Comparison

Young Apprentice s3
This Is England
London Riots Sky News

• In the YA the teenagers are dressed professionally in suits whereas in TIE the teenagers are all dressed in jeans and doc martens, however a common running theme is that they are all dressed slightly the same in their groups 
• In TIE the youth are rude to their elders (the man in the indian shop which they rob) whereas in YA they are quite respectful as they all greet Alan Sugar by his lord ship and sit in front of him showing that he is in control 
• They are quite confrontational in YA, quick to point out each others flaws which is also common within TIE when Shaun in bullied for his clothes
• Your worth in YA is judged by profit made and contribution and in TIE the rank was judged by the contribution to the skinhead community e.g. Combo took a lot of action in beating people up to keep his England 'clean', therefore had the most respect 
• In LR the youth are portrayed to be aggressive as they loot stores, this is also shown through TIE when they beat people up or shout at them, however is also shown in the YA when they try to defend themselves in the board room and it gets quite heated
• In the LR the youths explain that they have an issue with the government and are trying to become involved which is also shown through TIE as they are trying to make what they believe is a better country
• In TIE authority to elders is represented as Shaun takes a beating from his teaching, and obeys the beating, authority is also shown in LR as the youths listen to the news reporter (who we assume is the oldest within them) and wait for him to finish, this is also shown in YA as the youths greet Alan sugar politely, listen and obey his instructions and sit opposite to the older people on the table, almost creating a divide of age and respect 
• In both LR and TIE the youth are represented to be unemployed and almost as if they are just hanging around, they also seem not to be in education, so it is almost as if they are just doing nothing with their lives

The differences between peckham riots update a LR

• PR on handheld - more realistic 
• LR has the people covered up when interviewed making them look more intimidating whereas PR simply doesn't show them 
• PR has no time constraints whereas LR does 
• PR is unedited and we know this because it shows people stuttering and asking to repeat the question which would be deleted in LR because of the issue of time constraints 
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Hw 20/01/2015

Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions

In my first year of media in my group we decided to make a horror film opening called Scarlett with a sub genre of slasher. In our film opening we had a group of friends whom were in a park drinking, and their night turns sour when a killer doll begins to kill everyone off.

in our film opening we tried to follow the narrative theories of both Todorov and Propps. Todorovs theory entitles that there are 5 stages to create a narrative structure; an equilibrium, a disruption of the equilibrium, recognition of the disruption, an attempt to repair the disruption and a new equilibrium. We followed Todorovs theory by using a flash forward within our opening which allowed the audience to see the killer doll and only one friend left, this then showing the disruption of the equilibrium. By using the flash forward and showing the disruption of the equilibrium, we were also able to show the equilibrium when the flash forward ends and restores to the original time, as it shows everything in a normal manner and this is made obvious as all the friends are back again. Propps theory suggests that certain character types with certain actions create a narrative. Propps theory of character is derived from fairytales, therefore he says there is a hero, a villain, a princess, a princesses father, etc. We followed Propps theory by again using a flash forward, in our flash forward the audience were able to see the doll, and due to the mise en scene of her which involved her having freaky make up on her face and the use of sound which made it available for the audience to hear her scary rhyme and laugh, she is easily connoted to be the villain. Also in the flash forward, our main character riley was seen to be alone, with all of her friends gone, this connotes to mean that the rest of her friends are dead and that she is the only survivor at that point. This could possibly mean in the future that she could become the hero as more often than not good rides over evil.

Despite the fact that Scarlett followed certain conventions between both narrative theories, our film opening also challenged them. Due to our production being a film opening we were not able to show all stages of Todorovs narrative structure, which means it did not completely follow the structure, this however is down to timing restrictions. Also, concerning Propps theory, we challenged the theory as we only actually had 2 of the characters from his theory, and the supposed hero was not certain. I don't think we were as successful in following Propps theory, personally I think that our film opening was more related to Levi-Strauss' theory which suggests that binary opposites create narrative. Within Scarlett the binary opposites that we delivered was good vs evil, this is shown through the flash forward  when it is Scarlett and Riley, Scarlett is shown to be evil through her make up and speech, and Riley is shown to be good through her vulnerability and her crying at Scarlett.

Overall I think our film opening followed the theories of Todorov and Levi-Strauss as opposed to the theory of Propps as i don't think we showed his theory successfully. I think if we had created a whole film as opposed to just a film opening we could of showed Propps theory a lot better.

hw 18th dec

Analyse your film opening in regards to genre

In my first year of media studies, I created a film opening in the genre of horror. However I also had the sub genre of slasher, by having genre, the creation of the production became a lot simpler as there was existing codes and conventions to follow, which we recognized from research and interpreted through planning and production.

We tried to establish a common mise-en-scene with our production by using a pathetic fallacy, this included a dark night time back ground with slight rain, almost fore shadowing that something bad was going to happen. Also concerning mise-en-scene, we used a background of a forest, creating the sense of no escape. Both assets of mise-en-scene were conventions to horror, however Lacey comments that "genre is not fixed". We differed from the common convention of genre by using a female protagonist who became the only survivor, which is not common within horror movies, as more often than not the protagonist and the survivor is usually male due to the gender roles he is given which shows him to be masculine and tough. In addition to this a female is represented to be feminine and simply there for the male gaze, however we defied this by introducing a female as the main role of a horror movie and making her the only to make it to the end and the one that manages to fight off the killer doll.

Genre is very important to both institutions and audiences. Genre is important to institutions because they can the market the movie much easier due to being able to identify the target audience and accumulating ways to access them in a message which will get them to see their movie. Genre is important to audiences as when they go to a cinema or go to buy a horror DVD, they know what to expect, therefore they are assured they wont be wasting their money. Gledhill 1985 comments that "there are no rigid rules of inclusion and exclusion". This meaning that there is no particular rule saying what you may or may not put into your movie, despite the importance of genre. In our opening, baring this quote in mind, we decided to include the editing techniques of fade to black and what was considered to be 'spooky' music to create an eerie feel for our movie opening, which is a convention within horror openings, e.g. The Ring, Scream, etc. However adding to our experience concerning the quote, there are certain conventions we didn't include, for example, for our actual visual setting there was a park, (despite the fact of the secluded forest background) seemed quite open, which in comparison to existing film openings which we researched, was not common. A common convention was that the area was secluded, in the middle of nowhere, with minimum people, however due to a limited availability for us, we had to use a park which had a main road beside it.

hw 11th dec

Describe the ways in which your production work and informed and aided by research into real media texts and planning. How was your ability to use research and planning for production developed over time.

Research and planning is very important to construct a media text because it is very important to follow conventions in order to create a successful media text. It is important for both the audience and the creators of media texts to follow conventions in order to preserve media and have a good product. Over my 2 years at college I have created 2 media texts, in my first year I constructed a horror film opening, in my second year I created a fashion advert. Over time I found that my research and planning became more developed and contained more depth, which aided me in creating a more successful media text which was more realistic and professional. 

For my research in my first year I made various different powerpoints which would outline the audience figures for my specific genre of horror, this was helpful because it made me aware of the target audience which I would use to have a successful film. I carried this knowledge on into my second year however I developed this so there was various different figures for channels and tv shows. I found that this allowed me to have a more specific media product as I would find the age range for audience figures for both a channel and a suitable program which was on the channel and then use the one which I find the best (which is backed up with figures) and use it for both my sponsorship sequences and adverts. This development of knowledge and increased understanding of research allowed me to create a more successful media text in the terms that it became more realistic to professionals research and was more advanced than my first year production. For my research in my first year I also looked at a number of different horror film openings and looked at the conventions within each, this helped me to produce not a generic film opening but a films which follows conventions which allows it to meet the genre of horror to benefit the audience because they know what they will be seeing and to benefit myself as a producer because it becomes a lot easier to make and to market. In my second year I developed this by not only looking at the conventions of adverts but analysing this to a deeper level but I also conducted a timed analysis for multiple adverts which allowed me to follow the convention of shot lengths in fashion adverts and record and take note of the different shots within fashion adverts, this allowed me to follow conventions on a closer level and produce a more successful media text. 

For my planning in my first year due to working in a group all planning was divided by 3 people which  meant the work load was a lot less, however due to being in a group somethings we did not agree on. By working by myself I am able to complete my work exactly how I want it to be. Last year in my planning I only had to do planning for one media text however this year I had to do planning for both an ancillary task and a main task, which involved 2 adverts, a sponsorship sequence and a web pop up. This means this year a lot more planning was involved as I had to ensure that it covered all three different media texts. Planning involves various different tasks, for example scouting sheets. Last year when completing the different release forms and scouting sheets I found it very difficult to understand because I didn't know what they were, however this year when creating my adverts and ancillary tasks I found them very easy to do as I almost had a template to follow, however this year I developed my release forms and scouting sheets as I made them more specific of the activity and times and days which makes the production safer for the models and prevents any scandal which could arise. 

Discuss the way that women are represented in the media

In the media women are represented in various formats. Within this essay I will discuss the 2 which are most dominant; sexy and maternal. However in certain media products, the producers aim to challenge stereotypes and can represent women in an aggressive, impolite format. I will also discuss this.

Women are often objectified within the media to meet the male gaze theory (Laura Mulvey), meaning that they are shown in this way for the entertainment of middle aged middle class men. In the blurred lines video there is not only the video which is suitable for airing on tv which shows women dancing around in knickers but there is also an uncensored version which shows them completely naked. Through this video women are represented to be attractive and sexy, and are engulfed in their looks as they are shown to look flawless. Throughout this video a women is also being lead on a lead as if she is a dog, and the man is her owner, this represents men to be in charge of women and women to be inferior to men. This follows the hyper reality theory (Jean Baudrillard) that means there is a blurred line between what is reality and what is not, this is enforced in real life as women often stay at home with the children where as men go out and work and make the money, therefore make the decisions which leads to the ideology that they are in charge. 

Brief Encounter was released in 1946, and stereotypes with women even existed then. In this film the woman was represented as maternal as she rushes home when her son is hurt and often talks about how she looks after the kids throughout the week. She is also represented as emotional as throughout the majority of the film she is tearing up or crying due to her sadness because she is disgusted with herself for committing adultery. This film follows the theory of Barthes as the representation portrayed of the woman appears normal, or at least for that time. In the 1940's middle class women didn't work, they stayed at home with the children and waited for their husband to come home so they could tend to them, this is exactly what happens in this film which she explains to her love during the film.

Although in some ways Brief Encounter represents the dominant ideology of women, if you look further into the film, it challenges the dominant ideology of women. This is shown through the act of the woman having the affair and represents that women don't actually obey their husbands, and that by being unfaithful, they are not the loyal housewife that the media dominantly represents them to be. 

The film Sket defies the dominant ideologies of women as they represent women as rude and aggressive, this is due to them being shown through fight scenes and shouting profanities from the onset  and throughout. This representation is based on Chandler's theory that representations construct a construction of reality within various aspects, this stretches as much to location and Skets representation of women is a stereotyped based on the location they are in in London which is also stereotyped as rough and aggressive. Sket represents women to be quite masculine within their media product as they are shown with traits that are dominantly represented for men, e.g. being tough and strong. This is shown through when the girls repeatedly beat people up throughout the film.

Analyse your film opening in regards to genre

In our film opening we used the genre of horror and the sub genre of slasher. Within this genre following conventions is important, I feel we followed conventions quite closer, for example, the narrative theory. However we also drifted from the conventions also, for example, we used a woman as the protagonist. We also chose the genre of horror for our film opening as the conventions deemed easier to follow as opposed to other genres, e.g. comedy.

Concerning the genre of our film, as I have already listed, we followed the convention of using the narrative theory of Todorov. By using this theory it entitled us in creating an equilibrium, a disruption to the equilibrium, a recognition of the disruption, a disequilibrium and a new equilibrium. Due to our opening being short, to display that we were using this theory we used a flash forward a minute or so into the opening. Doing this allowed us to show the audience that there was an equilibrium and a disequilibrium as in the flash forward we showed the main character, Riley, to be alone and afraid, we also showed the doll who seemed creepy and could be connoted to be evil.

We also followed conventions of horror to express our genre by the use of mise-en-scene. We ensured to film our flash forward when the scary part of the opening was happening in the dark. With the camera this came out in a night vision mode which emphasised it was night. Also at the beginning of our opening it was raining which acts as a pathetic fallacy of sadness, which can relate to fear, this also quickly fore shadows the tears then seen on Riley's face when she is fearing for her life when the flash forward is taking place. Lastly in the terms of mise-en-scene we used the setting of a park which was isolated as behind the park all that can be seen is a forest, this connotes to the idea of isolation which can be related to the idea of no escape. The ouse of the forest also creates more of an eerie, creepy feel to the opening.

In the genre of horror, conventionally, men are usually the protagonist and the survivor, this is due to the dominant ideology that they are masculine, strong and tough. However in our film opening we decided to use the woman as the protagonist, however giving her partial traits to a man. To emphasise this we even went as far as researching meanings of names for our characters, thus giving us the name Riley, meaning courageous. This is enforced when she is seen alone in the park, being connoted to be the last one standing. Although this did not follow conventions, Stephen Neal notes "Difference is absolutely essential in the economy of genre". The reason we did this was because we liked the idea of a female protagonist, however if I was to do this task again, just to follow the conventions of horror closer, I would make the protagonist a man.

Lastly, to get the biggest audience available for our genre, we researched the figures for which age is the biggest group of movie goers for horror. In our research we found that our biggest audience was among 15-20+, this then became our target audience. To enforce our film upon our target audience we made the classification of our film a 15, this making it view able for the younger end of our target audience. Also to engage and attract the target audience of out genre we used characters which were within the age range of our target audience (16-17), we did this because it made the characters seem more relatable therefore may appeal to the audience more so. We expressed their age through action, for example, making them get drunk in park, this shows their youth as it can be connoted as they are not old enough to go out and drink legally. We also created characters with individual personalities as this therefore meant that within our list of characters there would be at least one person the audience could relate to, which again engages them in the film.

How I have used representation to create meaning in the film opening that I made this year

Earlier in the year we made a film opening in the selected genre of horror, the main representation that we enforced within our opening was the representation of teenagers and the way which we conveyed them to be through stereotypes, this had the after effect of feeding the audiences expectations as this was their dominant ideology of the adolescent age group.

We represented them in a manner that showed them to be anti social and rule breaking, this was shown through the cat on of them drinking underage in a public place and them smoking underage. This also represented them as vulnerable which conformed to their age group ideology as they are seen as defenceless in the flash forward when each of them has been killed off, well at least this is what the connotation is.

Within our film opening we also incorporated the idea of a female survivor which challenges the dominant ideology within the media that women are weak and defenceless, and that men are strong and can defeat anything, making them the protagonist, however we liked the idea of going against what we saw and thus made the main character and survivor female.

We represented the doll to be quite young through costume, we put bows in her hair, dressed her in a sweet light blue and white dress and also used knee high socks. We also used rosy blusher on her cheeks which made her deem innocent which is often associated with being young as you have not lived enough to sin. However the representation that the youth are always innocent was challenged as the young doll was a killer doll and thrived off of killing people who entered her park.

We also represented the female to be quite emotional through crying and screaming, this was also shown through mascara stained eyes and when she dials 999, which represents panic. This conforms to the dominant ideology of women as it does show them to be weak despite the outcome that she is the only one to survive. Women are also shown to be emotional in our opening again as when the boy tells the scary story one of the girls gets scared and upset that he would even try to say that, which represents them to be over emotional.