Evaluation of Harriet Newmans Analysis of ‘Mementos’

What Harriet Done:

 Harriet starts off with noting how she is going to lay out her blog for her analyses of ‘Mementos’ This great as it’s easier to find specific  parts of her analyses. Harriet has laid her blog post out neatly and easier for anyone to get help/ideas from.  Also Harriet has bullet pointed what she has found out which will be an easier way to read over the notes when it comes down to making our own intro. However Harriet could of improved her blog by having a link off Mementos to help us understand more. Harriet also could off added her own ideas at the end and told us how this research has helped her.

Evaluation of "Panic Room" By Hannah Vincent

When reading Hannahs Evaulation of 'Panic Room' I found that Hannah pointed out when she could use techniques from this opening in her own work. This will help us when making our intro. Hannah commented on Sound, lighting, Cutting, Camera angels, Mise-en-scene. This is very good however Hannah could of done headings of these and evaluated them in more detail. Finally as a whole Hannah covered everything and has helped our group and others, with new ideas to what we might want to add to our opening.

Sound -

Notes From my lesson on Sound.

 

P = Protagonist

A = Antagonist  



Evaluation of Hannah Vincents Work on Genre

Hannah has blogged about 'Sub Genre in Thrillers and the Characteristics of Thrillers'. The blog is very clear and easy to understand. Hannah gets across what information she has learnt very well.

From reading Hannah's blog I now have a better understanding about the genre Thriller. Hannah starts off by talking about 'The characteristics of Thrillers'. The research gives me a great understanding of how a 'Thriller' is created 'villian driven plot'.

Hannah then goes on to talk about the different Sub-Genres. Hannah goes into a lot of detail and one thing I found interesting was that 'Action' and 'Thriller' often overlap. This will help us when it comes to making our own intro as we can decide if we want to add it or try to avoid it. Hannah also found a lot of sub-genres which will help us when we start planing our intro.

Here's a link to Hannah's blog below:

http://www.hannahvincent96.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Primeval Essay

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of gender using the following:

·         Camera shots, angle, movement and composition

·         Editing

·         Sound

·         Mise en scene

This extract is split into 4 different parts. The opening sections starts of with a woman storming off from a man, the director uses a mid camera shot where the camera is focusing on the woman however you can see the man standing in front of her. The camera is eye level which connotes that even though the woman is raising her voice and storming off she isn’t any more important then the man and that they’re equal. The man is shown to be a protagonist as he is still in the shot making it clear to the audience that he is important. This makes the audience understand that he is an important character in this extract making them curious about him. The director uses sounds to help make effect of this situation.  One effected sound I found was the raw of the engine. The director uses this symbolic sign to tell the audience that the woman is very angry and the raw is symbolic as it signifies that something bad has happened or is about to happened. This could also be an iconic sign as it resembles something bad. This makes the audience intrigued to find out more. the director then uses a shot reverse shot of the car going away which represents to the audience that he does care that the women has gone however implies that he has some important business to do. The location then changes and we see another woman driving a JCB and another man carry sticks looking up to the girl driving the JCB. This represents stereotypical gender in another way. The girl (Abbey) is dressed in a leather jacket and has short hair. This conveys to the audience that Abbey is very masculine which is then emphasised through the down angel camera shot of the man carrying sticks. The camera is looking down which presents the man to be weak compared to Abbey in the JCB however the camera never looks up at Abbey, which normally signifies their power, which implies to the audience that she isn’t that masculine and powerful as first portrayed. Abbey is then shot at an eye level shot which symbolises her to be equal to everyone. Here there is an un-stereotypical look on gender. Abbeys masculinity is then shown again when she shoots the tiger and saves the man. Stereotypically the man should be saving the women. This shows Abbeys strength and masculinity as in reality when shouting a gun it can be powerful but Abbeys shoots the rival with no problem. In section one gender is shown to be more dominating to women. Just before Abbey shoots we see the man climb a ladder. At first it looks as if he is struggling but the editing then shows him to be strong and climbing up the ladder with speed and steadiness. This makes the audience feel hope for him as the director then shows a down view camera shot of the tiger making it look hopeless. 

                                 Furthermore in section two Abbey is still portrayed to be very masculine. The tiger jumps over the man as he falls to the ground, the camera shot on him on the group shows his weakness. Sound is then used to simulate danger and that Abbey has come to save the man. This makes the audience feel sympathy for the man as he is seen to be the heroine. More over the director shows his weakness even more as he is being chased by a tiger which is a form of cat. Stereotypically cats are associated with females and are usually resembled to be feminine. This makes the man get across to the audience that, women and men are equal.

                                 Section three you see Abbey is with masculine men yet she fits in because of her sense of style. The directors wants Abbey to look equal and makes the character come across to want to be dominate yet when they all walk away Abbey is positioned far left, at the back and has been marginalized. Also there is a boy that is wearing pink, with hat and scarf. The boy here comes across as very feminine as the colour ‘Pink’ and ‘scarf’ are often associated with femininity. Also the boy has also been marginalised which highlights that he doesn’t have much authority and is very feminine.  This is very stereotypical of gender as here the men are very dominating and in charge. The director uses good lightening that focuses and is brighter on the men which also draw the attention of the audience that the men are more in control. Here gender sends the message that women have to lose their femininity to have power.

                                 In the final section we see a change in location and they go to a barn. The woman is trying to be dominated and is having an argument with a man. However the director uses the eye level camera shot which shows them to be equal on the other you could say that because of both of there body language the woman is slightly more dominate. This then changes through a camera effect called panning; you see the camera follow the man round who then picks up a gun. The camera angle still stays at eyelevel however the man then shots the gun. The sound of the gun is very affected and is symbolic and iconic. This makes the audience feel scared because the dogs then start barking which is symbolic for danger. Furthermore the audience knows that the dogs are fighting dogs which then put the woman in a vulnerable position. The man in is very dominate and pushes the women to the floor representing to the audience that he is in control. We then see the women on the floor with the camera looking down on her. This demonstrates the stereotype of gender as the man is shown to be strong and the woman is shown to be weak. The woman’s femininity is also shown through what she is wearing as she is wearing a nice dress and coat and even complains about her coats getting dirty which implies that she is a stereotypical girl. In contrast to this Abbey comes in the save the day playing the masculine role. However she positioned behind the man who connotes to the audience that she is still not completely masculine and will always be referred to as a girl. Yet the boy dressed in pink comes on and picks up a shovel as which implies that he isn’t masculine enough for a gun. Here gender is represented to be seen as the colour pink automatically makes you more feminine. Also that even if a women loses her femininity she will also be seen less masculine and dominate as a male.

Overall from the extract I learnt that women have to lose there femininity to become masculine and equal to men and that men usually dominate women. Through out the extract this is shown through the use of camera angels, sounding, editing and mise en scene. Gender is represented like this because it helps the audience have an understanding about the characters and the stereotypes of gender is used to comfort the audience into understanding everyone’s roles.

Thriller Survey

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3922635311767069630#editor/target=post;postID=5796126924620965541

Primeval Extract

In lesson we watched this extract:

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From watching this I found that the director uses gender to represent how femininity and masculinity is portrayed.

I found that for women to be seen as masculine they have to lose their femininity. The director shows this through Abbey. She is portrayed as masculine by wearing dark colours, leather jacket and by her having dark hair. Whereas the other women’s femininity is emphasised by her wearing a dress and having long hair tied up in a bun.

Jane Eyre - Camera Shots and Angles

Camera Angles

Techniques: distance and angles.

 

All these angels insinuate to the audience different things. For example ‘High’ angel tells the audience that, the person is weak and timid. However if it’s a low angel that tells the audience that the person has power and is strong 

From learning this I will be able to add it into my own work and this will help me get across what type of  character they are and will make my piece effective.

Jane Eyre.

The director starts off by using a long shot of a girl. This tells the audience that she is the female protagonist and it gives us a sense of isolation. A panning effect is used to show us how isolated she is. We then see Jane from a high angel that tells the audience that she is weak. However at 2.15 we see that Jane is still in the shot and is at eye level with the boy which implies he isn’t that strong or important. We then see the boy on the floor from a high angel at 2.28 which therefore making him look weak.

What's allowed in a films rating 18? - Research

At the age of 18 the BBFC’s guideline states that adults are free to watch what they like. Exceptions are mostly likely to be in the following areas for the film itself:

• Where the material is in breach of the criminal law, or has been created through the commission of a criminal offence

• Where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of

Violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault

• Where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. Such images may be appropriate in ‘R18’ works, and ‘sex works’ (see below) would normally be confined to that category.

On the case of films (including video games) they have to make it clear that there is a use of sexual and violence in the game/film they are buying.

Sex education at ‘18’

Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safer sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may

Be permitted.

Sex works at ‘18’

Sex works are works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing only materials which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’.

Sex works containing clear images of real sex, strong fetish material, sexually explicit animated images, or other very strong sexual images will be confined to the ‘R18’ category. Material which is unacceptable in a sex work at ‘R18’ is also unacceptable in a sex work at ‘18’.

What we have left To-Do

A list of the tasks we have completed as a group for our coursework

Binary Opposition-Essay

Discuss the ways in which Cameron has used Binary Opposition to create meaning in Titanic.

In the extract from Titanic, Cameron uses binary opposition to show the difference in class. Cameron shows the difference by Roses’ arrival compared to jacks. Rose looks very disappointed when she sees the boat and compares her experience of her going on the boat as if the boat is a slave ship, dragging her to America in chains ECT. Rose takes for granted her opportunity to go on the Titanic even though it would have been seen as a privilege back then. Jack however is very excited and talks about how he’s ‘practically royalty’. This shows Jacks excitement and that he was low class and didn’t have a lot to look forward to. When Rose opens the door of the car she puts her hand out and waits until someone helps her out of the car. The camera focuses on Roses’ hand which symbolises her wealth as he she is wearing gloves and gets escorted from her car, which the car also shows her wealth as the car she arrives in is covered in gold. The fact Rose is wearing gloves also shows her class as she probably would have been wearing them because she wouldn’t of wanted to touch anything that the poor would have touched.

Cameron then introduces Jack. He focuses on Jacks hands too. However, jack isn’t wearing and his hands are rather dirty. This binary opposite of Rose wearing gloves and not jack shows the different in classes they are from. Rose-higher and Jack-low. This also shows how common jack would have been at that time. Also Jack is very dirty shown not only by his hands but the rest of him like what he is wearing. Jack’s wearing dark browns, rugged old clothes with a flat cap whereas Rose was wearing a white and purple dress with a massive hate. The colours Rose was wearing back then would have shown not only her class but her respect for royalty, the queen. White, at the time would have been a symbol for purity and insinuated that she could have been a virgin. Roses’ mum wore a green dress that could of insinuated that she was envies Roses’ life and feels like she is getting left behind. The green also, once again shows of her wealth. Also Jacks ‘flat cap’ was a stereotypical hat for the poor people of that time, this also emphasises the differences in class as Roses hat was very big and bold and even had big, bright purple feathers on it. Moreover when Rose gets out of the car the camera pauses on her hat to help get across her wealth and the fact that she is high class.

The first time we see Jack look at the boat is through the window of the saloon which is a bar. Here Cameron wanted to get across that Jack was worthless and could only dream about getting on the boat as he is shown as worthless as he beats everything he owns as he has nothing to lose. Then when he wins the tickets and runs to the ship, the music that was playing in the background was old Irish folk music which would have been seen as working class music. The music is a symbolic sign for the excitement Jack would have had as he was low class. Also because of how up beat the music is it shows how chaos but fun Jacks life was. This would have been because he had nothing to lose and no one to impress whereas Roses’ fiancé wore a boring suit and when he walked onto the boat he had boring, slow, sophisticated music. This was to represent the higher class. Also Roses’ fiancé clothing in the extract could be a symbol for his personality, boring.

Finally Cameron focuses on how differently the working class is treated to the upper class. When the working class arrive they have horse and carts whereas the upper class arrive in smart cars. Roses’ car for example, the cars were made from gold, and Rose arrived in a different car from her mother and anther just for their baggage, which showed they can afford to buy/rent as many cars as they want or need. Jack however arrived on foot, running with just a sack full of a few clothes slung over his shoulder. Furthermore when the Rose and her family arrived onto the ship, they didn’t have to carry their own luggage, they just walked straight onto the ship and left it with their room number knowing already that there would be someone to carry it to there room. Also when some tried to tell them off for parking in the wrong place, Roses’ fiancé just gave the man some money and they let them carry on. Cameron here wanted to get across to the character how money could help them, and if you didn’t have money they didn’t care. Also, other higher class people were taking animals such as dogs onto the ship and the dogs didn’t have to have a health check or anything. However when the lower class walked onto the ship they were treated like animals and had to have a health check which was basically them brushing their hair ect. Lastly Cameron put the upper class people at the top of the boat and lower class people at the end of the boat. This is a symbol for how society at the time treated people and ranked them, this is then shown again at the end of the film when the upper class are first priority to get of the boats when its sinking and the lower class are just left for dead.

Overall Cameron used Binary Opposition such as; rich-poor, clean-dirty and many more to emphasis the difference in class back in the nineteen hundreds. I also think he done this well how in the extract we saw it constantly flashed from poor, to rich showing us just how different they were.

What’s allowed in films rating 15? – Research

In the UK certain requirements of the human right act (1998) are needed to make the process of classification and criteria clear when rating films. This is satisfied by the publication of the BBFC guidelines. Last set of guidelines published in June 2009.

Guidelines for a film rating 15

Discrimination:

 The work as a whole must not approve discriminatory Language or      behaviour.

Drugs:

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not Promote or encourage drug use. Aerosols or solvents are unlikely to be acceptable as they are easy to get hold of.

Horror:

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless brutal or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour:

 Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail which could be copied. For example self-harming, hanging, suicide ect. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language:

There may be frequent use of strong language for example the word ‘fuck’. However the strongest terms for example the word ‘cunt’ may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity:

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex:

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme :

 No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence:

May be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

 

Presentation – ‘Do generic conventions help or restrict film makers?’

Group 4 2012 AS from Media @ CCC on Vimeo.

Representation

We learnt about Representation which refers to the construction in any media of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, cultural identities and more. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures. Representation of someone's concept of existence codified into a series of signs and symbols which can be read by an audience. For example, because of the media and general people, society stereotype blonde girls with a tan as dumb and associate it them with Essex because of the Reality TV show ‘The Only Way Is Essex.’

Furthermore the media tells the viewer what they want and leave out key elements to make it more interesting. This is when Mediation is created. This is a process where the media select and organise materials. 

For example when you go and see a concert live you see this :

 

 

However on TV you will see this :