New AS Media Studies Blog

After the Easter break we will be using a new blog to work towards the exam.
Here is the URL, save it to your bookmarks bar:
http://as-mediastudies-dls-14.blogspot.co.uk

22.4.14 Coursework Mop Up

ALL coursework needs to submitted this week if it hasn't been already.
You must be sure that I have correct and final copies of

Pre Production
Production
Reports

Where applicable these need to be printed in colour for submission to WJEC.

Poster Conventions

• Poster conventions in general 

General colour palette/codes throughout is essential for the poster. 

Pale blue backlighting and fluorescent greens here relate to sci-fi genre. Other conventions relate to thriller, action adventure.

Correct choice of font and arrangement of letters to engage the viewer.

Connotations of words used should relate to the genre. 

'Their Flesh is his Fantasy'

Coming soon or release date - at the bottom of this poster:

• Icons of the film genre - Gun and Liam Neeson on a plane here:

• Have a main focal picture to relate to 

• Large title like Saul Bass' design here:

• Age certification 

• Tagline
•  A tagline must spark a reaction out of the audience without revealing too much of the documentary. It must make them know enough to want to see it but not too much that they feel they know enough already. For example; 'Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Water'

• Awards 
• You want to entice the audience to go and see the film so having awards on the film poster which the film has won will help the audience to be convinced to go and see the film.

• Quotes and Reviews
• Most posters have quotes from newspapers of film magazines which again entice the audience to go and see the thing being advertised.

• Directors Name 
• Often the name of the director is on the poster connoting their importance in the creation of this product. If the director is well kwon then prominence of his name will help to attract the audience.

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REPRESENTATIONS - POINTS OF VIEW, MESSAGES and VALUES UNDERLYING THEM. 19/3

How people, places and situations are represented is dependent on;

• Costume
• Language / regional identity
• Settings / locations [geographical markers] 
• Body language

Costume/dress, [urban, rural, asbo, wealthy...]

What are the connotations? What do the costumes signify?

Language and regional identity.

Settings/locations [geographical markers] 

 

These settings can possibly say something about the North/South divide.

Body language

Does it encourage the audience to sympathise with or to dislike the character?

Albert Mehrabian become known best by his publications on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages  also become known as the 7%-38%-55% Rule, for the relative impact of words, tone of voice, and body language when speaking.

Through body language then, can we identify the character as a hero/villain/helper etc? 

As described in Propp's character functions

Hero

Villain

Helper

Dispatcher

Princess

Donor

Relationship of characters with other characters is also important in identifying types.

Ask yourself; how does this affect the audience response – are the texts shown as; 

Challenging stereotypes?

...Or re-enforcing stereotypes?

What is the impact of these representations on the audiences – negative or positive?

Remember that all representation is RE-PRESENTATION- the media CONSTRUCTS a representation through MEDIATION & SELECTION. 

How does the audience interpret and respond to the text?

Consider The way different people might put different MEANINGS on to the text:
Stuart Hall points out that there are three different types of text readers:

• PREFERRED or DOMINANT READING – What the producers want the audience to get out of the text – something they want the audience to do.
• NEGOTIATED READING – that’s a COMPROMISE between what the producers want you to do and what you might get out of it. I like the Cadbury’s Gorilla advert but I don’t like the chocolate!
• OPPOSITIONAL READING – The audience is completely turned off by the text and does the complete opposite of what the producers want – who might do this and why? 
• [See Audience Responses on this blog].

Task 1: Homework for 25.3.14 answers on blogs please

Study the following advertisement shown in 2011:  Stella Artois.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyq_dRJfV6I

1. Analyse the advertisement commenting on:

     • visual codes

     • technical codes

     • audio codes. 

2.
(a) Suggest two ways in which men have been represented in this advertisement. 

(b) Explore how the representations of men have been used to sell the product. 

(c) With reference to your own detailed examples, explore the different ways in which men

are represented in the media today. 

3. Using your own detailed examples, examine why audiences respond differently to media texts.

Technical Codes - Sound

Sound Terminology

DIEGETIC

A sound that is part of the film world and usually heard by those in it

- Sound recorded at the same time as the images – for example, dialogue spoken by the actors on set. This does not include any sound added in post production

- Sound which appears to the audience to come from the scene, whether or not it was actually recorded with the images. Thus includes post-synched dialogue, sound effects and foley. Also known as parallel sound

NON-DIEGETIC

A sound which is added later during editing for effect and therefore cannot be heard by those in the film world. A voice over narration for example. A term that describes sound that does not have a visible onscreen source; also referred to as offscreen sound.

MUSIC

A soundtrack added during editing, the sound and tone can affect the whole meaning of the scene

 

 

 

 

SOUND EFFECTS

Usually added to film in post-production, they may be used to build up ambience or reinforce action.

 

SOUND BRIDGE

Film and TV editing technique in which visual cuts are deliberately not matched with audio cuts. For example, the editor may cut to a completely new scene, but allow sound from the preceding scene to run on for a short time. Alternatively, we may hear the sound of the next scene before we see it.

VOICE OVER

A type of non-diegetic, asynchronous sound in which the audience hear a voice that does not have a source either within the frame or within hearing distance, and which is not heard by the people on screen. Voice overs allow us to see things from a particular character’s point of view

CONTRAPUNTAL SOUND

Sounds that do not easily match the images they are accompanying, or even go against them. This can have a disorientating effect upon the audience and make them question what they are seeing.

TASK:
Watch the clip from the film 'The Srangers' and using the time code as a reference, note down the different types of sound you can hear.

AS Reports

3.  A Report of a maximum 1600 words.  This report should:

 

            * Outline the research undertaken by the candidate

            * Explain how the research has been used to inform the pre-production

            * Outline and justify the target audience for the production – and explain

               HOW the audience has been targeted.

* Evaluate the production, summarising its strengths and weaknesses; preferably    

   by comparing it with similar products.

Conventions of a magazine double page spread

Codes and conventions of a double page spread from Laurengibney