MEST2: Research & Planning - Audience research and planning

Focus Group?

The Focus group involved me, Mr Halsey and the rest of our class discussing what my idea for my production is, and how I hope to see it set out. During the focus group I had spoken about my idea, characters, narrative themes, setting/location, why the idea will appeal to an ‘E4 Audience’ as well as final scheduling details. 

The programme was decided to be broadcasted on Monday 8-8.30pm on the channel E4. Although this fits in the time for a pre-watershed production, it is also a weekday meaning it’s a time where an older audience will be likely to be watching TV

After the focus group I had decided to change certain things about the TV Show, this was including the fact that majority of the class thought that the Main Character ‘’shouldn’t be going through a psychological problem’’, as this can be difficult to represent correctly, without offending anyone. In addition, other people from the Group including Mr.Halsey had backed up the point that ‘’absolutely any teen could be going through insecurities’’.  This allowed me to make up my mind as having my main character as a 18 year old girl, who has major insecurities, however no problems which prove her to be unwell.

Another issue that was raised was ‘’how skinny will the girl have to be’’ – as this could lead to other females, or males feeling insecure about themselves if they find a perfectly fine looking girl complaining about her body. However I have now decided that people will think she’s attractive, she just doesn’t know that, and this can be shown by a private conversation between her mum and best friend, as this will probably show that all there is that isn’t right is her insecurities, everything else about her is fine. In my opinion, setting a positive character thinking they are negative will boost self esteem for the audience, because if they are watching a show and relating to the main character, and the main character thinks they are ‘ugly’ and other negative things, then if there is someone to contrast their thought on it, and say : no you are fine, and pretty the people relating to the TV Show will feel that what they think of themselves isn’t what they are, and this may help them be more confident about themselves – and this is what is needed in a younger age.

The target audience for my TV Show will be mainly females. The audience will be aged close to 15-35, who belong to the demographics of C2-E, as these are the people who will be most likely to watch E4, and be interested in this show that focuses on a life of a teenager full of insecurities. The girl is aged 18, she is a young adult, and due to her age the audience of 15-35 will be able to relate to her.

Out of the 8 VALS consumer classification, the TV show is most likely to be appealing to the strivers. This is because they are consumers who will most likely be able to relate to the main character as they are people who have a less resources, so would live in a suburban Area for example West London, Southall (like main character), and success will be defined to them by money, as this is a programme about someone who is running after wanting to look the best, and that could pretty much be done by money and materialistic things, strivers would be interested in this. Also Strivers are most likely to want to emulate people they admire, which is exactly what the main character wants to do – further allowing strivers to be able to find this TV Show interesting.

(This link was used for help http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes/believers.shtml)

Furthermore the psychographic group that my TV show will appeal to will mainly be:
- Aspirers
-Strugglers.

Aspirers seek status. They are materialistic and oriented to their image and appearance as well as typically being young. This psychographic group fits perfectly for my TV Show, as aspirers will be able to relate to the main character so well, as her insecurities have made her feel that ‘’attractive packaging is more important than the contents’’, as the character doesn’t think about judging others on their personality, it’s mainly because of the way they look not the ‘content’ similar to how an aspirer would think, allowing their personalities to easily be linked, and the TV appealing to.

Strugglers seek escape. They are disorganiszed and mainly from the D and E demographic – like the characters shown in the TV Show and the main character, allowing strugglers to relate to the TV show as well as the characters.

Islam Representation.

On the left is the dominant representation, and on the right is 

the negative representation. 

Media Practical Story (PITCH)

Media Practical Story (PITCH) 

• A clear explanation of your idea, possibly referencing other programmes/films.

The story will be structured and similar to My Mad Fat Diaries which is shown on 40D, at 10 pm Main character is an insecure girl, who thinks she’s too skinny, and looks into the life of other people, to make her feel better. Her hobbies are to stalk people with perfect bodies on instagram, from a random girl in school to Kim Kardashian.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeejTlzac9U
 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-mad-fat-diary/4od#3479168

• Details from the brief: characters, narrative themes and location

• Why your idea might appeal to the key 15-35 audience demographic

 The girl is young and goes to sixth form, so it will appeal to teenagers straight away. However this idea will also appeal to audience that are older than teenagers, i.e 19-35, because she is 17 she is a young adult this allows her to discuss topics that appeal to adults, in her diary for example looking in to why she doesn’t have a perfect figure.

 • Scheduling details - when it might be broadcast and on which channel.

As this show may contain minor ‘swear words’, and it isn't to be targeted to young children, as it contains lots of ‘’idolising people’’ for the wrong reasons. This show should be the last shown programme on the pre-watershed schedule, so from 8:00-8:30pm.

Audience Theories (Mr.B)

Hypodermic needle theory

This article from the Daily Mail can be linked to the hypodermic needle theory as the

The article explains allows the audience to be informed on how a violet video game for just 20 minutes a day can make one more aggressive than usual. University students had played Call of Duty for over three days and were tested, to record their behaviour and reactions to the outside world. The results of the Ohio University found that those who played the game were more likely to assume the world was ''hostile''.

This article therefore links to the hypodermic needle theory because it shows the negative affect of video games and proves it has affects on the players. This article manipulates the readers, in order for them to feel negative about the game.

Two-step flow model

The article on young YouTube star Jamal Edwards shows that Jamal Edwards can be linked to the two-step flow model, as he can be the ''other'' who influences the opinion of others, this is because he is a young 23-year old successful film-maker from a low-earning background so is an inspiration for many young people, especially those from suburban and deprived areas, as he himself described to be from a ''council estate'' in ''West London''. Him saying this proves to many (according to the two-step flow model) that all it really takes to make it big is devotion, regardless of where your from. Therefore his say will be extremely influential to many.

As the two-step flow model describes that ''the audience are influenced by the opinions of others'' such as leaders, or celebrities i.e. Jamal. They will be motivated after reading the article, as it includes quotes from Jamal for example ''"Try anything, don't be scared of failure, that is my advice".

                                                         Uses and Gratifications theory

Diversion: escape from daily routines or daily problems. Many people choose to read magazines such as the Heat in order to get away from their problems, and pre into other peoples lives, such as celebrities.

Personal relationship: substituting the media for companionship.Social media allows people to seek personal relationships using the media, as they are able to interact with one another.




Personal identity: seeking media to reinforce an individual’s values.Soaps and TV Dramas allow people to relate to the characters within the show allowing themselves to be reflected in these shows, as they can learn from their experiences.

Surveillance: seeking information to help an individual accomplish something.
BBC Weather is informative and allows people that seek surveillance gain useful information, it is good as it can be gained in various ways, from the TV to mobile applications, as shown in the picture below

Dependency theory 

• What do YOU primarily use the media for: entertainment or information? (Or something else?)

I use the media for entertainment and information, as well as social. This is because I watch TV, which is a form of entertainment also from TV I can receive information. In addition I use media for information for school work, i.e. browsing the internet for information. Finally social media is used by me the most, as communicating is mostly done using mobile phones, in which I have apps such as Facebook, and Whatsapp, in order to stay in contact with others.

• To what extent do you feel we are dependent on the media?

In my opinion society are extremely dependent on the media, as majority of us would find it difficult to be a day without internet or their mobiles as the dependency on the media has increased so much, it is not a necessity

• Has our dependence on the media changed over the last 10 years?

Our dependence on the media has definitely changed over the last 10 years because the accessibility of media has increased by a lot, due to WiFi and mobile phones, making it extremely difficult to resist media intake, therefore increasing our dependency over the last 10 years.

MEST2: RESEARCH & PLANNING (Existing Product Research & Institution Research)

Existing product research

Find five programmes similar to the idea or genre you plan to work with. Remember the E4 target audience specified in the brief.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-mad-fat-diary/episode-guide
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/ugly-betty
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/90210
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/youngers
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hollyoaks

Write an analysis of the two-minute opening sequence to each TV programme you research using the aspects of film language you have learned
(camera work, editing, sound, mise-en-scene) also research the target audience for each show and write about why the show would appeal to that audience.

My Mad Fat Diaries

Camera Work

Rae, the main character is introduced using a medium shot, which is taken as a reflection of her in the mirror. The shot is followed by a long shot, in order to show her physical appearance which will be the main ‘’issue’’ for her during the series. She is later shown mostly in medium shots, that are low angled, this is done in order to make her look ''bigger'' than she is - so the title is able to be further justified. 

Editing
The editor has used mainly straight cuts as a transition to the next shot. Continuity editing has been used in order to make the production look logical, this was done when the mini house door is shown, followed by a straight cut in a room - this allows the audience to feel that the current scene of the house party, is happening inside the door Rae has just entered.

Sound

To start off with there is non-digetic sound in the episode and there is music playing in the background, as well as the voice over of the main character - Rae, introducing herself and life. The voice-over remains throughout the trailer, however the music later changes to be digetic when the youths are shown at house party talking and using the gambling machine. the ringing from the gambling machine as almost like a 'wake up' siren for the audience, allowing them to understand that future episodes will mean that her life will be better than it currently is, or will surely have some form of a change now that she's left the ''mad house''.  

Mise En Scene

The first 5 seconds of the production is shown in Rae's bedroom. She holds her diary as a prop and is shown wearing a loose blue top, and light yellow trousers, that is covered with her having a white with stripes bath gown on top.
She has her hair natural looking, and it is black with a middle-parting.

she is stood with a straight face and her back is slouched with her looking at herself in the mirror nonchalantly. Her room isn't very bright, however she has been 'highlighted' using the key light from above in order to show Rae's features properly. Filler lights have also been used in order to soften any shadow to make the room she's in look more realistic, therefore the lighting was high-key.  The setting, lighting, costumers, facial expressions and body language as well as position of the main character allows the creator to portray the image of Rae having lack of self esteem as well as being dull, simple and not caring about how she looks and who she is, or even being helpless and hopeless about who she is.  

Ugly Betty

Camera Work
The main character, Betty is shown in a close up, from a low angle, so more of her face and the setting of the scene is shown. Betty has mostly been shown in a medium shot or close up in order to have her as the person who is closest to the camera so the audience are able to identify with her and sympathize with her the most. 

Editing

To start with the editors have not used many cuts in the episode as there are a total of 3 cuts within the first 35 seconds. all of the transitions are straight cuts in order to make the audience not be able to notice them. Moving on to the next 35 seconds, the action builds leading to more cuts as Betty is now in a conversation - there are 7 cuts in this time, this is done in order to show that the scene is now moving faster and that there is now more going on.    

Sound
Throughout the first 2 minutes of the episode there has been various sounds that have contributed to the production. In the beginning there is non digetic music that is also parallel, because it is soft music that goes with the exquisite setting. Later in the two minutes analysed, digetic sound - which was dialogue of Betty talking to others had been introduced, this dialogue was added with the non-digetic music that had been playing until the next scene, however the sound of the music was lowered as dialogue took place.

Mise En Scene
The scene has been set in a hotel-like building. The scene is shown to be brightly lit, therefore it is high-key lighting in order to give the audience more of a natural feel of the environment the scene has been set in. Betty is dressed in a red checkered blazer on top of a green old fashioned frilled shirt, complemented with a matching knee length skirt, she has a front fringe, braces and red oval shaped glasses. The colors she wears and the style of clothing was used in order to show she isn't very in-trend, and looks like a stereotypical book worm. 

Youngers

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/youngers/4od#playlist

Camera Work 
The episode starts with a close up a microphone being plugged to a standing microphone holder, this is followed by a big close ups of one of the main character's lips with the microphone. Then there is a close up of another main character - who is recording the sound-track, as he kisses his crucifix necklace. The other character is then shows in a big close up as his lips move because he is rapping into the microphone.  The character rapping is then shown in a medium shot as he is rapping, this is done from a low angle to show he is superior in the moment. Yemi, the recorder's mum later walks in and is shown in a medium/long shot and is also shot from a low angle from where Yemi is sat, in order to make the audience aware that his mum plays a big role in what he does. Later a point of view shot is used from Yemi's view to look at Jays(the boy rapping) expressions, this allows the audience to understand that Yemi looks upto Jay, and his expressions and thoughts matter to Yemi - and he will be influenced by Jay. 

Editing
There are seven cuts shown in the first 20 seconds of the episode, showing that the show has started off fast. The style of editing used is continuity editing, as all of the shots are placed and edited logically, so the audience are able to make sense of the scenes and shots. For example, showing an estate, then showing Jay's girlfriend room straight after, allowing the audience to know that the room is inside the estate shown in the previous shot. 

Sound
To start the episode there is no sound that is very loud, the first sound the audience hear is of the microphone clicking onto the holder, this sound is digetic because the characters can hear it too. After this, 6 seconds in - the music for the rap track is played by Yemi after we hear him kiss his crucifix necklace. The rap music is then merged with dialoge, which is Jay rapping. The music and dialogue are parallel, because the music is fast and steady, as the lyrics of the rap.The music is then interrupted by Yemi's mum knocing which was digetic. As she knocked, Yemi switched the music off, and Jay stopped rapping - this was because there was now a conversation (dialogue), which was between Yemi, his mum and Jay.  

Mise En Scene
The episode starts off as the setting being in Yemi's bedroom, which he has transformed into his own studio using props such as a laptop, microphone and micro phone holder as well as headphones. The lighting is high-key lighting, although the room isn't very bright, it is dimly lit, and there is key lighting on props such as the microphone and the faces of the two characters, in order to introduce the characters properly.
The two main characters are shown to be different from each other due to their clothing as Jay (the rapper) wears a blue jumper with a orange coloured imagine on it, which is very ''street and youth like'', however his clothing is then contrasted by his friend Yemi(producer/recorder), who wears a light denim full sleeved shirt that has been buttoned up, showing he is more of a smart looking guy. Furthermore their jewellery is very different too, because Jay is shown wearing a thick silver snake chain, give him more of a rebellious look, on the other hand Yemi wears a thin long silver chain, with a crucifix pendant, that he kisses, showing the audience he is someone who possibly believes in God more - and this can be seen as a positive in him, as most people do believe in God.  Yemi's mother also wears a floral teal colored top with a rust colored cardigan, the colors she wear aren't very bright and she looks modest, showing the mother is down to earth and possibly doesn't like to show off, she has her hair tied up and no makeup, suggesting she plays a traditional house wife role allowing the audience to understand that Yemi's family are traditional and simple. 

2Broke Girls

http://www.videoweed.es/file/7527818a97c78

Camera Work

Firstly a medium shot is used in order to introduce the characters. The creator had made sure that the audience become most identified with one of the main characters before anyone therefore showed half of the chef's body ringing the bell in a medium shot. There other 'half' that didn't have the chef in it, was where the main character, the waitress came and stood, allowing the audience to get a medium shot view of her. The waitress is then mainly shown in a medium/long shot, so the audience are able to make more of a clear judgement on what she is like. Furthermore, a long shot with the camera panning was shown of her going from the kitchen window to the customer's table, this allowed the audience to get a better view of the setting.

Editing

All of the transitions used in the first two minutes of the first episode of two broke girls were straight cuts. these were used in order to give un-noticeable transitions.
During conversations the number of transitions were increased, as the camera was constantly shown to be filming each character, this added to the comedy of the scene, as the expressions and reactions of each character were shown. 

Sound

The first sound the audience hear is the sound of the bell that the chef rings. This is followed by dialogue between the waitress and the chef, both of these sounds are digetic. There was other digetic sounds included in the two minutes analysed this is of the people eating and talking in the background. Sounds of 'fake laughter' had been included at the times of any comedy scenes, such as after the conversation of her with the customer's - this is to encourage the audience to laugh, the sound is non-digetic.  

Mise En Scene
The episode is set in a restaurant, this will be the main setting for all of the episodes. The props used to show the audience that the setting is in a restaurant before they saw the entire setting was done by the use of the food with plates, and ringing bell - which indicated the kitchen of a restaurant. The scene was brightly lit, it looked like a natural looking - typical restaurant. The waitress had worn a mustard waitress dress with red stripes, this matched the seating in the restaurant - identifying the waitress with the restaurant further. The chef had worn a white vest and a hat showing that the restaurant isn't of a very high standard, and uniform isn't much of an issue as this is a informal 'outfit'. 

Institution research 

The E in E4 stands for entertainment, and it is a daughter channel of channel 4, as it includes all the most popular and entertaining shows from E4. E4 was launched in November 2001, E4's most successful broadcast to date was 9 years after the launch in October 2010, this was due to the first episode of The Inbetweeners had been broadcasted. The target audience for E4 is mainly 15-35, the demographics that this show appeals to is mainly C1-E. E4 cover genres such as family drama, comedy, thriller etc. Shows on E4 that have been most popular are Inbetweeners, which is a comedy and on the first episode E4 had received 3.7 million viewers. In addition, Educating Yorkshire which is a documentary and Hollyoaks and My Mad Fat Diary - which are both drama's. The channel is mainly to entertain and target a younger audience and offer a variety of different TV shows, both american and British, for example the contrast of Misfits, and american drama 90210. 

BBC3 is a channel that mainly broadcasts British programmes, it was launched in 2003.BBC 3 mainly focus on genres including sport, entertainment, comedy, drama, children ect. They have many programmes that have been popular, some of which where Family Guy and Russel Howards' good news - which are both comedies. and Doctor Who, which is a drama. The channel attracts 16-34's which is a similar age group to the audience of E4. Also BBC3 mainly apeals to those from a employment grade C1-E. In the past BBC3 have won 7 bafta awards, 15 television society awards, 5 British comedy awards and many others.

Adverts that appeal to audiences of all 7 Psychographic groups

MAIN-STREAMERS - FAIRY LIQUID ADVERT




ASPIRERS




SUCEEDERS:






RESIGNED:





STRUGGLERS: MC D'S SAVERS MENU AD







EXPLORERS: TRAVEL AD






REFORMERS: CRAVENDALE

10 Brands that appeal to me & fit my psychographic group

Evaluation Of preliminary exercise (Mr.H)

Task: 

Clear reference to the bried, your planning process, how your storyboard/shot list helped create the final product and what you would do differently next time in terms of pre-production
needs to be a minimum of 500 words
Detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of your film
Confident use of media language, particularly film language, showing clear understanding of the key concepts of Media Studies (MIGRAIN)

Evaluation: 

In order to start filming and know where to start from in our group of three, which included me Aaron and Vijay, we had decided to create a story board so we know what the preliminary exercise film will actually be about, where it will be set out, and what shots and camera movement types we are considering.

What did we do well? 

Firstly, I think my group did well because we hadn't broken the 180 degree rule as the exercise was filmed over my right shoulder and Aaron's right shoulder. This allowed cameraman Vijay to focus on one side of the room as we had our conversation sitting opposite each other on the common room table.
The exercise was well focused because when Aaron was entering the room, his face became focused slowly as he walked, this showed he is coming closer and therefore was effective, similarly - when I was walking out the same type of blur was used by Vijay whilst filming in order to give the same affect of me getting closer. Furthermore my mobile was also focused as my chat was shown, this wasn't a sudden focused it had focused in slowly, to make the audience wanting to know what the messages will say, and the messages were then focused shortly.
Match on match action shot when opened the door to the room, where I was sitting down waiting for her. We also came up with a short, yet intriguing dialogue to interest the audience within the 40 seconds of filming.
l liked the pace of the our work because it focused well on the actors (Aaron, and I), for example, him walking into the room in the beginning, as well as him then opening the door, then when I walked out the pace of that also fit in accordingly to the mood, as I was slow and then paced up as I saw a friend to show excitement in the end and waved.
There were a few different shot types used, range of different types of shots e.g. long shot when Aaron is walking towards the door, high angle shot when he opens the door, a close up for Aaron's hand just before the match on action, as well as my mobile in order to show the chat on my phone.

What could be improved? 

We thought that two of our transitions were irrelevant and over the top as it was dissolve during a conversation making the exercise seem like it was a dream, and this looked unprofessional, a fade transition should have been used instead.
When the mono pod was used (during the first 10 seconds of the conversation) the shot was wobbly making the work look unprofessional, we could have dealt with this issue by using a tripod or either re-taking until achieve reach a steady shot.

What did we learn? 

Overall working with Vijay and Aaron was a good experience, we learnt many valuable lessons as well as acknowledging what we did well. We will take these on board and continue to do your productions using the preliminary exercise as a guide.

Psychographics questionnaire (MR.B)

http://www.4cs.yr.com/uk/

You are a person of strong ambition and aspiration to succeed, with big ideas and plans for the future. You strive to excel and be recognised for who and what you are.

You care a lot about others’ opinions, and being aware that others judge you by the way you look, you pay a lot of attention to your personal appearance. With excellent social instincts and ability to please, together with a desire for attention, admiration and applause, you make an special effort to be noticed.

Your creativity is expressed in appreciation of beautiful things, comfort, luxury and elegance, and maybe a self-indulgent, extravagant tendency, dreaming of fantastic, exotic faraway places and lifestyles.

You create your own image and persona, imaginative and complex. You are attracted to charisma, sparkle and shine – glittering occasions, people and places. Fashionable and trendy, but also fun and friendly. Dreams do come true! 

Psychographic Group: Suceeders (MR.B)

Myself and Farina had recieved a grade B for the presentation.

WWW: We had engaged our audience and used pictures and presented well overall in order to keep the audience attracted and understanding.

EBI: Make it clearer why they would read a certain type of print, rather than just stating it for example why would they read hello magazine, and not a newspaper.

Media Institution Lesson: NEWS CORPORATION

 Teacher feedback- WWW- · Good starter (true and false) · Good audience engagement · Very well produced slides- colour, images and logo. · Detailed presentation · Excellent plenary

EBI- · Clearer information · Some misinformation (The Times)

 Student feedback-
 WWW- The majority of students took part during the starter and also the plenary, me and Vinesh tried to ask students who were more quiet then other. Most of the students also took part when asked if Asian channel were part of news crop, many of the student gave reasons of why they felt it was or wasn't. As I and Vinesh ended the presentation we felt that many students had learnt something new and something that they would remember, due the detail used in the slides and also due to humour and the manner we had presented in i.e taking turns, slide by slides and including colour and animation/effects.


EBI-I felt that some students had said more than other, also a piece of information was incorrect. Slides needed to have a clearer layout, but also contain less information and allowed me and Vinesh to elaborate on.

Film Language Test Feedback

Mr Halsey's feedback

WWW: Mise en Scene and sound are strong answers, plenty of media language was used.

EBI: Watch the clip very carefully : 

            - There were only two characters

            - Make detailed notes, as it will help write up

            - Camerawork and ediing are weaknesses

My Feedback

WWW: Good notes were made on Mise en Scene, I revised well for sound (and found it easier)

EBI: more notes were taken and more revision was done.

Cinematography task (Mr H)

In this task I will be analysing the cinematography from extracts of two movies - Rebecca, 1940 - Alfred Hitchcock and Slumdog Millionaire, 2008 - Danny Boyle.

Slumdog Millionaire Film Clip - The Boys On A Train

Rebecca Start of Scene 2

The type of shots used in both of these movies are different, there is not as much variety in Rebecca. 

In Slumdog millionaire the shots used are varied, this is because the movie is from the 2000s, hence more developed. However Rebecca, 1940s has less variety of shots and camera movement, as it is from the genre of film-noir, therefore isn't modern. 

In Rebecca to start scene 2 with, a long shot had been used at a medium angle on one women, who walks into a room, the long shot is used in order to make the audience more aware of her location and possibly ''class'' as more of her was visible this way, which will allow the audience to be able to tell who she is (e.g she is holding a folder, so she could be a secretary). Furthermore as the lady walks into the room a nurse and patient are shown, in a long shot, however the woman is now shown in a medium shot, making the audience subtly feel closer to the woman shown from the beginning, and empathise with her. In slumdog millionaire something similar has been done by using a close up of him counting money to make the audience feel emotionally attached to him, the audience will feel emotionally attached to him firstly because he is young, and he is counting money, and money shouldn't be an issue for a child of his age. Furthermore this scene was taken from a low angle, representing Jamal being superior, suggesting he earns for himself and he's independent and possibly that he is the breadwinner for his family therefore audience sympathy will be with Jamal. 

In Rebecca a low angle and medium shot is used to record the woman sleeping, the fact that she has not yet been covered in a close up, makes the audience want to know more about her, and they stay in suspense. However in Slumdog Millionaire, Jamal and his friend are both shown in a close up at different points, in order to give more away about them two as individuals, the close ups were often shown of the children smiling, this allows the audience to feel grateful for what they have, as these children clearly don't have enough... But are still smiling. 

Slumdog millionaire also included many other shots and camera movement types that Rebecca didn't include. Example of these are a tracking shot being used to show the movement of the train, that was followed by a extreme low angle under the gap between the train cabins in to show how hectic and chaotic the life of these children and the locals is.  

Stereotypes- Dominant & Alternative Representations (Mr.B)

DOMINANT REPRESENTATION




ALTERNATIVE REPRESENTATION

The Twilight Saga : Breaking Dawn 2 analysis using Theories (Mr.B)

Roland Barthes-

Enigma/Hermeneutic codes: There are many enigma codes during this movie, we tend to find out important and shocking information towards the ending of the film. For example Vampire Irina being the one who passes on information she is unsure about to Aro Volturi.

Multi strand narrative: This is the fifth and final Twilight movie, so this concludes the rest of the movies. 

Action codes: Fast paced music had been played whenever a action scene was about to start, the end especially which was most violent and aggressive. The music was varied to purpose, for example when Volturi's  head had been twisted off.

Non-linear pattern:  The film is in chronological, with flashbacks to also appeal to those who have not seen the other Twilight's.

Tzvetan Todorov-

Equilibrium: The movie begins with Bella(Heroin) now a vampire learning to use her abilities. And happy to see her daughter with Edward(Hero), Renesmee


Disequilibrium: Renesmee, was half vampire and half human, however she was mistaken for a vampire by a unknown character, who had informed the Villain of this and it is a violation to turn a child into being a vampire, so the Villain is now after the parents and Renesmee. 

New Equilibrium: The hero and the helper kill the villain and his team, as well as Irina who had betrayed them, this resulted in them staying happy - and living forever as they are immortal ! 

Vladimir Propp - The seven spheres of action

The villain: Aro Volturi - wants to kill Renesmee and her parents because he thinks she has been turned in to Vampire.

The donor: Alice - She gets a vision of the Volturi(Villain) coming after them and informs Bella(Princess) and Edward(Prince) about it. 

The helper: Jacob's -  Him and his pack save Renesmee from the Villain. 

The princess: Bella, married to Edward(Prince) and he stays by her side.

The dispatcher:

The prince: Edward, stays by and protects Bella(Princess).

The false hero:.

Propp's theory Story

Villain - Hiba

Princess - Angela

Hero - Nikolai

False hero - Robin

Dispatcher - Mr.Bush

Helper - Humera

Donor - David

The Hiba and Angela are sisters, they both like Nikolai. Angela and Nikolai start to date and Hiba is really jealous. Hiba sets Nikolai up, so Angela believes that Nikolai cheated on her, however he didn't. Angela now hates Nikolai, Robin was introduced to Angela by Hiba. after a few weeks Hiba started to pay Robin to start dating Angela, so her mind is completely diverted from Nikolai.

Later Mr.Bush overhears Robin and Hiba's conversation and tells Nikolai about what Hiba is doing. Mr.Bush advices Nikolai to go and talk to Angela, she doesn't believe him. Just after this, Hiba doesn't have enough money to keep paying Robin, therefore Robin ''leaves''  Angela.  Angela is later told by David (A friend of Robin) that Robin and Hiba had this cruel plan against her and Nikolai.  Humera (Angela's bestfriend) then helps her get over Robin, and reminds her of  how much Nikolai likes her, and she makes them meet up.

At the meet up, Angela apologises to Nikolai, and Nikolai is more than happy to take her back.

Parallel and Contrapuntal sound presentation feedback. (Mr.Halsey)

Presentation song :
 Beyonce -
 Dangerously In Love.

Mr Halseys feedback:

WWW: 

- great choice of images, nice mix and background.
- contrapuntal images got the reaction.

EBI:
-Would the presentation be better without Royal family
-Design and layout of slides could have been better.

My feedback:

WWW:

-I had a variety of images

-The animated pictures were a nice diversification

EBI:

-The royal family couple didn't fit in with the Beyonce soundtrack, another acting/sings couple e.g Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith.

3 Types of Reading [news source] & Hall's theory - Mr.Bush

Stuart Hall's theory of Encoding & Decoding

The theory claims that the audiences of Media will interpret messages in a different manner depending on their culture, economic standing, religion as well as personal experience. Hall's model claims that everyone will decode in different ways.

According to Hall, the one decoding can assume three different readings :
-> Dominant
->Negotiated
->Oppositional

NEWS SOURCE - Terror in Nairobi, Kenya

 (Militants inside Westgate Shopping Centre have threatened to kill the remaining hostages as Kenyan security personnel try to end the             siege (pictured)    Taken from : Daily Mail

-> Dominant reading: Someone who lives possibly in the western society and has been brought up there as well as those who are well educated and want the people in Kenya massacre to be saved - will be likely to respond positively to this image and give the 'preferred response' to the creator. This dominant reader will feel that the Kenyan security personnel are really ''trying'' to save the ''remaining hostages''. 

-> Negotiated reading: This will be the reading of someone whose personal view and the creators intentions are merged. The negotiated reader could feel that the ''Kenyan security personnel'' are trying to help, however they may think a step further and think that the security in Kenya aren't trying hard enough. 

-> Oppositional reading: An oppositional reader will feel that the security aren't ''trying'' and will completely disagree with creator and say that the security are useless and not doing enough.

Analysis - Human Print advert - Mr.Bush

Human print advert : Wonderstruck perfume advert

Colour - The colours used in the ad are mostly bright and feminine colours. The pink is used for the framing and Taylor swift's dress. Pink connotes femininity and admiration. This means that audience will have the perfume  'wonderstuck' seen as a feminine perfume, that is admired. In addition Silver is used for the sequins on Taylor's dress and the chandeliers. Silver gives Taylor a princess look and adds glamour and femininity - once again, this adds to the influence the pink had on the audience. Gold is used for the copy as well as the lid on the product itself. 
The gold suggests that the product is luxurious and is full of quality. The effect of the colour in the advert has multiplied as it is also a part of product, so the connotations will directly be related to the product. The bottle of the wonderstruck is purple, this is the brightest colour in the advert making it one of the key focuses. The colour purple is chosen to make the audience feel like the perfume is up to  royalty standard, and therefore is unique. The colour purple also adds to the elegance of the antique style copper gold lid, and is a great contrast, attracting the audience further. 
The greenery in the background enhances the brightness of the advert, in addition greenery as the background makes the audience feel that Taylor is natural and free. This will allow them to think that the perfume will make them more natural as well as giving them more freedom.

Shot type - Taylor Swift has been photographed at a medium shot in order to have a neutral focus on the celebrity, although the product is 'hers' they didn't use a close-up as that would look too personal and bring too much attention of Taylor Swift. In addition they wanted a little more of the costume to show as it is used for a feminine effect. 

Subject holder - The person that is photographed is Taylor Swift, she's relevant to this advert as the perfume is of her own brand. The perfume is the product advertised therefore a picture is also provided on the foreground of the advert. 

Composition - The photograph of Taylor Swift has central position however the product is placed towards the bottom right of the advert. The copy is on the left side of the product, allowing the audience to view the product straight after the description of it, as the mind read from left to right. 

Lighting - High-key lighting has been used to give the advert a more realistic and natural look. the natural look was given to keep the atmosphere calm and feminine and not too dark. 

Framing - The advert is framed using a hot pink blunt line, this makes the advert as a whole stand out.

Size - Taylor Swift is the largest subject in the advert, this attracts attention as she is a celebrity, and seeing her will instantly get the audience wanting to know more. The bottle of perfume is approximately 1/3 of the size of Taylor Swift, this is to show the audience the actual product, so the purpose of the advert is more clear, even without reading it. 

Pose - There is a faint smile on Taylor Swift's face, this is so the advert doesn't look too cheesy and doesn't get too much attention on her. The arm that is near to the perfume is hiding behind her dress so that the perfume has the background of her pink dress, as that would be a good contrast, not her arm. 

Setting - The advert is set in a private garden or park, this is noticeable as there is greenery in the background. The setting looks exquisite and unique this is due to the chandeliers which give a royal look to the entire advert. The chandeliers are used in the background so the audience start to feel that owning 'wonderstruck' will make them 'royal' and 'unique'. 

Mise en scene - Image analysis

Movie poster(Image) - Skyfall

Costume -  The star wears a silky navy suit with a white shirt and a black bow. This gives the character a very classy look and suggests that the movie will have some form of formality in it. The combination of the dark suit on the white shirt suggests that the character has some form of purity to him, as white connotes innocence. However the suggestion of purity is then contradicted by the darker colours, that connote authority, crime and mystery.

Lighting - Low key lighting is used with a key light on the gun and a back light from the back left. The low-key lighting creates a contract of lighting and a shadow on half of the the actors face, this makes the actor look dramatic and mysterious. 

Actors facial expression and body language - Daniel Craig is the star of Skyfall  Daniels facial expression are very blunt and serious. This suggests the character has a very important role. His body language is very bold and stiff, this adds to his serious facial expressions. The body language suggests that he is aware and ready, and as he is holding a gun there is a possibility that he's 'ready' for a mission.   

Props - The props used is a gun, the gun is held in a position which a gun would be held at just before aiming. This suggests that Daniel Craig  will be related in Crime and action, this also gives away the genre - Action, Crime, Mystery. 

Setting - The background is mainly black and has a white feather-looking swirl merged in with the black. The white 'swirl' contains a building which is in monochrome. The black background connotes conservation, which then also allows the audience to understand Daniel's serious facial expressions and his dark coloured clothing. The building in the background looks archaic and ancient, and therefore represents that there is some relation to history in the movie. In addition the picture of the building is smaller than the actor and is below and behind Daniel Craig, this suggests that he has relation with the building.   

Position of character - Daniel Craig is placed in the middle of the poster in order for the audience to give him the most attention as he is the main actor. 

Mr Bush - iPhone 5C - Key concept analysis

new

Apple are launching their new product named ''iPhone 5C''. The iPhone 5C is the first Apple mobile that is available in 5 bright different colours.

The iPhone 5C has a style which is more appealing to a younger audience. This is due to the variety of bright colours as well as the use of lighter weighted plastic for the exterior. The curving structure also adds to he appeal to the younger audience. 

The mobile has the new ios7 operating system allowing previous Apple products to be using a upgraded version of a product they are familiar with. In addition the ios7 is less complicated allowing new customers of Apple to adjust to the system easily

The mobile is shown by a step by step process which allows the audience to understand exactly how the product is made. In addition after the making process has ended, the iPhone 5C is shown in a girl's hand who was taking pictures of her friends and was shown to be really joyful and giggly as she held the new iPhone 5C, this allowed the audience to believe that the mobile on its own connects people and brings them together. This also allows the audience to be in the place of the model in the ad - as they want to be happy too. 

Apple decided to have soft music playing in the background  this made the audience feel more comfortable and relaxed about the iPhone 5C. The audience will also feel that the iPhone 5C will make them feel more relaxed and bring them comfort. The audience are then assured on comfort by Apple choosing to show in the ad all the process's of the actual mobile, for example: use of apps such as games and facetime. This allows audience to understand how easy it really is to use this mobile. 

Why I chose Media Studies for A-Level.

Why media?

I was always told by my brother that doing Media at Greenford 6th Form is one of the best choices he had made. Suggestions of doing media at A-Level then continued... Sometimes by my family, friends, and even my English teacher, Miss Rumblelow.

Over the course of my GCSE English I was taught by an amazing teacher. She taught both English and Media, however my high school did not offer Media Studies at GCSE level, so unfortunately I wasn't able to do Media earlier in life.

During our English 'speaking and listening' the debates would often be media related and I would love every moment of it... Media also compliments well with my future career as a teacher, as well as Business which is my other option at A-Level.

I want myself to not be caught up in the propaganda of media. I want myself to be able to use my own brain regarding issues and the way media portray situations and people.

My English teacher has been telling me for 2 years that I will do great in Media, and she has made me believe in myself, so here I am.. At a new environment, with new teachers and people to prove myself right.