Weeks 1 & 2 Reflective Blog Post

Weeks 1 and 2 Reflective Blog

This week and the previous week i have acquired the skills of identifying and applying basic  media techniques. For example I can identify different camera shots and use it for my own purposes. For example i have planned out my upcoming media short film while aiming to display all of the shot types i have learnt.

The key concepts i have looked at is the representation of the working class, gender and age in the media and more, all whilst looking at the positive and negative representations of each.

I have also been looking at media theories by Steve Neal of Repetition and Difference and another theory of Uses and Gratifications theory. The Repetition and Difference theory is the theory of what in the media stays the same in terms of context, ideals and characters, but what is changed to keep audiences interested. The Uses and Gratifications theory stating that  it is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. Four examples are Information, Escapism/Entertainment, Personal Identification and Social Interaction. These are the four main reasons as to why people seek specific media.

Other reasons for this may be because of catharsis or schadenfreude. Catharsis means emotional release of negative energy, for example stress busting forms of media. Schadenfreude is to receive pleasure from pain. The largest form of this is from video games such as COD or Halo where violence is abundant.

Another thing I looked at in class was Mis-En-Scene.

P - Production Scene -sets, props, and costumes

L - Lighting -Ambient, Artificial and Natural forms

A - Actors-Performance of the Actors is important                        

C - Colour design - through production in media 

E - Era - how is the time/ place represented now

All of these things combine to create what Mis-En-Scene is.

All of these previously mentioned concepts are what i feel confident about within my understanding of media. However there are areas of knowledge that i need developing on, for example the Encoding and Decoding theory by Stuart Hall, and Dyer's stereotype theory. I don't understand how the audience can decode and interpret specific media messages based on the audience's cultural background, economic standing and personal experiences.          

Media Preliminary Task

Media Preliminary Task

The Encounter

A character opens a door, crosses a room and sits down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchange a couple of lines of dialogue

Me and my group (Chi-Wen Ha, Fabio fernandes) have to aim to create suspense/ interest through the settings and performance of our actors. Use techniques described by the exam board, use a range of camera shots and angles. We also have to have continuity in mind, everything must be in the right place, even props. Film a wild cat soundtrack at a location for 5 minutes, all while avoiding zoom pans.

The camera and editing techniques we are aiming to use are the 180 degree rule, shot reverse shot, over the shoulder shot and the rule of thirds.

My short film is slapstick, random version of the average teenager in high school, braced with embarrassment, humour and friendship, with no real depth to any of it.

I am opening the door and walking into the middle of the playground, where i trip over my own feet

Fabio sees my body fall to the floor and rushes over to me

Fabio reaches out to carry me to the benches

We talk use shot over shot while we talk in this part

In the end me and my group add more camera shot types to further engage the audience into the short film.

This Is England

Camera shot types

Media Intake

Media Homework Tselmuun Gerel

Film/TV

Lord Of The Rings

The Lord Of The Rings movie corresponds with the Repetition and Differences theory by Steve Neale. This is because it has all of the usual conventions of the Fantasy genre for example, characters that are mythical creatures each with their own unique traits, for some it may be archery and for others sword fighting. These mythical creatures can range from Elves all the way to Orcs, with a lot more in between that gives the audience a lot to experience, think about and be mesmerised as they see their dreams and expectations of fantasy being displayed on the large screen. This is also a reason why some of the audience may use the movie for escapism. Also the large fighting scenes with thousands of warriors on screen may be used for catharsis by the violence of the large screen fight scenes with all the fighting and yelling. Personally, what i gain from from watching this media was intensity and adrenaline as there are many scenes in which the main character's lives are in peril, which drew me into watching it further.

However on the other hand the movie differs is the large array of species that are within the movie's lore. The viewer may want to watch the movie more because of the fact they have so much species which intrigues the main audience into seeing what other kinds of species there are. Audiences that may have read the book in particular are more likely to watch the movie than those who have not because they are interested into seeing how the movie differs from the book and where it is similar.


The Office (U.S)






The television show The Office again agrees with the Repetition and Difference theory by Steve Neal. This is because it is set within the average office set workplace which a lot of the audience aged 20-30 may relate this because they themselves may work in an office work setting so they can relate and use the series for personal identification and/or social interaction because a worker may be watching the series to see how workers interact with each other or they may have a problem at work and uses the series for advice on how they should handle the situation at work. Also this series has all of the usual conventions of the office workplace setting, such as uniform like suits and having desks to work at with other workers. Because people relate to these things they may be more likely to watch it. Also another reason the audience may watch is because of schadenfreude, which is to take pleasure from pain. In the series The Office there are plenty of the average "television fool" characters which the audience can take joy from their mistakes and mishaps.

However the series differs from the average office set series with being very heavy on comedy, and instead of the viewer just watching what happens within the series, the characters actually talk to the audience who are personified as cameramen documenting the workplace. The contrast in having an office but basing the series on comedy is a very good idea because alot of people are bored and un-satisfied with their jobs so they relate to this series and use it for escapism and entertainment.

Websites/Videogames

League of Legends (LoL)




This game appeals to me because i can use it for escapism, entertainment, and social interaction.
Within the game i can take place as a Champion who each have their own unique traits that make each and every single one of them different, taking time to play and master each single one. Also because i am playing a game with violence i am using it for Catharsis and schadenfreude because at the same time i relieve my stress and laugh at other people's failures within the game.
Also because i am able to play with my friends its a much more fun experience, also the fact that i can connect with anyone in the world, as i create whole new social groups with people thousands of miles away. Although there are alot of games with this kind of style this one appeals to me especially because it has different characters who materialistically appeal to me because of the range of champions you can play as and how satisfying it is to me to be able to relieve my stress in the form of harmless violence in video games.

XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN



XCOM appeals to me because it is a strategic turn-based video game in which the player uses the video game for catharsis, entertainment, escapism and the gratifications of playing the hero inside a game. Players play this game because of the personal happy feeling of being able to save the world from destruction and death, also the violence aspect of the game lets the players relieve stress and the fact that it is a strategic game when I win in a game i feel  happy with myself because I feel like I have achieved something, just like many other players with games, we play because we feel like we are achieving things that we would not be able to achieve in real life, which is where the escapism aspect comes through because I escape from real life and emerge myself into a completely new world with characters I form emotional bond with. I play this game especially instead of other games because instead of just being given a character, I get to customise them and name them unlike in other games where you cant. And because I am given this power over them I form emotional bonds with the characters especially because the characters are non-refundable, if you lose them they will die forever, unlike in video games where the character can die but it wont mean anything to the player.

Print

Heat Magazine



Heat magazine appeals to certain people because of the bold writing, eye catching colours and pictures of well known celebrities, to catch the audience's attention. The magazine does agree with the Repetition and Difference theory as it displays the general conventions of magazines, which i already mentioned, which all other magazines of the same style would generally have. However it differs and appeals to certain people because certain magazines may have exclusive coverage on the latest celebrity breakup. Also another thing I gain from this is gaining information on the lives of celebrities, all the latest clubs they go to, who has broken up and much more.

People use these magazines for escapism, schadenfreude and social means as to talk to their friends about the latest thing in the life of celebrities and comment about their lifestyles, allwhile bonding together. Also people from lower social classes may use it to get a feeling of the celebrity life and break away from their life and fantasize being famous and good looking.

Time magazine



This magazine grabs the audiences attention with role model figures to gain the attention of the public with bold writing with bold colours to get the public to get an idea of the magazine even before they open up to the first page, they can see its a serious magazine. Which is the difference for this magazine than others and why people keep reading it. Personally I gain vanity from this media source as I will feel more intelligent than the rest of my social groups because i have read something intelligent, making me feel more intelligent in comparison to those who haven't read these magazines.

Audiences may use the magazine for for entertainment or the feeling of being more intelligent whereas this magazine would attract people from higher social standings usually and people wanting to escape their normal life may use this magazine to feel as if they have more of standing with society and important decisions.