Monday, 23 November 2015

Film Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1c8hQStN8d90qAz0XD-ZCFbzLjhYQkUlPjOHF0RHaC1E/edit#slide=id.p

Words given were:

-Action
-Granny
-Giant Chicken 
-Ant School

To make this better I could have said more during the presentation and given more detail about all of the characters.

Tuesday, 17 November 2015

Genre

Simply a fence term for type or kind. in media studies it os a theoretical term, for classification of media text into type groupings.

(Branston with Stafford, 2010: 74, 436)

Film Genres

Genre: Action
Why: Because theres are soldiers which usually means theres fighting which shows action going on in the poster. This is appropriate because it shows that film will have action in it and lots of fighting scenes.
Genre: Comedy
Why: Because of the facial expression of the people in the poster and the baby's waring sunglasses. This is appropriate as it shows that the film isn't serious and looks comedic.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Why: Because there is a space ship on the poster. This is appropriate because it shows the film is set in outer space.

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Representation in Media

Representation: What is used to show how people or groups of people are portrayed in the media. Different media institution will represent different types of people differently depending on what on their beliefs, values and attitudes. The audience of this media institutio will often have the same views and beliefs.

Stereotypes: A fixed veiw or image of different types of people or thing. For example the men are always the hero's ans women are the victims.

Archetypes: The biggest steroypes. For example sad, middle aged men are usually played by Will Ferrel or Adam Sandler.

Countertypes: This is when a person is shown to challege the stereotype that would usually be assosiated with that sort of person.  For example in Frozen where the main character, who is a women, ends up being the hero and saving the male characters life. This is unusual in films as it does challenge the stereotype that men are always the hero. Disney chose to challenge this sterotype as they have got a reputation of always making the women victims in their films.


Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom Stereotypes
All of the films in the Indiana Jones series supports alot of different racial and gender sterotypes. The female main character in this film, Willie, had every female stereotype that they could have possibly given her. She is portrayed as a streotypicall women in an action and adventure movie. She is represented as a pretty blond, who she seems to just be tagging along with the male main character. This shows her being inferior to him and (apart from some parts of the film) that he'd be better off without her. Her inferiority is also shown whenever Willie and Indiana are in the same shot he is either standing above her or infront of her, which show's her having lesser importants. Also in the film, she is shown to complain quite alot, whether this is down to the fact she's a woman and they therefore are supporting this stereotype or that it's just in her personality is up to the filmmakers. In most Action and Adventure films the main female character becomes the victim towards the end of the film, especial if the male character had built up a strong relationship with her, and in all tese types of films the male character ends up saving her. This representation of women is unacurate as show in quite a few new films where the female character is shown more equal or more superiror to the male character and that women in films can fight for themselves and aren't always the weak inoccent victims. The main reason this stereotype is constantly used in films is because that's just the way the audience expects to see a female character, less to do with actually keeping that veiw of women as its already there. There are now, however, a lot more films with strong female characters that challenge these stereotypes. Therefore i belive that it is not impposible for the media to represent people in the way that they really are and not just how people think they are.

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Genre Conventions

Genre
Genre is the style of movie the film is. This is shown by the use of similar conventions to films of a the same catagory (Genre). Over time Genre's will change which is called hybrids, this is where two or more genres come together to create a new type of film which will help to give audience something diffrent to other films. Genre is very important to determine a target audience.

Codes and Conventions
Conventions are the way things are known to be done. Film genre's are given to a film by it's conventions. Most film genre's will include a different version of the following conventions; Mise-en-scene, setting, visual style, themes, ideology, charactes (Strerotypes), narratives, special effects, sound, and ideological messages and meanings. Codes are systems an signs which give meaning to the film. Codes are split into two catagories, technical and symbolic.

Technical Code: The way equipment is used to tell a story in a media text. For example camera work in a film.

Symobolic Code: This shows what is beneath what we see in a film. For example a characters actions can show you how they are feeling.

6 Types of Genres and The Codes and Conventions in Each One: 

Comedy:
  • Conventions: Setting; A comedy film is always set in a bright location, mostly placs used for social events are used. For example in Trainwreck alot of the film is set in a cafe.
Romance:
  • Conventions: Has typicall boy meets girl storyline, this is usualy accomanied by a happy ending. It also contains alot of emotional feelings. For example The Note Book for all of those reasons.

Horror:
  • Conventions: Secluded location; usually in horror films the characters are placed somewhere where there is no one around. For example in Severance they are all in a secluded cabin in a woods. Usually at the scariest moment in the film, the power is cut. For example in The Devil Inside where lights in the house at the end go out before the possed person starts murduring people.
Action:
  •  Conventions: Usualy has high production values and has a series of predictable chains of events. They also usualy include a romantic sub-plot. Most action films are set in big cities. Throughout the film most the camera shots are fast paced to build up excitment in the audience. The main story line always includes a hero and a villain. The victims in action films tend to be women or children. They also tend to end with a massive fight scene. For example in All of the Transformer films.
Adventure:
  • Conventions: The characters in adventure films are believable espite the film being fairly unrealistic. Most of the time the main character tends to be a normal person who discovers a hidden power/talent. Alot of the time humor is used in the dialogue to take some of the seiousness out of the situation. For example in the whole of the Indiana Jones film series.
Crime
  • Convntions: Crime films usually include a mystery that has to be solved, it always ends up getting resolved. There is usually a big divid between the police and the government.  The crime in the films usually a murder of some sort. Unlike action and adventure films the victims can vary, not just women and children as it shows a more relentlace villain and shows more seriousness. For example Fargo.

Sci-Fi Film Conventions
Setting: Sci-fi films are mainly set in the distant future or current time in a alternate universe or can sometimes be set in a historical past. The usual place in which Sci-fi films are set would be outer space, a different world or an alterative version of earth. This is used to let the audience see the narrative from a nuetral point of view as they havn't been to this place so they watch it as an outsider looking in. For example Star Wars which is set  'A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away'.

Narrative Elements: This usually includes the delvelopment of new technology such as robots or spaceships. It also includes human development of scienece, so things such as time ravel are possible. Sometimes Sci-fi films can show a new political system for instance a utopian society. There is usually a conflicted between good and evil (whether thats one person or two seperate societies) which ends in a fight or war between the two. For example I Robot which is set in the near future where the main focus of the film is the delvelopment of robots.

Symbolism: They would use alot of futuristic props, costumes and settings which shows the audience how advance the science at  the centre of the film is. This is used in the hope to make the veiwers see the images as belivable, they do this by using technology we may be used to and developing them into futuristic gadgets, this gives a scene of fimiliarity to the audience even though none of the technlogy used in these films are real. For instance Star Trek where they use the setting and costumes to show the evolving ways of technology and the way of life.

Film Techniques: Lots of special effects are used to create the space like feel to the audio used in the film. Lots of close-ups of futuristic technology is used to show the audience how advanced this stage in time the film is set in. This is used to make the world in the film seem more realistic to the audience. The special effects help the imagination of the viewers. For example in Avatar where the majority of the film is created using special effects which helps make the made up world seem even more real than the one we live in to the audience.

Horror Film Conventions (Detailed)
Setting: Horror films are usually set in an isolated setting or dark streets and narrow hallways. Anyehere that looks like it would be hard to escape or get help, this gives the audience a scence of isolation. Sometimes the setting can have a 'Dark background' meaning that something has happened there in the past which still lingers, for instance a house where people died or an insane asylum haunted by the ghosts of past patients. The setting in a horror film can also include a lake or an open strech of water which in the dark can be quite unsetteling or somewhere the audience find unfamiliar like an alien planet or an isolated island. For example Severance where the film is set in an isolated woods which looks, to the audience, unescapable which adds to the tension.

Technical Codes: Alot of horror films use high and low angle shots which show fear and weakness, this can be used to intimidate the audience. Some horror films include a shot from the villain or mosters point of view for instance in a chasing scene or a scene where the person is unaware of the villain/moster can see them, for instance in Friday The 13th where whenever the killer approached it's victimes you would never see it's face you'd only see the victim from their prospective. Alot of modern day horror films a recorded handheld to give the allusion that the characters are filming on their camera, for example Paranormal Activity, The Blair Which Project and Grave Encounters. One of the most important things in horror films is the sound. Diegetic sounds such as footsteps give a simple shot of an empty hallway alot more depth.

Narrative Structure: Like most movie genres, horror films include a hero, a man or 'final girl' of the film, who keeps the conventions of the genre. The hero usually has to take on a mission to solve the problem. For instance in Insidious where the dad hs to go to the world of te dead to save his son. 

Character Types: Their are many diffeent conventional characters in horror films, these can include; The main character, usully a hero or victim of something. A villain/killer or spirit or monster. A group of teenager who are put across as stupid, who always get killed. Some horror films will include creepy children. Police officers who are represented as either good or bad in the film and other demonic creatures relevant to the actual theme of the film. For instance zombies, werewolf and spirits. There are many examples of films with characters like this but to name a few; paranormal activity where the character is never visable but is clearly shown as a spirit. Also in World War Z which is based on Zombies.

Monday, 2 November 2015

Cameras

ISO
The ISO measures the sensitivity of the camera, the higher it is the higher the sensitivity of the camera. If the ISO is too high it can make the image grainy, as it makes the light particles in the image larger.

Aperture
The aperture is the hole in the lense, it gets bigger and smaller to let light in.The f stop level represents how wide the hole is. The higher the number, then the smaller the whole is as the light is restricted.

Shutter Speed
The higher the shutter speed the darker the photo/film is. Shutter speed is measured from 30 - 4000.

Noise 
This is the bloches of colour or variation in brightness which mostly appear in shadows or across even areas of tone. The high the noise in an image the lower the detail of the image.

Depth of Field 
A camera can oly focus it's lens on a single point, on the image there will stilll be an area infront of and behind the focus which will appear sharp. this is called Depth of field.

Motion Blur
This is the streaking left behind a rapidly moving object in an image. This happens when the object in the shot moves position while the photo is being taken. It can also be cause by long exposure

White Balance
White balance is used to remove unrealistic colour cast from an image. This is so that if an object is white in person it is white on the image.

Focus
This controlls how blury the image is. If the subject is in focus it will be clear and stand out from the background around it. If it is out of focus it will be blury and won't stand out.

Tripod
A tripod is used to balance the camera so that the footage is still. This makes footage look more proffesional. A tripod can also help you film different types of shots to a better standard for instance low angle and high angle shots.

Framing

This is the way a shot is composed and the way the subjects and objects in the shot are surrounded by the perimetre of the film image.

Thursday, 22 October 2015

How to Make a Cup of Tea




An intro has been added to this version.

In this video i haven't used the 'two shot' and a person walking into space in the scene' shot, as i did not feel it was necessary to include in my film. I have though used both shots in my '10 Shot Types' film, this shows that i am able to use these types of shots when filming. Also in this film i haven't used any effects as i didn't feel that my film needed any.

Shots not included in final edit:

 Very Long Shot













Extreme Close-Up











Medium Shot










Wednesday, 21 October 2015

Types of Microphones

Lapel Microphone: A lapel microphone is a small microphone that is clipped on to actors or a presensters cloths. This is an example of an omnidirectional microphone; a type of microphone that can record sound from all angles of it.

Shotgun Microphone:A shotgun microphone is a microphone that has to be pointed directly at whatever the source of sound is its trying to record. These are mainly used on sets to record extarnal sound. To stop background noise from being picked up a wind gag is put over it.



Standard kit needed to record sound:
- Audio recorder e.g. Zoom 4HN
- Microphone e.g. Shotgun Microphone
- Headphones
- XCR wires
- Boom Pole (when recording with a shotgun microphone)

10 Shot Types Video


Monday, 19 October 2015

Key Concepts

M = Media Forms
I = Istitutions
G = Genre
R = Representation
A = Audience
I = Ideology
N = Narrative 

Media Forms:
The type of media. For instance newspapers, TV and the internet.

Institutions: 
Media institutions are the company or organisation that make or broadcast the media. For instance BBC and ITV. 

Genre: 
Genre is the different catagories of media.

Representation:
This is how the media is shown to the audience.

Audience:
This is who is going to buy or is interested in the media product.
 
Ideology:
The belifes and ideas which whoever made the media product wants to share with the audience.

Narrative:
The way the media form is put together.

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Narrative Theory

Narative is the way that the story is told and how it is put together so that the audience userstands it. The narrative can be different depending on who's point of view the story is being told from. The way a particular story is told is called a narrative plot. Narrative in film is made up of different things such camerawork, lighting, sound, mise-en-scene and editing. Narrative is important because it makes scense of everything. There are five stages of narrative structure:
1) Expostition - This is where the scene is set and characters are introduced
2) Development - This is where the situations develop and more charcters are introduced
3) Complication - This is where someting happens to complicate the lives of the characters
4) Climax - This is where decisive moments are reached and suspense is high
5) Resolution - This is where the matters are resolved and an end is reached

Monday, 12 October 2015

12/08/2015

Today we did some filming on an improved 'how to make a cup of tea video'. This invoved using camera, lighting and sound skills. To do this susseccfully we used 'SWEFF'. S stands for sound, W stands for whitebalance, E stands for exposure, F stands for Framing and the other F stands for Focus. We also did alot of call and response, which is where a person makes a call to check that the lights, sound and cameras are ready.

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Editing

Continuity Editing:

A way of editing which is used to make a, consistant, clear action which is done by using a set of of rules. Doing this makes the shots flow into eachother and gives the narrative a structure, which makes the film easier to watch. The rules of continuity editing are:


  • Establishing Shot: An establishing shot is usualy a long or extreme long shot which shows the space between important characters, objects and the setting of a scene.
  • Shot/reverse shot: This is were two shots, which alternate between two characters, are edited together. Usualy both characters in the two shots are in a conversation. In one shot the characters will be looking left and the following shot they will be looking right.
  • 180 ° rule: The angle of two shots together should not go beyond 180 ° . This is to make sure that the audience has a scense of where everything is in the scene. to do this you can't cross the line of vision between the characters, if this happens then the viwer won't understand what is going on.
  • 30 ° rule: The angle between two consectutive shots shouldn't be less than 30 ° . This is to give a spatial relatioship between people and objects in the scene.
  • Crosscutting: Where you alternae between two shots which occure simultaneosly in two or more different locations.
  • Match on Action: Cutting between two shots, which show different angles of the same action next to each other. This shows emphisis on that action.
  •  Eyeline Match: A cut between two shots, where in the first shot shows somebody looking in a certain direction. The second shot shows either what the person in the first shot sees, or a person looking back at them in the oposite direction.
  • Re-establishing Shot: A shot that goes back to a view of a space or location after a series of close-ups.
  
180 ° Rule:















Discontinuity Editing:
 
It is also called montage editing, this is the complete oposite of continuity editing. the aim of discontinuity editing is to make the sequence nnot make sense, unlike continuity editing where the aim is to make the sequence flow and make sense. Discontinuity scenes can out weeks or even months in a few seconds of film. the edit will show different places at different times to show changes in time.

Insert Shot:

This is a shot that focuses, usually in a close-up, on something specific in the scene.

Cutaway:
This is a shot that cuts away from the main action in the scene for a short period of time. The cutawat shot usually takes place at the same time as the main action, it just shows the audience other aspects of the plot.

Sound Design:
The different types of sounds used when editing te final film. For instance dialoge, sound effects and the foley sound.

Pre Production: How to Make a Cup of Tea

Storyboards:
We didn't follow the storyboard when filming because we just wanted to make it simple.
























Script:
In the end we didn't actual follow the script as it would have taken too long to learn.
Mind Map:

 
Risk Assessment:

Location Report:

Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Sound

Diegetic Sound:
Sound that's source is shown on screen e.g dialogue or sound effects.
Non-Diegetic Sound:
Sound were the source is not visbale on the screen and doesn't show action e.g background music

Non-Simultaneous Sound:
Diegetic sound that came earlier or later than the image.

Voiceover:
When the voice that is heard whilst the character is not actualy speaking. It is mainly used for flashbacks in films.

Sound Bridge:
Where the sound from one scene carrys on over to the next scene briefly before the sound from the next scene starts. Its also where the sound from the next scene can brieflt be heard at the end of the current scene before the image apears on the screen. Sound bridges is a common transition in the continuity editing style. It shows the connection between both scenes.

Pleonastic Sound:
Pleonastic sound is sound that is exaggerated. For example the light sabers being waved about in Star Wars.

Contrapuntal Sound:
Sound that doesnt match the images its accompanying. This can be disorientating to the audience and and make then wonder what their watching.

Silence:
Silence can be used to create suspence in films, depending on the style of film.

Microphone placement:
This is where the microphones are put on a set or on a person. There are three basic mic placements which are boom, plant and lavaliere. Boom is where the microphone is attached to a pole called a boompole and is suspended infront the subject. This allows movement from the actors. A plant is where any type of microphone is fixed in place. this is mainly used when it is impracticle to use a boom. Where the microphone is placed is important as they only pick up sound withi it's range. Lavaliere's are tiny mics worn by actors wither inside or outside their clothing. these are mainly used for interviews as they can be placed closed to the seakers mouth and it doesn't nessaccarly have to be hidden.

Levels:
This is how loud or quite the audio that is recording is.

Phantom Power:
This is a DC voltage which is sent through the microphone cable to power the microphone. This is used in mist audio equipment.

Sync Sound Recording:
This is the sound which is recorded at the same time as the image is being filmed.

Foley Sound:
This provides filmakers with tiny, everyday sounds which mics often miss. This can range from the rustling of cloths to a person walking.
Dialogue:
This is what the characters say. This can be in a conversation between two or more people.

Sound Effects:
This is the sound that is added to an action to make it more realistic. For instance a door being slammed shut, whithout the sound effect it means nothing. 




  

Film Assessment


Film assessment

1) Why do you think it’s important to evaluate a project?
 So you can point out what wrong with it and then go back and improve it.

2) What do you think are the main strengths and weaknesses of your shots?
The main stengths are probably the set as it isn't cluttered. Also the lighting in al but one shot as its not to bright but enough to make the background look completly black which makes the objects in the shot stand out. A weakness in my shots would be the shot 2 were the lighting changes a bit which is probly down to diffrent settings on the camera. Also we did not film a close up of the mug which would have been a good shot to include in the video. Also the high angle shot is out of focus.
 
3) What are the main strengths and weaknesses of your edit?
A main strength in my edit would be the consitancy of the audio between each shot, even though al the shots had completly different audio. One of the main weaknesses in my edit would be that i didn't include some of the differnt types of shots we filmed. I also didn't add any effects or different transitions but this was to keep the video simple.

4) What did you learn from doing this exercise?
I learnt that it would probably be easier to record it once all the way through without any dialogue to make it easier to edit. I also learnt how to use a shotgun microphone.

Self Assessment: How to Make a Cup of Tea



Shot/ Set up
Assessment
Grade
Evidence of planning – storyboard, shot list, meeting minutes of roles and expectations, location report.
Storyboard and Script.

Props – Mug, Kettle, Milk, tea bag, Water, Table
Mug, kettle, milk, tea bag, water, table and sugar. Lanyard shouldn’t be in shot.

Shots (number)
9

Close up
Shot 1

Medium shot
n/a

Long shot
Shot 6

Establishing shot
Shot 2

Extreme close up
n/a

Over the shoulder
Shot 4

High angle shot
Shot 8

Use of tripod
All shots except shot 8.

White balance
Colour of shot 2 is different to the other shots

Lighting/ set up
Lighting slightly different in shot 2

Acting
n/a

Post production


Editing – Intro/ outro
Fades In and Out

Titles
At beginning

Effects
None

Titles


Sound Effects
None

Music
None

Must export to YouTube and post on blog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQjyilTYX4Q