Genre
- psychological thriller
I picked psychological thriller to allow for more experiments trying to build up tension and how to get the audience on the edge of theirs seats
Characters
- Josh a 40 year old male with black hair and a masculine face with no facial hair, average high and in good shape
- Jaziah a 20 year old male with blond hair with a young face no facial hair, slightly under average and in good shape
Base idea
- Working Title 'Two bullets in the chamber'
Main character 'josh' ex marine commander dealing with form of PTSD, Josh's job revolved around keeping everyone in sync but then also having to deal with the dark sides of the military E.G( wife beating, suicide, homicide, other traumatising experiences and ect..) but he blames himself for some of the examples above as he sees his troops as family and to him these acts are his fault.
Conventions
- POV shots
- Flashbacks
- set/costume design
- mis en scene
- screen colouring
Pitch
The synopsis is that we see Josh in a plain room, and we immediately see him having a nightmare and then it cuts to a flash back of him in the military. Soon after that we see that he is struggling mentally because we see conflict in his mind of wether his friend shot himself or he shot his friend, now the means that there is a question to be asked 'did he actually or is it him blaming himself'. finally after the gunshot Josh shoots up and moves around his room, until he takes a gun from his desk and leaves the room
MORE DETAIL
- Opens to a grey apartment room ( similar to the newest version of Sherlock Holmes ) and josh is in bed, visibly having a nightmare, the camera will slowly pan onto his face. Once Josh's face is centre screen a flash back to him and one of his marine friends talking on training grounds and then another quick cut to his face and then into Josh's friend in a black room in a chair with a gun to his head, another quick cut and then cut back and in a flash josh now holds the gun against his friends head. This scene builds up until a gun shot is heard with a pitch black screen, until finally it cuts back to josh shooting up on his bed at the middle of the night, then the scene continues with Josh going to his desk picking up his belongings until he picks up a gun and leaves, the door shut is where the opening should finish.
Signifiers
- plain apartment room ( working class)
- military costume + background training ground (ex marine)
- gun in desk ( ex marine )
- crushed beer can on the floor ( problems / alcoholic )
- masculine strong male shows protagonist
Challenges and Opportunities
- Creating the tension of the gunshot will be hard to build up
- trying to get access to a military training ground could be hard
- getting the timing right with each shot
- making the signifiers key to understand so that the preferred reading is anchored
- Lots of potential for shot types
- lots of media language potential for use when having to use it in exam.
- very easy to anchor the preferred reading
- Good practice for improving cinematography skills
Inspirations
- Sherlock Holmes
-Alien
-Dead man waling
-Dead man's shoes
-This is England
Thursday, 24 October 2019
Thursday, 17 October 2019
Semiotics rap
Semiotics rap
Connotations and connote
Like a sailing boat
Now your thinking of a captain
With a big hat that’s 10/10
That’s symbolic like a three shot
It connotes scenarios, like a lot
An example is a love triangle
Or if it was horror there’d be a Dutch angle
The next word is denote
That’s the textual detail in a goat
Well that’s an example but what you should project
Is To describe the detail of an object
It’s not about symbolism, unlike a baptism
It’s about what happens not what you think about them
It’s a bit like this rap
You shouldn’t think about it you should just clap
Now we come to narrative enigma
Could show the presence of ligma
Okay now all jokes aside
It’s how the director makes a hidden side
This could be like a high angle
To show a character is week and might get strangled
It’s all about the suggested info
How a character might feel low
Up next is detail that is intertextual
Like Rick and Morty being intellectual
It’s about understanding references
It helps appeal to target audiences
An example would be the simpsons
The amount of references, theres tons
Without the intertextual knowledge
The show would be as funny as a dying hedge.
That’s the end of my rap of semiotics
Before someone needs antibiotics
I hope I got all of this right
Otherwise my media grades arnt in sight.
Friday, 11 October 2019
SEMIOTICS applied to Warp film posters
THIS IS ENGLAND
This is England immediately signifies that its is a social realist production based in England. This is anchored by the title being the colour of the union jack.
Either side of the poster, two buildings are framed either side signifying working class characters. This is further anchored by the urban decay on the fence/ font. All males in the poster are skinheads which anchors working class
'A film by Shane Meadows' denotes the auteur film theory.
Wide long shot denotes ensemble cast, Not a star vehicle. It also signifies a community relationship
The film is based in the 1980's, however nothing signifies that so it is polysemic .
DEAD MAN'S SHOES
The use of bubble font usually signifies comedy however in Dead Man's Shoes the polysemic is immediately anchored by the reviews.
This is also anchored by the axe as it signifies violence.
The framing of the main character on screen, being a dutch angle and low angle suggest that there is something very wrong about the character.
The red background and font signifies blood and also anchors the idea of this movie being a horror
TYRANNOSAUR
Rule of thirds, centrally framed connoting this man as the protagonist
This is England immediately signifies that its is a social realist production based in England. This is anchored by the title being the colour of the union jack.
Either side of the poster, two buildings are framed either side signifying working class characters. This is further anchored by the urban decay on the fence/ font. All males in the poster are skinheads which anchors working class
'A film by Shane Meadows' denotes the auteur film theory.
Wide long shot denotes ensemble cast, Not a star vehicle. It also signifies a community relationship
The film is based in the 1980's, however nothing signifies that so it is polysemic .
DEAD MAN'S SHOES
The use of bubble font usually signifies comedy however in Dead Man's Shoes the polysemic is immediately anchored by the reviews.
This is also anchored by the axe as it signifies violence.
The framing of the main character on screen, being a dutch angle and low angle suggest that there is something very wrong about the character.
The red background and font signifies blood and also anchors the idea of this movie being a horror
TYRANNOSAUR
However, prop, lighting, mise-en-scene etc connote he could be the antagonist
Own binary opposition - creating narrative enigma
Serif font signifying a drama genre Wrinkles - older man - older audience
Skin head, vest top - working class
High key lighting on only one side - reflects his two different personalities - drama
Own binary opposition - creating narrative enigma
Serif font signifying a drama genre Wrinkles - older man - older audience
Skin head, vest top - working class
Terraced houses on edge of poster - working class
High key lighting on only one side - reflects his two different personalities - drama
Friday, 13 September 2019
THEORY the auteur theory
-The auteur film theory is related to a director with a distinct style E.G( Quentin Tarantino).
Tarantino’s common choice of themes and his use of mis en scene show his distinctive style. In almost all of his films he writes the film, and is usually involved in the production of his films as well.
Tarantino also focuses on social issues as he often portrays the reality of social structures in his films, often having the protagonist as the underdog, and then appear strong and willing to take revenge on the antagonist of the film.
Therefore, Tarantino is a classic auteur as, similar to Meadows, he has all the characteristics of an auteur director in his films.
Following exactly the same logic as with Shane Meadows, we can denote a title that contrasts to the background as it is yellow on black,
with a directors name in a larger font, center screen
The contrast of colour suggests importance, as well as the font size difference, highlighting the name of the director. As well as this, we can connote, using the rule of thirds, that this title is of importance.
'A film by' again gives all credit to the director
-It covers social issues looking at film as an art form instead of a money making device.
-It assumes the director is THE creator of the film taking away credit to writers, producers and editors.
RICHARD CURTIS, A COUNTER EXAMPLE?
A film director, writer and producer for films who focus on the comedic relief in romcoms instead of focusing on social issues and important topics, and does the opposite by disguising those topics to the general audience. However is very successful commercially, and he has very distinct writing in a film
Is Richard Curtis an auteur, is a complicated question because he fits the description of having a distinct style with the films he makes. However he doesn't fit the point that an auteur portrays social issues and topics. The next point is that he works mainly on romcoms, which is a female based film and arguably, just like soap operas, woman's magazines are generally seen as trashy.
SHANE MEADOWS
Shane Meadows is a film director, as well as a writer and actor, and finally also a producer. He often focuses on social realist movies, working with smaller indy companies, mainly Warp Films, to create cinematography that focuses on social issues, unlike the usual romcom seen in cinemas. Shane Meadows has a very distinct style in his film making with key points such as a working class protagonist with complex motives, along with his default social realist genre.
Meadows is a classic example of an auteur director as he hits every key characteristic. Firstly all of his films make a social statement, often about the working class, juxtaposing the common stereotype of working class characters in conglomerate film media, where the character is often the dumbest character, Meadows gives the character a complex meaning (an example being Dead Man's Shoes). This is again reinforced by his choice of social realist movies. Almost all of his films have won cinematography awards as well as good reviews, because of the film being a piece of art.
Meadows is a classic example of an auteur director as he hits every key characteristic. Firstly all of his films make a social statement, often about the working class, juxtaposing the common stereotype of working class characters in conglomerate film media, where the character is often the dumbest character, Meadows gives the character a complex meaning (an example being Dead Man's Shoes). This is again reinforced by his choice of social realist movies. Almost all of his films have won cinematography awards as well as good reviews, because of the film being a piece of art.
Finally in the beginning of This is England, during the title sequence, the title 'a SHANE MEADOWS film' is shown, which is a trait-mark of an auteur director, as it gives the director credit for the film, instead of equal credit to also the writers, producers and editors
It also highlights the name, as the font is bigger, once again suggesting that this is the biggest contribute to the creation of the film
It also highlights the name, as the font is bigger, once again suggesting that this is the biggest contribute to the creation of the film
- low budget films
- talks about social issues
- complex working class protagonist characters
- clear style to his films
- not big in box office
- film in the form of art
- social realism main style
- hybrid with some films like social realist and psychological thriller
Quentin Tarantino, a classic auteur
Tarantino’s common choice of themes and his use of mis en scene show his distinctive style. In almost all of his films he writes the film, and is usually involved in the production of his films as well.
Tarantino also focuses on social issues as he often portrays the reality of social structures in his films, often having the protagonist as the underdog, and then appear strong and willing to take revenge on the antagonist of the film.
Therefore, Tarantino is a classic auteur as, similar to Meadows, he has all the characteristics of an auteur director in his films.
Following exactly the same logic as with Shane Meadows, we can denote a title that contrasts to the background as it is yellow on black,
with a directors name in a larger font, center screen
The contrast of colour suggests importance, as well as the font size difference, highlighting the name of the director. As well as this, we can connote, using the rule of thirds, that this title is of importance.
'A film by' again gives all credit to the director
Sunday, 8 September 2019
ML Basic media language – shot types, angles
-E.C.U
An Extreme close up shot, if on a person, often has the bottom of the nose and top of the forehead in central frame, anymore becomes a close up shot. An e.c.u connotes to an emotion and helps anchor the preferred reading.
An example is in X men, helping to show the hate magneto has towards wolverine
-C.U
A close up shot, usually doesn't go below the shoulder, and doesn't go above the hair. Close up shots are used to show a facial expression, helping reveal a protagonist. Close ups are often paired with a shallow field of focus as to connote that the focus and importance is on the closer character.
-M.C.U
A medium close up, reveals more of the background as the frame goes slightly above the characters head and goes slight lower then the shoulders. It helps show a characters focus, location and gives some mes en scene as you can see hair and clothes in context.
In this shot we can see a woman in a forrest. We can connote, from the denotation of the light colours, earrings, lipstick and hair style, that the woman is most likely upper class
-M.S
Medium shots are often used to reveal a protagonist or an antagonist, with the frame slightly above the characters head, but slightly higher then the waist.
In pulp fiction, these two characters are the protagonists and very much alike. However if you weren't aware of this its very easy to tell based off of their outfits, guns and facial expressions
-M.L.S
-L.S
-2 Shot
-Group Shot/ 3 Shot
-High Angle
-Low Angle
-Worms Eye
-Birds eye
-OTS
-Dutch Angle
-Match on Action shot
SOURCES2 Useful blogs + 1st links lists!
USEFUL BLOGS and LINKS LIST
Over the duration of AS course I am going to be constantly looking for inspiration in other blogs, this is a list of some of the websites I go to for facts or references, and some of the blogs used for ideas. As we get further into the course this list will get longer.
BLOGS
'British' Cinema blog-
One of my teachers useful blogs, but I look at it as a reference to how posts should be written and the layout out of posts. This is also helpful as it allows me to find terminology I have not yet come across, and expectations of content we might cover in the course
Scope productions blog-
One of my classmates blog, I use it to get a understanding of the level of work needed in the class, as well as knowing where to catch up from the missing knowledge of GCSE course that she took and I did not.
TriHard productions blog-
Another one of my classmates blog, I use it to get a understanding of work needed in the class, as well as knowing where to catch up from the missing knowledge of GCSE course that he took and I did not.
WEBSITE LINKS
These are all websites that I use to check different numbers for things like box office reviews or profits movies made. Between these four websites it covers pretty much every movie
-The Gaurdain
-rottentomatoes
-boxofficemojo
-the-numbers
Over the duration of AS course I am going to be constantly looking for inspiration in other blogs, this is a list of some of the websites I go to for facts or references, and some of the blogs used for ideas. As we get further into the course this list will get longer.
BLOGS
'British' Cinema blog-
One of my teachers useful blogs, but I look at it as a reference to how posts should be written and the layout out of posts. This is also helpful as it allows me to find terminology I have not yet come across, and expectations of content we might cover in the course
Scope productions blog-
One of my classmates blog, I use it to get a understanding of the level of work needed in the class, as well as knowing where to catch up from the missing knowledge of GCSE course that she took and I did not.
TriHard productions blog-
Another one of my classmates blog, I use it to get a understanding of work needed in the class, as well as knowing where to catch up from the missing knowledge of GCSE course that he took and I did not.
WEBSITE LINKS
These are all websites that I use to check different numbers for things like box office reviews or profits movies made. Between these four websites it covers pretty much every movie
-The Gaurdain
-rottentomatoes
-boxofficemojo
-the-numbers
Saturday, 7 September 2019
Friday, 6 September 2019
Movies I have watched!
SOURCES1 Playlist of films I’ve researched
➭Airplane - As my favourite film, I thought it would be a good area to start as far as research into films. It was a top of the charts film at its time, and uses a series of media techniques
➭Star wars - As a franchise that has spanned for decades, it would make sense that the techniques in the film provide as a good area of research based off of the popularity of the movies
➭Ferris buellers day off- After watching feris's day off it is obvious for people that don't know media terminology, that there are several different cuts to different shots
➭Indiana Jones, raiders of the lost ark- Another classic film, but instead based off of mystery and adventure, I thought its would be interesting to explore further into what makes this such a big hit
➭Terminator - Adding to the classics but another sci-fi, I would like to go further into why a sci-fi film such as star wars blows up, but films like the terminator don't get close to the same level of fame
➭Wayne's world- Another classic but not like any others on the list yet, it takes a much more comedic look at two small town radio producers, and what happens when they go big. It appears that it plays on people's wanting for success all while staying comedic for a good laugh
➭Alien- Top horror film of its time, an alien species of the future terrorises the crew of a space ship, using fast cuts and close up shots to portray the fear of the characters, and putting the audience through the same amount of terror
➭Predator- Predator takes a look at what it would be like if humans were hunted like they hunt animals, adding another species to the top of the food chain. The movie uses a lot of ELSs to show how small the group of humans are in the wilderness ( symbolises how small they can be on the food chain)
➭titanic - A classic love story, and although I never enjoyed this movie myself, many did so I thought it was important to look into how shot types can be used to show a relationship in a movie ( shots like 2 person shots and others)
➭avatar- One of the highest earning movies on the planet, but not one of the most liked. It made me question how effective can marketing be in selling your movie to an audience and what role in plays in the media industry, I am excited to go further into it
➭Them- A not so known classic of its time, Them is a movie that is chessy yet somewhat terrifying as massive ants try to take over the planet. While yes it is a chessy movie which always adds to the comedic side of things, the variety of shot types used in the film made it one of the biggest horrors of its time
➭Birdemic - A terrible film, Bad CGI, acting, cuts, advertisement, and much more. It will be interesting to compare this to the better films in the list.
➭Airplane - As my favourite film, I thought it would be a good area to start as far as research into films. It was a top of the charts film at its time, and uses a series of media techniques
➭Star wars - As a franchise that has spanned for decades, it would make sense that the techniques in the film provide as a good area of research based off of the popularity of the movies
➭Ferris buellers day off- After watching feris's day off it is obvious for people that don't know media terminology, that there are several different cuts to different shots
➭Indiana Jones, raiders of the lost ark- Another classic film, but instead based off of mystery and adventure, I thought its would be interesting to explore further into what makes this such a big hit
➭Terminator - Adding to the classics but another sci-fi, I would like to go further into why a sci-fi film such as star wars blows up, but films like the terminator don't get close to the same level of fame
➭Wayne's world- Another classic but not like any others on the list yet, it takes a much more comedic look at two small town radio producers, and what happens when they go big. It appears that it plays on people's wanting for success all while staying comedic for a good laugh
➭Alien- Top horror film of its time, an alien species of the future terrorises the crew of a space ship, using fast cuts and close up shots to portray the fear of the characters, and putting the audience through the same amount of terror
➭Predator- Predator takes a look at what it would be like if humans were hunted like they hunt animals, adding another species to the top of the food chain. The movie uses a lot of ELSs to show how small the group of humans are in the wilderness ( symbolises how small they can be on the food chain)
➭titanic - A classic love story, and although I never enjoyed this movie myself, many did so I thought it was important to look into how shot types can be used to show a relationship in a movie ( shots like 2 person shots and others)
➭avatar- One of the highest earning movies on the planet, but not one of the most liked. It made me question how effective can marketing be in selling your movie to an audience and what role in plays in the media industry, I am excited to go further into it
➭Them- A not so known classic of its time, Them is a movie that is chessy yet somewhat terrifying as massive ants try to take over the planet. While yes it is a chessy movie which always adds to the comedic side of things, the variety of shot types used in the film made it one of the biggest horrors of its time
➭Birdemic - A terrible film, Bad CGI, acting, cuts, advertisement, and much more. It will be interesting to compare this to the better films in the list.
Thursday, 5 September 2019
About this blog and blogger!
What To Expect From The Blog
THE BLOG
In this blog I would love to go through the process of making a short movie or a series of videos connecting a story, allowing the options to explore several shot types, editing and understanding the needs of making a film.
MY EXPERIENCE
This is the first attempt at approaching media studies as a whole, I haven't developed any knowledge towards the topic, but I think this blog will allow me to explore the topic, and you can follow along and explore it with me.
HOPES AND HASSLES
I am really looking forward to exploring the filming of videos and the editing as I believe that those are two very helpful skills to have. I believe that I will enjoy those aspects.
However I am slightly worried that with no media knowledge and without having any experience with the subject I may struggle too much and it will remove the fun of the topic,
But we will see!
THE BLOGIn this blog I would love to go through the process of making a short movie or a series of videos connecting a story, allowing the options to explore several shot types, editing and understanding the needs of making a film.
MY EXPERIENCE
This is the first attempt at approaching media studies as a whole, I haven't developed any knowledge towards the topic, but I think this blog will allow me to explore the topic, and you can follow along and explore it with me.
HOPES AND HASSLES
I am really looking forward to exploring the filming of videos and the editing as I believe that those are two very helpful skills to have. I believe that I will enjoy those aspects.
However I am slightly worried that with no media knowledge and without having any experience with the subject I may struggle too much and it will remove the fun of the topic,But we will see!
Why I like, AIRPLANE!
AIRPLANE (1980)
David ZuckerParamount pictures + Distributed by Paramount
Budget: $3.5m
Box office: $130m
...
...
WHY THIS IS MY FAVOURITE
- The movie consists of many, enjoyable moments because of the comedy used.
- It is a classic film that has been around for almost 40 years, and it adds a classic feel.
- The many hidden jokes in the film allow someone to watch the film over and over again, and always find something new.
- It is hilarious.
WAS IT A SUCCESS?
 |
| Based off of these ratings, it was a massive success at its time, with placing top 1000 for the all time domestic viewing, according to Box Office Mojo |
 |
| This is clearly reinforced by The-numbers showing its box office rank and the revenue it made |
Sunday, 1 September 2019
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