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MEDIA STUDIES AS

Ellie Bindman 

SUMMER ACTIVITY

60 second film

Over the summer I was assigned the task to film a person or an object walking or moving for 60 seconds. I decided to film my video in two different styles and use two different locations. Firstly I used the scenery of Spain and the airport, and secondly I used underwater shots as I feel water looks very photogenic underwater.

GENRE

In this video. I will be talking about and discussing, genre, subgenre and hybrid genre. I will also be talking about what makes a genre, the stages in genre development. My two favourite genres and why. And finally why I think genre is so important to media. 

BFI Research - How films have evolved and changed over time

When I went to the BFI, I looked at and studied a variety of films throughout the decades, and I noticed and analysed some of the changes that have happened to film over time.

The first film that I looked at was “Alice in Wonderland” (1903)

Now as this was in the category of being one of the first films to be made, I noticed quite a few peculiarities compared to film today. Firstly there were zero cuts, the whole film played without any cuts. Secondly the acting was completely non-naturalistic it was very exaggerated. There was also and extreme use of body language to convey what the character was doing and feeling. To drive the narrative forwards there were uses of text inserts that had been colour tinted by hand. The camera work was very static there were no close-ups it was pretty much just establishing shots. So there was a lack of angles.

 

The second film that I looked at was “Cosmopoliton London”  (1924)

Now the first thing that I noticed was that there was a dramatic improvement in terms of the quality. The film still included text inserts to drive the narrative. Cards also drove the narrative. But the main element that I noticed was the different in the quality in 21 years. The screen looked so much less fuzzy than Alice.

 

The third film was called “Piccadilly” (1929)

The most dramatic change tot his film was that it included colour. It had a sort of blue tint to it. There was also jazzy music playing in the background, which proves that the editing has also improved, as they were able to insert music. There was much more of a variety of shots and angles. The quality was almost to the level you would see today not quite but it was excellent for 1929. However they still did have the title cards in the film. The acting was much more naturalistic, there was also a use of transitions within the film which again supports the fact that the editing has improved. There was a use of a dolly shot, which was used quite a lot which again shows the development of the use of angles. There was a sepia tint to the film, and it had a vignette affect on it. Another thing I noticed was the music changed according to the mood of the film and the characters, which I a big improvement compared to 26 years previous to this.

 

The fourth film was called “Sweeney Todd” (1936)

Again the quality had drastically improved, there was also one major improvement and that was that there was dialogue in the film. Much more of a variety of sound in terms of music and even the sound affects that were used. There were more shots so again all these improvements are slowly progressing and developing through time. The acting again is improving but compare to films nowadays the acting is still very theatrical.  There are quicker cuts and a use of sound overlays so there were a variety of sounds playing in one scene which yet again shows how editing is improving.

 

The fifth film that I analysed was “London Town” (1946)

So in 10 years colour has now properly come to screen. There was full colour and not just tints. The acting and performance had improved and was much more naturalistic. There was singing in the film, so the production had managed to get the tools and equipment to be able to record sound. Again the music complimented the scenes. One major change was there was the use of the first close-up that I had seen in the films. There was a variety of lighting the film had high key and low key depending on the mood. However something that was quite odd was the fact that some clips were in black and white and some were in colour.

 

The sixth film that I watched was “Sunshine in Soho” (1956)

There was the first voice over that I heard again showing the progression of sound within films and how the editing had developed. Much more of a variety of angles, the quality had improved even further, and the camera technology had also improved for example the camera would focus in and out of objects or focus on an object and fade out the background.

 

The seventh film that I looked at was “Carry on Camping” (1969)

One major change and improvement was that there was a use of credit titled with moving pictures and overlaying text, one major improvement. The acting has improved, the carry on films were comedic so obviously the active was slightly theatrical but for comedy it was spot on. The quality has improved and looks like a normal film you would see on T.V, much more of a variety of shots and angles. However it was simple camera work that looked effective. And there was a use of special effects, showing a develop for editing and technology.

 

The eighth film I looked at was “Distant voices, still lives” (1988)

The acting in this film had drastically improved and was completely naturalistic and very believable; there was a lovely colour grade on the film, which again shows an improvement to editing. The quality was amazing it just got better and better as the films went on. And the sound had also improved.

 

Overall I found this activity fascinating as it really intrigued me to see how film and the art of it had evolved and changed over time. I also found it fascinating to see how the separate elements has changed for example the camera, editing, sound, and even how the quality of films has changed, and even how it used to be. How the quality was back in 1903 and how it was in 1998 was a drastic change. 

I also researched two directors here is my presentation on them both.

click here to see the presentation

5 new film techniques

I also managed to research 5 new filming techniques and this is what I found out:

I researched 5 new film tecniques- I found:

 

Fixed camera on a moving target- This technique refers to a camera attached to the waist or chest of the person with the lens facing them. The effect is, when the person moves, they remain stationary in the frame and the effect is the background changes.

The effect caused uncomfortable closeness to the actor. That is not the only use for this technique. It has been used in many music videos as well.

Fortunately, with equipment getting cheaper and smaller, this effect can be created quite inexpensively.

 

2. Lens Whacking

Lens whacking is a camera technique that involves hand-holding the lens in front of the camera body. While the camera is running the lens is rocked back and forth against the edge of the body. The result is a strange effect that shifts the focus point, by the movement of the lens. It also allows light to enter allowing a very cool effect.

 

3. Shooting for Reverse

Shooting in reverse is an unsung hero for creating effects that can't be done in forward motion. The process involves having the actor do the whole action in reverse while shooting it. Then, when the footage is played in reverse it looks as though it was done forward. Picture any scene where an arrow sticks in the tree or some form of scene that contains danger. If this is performed in reverse and the arrow is pulled away from the actor, there is not danger and the effect can be very convincing and tricky for the audience to grasp.

 

Blinders

A technique that can be created through a cardboard box. It involves you putting a box just above the camera or around the back of it. The effect can be used to block out light and create a shadowed effect.

 

Parallaz

Like perspective (an high contrast lighting, too), the parallax effect serves to make and show depth, as well as to make the shot more dynamic and interesting. It does this by adding movement created by moving the camera. A static shot adds little movement to a shot, but a moving camera can turn what was once a boring still shot into a scene that pulls your audience in. In fact, it's often said that if you move your camera around people and things that are also moving, your shot will probably look awesome. It can give the affect of disillusion and could work in possibly a dream sequence.

My original idea

A young girl Marie who at the beginning of the film you discover that she is pregnant, she is around 16/17 years old. Her parents send her upstairs to pack a bag and tell her they want her out the house and to never see her again. She runs away and becomes classed as a run away. By the next morning her parents realize what they have actually done and ring the police to file a report, Marie is walking down the road. While she is walking, her parents are at home having a meeting with a police officer that tells the parents that they will do their best to help find her.

 

Marie then arrives at a youth hostel and manages to have enough money for one night. While she plans what to do. Obviously due to the amount of walking she ends up having a miscarriage. She gets thrown out of the hostel late at night. We see her struggle to walk any longer, so she sits down in a near by ally way. Suddenly a man comes up and approaches her.

 

He is walking a dog so to Marie he looks genuine she is just so happy to see someone. He offers to take her to his house and clean her up as she is all scruffy from walking and he offers to help her and help her back home. She agrees the man helps her up. When they arrive at the house it is disheveled and not well kept, the minute they get through the door he locks the door behind her. He takes Marie to his living room and acts very hospitable towards her. He tells Marie to go upstairs and there will be a spare room first door on the landing. The man follows Marie up the stairs. Marie steps into the room and notices chains and whips and she realizes that she is in a brothel and realizes what trouble she is in, she hears a lock sound from the door and realizes that she is trapped.

 

Suddenly Marie notices some movement coming from the other side of the room, she peers over the bed and notices some girl trembling, it is soon discovered that she is a 13 year old girl called Lea and she is also trapped, Lea tells Marie what happens and what has happened and why Lea herself also ran away.

 

Marie comforts Lea and decides that the two of them will make a plan to escape and they do. They manage to smash a window in the bedroom luckily its not to high up so they don’t have to jump very high. However the man has noticed and comes storming in, but he is too late. Once they have escaped and are walking down the lane, Marie notices that Lea is becoming weaker and weaker by the second.

 

Suddenly she collapses. Marie then realizes that she has to get her to a hospital. So they walk for miles Marie carrying Lea until finally they come to a hospital, they get to the hospital and Lea then gets admitted to the ward, after a variety of tests it's discovered that Lea has a severe case of HIV and is very unlikely to survive the night Marie is told by the nurses to leave her, but Marie refuses she causes a scene by making such a fuss, suddenly someone comes to the scene. Marie is taken away form Lea and is escorted to the waiting room, after a few hours Marie sneaks into Lea’s ward, Lea is in a critical condition, Marie stays with her and we see the heartbeat monitor slowing down, Marie rests her head on Lea, suddenly we see Lea’s eyes slowly open, 

The technical aspects of editing 

in this lesson, we were looking at Premiere and how to use it with some clips, of footage we had bought in. 

for every project that to make, the software makes a prject file, the file contains all the data and information for example: the settings that you select for each sequence in the project, as well as important crucial data about the assists, the decisions you make in the edit, and the effects you decide to use wihtin the project. 

The sorftware Adobe creative suite, was initially released on September 1st 2003 which was 13 years ago. The latest release was on May 7th 2012 which was 5 years ago. The software is that of graphic design, video editing, and web developing applications. Premiere is one of the video editing apps in this software. 

There are specicific camera specifications and formats you need to use in Premiere, for example : 

 

for me personally to edit, I use iMovie or final cut pro,so using premiere is completely different for me to use, however I aim to improve and develop my editing knowledge through using this software.

 

The software looks at using frames per second an example of this would be the you tubers- the slow mo guys. Here is an example of one of their videos. 

 

 

Textual Analysis

What is textual analysis? 

it is one of the tools that media researchers use to understand how meaning is made. 

4 main areas are:

camera

editing

sound 

mise en scene

Camera :

Shot types: 

closeup

mid shot

long shot

pov

birds eye view

tracking 

dolly shot

these are examples of camera angles or shots

angles: 

high angle- makes someone or something apear vulnerable 

low angle- can give someone or something power or status

effects:

pull,focus,depth of field,shallow focus

sound 

digetic sound

synchronous sound

score

sound bridge

selective sound

editing

jump cut

fast paced

juxtaposition

cutaways

cross cutting

mise en scene

props

costume

lighting

makeup 

location/setting

WE IN CLASS ARE CURRENTLY STUDYING AND LOOKING AT THE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE THRILLER FILM SEVEN. HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF TEXTUAL ANALYSIS FOR THE THRILLER. 

Vladimir Propp and his theory on narrative 

I have prepared a presentation discussing and showing what Narrative striuctures are and also I mention a little bit about Propps theory.

 

http://prezi.com/2z_xrkoazd11/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

 

The video down below, also describes his theory 

A film that that relates to Vladimir propps theory would be any film in the action adventure genre, for example any of the avengers films 

This is Vladimir Propp

CONTINUITY TASK !

For our continuity task. This also involves matter much action 180° rule. My groups idea it was a man who had held Adele hostage and who is refusing to go until she reveals answers. In the end he kills her as she confesses to nothing. Our group followed the basic structure given to us but unfortunately failed to follow the 180° rule in certain shots. Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out except for some sound effects and one section which will be improved and updated soon as they did not sound realistic enough. I feel that overall my group that really well and we all had a clear understanding of the storyline and what shots you wanted to include however unfortunately we did have to refill some footage as we were entirely happy with that and at the first time Nicole and I will directors I was also the actres, Nicole was a really good codirecting to work with and I think we worked really well together and you continue to work together on our main task Kate was a producer and I think she didn't excellent job organising everybody and sorting things out and that was our editor and I think it also didn't excellent job Tarryn was Audi okay and I thought she was brilliant as one of our shots I am really really happy with.   

I thought that I would do a blog post on a little bit about my experience within the media, I only joined the school half a term ago, and prior to that I actually studied at a performing arts school in london, whereI studied media and drama. I have always had a passion for media and drama from a very young age. from being a long child my mum documented in a video diary form, so I feel like that influenced my love for media and filming. I always attended stage schools during the weekend, and then when I was 11 years I was lucky enough to be cast in a feature film. From then on until this point I am still working as an actress and I love the atmosphere of being on a film set,it feels so electric and you get a real buzz and a hype from the atmosphere. I also have a passion for writing s in 2015 I took it upon myself to write a short film, we actually managed to get a production company together and we made the short film. It went round the multiple film festivals in different countries. At the beginning of 2016 we got a call from our director saying he had spoken t some people who loved the film, and that they would like to make it into a 90 minute feature film, which I would write. So that is what I did, we are now at the stage where the script is ready, most of our cast has been sourced and we are now just waiting upon funding. I am having an amazing time being apart of this experience and I can't wait tot see where this journey takes us. 

Planning documents 

Mood board

 

In terms of location hunting etc i and to create a world that our character lives in, and how ideally we as a group would like everything to look, so I came up with an idealistic view of how i wanted everything to look. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Set and Location hunting 

when I was location hunting I had to take a lot of factors into consideration, that it would look aesthetically pleasing, it would fit and go with our idea, however on the other hand it would not become an obvious choice. I also had to take into consideration when location hunting, how easy it would be for our actor and crew to attend, turns out that I will actually be playing the lead so that is easy to manoeuver, our producer actually offered her house, as the location, I think it is the perfect solution as it is all easy access for us to get to and we all live close to the location. The house is also deceiving as a location as it looks like a normal house that would have a normal family living it, however having such a physopathic character living in  a normal situation adds juxtaposition and mystery.

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