Silence of the Lambs - Dom Simmons, George Jackson, Ben Bowen and Toby Harvey
The boys did their analysis on the psychological horror, Silence of the Lambs. They explained well how lighting is used to convey the theme of overcoming evil. Such as when the woman at the beginning climbs over the rope ladder, before she is in the dark, and then after overcoming the obstacle, she is in the sunlight. They also mentioned how certain aspects of nature can be used to represent evil such as ravens/crows. They also explained how jerky camera shots and quick cuts make the audience felt uncomfortable and disorientated. Their presentation can help us with our film, because we now can see that we can use lighting to our advantage, and also nature around us.
Jennifer's Body - Harriet Nicholls, Amber Holt, Harriett Long and Becky Roydhouse
The girls pointed out during their presentation, the use of a country house as a typical location for a horror film and this made me think about how we could use this in our task. Therefore as a group, in the following lesson we began to discuss ideal places for filming, that were easily accessed and would represent the right connotations. The girls also pointed out that credits font had a spooky feel to it, which heightened the tension of the opening. I therefore made a note to look up fonts that we could use for our piece. The girls also said that the non diegetic whispering added effect, which made me reflect on how we could use nondiegetic sound to create a similar effect.
The Ring
Luke Mably did his film analysis on The Ring. Luke pointed out how in films recurring objects can be used to create a sense of foreboding, such as the reappearance of the phone in The Ring. He also showed how clouds can be used to show time passing, such as when they move across the screen quickly and the lighting gets darker. From Luke's presentation, we can consider how we can use recurring objects and the weather to pass the time in our own film.
Other Group's Preliminary Tasks
George Jackson, Amber Holt, Ellie Fletcher, Ben Bowen Effective:
Lighting and Camera Angles
Black and white style,
connotations of old fashioned films
Interesting heart transition between two shots
Camera panning and zooms attracted viewer's eyes
Over shoulder shoulder shots
Address with Camera
Dissolve transitions
Suggested Improvements: Continuity error of disappearing boys
Abbie Lacey, Hannah Moore, Luke Mably and Daryll Meadows Effective:
Lots of different shots used
Close up between eyes like a target
Good use of non diegetic sound
Quick clean jump cuts
Slow motion used to attract audience attention
Suggested Improvements: Distracting coloured posters were in background and diegetic sound was too loud and harsh.
Our Presentation
My group, Akshay Mason, Catherine Porter, Emma Wylie, and myself, did our analysis on Silent Hill. We watched the film opening four times, and for each time we all took the responsibility of writing about a specific element, such as Mise-en-scene, Sound, Camera Angles and Editing. Then we rotated the elements round so we had four sheets of notes for each element. We then assigned each of the elements to each other, and had to change the notes into points to make about the film in our presentation. We did this because we were aware that different points of view will notice different things,and in order to develop a better, more concise analysis of the film, we had to work together on all the elements.
To prepare for the presentation, we got together and pin pointed exact times in the opening we wanted to show for analysis, and we also planned an order in which to speak. We had a few technical problems in our presentation, we did have a version of the opening of the film with text that we had added onto it ourselves, but we were unable to play it. The projector was also of poor quality, so the audience couldn't see what we were showing, so we also did our best to explain what was happening in the shots. Our presentation lasted over fifteen minutes, and Miss said it was an advanced presentation. Here is the link to our presentation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCLqZWB6dBg
Hide and Seek - Hannah Moore, Abbie Lacey, and Ellie Fletcher
The girls did a group presentation on Hide and Seek. Hide and Seek was directed by John Polson, and was released in 2005. They explained to us how the film uses childish themes to horrify and shock the audience. It makes the most innocent of things, such as hide and seek become dark and evil. Ellie made a good point when she said that in the scene between the mother and daughter in the bedroom, underneath the bed was never shown, as this is seen as the source of nightmares and bad things, which later come to light in the film. The girls also explained how clothes are used to give the audience insight to the characters, for example, the mother is dressed all in white, which tell us her character is one of goodness, and we immediately respond by liking her. The father in contrast wears dark clothes and glasses, which makes the audience more apprehensive. This points will help the development of our film, because by focusing on small things such as costume and make up, we can manipulate how the audience react to a character. We can also give the character more depth.
The Grudge - Darryl Meadows
Darryl did his film opening presentation on The Grudge. The film uses darkness to create a sense of foreboding, such as when the girl enters the house, the hallways are dark and seemingly deserted. Camera angles are used to show that she is trapped by using high angles with bars obstructing the audiences view of the girl, almost like she is in prison. Long shots with low angles are used a lot to show the girl, which makes the audience feel like someone is spying on her, and they feel uncomfortable and fearful for her. Extreme close ups are used to show the fear in her face, and also to prevent the audience from seeing the rooms she is in as a whole heightening the tension, such as when she is in the loft we can hear something approaching her, but because we can only see the fear in her face we cannot see the cause, or what is behind her. An interesting point Darryl made was the use of the lighter in the loft scene. It has a practical use for the girl to see, but is also used to make her face flicker and add shadows to it to emphasise how scared she is. Darryl's presentation has made me reflect on how darkness can be used to increase fear, and how we can apply it to our own film.
Blue Book
In our double lesson we were given our AS Level Media books. We then began a title page, a what is horror page, with a horror time line as homework. We then followed our teacher on our blogs so she can view our work.
Continuity and Discontinuity
In our last lesson, we started to look at Continuity and Discontinuity. We watched a few video's and had to point out mistakes made in the continuity and decide whether or not it was intentional. We also then began to look at Match on action, shot reverse shot and the 180 degree rule, and developed our understanding of this. Next we were given a sheet on Alfred Hitchcock and his film Psycho, to give us some background information, and then we began to watch the film, taking note of the codes and conventions it followed.
Assessment Criteria
Today, we look at the assessment criteria for our Media AS level. We wrote notes on what is expected of us and have been told to use them to help us write our essay. We had time to update our blogs and also began research on our chosen horror film which we have to analyse.
Sounds and Codes & Conventions
In today's lesson we explored the topic of sound. We covered a range of topics such as, non-diegetic, diegetic, parallel, contrapuntal, music, and sound effects. We also watched the first 5 minutes of Pirates of the Caribbean in which we wrote down any sound we noticed, and talked about the effects they each had. We also begun to look at codes and conventions, such as code breakers, technical codes, key terms, symbolic codes and written codes. We then looked at a poster for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Casino Royale and analysed each using the codes and conventions of each genre.
Ideology
In today's lesson we learnt about Ideology. Ideology refers to a system of belief that is constructed by a media text. We learnt the hegemony had been defined by Gramsci as 'the way in which those in power maintain power'. We then explored dominant ideologies to give our selves example of hegemony. We then moved onto identifying ideology. We found that most magazines, models, companies, newspapers, etc all will reflect the dominant ideologies of those in power, for example, those high up in the fashion industries believe that skinny women are more attractive, therefore fashion magazines use skinny models when promoting clothes. We then began looking at four images of Americans raising the American flag, and made a general analysis of each. We have been given the task to 'Compare and contrast the ideologies of these four pictures using hegemony, semiotics, shot types and representation' in an essay format. This is due on the 23rd of September.
Genre Analysis & ABC Audience
In today's lesson we continued our Genre study. We explored reasons why people like watching movies of a similar genre, such as the familiarity it brings to them. We then were given the titles of ten movies, and had to chose, based on their names, what audience they would attract in terms of gender and age. We then looked at 'Getting the ABC1 Audience'. We looked at Social Grade, Status and typical occupation and then chose an apprioprate media text for each Social Status.
Genres
In today's lesson we looked at the foundation of Media Studies such as, purpose, process, audience, institution, conventions and genres. We then went to look at what makes a genre, and began to identify genres by watching three different trailers, There's Something About Mary, L.A Confidential, and Gladiator and chose the genres they belonged too. We also wrote our own description of a genre and had the rest of the class guess what it was. We learnt how the repetition of conventions in genres is important because it helps the audience recognise the genre. However, if the conventions are repeated exactly the same, the movie becomes dull, which is why new movies in particularly have begun to stretch the boundaries of their chosen genre, sometimes even merging two together.
Terminator 2 - Mise-en-scene and Camera Shots
Today, we were given back our photos that we took last lesson. We then labelled each photo with the correct name for the camera shot, and then filed them away for future reference. We watched two scenes from Terminator 2, the mental hospital scene where two men beat up Sarah Connor and then the interview scene where Sarah is trying to get herself into a minimum security hospital in order to see her son. We watched both scenes as a class, with one side focusing on mise-en-scene and the other focusing on camera shots. We noticed all kinds of things such as how the first few shots of Sarah were of the muscles in her arms, we are introduced to her strength as person first, before her gender. We also pointed out how the lighting in her cell was used to light her up, making her stand out as the hero. For the camera shots we noticed extreme close ups were used on Sarah's face, and the camera panned out to show scientists and men analysing Sarah's behavouir. This was effective because it made Sarah look smaller and more vulnerable and made the viewer feel like they were watching Sarah with the men. The two scenes show Sarah in almost completely different ways. The first Sarah the viewer is introduced to is wild, angry and unkempt. The second is clean, calm and tidy, looking as though she is better, which she is trying to get the hospital to believe. This shows how just a few simple things such as hair being washed changes the viewers perspective of the character.
Today, we continued analysing scenes from Terminator 2. We watched the rest of Sarah Connor's interview, and her escape from the mental hospital. We will be finishing the analysis of the last scene next week. We noticed in the escape sequence low angles were used in abundance, first to show one of the hospital workers dominance over Sarah, and then to make Sarah seem more impressive when she begins her escape attempt, attacking the workers. They are also used to make Sarah seem small again when she is confronted by The Terminator. Another point of notice was that when Sarah picked the locks of her restraining belt and her cell door, the light shone precisely on the object she was trying to undo, drawing attention to it, and showing the hope Sarah is feeling as she is unlocking it, the hope that she will finally escape.
In our last lesson, we continued our analysis of Terminator 2, this time looking at the scene where we see a vulnerable side of Sarah Connor, as she recognises that out of all the men she has ever known, the Terminator would be the best father like figure for her son. She then lays her head down, and dreams about the destruction of the playground. In this scene there is a lot of flames, and mass destruction, and extreme long shots are used to show the city skyline as it is up in flames. This gives an impressive view of the city, compared to if the shot had merely shown one building falling down. The next scene we watched was the final scene of the film. Low and High angles were used to make Sarah Connor look vulnerable, the bad terminator dangerous, and the good terminator heroic. Flashing warning lights were used through out the final scene, to highlight the danger of the situation, and an interesting two shot of Sarah Connor and the bad terminator, through the terminators head was used. After watching the final scene, we were set an essay which is due on the 30th of September.
Camera Shots and Angles
Today we learnt about the different camera shots and angles. We completed a given sheet that explained different types of shot and their effects by drawing a picture of the outcome of each type of shot. We were also given a sheet of shot angles and had to match them up to their names. We then went around the school grounds taking our own examples of each shot type, which was good because we were able to see the process for ourselves, and had to chose carefully where to position the camera. We then began to learn the different camera movements such as panning, tilting, tracking shot, dolly, crane, Steadicam, hand-held, zoom and reverse zoom, and how they would be used.
Mise-en-Scene Analysis
Today we had to present a chosen advert to the class and explain our analysis of it. In a pair we chose The Natural Confectionary Company advert 'Dinasour' to analyse. The setting is an armchair which is a casual setting and doesnt eliminate class. It's a nice armchair and the viewers relate that to the sweets also being nice.
There are magazines in the shot to give the room a comfortable lived in look, to make the sweets look like they too could have been left out.The sweets are the opposite of each other in terms of texture. The bear is roughh because of the sugar and the dinasour is smooth. This shows the variety of the company's sweets.
At the end, the bag of sweets is positioned between the books and plant. The viewers see the plant and instantly connect it to health, which is what the company is trying to get across to the consumers, the sweets are better for you than regular sweets. The packaging is bright, with a cartoon snake on the front and a clear circle so you can see the sweets. The bright colours against the dull colour scheme draw the readers eyes and attention.
Connotation and Denotation
In today's lesson we began to learn about Connotation and Denotation and how to use them in our analysis of media text. Denotation is where you pick out the obvious, for example if you have an image of a woman in a red scarf, you would annotate it with 'there is a woman in a red scarf'. Connotation is where you delve deeper into the meanings behind the image. For example, for the same image, you would analyse why the scarf is red and what it tells the viewer about the woman. As a class we analysed a poster for the Calvin Klein perfume eternity using both denotation and connotation, and found that using denotation to point out the obvious made using connotation to explain it much easier.
