In year 12 my production task was creating an opening for a Thriller film and in year 13 for my A2 production I was given the task of creating a music video, website and an album cover. For both years the main areas that required the use of digital technology were the research, planning and construction stages.
The main differences between the production from my first year production and my second year production was the confidence in and breadth of the digital technology used in each stage. For the research and planning stages though the technology used stayed mostly the same, for my Thriller film opening I used websites such as Youtube, Facebook and also film critiquing websites such as IMDB. Youtube was used for a large part of my research as it was the best place to watch the openings and extracts of both urban and thriller movies this was especially important as we were aiming to create a hybrid genre film it was imperative that we identified the main codes and conventions of both genres so that we could create a hybrid of the two. I found that thriller openings were enigmatic and used suspense and tension to entice and entertain the audience I also noted that like in the 'Vertigo' opening they often used long tracking shots and close ups combined with jump cuts to draw the views into the narrative of a character but then distant them from it to draw them into the characters and story. And in urban films it was often a mixture of emotive characters, location shots and flashes of action to draw in the viewer and establish the urban setting after I had established these conventions I used review sites to learn how these films had been received to see if there interpretation of the conventions was well accepted but also used Facebook as a means of asking my target audience directly what their preferences were in these films. And as a result we were able to combine the two genres effectively. In the research stage of my A2 we used most of the same sources although we new because we were producing such a conventional music video production are product was going to be largely based around popular youth culture and we could the fore use an even wider breath of resources such as tumblr, music blogs, celebrity websites, fashion websites in order to research into the conventions of existing music videos for example Diggy Simmons' music videos that were always illustrative videos that used close ups, fast edits, emotion and movement to showcase the star and the emotions connected to the lyrics and narrative which were the basis of our treatment and then use the other sources to establish the popular trends and iconography such as skating or specific clothing.
I developed my skills using digital technology quite significantly during the construction stages from As to A2 in my As production it was my first time operating a high performance camera and we were often limited by kurt lack of knowledge and experience in operating the camera and in the different ways of using it to get varied shots. For example in my AS production we wanted a long tracking shot that changed between over the shoulder and P.O.V perspectives but found it difficult to get the camera steady for both types of shots which resulted in some shaky shots that couldn't be used and proved to be quite difficult for us to do at the time, however in my A2 production I found this wasn't really an issue and as we wanted to to have aspects of skating in our video we found ways of creating a moving steady cam which allowed us the creative freedom to have dynamic tracking shots that flowed like roller skates or have very low tracking shots using a skateboard for example which helped us have a far more interesting music video that also fit the conventions of our genre. The same applies to the editing of my two products although like in my AS production I added a colour filter to change the tone of the production in my A2 piece with improved skills in Final Cut I was able to make use of more interesting effects and also correct any issues we had whilst filming; for example we had a contact and colour issue that was correcting in the editing stage that i would not have been able to do last year which would have lowed the quality of the final production.
Over the time of the course I was able to develop my skills in creative digital media and enable myself to effectively create products that accurately represent my creative process because I am less restricted by not being able to use specific software and technologies.
Monday, 30 April 2012
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Looking at two types of Media, describe the ways in which a particular group of people are collectively represented or provided for, using specific examples to support your response.
The media is the governing force of information and ideology and, through careful censorship and injection of information has the power to mould both the realities and the mindsets of those exposed to its messages. The mass media and specifically for this discussion the press and film are controlled and created by adults; theories from Buckingham and Dyer say that as 'the media do not present us with a window on the world but a mediated version of the world, they don't just present reality they re-present it and as stereotypes are always about power: those with power stereotype those with less power'.
Subsequently youth and youth culture have always been a prominent feature of these messages often being subject to negative portrayals and stereotypes, this has been dominant portrayal of young people since the 1950's which as a post war era was a time where for the first time teens were able to have real leisure and social time, they were a generation with a liberated and prosperous future but because of lifestyle and value differences the media presented them as the source of cultural and moral decline. The first example of this is the film 'Rebel Without A Cause' which presents youth as ruled by delinquent behaviour and as a film conforms to adults fears about young people though it is interesting to note how they presented youth, James Dean the protagonist is presented not as villainous but as a sensitive,frustrated confused but rebellious and although they are producing a negative representation they gave it a kind of celebrity that appeals to adults and teens as well which could be said to make them consciously or unconsciously desire this presentation of youth. This type of representation has become even more sensationalised in contemporary media, watching films such as a Kidulthood by Noel Clarke shapes and in some cases distorts viewers perceptions of youths in reality Noel Clarkes presentation of youth contains violence, drug use, bullying, anti-social and a disregard for social norms by young people as the main themes and for the most part is shown to be the only way the characters know how to interact.Tim O'Sullivan's theory suggests that "the media produces a set of ideas which produces a partial and selective view of reality." this theory insinuates that the ideologies presented by the media in this case it is youth culture are distorted and are displaying an unrealistic version of young people that doesn't apply to the majority of young people but that becomes naturalised. For people from other social groups these representations are often the only experience of young people they get and this exposure to such negative portrayals can lead to moral panic, the Sun a newspaper backed campaigners who claimed 'Kidulthood' "glamorises violence" and the Times accused it of "indulging in middle class voyeurism" this often blows the representation out of proportion because people believe it is a threat further constructing a distorted but ideal of young people.
Although I agree that the media often uses these films to encode negative messages about youth and the press especially tabloid newspapers such as the sun often sensationalise stories about youth culture because it is a topic that sell well, this negative representation is not always constructed but reflected as well. During the London riots there were a number of young people that acted in a way that conforms to the negative hegemonic portrayal of young people and the violent and anti social behaviour broadcast wasn't fictional but live footage as well as this television shows are being made that are recreations of real live events such as a the urban drama 'My murder' that revolved around the killing of a youth in south London this portal was directly based on real events and so closer to reality then other representations.
Presently the main media institutions are controlled by adults and so even shows like 'My Murder' have been encoded and decoded for and by adults and young people aren't given a chance to present themselves. However through web 2.0 using social networking sites such as youtube, Facebook. twitter and tumblr young people are enabled to upload and comment on content they have chosen and created themselves, they have access to uncensored or regulated content away from the medias messages and as Henri Jenkins' theory that says, 'teens are constantly updating and customising their profiles online to construct and experiment with their identities' they are able to form and present their collective identity. In the future I would expect this idea of user created content from young people to become more wide spread to the point where adults are now accessing this content created by young people with the advancement of film production, editing and uploading equipment. Also with a new generation of people who will have grown up with the internet always having been there i feel they may become more influenced by these messages then those of the mass media, in conclusion the presentation of young people in the media is mostly negative as that is what adults and the greater public want to see although through the progression of web 2.0 it seems these negative representations are becoming the less prominent messages and it is moving from a marxist system to a pluralist one.
Subsequently youth and youth culture have always been a prominent feature of these messages often being subject to negative portrayals and stereotypes, this has been dominant portrayal of young people since the 1950's which as a post war era was a time where for the first time teens were able to have real leisure and social time, they were a generation with a liberated and prosperous future but because of lifestyle and value differences the media presented them as the source of cultural and moral decline. The first example of this is the film 'Rebel Without A Cause' which presents youth as ruled by delinquent behaviour and as a film conforms to adults fears about young people though it is interesting to note how they presented youth, James Dean the protagonist is presented not as villainous but as a sensitive,frustrated confused but rebellious and although they are producing a negative representation they gave it a kind of celebrity that appeals to adults and teens as well which could be said to make them consciously or unconsciously desire this presentation of youth. This type of representation has become even more sensationalised in contemporary media, watching films such as a Kidulthood by Noel Clarke shapes and in some cases distorts viewers perceptions of youths in reality Noel Clarkes presentation of youth contains violence, drug use, bullying, anti-social and a disregard for social norms by young people as the main themes and for the most part is shown to be the only way the characters know how to interact.Tim O'Sullivan's theory suggests that "the media produces a set of ideas which produces a partial and selective view of reality." this theory insinuates that the ideologies presented by the media in this case it is youth culture are distorted and are displaying an unrealistic version of young people that doesn't apply to the majority of young people but that becomes naturalised. For people from other social groups these representations are often the only experience of young people they get and this exposure to such negative portrayals can lead to moral panic, the Sun a newspaper backed campaigners who claimed 'Kidulthood' "glamorises violence" and the Times accused it of "indulging in middle class voyeurism" this often blows the representation out of proportion because people believe it is a threat further constructing a distorted but ideal of young people.
Although I agree that the media often uses these films to encode negative messages about youth and the press especially tabloid newspapers such as the sun often sensationalise stories about youth culture because it is a topic that sell well, this negative representation is not always constructed but reflected as well. During the London riots there were a number of young people that acted in a way that conforms to the negative hegemonic portrayal of young people and the violent and anti social behaviour broadcast wasn't fictional but live footage as well as this television shows are being made that are recreations of real live events such as a the urban drama 'My murder' that revolved around the killing of a youth in south London this portal was directly based on real events and so closer to reality then other representations.
Presently the main media institutions are controlled by adults and so even shows like 'My Murder' have been encoded and decoded for and by adults and young people aren't given a chance to present themselves. However through web 2.0 using social networking sites such as youtube, Facebook. twitter and tumblr young people are enabled to upload and comment on content they have chosen and created themselves, they have access to uncensored or regulated content away from the medias messages and as Henri Jenkins' theory that says, 'teens are constantly updating and customising their profiles online to construct and experiment with their identities' they are able to form and present their collective identity. In the future I would expect this idea of user created content from young people to become more wide spread to the point where adults are now accessing this content created by young people with the advancement of film production, editing and uploading equipment. Also with a new generation of people who will have grown up with the internet always having been there i feel they may become more influenced by these messages then those of the mass media, in conclusion the presentation of young people in the media is mostly negative as that is what adults and the greater public want to see although through the progression of web 2.0 it seems these negative representations are becoming the less prominent messages and it is moving from a marxist system to a pluralist one.
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Friday, 24 February 2012
Representation Analysis of our media products
Product- Our production was a sterotypical 'urbanm drama' much like others such as Shank, Kidulthood we did this because these films and the media have already constructed a dominant hegamonic image. The film industry especially London based films have in my opinion become a marxist producer of centralized ideals often portraying the hegamonic view of young people who are involved in violent behavior and crime and whether this is is a posative or negative thing these images have become naturalised in the minds of adullts who have a constructed view of youths or young people who have become to accept internalised sterotypes and because it is so prolific is easy for us and the audience to consume for their own gratification of needs. And as such we chose to represent youth in this way; and although we challenged the usual racial sterotype of black youths being involved in gang violence as our protagonist was of south american origin, although we show through setting and costume that he is a part of this social group s he is shown to be living in a gritty urban environment whilst wearing sterotypical bandanas, hoodies, an d nike brand trainers reflecting young people from this social group.
Although using this dominant representation may have been a negative for our production because this representation is so prolific and young people are continously shown to be a part of this violent culture the image has become redundant and lost its power it could even be said to be annoying because it has become such a mainstream representation.
Although using this dominant representation may have been a negative for our production because this representation is so prolific and young people are continously shown to be a part of this violent culture the image has become redundant and lost its power it could even be said to be annoying because it has become such a mainstream representation.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Analyse my product against narrative theory
My AS production was short intro to an an urban drama inspired by recent films such as Kidulthood, Adulthood and Shank. The opening follows the codes and conventions of urban london based films because we wanted to portray a narrative that our audiences could easily identify and respond to and as such we named the production 'Conflict' to highlight this; the protagonist is seen leaving his house when he is followed by a group of thugs from the local area who are from a rival gang he is chased and then beaten by them.
The opening was supposed to create enigma and generate audience interest in the narrative by establishing a character and presenting a confilct with other newly introduced characters using Propp's theories to clearly establish the protagonist as the 'hero' and the other youths as the 'villain' by conforming to the codes of Strauss' theory and using binary oppositions; using conceptual oppositions by showing the protagonist as passive and the other youths as aggressive and violent coupled with visual oppositions shooting the protagonist mostly in the light and the others in darkness. This makes the audience take the side of the protagonist which leads to greater level of involvement between film and audience. As well as hooking the audicene into wanting to know who these people are and how the situation is resolved; this structure pulls on Todorov's narrative theory that suggests that every narrative follows a three part structure the equilibrium, disruption and then a resolution however our product which is a film opening intentionally subverts this theory by leaving out the resolution and finishing with the disruption; Claude Levi-Strauss says that "narrative can only end on a resolution of conflict" and because it leaves the narrative without a resolution it is open ended and enigmatic; which is important because a film opening needs to hook an audience into the narrative and make them want to see the end. This is similar to Barthes enigma code which says that "narrative will establish enigmas or mysteries as it goes along. 'Essentially the narrative functions to establish and then solve these mysteries' our product establishes enigma by using time skips to leave out key pieces of narrative which leave it to the audience to unravel the text themselves.
My product follows the codes and conventions because it is based on well known stereotypes and allows the product to be easy recognised and identified with.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
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