Question 1a
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Friday 1 April 2011
Exempler essay for question 1a
1. Explanation, analysis, argument - pink
2. Example - blue
3. Terminology - yellow
Over the two year media course we had to produce both a foundation portfolio of a school magazine and music magazine as well as an advance portfolio of a horror teaser trailer, film magazine – developing foundation skills further and a poster to advertise our trailer.
2. Example - blue
3. Terminology - yellow
Over the two year media course we had to produce both a foundation portfolio of a school magazine and music magazine as well as an advance portfolio of a horror teaser trailer, film magazine – developing foundation skills further and a poster to advertise our trailer.
In the first year we researched existing music magazines and analysed each one so that we could gain knowledge of particular layouts, fonts and key elements that need to be contained in our production to make it successful. Research and planning allowed us to recognise ‘mastheads’ on magazines as being the most important and therefore the need to focus on a font more detailed to keep continuity with the contents page and double page spread which we also had to create.
Personally I researched ‘Rock’ magazines such as Kerrang, NME and others because I had chosen after carrying out a questionnaire to use Rock music as my theme. The real life media texts allowed me to visualise my favourite parts from each magazine – ripped sticker graphics and broken font on my own work which I then attempted to recreate within Photoshop CS4. In year 1 we were limited to what we could research because magazines were the only theme however, in the second year I was able to develop my ability to research real life media texts much further because we had a range of products we needed to create all under the ‘horror’ genre this time. I was able to research teaser trailers analysing my favourite and least favourite parts allowing me to plan with a mood board which I produced from a range of stills from previous horror films my ideas for my own trailer which helped me to develop my production of my products in relation to real life media texts and techniques such as restricted narration and handheld camera found in the ‘Blair Witch Project’ trailer which inspired my trailer ‘Laquem’ which is also set in the woods. Research into film documentaries like the ‘American Nightmare’ inspired me to create a product which reinforced fear and went against usual horror conventions to make it more interesting. Over the second year research became so important to achieving a product which was realistic and is now like my own distributed on YouTube as a real life media text of its own.
Real life media texts like advertising film posters were able to help me develop my Photoshop skills further because I was able to push myself with the ‘colour burn’ filters and want to create the scary atmosphere of my trailer from just an image and text which I found really fun.
Research into film magazines allowed me to develop my work from AS level so much further because I was able to produce a high standard piece of work in two weeks this year when the magazines took over 3 months last year which shows how much my skills have improves just by being able to constantly refer back to real life media texts for inspiration and even colour schemes that work well together such as black and red which in the first year I just found experimenting with. Research into horror trailers allowed me to recognise different styles of film and how we like Alfred Hitchcock could be an auteur creating new angles and ideas using generic conventions as well as unconventional representations that I have picked upon when watching films and analysing certain techniques which I have then attempted to do in Final Cut Pro when editing certain shots together to create collision cutting and changes in pace which my trailer does extremely well. I was inspired initially by the hand held camera in the trailer REC and the fact I want as an auteur to change the stereotyped representations to be able use a female psycho killer.
Research also allowed me to produce text and inter-titles that shook in order to capture my audience but narrating the story slightly so the shots when together made sense. Research into types of camera movements needed were really helpful and allowed me to completely change the pace with tracking shots and handheld camera which I noticed was used in Silent Hill and American Werewolf in London which I analysed and placed on my blog for reference as some pieces of footage I wanted to recreate including the final girl representations.
Monday 28 March 2011
Sunday 27 March 2011
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
Genre essay
The media production I am going to write about in relation to genre is my short film that was done for A2, ‘Jeté’ which was my preferred piece from the course.
The genre of my short film is a drama. Dramas are quite a broad genre; therefore it is difficult to name the specific components as they often contain a wide variety from many different ones to make them successful however there are many sub-genres of drama; my film falls into the subgenre teen drama, similar to the full length film ‘Step-up’. ‘Jeté’ may also be classed as a dance film, which in recent years, due to increased popularity has become a new genre in itself. Steve Neal (1980) said that all genres are instances of repetition and difference. This means that certain generic feature had to be included, which in my case was that, due to the fact that dramas also usually reflect reality, I made the decision to use natural lighting, costumes and props. For example, I used daylight as much as possible throughout the film, shooting outside scenes during the morning and inside scenes, leaving natural light to come through the windows. In terms of costume and props, the main character wore a leotard and tights when dancing and had her hair up in a pony tail for most of the film, which also reflects the stereotypes of a dancer. In a dance genre, there are usually specific components such as the fact that the film is based around music and dance. This was the case in my film, as it built up to my protagonist auditioning at a dance college consisting of several scenes in which she danced, including montage shots when she rehearsed and an audition scene. This was done to create a sense of verisimilitude.
The narrative of a drama usually tends to emphasise on the plot and what happens next, which arouses curiosity about the story line. I have followed this convention through the use of the framing. For example, when our main character is at the audition, I did not include the judges in the shots which left the audience to merely hear their voices as they spoke creating a sense of mystery. At the end, I have also created suspense by leaving the film on a cliff-hanger where the final shot is a close up of the protagonist’s face showing her smiling slightly as she opens a letter. We do not, however, learn the outcome and what the letter says. This draws the audience in as it allows the audience open to their own interpretation of what happens next. This is a convention of the drama genre, yet is possibly more related to TV dramas such as Eastenders or Hollyoaks which always leave their viewers in suspense at the end of each episode and wanting to watch more. In this way, I have challenged conventions.
It is important for the target audience to identify with the main character as this is one of the conventions of a drama. In a film or a TV drama, there is a lot longer to establish that connection between audience and the protagonist. However as I was doing a short film, it was important to help the audience relate right from the start. In doing this, I decided to challenge conventions of the dance genre through the representation of our main character, Faye. In most dance films, the protagonist represented is usually under-privileged and the cast is made up from multi-cultural backgrounds. I, however have a white, middle classed girl. I found that this helped our target audience to identify and relate to her as they are the same age and of the same background. This also helped us create a simple representation that would target our audience directly. However having done his I realise we have ignored a more multi-cultural audience and thus our short film targets a particularly niche audience – the feedback we received from distributing this on YouTube confirmed this as well. We have also helped the audience to relate to her through the use of camera angles and shots. For example, I included extreme close ups of her facial expressions, which brought the audience closer to her.
Editing and mise-en-scene is really important to genre as it very quickly helps to establish moods and atmospheres. The ways in which I have used the locations help to reflect and demonstrate the mood of the central character. The scene in which she rehearses is set in a dance studio with white walls. This reflects the fact that she is relaxed and in a comfortable environment. This contrasts to the scene in which she has her audition which was in a room with black walls which showed a situation where she was not at ease and nervous.
The point of a drama is that the audience believes that it could really happen or has happened and I believe my product fitted successfully into the drama genre using techniques such as believable characters helping to successfully create a sense of verisimilitude.
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