Media Audiences:
What techniques does the opening sequence use to appeal to a weekday mainstream audience?
At the start of this sequence there is slow eerie music combined with a slow motion effect. This makes the audience have the feeling that something big/dramatic will stop this eerie peace. This creates an enigma code as it leaves the audience wondering what the disturbance to this suburban town might be. Although later in the sequence we realise that it may be the couple in the car who create this disturbance, further enigma codes are created through their use of foreign language, the reason why the couple want to wreck a seemingly ordinary couple and how the couple in the cars world was destroyed.
Furthermore, binary oppositions are used to draw in the audience to make them continue watching more. The serious, unerving couple inside the car contrast with the happy, carefree couple inside the house. This makes the audience fully aware of who is likely to be the main antagonists of the show. However the audience can also infer from the dialect between the two characters that they cannot be simply defined as "bad" and that perhaps there are deeper reasons for why the couple are going to do whatever there demeanors seem to suggest they are about to do.
What does this text tell us about the media institutions involved?
The opening sequence of this clip shows us the BBC logo. A government funded TV channel whose goals are to educate, inform and entertain. Through the use of music and drama we can infer that this text may be slightly more towards the entertainment part of the BBC's goals. Although this may be the case it is beileved that most BBC shows offer us some form of way to educate and inform us an example from another show could be "Mock The Week" which gives us a humouros detail of the weeks events by a panel of comedians. Spooks is a well known show that produces episodes centred around serious matter such as terrorism, rape etc so although it is an entertaining show other elemts of the BBC's policy can be put into the show because of this some may view it as slightly higher brow TV.
Media Forms: How does the extract follow the codes and convention of an opening sequence?
Many conventions of modern day dramas are shown within this extract of spooks. For instance, thee use of enigma codes thorughout the opening scenes keep the audience wanting to watch it for longer periods of time and many dramas such as The wire, CSI, Doctor Who etc use this as a means of 'hooking' the audience into the programme. Showing the BBC logo is also common in most BBC dramas and is most famously done in the programme life on mars in which they swap the bbc logo for an older version of it in order to illustrate that the show is set in the 70s ( the show was made in 2005.
By cutting at the end of a dramatic conversation also leaves the major enigma code for this episode and is done in most programmes in orger to generate further interest in other enigma codes. We also have numerous action codes such as the fcat that the couple in the car seem to have high tech equipment when spying on the couple in the house. This makes the audience aware that this isnt an ordinary couple and makes them want to carry on watching the show.
Media Representation: How are people and places represented in this opening sequence?
As i have mentioned before there is a clear binary oppoistion between the two couples of the opening extract. The couple in the car are more serious and the dialect suggests they be sinister although the girls remorseful tone suggest they may not be enitrely evil/bad we can suggest them to be the main antagonists.
whilst the couple inside the house are shown to be happy and carefree their seems to be a lack of focus on them to suggest they could be protaginists. Instead they are viewed as the victims and perhaps even the disequillibrium for our true heroes/protaginists to overcome.
The setting of the scene is in a surburban town presumably in the city of London although the surburbs are traditionally seen as a happy, safe place this time it is seen as having an underlying evil. This is hown best in the music and the slow motion start. Although the direct denotation of a girl playing is pleasant when it is added towards the sinister music and slow motion, close up camera shots it makes it seem a lot more sinister.
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Friday, 6 February 2009
Black Hole Sun-Soundgarden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiSkyEyBczU
Analysing music video
The music video for black hole sun is very surreal and this is parallel to the music of the song. It features people in a suburban town with distorted images surrounding them.
The most striking image of the music video is when the housewife’s face stretches out from a close up angle. This showcases perfectly the surreal aspect of the music video.
Another interesting image is that of the hurricane. This scene is very dramatic and features many of the characters destruction. You could infer that this is parallel to the song’s lyrics
“Black hole sun wont you come wash away the rain”
All in all the music video for black hole sun is a successful portrayal of the song. Its surrealistic video is memorable and orginal.
Analysing music video
The music video for black hole sun is very surreal and this is parallel to the music of the song. It features people in a suburban town with distorted images surrounding them.
The most striking image of the music video is when the housewife’s face stretches out from a close up angle. This showcases perfectly the surreal aspect of the music video.
Another interesting image is that of the hurricane. This scene is very dramatic and features many of the characters destruction. You could infer that this is parallel to the song’s lyrics
“Black hole sun wont you come wash away the rain”
All in all the music video for black hole sun is a successful portrayal of the song. Its surrealistic video is memorable and orginal.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
superbad clip
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kxk0862ozC4
This is my favourite scene from the high school teen comedy Superbad. The scene depicts it humour from the goofiness of the characters seth and evan. It relies heavily on sexual humour and is fairly slpastick.
This is my favourite scene from the high school teen comedy Superbad. The scene depicts it humour from the goofiness of the characters seth and evan. It relies heavily on sexual humour and is fairly slpastick.
Bullet Boy
Lighting:
The film trailer generally has low key lighting this connotes the dark subject matter in the film such as violence. However there are seen when high key light are shown such as when he is with his girlfriend. This shows that the character may not be as dark as his surroundings seem to suggest. It offers us more empathy for what he is going through i.e. violence
Props:
Due to the clothing of the characters and the use of guns we can suggest that the film is going to be about crime specifically that amongst young black males. The way the characters interact with these props in the trailer also suggest to us that these characters are not really bad but are however a product of there environment (more in which will be explored in settings)
Narrative/Characters:
The film trailer shows that the films narrative will be based primarily on young adolescents of black descent in Britain. The narrative shows violence and the general stereotype of young black males in Britain. However by having one of the protagonists seen to be in love (or in a relationship) changes the audience view on what the film is about. This is a film not criticising these people but trying to understand them
Setting:
The setting of the film seems to be in a deprived area of London (as shown at the start of the movie when there are flats/poor housing conditions) this setting shows us that the surroundings of these individuals and the conditions that they live in may have a connection to who they are as people. Comparing the setting of bullet boy to another movie using adolescents such as Clueless or Superbad shows us generally what to expect from the movie for example the teenagers in clueless live in big suburban houses and the characters are more superficial, the teenagers in Superbad live in a middle class suburb in America and they seem more mischievous while the teenagers in Bullet Boy live in working class environment and are seen as more violent than these other films.
The film trailer generally has low key lighting this connotes the dark subject matter in the film such as violence. However there are seen when high key light are shown such as when he is with his girlfriend. This shows that the character may not be as dark as his surroundings seem to suggest. It offers us more empathy for what he is going through i.e. violence
Props:
Due to the clothing of the characters and the use of guns we can suggest that the film is going to be about crime specifically that amongst young black males. The way the characters interact with these props in the trailer also suggest to us that these characters are not really bad but are however a product of there environment (more in which will be explored in settings)
Narrative/Characters:
The film trailer shows that the films narrative will be based primarily on young adolescents of black descent in Britain. The narrative shows violence and the general stereotype of young black males in Britain. However by having one of the protagonists seen to be in love (or in a relationship) changes the audience view on what the film is about. This is a film not criticising these people but trying to understand them
Setting:
The setting of the film seems to be in a deprived area of London (as shown at the start of the movie when there are flats/poor housing conditions) this setting shows us that the surroundings of these individuals and the conditions that they live in may have a connection to who they are as people. Comparing the setting of bullet boy to another movie using adolescents such as Clueless or Superbad shows us generally what to expect from the movie for example the teenagers in clueless live in big suburban houses and the characters are more superficial, the teenagers in Superbad live in a middle class suburb in America and they seem more mischievous while the teenagers in Bullet Boy live in working class environment and are seen as more violent than these other films.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Analysis of Trailer
The following essay will look to analyse the film trailer ‘City Of Men’ paying close attention to representation & audience. City of Men is a foreign film set in Brazil, specifically Rio de Janeiroe, and is directed by the award winning directors/producers that made City of God.
The trailer to City of Men shows quite a violent representation of the movie. For instance, in the trailer there are a number of scenes were guns are used such as the ending clip. From this I can gather that the age range that the film wants its audience to be is over 18 (or at least a young adult).
In the trailer the scenes are set in the slums and feature young black men. By using ABC1 Classification system i would guess that the audience they are targeting are around the C2/D1 classification i would say this because of the setting and the actors that they have chosen (young ethnic people) are appealing to this audience this is because it gives the C2/D1 classification a sense of Personal identity which is when the audience feel sympathetic towards a character or feel that the character represents a bit of themselves also it gives the audience a sense of escapism when watching the film.
Although the film is catered towards the C2/D2 classification I can infer from the trailer that it is more targeted towards males. I know this because of the way the trailer represents woman:
• As sexual objects to satisfy the leading men’s needs
• Scared, while the men are shown being brave when gunfire is heard, the woman cower huddled down with children.
Also the name of the film is a massive indication of who the film is catered to. The connotation’s of the films title ‘City of Men’ is of danger & masculinity a place where the traditional or stereotypical roles of woman as carers & mothers are seen as weak.
Another market in which the film might target is the more niche market of foreign film fans. This audience will be more likely to watch the film in the western world despite the fact that some of the audience will not fit into the classifications i have stated above.
The representation of the young men in the film is that they are naturally good but there personalities have become distorted because of the crime and poverty they live around. I came to this conclusion based on the fact that the start the trailer shows the lead males as friends on a beach but by the end a stand off was occurring between both of them as to suggest that there feeling of brotherly love has now changed.
Despite the fact that the representation of characters is important I find it more relevant to talk about the representation of the place in which they live in. As i have already said i believe that the film wants to show these characters as naturally good and that it is the place in which they live in that is the real antagonist. By showing at the start a Bird view angle of the city it emphasises how poor & desolate the whole city is rather than just showing the poverty of specific characters. This is important because it gives us a more authentic image of how society/people work in the city as the connotation of poverty is a lack of education, Ghetto’s etc.
In Conclusion, I believe that this film trailer is targeted towards young males of the C2/D1 classification. I also have stated that the film may find popularity in foreign film lovers.
The trailer to City of Men shows quite a violent representation of the movie. For instance, in the trailer there are a number of scenes were guns are used such as the ending clip. From this I can gather that the age range that the film wants its audience to be is over 18 (or at least a young adult).
In the trailer the scenes are set in the slums and feature young black men. By using ABC1 Classification system i would guess that the audience they are targeting are around the C2/D1 classification i would say this because of the setting and the actors that they have chosen (young ethnic people) are appealing to this audience this is because it gives the C2/D1 classification a sense of Personal identity which is when the audience feel sympathetic towards a character or feel that the character represents a bit of themselves also it gives the audience a sense of escapism when watching the film.
Although the film is catered towards the C2/D2 classification I can infer from the trailer that it is more targeted towards males. I know this because of the way the trailer represents woman:
• As sexual objects to satisfy the leading men’s needs
• Scared, while the men are shown being brave when gunfire is heard, the woman cower huddled down with children.
Also the name of the film is a massive indication of who the film is catered to. The connotation’s of the films title ‘City of Men’ is of danger & masculinity a place where the traditional or stereotypical roles of woman as carers & mothers are seen as weak.
Another market in which the film might target is the more niche market of foreign film fans. This audience will be more likely to watch the film in the western world despite the fact that some of the audience will not fit into the classifications i have stated above.
The representation of the young men in the film is that they are naturally good but there personalities have become distorted because of the crime and poverty they live around. I came to this conclusion based on the fact that the start the trailer shows the lead males as friends on a beach but by the end a stand off was occurring between both of them as to suggest that there feeling of brotherly love has now changed.
Despite the fact that the representation of characters is important I find it more relevant to talk about the representation of the place in which they live in. As i have already said i believe that the film wants to show these characters as naturally good and that it is the place in which they live in that is the real antagonist. By showing at the start a Bird view angle of the city it emphasises how poor & desolate the whole city is rather than just showing the poverty of specific characters. This is important because it gives us a more authentic image of how society/people work in the city as the connotation of poverty is a lack of education, Ghetto’s etc.
In Conclusion, I believe that this film trailer is targeted towards young males of the C2/D1 classification. I also have stated that the film may find popularity in foreign film lovers.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Analyse the Opening Sequence for Heroes
In this essay i will be analysing the first three minutes of the television programme Heroes I will be comparing it to other TV shows in the same genre as well.
The opening to heroes shows a solar eclipse of the Earth. This striking image had become synonymous with the show since it has been created. The reason this image remains so popular is because of its uniqueness compared to other TV shows with an opening title. Comparing the title sequence of Heroes to that of Smallville you can tell the distinct differences between them. In Smallville the title sequence is considerably longer, shows each of the main character & has theme music which is both contemporary and popular. However in Heroes the title sequence shows none of the main characters and doesn’t have a particular theme song, only having a strange eerie noise in the background. The differences in the title sequence of heroes to other contemporary TV dramas may indicate what audience Heroes is trying to reach. I believe that the audience that Heroes is trying to reach by having this eerie, more adult title sequence is that of C1 &B2 perhaps with aspiring C2’s this is because it is more serious, dark & controversial than other TV shows and this type of more intellectual viewing might be better for this type of audience.
Following off from the title sequence there is a voice over telling you the events of the previous episode. This is a very traditional aspect of TV dramas especially ones that are made in the United States. This could show that although Heroes is a new & contemporary television show it also has strong traditions with American culture & television. The voice over itself is of a very serious tone which is typical of American television. This is done to create a serious reflection of the events in the story so far.
The first shot is a bird’s eye view of the protagonist falling from a building. This is an enigma code in the sense that it makes the audience wonder why he is doing this. The fact that he is falling is a denotation however the connotations of him falling are that perhaps he cannot control his destiny or that he wants a change. The symbol of a man falling is a very powerful image as it has been used throughout times and even in dreams to show the frailty of mankind.
The image then cuts to the image of the protagonist (Peter Petrelli) lying in a hospital next to his brother, Nathan, this dramatic change in scenes gives the audience a feeling that peter was involved in this event but is now over it. This means that the previous scene was possibly the driving force behind the next scene. This makes the audience aware of what they’re watching in the show.
The opening to heroes shows a solar eclipse of the Earth. This striking image had become synonymous with the show since it has been created. The reason this image remains so popular is because of its uniqueness compared to other TV shows with an opening title. Comparing the title sequence of Heroes to that of Smallville you can tell the distinct differences between them. In Smallville the title sequence is considerably longer, shows each of the main character & has theme music which is both contemporary and popular. However in Heroes the title sequence shows none of the main characters and doesn’t have a particular theme song, only having a strange eerie noise in the background. The differences in the title sequence of heroes to other contemporary TV dramas may indicate what audience Heroes is trying to reach. I believe that the audience that Heroes is trying to reach by having this eerie, more adult title sequence is that of C1 &B2 perhaps with aspiring C2’s this is because it is more serious, dark & controversial than other TV shows and this type of more intellectual viewing might be better for this type of audience.
Following off from the title sequence there is a voice over telling you the events of the previous episode. This is a very traditional aspect of TV dramas especially ones that are made in the United States. This could show that although Heroes is a new & contemporary television show it also has strong traditions with American culture & television. The voice over itself is of a very serious tone which is typical of American television. This is done to create a serious reflection of the events in the story so far.
The first shot is a bird’s eye view of the protagonist falling from a building. This is an enigma code in the sense that it makes the audience wonder why he is doing this. The fact that he is falling is a denotation however the connotations of him falling are that perhaps he cannot control his destiny or that he wants a change. The symbol of a man falling is a very powerful image as it has been used throughout times and even in dreams to show the frailty of mankind.
The image then cuts to the image of the protagonist (Peter Petrelli) lying in a hospital next to his brother, Nathan, this dramatic change in scenes gives the audience a feeling that peter was involved in this event but is now over it. This means that the previous scene was possibly the driving force behind the next scene. This makes the audience aware of what they’re watching in the show.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
The Media Awards
In the media awards i found that the three most enjoyable films where A Rappers Ambition, Concrete Angel & Kuch To Hua Hai.
A Rappers Ambition
This was enojyable to watch for numerous reasons. Firstly they had put innovative shots in. The most memorable being the glass breaking on the floor and then quikly rewinding back into the hand of the thrower. In this film lots of close ups where used to show the characters emotions while rapping. Also the close ups created a feeling that you where the one they where battling against. This film won best overall production.
Concrete Angel
This was an enjoyable film to watch thanks to the amazing acting ability of the characters. The opening sequence showing the protaginist in the coffin from numerous camera angles created a sombre mood. Also the film utilised the presence of a narrator while others had used text shown on screen this made the film more interesing and captivated the audience for the time it was shown. This film won Best Actor & Best Short Film.
Kuch To Hua Hai
Kuch To Hua Hai was an extremly well produced bollywood trailer. It captivated auience with the use of a grid near the end similar to the one shown in the popular sitcom the brady bunch. Also Kuch To Hua Hai used traditional indian music in the background which strongly showed what they were trying to portray (a romance). The best scene in Kuch To Hua Hai was at the start when they showed high angle camera shots of Central London.
A Rappers Ambition
This was enojyable to watch for numerous reasons. Firstly they had put innovative shots in. The most memorable being the glass breaking on the floor and then quikly rewinding back into the hand of the thrower. In this film lots of close ups where used to show the characters emotions while rapping. Also the close ups created a feeling that you where the one they where battling against. This film won best overall production.
Concrete Angel
This was an enjoyable film to watch thanks to the amazing acting ability of the characters. The opening sequence showing the protaginist in the coffin from numerous camera angles created a sombre mood. Also the film utilised the presence of a narrator while others had used text shown on screen this made the film more interesing and captivated the audience for the time it was shown. This film won Best Actor & Best Short Film.
Kuch To Hua Hai
Kuch To Hua Hai was an extremly well produced bollywood trailer. It captivated auience with the use of a grid near the end similar to the one shown in the popular sitcom the brady bunch. Also Kuch To Hua Hai used traditional indian music in the background which strongly showed what they were trying to portray (a romance). The best scene in Kuch To Hua Hai was at the start when they showed high angle camera shots of Central London.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 has many definitions but the main one i found was that it is basically how we communicate with each other using the internet. Website such YouTube, Facebook & Wikipedia use user generated content instead of its own. This makes us, the consumers, also producers. Web 2.0 is much more advance than web 1.0 mainly in the way we interact with each other. Previously, the internet was a tool for information but now it can be used in many different ways and is more about sharing information rather than just taking it.
List of Web 2.o sites
List of Web 2.o sites
Key features of web 2.0
- User generated content
- Social networking (internet community)
- Faster internet connection (broadband)
- Blogs
An anthropological guide to Youtube
YouTube big numbers
YouTube has produced more material in 6 months than the three biggest networks in America over the past 60 years (which is 1.5 million hours of broadcasting). They did this without producers and instead with people all across the globe uploading their own material. Currently, You tuber's upload over 9000 hours of content everyday which is the equivalent of approximately 400 always on TV channels. 88% of the content is new material.
Numa Numa and the celebrations of web cams
This is the story of the numa numa dancer. who sitting in his bedroom created a video of him lip syncing a foreign song entitled Numa Numa. This video has been thought to have achieved over 600 million views!
The Machine is Us/ing Us and the New Mediascape
Talking about the new ways in which we use the Internet (web 2.o) no longer is the Internet just for information its about linking people with websites such as Facebook and Wikipedia we are no longer just consumers we also provide the material this is called user generated content. To illustrate this his own video The Machine Is Us/ing Us was done with help from a musician in the ivory coast.
Who Is On Youtube?
The majority of users on YouTube are young adults who make up 52 % of the content. Teenagers and over 35 users generate the same amount of content.
What Is On YouTube
A range of popular videos. Many of these have gone into popular culture such as Charlie Bit My Finger
5% of vids are personal vlogs addressed to the YouTube community, Why?
Many believe that the abundance in vlogs is due to a loss of community in real life for example going to the big supermarkets instead of the corner shops create a loss of community in our neighborhood however due to vlogs we now have an Internet community.
Cultural Inversion: individualism and community
this is the theory in which as we grow more independent as individuals we long for a sense of community and closeness in our relationships. Also due to commercialisation we want more authenticity. YouTube provides this.
Understanding new forms of community through Participant Observation
Participation theory is the theory in which you have to participate in something in order to understand it. In order to understand the YouTube community they became apart of it
YouTube as a medium for community
When you vlog on YouTube you do not know when your going to be watched or who by. You don't even know whats going to happen to your vlog it could be remixed or anything this is called content collapse
Our first vlogs
When first making a vlog it is difficult to know how to start because you do not know how to start broadcasting yourself or what to say.
The web cam: Everybody is watching where nobody is ("context collapse")
This is when although it feels like your talking to nobody and that nobody is there really your in a very public place where people across the globe could be watching what you do.
Re-cognition and new forms of self-awareness (McLuhan)
Due to the fact we can achieve almost a replay of the events in our life it has brought us a new sense of self awareness. We can see how far we have come as people.
The Anonymity of Watching YouTube: Haters and Lovers
On YouTube most people remain anonymous this causes almost a community of hatred & also of love because people do not have to feel anxiety or fear due to there opinions
Aesthetic Arrest
This is when people feel deep emotional connection with other from the Internet but without the responsibilities that come with it in Essence it allows connection without constraint.
Free Hugs: A hero for our mediated culture
A man who had spent a lot of time in Britain had returned home to Sydney but had no one there to greet him so he started a free hug campaign to make himself feel less lonely. This not only bring people together physically but has done so emotionally all over YouTube.
YouTube Drama: Striving for popularity
The difficulties in attaining one of the most popular videos or channels. Stars of YouTube include Brookers, Lonelygirl15 and others
An early star: emokid21ohio
This is almost a love story between two users on YouTube. However, it had been found that this user was not who he proclaimed to be and therefore we come to the issue of authenticity.
You Tube's Authenticity Crisis: the story of LonelyGirl15
The story of lonelygirl15 who people believed was a teenage American vlogger turned out to be an obscure New Zealand actress called Jessica Rose. This brings up the question on can people really be authentic or genuine on YouTube?
Reflections on Authenticity
Is anybody really being truly authentic or are we all just producing ourselves for YouTube many people believe that YouTube has not given us authenticity but rather just another form of drama.
Gaming the system / Exposing the System
Thumbnails of the middle of any video on YouTube are shown before clicking. Many people use this to their advantage by choosing desirable thumbnails even if there video has nothing to do with it.
Seriously Playful Participatory Media Culture
Has serious consequences for some people. Such as McCain whose joke 'bomb Iran' was taken into what he says was the "wrong context". Also YouTube has given us the power to do things we shouldn't. Basically, whenever we rip a DVD or upload copy written music we do so in the knowledge that we are braking the law.
Networked Production: The Collab. MadV's "The Message" and the message of YouTube
A user known as MadV posted a video telling people to simply make a statement on there hands he gave the example of one world. Soon, this became the most responded to video on YouTube. The overall message of this video was of love and community this could be seen as the message of YouTube to.
Poem: The Little Glass Dot, The Eyes of the World
A poem about Webcam & how it changes lives in our world. The main concepts being re-cognition, exploration of self and of course entertainment.
Conclusion by bnessel1973
YouTube user who lost a child believes that the Internet site and the videos he created helped him to carry on through the hard times in life. He rounds up by saying thank you to everybody who has supported him in YouTube.
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