and additionally planning stage's prior to production. This is firstly evidenced by a photograph of a written tally chart which I posted on blogger showing a list of possible film titles and results of which titles my audience best liked. This resulted in the name Only Business being chosen as my film title. Such a strategy of taking audience into account should hopefully mean that the chosen film title was the one on the list that will best appeal to an audience, making them want to see the film. Additionally in the research and planning stage of my film opening, I came up with a list of possible names for my protagonist and antagonist, I then asked my audience (people aged 16-40) which names they thought would best suite these characters within my particular genre and presented the findings in a Word document. This meant that the audience also had a say over the names of the characters meaning that these names chosen should be the ones which best help audience identify the characters to the genre, whilst making the audience feel more engaged with the film opening. However Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratification's model would suggest that not all audience will associate the chosen character names or film title to the genre, as 'audience is free to use or play with the texts meaning'.

Para 3:

Additionally I have shown that I took audience into account in the production of my film opening as I have conformed to some basic conventions of my chosen genre, in order to appeal to my target audience, as they will be able to connect the action to generic conventions of crime genre making them want to keep watching and perhaps see the entire Only Business film. I was able to show the genre and thus appeal to the audience mostly through mise-en-scene, by including props such as a knife and illegal recreational drugs, not to mention deprived run down setting. I felt it was important to allow audience to identify the genre in order to make capturing their attention easier. Ien Ang's theory reinforces this idea as he said that 'audiences must be constantly attracted and lured'.

Question 1B: Media Language

Media Language

Media has its own language, for those who are involved with media it helps them talk about what they produce/consume. Media language defines the way meaning has been constructed and presented in a media text.

- The question is meant to be answered by the way meaning has been constructed

Illustrated and communicated meaning to the audience using symbols and signs, such as clothing, colour, camera angle + shots, mise-en-scene. (the media language I used in my film opening aims to connote a deprived run down area, in which the surrounding youth are involved with crime).

Barthes (1967) - Organisation of signs encodes particular messages and ideologies, an audiences understanding of a sign comes from their understanding of frequently told stories and beliefs in society - repeat showings of youth from deprived areas being violent and criminal in the media means that a signal of deprived area within a text may lead audience to believe that youth in the surrounding area are criminal and violent - shown by the blocks of flats (setting) protagonists selection of clothing (costume) camera angle shows cramped housing (shots) graffiti in underpass (setting)

Fiske (1982) - 'denotation is what is filmed and connotation is how it is filmed'

Saussure (1983) - said 'an audience can look at a media text from a syntactic point of view' or a 'symbolic point of view' where by they put meaning to that they are seeing

Stuart Hall - Argued that 'meaning is not fixed by the producer, as audiences can take different readings, the preferred reading is when the audience reads it the way the producer wanted them too.

Things to use: colour, lighting, mise-en-scene (costume, props, language) camera angle and shots, editing, mise-en-scene

When there is an object which gives a sign this is called a signifier. (denotation)

What the audience gathers from the signifier is called the signified. (connotation)

I used media language in my film opening to present:

• Deprived area through setting, location, lighting
• Deviant youth, costume, language, breaking laws
• Presented more simply - Action suggesting that this youth is fleeing from something, presents him again as delinquent as audience gathers he is anxious about something he's done

Barthes 1967 - says that 'organisation of signs encodes particular messages and ideologies' which the audience will decode, an audiences understanding of certain signs comes from frequently told stories and beliefs within society. For example a sign or signifier of a youth wearing joggers, a hoodie and trainers may lead an audience to decode that this youth is in fact a delinquent and perhaps a criminal. The media language of the mise-en-scene shows the protagonist as a dangerous character as his costume is grey with a black hat. Dark colours typically represent 'darkness', perhaps moral darkness of his personality representing him as a delinquent or criminal, and dangerous (which he proves to be as he stabs his attack and flees the scene). Furthermore I choose locations as part of the film openings mise-en-scene which were typically dark grey colours, this is a signifier which perhaps creates gloomy atmosphere and also anxiety. The signified audience interpretation may be that this is an area which is not nice to live in and perhaps is therefore deprived and underprivileged.


Within my film opening I included a scene which shows the protagonist waiting in an underpass to make a drug deal, whilst an attacker sneaks up behind him. One of the shots shows a low camera angle from the front of the protagonist at about waist level, this allows the audience to clearly see the drugs which are in his hand, whilst the attacker can be seen in the background creeping up on the protagonist from behind with a knife in his hand. These two objects between the two characters act as signifiers to being illegal, the signified meaning that the audience therefore gains from the camera angle and prop mise-en-scene in this shot is that both these youths are criminals.

Genre conventions and narrative conventions are also aspects of media language which show signs and signals in certain ways. I conformed to genre conventions by showing criminal youth in stereotypical 'yob' style clothing and making them speak with urban language these signals signified to the audience that these characters are in fact the stereotypical youth 'yob' types. I did this intentionally so that the audience could identify that these characters are delinquents as they seem to show opposition to society. Barthes theory (1967) suggests that an audiences understanding of signs comes from frequently told stories and beliefs in society, this theory reinforces the idea that my audience will view my characters in my film opening as delinquents and 'yobs', as I have conformed to accepted stereotypes using costume and urban language. Therefore the signifiers which I have used will lead audience to the connotation that these characters are delinquent yob type youths.

Shot reverse shot within editing conforms to conventions of editing used to create tension, thereby creating a denotation that these youth are holding illegal objects, the connotation is that these youths are both equally as bad as each other as both criminals, the audience gets the signified interpretation that with crime comes trouble.

Barthes 1967 - organisation of signs encodes different messages and ideologies, an audiences understanding of certain signs comes from frequently told stories and beliefs in society

Fiske 1982 - denotation is what is filmed, connotation is how it is filmed

Saussure 1983 - An audience can 'look at a media text from syntactic point of view' or a 'symbolic point of view', where by they place meaning to what they are seeing

Hall - 'meaning is not always fixed by the producer' as audiences can 'take different readings', the preferred reading is the reading what the producer hoped the audience would take.

Question 1A: Post Production (add)

Post Production

Post-production - Refers to the processes which took place to finalise the projects within editing.

Refers too:

• What decision's where made in editing
• What specific editing tools were used and what effect did this give
• How did post-production process enhance overall production
• What skills did you develop at this stage in post-production for this project e.g. When editing my product photos in Photoshop I was able to show to opposing images next to each other to give audience view of from and back of a product within the same photo, using ...... tool.

When talking about foundation portfolio post-production:

• Post-production in foundation portfolio consisted of putting together shots and simple title screens, using IMoive, Photoshop, Premiere Pro
• Post-production in advanced portfolio consisted of slightly more advanced editing techniques again in Premiere Pro, Photoshop, audio editing such as fade out technique - Creativity shown in post production as I was able to recognise the length at which shots should run and when to cut between shots, improvement on film opening in comparison to foundation portfolio. (improvements in post-production)

Question 1B: Film Opening in Relation to Narrative

Narrative + Film opening

- Narrative is the way the story is told

Different types of narrative:

• Linear - start, middle, end 
• Open - audience left to wonder what happens next 
• Closed - definite conclusion 
• Non-Linear - Jumps back and forth between events

Narrative techniques showing manipulation of time:

• Flashbacks
• Ellipsis - leaving out a portion of the narrative, but audience still gathers what has happened by surrounding scene

My film opening follows a non-linear narrative style as the storyline jumps back and forth between events. I was able to do this by showing events towards the end of the narrative at the start of the footage, and then including a flashback to show events which had happened a short time beforehand. I used a ellipsis to manipulate time in the narrative, as the protagonist is in a different setting in comparison to where he was before the flashback scene was shown - this suggests that he has carried on fleeing from the scene of the stabbing through the deprived area, as he is still sounded by cramped housing and blocks of flats, and is walking at a fast pace with his hood up and hands in his pockets.

Theorists to include:

• Todorov - five stages theory - Equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, an attempt to repair damage, new equilibrium - The narrative within my opening does not conform to Todorov's five stages theory, as the first scene of my footage shows the protagonist running away from something, showing disruption rather than equilibrium. Challenging the five stages theory by starting with disruption is risky, as the audience has had no time to empathise with the protagonist or make a connection towards his character, this could make it hard to capture their attention. However such a choice of narrative structure could work too excite the audience and make them want to keep watching, Skyfall (2012) is a film which clearly shows this technique can work well as it starts with an opening scene of disruption, and went on to be a hugely successful film.
• Barthes - Enigma code theory as part of the narrative codes theory - As a follow on to point of trying to excite the audience using a disruption from the outset, Bathers enigma code theory as part of the narrative codes, can be applied to reinforce this view as it suggests that the audience is "entertained" through being left with "unanswered questions", which entices them to keep watching. Therefore I felt that disruption from the outset was a necessary risk that would pay off.
• Propp - Wrote that narrative structure includes stock characters - My narrative supports what Propp wrote as I have included a hero and a villain. Although there is a blurred line of distinction between whether my protagonist is good or evil as he is a drug dealer, criminal actions do not always present characters as villains, the protagonist in the film Harry Brown for example murders various other characters but is still presented as the righteous hero. Showing a blurred line of distinction between whether the protagonist is good or evil in the narrative, was a good way for me to capture the audiences attention, as it raises questions in their minds, in turn making them want to keep watching in order for these questions to be answered. The audience of my film opening would therefore want to watch the whole film.
• Levi-Strauss - Binary opposites, Rich/Poor - The costume mise-en-scene of my characters shows binary opposites in a way suggesting working class vs middle class within the narrative. The protagonist is dressed in a tracksuit and trainers (working class stereotype), whilst the antagonist is wearing smart shoes and a suit (middle class stereotype). Typically audiences may expect these appearances to be the other way round as stereotypes would usually present the middle class hero to be a victim of the working class villain. I choose to subvert these binary opposite appearances in order to perhaps do something which is uncommon in film which engages the audience more as it is unusual to them.

Essay Plan

Intro:

Narrative refers to the way a story is told and presented to an audience. For my main task in my Foundation Portfolio I created a film opening based in the crime genre named Only Business. The basic  plot follows a young drug dealer who is simply trying to make some money in an area with little wealth and opportunity, however the narrative takes a twist as it is revealed that things did not go quite to plan for him as he comes face to face with danger. I will be analysing this film opening in regards to narrative.

Para 1:

My film opening follows a non-linear narrative structure, as the storyline jumps back and forth between events, at times leaving the audience with unanswered questions. I was able to structure my narrative in this way through manipulation of time, by using a flashback scene which I created on Premiere Pro which reveals to the audience why the protagonist was running in the opening scene. However I used an ellipsis from the action within the flashback when the antagonist is stabbed, too what happened to him afterwards. This leaves the audience with unanswered questions such as is he alive?. I chose to follow a form of narrative structure which jumps around the storyline slightly as I thought this was a good way of keeping the audience engaged with the action, in turn making them want to keep watching. Barthes theory would reinforce the idea that my film opening is successful in entertaining and capturing an audience as "tension" is built up and viewers are left with "answered questions" making them want too keep watching.

Para 2:

Within my film opening I have shown binary opposites between the characters, suggesting middle class vs working class within the narrative. Levi-Strauss's theory would reinforce an idea that my film opening works to entertain the audience by showing such oppositions as stated above. I was able to present these oppositions through characters appearance and dialogue. Stereotypes may suggest that these appearances are backwards as the antagonist may perhaps be expected to be the more passive type character whilst the protagonist to be the victim dressed in smart clothing. These subverted stereotypes within character appearance are uncommon and I feel are therefore a good way to capture the audiences attention engaging them with the action as it is not something which they would expect to see.

Para 3:

I challenged Todorov's five stages of narrative theory, started with a diselibrum, this is risky as the audience has had no time to engage or connect with the character, however can prove successful as sky fall does this and is hugely successful film, challenging todorovs theory is a good way to make my narrative different from other crime genre films, meanig i can capture audiences attention.

Section A: Question 1A Digital technology

Explain how your skills in creative use of digital technology has developed over time

Digital technology includes:

• Hardware - Cameras (Sony CMOS), Mac computer, Handheld Microphone, Boom Microphone
• Software - Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Powerpoint, Word, IMovie
• Internet based technologies - Google, Prezi, Examtime, Youtube, Slideshare, Gmail

Intro:

Over the two years studying media A level media we first had to create a foundation portfolio in AS - this included a filming of a conversation and a film opening - and a advanced portfolio in A2, including a sponsorship sequence, a web pop-up and two adverts. My skills in creative use of digital technology developed significantly over the course of these two portfolios.

Para 1:

My preliminary task in my foundation portfolio was a short video of a conversation named troubles in college. The hardware and computer software which we used to create this video footage was completely new too me at this stage as I was unfamiliar with the Sony Handycam video camera and Mac computers, as well as IMovie which we used to edit the footage. This made it hard for me to be creative as I could only carry out basic computer functions both on the Mac itself and IMovie, and had basic camera skills such as shooting still shots. However I was able to show a level of creativity as a new comer to the world of video editing as I included title screens on IMovie which used the wipe-in, wipe-out transition. However some of the shots when physically using the camera hardware were not completely steady and looked unprofessional.

G325 Question 2: Collective identity and mediation plan

Historical film and TV examples:

• Quadrophenia - 1979
• This is England - 2006
• Grange Hill - 1978
• Harry Brown - 2009

Contemporary film and TV examples:

• Attack the Block - 2011
• Ill manors - 2012
• Sky News on London riots - 2011
• Young Apprentice series 3 - 2012
• Sket - 2011

Representation Theorists:

• Giroux 1997 - Representation of youth is an empty category in the media, as is constructed by adults and not by youth themselves
• Dyer 1979 - Stereotypes are always about power, those with power stereotype 
• Acland 1995 - representations of delinquent youths reinforces hegemony, by showing what will and won't be accepted by society 
• Cohen 1972 - representations of youth can create moral panic and folk devils
• Hebdige 1986 - Youth join subcultures to show opposition to society

Intro:

• Define either collective identity or mediation 

Collective Identity - is the individuals sense of belonging to a group, the idea is that through participating in social activities, in this case watching film and television, individuals can gain a sense of belonging in essence and identity which transcends them.

Mediation - The process of taking an image from reality, interpreting it and representing it back to an audience.

• Mention that you are going to talk about youth representation and self-youth representation across historical and contemporary examples of film and television

Para 1:

Collective Identity - In quadrophenia (1979), a historical film example, youth are represented as being dependent on subcultures to gain a sense of 'belonging' in society. This is evidenced by the divide between mods and rockers, as the members within the two individual groups dress and act in the same way too their piers. For example the rockers wear leather jackets and ride motorbikes, whilst the mods wear parka jackets and ride scooters. Hebdige's theory (1979) suggests that 'youth join subcultures in order to show opposition to society'. Quadrophenia could be seen as a film which reinforces this theory when the deviant youths collectively oppose society together as they meet to have fights in their groups, however as individuals the youths generally seem to conform to societies norms and laws.

Mediation - In quadrophenia (1979), a historical film example, youth are mediated in a way which focuses on them being violent and aggressive towards each other. The plot and storyline of the film is largely based on the real life events of the fights between the mods and rockers. In relation to Cohen's (1979) theory, focusing on such events could create 'moral panic in society' as the film mediates true events and therefore intensifies and creates anxieties in society. In a particular scene, a group of mod youths are mediated in dark lighting down an alley - commonly a setting which creates anxiety and perhaps fear of danger - ganging up on a single rocker. The setting and what would be classed as an immoral action which is taking place, could therefore lead audience's to see youths in society as overly aggressive, and unnecessarily violent towards each other through the way the scene is focused and been mediated. On the other hand although this mediation of youth could create moral panic in society, the youths are not represented as being dangers to the adult community, but rather only towards one another.

Para 2:

Collective identity - Ill Manors (2012) which is a contemporary film example, represents youth as being criminals as they break many laws in society from taking and selling drugs, to possession of fire arms, kidnapping and even murder. In a particular scene a youth is shown walking into a house and then shooting two people, this represents youth showing ultimate opposition to societies laws as one of the most punishable crimes has been committed, therefore presenting youth as criminal and perhaps impulsive. However Giroux's (1997) theory would suggest that such representations of youth are inaccurate to real life and 'an empty category' as these representations have been constructed by adults and not youth themselves.

Mediation - Ill Manors (2012), which is a contemporary film example, mediates youth in a way which puts focus on them breaking laws, showing them to perhaps be dangers to society and remorseless as they show little care in committing crimes. For example a group of youths in the film laugh about kidnapping an adult and tying him up against his will, the shots in this scene allow the audience to focus on the distress of the victim whilst the youths look down on him and laugh. The way this scene is mediated therefore leads audiences to feel sympathetic towards the victim, making the youths seem like dangerous, remorseless criminals. Gerbner's (1986) Cultivation theory suggests that such mediations of youth can lead to society perceiving them as delinquents over time. Alternatively Giroux's (1997) theory that 'youth are an empty category in the media', would suggest that mediations of youth as being dangerous and remorseless criminals are inaccurate and do not reflect youths within society, as these representations are created by adults. 

G325 Question 2

Representation of youth - films to mention:

• Quadrophenia (1979) Historical film example
• This is England (2006) Historical film example
• Harry Brown (2009) Historical film example
• Grange Hill (1978) Historical TV example
• London Riots Sky News (2011) contemporary TV example 
• Ill Manors (2012) Contemporary film example
• Sket (2011) Contemporary film example 
• Attack the Block (2011) Contemporary film example
• Young apprentice (2012) series 3 Contemporary TV example

Theorists:

• Giroux (1997) -youth are an empty category within media, representation of youth constructed adults
• Acland (1995) - representations of youth reinforces hegemony, making it clear cut what will and wont be accepted by society, shows that deviant youth behaviour is not accepted by society
• Cohen (1972) - moral panic theory, moral panics created by repetition on a particular subject, often repeat reporting in the media also using emotive language
• Hebdidge (1979) - more concerned with the reality of youth subculture. His theory suggests that youth subcultures are a way of youth expressing opposition to society
• Gerbner (1986) - cultivation theory - people overestimate levels of crime due to what they see in the media, this can be applied to youth within media, overtime people may get a false sense that all youth are deviant and criminal through the way they are presented in television.
• Branston and Stafford - Stereotypes are based on cultural knowledge, therefore their must be some truth to the stereotype
• Dyer (1979) - How we treat people is due to how we see them and visa versa
• Dyer (1979) - Stereotypes are about power, those with power stereotype those with less power
• Giddens (1991) - we are free to create ourselves however constraints are put on us by what is represented in media, for example youth may start to believe that they will be treated as deviant and should therefore act in this way
• Gauntlett (2002) - People behave in certain ways after following what is shown by someone who may be a role model to that person, similarly someone may follow bad actions if this is something which simply catches their interest

Hegemony - Strategy of power is used by dominants to control people in society

Dominant ideology - is something which is widely accepted by society

Ideology - a message which is present through the media

Mediation - the process which a media text goes through interpreting it and re-presenting it to an audience 

G325 Revision 1B representation and genre (add)

1B Revision:

Representation (possible topic) - Is the re-presenting of a reality to an audience. Can be of a place, issue, event, person etc.

Mediation - Taking an image from reality, interpreting it and re-presenting in a certain way for an audience.

Richard Dyer - How people see us determines how we are treated, how we treat others is due to how we see them, this comes from representation within media texts. Sub-groups may be stereotyped when never even seen by a particular individual before.

Roland Bathes - Enigma code theory 1974 (within the narrative code theory) suggests that building up tension and then leaving the audience with unanswered questions of what will happen is how an audience is entertained and makes them want to keep watching. In relation to my film opening which I created in my AS foundation year, I built tension by showing a scene In which the protagonist is attacked, the audience is then left with answered questions such as who was the attacker, does he survive? and why was the protagonist attacked. This makes the audience want to keep watching.

David Chandler - Argues that representation is always constructed on aspects of reality, such as places, events, objects, culture.

Baker 1989 - Argues that stereotyping is inaccurate and misinterprets the real world

Hebdidge - Argues that a subculture is a subgroup who feel neglected by societal standards, therefore act in a way which the dominant ideology's of society, way they dress - youth within deprived areas.

What concepts did I aim to represent In my film opening? - I aimed to represent violence and crime surrounding youth living within deprived areas. I also represented past events within my footage through the use of a flashback scene.

Essay writing - 1st mention which project you are writing about and what happens - For this answer I am going to talk about my foundation portfolio main task which I created in my first year, this was a film opening based in the crime drama genre named Only Business. The basic action of the opening shows a young male running away from something unknown to the audience, later through the use of a flashback scene it appears he is running from a drug deal that went wrong and ended up with an attacker being stabbed.

2nd write about some of the key concepts of the topic which you are being asked to relate - e.g. talk about two theories within representation and define what representation is

3rd start to apply the topic to your work - representation of youth being violent and criminals shown in my film opening, this may conform to stereotypes, however may involve Giroux's theory that youth are an empty category. I did this through the mise-en-scene of youth carrying knifes, wearing tracksuits and the way they talk. Physically when editing this scene In premiere pro I used the razor tool to cut down shots, so that I could cut from a shot of the fighting action from a long shot distance, to a close view showing the knife as the protagonist turns it on the attacker.

When talking about representation in regards to your film opening talk about how identities have been represented and how you constructed this representation in production

In my film opening I have challenged typical narrative conventions which present clear lines of distinction between antagonist and protagonist, as both of the character seem evil to some extent in my footage. I created representation to show my characters in this way in order to entertain the audience as this is an uncommon technique used in filming, however this representation of unclear line between antagonist and protagonist is risky as it makes it hard for the audience to make a connection towards characters.

Genre - A style or category which a particular art form falls into, one particular production can fit several genres.

Genre is not fixed and by jointing genres together hybrids can be formed.

McQuail 1987 suggests that genre is used to relate production to the expectation of consumers

Say how what I did reinforced Steve Neale's theory 1980 that genre is instances of repetition and variation. Repetition to existing crime films such as harry brown, includes dark setting and scene of underpass where crimes take place, such as murder and selling/using drugs.

Steve Neale (1980) - Genre is a series of repetition and variation, to make it recognisable to the genre but not exactly the same as existing texts. (1980). My crime drama involves deprived setting as often seen in crime films such as underpass and estate In Harry Brown 2009, this is recognisable, however variation is that attacker is wearing smart clothing rather than looking like typical criminal youth, makes audience question who this attacker really is, relates to Roland Bathes Enigma code theory. Builds tension then leaves audience with unanswered questions. twisted the stereotypical generic features of the typical criminal youth. The use of deprived location within the genre reinforces society's fears of crime, violence and therefore danger within run down or deprived areas, the locations used gives off this scene as dark underpass with graffiti, inspiration from Harry Brown and large estate blocks can be seen in the background of the footage, editing dimmed the footage to give a dark effect making the audience feel the area is dangerous using the 'brightness' tool and simply lowering the brightness in particular shots, natural darkness in underpass scene shows the attacker coming up behind silhouette of protagonist.

Gledhill (1985) there are 'no rigid rules of inclusion and exclusion'

Chandler (2000) - It is difficult to make clear cut distinctions between genre, genres overlap

Essay writing on genre intro:
Genre is a style or category which a particular text falls into, weather it be, film, music or art etc. In this case I will be talking about genre in relation to film. I am going to talk about my film opening which I created in my AS year for my foundation portfolio, based in the crime drama genre, choosing this genre allowed me to be creative although it also meant that I was slightly limited as I had to stick to typical generic conventions of the genre in order for it to be recognised by its target audience.

Question 1B revision

Possible topics are:

• Genre
• Narrative
• Representation
• Audience 
• Media language

What is representation? - Representing something means to describe or depict it. For my main task as part of my advanced portfolio I created two adverts for mens sportswear, I aimed to represent concepts such as exercise within the outdoors and passing of time.

Question 1A revision

Exam planning - 1A is what you actually did, track your journey across both years for either digital technology, creativity, post-production, research and planning, using conventions of real media texts. 

• Firstly write which products I made both in my foundation and portfolio task projects.
• Write about research to start with - use of web 2.0, which sites did you use - youtube, google search engine, Barb.co.uk (site for TV viewing figures) - remember to relate what this research and planning allowed me to do in my production.
• Don't only talk about secondary research ^ but also mention primary research used in the form of tally charts to show which company name and campaign title people liked the best for example - relate how this helped in production and relate back to the topic
• Mention real media texts - Nike flyknit advert + Nike Free trainer 5.0 advert,  institutions and audiences - Production (casting, filming, editing etc), distribution (makes the film and distributes it out) , exhibition (how the film reaches the public, cinemas, online streaming, TV, DVD, BluRay).

• Firstly say - Throughout media I have developed my creativity in …… (mention topic) to aid me with my projects both for foundation and advanced portfolios.
• Secondly say - what I did for preliminary task in foundation portfolio, what I did and how this relates to the topic given e.g. I created …. and used….. to help with research and planning, what could improve. Mention audience
• Thirdly say - what I did for main task in foundation portfolio (film opening), what I did well and how this relates to the topic given e.g. I showed good creativity in use of digital technology through open title screens which convey the genre etc.
• 4th - In my second yr of media studies for my ancillary task advanced portfolio I created …. .I showed good use of (given topic) through ….. mention what programs I used and what tools within these programs, how this shows creativity what this presents to the audience. What I could of done better
• 5th - for my main task advanced portfolio in my second media studies year I created two adverts aimed at male audiences from ages 16-35, showing running clothing (jacket and trainers). How I showed creativity in this, what programs and specific tools I used, what does this show to the audience, relate back to topic, end paragraph with an area for improvement.
• overall my overall skills from yr 1 to yr 2 has improved this is shown as in yr 1 I…. in yr 2 I …..

Example:

Throughout the course of Media studies at A level, I have developed my creativity in using digital technology to aid me with my projects both in my foundation and advanced portfolios.

For my preliminary task in my foundation portfolio I created a short film based on a conversation between two students in college, including open titles and credits. I created this project peace using premiere pro after filming the shots on a sony digital camcorder. Creativity is shown within this project through my various use of differing shots which works to keep the audience entertained, as they are not focused on any one shot for too long. Additionally a creative approach can be seen through the animation of my title screen as the writing which is shown transcends into and out of the given title space, making it eye catching. One criticism I do have is that some of the shots were too long with too little differing within them, making some of the footage seem a little lengthy at times which may loose the audiences attention. 

Comparison of young people This is England (2006) and the young apprentice (2012 series 3) London riots sky news (2011)

Similarities:

• In both young people are presented as angry and have short temper's 
• In both young people look up to the adults which surround them, it seems the adults have a lot of influence on the young people through the things they say to them
• In both adults judge the young people for the things they say and the actions they make
• In both young people are trying to please the adults which judge them 

Young Apprentice (series 3 2012 contemporary): 

• Young people are presented in this to be wealthy and of a upper/middle social class, e.g. the young people all wear smart clothes
• Wealth and being successful is presented as being something which a young person should aspire to have/be e.g. 

London riots sky news (2011 contemporary):

• Youth claim that they act in a deviant way breaking the law due to lack of wealth and opportunities, wealth often presented as important to youth, however not in this is England as it seems more about having fun and a good time
• comparison to young apprentice youths, they have an opportunity where as riot males claim that they can't even get a job.
• Similarly to youths of this is England the young males don't have any wealth as they say 'look at the flats they don't care about us', youths of young apprentice on other hand staying in nice big house, roles royce car etc.
• Make jokes out of the crimes they have committed 'I'm watching my new plasma screen', show no remorse, carelessness, similar to youths in this is England as they vandalise an abandoned building

This is England (2006 Historical):

• Youths depicted to be surrounded by poverty, small flats, run down areas, criminality (steal from shop), similarity to the London riots youth steal from shop and show no remorse, laugh and joke about it as does the youths on sky news. 

Exam revision

Mediation:

The process which a media context goes through to be created. Every image and footage within the media has been through the mediation process.

Three main areas to mediation:

• Selection process (more is rejected than selected particularly news)
• Organisation, everything in the media is organised, life is not e.g. setting wording angle etc
• Focusing, lending the audience to focus on particular aspect and ignore certain things.

Cohen moral panic theory 1987:

Moral panics are created in society through what is seen in the media e.g. images of youths being violent and attacking people. This can be done through reporting on a topic frequently and by emotive language across different media platforms. Cohen argued that folk devils (someone who is portrayed as deviant by the media) emerge which reflect the worries and anxiety's of society. However moral panic does reinforce hegemony as it makes it clear what society will and wont tolerate. Young people are always typically a cause for moral panic.

Technological convergence:

 When different media platforms come together on the same device e.g. a smartphone has multi social networking apps camera etc. xbox and dvd player.

Different ways to consume film:

• DVD
• Cinema
• TV
• Video on demand e.g. Netflix (VOD)
• VHS (outdated)
• Internet e.g. Youtube 

Technological convergence is vital for cinemas in film exhibition, large sound systems, big screen, makes people want to see the film  

Mediation and Theorists

Mediation: The process of which media context goes through to be created and presented to the audience. Every image within the media has been through a mediation process.

Three main areas of mediation:

-Selection

-Organisation

-Focusing

Cohen - Moral Panic Theory 1987

-Folk Devils created by the media reflect the worries and anxieties of society

-Young people are always a typical cause for moral panic

-Moral panics can be created through reporting of a matter in a particular way frequently and emotive language across different platforms of media

Homework 4th Feb

Describe the ways in which your project work was aided by your use of digital technology and how your ability to use digital technology developed over time.
(What they mean is to cover both your AS year and A2 year. Include research and planning as well as construction in  our answer, and do not forget to state what products you are talking about.)

For my foundation portfolio I created a film opening and for the main part of my advanced portfolio I created two adverts, all of which we're heavily aided by the use of digital technology. When looking at both research and planning, and construction, It is clear that my ability in using different aspects of digital technology has improved drastically between the time of creating my foundation and advanced project peaces.

Firstly a clear way in which both my AS and A2 projects have been aided by digital technology is through the use of digital camera filming. Using a digital camera (Nikon D3200) allowed me to separately film many various shots at different times as all the shots are saved to a SD card in the camera. This was beneficial to me in construction for both my projects as it made the process of transferring shots from the camera to a computer straight forward and quick. When looking at the actual camera shots which I used in my film opening for my foundation portfolio compared to the shots which I used in the adverts for my advanced portfolio, it is clear that my ability to use the digital camera for filming has improved. In my film opening the pan shots which I used to show the main character running along the street are slightly jolty and are not smooth, the speed of the pan used in these shots does not flow at a consistent rate. Furthermore I feel that some of the shots in the footage are too long especially the shots when the character is seen on the phone. The camera shots used in my adverts are of a much more plausible quality, I used similar style pan shots in my first advert to what I used in my AS work as once again I was filming someone running, however it is clear that the quality of these pan shots is a lot better and that my skills in filming have developed, as the pace of the pan is consistent and the shots are a lot smoother. I was able to improve my pan shots through the usage of a C handle which I purchased for the filming of my advanced portfolio adverts.

I used various different programs on my computer to represent information for planning and research tasks in both of my projects for AS and A2, such as Microsoft word and powerpoint. Digital technology allowed me to present information on these programs and then upload them to my blogger site through a program which acts as the middle man named Slideshare. To represent research and planning for my foundation portfolio I mainly used word, powerpoint and simple blog posts, although I did include other types of software usage such as exam time most of my work was presented using those 3 formats. Although this worked well I didn't show an incredibly wide usage or knowledge of different program softwares. Throughout my advanced portfolio research and planning I used a wider range of softwares to represent my work such as Slides and further usage into Examtime and Stroyboard, this shows how my skills and knowledge in digital technology software developed between the time of my AS and A2 work as I now have an ability to use more software when comparing between the two projects.

Web 2.0 was the main source of research for both of my projects. Web 2.0 allowed me to look at existing film openings for my foundation year work and at existing adverts for my advanced year work on Youtube.com. From using digital technology in this way I was able to watch various videos which gave me ideas on what to include within my projects and how to create them. Furthermore web 2.0 allowed me to created a Facebook fan page for the company which I created for my A2 work, this is beneficial as it would allow me to promote my company to thousands of people for free using social networking. 

It is clear that digital technology has aided the works for my foundation and portfolio years heavily. My skills in using and applying different aspects of digital technology to my work has clearly reached a much higher level between the time of my AS and A2 year work in both planning research and physical construction.

HW - 20th January

Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions

For my foundation portfolio work in my first year I created a crime film opening. I decided to base my film opening around the crime genre as this would provide me with opportunity to look into various different narratives. Finally I decided to base the narrative around a violent assault which one young adult male character aims at another.

Propp's theory on narrative structure can be applied to my film opening to some extent, as it is possible to classify the main character into a clearly defined role and function based on general stereotypes of young adults within the media. This young adults actions and physical appearance within the film opening clearly make him come across as what society would deem to be a yob, as he is wearing a baggy tracksuit, trainers, and stabs another male within the film opening. However when looking at the other male which gets stabbed and his physical appearance it could be argued that he challenges Propp's theory, as he is dressed in smart trousers, a shirt and smart shoes, this does not conform to stereotypes of a yob, and therefore makes it hard for the audience to classify this character into a defined role as he is dressed as what would be considered smart, whilst attempting to murder the main character.

In the moment when the villain male pulls out a knife and runs up behind the main character, Bathes narrative theory of action codes can be applied as the audience is wondering what is going to happen to the main character, and what the resolution of the situation will be as suspense is created by the action in this brief moment. An enigma code is also created during this scene as the audience is left wondering why the character who is now the villain tired to stab the main character, this presents a puzzle to the audience in a way as they will be left confused and wanting to know the answer to this question.

I differed between two methods of time within my narrative structure. At the start of the footage when the main character can be seen running this is meant to represent what is happening in the present time. The other method of time which I applied to my structure is a flash back which starts from when the main character is walking towards the underpass and then gets attacked. The audience will then gather why the main character was running at the start of the footage once they see the flash back scene as they will see that the main character stabbed his attacker and then fled the area of the crime.

Levi-Strauss's theory of binary opposites can be applied to the narrative of my coursework production to some extent, through the opposition of strong and weak. The attacker in the footage could be seen to be weak as he fails his attack despite the fact that he is armed with a knife and sneaks up behind the target of his attempted murder, contrastingly the main character who reverses the attack is depicted as strong as he is able to disarm and fight off the man who tried to attack him when his guard was down. However Strauss's theory is challenged by the action which takes place between the two males in the underpass, as their is no clear distinction between good and evil when looking at the characters as both the males clearly had intuitions on harming the other once the fight had started.

My coursework production follows Propp's, Bathes and Strauss's theories of narrative along basic guide lines to give my production a sense of realism and continuous production. However some parts of the production challenge certain narrative aspects of theory within these media theorists ideologies.

Media HW

Describe the ways in which your media production was informed and aided by research into real media texts and planning. How has your ability to use research and planning for production developed over time.

It is extremely important to carry out research and planning when making a media text. A good media text will follow typical conventions of the particular genre in which it is based around. Having clear codes and conventions of genre through research and planning will allow the audience to establish for themselves the genre of the film, and will in turn make the production seem more professional and successful. In my first year I created a film opening based around the crime genre, and in my second year I created an advert alongside a sponsorship sequence. Designing and producing each of these productions involved planning and research both from real media texts and my own ideas.

When creating my first year crime film opening, I looked at various different existing films which follow the crime genre in order to see clear conventions such as Sket, Shank and Kidulthood. After carrying out research into looking at the way young people are dressed in these crime drama films I was  able to apply a similar sort of dress code to the characters within my film opening, finding that young men involved in crime within media texts are usually portrayed wearing tracksuits trainers and hoodies, something which was applied to the main character in my opening. Similarly I looked at existing texts in the form of adverts for my second year production before making a decision of what to include exactly within the advert. My research and planning skills developed between my first and second year productions as I found I was able to take and apply more from existing adverts to my own production, in comparison to the amount of conventions I applied to my film opening from existing texts. For example for my advert I came up with the idea of using many different locations to advertise a running trainer, as this seemed to be an accepted code of many existing productions for running trainers. Where as for my first year film opening I only used 3 locations based around the same area without looking if this is something which a crime drama opening would consist of.

When researching into the audience for my first year production, I was able to use Google to find out audience figures for many crime drama films, which I was then able to apply to a powerpoint or word document in order to display results. This was helpful as it allowed me to see the kind of audience viewing figures which I could expect my production to recieve in order for it to be deemed a success. Similarly for my second year production I was once again able to use the internet to find out audience figures, this time I was able to develop my skills and find out not only the figures for certain shows by TV channels as a whole also. This would bring benefit to me as I could see which program on which channel, would be best to carrying out a sponsorship sequence with as it would be a good idea to aim to sponsor a sports program with high audience figures, since I created an advert for sports running trainers. Additionally in depth audience figures allowed me to see which channel I would want my advert to be advertised on, and at what time (in order to be shown around the same time as popular TV shows with some amount of relevance). Development of these research skills has meant that my second year production is more specific to conventions of real media texts in comparison to my first year production.

Planning for my first year production was divided up between another student and myself as we worked together on the production in a group. Whilst meaning that tasks could be completed quicker it also meant that disagreements on how things should be done arose. In my second year I worked on the production by myself coming up with all the ideas and planning, I found that this was a better way of doing things so that everything could be done exactly how I wanted it and in depth, although the process was more time consuming as a whole. Being able to work by myself on my second year production has meant that I have been able to better develop my planning and research skills as I have no choice in completing the tasks through independent work and study.