Representations

This lesson we looked at representations and how things are re-presented or portrayed on the screen by using colours, clothing, camera angles, facial expression, scenery, make-up, audio, lighting and body language etc.

We then looked more into this theory by looking at a scene from Star Wars: Darth Vaders entry.

Setting & Props:

• appears out of smoke/grey fog
• dead bodies on the floor
• doesn't need to fight-hes too powerful/important like a king/royalty
• all sci-fi surroundings and very white

Costume, Hair & Make-Up:

• everyone's wearing white except Darth Vader where he stands out in black which makes him seem more evil
• darth vader also has a cape where as no one else does, this emphasises his superiority
• C3PO is in gold and doesn't fit into the scene or look right as he is not the same colour or costume to everyone else.

Facial Expression & Body Language:

• comes in and looks down on the people that are dead and takes no significance towards their death as if it is nothing to him.
• puts his hands on his hips to emphasise his authority

We then went on to looking at Kidulthood and the camera angles used and what they portray.

Camera Angles:

• close up - facial expression - sad/crying
• long shot - isolation
• mid shot - show body language
• panoramic shot - show scenery
• p.o.v shot - shows their p.o.v and how every things blurry to them or doesn't make sense

After this we then went on to looking at a starting scene from a television programme called: Life on Mars. We then briefly analysed the mise-en scene, camera angles and audio used.

• extreme close up - to show tension in his eyes
• confused expression to show audience even he doesn't know whats happening as the main character
• close up - showing - to show confusion and facial expression
• slow cinematic spinning round character - making him center of attention
• build up music adding to the tension
• cutting scenes and flashbacks to show his unconsciousness

Narrative Theory

Narrative explores the conventions of:

• Genre
• Character
• Form
• Time

Story - includes information not told

Plot - the key events

Narratemes - help drive the story forward: narrative function.

Linear Structure:

Linear Structure is when the story has a beginning, middle and end. The beginning where were introduced to the characters, the middle where the story builds and the end where there is closure or the final editing.

Open Structure:

These contain cliffhangers where we're left wondering what is next; as well as this it allows the audience to think up their own interpret endings and views on the film. This is a very controversial structure as some love it and some hate it due to some liking the guided endings of a traditional linear structure.

Closed Structure:

This is when the story has a definite ending and clear conclusion. For example for stuff happens towards the ends and the ending is recognised more by the audience.

Circular Structure:

Otherwise known as a non-linear structure, the circular structure is very simple; when it starts and ends in the same place. For example either scene, scenery, clip or way of the beginning/end.

Vladamir Propp

Propp had a theory that was focused on the characters based on old fairy tales and Russian folk tales. This included protagonists and antagonists (heroes and villains). He believed that "narrative is driven by the characters using  a set of narrative functions"

Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes believed narrative was created by a series of codes which are recognised by the audience and interpreted by them in different ways. These codes are: action, semic, enigma, symbolic and cultural. He believed certain codes had different meanings for the way narrative i connoted.

Tzvetan Todarov

Todarov thinks of narrative as beginning with a equilibrium where the story begins and is set.The narrative it then thought to be affected when something unexpected occurs, then followed by conflict (a disequilibrium). This then goes back to a equilibrium, however everything unexpected is resolved and then this loops again.

Claude Levi-Strauss

Strauss describes narrative as a creation of constant conflict of binary opposites. Narrative can only end on a resolution of conflict. There are also binary oppositions such as opposition can be visual: light and darkness, movement and stillness. The same with conceptual: love and hate, control and panic. These are know as Binary oppositions. These binary opposites are a category of semiotics, which is the study of signs. 

Narrative & Editing

Everything we're doing in media is about trying to create meaning.

Narrative is the way you tell a story or way it is said, whereas editing is when you put something in order or together to create meaning.

Supersize Me narrative structure:

we think we see him buy the meal, eat the meal and throw it up. However we don't actually get to see this and we simply believe it because of the editing. We have no way of telling if he even threw up as we do not see it. We simply believe the time lapse. No one says he threw it up, they simply show some stuff on the ground out of the window that looks like sick; how do we know that this wasn't there before or set up. We constantly jump to conclusion and follow and expected narration purely because of the editing.

Supersize Me used ellipses to create this. These are used for when audience has to fill in the blanks with what they expect.

Editing constructs narrative out of footage.

Through getting a bunch of different footage of shots, scenes, lines and key moments etc. you can then edit that footage in anyway to manipulate it in a certain way to narrate a certain story.

We have no independent thought - all manipulation, where we are being told what to believe and think when actually we should question it all.

Hollywood Studio

Hollywood Studio System:

films become known for a specific narrative structure combines with a set of cinematic expressions of narrative

- film genres - gangster, musical, western became a 'classic' form of genre.
- a reliable return of investment
- directors, stars and producers etc. became synonyms of a genre

James Cagney - Gangster
John Ford - Western

Studios were thus known through their own style - "house style"
Public had a set of expectations and an identification of process.

Fall of the Studio System:

- occurred around 3rd of May 1948

Vertical Integration - when when one company owns production, distribution and marketing - keeps costs down for their business.

- rapid growth of independents
- rise in televisions
- films became t.v series

Rise of the Star:

- freelance
- dialogue coaches
- actress' had nose jobs etc.
- they became the face of the cinema which gave them power as they were the advertisement on the billboards, posters with their face and name, which linked into marketing
- this gave them power over negotiating

Key Concepts

Concept of genre:

There is no definition for genre as you can classify anything in any way possible.

As well as this there are sub-genres and hybrid genres which add more complexity to the idea of genre.

sub-genre - a subcategory within a particular genre e.g. occult thriller and psychological thriller

hybrid - the mixing of genres e.g. action-thriller

Genres are not static but constantly changing. Genre is a constant flux.

Genres are not static but constantly renegotiated between industry and audience - a combination of familiar reoccurrence and new tweaks.

A creative strategy used by film producers to ensure audience identification with a film a means of trying to predict risk.

Genre is a way of working through myths and fears:

- repetition

- variation

- resolution

Genre offers comforting reassurance in an uncomfortable world. Would repeat it quashed, outlaws become civilised. Gangsters are punished. Genre is a way of tidying up the mess in life.

Regenrefication:

Regenrefication is something being shown to be something else. This happened in the 1950's when Jack Arnold the directed used this concept to advertise his film as a horror when in fact it was a sic-fi. This therefore messes with the audiences minds and what they expect.

This is like hybridisation as it is then leaving the audience to decide what genre is and therefore creating a mix of genres and opinions.

How can genre aid you in the relation to your brief?

How can genre aid you in the relation to your brief?

Genre helps because everything else in our media topic links in together. As to create our short clip we need to decide on a genre in the first place to get to grips with what we're going to do and then base all the mise-en-scene and features of the film around that genre. However in genre we have hybrid genres. Hybrids are the mixing of two genres which therefore makes the task harder as there is such a big choice of different types of genres to base the 2 minute film on. Genre will not only change what the film is about e.g. a love story or a children s fantasy; but it will also alter the types of editing, audio, research, planning and filming of the whole project due to the genre changing the film completely.

Main Task

Main Brief Task

The titles and opening of a new fiction film to last a maximum of 2 minutes

• All the video and audio has to be original and cannot be copied from anything copyrighted.
• We're assessed on: research, planning, filming and editing.