Planning

In media we started to plan for our continuity editing task. To begin the continuity editing task  we had to come up with a plan on what our idea was and create a shot list showing the different scenes and shots we were going to use - we are aiming for a completed piece approximately 60 seconds in length.
On the first day we started to come up with ideas, the plot, characters, and settings by brainstorming. Furthermore we then started to add these ideas into a shot list to create the story and how we would film it.





Our idea consisted of a group of girls talking about another girl.
We thought of locations on where we could do this, we decided to choose the café.

This is our shot list containing each scene we are going to film, and what camera angle/shoot we are going to use.

When writing the shot list up I found it quite hard visualising how we were going to film it and deciding what camera angle to use.

Continuity Task

This task was set to our group and focuses on camera angles and techniques. This task will take us next few weeks to complete. Our group will have to have to make a 60 second clip, that has to include the all the wanted requirements on the sheet, such as camera shots. This task will give us a understanding of all the camera angles and techniques that will help us in the making of our thriller opening sequence

 

• You must not break the 180 degree rule
• You must include a shot reverse shot
• You must include a variety of appropriate camera angles
• You must edit so that the continuity is apparent and clear
• You must include more than one location
• You must include some interaction between characters
• You must include some non-diegetic sounds

The 180 degree rule
When I first read the task list I didn't know what a 180 degree rule was. Therefor I looked online and found this picture and definition.

In film making the 180-degree rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene. An imaginary line called the axis connects the characters and by keeping the camera on one side of this axis for every shot in the scene, the first character will always be framed right of the second character, who is then always framed on the left.



From this picture I now understand how a 180 degree works. If the camera crossed the axis it would disorient the audience who are watching.

Group members work

What is the Thriller Genre?

The thriller genre is the type of films that use intense excitement, suspense, high level of anticipation, anxiety and tension. Thriller and suspense films are literally the same types of films with the same features and categorizations as each other.
    The aim of a thriller film is to leave the audience constantly on the edge of their seat in suspense and anxiety with cliff hanging experiences as the plot builds up to a climax. Tension usually arises when the main character is dealing with a mysterious situation from which either he could be in trouble or escaping on some dangerous mission that seems impossible or shocking. When their life itself is threatened and they are in the unknown or not expecting something when in or potentially involved a dangerous situation or atmosphere. Thrillers usually involve characters that come into conflict with each other or with outside force.

Thrillers are often sub-genres of the genre ‘thriller’ as there are so many varieties that also fit into other genres. For example:

action-thrillers (Kill Bill - 2003)
sci-fi-thrillers (Donnie Darko - 2001)
psycho-thrillers (se7en - 1995)
romantic-thrillers (Live Flesh - 1997)
political-thrillers (Malcolm X - 1992)
psychological-thrillers (Requiem for a Dream - 2000)
Horrors are commonly closely related to thrillers. As the horror genre are designed in the same type of way - to provide the audience with intense suspension or tension, however horrors take their audiences through agony and fear. Suspense-thrillers come in many different ways: there are murder mysteries, chase thrillers, women-in-danger films, courtroom and atmospheric, plot-twisting psychodramas. Thrillers tend to stay away from crime, gangster and detective related plots and rather focus more on the suspense and thrill of the film.

Thrillers include such characters as convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassin, innocent victims, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops and more. The themes of thrillers frequently include conflict, terrorism, conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder or danger.
      The reason there are so many different sub-genres of thriller is because within one thriller there may be other aspects of say a romance, horror, sci-fi or any others. This may be because of different directors intentions or their target audiences; furthermore even down to the evolution of genre or thrillers to be exact in which films are now being changed to set to the current time in which they are made or evolving to the new likes and dislikes of the mass.


Evolution:

The first thriller was made in the 1920’s with a film called ‘The Lodger’ by Alfred Hitchcock which was made in Britain. This therefore brought a new type of film to the world. HItchcock took influences from German expressionist techniques as well as murders by “Jack the Ripper”.
        Thrillers then in the 1940’s changed when director George Cukor in 1944 created a psychological thriller called ‘Gaslight’ which gave insight into the different sub-genres within the thriller genre itself. This film was about a scheming husband planning on making her wife go insane to gain the inheritance. Then in 1946 Robert Siodmak directed the film ‘The Spiral Staircase’, which was also a psychological thriller about a serial killer murdering disabled-young women in the local community.
       In the 1950’s Hitchcock went on to adding Technicolour to his films, which led to the classic film ‘Strangers on a Train’ in 1951, where two passengers join in a battle of wits and exchanged murders with one another.
       Cape Fear was then made in 1962 by director J.Lee Thompson which is a psychological thriller about an ex con seeking revenge on his attorney who holds responsible for his convictions. However this film had aspects of crime too which made it a crime-thriller and therefore emphasised the use in sub-genres within the thriller genre.
      The 1970’s of film were very different as Hitchcock hadn’t released anything for 2 decades. where he released the violent film ‘Frenzy’ which came about when films were now containing R rated scenes with viscous and explicit footage which Hitchcock therefore used in ‘Frenzy’.
      In the 1980’s Stanley Kubrick directed the film The Shining made in 1980 which was a psychological thriller as well as a horror, mystery and drama. This therefore emphasises the mix of genres and how thrillers evolved over time due to the change of other genres and audiences enjoying psychological films. The Shining is about a family going to an isolated hotel where the father gets influenced by a spiritual presence, while his psychic son sees horrific and violent memories of the past and future. This film can be debatebly a horror or a thriller.

The main theme throughout the thriller genre in the 1990’s was the psychological kind, of mental themes and character’s escape. For example Rob Reiner’s ‘Misery’ based on the book by Stephen King in which the character Annie whom is a unbalanced fan, terrorizes an immobile author, where in one scene she actually breaks his ankles. This shows just how much the thriller genre had evolved by then as before it would be too horrific for a thriller to even show such scenes let alone any movie.
      In modern day thrillers compared to earlier thrillers tend to divert from the traditions of a classic thriller towards the more horrific and gorey themes. This is because the mass audience have become so desensitized to the classic thriller scenes that they find it boring and therefore need something else to keep them intrigued and ‘on the edge of their seats’ with anticipation like thrillers should do. This is why thrillers and any other genres evolve as they need new aspects and ways of keeping their audience’s happy. Therefore this is why the thriller genre has evolved the way it has and how I have said turning from the classic thriller through psychological to a more horrific theme where it seems to be argued to cross over in cases.


Evaluation 
From my group members work it has developed my understanding of the thriller genre and what it is made up of through its codes and conventions such as: clips that use intense excitement, suspense, high level of anticipation, anxiety and tension. Characters as convicts, criminals, stalkers, assassin, innocent victims, characters with dark pasts, psychotic individuals, terrorists, cops. Alfred hitchcock also played a big part in creating the thriller genre as he created the first Thriller in 1920's with 'The lodger'. My group members research has also helped me see the constant change throughout the years and how thriller genre has evolved over many of years.

Group members work

 Analysis of Donnie Darko

The establishing shot is a dark scene of mountains and trees which fade in to the shot. This could connote to how it is a thriller as the scenery is very mysterious as its situated in the middle of nowhere causing the audience to feel curious and intrigued as to where the scene is. The camera then pans round to a shot of a boy lying in the middle of the road in the distance. The pan shot is used to show how vast the area is and how it is in the middle of nowhere. The long shot is used to emphasize how the boy is lonely. The fact the boy is still and laying there could imply he is hurt or maybe dead. This carries on the idea of curiosity and how this links into the films being a thriller. The camera then starts to get closer and closer to the boy with him constantly remaining in the centre of the screen; this could suggest how he is the main protagonist. We then see the bike in the shot and him struggling to get up which could connote how he has fallen off his bike or had some sort of accident. The camera then pans round the protagonist with a mid shot and him the centre of the screen, capturing the scenery in the background as well. As when it pans round him we see the scenery in the background showing how desolate the area is and how lonely he is. This pan of the protagonist then comes round to his face which reveals the main character that we were so intrigued to see. It then cuts to a POV shot of the scenery again panning around yet again top show how he is the centre of attention and how deserted he is to the rest of the world. yet again to emphasize how in the middle of nowhere he is and as if he the only one there. He then turns around to the camera to face the camera and blocking the scenery which could connote how is of an important role to the film. He then grins and starts smiling at the character and then walks out of the shot for the title of the film to then fade in. The fact that he grins and smiles at the camera could suggest a sinister tone to the film and create more curiosity to film as to what it is about or what is going on in this scene. The typography of the title that comes into the shot has a strong fantasy and magical theme to it with white against the scenery in the background to create a contrast in the light and dark. This typography gives the movie a mysterious and magical tone to it. With the unusual use of serif font in the thriller which goes against my research of typography in thrillers. The lighting of the film suggests the start of it as it is very mellow as if it is dawn and the day is just beginning. The fact the boy is also wearing pyjama like clothes it makes him come across as lazy or a typical adolescent that doesn't care. The bike reinforces this as a bike is something children use whereas men have cars stereo typically. His messy hair and casual appearance reinforces this to the audience. However the scenery juxtaposes this appearance as it is beautiful and something you would have to go out your way to get to or find. Making it a binary opposite. At the beginning of the film violins play quietly in the background which creates a uncertain start to the film with the edgy sound which began when the character came into view which reinforces the fact that he is the main character and is important as he signaled it. When the character starts getting up a piano softly begin to play which could imply a negative or depressing tone to the film.

Evaluation
From this analysis of the film Donnie Darko I have learnt that the directors have used  Pan shots to create a curious and mysterious feel,using the pan shot  allows the audience to see where the action takes place. For instance in this film the shot is  in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and mountains creating that eerie feel for the audience.

Within this film opening the producers have used typography to create a mysterious magical tone to it and uses lighting to represent the time of day it its. When thinking about our opening for a thriller film thinking about the titles and typography will help bring a certain atmosphere and idea for the audience.

The music is also important within a Thriller film as it is used to heighten tension which we can see in this analysis where violins are used to create uncertainty for the audience and keep them on edge while what's on screen is in binary opposition with scenery that is seen to be beautiful and peaceful.

Mark scheme

In our group we hope to achieve the top bands for this unit. Below are the grade boundaries that assess the work needed within a level 4 band for students opening of a two minute thriller. The categories we will be assessed in are video, audio, research and planning and the evaluation.

Video

 

Research and Planning

Evaluation

By looking at the mark scheme it will give our group an overall understanding of what needs to be done and how much work needs doing to be able to achieve the top bands. I think looking at the mark scheme is a key part into my research as it will help me to develop my work further. Overall this will help my group as we know what is expected of us.

Film analysis

Seven
This is a film about two detectives' hunt for a serial killer who is murdering people and justifying the crimes by absolution for the worlds ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The two detectives try and track down the serial killer who chooses his victims bases on the Seven Deadly Sins. Together, the two detectives trace the murderers every step, witnessing the aftermath of his horrific crimes one by one as the victims increase, all while moving closer to a gruesome fate neither of them could have predicted.

In the opening of seven it immediately creates a suspenseful atmosphere by showing someone turning pages of a book, however you cannot see what's written inside the book creating some sort of mystery for the audience. However it does show a hand that then is blurred out to create this uncertainty of the character for the audience. The lighting at this point its used perfectly with bright light focused on the pages of the book but behind the book is very dim and dark which relates to the way the camera is focused on the top of the book so you can clearly see the pages turning but the actual surface of the pages blurred creating a sense of mystery. As what is being shown is a book it connotes the idea that the character  who is reading the book is intelligent. The music in the background while the book is being shown at the beginning of the credits uses thunder like sounds which are repetitive throughout provoking the audience to feel tense while watching. Then what is shown is the company that is being represented (New line cinema) is it faded onto the screen. The writing has a hand written in ink so it looks messy which is then edited to flash to bold creating that suspense. The credits then fade out to a pitch a black screen that displays 'An Arnold Kopelson Production' The font colour is white to make it stand out against the dark lighting and to suggest that there are protagonists in this film as well as antagonists. The font type is really well done as it differs from bold to very thin to create an a dark and unnerving style but to show inconsistency and to perhaps tell us something about the personality of this mysterious figure and connote that he is doesn't have a clear pattern to him.
         The editing in this opening is fast-paced and consists of several dissolve transitions, which are used to create a sense of disjointedness which can be represented through the drawing of the hands which are deformed. It consists of many extreme close ups of tools which aren't also identifiable leaving the audience in mystery, some shots are flashed onto the screen so that audience can barely see them reinforces this. Further more I repetition of close up shots intrigue the audience with very little detail and distance the audience by not showing any wider shots that would give a clearer view of the character. Within the whole opening there is a textured effect which gives the sequence a washed-out, sepia like tone sometimes black and white. The colours used connotes a lack of feeling especially when we see the shot of the man scraping of his skin on his fingers with a blade; flashes od red appear connoting violence which can relate to the tools being shown. These connotations create a sense of foreboding for the story's dark matter

Thriller Questionnaire

Please take the time to fill out this questionnaire. Thankyou!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16jhLZsNIGKDPn-d8wotbGSSxFaCTFccNs8RcYlomqQU/viewform

Group Members work

Music in Thrillers

Thriller is a genre of literature, film, video gaming and television that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements. The best examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Sub-genres include crime thrillers, mystery thrillers, paranoid thrillers, psychological thrillers, and horror thrillers.

I am now analysing 4 different titles sequences' music throughout them and comparing them to one another. With this I am seeing if there is a trend in the type of audio used in Thrillers or if there is a variety. My aim is to find out as much about the sound in thrillers by analysing these following four movie title sequences: Inception, Shutter Island, Seven & Limitless; and from this hoping to gain knowledge in what is typical music of a thriller which my group and I can therefore go on to use when creating our own for our title sequence.

Inception:
loud dramatic symphonies
building up
repetition
loud dramatic build up fades out to loud waves
ambient sound of waves
sound of children in distance
ambient calm tide coming in
eery sound developing
calm eery beat with calm tide
loud shriek/scream of a child in the middle of peace
sudden noise





















Shutter Island:
long orchestra sounds
sharp sounds
deep loud sudden sounds
loud to quiet
repetition
build up
deep horrific trumpets and symbols
small sharp blips
replica siren sound





















Seven:
lightning and thunder like sounds
static sounds
repetition
computer generated sounds
robotic
sci-fi sounds-space
sudden sharp sounds
radio tuning
strange sci-fi/space fake eery music
constant beat
music layering
fast beat
non-digetic narrative or speech
quiet end



















Limitless:
silence
loud bangs
sudden sound
quiet ticking clock in background building up
banging getting slightly faster
quiet speech in background begins
louder bang and narrative starts
mellow melancholy quiet noise
faster banging and mechanical drills
digital sounds
non digetic up-beat music
quiet low sounds
parallel foley sounds of police cars
parallel sound and gun shots

My Evaluation 

From my group members analysis i have learnt that within these thrillers the producers have used repetitive deep melancholy downbeat music a lot to make the audience feel tense, they have also used a lot of ambient, Foley, parallel and non-diegetic sounds to further emphasis this and also create a suspenseful atmosphere for the audience. I have also noticed that within these analyse you can see specific codes and conventions  which relates to its genre. For example within the film seven it uses "strange sci-fi/space fake eery music" to correspond with the theme of the film, the film limitless uses gun shot sounds and police sirens to go with the action theme within the film. Furthermore film producers can raise the audiences suspicion, tension and anxiety by building up the sound level and constantly use deep mellow sounds which are seen within all four films. 

Sub Genres of Thrillers

When thinking about doing a thriller opening we have to consider what type of thriller we are going to us as over the years they have become more developed and more types and variations have been created.


Conspiracy Thriller - The conspiracy thriller is a subgenre of thriller fiction. The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes "all the way to the top. 'Edge Of Darkness'


Political Thriller - In a political thriller, there's usually a problem where the whole government is at stake and the protagonist is hired by the government to stop the decline, an example of a political thriller: 'The Interpreter'


Crime Thriller - Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies. 'The Bourne Ultimatum'

Action Thriller
Includes normal conventions of the thriller genre but focuses on action and usually includes explosions/violence etc, an example of an action thriller: 'The Dark Knight Rises'


Mystery Thriller - Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective,private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The plot often centres on the deductive ability, prowess, confidence, or diligence of the detective as they attempt to unravel the crime or situation by piecing together clues and circumstances, seeking evidence, interrogating witnesses, and tracking down a criminal.


Psychological Thriller - A distinguishing characteristic of a psychological thriller is a marked emphasis on the mental states of its characters: their perceptions, thoughts, distortions, and general struggle to grasp reality. Psychological thrillers are suspenseful by exploiting uncertainty over characters' motives, honesty, and how they see the world. 'Silence Of The Lambs'

Alfred Hitchcock history

1920-1930's
A man called Alfred Hitchcock made his first thriller (the third silent film in 1926) this film was called 'Lodger'. It was one of the first thrillers to be made and is about a landlady who suspects her new lodger is a madman killing women in London.

 

 

His next thriller in 1929 was a film called 'Black mail' this was notable for being his and Britain's first sound film. From this point Alfred Hitchcock was known for producing thrillers. There were also many other notable British directors who produced thriller films such as Walter Forde, Victor Saville, George A. Cooper and the young Michael Powell up to the years 1940.

 

1940'sAlfred Hitchcock went on to direct more suspense thrillers, in this year he produced two films in which one was Oscar winning. These films were 'Foreign Correspondent' and 'Rebecca'. Rebecca being the Oscar winning film. In 1941 he went on to release a film called 'Suspicion' and then released a film called 'saboteur' in 1942 and 'Shadow of a doubt' in 1943 which was one of Hitchcock's own personal favourite.

 

1950's
In the 1950's was when Hitchcock started adding Technicolor to his thrillers, as the time changes you can see the development. Strangers on a train, made in 1951 is about a psychotic socialite who confronts a tennis star on how two complete strangers can get away with a murder, a theory that he plans to follow through.

 

 

 

1960'sIn the 1960's the film Psycho was released. This film was one of the most well known thriller film ever directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is recognised and praised as a piece of cinematic art by international film critics.

Modern Day thrillersAlfred Hitchcock has had a major impact on modern day thrillers. Hitchcock directed his films using many techniques and codes and conventions within his thrillers that influence suspense and tension most thrillers now borrow these themes and elements from those in the past, but to avoid repetition they often use ideas and aspects from other genres such as horror where they add things in such as sadistic violence/gore etc. which is why some people mistake thrillers for horrors. This is when we get sub genres and hybrids.

 

Codes and Conventions

The codes and conventions of a thriller include colour, objects, music, location, lighting, quick cuts, diegetic and non-diegetic sounds, shadows, humour, quick editing and camera angles causing tension.

Objects

Objects such as the mirror which is often used within thriller films it is used to show a different side of a character (evil/good), The mirror is used to help the audience to understand the true qualities of the characters, and often represents darkness, deceit, danger, it also reflects the powers and morals a character possess. It is often used to show the truth and uncover the real intention of someone.

Shadow

 Shadows are very commonly used within  thrillers movies, it is used to hide and bring the theme of mystery and suspense into a movie as it allows the audience to predict what's going to happened and ask questions like who? Why? how? And what's going to happen next? Shadows can also be used like the mirror to show a different side to the characters. Shadows can be used very effectively in thrillers to also represent and symbolize a dark side to a character, all these help to keep the audience engaged and interested wanting to know more and who the person beneath the shadow really is.

Editing and Camera

Quick editing and camera angles in are used in thrillers to help engage the audience and build the feeling of fear, anxiety, suspense and tension between the audience and the movie, some thrillers would make the audience feel they were in the characters position at certain points to create this fear. The camera angles and positions are used to make the movies come to live almost as if it was happening right before the audience capturing the emotions and body language of actors. This allows the audience to connect with the characters and feel the same way that they do. Close ups are used to show the fear/expressions of a character and also his/her other emotions, it also helps to bring the audience closer to the personalities of the actors. Different movie angles make the audience feel the tension and scary scenes such as a mid-shot/two –shot would allow the audience to see the full action of a villain about to attack and this would often cause the audience to give a reaction.

Location/scenery and Mise-en-scene

Within thrillers these aspects are very important as they help the audience to understand the situation better; also the scenery helps to increase the level of anxiety and tension in a movie as well as the editing and sound. Certain locations are commonly used in thrillers such as stairs, grave yards, dark rooms, car parks, underground stations and abandoned houses and they can help express the state of the situation and what is about to occur in a particular scene, also the lighting and colours of the Mise-en-scene is very important in helping the audience feel and understand better the moods of the characters and also the type of occasion that is being represented. Colours are very useful in signifying the mood of the actors and the sense of what’s going to happen. It also contrasts between characters and can help the audience to understand the actions taking place and characters. Colours of different objects, places, light in a movie helps the audience to understand the mood of the actors and also helps them to foretell the expressions and educates them more about the scene and what is going on or about to take place

Black

The colour black in a movie thriller would often signify darkness, sense of danger and evil. Black is used to express bad moods and help the audience understand the emotion of the characters in a movie. It also helps the audience differentiate evil from good. Black is used within scenes to create a tense atmosphere for the audience it helps the audience to understand the surroundings, predict some scenes and perceive it to be evil. Dark pathways, stairs, rooms, villains, masks, dark clouds would fall under the colour black and are often scene in thriller movies.

White: The colour white is used to show the opposite of black, meaning good, happiness, heaven, heroes, light, safety, peace and purity. It helps the audience to differentiate between good and evil.

Research - Age restrictions in thriller films

Age classification

Age classification is important to consider when in the process of researching before you plan and make the film.

The main ones our group are looking to aim for are 15-18, so we want to know what makes a 15 film and what makes an 18 film. The people who decide this are the BBFC (British board of Film Classification.)

What is the difference between a 15 and 18 certificate?

There are age limits on films as the media believe that some content is unacceptable to be shown to certain ages. With 15 certificate films No-one under 15 is allowed to watch a film in cinemas without ID or buy/rent a 15 certificate film. Films rated 18 are for adults only. Again no-one under 18 is allowed to watch  films in the cinema or buy/rent a 18 certificate film. This is because the film is considered unsuitable as it contains explicit content.

A 18 certificate contains:

-very strong violence
-frequent strong language and very strong language
-strong portrayals of sexual activity
-strong verbal references to sex
-strong horror
-strong blood or gore
-real sex (in some circumstances)
-discriminatory language or behaviour (e.g racism or homophobic)
-drug taking.

A 15 certificate contains:

-strong violence
-frequent strong language
-portrayals of sexual activity
-strong verbal references to sex
-sexual nudity
-brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references
-discriminatory language or behaviour (e.g racism or homophobic)
-drug taking.

Camera Shots

Ariel movement shot
An Ariel movement shot is when the camera is in the air and above, looking down onto the object being filmed.

Tracking shot
A tracking shot it where the camera moves and follows a object or character.
Tilt shot
A tilt shot is where the camera is stationary but moves up or down.

Pan shot
A pan shot is where the camera is stationary but moves left or right.

Sound in movies

 Parallel sound - Music that matches what you see in the film.

Contrapuntal sound - sound that opposes what you see in the film.

Sound bridge - when the music from one scene goes into the next.

Ambient sound - sound that you expect to hear in a location. For example, traffic.

Foley sound - everyday sounds that are added to a certain clip.

Selective exposure/perception

The basic assumption in the study of selective exposure is that people expose themselves to external stimuli in a selective way. When referred to the area of mass communication, this means that people choose certain types of media content and avoid other types. Although this fact may sound rather trivial, it is important in understanding the effects of mass communication because it is our common understanding that people can only be influenced by media messages to which they actually expose themselves. Therefore, the selective exposure concept emphasizes the active role of the individual in the selection of media content. Research into this phenomenon is undertaken in the fields of both psychology and communication studies. Basically, there are two major trends in this research. Most studies focus on factors that lead to selective exposure or that mediate this process, whereas other studies deal with the consequences of selective exposure to information processing. The selection processes have also been examined in different contexts, such as in political or online communication.

http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756841/obo-9780199756841-0023.xml

What is the purpose of Censorship?

Censorship is the control of the information and ideas circulated within a society, it is used within media to stop the audience from seeing content that they believe is inappropriate. This is seen within the hays code in 1920 where they blocked certain ideas from the audience such as viewing the leg from above the knee, they thought it was unacceptable as this could lead the audience into thinking inappropriately. However now days this idea of revealing the body is no longer an issue and we have unconsciously consumed it to the extent where we don't see a half naked women on fronts of magazines or on t.v as a problem any more as the audience have been desensitised.        
          However now days the media block certain content that they deem inappropriate/explicit for young viewers by having a time in which certain media can be show; this is known as watershed. Certain genres such as horrors can only be shown after 9.00/10.00 at night this is because it contains horrific acts of violence, blood and gore. Further more within supermarkets on DVD and games they have age limits in which you can buy them and have to provide photographic ID to show that you are the correct age to buy the products.
           Censorship is also used within music and music videos, during the day songs with swear words in are often bleeped out whether it's on the radio or TV as they believe swearing is not suitable for a young audience. Although singers at the moment have been using much more explicit content such as violence, nudity, drugs or graphic language in there videos that there is age restrictions on what can be shown.

How far do you agree with the comment that mass audiences are still passive recipients of media texts?

I do agree that the mass audiences are still passive recipients of media text.
A passive audience is an audience that takes in messages, ideas and beliefs sublimely, meaning they do not actively engage with the media but unconsciously take media in. Media uses certain techniques in order to manipulate the thought process for example if the media kept displaying an advert where a woman was doing the washing up this is sublimely injecting the idea that this role was for a women, and for men the idea that the women are suppose to wash up. In the end this then desensitises people so the idea of the women washing up and not the man was just the normal everyday life.
            In the 1920's things were censored from films, the didn't want the mass audience to be injected with that they thought were unacceptable such as, white slavery, ridicule of clergy, misusing the american flag, showing leg above the knee. They believed that if these things were shown on t.v such as using words such as Christ and lord in a rude way people may act upon this and start doing it in day to day life. This supports the idea that the mass audiences are passive because now days we do not see this ideas from the 1920's to be bad.
            This idea also effects how different genders see things, because today we are so used to see very slim figured hot women on fronts of many magazines people now believe that this image is the perfect way to look, following this idea the media texts further manipulate your thoughts by showing curvy, bigger celebrities in the magazines comparing them to the skinnier ones and saying they have put on weight. With this in mind this then makes the audience believe that its not good to be bigger. This also affects males because men see these women on the front of magazines because of this they are being passively injected into thinking women look like this and women who aren't are not fit or good looking.
          I agree that the mass audiences are passive recipients of media text as the media is a big part of society and even though you may not think that you are taking in the media it is everywhere around you there for it plays a part in your life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Message around the school

When I looked around the school I found that the overall message was about succeeding and attitude. It was about believing in yourself, having confidence and how you can do the best for yourself in life. About respecting and treating others as it’s how you want to be treated. If you don’t believe in yourself you won’t get as far in life if you’re not smarter than you think. The messages around the school are big and bold this is to grab the student’s attention however in a way you could say that the messages are being passively injected into our minds as they are everywhere around the school. 

Audience Theory

Target audience - specific people that the type of media is aimed 

This is broken down though Representation - age, gender, race class, regional identity, disability, religion. 

Active audience- Primary - Engaging consciously with a media text
                          Secondary- Engaging with media while doing something else
Passive audience- Tertiary- When you don't engage with the media but know its there on a subconscious                                                  level.
Ideology - An ideology is a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society hold                    to be true. Ideologies that are told to us repeatedly by important social institutions such as the                        church, the law, education, government, and the media are called dominant ideologies.

There are three theory's of audience that we can apply to help us come to a better understanding about the relationship between text.
1. The effects model or the Hypodermic Model
2. The uses and gratifications Model
3.Reception theory 

We are also going to look at the Step mode theory and the Agenda setting theory.

The effects model - Hypodermic syringe:
Imitation - this is when peoplecopy what they see
Catharsis - Realising our lives and problems aren't as bad thought the narrative of a media text such as soap operas the idea of escapism.
Desensitisation -When we become used to seeing something through the media such as violence that it becomes a normal part of society, normally negative, no longer has the desired effect on the audience

Uses and gratification:
. Personal identity
. Surveillance
. Pleasure/entertainment
. Diversion/escapism
. Learning/understanding

Terror in the night

In lesson we were looking at different narrative structures and how we could apply these to a short storyboard of a film. This storyboard follows the linear structure because it has a beginning middle and end.
I also believe that it follows Propps theory, the idea that the narrative theory is driven by 8 different characters. In my story board I have a villain: the bat  a hero: the policeman  a dispatcher: the parents and a princess: the children.

 Further more it also includes binary opposites from Levi-strauss' theory. There is day and night, alive and death, man and women, young/old.

Narrative Theorists

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp was a Soviet formalist scholar who analysed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements.

His narrative theory is that the narrative is driven by the characters using a set of narrative functions

He identifies 8 characters in films

- Hero: (protagonist)Has a mission or quest to complete

- Villain: (Antagonist) Tries to stop the hero 

- Princess: Love intreset and/or object of the quest

- Farther: person with knowledge

- Dispatcher: Sends of the hero

- Doner: Gives the hero something to help him

- Sidekick: The helper of the hero

- False hero: villain that pretends to be good to trick the hero

In addition he said that it is narratemes that drive the narrative forward.

Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist, philosopher, linguist, critic, and semiotician

Barthes describes narrative as a series of codes that are read and interpreted by audience

Action code- something that's quite literal doesn't need explaining

Enigma- Something hidden from the audience (creates intrigue)

Semic code- Something that the audience recognize through connotations 

Symbolic- Something that symbolizes a more abstract concept

Cultural code- Something that is read with understanding due to cultural awareness. 

Tsvetan Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher. 

Todorov describes narrative as going from equilibrium to disequilibrium back to an altered equilibrium.

Equilibrium - sets the scene, everyday life

Disruption - A complication, something that alters the equilibrium

Conflict - Climax, try to solve the problem

Resolution - Problem is solved

New equilibrium - Back to normal but not the same, a new version

Claude Levi-Strauss

Claude Levi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist

Stauss describes narrative as created by constant conflict of binary opposites. The binary opposites work together to help understand narrative structure.

Love/Hate Black/White Peace/War Light/Darkness Young/Old

Narrative structure

Narrative explores the conventions of:

- Genre
- Character
- Form
- Time


Linear Structure
Beginning - Audience introduced to characters and story
Middle - Event, story builds
End - closure

Open structure
The audience are left to wonder what happens next and make sense of it themselves e.g inception

Closed structure
Definite ending- clear conclusion for the audience

Circular structure
Beginning and end - The narrative begins at the end events. (often with the climax) The audience are taking on a journey arriving back where they started e.g pulp fiction

Creating Meaning: Semiotics

Signs are said to be empty shapes - we put meaning to them

Semiotics is the study of sign systems which allows us to de construct media texts to understand how meaning is being created. A sign is the smallest element of meaning. Signs will be grouped together to create a larger unit of meaning; these are called codes which can be decoded or interpreted. 
Polysemic
Polysemic refers to the capacity of all the signs i.e. to have more than one meaning. Polysemy therefore also applies to the ideas that many signs will be 'ironic' 'symbolic' and 'ideixical'

Signifier - Object it's self e.g  a rose

Signified - what it represent e.g love and purity

Denotation - 'The sign denotes' The literal meaning of the sign.
Connotation - 'The sign connotes' The interpreted meaning of a sign or signs.

A rose denotes nature/flowers but in context could connote growth love or passion. 

Re (presentation)

Representation: The way people's groups, cultures and ideas are shown by the media.

Media texts show us not the truth but an interpretation of the truth.

Editing + Narrative

Everything that is done in media is to create meaning. Editing is when you change the narrative in a clip to create meaning.
We watched a video clip - Super size me
and was told to write down the structure of what happens in the clip.

Although this is what I thought had happened, It may have not. The clip has been edited by ellipses these are used these to make the audience fill in the blanks. We haven't actually seen the man be sick but heard noises and then a shot of sick on the floor, suggesting to us he was sick. However this may not have happened at all, the sick could have been already there or they even made a mixture to look like sick and just edited the clip to make it look like he was. 

Editing constructs a narrative out of footage. You can put different pieces of footages together to manipulate the situation so audience see's what you want them to see. You can take multiple clips from the same film and change the narrative to give  different interpretations and perspectives. Media in all can manipulate the way you think.

Music

In today's lesson we looked at how music effects a film. We was asked questions such as what emotions do we feel when listening to the music, what film we thinks its from and what genre it is, and lastly what we thought was happening in the scene. This will help me when thinking about my two minute opening of a film as I will need to include music in my clip to create an atmosphere and emotion for the audience to connect with my clip.
We was then told the film was the notebook

Mise-en-scene -The mood is created through music in this scene.

Two shot - makes the shot more personal showing their love. The music is soft and happy.
Sawns- shows peacefulness. Music is peaceful
Whiteness- the Shot is surrounded with white swans and flowers, Shows purity of there love. At this point the music is fast but cheery.
Thunder - Happens when they start arguing contrasts with the whiteness and purity. The music becomes quite dramatic and sad.
Music for Films

Action - upbeat, fast music
Science fiction - futuristic
Horror- Slow, sometimes fast, weary, low beat, high pitched to build up to a scary moment
Comedy - upbeat, happy
Romantic - Calm, peaceful, happy. 

Diegetic sound - sounds that appear naturally from the scene i.e. footsteps
Non Diegetic - Sounds that aren't natural to the scene i.e. a narrator 

By having an idea what music type of music goes with what genre this will help me when I choose my genre for my film as I will have an idea on what type of music I need to create the right atmosphere. Also by knowing what diegetic sound is I can apply this to my 2 minute film to make it more realistic

The concept of GENRE

Genre - A set of conventions recognisably usually through iconography familiar narrative mise-en-scene, actors and style of representation.
Horror
Setting - dark, gloomy, spooky, castles, abandoned houses, graveyards.
Characters - Mysterious characters, zombies, ghosts, possessed children.
Themes - issues - Death, haunting, possession. 

1930's - Dracula                                           1970's - Slashers
1940's - Frankenstein/werewolves                1980's - Nightmare on elms street
1960's - Physcos                                          1990's - Teen horror

Genre is always changing in order to keep the audience interested, if films with the same genre kept being produced the audience would become desensitised and the film would no longer have the desired affect.
Genres are not static but constantly renegotiated between industries and audience - a combination of familiar reassurance and new twist.

Genres are creative strategies used by producers to ensure audience identification with a film - a mean of trying to predict risk. Genre is a way or working through myths and fears by: repetition, variation and resolution. 

Representation

In lessons we started to look at how films are REpresented using : 

Colours
Camera angles
Sound/Music
Facial expressions
Lighting
Make-up
Setting

We watched a film clip from Darth Vader 4 times we had to look how they used these concepts to create meaning and convey certain ideas.
Setting and props
- There were dead bodies on the floor around Darth Vader suggesting he is the most powerful.
- Storm Troopers were all carrying guns accept Darth Vader, emphasising the power that Darth Vader has as he doesn't need weapons to fight.
- The setting is all white showing its futuristic.
Costume, Hair and make-up
- Darth Vader enters the scene in all black which makes him stand out to all the storm troopers who are in white showing he is more important.
- Darth Vader is also wearing a cloak showing his dominance over the troopers.
- You cant see the storm troopers faces suggesting they are not important.

Body language and Facial expressions
- The storm troopers react immediately to the entrance of Darth Vader by standing up straight and stopping what they are doing, showing that they are controlled by Darth Vader, representing his importance.
- When Darth Vader enters he looks down on the dead corpse on the floor showing that he is a villain.

Lighting and colour
- Red lasers shows death and viscous behaviour also danger. 
- Everything this very bright in the scene which contrasts to the destruction around.

From this I learnt that the producers and directors can manipulate the way the audience see a film/clip by creating certain ideas in which the audience can interpret. 

Hollywood studio system

In the 1920's films were known for specific narrative structure combined with a set of cinematic expressions of narrative. The Hollywood studio system is the 'classic' genre known as the House style.
Certain studios were known to produce certain film genres, in that period some people believed there was no hybridisation and only had standard genres: gangster, musical, western, horror etc. This way the thought it was a good way of measuring investment. As things progressed cinemas and cameras were upgraded which meant producers were able to use different camera angles. Stars and directors started to become synonymous with certain genres and studios thus were known through their own 'House style'. They thought that the public had a set of expectations and an identification process. 

Fall of the studio system
However on the 3rd may 1948 the fall of the studio system occurred this was because of:
-War related income tax laws which encourages top talent to go free lance.
-The introduction of technicolour.
-Rise of the television mean't that people weren't going to the cinemas any more as they would watch films at home.-The introduction of sound was a major impact because it meant that actors and actresses lost their jobs because they had bad voices.
-As many directors were setting up their own studios it meant that vertical integration, block booking, blind bidding were out lawed and came the rapid growth of independent actors.


Rise of the star
The fall of the studio system helped the rise of the star in the 1950's
- Many actors/actresses went freelance this meant they could go and do more things.
- They were scouted for talent, Glamour and charisma.
- Actors and actresses had talent scouts, dialogue coaches and started having platic surgery such as nose jobs.
- Their image provided financial backing and audience identification

Camera angles

In lessons we learnt about different camera angles and how they effect the audiences perception on characters.

A high angled shot - this shot looks down onto the character creating a sense that the character appears weak or vulnerable.

Low angled shot - this is where the camera looks up and the character is shown from below making the character look more powerful or threatening

A two shot - shows two people together to show a relationship between two people or a conversation.

A long shot - This shot can portray someone as being isolated or alone. It is also used to set the scene, when this shot shows a scene it is called an establishing shot.

A close up shot - As this shot is close up the the character it is easier to tell the emotions of the character and their thoughts.