A multimillionaire couple that have a role in the popular Drama show, Breaking Bad, they have a very large house including a luxurious swimming pool. In the episode that they feature in as main parts, a party is being held for Elliott, this further shows their wealth as they are given ridiculously expensive gifts, such a signed electric guitar, this demonstrates how Elliott and Gretchen associate themselves with people of equal wealth.They fit into various stereotypes such as having a large house, they're well educated and are well dressed
Despite this couple being extremely wealthy, a counter type is introduced as they treat Walt and Skylar, a working/middle class couple with surprising warmth, offering them a large sum of money to pay for Walt's cancer treatment, this is good because it creates the image that upperclass people will happily help people of lower classes.
Characters in the Extract - DCI Gates Stubble Messy Collar Rather Thin Glasses, could show a sharp Nature but also intelligence Wearing his thick wedding ring Classy Car, Jackie has what would be seen as a posh/high class house, could be showing Gates' high taste in women - Jackie - Police office Worker Wearing Her Police Lanyard, shows dedication to her job as it surrounds a necklace she is also wearing, this could show that her police work surrounds all other parts of her life In the opening Interior scene, an office environment becomes apparant, a close
Black: Curtis Donovan - Misfits Omar Little - The Wire White: Nathan - Misfits - England Woody - This Is England - England Skylar White - Breaking Bad
East Asian Hiro Nakamura - Heroes - Japanese
Glenn Rhee - The Walking Dead - Korean South Asian: Mr.Sandhu - This Is England - Pakistani
The extract starts with an establishing shot of Alice in the center of the frame. This shows that she'll be the focus of the scene. Her hair is reddish colour which suggests she is alternative/ slightly on the crazy side. she also has a determined expression on her face which creates the atmosphere that she knows what she's doing and is confident, this reinforces a stereotype for women which is that they are organised and on top of things, always with a plan. A closeup of Luther reveals a stressed wincing expression, this could show that he is out of control of the situation which reinforces the stereotype that men in general are messy and unorganized, Luther is wearing a worn coat over a shirt with a loose tie, this creates a messy image, portraying him as untidy and unsettled. Alice is wearing a purple coat which could be seen as quite a cold/unwelcoming color, creating the image of Alice being quite abrasive.
An over the shoulder shot is used during the opening conversation to show Luther's face, then an identical shot is then used to show Alice's face over Luther's shoulder. this could have bee done to represent how they are both equal in the fight where usually women aren't equal to men, here, Alice and Luther are on the same level. and there is no inequality. There is then a long shot, revealing their wide open, urban environment, this could represent how insignificant both characters are within their dense, surroundings as they appear as small compared to their surroundings.
In the interior of the apartment, the scene and location is lit brightly and clearly, showing a clean and sheer apartment, this shows the stereotype that girls are clean/good at cleaning and not messy. To contrast this, Luther's outfit and appearance clash with the blank and clean surroundings of the apartment as he looks messy and, not necessarily unclean, but unfresh in a way, this reinforces the male stereotype that men are messy and untidy.
Towards the end of the extract, a mid shot follows Luther as he is speaking from behind with a slow zoom, then turning into a close up as he speaks, alternatively, straight after, when Alice speaks, there is an instant close up on her face. This could be to show how men aren't listened to right away and their ideas are glazed over/ignored, to contrast, the close up of Alice right ass she starts speaking shows how women are usually listened to as it seems as they are more serious, organised and believable.
Around midway through the extract, a moment of possible sexuality appears between Alice and Luther, this is shown through the pair drawing their faces close and Luther gazing at Alice's lipstick covered lips, something that creates sex appeal, reinforcing the image that women are lustful, rather than her eyes. For this, there is a mid shot with both characters slightly off center, facing in, however Luther is higher than Alice and is looking down on her. This was done to demonstrate how in general and in society's eyes, men are more powerful than women and how Luther could overpower Alice if he desired. However, this is met with a bold expression on Alice's Face showing that she is not afraid of Luther, this could be showing how nowadays, women are less afraid of oppresses as on a whole, the female gender is stronger which is a theme present throughout the extract, shown by the way Alice asks 'Did you come here for sex?' showing that she knows men's true desires, which could be seen, from a feminist perspective that men want sex for love and that women want love for sex.
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
As atmosphere
Art from glee could be viewed as a character used to create an atmosphere of diversity within the glee club
Laughable
Forrest Gump would fit into this stereotype as even though he's the main character, his autism creates moments of comedy in his Film
As a burden
The character of Adelaide Langdon fits into the steryotype burden n the show American Horror Story as she repetitvley gets in the way of other character's activitys/desires
As Non sexual
All throughout Breaking Bad, Walt Jr is potrayed as non sexual as he suffers from ceberal palsy, this gets in the way of him being a conventional teenager
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Diegetic Sound - Sound that occurs on camera, not edited in
Non Diegetic - Sounds that have been edited in over the recording
Synchronous sound - Sound that matches with actions on the screen, for example, the sound of footsteps over visual of someone walking
Sound Effect - A sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, film or other broadcast production
Voice over - a piece of narration in a film or broadcast
Sound bridges - One of the most common transitions in the continuity editing style, one that stresses the connection between both scenes
Sound motif - a dominant or reoccurring theme/sound
Throughout this clip from Mission impossible, there is a buildup of orchestral background music, creating tension within the clip, then as Tom Cruise does a death defying leap, the main and most recognizable section of the theme tune for the film occours. This is also noticeable in various similar action and adventure themes for example, the James bond films use the well known orchestral theme repetitively in Bond films which the audience then recognizes and knows that something violent/tense/some conflict is about to occour
Direct address - Also known as breaking the fourth wall is a situation where a character in the film will speak directly to the audience, momentarily breaking the illusion/realism in the film
In this clip, one of the characters looks directly at the camera in a bit parodying product placement n popular movies, this is effective as it feels as if the message is personalized to the viewer
Sunday, 4 October 2015
In this video for 'anaconda' by Nicki Minaj, within the first twenty seconds, there is a long shot with Nicki in the center, showing power. She is surrounded by other females, all (barely) dressed in revealing and suggestive underwear. This could be seen as empowering because Nicki is standing in a triumphant and bold position, surrounded by women. Alternatively, this could be seen as degrading due to the fact that the women are dressing in a way that is seen as appealing to the male gaze. Instantly after this shot the video cuts to a close up of a woman's ass. there is nothing empowering about this, it is placing the woman directly in the male gaze showing only her assets and not denying/hiding the fact that this video is based around womens' asses & their sexually pleasing moves. However, at 1:34, there is a change of scenery and Nicki and an entourage of women are in a gym, once again, nicki is wearing ridiculously revealing clothing which would be seen as planting her right in the male gaze. In addition, one of the women in the scene has 'bunz' printed on the back area of her gymshorts, once again reinforcing the fact that these women aren't empowered, they are playing into the male gaze because 'buns' is slang for a woman's buttocks, these women are happily becoming objectified. To counter this view, the video features only women for the first three minutes which could be viewed as empowering because it introduces the view that the women are doing/wearing everything by their own choice instead of being told to by men. After the first three minutes, a Man appears in the video. Nicki is then seen crawling seductively towards him, this could be seen as degrading because it is her doing the crawling and he is waiting, sitting on a chair, Above her.Nicki then dances sexually and seductively around/on the man until the video ends.
Sunday, 27 September 2015
The Man, The Woman And The Other Man
At first sight, various things about this man become apparent, firstly, his outfit is coordinated and looks expensive yet plain with various individual items that give him an extravagant twist like his scarf or hat. This portrays the image that this man is maybe a fashion designer which is reinforced by the way he holds his arms/posture.
This Lady, on first impressions appears to have quite a 'thrown together' appearance which is created by the fact that she has two bags, both seemly adequately filled, this lady may lead the life of a thrift shop searcher/collector, based on the fact that it seems she's quite confident and her trolley has something scrunched/roughly folded into it.
My first impression of this man is that he's homeless which may be caused by the fact that his outfit is made up of various layers and he's wearing clothes of the more tatty variety (Patches on his trousers and the cardigan buttoned over a shirt project this image seeing as these types of clothes are commonly found in thrift shops which a homeless person might get their clothes in seeing as they are cheaper than new, shop bought clothes) also, the man is smoking which nowadays, is seen as a dirty habit in the eyes of the media. Going on the assumption that he's homeless, this man's 'job' may be panhandling or taking recreational drugs which is an image that has been created by the public eye.
Ex_Machina research
Start to research the film Ex_Machina directed by Alex Garland.
Find out about the following:
Production companies__Film 4 Productions,DNA Films
The Boatman's Call //
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (1997)
Is This It// The Strokes (2001)
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea // Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)
5 Top Musicians/Artists
Tohm Yorke (Radiohead
/ Atoms For Peace / Solo)
Bob Dylan (Solo)
Jason Pierce
(Spacemen 3 / Spiritualized
Mac Demarco (Solo /
Makeout Videotape)
Noah Lennox (Animal
Collective / Panda Bear)
5 Top Films
Trainspotting
Inside lwellin Davis
Boyhood
There Will Be Blood
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
5 Top Hip Hop / Rap Albums
Digital Lows // Cities Aviv
MBDTF // Kanye West
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City // Kendrick Lamar
Piñata // Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
Madvillany // Madvillan
5 Top Pre 90s Albums
The Velvet Underground and Nico // The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
Blood On The Tracks // Bob Dylan (1975)
Raw Power // Iggy And The Stooges (1973)
The Idiot // Iggy Pop (1977)
Unknown Pleasures // Joy Division (1979)
Monday, 7 September 2015
Section B: Institutions and Audiences Candidates should be prepared to understand and discuss the processes of production, distribution, marketing and exchange as they relate to contemporary media institutions, as well as the nature of audience consumption and the relationships between audiences and institutions. In addition, candidates should be familiar with: • the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; • the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; • the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; • the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; • the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; • the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; • the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. • the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary (current) media practice The depth and range of ownership across a range of media and the consequences of this ownership for audiences in terms of the genres and budgets for films. How for instance, can Channel4's Film4 survive in the British market place against the high concept, big-budget films made by Newcorp's FOX, Warner Bros, Disney, Universal, etc.? What kinds of niche audiences are left for Film4 to attract? Are mass audiences out of reach given the genres of films Film4 have the budgets to make? How successful have they been in reaching mass audiences with their films? How healthy is it that just a few mega media groups can own such a range of media and can decide what the public may see, and, perhaps, shape audience's tastes? • the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing Digital technology is enabling various media to converge in hubs, platforms and devices. For instance, mobiles phones do a lot more than act as hand held telephones: you can download and watch films and TV programmes, use them as alarm clocks, watches, play music on them, take photos and short films, text, go online, use GPS functions, a range of apps, and a whole lot more. New HD TVs, Playstations, X-Boxes, iPads, Notebooks, MacBooks, etc. are also examples of hubs which in which a variety of media technologies can converge for convenience for users. Media convergence is having an enormous impact on the film industry because of the ways in which institutions can produce and market for audiences/users on a widening range of platforms, capable of receiving their films.
Synergies can come out of an organisation's size; smaller media organisations such as Channel4 can-cross promote their films, etc. but the scale of cross-media promotion is nowhere near as great as that which can be gained by massive media organisations. Film4 is therefore unable to promote their lower budget films on a level playing field. • the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange The audience's ability to interact with films by, for instance, using digital technology to put extracts on You Tube and overlay new sound tracks on them, etc. and make answering videos has been greatly enhanced by Web 2.0; Film studios can make films using CGI, greenscreen and other special effects that were impossible to make only a few years ago. The ways of filming and editing films have changed, too, with the introduction of digital film and film cameras, editing software, laptops, digital projectors, etc. Distributors market films using the latest software for designing high-concept film posters and trailers. They can use phone apps., online marketing, Twitter, etc. File-sharing and piracy are growing issues because the software exists to take the protective encryption of DVDs, etc and WEB 2.0 enables people to make and share copies of films easily. One way in which film companies are trying to get around this is by releasing films soon after theatrical release by selling them on video-on-demand, premium TV channels and downloads. US and UK cinemas chains are not happy about this, especially after all the investment some have made on digital equipment, projectors, etc. which unfortunately quickly goes very quickly out of date! • the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences This means the increase of something: i.e. digital cameras, software, CGI, 3D films, film genres, etc. which are part of current trends; how significant is this for See Saw Films or Film4? Or are they still able to be successful without it by making films with genres that do not need the latest breakthroughs in digital technology? Research the film company's use of cameras, special effects, software, posters, digital distribution of films, etc. • the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences This is a WEB 2.0 issue and how technology is coming together in hubs like laptops is one of the features of our age; the mobile phone in your pocket is a great example of technological convergence: it can do so much more than a simple phone call; think how this is affecting film making at the production, marketing and exhibition stages? The Internet is acting as a hub for many aspects of film: you will find film posters, YouTube videos on films, interviews, trailers, official film and blog websites, etc. on it. Audiences can also remake their own films by creating extracts and running new scores over them and then posting them on YouTube. This often leads to answering videos, never mind the comments, etc. that people make on such sites. The internet, film and videos games seems to be converging in so many ways. People can watch films in a range of ways, using an astonishing range of hardware and software. They can also find audiences of their own. This amounts to free publicity for film institutions for their films and "A Long Tail" sales into the future through endless exchange. • the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions "Slumdog Millionaire" was originally aimed at Asian audiences living in various parts of the UK and also at Danny Boyle fans. The film's unexpected success at film festivals and being nominated for the Oscars led to another theatrical release and a crossover from the "indy" art-house into the mainstream. British film makers often make social realism films and aim them at local and regional audiences whereas this would never be enough for the major media players who tend to make high budget, high concept films. They have boutique offshoots who make and often distribute lower budget films, aimed at more high brow audiences. Disney's Mirimax and Fox's Fox Searchlight are examples of such boutique, art-house film distribution. • the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour How you consume films whether it is as a social activity after visiting a shopping centre or on an MP4 player or Playstation, is what is at issue here. Visit Pearl and Dean to see how multiplex cinemas are adapting the experience of cinema-going to gain audiences. In an age of falling DVD sales, home cinema and an increase in downloading for both music and film audiences are changing in how they want to consume film. Identify trends and consider where the audience trends are going in the near future. This unit should be approached through contemporary (up-to-date) examples in the form of case studies based upon one of the specified media areas.
