Narative Question

My AS Production was a apocalyptic film with a restricted narrative as there was a nuclear explosion which wiped out the life on earth and the film depicts the aftermath. The other films I looked at were films like Resident Evil.

The use of camera was extremely important during the production of my film because I wanted to capture the lifelessness of the world after a nuclear blast because of this I decided to focus on high angle shots of barren locations as I felt these camera angles allowed full understanding of what devastation a blast would cause. I also decided to use handheld camera shots of me walking through the undergrowth to create enigma I felt this worked well because people were questioning why the camera was pushing itself through undergrowth and it was later released that the shot was filmed through the eyes of the last animal on the planet. This use of restricted narration enables me to restrict the information I give the audience as this will lead them to question what is going on. The camera shot of the bomb blast follows Todorov's theory that Equilibrium needs to be disrupted in order to create narrative and within my film opening the blast disrupts the normal every day life and this equilibrium needs to be found again and this is the base of the film.

The use of editing within my film opening is extremely important because I needed to create a sense of normality before the blast, this normality was portrayed by fast cuts between shots showing the hectic and busy every day life, after the blast I want to create a sense of complete emptiness to create a binary opposite between the two parts of the film opening this is something that Levi Strauss has wrote about as he has said that all different media texts represent characters as completely different and I wanted to create this but not with characters but with normality before the blast and complete emptiness after the blast I feel this enhanced the narrative and created enigma as to what is going to happen for the rest of the film. I also changed the colour of my footage after the bomb blast to remove the colour from plants and vegetation as this would have contradicted the idea of total emptiness and again this creates another binary opposite with the green of the plants which signifies life and then the brow on the leaves signifying death.

The use of sound within my film opening was important because I wanted to create normality and this cannot be done in silence so I needed to use combinations of diegetic and none diegetic sound to create a soundscape to ensure that everyday life is portrayed as effectively as possible. The sound of the blast is also extremely important because it is vital that the equilibrium is disrupted to enhance the narrative and the use of an explosion disrupts normality exceptionally well then in marked contrast there is silence after the blast this creates the feeling of emptiness that is vital for my film opening as this creates enigma as to if anyone has survived and why the blast happened. Vladimir Propp suggests that media texts need certain characters in order to develop a narrative and I have tried to include this to some extent within my film opening as the villain is the nuclear bomb but the hero has not yet been disclosed this is because I am creating a restricted narrative which will slowly unravel.

Mise-en-scene is important within my film opening because

Section 1 Question 2 - What Would I Do?

This question will ask you to select either you AS production or your A2 production. Choose whatever makes the most sense. You will then evaluate the production you choose in regard to one of the key media concepts.

• Genre - A2
• Narrative - AS
• Representation -
• Audience - A2
• Media Language - A2

Genre

• Introduction - What was your genre? What are the conventions of this genre? Give examples of real music videos you watched in order to find this out.
• Main Bulk - How have you signified the genre?
• Colour
• Camera shots/Angle/Movement
• Editing techniques
• Sound/Dialogue/Music
• Mise-en-scene - costume, props and locations
• Conclusion - Did you make the genre clear to the audience? How do you know?

Within this question you need to incorporate theories. Try and use some of the theories through ought the question rather than a separate paragraph for them. What do the theorists say about the genre? Explain how your production conforms or challenges the theories and why.

Music Video Theories (Genre)

• Andrew Goodwin : Thinks that all music videos follow the following conventions.
• Conventions depend on the genre of the music video
• Star Persona(Image) is important because companies use close ups to sell them to the audience.
• Voyeuristic images are used to attract an audience.
• They often contain intertextual references to other media.
• There is a link between the visuals and the lyrics.
• There is a link between the visuals and the music/pace.

Audience

• Introduction - Why is it important/ essential for a media product like a film or a music video to appeal to an audience? What social demographic group would you target? (ABC1C2DE). Gender, Age, Class, Hobbies, Media Interests.
• Main Bulk - How did you use the following things to attract and engage the audience? What feedback did you seek after your production? How did a real audience react to your product? Did they react how you thought they would?
• Camera 
• Editing 
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene
• Conclusion - How important is it to consider your audience in depth and how has this changed/effected your production overall?

You need to incorporate theories into the above points. You need to try and use small portions of some of the theories rather than having a whole section for the theories. 

Music Video Theories (Audience)

• Stuart Hall - Encoding and Decoding tests and preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings. Thinks audiences will react in different ways to media products. 
• Andrew Goodwin - Believes that audiences are often played in the position of a voyeur within music videos (watching someone) HE also believes that the use of close ups is important to hep the audience appreciate the star image.  

Media Language 

• Inroducton - Explain the text you are analysing(Do Not Describe).
• Main Bulk - Include all of the below key areas 
• Camera - Shot size, framing - high and low angles, subjective and objective feeling, hand held, tilts, pans, zooms 
• Sound - Diegetic and non diegetic, sound effects, ambient sound, dialogue, music, voice over
• Editing - fades, cuts, wipes, dissolves, slow motion, fast motion, colour effects (black and white, bad tv, stop motion animation, green screening and chroma key work
• Mise-en-scene - costume, lighting, location, body language, acting, make up, props.
• Conclusion - How well do you feel that you used media language to communicate meaning to an audience?

Music Video Theories (Media Language)

• Stuart Hall - Explain how your decision to use media language you chose was to create a 'preferred reading' for your text. But audiences are used to encoding and decoding texts AND can take an negotiated or oppositional reading.
• Andrew Goodwin - Thinks that in music videos the narrative often links to the lyrics and the tempo of the music. 

Representation

• Introduction - Explain which media product you will be analysing the representation of.
• Main Bulk - Include major areas which concern your product from the below list.
• Age - How does your video construct a representation of different ages? you need to consider the use of props, costumes, location, body language, facial expression, camera, sound and editing.
• Ethnicity - How does your video construct representations of ethnicity? Consider the use of costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera, sound and editing. 
• Gender - How does your video construct a representation of gender? Consider the use of costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera, sound and editing. 
• Class - How does your video construct a representation of class? Consider the use of costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera, sound and editing. 
• Good vs Evil - How does your video show good vs evil sider the use of costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera, sound and editing. 
• Disability - How does your video construct a representation of disability? Consider the use of costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera, sound and editing. 
• Have you included stereotypes in your production and why have you done this? Have you challenged any stereotypes?
• Conclusion - Why did you create these specific representations? and what effect may they have on the audience?

Representation Theories

• Levi Strauss - Media texts often represent characters in terms of binary opposites such as good vs evil, weak vs strong. 
• Vladimir Propp - Suggests that texts often represent characters as particular types to ensure they are easily identifiable to an audience and that the audience knows how to respond to them. The characters he identified are -
• Hero
• Villain
• Princess
• Donor / Helper
• Dispatcher

Narrative

Introduction - What is the traditional type of narrative for your genre? How did you find this out? What other texts did you look at?  Have you used linear/none linear narrative and why?

Main Bulk - How have you used the following to signify/convey the narrative of your film?

• Camera - Give several examples of real shots/movements you used
• Editing - Give several examples of real transitions/effects you used
• Sound - Give several examples of real sound, music, dialogue you used
• Mise-en-scene - Give several examples of real costumes,locations,props you have used

Narative Enigma - Where have you included enigma within your opening? Why is it important?

Conclusion - Explain what audiences thought of your narrative, was the narrative clear? Could it have been better and how?

Narrative Theories

• Todorov - Thinks there are several main stages to a complete narrative in every story
• Equilibrium
• Disruption
• Resolution
• Equilibrium
• Levi Strauss - Binary opposites are important within narrative Good vs Evil. Explain why you used binary opposites.
• Unknown Theorist - Two types of narrative explained below
• Unrestricted Naration - This is where information is given out in as much detail as possible with very little restriction. The audience will often know more than the character
• Restricted Narration - This is where the information is kept minimal and where parts are unclear. Audiences are oftern in the dark about many parts of the narrative.
• Propp - Suggests that texts NEED particular charecters to develop the narrative as shown below.
• Hero
• Villain (Bomb)
• Princess
• Donor/Helper
• Dispatcher

Section A Question 2

Question 2

Thoerys

Stuart Hall -

• Messages - Preferred, Negotiated, Oppositional
• Encoding
• Decoding

Frankfurt School -

• Hypodermic Needle - Messages injected by media

Blumerler and Katz

• Uses and Gratifcation -
• Personal Identification
• Information                           (How the audience
• Entertainment                         use media)
• Social Interaction

Digital Technology

Talk about below for Internet

• Blogger
• Presentational Devices - prezi, slideshare, emaze
• Photobucket
• Social Media
• Serch Engines
• Wix - website design

Things to talk about below for Software

• Photoshop - Year 11 - Couldn't use it, Year 12 Could put text onto a photo, Year 13 Use fluently
• Premier Pro - Year 11 - Couldn't use it, Year 12 - Clip videos, Year 13 - Use it fluently
• Powerpoint

Things to talk about below for hardware

• Video Cameras - Sony Handycam, GoPro
• Stills Cameras - Nickon Handycam

Checklist of requirements for success in exam

• Creative decision making
• Process
• Programme over time
• Specific examples
• Reflection of own development
• Terminology
• About YOU

Exam Lesson 1

Section A

1a

 

This question is focused on what you have learnt from AS (Skills Development)

 

Topics questions could be asked about

• Forms and Conventions
• Post Production
• Research and Planning
• Digital Technology
• Creativity (only in conjunction with one of above)

1b

 

Choose either you AS or A2 production to answer the question about.

 

Questions that can be asked

 

• Genre
• Narrative
• Representation
• Audience
• Media Language

Question 2

 

In this question you will talk about the British youth and how they are represented.

 

• Past - Introduction to essay
• Present - This is the main bulk of the essay
• Future - This is your own opinion about how the youth will be represented in the future

You need examples from at least three media texts - film, newspaper, TV or Internet.

 

You also need to include theories, studies and your own reflection, analysis and reflection of these.

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