LO6: Media effects

The point of view that is conveyed by the article is that Ian Duncan Smith does not believe that the newest Batman film has been wrongly advertised as a 12A which allows those younger to view with a parent and guardian present.

'Dark themes'

I however partly disagree with the article as the BBFC take great time and consideration in choosing which certificate a film should be, in contrast to this Parents should be able to determine whether a screenplay is appropriate for their children based around a discription given by the BBFC.


A) Passive audience theory

Hypodermic syringe - implies that media has a negative impact. Mass audience believe everything that they see/hear (Adorno and Horkheimer)

In the 1940's/50's, the mass media were percieved as an extreme influence towards audiences adapted behaviour.

This model does not hold much positivity for the audience , however it is a good method for a media producer , politicians and also towards the use of marketing.

STANLEY COHEN, 1972

when the 'mass media' demonise groups , people or products that they believe become a threat to society, values and interests it is called 'Moral Panic'. The group/products are referred to as 'folk devils'. Modern day folk devils include Donald Trump, Immigrants and Religious extremists.

Violence in the media:

Anderson (2007) that high exposure to fast-paced violent games can lead to changed in brain function when processing violent images, including dampening of emotional reponses to violence. One of the high risk factors?

This is known as desensitisation

Ferguson (2012) showed no long term link over three years.

Halo 3 - http://geekti.me/wp/2013/10/10-crimes-that-were-blamed-on-video-games/

In 2007, Daniel Petric of Ohio brutally murdered his mother after being refused to play the game as it was 'banned' in their home. Petric regularly went over to a friends house to play the game and secretly bought it to play at home, this then supposedly lead him into stealing his fathers gun to murder his mother, his father blamed this violent behaviour on the video game after claiming it lead him to 'snap' after a bout of depression.

Facebook - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2154624/A-Facebook-crime-40-minutes-12-300-cases-linked-site.html

Facebook has been claimed to cause an abundance of crimes from theft to grooming and has been regularly reported in the media as a dangerous site for predetors. An example of this would be Teenager Ashleigh Hall being murdered by serial rapist Peter Chapman after grooming her using this social networking site. Other cases are seemingly less serious however include underage children being pestered for indecent images.

GTA 5 - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/2504016/Thailand-bans-Grand-Theft-Auto-after-copycat-murder.html

Thailand banned the game after a copy cat murder carried out on a taxi driver.'An 18-year-old high school student has been charged with robbery and possession of a weapon, and could face the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted. He was arrested on Sunday after police found the bloody body of a Bangkok taxi driver slumped in his cab.
Police said the teenager had become incensed when he could not afford to play the game, which encourages gamers to kill and steal cars in order to accrue points'.


Representation


who is being represented?
All representations are mediated (Hall, 1980)

Is there use of stereotypes/countertypes (Perkins,1979) . Not all stereotypes are negative.

Representation of women- are they objectified (Mulvey, 1975). Representation of men (Earp and Katz, 1999) - 'equation of masculinity with pathological control and violence'.

Representations of Gay people (Butler, 1993) - are they stereotypical.



B) representation

Alvarado (1987), Hall (1995) - ethnicity 'exotic, dangerous, humourous, pitied'.

Turton (2014) - (age) hooligans, trouble causers. Black and Asian boys.

Lloyd (1995) girls as 'double deviant' - they are trouble causers but they shouldnt be because they are 'women'.

In my chosen film there are possible aspects that  could be criticised for having a negative impact on the audience watching, for example throughout the film Piscine is deemed to be a humourous charcater, frightened and weak due to his situation - this is an issue due to him being a part of an ethnic minority. Alvarado (1987) and Hall (1995) posed theories that suggested that these people were seen as 'exotic, dangerous , humourous , pitied' which applies well to this screenplay. In numerous scenes we are made to laugh at the misfortune of Piscine, and particularly in the cargo ship scenes we see a slight hint of white supremacy regardless of the man conducting it being of French origin. This could be related to the hypodermic syringe theory as it implies that this kind of representation could potentially change the viewpoints of those viewing as they supposedly believe everything they see/hear in the media.

Active Audience Theory

Other school of thought- we are able to filter and adapt to content in the media (Gauntlett, 1995) - Backwards model.

We have uses and gratifications (McQuail, 1972) theory - people use media for their own purposes. - escapism, suveillance , building personal relationship and bulding personal relationships

Provides a more more positive outlook on the effects of media.

Hall (1980) encoding/ decoding

preferred reading - by audience depending on their background but accepts the dominant viewpoint/story

Negotiated reading - partially agrees with meaning

Oppositional reading - meaning understood but dont agree and think opposite

Aberrant - gets the completely wrong meaning entirely.

There are however positive effects that are given by my film surrounding ethnic minorities, as toward the ending of the film we learn that Piscine is not infact that humourous, pitied - he is a strong and brave male character.

Revision

LO3: Production Techniques

Mise-En-Scene

Costume - Binary opposition (male gaze? )

Props - Binary opposition

Lighting (high key/low key) and colour

Characters

Acting gestures - Binary opposition (representation , stock characters Propp 1928) (Mulvey 1975 male gaze, are women objectified)

Location and Iconography - when and where we are  (all genres have sub genres Barry Keith Grant)

examples from film:

Lighting is used within Life of Pi to create meaning in many different ways, alongside this Low key lighting is used for visceral pleasure to make the audience feel fear . In contrast to this high key lighting for the same reasons to make the audience feel happiness. In some ways this can be realated to binary opposition as the majority of the film is based around religious happenings - the high key lighting connotes this heavenly sense whereas the low key quite the opposite. Costumes help the characters in the film establish themselves and make their backgrounds known to the audience . In life of Pi, Piscine wears traditional Indian clothing which not only tells us the location of the film, but also shows how racial minorities can be seen as to be pitied as said by Alvorado 1987 - this is made obvious when the character finds himself in multiple different scenarios which the audience are allowed to find humourous or dangerous (therefore easy to be pitied).

Editing techniques such as eye-line-match are used within the film to create enigma codes as suggested by theorist Barthes (1977), we see Pi looking at objects which he requires yet struggles to retrieve due to Richard Parker being too close - this leads the audience into wondering what he needs the object for and how he is going to get to it. Similar to this Insert shots are used to the same enigma codes, we frequently see piscine writing in a note book which causes reaction from the audience as they wonder why exactly he is doing that when the narrative leads us to believe he thinks he wouldnt survive.

LO2 Advertising

Media product: Film
Ways it could be Advertised: Social media, Trailers, Public domain advertising.

Why these are successful: These methods are advertising are available to most people which would mean that a mass target audience would be able to readily access the content. Should people not have social media account then alternative places would be available to advertise the product.

LO4- BARB Analysis

Channel 4 is a commercial institution that is partly funded by public service broadcasting, therefore its channels are broadcasted to inform, educate and entertain hence why there are a variety of different programmes for multiple different audiences.In the week ending the 13th of november Gogglebox was the highest grossing tv programme with 3.18 million viewers - programmes such as Gogglebox are not featured on broadcasters such as BBC1 due to it being a public service broadcaster and it not being part of their ethos.

Channel 4 is primarily a youth channel with most entertainment programmes being shown past watershed, therfore the target audience would be based around the ages of 16-30 year olds primarily females due to the more feminine nature of the programmes featured such as First dates and The secret life of four year olds.

LO4: Audience research

Organisations that collate data:

RAJAR - Radio joint audience research (whos listening: gender, age , how long for)
NRS - National readership survey
BARB- Broadcaster audience research board (who is watching, when theyre watching, age, gender)

For this section of the exam we have to analyse data that is collected by the organisations.
Data con be from any of the organisations

Regulations from the BBFC

 Pick out 5 points of regulation from the BBFC for the film that you have studied.

Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of.

References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.

No focus on anti social behaviour which is easily imitated by a child.

There may be nudity with no sexual context. Sex/Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only.

Frightening scenes or situations which characters are in danger should not be prolonged.

LO6

BBFC - british board of film classification
Give an age rating to films to 'protect' the public from violent or innnapropriate content, used to be called British Board of Film Censors ... changed its name in 1984 - protectionism
From the early 80's Home video came about meaning they couldnt control what people watched at home hence why they changed their name.

In 1984 the video recordings act was brought about due to the 'video nasties' meaning that films began to have age ratings on their covers as prior to this anybody was able to by films that could be potentially harmful.

The BBFC blocked the public from seeing certain films in the cinema so when home video was available they began to panic and additionally rated by age content.

The BBFC used to rate gaming content also until the manhunt scandal came about in 2012 that made the reponsibility be handed directly to PEGI

LO6: Starter

1. The two main areas when media effects are discussed.
passive and active audiences

2. Give examples of a theory that can be applied to each

Hypodermic syringe and uses and gratifications. Encoding/decoding audience background and individual experience plays a part on how they read a text.

3. Give an example of a media text that caused a 'moral panic'

GTA 5 copy cat killing , Halo 3 killing , natural born killers , marilyn manson, breaking bad, wolfenstien 3D. 

KTA 6 production techniques feedback sheet

LO4 Uses And Gratifications Theory

Denis McQuail, 1972
There are four reasons that people consume media products/pleasures they gain from them:

1) Surveillance - Using media to find information about the world
2) Escapism - escaping from reality
3) Building personal Identity - Taking ideas, following trends - Role models
4) Building personal relationships - Establishing yourself amongst others , provides conversation topics


Life of Pi offers the gratification escapism as it shows the viewer a different way of living , the screenplay features adventure and fantasy which is not present in day to day life. The computer generated imagery leads the viewer into the belief that there are areas on this earth that are much like what is being shown on screen , it is just that they havent discovered them yet. In addition to this , it also offers the gratification of building personal relationships as it provides a topic of conversation regarding the different lessons that are learnt through religion and relationships.

Audience profile

Age group : 12 - 35

The reasoning behind this age group is due to the complex hidden stories behind the narrative and the in depth understanding that is needed in order to understand the emotional turmoil the character goes through. Any child under 12 may not necessarily understand the underlying racial tension and religious uncertainty which is a common theme throughout. CGI would appeal to these ages as from 12+ a child would be able to understand the improbability of a Bengal tiger being on the boat during the filming of the production, older than 35 may not be as encaptured by the fantasy genre as say a teenager or young adult.


Social group: ABC1/C2

The social grouping that i believe this film is aimed toward is the ABC1/C2 as there is a strong presence of education and religious understanding that is mature . However there is no product placement which suggests affluent lifestyles or poverty.

LO4 Understand the target audiences of media products.

- Demographic: Different groups of people

- Conglomerate: A large company with many subsidary company

- Horizontal integration: When a  conglomerate company uses its subsidaries in order to market its own media product, this is done across different sectors.

- Audience: The people viewing/using a media product.

- Independent : A company that acts alone with no subsidary companies. Normally only operates in one sector for example Tv, Film or Radio

- Niche: Something that only appeals to a small group of people. (small demographic)

-Mass: Something that appeals to a large group of people. (large demographic).



Audience Theory-

Jhon Hartley (1987) All media products have 'invisible fictions' before they are made.

Ien Ang (1991) All media producers have 'imaginary entities' in mind before their production.

LO4; audience research

What is audience research?

gathering information on the people that you believe benefit most from your product, for example their knowledge, interests, preferances and behaviours.

Why do we do it ?

So we can tailor products to meet the needs and wants of our audiences - this helps to increase the companies profit margin.

when you personally evaluate a product, this is primary research .


primary research- questionaire , interview ect.
secondary - information that has been done for you and needs collecting ; books,web, newspaper ect.

LO3 Theories Of Representation

1. Name one theorist that discusses gender representation that you have looked at so far in unit 1, unit 3 or GCSE - Vladimir Propp


Representation is how the media shows us things about society - but this is through careful mediation.

The main story/plot of Life of Pi , is a young boy deserted at sea with a Bengal tiger. The plot is primarily his fight to get back to civilisation and initially to survive.


Key theory 1; Tim O'sullivan et al. (1998)

For representation to work, there has to be a shared regonition of people and places. All representations therefore have ideologies behind them. Ideology refers to a set of ideas whihc produces a partial or selective view of reality.

1. Wild animals are always dangerous
2. You can only be a part of one religion




Key theory 2 : Richard Dyer (1983)

Audiences should question the representations they see in the media.



Key theory 3: Laura Mulvey (1975)

Male Gaze

women are objectified in media texts and passive objects. Audiences are positioned to view the women from the point of view of a hetero sexual male.

My film opposes this theory as the women in Life of Pi are all strong characters however still appear in the mothering and feminine nature. For example when filming the girl in the dance studio, it is done in a low angle shot to make piscine look more or less submissive.


Key theory 4: Stuart Hall (1995)

Western/ white cultures continue to misrepresent ethnic minorities as in the media due to underlying racist tendencies. eg. non-white as 'the other', evil or barbaric.

Edward Said (1987)

Pittied
Humourous
Exotic
Dangerous

Piscine is seen as both pittied and humourous. He also dresses in cultural clothing and speaks with a thick Indian accent.



Jhon Berger 'ways of seeing'

Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relationship of women to themselves.


male

• Active (do)
• Dominant
• Hard
• Intelligent
• Hard (muscle)
• Rational
• Strong
• Thoughtful

female

• passive (talk)
• Submissive
• Soft
• Intuitive
• Soft (curves)
• Emotional
• Weak
• Impulsive

Unit 1 - Genre and Narrative revision

Why is it important to be able to identify a genre of a media product?
It is important to be able to identify a genre of a media product because this is the easiest way to captivate your chosen target audience. Should producers make a film genre that is in fashion, it is easier to predict expenditure.

LO1; Production process and job roles

What are the key personell for the film industry?
- director / producer
- editor
- cast
- script writer
- Animators
- Boom operators
- Story board artists

editor , foley editor,  colourist and marketing are also part of post production.

Post production is one of the most important elements in my chosen film as the narrative relies heavy on the presence of CGI. Editors in this stage made the presence of Richard parker known by editing in the actual tiger as during the production of the screenplay , the acting out of the main character was based around the lack of second character.

LO2 Traditional to digital methods.

-Pre 2000 - web 1.0 pages that were not interactive.
-In the year 2000, Broadband entered the uk meaning faster download speeds hence content is more available to everybody. - web 2.0 O'Reilly (2004)
- As part of web 2.0 we gained audio visual content, video on demand services and interactive web pages .


Digital methods are in existence because of technological convergence. (technologies coming together to provide a new service for the audience.

Black box- Henry Jenkins, 2006.

Above the line advertising methods;

. premiers
. posters
. trailers
. reviews
. targeting mass audiences.


Below the line advertising methods;

. targets the individual
. social media updates (instagram,twitter,facebook)
. happy meals (toys)
. competitions

KTA 5 genre analysis feedback

LO3 Genre Theory

Genre is a type or another way to catergorize films based on their common elements.
These common elements are called generic conventions/characteristics/elements or tropes

• Horror
• Comedy (treatment)
• Romance
• Thriller
• Action - Adventure
• Social realism
• SC-FI
• Fantasy

6* Analyse how the production techniques are used to create meaning in a media product you have studied (worth 12 marks)

6* Analyse the concepts of 'genre' and 'representation' in a media product you have studies (worth 12 marks.

Life Of Pi is a Fantasy, Adventure hybrid.

Key Theory 1 : Barry Keith Grant (1995)

Suggests that all genres have sub genres that allow audiences to identify them specifically by their familiar and recognisable characteristics.

I dont agree with Barry K Grant's theory as my film is a hybrid of several different genres therefore doesnt have a relatable sub genre.

AUDIENCES LIKE GENRE AS IT HELPS THEM ASSOCIATE THEIR LIKES AND DISLIKES WITH A CERTAIN TYPE OF FILM

Key Theory 2: Patrick Phillips (1996)

Genre offers audience 'comfortable reassurance'. Genres fufil audience expectations to follow a familiar patterns.

My film is typical of the Fantasy/Adventure genre due to the fact that the audience are presented with things that do not happen in day to day life - things that are seemingly impossible which is a familiar characteristic of this genre. The film uses heavy CGI to create scenes fetauring wild animals and brightly coloured anomilies in the sky which again reinforces the adventure/fantasy house style.

Media industries like genre as it helps films become succsessful.

Key theory 3:Branston and Stafford (1999)

Genres:

1. Help to 'minimise risk and predict expenditure'.

2. Are a blueprint for success

3. Genre conventions also make it easier to market and sell products to audiences.

My film was marketed with this poster which gives a prospective audience a view of 2 characters conforming to genre of both Fantasy and Adventure due to the high key lighting and the presence of a Bengal tiger - the audience was told directly that this film is 'The Journey of a Life time'.

Sometimes actors are 'typecast' to play the same character in the same genre of film.

Certain genres provoke certain emotions.

Key Theory 4: Rick Altman (1999)

Genre offers pleasures.

1. Emotional pleasures:happy, sad, nostalgic ect.

2. Visceral Pleasures: 'gut' responses - excitement, fear, laughter ect.

3. Intellectual Puzzles: Makes the audience think.

The pleasures that Life of Pi has to offer are generally emotional and intellectual. When the boat is sinking at the beginning of the narrative, provokes an emotional response from the audience due to the fact we know the Main character has lost the entireity of his family. The insert shots and tracking shots provide not only intellectual but visceral pleasures because it lets the audience question and feel certain reactions stirring.

Key Theory 5: David Bordwell (1989)

said 'any theme may appear in any genre'

Theme= the ideas, ideologies, concepts , myths ect. that are encoded into a media text.

I partially agree with the theory as in Life of Pi, the narrative shows self fufilling prophecy and binary opposition between distopia and utopia. Overall the film is about friendship and how it can be found in the most unlikely of places for example man/beast which is relative to the genre due to the idea that fantasy is a sequence of unlikely utopian events. THEMES.

KTA 5

Into that defines genre + film

key theory 1 back up or challenge

key theory 2 back up or challenge

key theory 3 back up or challenge

key theory 4 back up or challenge

key theory 5 back up or challenge

Analyse the concept of genre in the film you have studied , use examples to support (particularly want to see the editing and sound techniques to support those ideas)

LO3 Narrative theory

1. what is the difference between 'story' and 'narrative'?
story is plot, however a narrative is the techniques used to tell the story - how it is structured.

2. What narrative theories can you name?
Binary opposition.

Plot of Life of Pi- A young indian boy is thrown into a different world of adventure and fantasy where he has to quickly adapt to life in the confines of a boat with a Bengal tiger, Zebra, hyena and Orangutan. The story follows the young man and his journey back to civilisation and the greatest story of a lifetime.

Key theory 1: Tim O'Sullivan et al. 1998

All media texts tell us some kind of story. Through careful mediation, media texts offer a way of telling stories about ourselves (as a culture) - these are ideologies.

In Life of Pi, the wider meaning of the film is to accept what you are given and make the most of it - in addition to this there is also a sense of friendship and education being the two things you need for a successful life. Pi had Richard Parker and a learnt ability to keep himself safe from danger.

Key theory 2: Pam cook (1985)

The standard Hollywood narrative structure should have:

"Linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution"

A high degree of narrative closeure. A fiction world that contains verisimillitude especially governed by spatial and temporal coherence .

In Life of Pi the enigma would be Richard Parker and Pi being stuck on the boat together which is a potential life threatening circumstance - this engima has a resolution when RP is returned back to the jungle with the help of Piscine during which time a friendship developed and a deeper understanding between man and beast. At the beginning of the film and toward the climax, PI and RP demonstrated aggressive behaviour towards one another how ever it was the patience and growth of friendship that helped solve the enigma.

Key Theory 3: Tzventan Todorov (1977)

stage 1. A point of stable equilibrium.

stage 2. This stability is disrupted by some kind of force, which creates a state of disequilibrium.

stage 3. Action directed against the disruption

stage 4. Restoration of a new equilibrium.

My film doesn't follow the theory exactly because there is no equilibrium as as the begining of the film Piscine is rather unhappy about moving away from his first love to live in a different country. However there is further Disequilibrum when the boat capsizes and an action against the distruption when he attempts to train Richard Parker.

Key Theory 4: Claude Levi-strauss (1958)

Binary opposition Eg; good versus evil.

Man vs. Beast
Human vs. Nature
East vs. West

Key Theory 5: Vladimir Propp (1928)

All narratives features stock characters and that audiences understood stories because of such features

villian/antagonist
Hero/protagonist
Helper/supporter (sidekick)
Princess (the prize for the hero - not necessarily a person)  one that is rescued, saved or helped.

Life of pi consists of a Hero protagonist - Piscine and a Princess - Richard parker . Piscine essentially delivers RP back to the jungle and sets him free. Originally RP was being transported presumably for a circus and this turn of events managed to set him free. a blessing in disguise.


Key Theory 6: Roland Barthes (1977)

Narrative codes:

Enigma codes work to keep setting problems or puzzles for the audience.
Action codes work to inform the audience in terms of what is happening in the next scene/shot.

Enigma codes for life of pi:

clip one : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9NBPPIEb0M  0.17 - this is an example of an enigma code as it gives the setting for 'why is he writing it down?' and 'what is he going to do with his notes?'

clip two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRXNEQ62yU0 0.08 - sets a puzzle for the audience of why has he got a pencil and what is he going to do with it?

clip three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-xIq8BV10 0.51 - the fish falling onto the bpat also works as an enigma code as it leaves the audience questioning where the fish came from and what is going to happen accordingly.


Action codes for Life of Pi:

Clip one : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-xIq8BV10 0.41 - PI reaches for the weapon in order to attack something - this is follwed up in the following scenes

Clip two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-xIq8BV10 0.51 - The fish dropping onto the boat gives an inclination that more are to come

LO3 KTA 4 Camera work feedback

Micro Elements - sound

Sound and sound effects are used to create a sense of tension or action for the audience to predict what might  happen in the following scenes. Additionally producers canuse these different types of sound to foreshadow further events.

diegesis is the narrative construct that everything takes place in, it is the 'story world/the world that the film or tv programme takes place in'

How real the diegesis appears is linked to the level of verisimillitude (appearance of being real).

Diegetic sounds are from noises that are happening from within the diegesis (story world). These are added during production and post preduction to create meaning.

northern accent.

Accent - the way you pronounce words due to the place that you live

Dialect- the words you use due to the place you live

Tone- how you say things/how you speak - the intonation.

Mode of Address- informal/formal.

Synchronous sounds are sounds which are syncronized or matched with what is viewed - this is a diegetic sound. This can be used for simple examples such as footsteps or movement. Another example ; when charcaters play instruments the sound, in most cases is added in pre production as part of synchronous sound - this contributes to the realism of the film and also help to create a particular atmosphere.

Ambient sound refers to any sound which is used to establish a location.

Non- diegetic sound is when the source is not visible on the screen and clearly not coming from the story world. Examples are a narrator's commentry and sound effects used for dramatic effect. These are added in post production.

Sound bridge- lead in or out of a sceme . Sound bridges are one of the most common transition in the continuity editing style. Sound bridges can be both non diegetic and diegetic. They can start as non-diegetic and then bridge to a scene where the music has a visible source.

Incidental music- music composed in a film or play as a background to create or enhance a particular atmosphere. The incidental music is composed to accompany the action of a drama or to fill intervals between scenes.Gives hints as to what might happen next, generally used in horrors and dramas to build tension.

An example of incidental music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z80usmGz_v4

Stings are used as distincitive background music to add emphasis to an important moment in a motion picture or television program. A sting can be used to introduce a section of a show, or indicate the end of a scene

Motifs- the sound motifs condition the audience emotionally for the arrival, or actions of a characters. The use of sound motif can help shape a story that requires many characters and many locations as it helps to sustain the narrative as they help clarify the narrative functions of the characters and provide a sound association for those charcaters as we move through the story.

editing

Shot reverse shot structure (used in conversation, commonly use over the shoulder and MCU)
Action match (continous action)
Cross cutting (showing the narrative in different locations with different characters, leads audience into the narrative)
Insert shot (close up that has relevance to the story regarding information. provides answers or a puzzle)
Eyeline match (tries to keep continuity of angle/level - shows characters wants and needs without speech)

cross dissolve https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqQfj25aglc
wipe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NAhAEQUk8M
fade

unit 1 LO2 KTA2: Marketing task and feedback sheet

Unit 1 LO3 KTA3 Feedback Sheet Mise En Scene

UNIT 1 - Class task

State 5 things you would expect to see in a horror film:

-          A series of murders/unfortunate events

-          Darkness, most of film set at night or in a dark room

-          Blood or injuries

-          Adrenaline rush

-          Ominous music

Every different media product has its own conventions such as those seen above, this comes alongside the genre of its content.

Mise-en-Scene – everything featured in a shot

All audio visual media products are encoded to create a preferred reading (Stuart Hall 1980) to the audience.

The means that media products are purposefully put together using micro elements (denotation) to create a representation (connotation) for the audience to understand. One micro element that is encoded to create meaning/representation in music videos/film trailers, films, TV programmes, video games is Mise-en-scene.

1. Location 

2. Costume/make up 

3. Props 

4. Colours/ lighting 

5. Gestures 

C: content and D: Meaning   

 

MISE EN SCENE 

This means ‘everything within the frame’. 





Genre dictates what the Mise-en-scene will be within any film

This is England is a social realist text/drama



ENCODED MEANS SPECIFICALLY PUT IN FOR EFFECT

Location are encoded to create verisimilitude/be aspirational to the audience

VERISIMILITUDE MEANS REALISM

1.       WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COSTUME AND CLOTHES?

Costume is something that you wear for effect and has encoded meaning that is specific to a genre, clothes are something that everybody wears in day to day life that is a reflection of personality.

2.       WHAT IS THE WORD PROP SHORT FOR/MEAN?

Prop is short for properties; this is what the characters/actors use in a media text.

ICONOGRAPHY MEANS THE KEY ELEMENTS OF LOCATION THAT IDENTIFY A PARTICULAR TIME PERIOD OR PLACE.

Iconography or ‘icons’ are items that create stereotypical representations that become well known and recognised. This can create ideologies. 



What iconography do you expect to see in horror and sci-fi films?

Horror films                                                                       sci-fi

-          Isolated place/town                                               - other worldly things

-          Woods                                                                   - outer space

-          Old interior                                                            - silver

DYSTOPIA- a bad place

UTOPIA – an ideal place

Ideology – a value or belief system (way of life), the way things should be.

Colours are encoded to connote moods/ emotions. What are the stereotypical colours used in:? 

1. Rom coms – red, white, black, silver, blue (sunny or dimly lit rooms)

2. Hip hop videos – black, gold, bright colours

3. Social realism films – grey, tan, yellow, brown



Protagonist – good main character

Antagonist – enemy or bad character portrayed in a bad light



MISE EN SCENE: COLOURS AND LIGHTING 

 

There are two types of lighting that are used to reinforce genre styles/ emotions/ verisimilitude for the audience: 

1.      Low key lighting (social realist films, horror)

2.      High key/ natural lighting (rom com)

The connotations of low key lighting are mystery and danger for example in horror films there are often antagonist characters that hide in the shadows or low lighting causing problems or harm. The darkness signifies that someone is going to harm that character.

High key lighting is encoded when the scene/location is bright and well lit. 

What are the connotations/ representations that are created using this type of lighting? 

  

Connotations of this music video would suggest that California girls are happy and that they are living in utopia. There is also the stereotypical suggestion that all girls are sweet and are sexual objects.

This process is deconstructing media texts.



MISE EN SCENE: GESTURES 

 

Gestures refer to body movements of a character. They are used to connote: 

1. Gender stereotypes 

For example, in the Batman films, Christian Bale strides around with a suave dominant lifestyle. This would be an ideal male lifestyle.

Within this Mise-en-scene the main character is being portrayed as wise due to the connotations of the props that are being used, for example the raft denotes that Piscine is a wise man who has a vast skills set. The scene features high key lighting which is juxtaposed by the expression on the face of the protagonist, however knowing the storyline of the film lets us say that the high key lighting is used for the idea that this is utopia unbeknownst to him. The tiger in the boat being the only form of Antagonist in the film is effectively representing this due to the way it is looking at piscine as a threat, the fact that the depth of field puts Richard Parker out of focus elaborates on the fact that this is a surreal scene. In this particular scene Richard Parker seems to be the more dominant character, which is further elaborated in the colours piscine is wearing as they are quite neutral.





MISE EN SCENE: GENDER REPRESENTATIONS 



John Berger (1972) in the ‘Ways of Seeing’ documentary states: 

“Men act and women appear”. 

Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. Women are aware of being seen by a male spectator.” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? 



Women appear in the media as sex objects more than men do, there is also a sense that women are objectified and their sole purpose in the film is to solidify a man’s role and make him more successful.



 MISE EN SCENE: GENDER 

REPRESENTATIONS 

Women are often seen as sexual objects in media texts but men appear strong. Laura Mulvey (1975) suggested that women are objectified in media texts, which she calls the male gaze.  

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY EXAMPLES? 

 On the video game GTA women are portrayed as sex object or prostitutes. On the loading screen of the game a woman is featured in a bikini with a lollipop in her mouth which would imply she is there solely to please the male audience.

KTA1: LO1 Conglomerates vs Independent feedback sheet.

lesson 3 : unit 1 starter

Horizontal and vertical integration of 21st century fox.

worksheet 2

worksheet 1