Harry Brown is a recent British film starring the well-known actor Michael Caine. Caine has starred in other notorious films such as 'The Italian Job' and 'Get Carter'.
As Harry Brown, Caine plays an elderly ex-royal navy marine who takes on a congregation of yobs that terrorised his friend to death. As Police are not efficient enough in dealing with the gang, Brown takes the matter into his own hands and takes a vigilante approach to avenge the loss of his friend. He uses the group's own violent, intimidating, manner to punish them one by one.
This film, like other Michael Caine films, is extremely gritty and opens the eyes of a viewer that is unaware of urbanised culture that is idolized by naive adolescents. It displays crimes which are graphic, extremely intense and shocking.
The film has a sense of nostalgia as it almost praises the era of the second world war and suggests that the crimes shown would not have occurred in Britain in that period.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Friday, 4 December 2009
To what extent do both ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Spooks’ rely on racial and other stereotypes?
Casino Royale is a typical British action drama which follows a group of spy’s who work for the British government. The plots usually contain someone from another country who is involved in some kind of misconduct which is mostly circulating around recreational drugs or terrorism. The protagonists that are followed in the episode are British whereas the characters of opposition are usually of another nationality. Although the British spy’s e.g. James Bond, use weapons and dangerous techniques and also kill in this particular episode, they are portrayed to be heroes. The creators do this by using a protagonist who is also a sex symbol.
Spooks is a very similar drama which doesn’t incorporate as much action as Casino Royale. It follows the British Security Service in their tasks to keep the country safe. In this particular episode wealthy businessman are held hostage by individuals of a different ethnicity. The story suggests that the wealthy British have harmed those in poorer communities because of their greediness.
These episodes both rely on racial stereotypes in particular as the plots are about other nationalities breaking the law in some way. In comparison to Britain the other countries or characters are shown to be unstable and less economically developed which gives denotations that Britain is a much more economically developed and stable country. The episodes are also nostalgic as they show Britain in a positive light. Although most characters within Spooks are White, there is also an Asian character who works alongside them. This represents the Britain today as a country who are able to work with other nationalities and also suggests London itself is a very culturally diverse place; which it is.
Other stereotypes are used in the Spooks episode but some are also subverted. In Spooks, countertypes are used; Blonde, attractive women are also part of the security service. Women with these attributes would usually be stereotyped as sexual and dumb, however in this episode they are extremely intelligent, they dress smart and are the complete opposite to the traditional stereotype. Casino Royale shows women for sex appeal too, one female is portrayed as only being useful as a girlfriend as her partner is rude to her and speaks down to her as if she is not as good as he is. Also Bonds interactions with her are sexual, again suggesting that women are only good at the stereotypical role. However this is also true for the female colleague Bond works with until the audience realizes she was playing Bond along and betrays him, suggesting women should not be underestimated.
Cultural identity in these episodes is of a high social class. This is visible as in particular the language used is of an intellectual and higher class. Their jobs are also very high profile and the employees of security service jobs are usually ex university students from Cambridge or Oxford and so are therefore highly academic. This also suggests Britain as an academic country suggesting most individual in this country attend university and have Academic qualifications.
In Casino Royale, women are just as equal in job roles as men or if not better. James Bonds’ female colleague is a lot older than he is and is shown to have a higher ranking in her job role. Although this suggests women can now have equal opportunities, it also shows that women have the same role as they always have as she only seems to sit around whereas Bond does a lot more physical tasks and puts himself in danger; which is characteristic of men. Therefore although cultural identity has changed in the way we view males and females, the job roles aren’t very different at all.
Spooks is a very similar drama which doesn’t incorporate as much action as Casino Royale. It follows the British Security Service in their tasks to keep the country safe. In this particular episode wealthy businessman are held hostage by individuals of a different ethnicity. The story suggests that the wealthy British have harmed those in poorer communities because of their greediness.
These episodes both rely on racial stereotypes in particular as the plots are about other nationalities breaking the law in some way. In comparison to Britain the other countries or characters are shown to be unstable and less economically developed which gives denotations that Britain is a much more economically developed and stable country. The episodes are also nostalgic as they show Britain in a positive light. Although most characters within Spooks are White, there is also an Asian character who works alongside them. This represents the Britain today as a country who are able to work with other nationalities and also suggests London itself is a very culturally diverse place; which it is.
Other stereotypes are used in the Spooks episode but some are also subverted. In Spooks, countertypes are used; Blonde, attractive women are also part of the security service. Women with these attributes would usually be stereotyped as sexual and dumb, however in this episode they are extremely intelligent, they dress smart and are the complete opposite to the traditional stereotype. Casino Royale shows women for sex appeal too, one female is portrayed as only being useful as a girlfriend as her partner is rude to her and speaks down to her as if she is not as good as he is. Also Bonds interactions with her are sexual, again suggesting that women are only good at the stereotypical role. However this is also true for the female colleague Bond works with until the audience realizes she was playing Bond along and betrays him, suggesting women should not be underestimated.
Cultural identity in these episodes is of a high social class. This is visible as in particular the language used is of an intellectual and higher class. Their jobs are also very high profile and the employees of security service jobs are usually ex university students from Cambridge or Oxford and so are therefore highly academic. This also suggests Britain as an academic country suggesting most individual in this country attend university and have Academic qualifications.
In Casino Royale, women are just as equal in job roles as men or if not better. James Bonds’ female colleague is a lot older than he is and is shown to have a higher ranking in her job role. Although this suggests women can now have equal opportunities, it also shows that women have the same role as they always have as she only seems to sit around whereas Bond does a lot more physical tasks and puts himself in danger; which is characteristic of men. Therefore although cultural identity has changed in the way we view males and females, the job roles aren’t very different at all.
To what extent do both ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Spooks’ rely on racial and other stereotypes?
Casino Royale is a typical British action drama which follows a group of spy’s who work for the British government. The plots usually contain someone from another country who is involved in some kind of misconduct which is mostly circulating around recreational drugs or terrorism. The protagonists that are followed in the episode are British whereas the characters of opposition are usually of another nationality. Although the British spy’s e.g. James Bond, use weapons and dangerous techniques and also kill in this particular episode, they are portrayed to be heroes. The creators do this by using a protagonist who is also a sex symbol.
Spooks is a very similar drama which doesn’t incorporate as much action as Casino Royale. It follows the British Security Service in their tasks to keep the country safe. In this particular episode wealthy businessman are held hostage by individuals of a different ethnicity. The story suggests that the wealthy British have harmed those in poorer communities because of their greediness.
These episodes both rely on racial stereotypes in particular as their plots are about other nationalities breaking the law in some way. In comparison to Britain the other countries or characters are shown to be unstable and less economically developed which gives denotations that Britain is a much more economically developed.
Spooks is a very similar drama which doesn’t incorporate as much action as Casino Royale. It follows the British Security Service in their tasks to keep the country safe. In this particular episode wealthy businessman are held hostage by individuals of a different ethnicity. The story suggests that the wealthy British have harmed those in poorer communities because of their greediness.
These episodes both rely on racial stereotypes in particular as their plots are about other nationalities breaking the law in some way. In comparison to Britain the other countries or characters are shown to be unstable and less economically developed which gives denotations that Britain is a much more economically developed.
Tuesday, 24 November 2009
How has the internet changed our notion of collective identity.
The internet has already changed our society in many ways. The most major change is communication. Throughout the years it has got much easier to connect with others than it used to be. Easy is how things are getting for us as a society, a lot of things we do or use are by the touch of a button whether on a computer or mobile phone. Technology itself and the internet are almost dominating our worlds, without them we would crumble. To some, the internet is a fascinating invention but to others it isn’t so great. However to some it is completely meaningless; those who do not interact with the internet or cannot, those who abide by old ways and ideas.
Since the 1970’s communication has improved rapidly. From sending telegrams, letters and smoke signals, the 1980’s brought mobiles. However they were not as cool as they look today, but like huge bricks with long aerials, texting wasn’t available until the decade later either. In the 1990’s there was a huge difference and a major invention kicked off; the internet. Web pages were made and bulletin boards, text messages and e-mails were also used. Web conferences and video conferences were deigned also. More improvements occurred in the 21st century, we don’t now only have the internet on a computer, we can access it on our mobile phones, there is also instant messaging and online gaming. File sharing is possible; saving individuals having to print them off and deliver them to where they need to go. Social network sites couldn’t be more popular.
The new and improved designs can help us to stay in touch however they also help youngsters of today to be lazy. 30 years ago people would have to be more physical, to see someone it could only be done by physically walking around to that persons house. Now we don’t have to do that we have webcams and video calling. It doesn’t just make kids lazy but according to ‘Marc Prensky’ students no longer want to put effort into their studies, they would rather do the minimum that is required. In the long term this is dangerous and poses serious threats to our collective identity. In Prensky’s article he discusses the differences between today’s adolescents and elders. He suggests that we are almost like and entirely different culture and nationality because of the technology that we use. It is because the elder generation have not grown up with technology they are ‘digital immigrants’ to it. Whereas the younger generation are ‘digital natives’ who constantly use the internet and have learnt how to use it since they have been physically able. Students also disagree with how they are taught. ‘Digital immigrant’ teachers have stuck to old methods of teaching; step by step guides, taking it slow. Students today prefer to be quicker, because of the speed they learn with the internet. They want instant gratitude, they do not know how to wait for things as with the new technologies there is no waiting. Children haven’t experienced waiting days, weeks or months to hear from somebody or to receive a letter and so the most they may wait is a few hours to receive a text. It is not their fault they haven’t experienced old ways which elders constantly say is the only way.
In Prensky’s article he demonstrates how in the long term these new technologies could damage the way students are taught. He says the way to teach students now and in the future would be by video games. He claims that this is the only way they want to learn as they spend more time on the internet and watching TV then reading books. New methods have to be introduced to grab students attention in order for them to learn quicker.
New technologies such as virtual worlds on the internet is a way of meeting someone without actually being present. Lectures can be taught whilst sitting at home on a computer screen. This may be useful for students who cannot make it to school or for teachers even. Characters can be made to represent individuals to show that someone is logging into the lecture or lesson. However by making characters instead of physically attending school is one way in which our identity’s can be lost and therefore our collective identity too.
Since the 1970’s communication has improved rapidly. From sending telegrams, letters and smoke signals, the 1980’s brought mobiles. However they were not as cool as they look today, but like huge bricks with long aerials, texting wasn’t available until the decade later either. In the 1990’s there was a huge difference and a major invention kicked off; the internet. Web pages were made and bulletin boards, text messages and e-mails were also used. Web conferences and video conferences were deigned also. More improvements occurred in the 21st century, we don’t now only have the internet on a computer, we can access it on our mobile phones, there is also instant messaging and online gaming. File sharing is possible; saving individuals having to print them off and deliver them to where they need to go. Social network sites couldn’t be more popular.
The new and improved designs can help us to stay in touch however they also help youngsters of today to be lazy. 30 years ago people would have to be more physical, to see someone it could only be done by physically walking around to that persons house. Now we don’t have to do that we have webcams and video calling. It doesn’t just make kids lazy but according to ‘Marc Prensky’ students no longer want to put effort into their studies, they would rather do the minimum that is required. In the long term this is dangerous and poses serious threats to our collective identity. In Prensky’s article he discusses the differences between today’s adolescents and elders. He suggests that we are almost like and entirely different culture and nationality because of the technology that we use. It is because the elder generation have not grown up with technology they are ‘digital immigrants’ to it. Whereas the younger generation are ‘digital natives’ who constantly use the internet and have learnt how to use it since they have been physically able. Students also disagree with how they are taught. ‘Digital immigrant’ teachers have stuck to old methods of teaching; step by step guides, taking it slow. Students today prefer to be quicker, because of the speed they learn with the internet. They want instant gratitude, they do not know how to wait for things as with the new technologies there is no waiting. Children haven’t experienced waiting days, weeks or months to hear from somebody or to receive a letter and so the most they may wait is a few hours to receive a text. It is not their fault they haven’t experienced old ways which elders constantly say is the only way.
In Prensky’s article he demonstrates how in the long term these new technologies could damage the way students are taught. He says the way to teach students now and in the future would be by video games. He claims that this is the only way they want to learn as they spend more time on the internet and watching TV then reading books. New methods have to be introduced to grab students attention in order for them to learn quicker.
New technologies such as virtual worlds on the internet is a way of meeting someone without actually being present. Lectures can be taught whilst sitting at home on a computer screen. This may be useful for students who cannot make it to school or for teachers even. Characters can be made to represent individuals to show that someone is logging into the lecture or lesson. However by making characters instead of physically attending school is one way in which our identity’s can be lost and therefore our collective identity too.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Digital Natives, Digital immigrants.-Marc Prensky
This article describes todays younger and older generations as two seperate cultures. The young generation are stated as digital natives; where computer games and e-mails are integral parts of their lives. The digital immigrants are those who have tried to pick up these new technologies later on in their lives, who have become fascinated with the new aspects, however were not born into them. Digital Immigrants use technology as a backup, as a second resort to finding information, they prefer to read through books than start on the internet which digital natives would do first.
On a larger scale Marc Prensky tells us that we are socialized differently to the older generation and that we are learning a new language which is likely to stick. This language isn't the same as the change which happens through generations already, e.g change in hairstyles or clothes, its a completely new way of life; we are unlikely to go back now. The bigger problem is in education; "digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language(of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language." Natives want to learn quickly and recieve information fast, they are not used to sitting down and studying instructions they expect or prefer a networked way of learning and want "frequent rewards". However the immigrants insist on teaching slowly as they belive their way is the only way and they have no gratitude towards the native's way of learning.
Marc Prensky belives that a solution to the struggles of teaching a population with a different language, which is digital, is to change old ways of teaching and use more technology to get the information through. He talks about the success in using video games in order to teach people how to use computer aided design software. Individuals who were shown the software found it a steep learning curve to work out how to use it. Therefore the article suggests it is the methodology that needs to be modified to adapt to the native's usual learning tecnhiques.
Prensky describes how if a child can remember names of pokemon then they can remember the details of each nation in the world. He belives it's all in the presentation and that if these digital immigrants really want to teach the natives of today they need to change their methods and stop
groaning about how things were different in their day.
On a larger scale Marc Prensky tells us that we are socialized differently to the older generation and that we are learning a new language which is likely to stick. This language isn't the same as the change which happens through generations already, e.g change in hairstyles or clothes, its a completely new way of life; we are unlikely to go back now. The bigger problem is in education; "digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language(of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language." Natives want to learn quickly and recieve information fast, they are not used to sitting down and studying instructions they expect or prefer a networked way of learning and want "frequent rewards". However the immigrants insist on teaching slowly as they belive their way is the only way and they have no gratitude towards the native's way of learning.
Marc Prensky belives that a solution to the struggles of teaching a population with a different language, which is digital, is to change old ways of teaching and use more technology to get the information through. He talks about the success in using video games in order to teach people how to use computer aided design software. Individuals who were shown the software found it a steep learning curve to work out how to use it. Therefore the article suggests it is the methodology that needs to be modified to adapt to the native's usual learning tecnhiques.
Prensky describes how if a child can remember names of pokemon then they can remember the details of each nation in the world. He belives it's all in the presentation and that if these digital immigrants really want to teach the natives of today they need to change their methods and stop
groaning about how things were different in their day.
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Internet and Collective identity
Communication is alot easier now then it was in the 1970's or before. In the 1970's letters and telegrams were the most popular way of communicating with friends and family. Morse code and smoke signals were stil used, whereas in the 80's fax and mobile phones were invented. Although mobile phones existed text messaging wasn't available until the 1990's when online chat occured with news groups and bulletin boards. E-mail was introduced aswell as web pages and web conferences, yet nowadays in the 21st century we have all these types of communications and more such as; online gaming, social networking sites e.g facebook and twitter, we have blogs, and file sharing sites along with virtual worlds.
Huge shifts that have occured may seem recent but actually have been manifesting for a number of years. The digital switchover is an example of a technological shift, people now have to have digital to be able to watch the television. Artefacts can now be downloaded people do not consume as many as they used to. Sabbah talked about 'new media' as far back as 1985, stating that there was no longer a mass audience receiving messages they were given, but that audiences now select what they want to hear/see because of the multiplicity of sources.
Today, due to new media sources, we live in a trans-medial society where we are exposed to new forms of technology such as simulations and sx cinema and therefore we begin to have new representations.
In the long term we may be losing our collective identity to the internet. Shifts that occur can affect the our culture as consumers become prosumers, the audience becomes active rather than passive, and experts may not necessarily be experts any more as everyones works or ideas become valid. This may be due to the audience having more freedom with their feedback. In the old media there is a time delay between broadcast and the third party however now it is a two-way intgeraction between a broadcast and the audience. Media are no longer controlled by ologopolies but by the produser. It used to be the bigger audiences that were more valuable, however in the new media it is the smaller communities such as facebook friends or monile phone contacts. The internet contributes to the losses of copywrite as it is so easy to take others works and 'mash' them up with other works and pass them off as one's own. And so maybe this means the end of the artefact.
Huge shifts that have occured may seem recent but actually have been manifesting for a number of years. The digital switchover is an example of a technological shift, people now have to have digital to be able to watch the television. Artefacts can now be downloaded people do not consume as many as they used to. Sabbah talked about 'new media' as far back as 1985, stating that there was no longer a mass audience receiving messages they were given, but that audiences now select what they want to hear/see because of the multiplicity of sources.
Today, due to new media sources, we live in a trans-medial society where we are exposed to new forms of technology such as simulations and sx cinema and therefore we begin to have new representations.
In the long term we may be losing our collective identity to the internet. Shifts that occur can affect the our culture as consumers become prosumers, the audience becomes active rather than passive, and experts may not necessarily be experts any more as everyones works or ideas become valid. This may be due to the audience having more freedom with their feedback. In the old media there is a time delay between broadcast and the third party however now it is a two-way intgeraction between a broadcast and the audience. Media are no longer controlled by ologopolies but by the produser. It used to be the bigger audiences that were more valuable, however in the new media it is the smaller communities such as facebook friends or monile phone contacts. The internet contributes to the losses of copywrite as it is so easy to take others works and 'mash' them up with other works and pass them off as one's own. And so maybe this means the end of the artefact.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Moral Panic summary of end of article
The article is challenging the belief that others do not talk about it, if they were they would be thought as defending paedophiles. Therefore this article makes a clear discussion about paedophilia and how it has an increased horror to it by a moral panic.
Moral panic does not mention masculinity or even treatment for paedophiles, the media are only concerned with locking them up. The article states that nobody has dared to mention it is a mental illness suggesting that people are afraid to talk about it and perhaps defend paedophiles.
Paedophiles are associated with evil connotations such as : perverted, twisted, monstrous and sex maniacs. The definition of a paedophile however, is not clear. Panic is created because of the connotations it is linked with.
Megan’s’ law was passed immediately in 1996 in New Jersey after she was raped and murdered by a released sex offender. Individual states had already made laws to keep sex offenders in prison when due to be released. But when Megan kanka, a 7 year old girl, was killed it became a national law.
The article also states that the panic is unnecessary. Parents don’t need to be anxious about everyday events when concerning paedophiles. In fact more sexual abuse comes from within or around the family. (La Fontaine, 1990) The construction of paedophilia misrecognises real threats to children (McNeish and Roberts, 1995) -children are more likely to get harmed in accidents then by adult abuse, showing parent worry is panicked by the media which exaggerates the issue.
Paedophilia discourse misrecognises paedophiles as real men and instead they are a small minority who are different to normal men.
Moral panic does not mention masculinity or even treatment for paedophiles, the media are only concerned with locking them up. The article states that nobody has dared to mention it is a mental illness suggesting that people are afraid to talk about it and perhaps defend paedophiles.
Paedophiles are associated with evil connotations such as : perverted, twisted, monstrous and sex maniacs. The definition of a paedophile however, is not clear. Panic is created because of the connotations it is linked with.
Megan’s’ law was passed immediately in 1996 in New Jersey after she was raped and murdered by a released sex offender. Individual states had already made laws to keep sex offenders in prison when due to be released. But when Megan kanka, a 7 year old girl, was killed it became a national law.
The article also states that the panic is unnecessary. Parents don’t need to be anxious about everyday events when concerning paedophiles. In fact more sexual abuse comes from within or around the family. (La Fontaine, 1990) The construction of paedophilia misrecognises real threats to children (McNeish and Roberts, 1995) -children are more likely to get harmed in accidents then by adult abuse, showing parent worry is panicked by the media which exaggerates the issue.
Paedophilia discourse misrecognises paedophiles as real men and instead they are a small minority who are different to normal men.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Political Britain and the Media.
In today's lesson i learnt about the ideologies of political Britain including the French revolution and Marxism.
In 1789 the french revolution represented enlightenment and brought about a new way of thinking; freedom of thought. The working class in France at this time wanted an equality and so they killed the aristocracy and anyone involved with them. They wanted liberty and fraternity as the peasants had always remained at the bottom of the hierarchy. This was the beginning of scientific rationalism (Erasmus Darwin) and the rejection of religious beliefs which had been believed as true for centuries. Knowledge was now the key to explanations and there was a scientific answer for everything. Erasmus Darwin's grandson Charles Darwin wrote the 'Origin of Species' and this was the 'Theory of Evolution'.
Another ideology came from Karl Marx, a socialist, who developed the idea of marxism. He also invented the idea of communism however did not support it. The idea of Marxism is that the wealthy, owners of capital and means of production, were the ones who controlled society. He argued that the elite class were at the top of a heirarchy followed by the middle class and then the lower class who had no money and therefore no power.
From this came the Whigs who are now the liberals and the Tories. These made up the British government in Victorian times. However they were all part of the aristocracy or factory owners.
By the end of the 19th century there were three major groups. The liberals, conservatives and labour had been formed as a way of supporting the working class, they wanted an equal state. Labour had been influenced by socialism and marxism. The Liberals were influenced by economists such as Adam Smith; they wanted a free enonomy with no regulation and no minimum wage. Whereas Conservatives believed in pragmatism and the protection of old values.
A similar revolution had occured also in Russia, however instead of the working class killing off the aristocracy it was the intelectual class.
In 1789 the french revolution represented enlightenment and brought about a new way of thinking; freedom of thought. The working class in France at this time wanted an equality and so they killed the aristocracy and anyone involved with them. They wanted liberty and fraternity as the peasants had always remained at the bottom of the hierarchy. This was the beginning of scientific rationalism (Erasmus Darwin) and the rejection of religious beliefs which had been believed as true for centuries. Knowledge was now the key to explanations and there was a scientific answer for everything. Erasmus Darwin's grandson Charles Darwin wrote the 'Origin of Species' and this was the 'Theory of Evolution'.
Another ideology came from Karl Marx, a socialist, who developed the idea of marxism. He also invented the idea of communism however did not support it. The idea of Marxism is that the wealthy, owners of capital and means of production, were the ones who controlled society. He argued that the elite class were at the top of a heirarchy followed by the middle class and then the lower class who had no money and therefore no power.
From this came the Whigs who are now the liberals and the Tories. These made up the British government in Victorian times. However they were all part of the aristocracy or factory owners.
By the end of the 19th century there were three major groups. The liberals, conservatives and labour had been formed as a way of supporting the working class, they wanted an equal state. Labour had been influenced by socialism and marxism. The Liberals were influenced by economists such as Adam Smith; they wanted a free enonomy with no regulation and no minimum wage. Whereas Conservatives believed in pragmatism and the protection of old values.
A similar revolution had occured also in Russia, however instead of the working class killing off the aristocracy it was the intelectual class.
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
The portrayal of Britishness in Sense and Sensibility
Sense and sensibility is a British Drama film based on the novel by Jane Austen and was released in 1995. It was directed by Ang Lee and written by Emma thompson who also stars in the movie. The movie shows the situations needed to be dealt with when concerning family inheritance. During the time period of which this movie is set, 1811, wealth was passed down to the son in the family and not the women and therefore a widow and daughters, the Dashwoods, are left with only £500 a year to live on when the majority of money and a household is left to John Dashwood, Mr Dashwoods son. He is told by his father he must look after them.
The family are middle class and the ethnicity in the movie are white british people which is most likely to be because of the time period. It is shown that the family are not lower class as they do have their own servants, who they have to let go when the household is taken over.
Hugh Grant, who plays a large part in both films, plays the brother of Fanny who is Johns wife. She is more snobby and therefore quite rude as she picks faults within the family. Edward, Hugh Grants charcter, is the opposite to his sister as he is more understanding of the family who have just lost a dad and husband. He is also very comical and unique as he plays with one of the youngest daughters suggesting he is quite youthful and fun. His character in Four Weddings and a Funeral is very much the same as he is unreliable and always late out of bed suggesting his childish ways but is an amusing charcter in both films.
However Four weddings and a funeral has more of an diverse ethnicity as there are charcters from across the world, such as America. The focus more on younger adults whereas sense and sensibility concentrates on middle-aged adults or kids. The kids in the film however, do not understand the law and show the uncomfortability in the situation which has occured by asking questions and hiding.
Four Weddings and a Funeral was directed by Mike Newell and written by Richard Curtis who used Hugh Grant in many more films after this one. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy, Working Title Films and Channel 4 films; which may indicate the swearing used. If another institution had produced the film it wouldn't be as direct for example with the swearing used. The film follows a group of young adults at four different weddings and a funeral and suggests marriage happens when there is nothing else for a couple to do, whereas sense and sensibilty sees marriage as a sign of love and security not just simply for something to do.
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Comparison of Slumdog Millionaire and Somers Town.
Slumdog millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle, raises awareness for a lower economically developed country such as India. Channel 4 funded the film whereas Eurostar funded Somers Town. Slumdog millionaire is based in India whereas Somers Town in based in central London therefore Slumdog Millionaire is not thought of as an entirely British film. Slumdog was distributed by Pathe Pictures international, Fox Search Light Pictures who teamed up with Warner Bros.
Dev Patel plays a the protagonist in Slumdog Millionaire. He is a known actor for teen dramas such as Skins. Freida Pinto also plays a large part, she is best known for this, however also has a modelling career. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar was the yonger actor in the film playing a younger version of the protagonist, Slumdog was hs film debut but he has also been in advertisements such as kelloggs. Freida Pinto's younger self was played by Rubina Ali who since has a offer of films in Bollywood. Rubina was an ordinary child living in the slums of India; this has caused controversy to whether she was paid enough.
Somers Town stars Thomas Turgoose who is a well known film and television actor. He played in 'This is England' and 'Eden Lake'. He was born in 1992 and is still attending further education. Somers Town was distributed by 'Film Movement' and directed by Shane Meadows.
Dev Patel plays a the protagonist in Slumdog Millionaire. He is a known actor for teen dramas such as Skins. Freida Pinto also plays a large part, she is best known for this, however also has a modelling career. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar was the yonger actor in the film playing a younger version of the protagonist, Slumdog was hs film debut but he has also been in advertisements such as kelloggs. Freida Pinto's younger self was played by Rubina Ali who since has a offer of films in Bollywood. Rubina was an ordinary child living in the slums of India; this has caused controversy to whether she was paid enough.
Somers Town stars Thomas Turgoose who is a well known film and television actor. He played in 'This is England' and 'Eden Lake'. He was born in 1992 and is still attending further education. Somers Town was distributed by 'Film Movement' and directed by Shane Meadows.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Representing Contemporary Britain-(article summary)
This is an extremely detailed article which discovers the uses of different factors in the british film industry in recent years. The factors include, sexuality, class, ethnicity and gender. The writer states that 'few films are made with the sole purpose of exploring one particular aspect of cultural identity.
Sexual desire is thought to be an issue used throughout british cinema right now however is thought to be a more recent subject as times, traditions and also industries themselves, have changed. It talks about how sexual issues are uses, for example the writer says that it is usually 'over flippant' or 'joylessly earnest' meaning it is rather humourless. Homosexuality is a sublject which has only recently been touched and is almost an uneasy issue.
Class is still divided throughout films and this has been 'imbedded in a number of films'. Notting Hill for example, postitions itself within an area of social and also ethnic diversity. The writer uses the 1990's in particular as an example to show the importance of current issues and class differences in the real world. Films in this decade have a representation of the working class and films had the same issues of unemployment.
The article mentions of how Britain has been accused of not documenting ethnic minorities. They are accused of lacking a full view. This issue is discussed in further detail and it is argued that Films do explore cultural issues such as racism but then are claimed as not to be political enough.
Gender is discussed and Males coem across as the more dominant but also they have more demands in films of their characteristics.
To conclude the article it states that 'British cinema has always drawn upon the nation's cultural and historical heritage.
Sexual desire is thought to be an issue used throughout british cinema right now however is thought to be a more recent subject as times, traditions and also industries themselves, have changed. It talks about how sexual issues are uses, for example the writer says that it is usually 'over flippant' or 'joylessly earnest' meaning it is rather humourless. Homosexuality is a sublject which has only recently been touched and is almost an uneasy issue.
Class is still divided throughout films and this has been 'imbedded in a number of films'. Notting Hill for example, postitions itself within an area of social and also ethnic diversity. The writer uses the 1990's in particular as an example to show the importance of current issues and class differences in the real world. Films in this decade have a representation of the working class and films had the same issues of unemployment.
The article mentions of how Britain has been accused of not documenting ethnic minorities. They are accused of lacking a full view. This issue is discussed in further detail and it is argued that Films do explore cultural issues such as racism but then are claimed as not to be political enough.
Gender is discussed and Males coem across as the more dominant but also they have more demands in films of their characteristics.
To conclude the article it states that 'British cinema has always drawn upon the nation's cultural and historical heritage.
Monday, 14 September 2009
"A shiny, happy place, relaxed about the filthy rich, insatiable in its optimism, in love with happy endings,and very New Labour Welcome to Curtisland
The reading i completed about Curtisland showed me that films by Richard Curtis such as four weddings and a funeral and Notting Hill were related to politics in England quite closely. It also shows that Richard Curtis is talented in writing short sketches and sitcoms, however needs partnership to help smooth out each sketch within a film. Without partnership Curtis hasn't been so successful with his films as his latest release didnt go down too well with reviews. It was described as having a tone between 'college skit and big-budget disaster'. This is also the case in the first series of Black-adder as the work wasn't as'precise' as the later work with Ben Elton.
This article also compares Tony Blair to Richard Curtis by saying they both have thich skin as they have taken stick for what they do in their career.
This article also compares Tony Blair to Richard Curtis by saying they both have thich skin as they have taken stick for what they do in their career.
Monday, 13 July 2009
1970's : Post Hays Code
After the Hays Code broke down in 1966 films began to show more scenes that would have been dismissed by the code. More graphic depictions of sex and violence were shown and the films generally were amoral. They were unsentimental and showed anti-hero protagonists. For example Jack Carter in the 1970's movie 'Get Carter' was portrayed as a villain-like charcter he wasn't glamourised like the protagonist in 'The Italian Job' was. Similarities of Post Hays Code films to previous distributions were that they still had that strong North/South divide.
1980's
Until the 1980's women were pushed aside throughout the film industry. Female protagonists were now shown with more character and independence but also a variety of cultures aswell rather than just British/White ethnicity. Like 'Swinging London' 1980's focus on working class characters however has the industrial backdrop like 'New Wave'.
"Letter to Brezhnev" was a romcom we watched which reflects these 1980's qualities featuring two females as the protagonists. It shows them struggling with money in the economic crisis at the time and also we see them dating russian men rather than the original or typical English man from the previous ages of film.
"Letter to Brezhnev" was a romcom we watched which reflects these 1980's qualities featuring two females as the protagonists. It shows them struggling with money in the economic crisis at the time and also we see them dating russian men rather than the original or typical English man from the previous ages of film.
1970's: Post Hays Code
After the Hays Code broke down in 1966 films began to show more scenes that would have been dismissed by the code. More graphic depictions of sex and violence were shown and the films generally were amoral. They were unsentimental and showed anti-hero protagonists. For example Jack Carter in the 1970's movie 'Get Carter' was portrayed as a villain-like charcter he wasn't glamourised like the protagonist in 'The Italian Job' was. Similarities of Post Hays Code films to previous distributions were that they still had that strong North/South divide.
'Swinging London'
'Swinging London' films had diffences with the earlier films such as 1950's, they have a more slack or fluid class structure and were very playful. They are also interested in youth and are very optimistic. The Italian Job 1969, featuring Michael Caine, is a typical example of 'Swinging London' films. It focuses on fashion and culture opposed to war and home or family life. It also shows optimism for something that is generally negative; such as crime.
'New Wave'
'New Wave' began in the late 1950's and ran for a short period of time until the early 1960's around 1962. They feature working class people and for the first time show them as having more economic power than before. These films were often gritty, "kitchen sink" dramas where the working class were the protagonists. There is a strong sense of rigid divisions, especially between the North and the South and these films feature an industrial backdrop.
The directors for 'New Wave' were trained as documentary-makers before they moved into the mainstream cinema.
Saturday night, Sunday morning was a 'New Wave' film which we watched.
The directors for 'New Wave' were trained as documentary-makers before they moved into the mainstream cinema.
Saturday night, Sunday morning was a 'New Wave' film which we watched.
1950's Film
1950's films were mainly about war hence the post war timing. Dam Busters was a popular war film of the 1950's, shown in 1955.
Most film were very nostalgic and showed middle-class protagonists with conventional heroes. The protagonists are generally male and females are often marginalized and/or stereotyped.
The class structure within this era were very structured and fixed.
Most film were very nostalgic and showed middle-class protagonists with conventional heroes. The protagonists are generally male and females are often marginalized and/or stereotyped.
The class structure within this era were very structured and fixed.
Friday, 3 July 2009
Hays Code.
The Hays code was the first attempt to create rules and guidelines for film producers. It was published in 1930 as the motion picture production code.
The principles of the code stated that moral standards should not be lower than those who view it, and the audience shouldn't be pushed into the same side as the crime or wrongdoing in the film.
False interpretations of life should not be incorporated.
Law or natural things or human life should not be mocked.
The Hays code was used between 1930 and 1966.
The principles of the code stated that moral standards should not be lower than those who view it, and the audience shouldn't be pushed into the same side as the crime or wrongdoing in the film.
False interpretations of life should not be incorporated.
Law or natural things or human life should not be mocked.
The Hays code was used between 1930 and 1966.
Saturday night, Sunday morning.
Saturday night, Sunday morning shows a very realistic view of Britain at the time it was made. It represents the 'common people'.
It is set in an industrial town setting and rejects certain moral dominant issues of the time period. The main character is thought to be an anti-hero, a protagonist whos views are antiethical to traditional heroism.
It is a very gritty and provocative and holds up a mirror showing what Britain is really like.
It is set in an industrial town setting and rejects certain moral dominant issues of the time period. The main character is thought to be an anti-hero, a protagonist whos views are antiethical to traditional heroism.
It is a very gritty and provocative and holds up a mirror showing what Britain is really like.
C.A.G.E Analysis of Bend It Like Beckham
CLASS- Families in the film are of similar classes as we can see from the size of the houses and the mis-en-scene within the homes.
AGE- The youth have very different values to their parents, for example both parents don't believe in girls playing football they still believe it is a mens sport. Also parents wear traditional clothes which their jobs and religion require whereas the youth wear what they want to e.g. football kits. The youth have more diverse values.
GENDER- There are gender issues between the girls and boys as football is seen as a male dominated sport however in this film it is the girls that pursue it as theirs.
ETHNICITY- The ethnicity is up to date and shows a white culture with an asian family. The youth get on fine however there is an atmosphere between the parents towards the other culture. Jules' mother is very uneasy when talking to Jessminda and Jessmindas parents are very disgusted that Jess had apparently been seen with a 'White boy'.
AGE- The youth have very different values to their parents, for example both parents don't believe in girls playing football they still believe it is a mens sport. Also parents wear traditional clothes which their jobs and religion require whereas the youth wear what they want to e.g. football kits. The youth have more diverse values.
GENDER- There are gender issues between the girls and boys as football is seen as a male dominated sport however in this film it is the girls that pursue it as theirs.
ETHNICITY- The ethnicity is up to date and shows a white culture with an asian family. The youth get on fine however there is an atmosphere between the parents towards the other culture. Jules' mother is very uneasy when talking to Jessminda and Jessmindas parents are very disgusted that Jess had apparently been seen with a 'White boy'.
Britishness
Words and thoughts linked woth the idea of being British.
Tradition, for example, fish and chips, roast dinner and a cup of tea.
Strong Youth culture Todays youth is different to how it used to be.
Cultural diversity We now live ina society with many different cultures living together in one society, this wasn't always the same, due to immigration.
Stereotyped as posh which probably comes from the fact that we have a monarchy. Also we have a class structure.
Pride and Patriotic British people are proud of their culture.
Tradition, for example, fish and chips, roast dinner and a cup of tea.
Strong Youth culture Todays youth is different to how it used to be.
Cultural diversity We now live ina society with many different cultures living together in one society, this wasn't always the same, due to immigration.
Stereotyped as posh which probably comes from the fact that we have a monarchy. Also we have a class structure.
Pride and Patriotic British people are proud of their culture.
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Michael Caine!
Born: Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in South London 1933. He left Wilson's Grammar school to be an office boy for Peak Films. Michael hoped to be discovered with his next job which was with 'The J Arthur Rank organization' which was a huge company at the time. Michael joined National Service and served in Korea and Germany. After 2 years service he worked at Westminster repertory in sussex and then Lowestoft Repertory where he met his wife.
Michael and Patricia moved to London to pursue their acting dreams, however it proved difficult and patricia fell pregnant. They moved back to Patricias family home, and michael's dad passed away.
Michael left fro Paris to sort his self out and worked in a snack bar, he then returned home after a short while.
He gained a part in 'A Hill In Korea' but it was not a success and he was forced to find a new agent.
He played a part in 'The Chimes' Charles Dickens in the East End theatre and a few other plays on TV.
Michaels determination grew stronger after he was told to give acting up by the Chief Casting Director of Associated British Films.
He starred in more than 100 films and has been awarded the Academy Award in every decade since the 1960's. The Italian Job and Get Carter have been huge success's for Caine and his recent work included part in Batman, Alfie and Children Of Men.
Michael and Patricia moved to London to pursue their acting dreams, however it proved difficult and patricia fell pregnant. They moved back to Patricias family home, and michael's dad passed away.
Michael left fro Paris to sort his self out and worked in a snack bar, he then returned home after a short while.
He gained a part in 'A Hill In Korea' but it was not a success and he was forced to find a new agent.
He played a part in 'The Chimes' Charles Dickens in the East End theatre and a few other plays on TV.
Michaels determination grew stronger after he was told to give acting up by the Chief Casting Director of Associated British Films.
He starred in more than 100 films and has been awarded the Academy Award in every decade since the 1960's. The Italian Job and Get Carter have been huge success's for Caine and his recent work included part in Batman, Alfie and Children Of Men.
Working Title Films
Working Title Films is a British production company in London. It was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1982. It sometimes produces television productions but usually only feature films. Eric Fellner is a co-owner of the company along with Bevan.
These are some of the films working title has produced...
Hot Fuzz
The Borrowers
About a Boy
The Calcium Kid
Atonement
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Love Actually
Notting Hill
Shaun of the Dead
Wimbledon
Universal Studios and BBC Film are the parent company.
These are some of the films working title has produced...
Hot Fuzz
The Borrowers
About a Boy
The Calcium Kid
Atonement
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Love Actually
Notting Hill
Shaun of the Dead
Wimbledon
Universal Studios and BBC Film are the parent company.
Exploring British Film Websites and current Britsish Films.
The British Film Institute, http://www.bfi.org.uk/ , is quite a modern-looking page it uses simple colours such as black and white. It shows events that are coming up which involve the BFI itself such as events evolving around directors and film viewings. It also shows information of a new movies e.g. Transformers. On the other side pf the page there is previews from other films.
It also includes dates of tours, releases and a gallery.
The BFI has its own filmstore aswell, there is also vistitor info and a ticket line number.
The Uk Film Council, http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/ ,shows a trailer of British films together.
Its main points on the website talk about funding, cultural impact and what makes a film British.
"One of the UK's official bilateral co-production treaties; or
The European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production; or
The Cultural Test (Schedule 1 to the Films Act 1985)."
It appears to be aimes at a more younger audience than the BFI as the colours are more varied and it is not only black that is used.
The bbfc ,http://www.bbfc.co.uk/, is more direct and has a simple layout towards film. It has an introduction in the middle of the page explaining its intended use which is helpful. It says that its intention is to keep the British public informed about the bbfc works, classicfications, policies and how to submit videos/films.
It also has a variation of websites for other audiences such as children, students parents and teachers.
It also includes dates of tours, releases and a gallery.
The BFI has its own filmstore aswell, there is also vistitor info and a ticket line number.
The Uk Film Council, http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/ ,shows a trailer of British films together.
Its main points on the website talk about funding, cultural impact and what makes a film British.
"One of the UK's official bilateral co-production treaties; or
The European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production; or
The Cultural Test (Schedule 1 to the Films Act 1985)."
It appears to be aimes at a more younger audience than the BFI as the colours are more varied and it is not only black that is used.
The bbfc ,http://www.bbfc.co.uk/, is more direct and has a simple layout towards film. It has an introduction in the middle of the page explaining its intended use which is helpful. It says that its intention is to keep the British public informed about the bbfc works, classicfications, policies and how to submit videos/films.
It also has a variation of websites for other audiences such as children, students parents and teachers.
Teaser trailers...
A teaser trailer is a short trailer which shows an upcoming movie it can be shown on our screens two years before the movie is due to be screened this is why they are known as 'teaser trailers'. They are much shorter than ordinary trailers and they do not contain much of the original footage, if any at all.
Spider man 3 uses a teaser trailer, as does Toy Story 3 and Ice Age 3.
Spider man 3 uses a teaser trailer, as does Toy Story 3 and Ice Age 3.
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Final Media Evaluation: 'Blue Alleyway'
Evaluation
Blue Alleyway.
When first thinking up ideas for a film, we had to decide on a genre, themes, settings and actors. We decided a horror or thriller film would be the most simple to make as the conventions and mis-en-scene is more obvious to work with then a romance or maybe a comedy. We changed our idea a lot as we went through the planning process, especially the setting. At first an outside setting would have looked great however we would have needed a lot of time and patience to get the shots right in correct lighting. This is why we decided to have the film take place inside; luckily we had a suitable flat to use. We filmed part of the film outside as we had a specific alleyway we wanted to incorporate in our film. We didn’t decide on the acting straight away until we came up with the story, which was when we chose what we each wanted to do.
As part of the media task we needed to use certain conventions and mis-en-scene of our particular genre. We had three quick shots to begin with which incorporated a black and white theme, we did this to give mystery to the opening of our film. For one character in our film we used dark clothing to setup bad connotations of that person. We used a typical setting for a university student, our main character, a classic en-suite room. We kept the room simple and tidy; we added a “night nurse” medicine box on the bed-side cabinet to denote our character’s sleeping problems, suggesting she isn’t mentally healthy. We also added a pair of reading glasses on the ledge near the bed which we used to give connotations of intelligence. When filming into the mirror, a canvas with different faces could be seen on the wall opposite. This was deliberate, we used this as it could be associated with our character’s schizophrenia. We were lucky to be able to film when the moon was at its fullest so we included it into our film as it fits in with our particular genre.
We included a series of different shots in our film. We used a panning shot when showing a particular character walk from one point to another. We also used a close up when having a cigarette being lit up. We also showed that we used the 180 degree rule, we showed this by having the camera rotate following the character but making sure it didn’t exceed 180 degrees. We also used an over the shoulder shot as the main character looked in to the mirror at herself, letting the audience feel her point of view.
We aimed our film towards an older audience as it wouldn’t be suitable for young children. It will also attract students or maybe teenagers as the main character is a student herself and deals with situations, teenagers are likely to deal with. To enthral this type of social group we created our main character as a typical university student which was simpler for us as we knew what to include from personal preferences for example clothes or type of room. We also thought about the type of personality this character would have. It was challenging to reveal her personality in the first two minutes however we filmed a phone call scene which showed her talking normally on the phone to a friend, this suggested the kind of person she was as she rejected a friend’s invitation to go out suggesting her not so out-going nature. We later deleted our phone call scene as it decayed the feeling of suspense which is what we were given as feedback when showing a preview of our film to a real audience. To engage the more mature audience, the flat we used was kept un-cluttered and well ordered to avoid the setting being too complex for the audience to absorb. Our main target audience was towards C1, C2, D, and E. Our film may appear to the middle-class and higher middle-class as it is a psychological thriller and there is thinking involved in working out the storyline. However they wouldn’t necessarily always have the time to watch a film so we aimed it at the other audience types as we felt they would definitely enjoy it.
Another reason we chose our plot was because it was more straight forward to represent social groups as we can associate our character with our real lives and add our own knowledge of what we thought would represent our age group and also typical students. Our project shows problems a student may face when dealing with the workload and stress they may be feeling. By having someone ‘beaten up’ in our film we suggested the younger age groups as adults deal with obstacles in life differently to teenagers.
Our particular film may be distributed by ‘Film 4’ or could even be shown on ‘itv1’ or ‘itv2’ after 9pm as it is too disturbing to be shown before this time.
Our filming was a lot more time consuming then we had originally thought it would be. It was difficult to take the outside shots as people or cars went past. Also the shots that show our main character being sick required a lot of attention to assure it looked realistic.
The technologies were quite bothersome when first attempting to edit the project. It was complex splitting scenes and putting them together. However once we finally achieved a way of doing this our editing process moved along much quicker. Finding music for the film was also quite challenging as we had to avoid copyright complications. It was also difficult to find a piece of music that fitted our scenes. We all wanted something that felt right to create the suspense we wanted in our film. We managed to use three different pieces which worked extremely well with the whole film. It was beneficial to understand how the technology for the editing worked as we were then able to practice putting in our credits. It was even quite fun creating our film and playing with different effects and themes.
From my original preliminary task I feel I have learned more about and understand the combinations of making a film and editing it. I also believe I have learnt a lot more about the conventions and mis-en-scene as we were able to add these into our film effectively. I have understood it as I have now seen the results and the effects of this. The audience’s feedback also suggested the conventions and mis-en-scene used had worked as they said the suspense created made it creepy and scared them slightly too. A criticism we had was that our phone call ruined the atmosphere and lowered the level of suspense. This is why we chose to cut this scene and delete the audio out of it because we wanted it to be right for the audience not us. It was also exciting adding voice to the film especially when watching the film back. We used our soliloquy to inform the audience of the characters main thoughts and feelings and give them an insight to what she is like. It was a clever way in telling some of the story by just using a recorded voice.
Overall, I am pleased with the final version even though it was very time-consuming and ambitious to get it the exact way we would have liked it to be. I have realized some parts of a film have to be changed as not everything always works well together, for example our phone call and certain shots which either didn’t match up or ruined the film’s sense of flow. However I really love our film and it was an exciting task to complete it.
My blog hyperlink: http://cherwellmediamcritchlow.blogspot.com/
(1310 words.)
Blue Alleyway.
When first thinking up ideas for a film, we had to decide on a genre, themes, settings and actors. We decided a horror or thriller film would be the most simple to make as the conventions and mis-en-scene is more obvious to work with then a romance or maybe a comedy. We changed our idea a lot as we went through the planning process, especially the setting. At first an outside setting would have looked great however we would have needed a lot of time and patience to get the shots right in correct lighting. This is why we decided to have the film take place inside; luckily we had a suitable flat to use. We filmed part of the film outside as we had a specific alleyway we wanted to incorporate in our film. We didn’t decide on the acting straight away until we came up with the story, which was when we chose what we each wanted to do.
As part of the media task we needed to use certain conventions and mis-en-scene of our particular genre. We had three quick shots to begin with which incorporated a black and white theme, we did this to give mystery to the opening of our film. For one character in our film we used dark clothing to setup bad connotations of that person. We used a typical setting for a university student, our main character, a classic en-suite room. We kept the room simple and tidy; we added a “night nurse” medicine box on the bed-side cabinet to denote our character’s sleeping problems, suggesting she isn’t mentally healthy. We also added a pair of reading glasses on the ledge near the bed which we used to give connotations of intelligence. When filming into the mirror, a canvas with different faces could be seen on the wall opposite. This was deliberate, we used this as it could be associated with our character’s schizophrenia. We were lucky to be able to film when the moon was at its fullest so we included it into our film as it fits in with our particular genre.
We included a series of different shots in our film. We used a panning shot when showing a particular character walk from one point to another. We also used a close up when having a cigarette being lit up. We also showed that we used the 180 degree rule, we showed this by having the camera rotate following the character but making sure it didn’t exceed 180 degrees. We also used an over the shoulder shot as the main character looked in to the mirror at herself, letting the audience feel her point of view.
We aimed our film towards an older audience as it wouldn’t be suitable for young children. It will also attract students or maybe teenagers as the main character is a student herself and deals with situations, teenagers are likely to deal with. To enthral this type of social group we created our main character as a typical university student which was simpler for us as we knew what to include from personal preferences for example clothes or type of room. We also thought about the type of personality this character would have. It was challenging to reveal her personality in the first two minutes however we filmed a phone call scene which showed her talking normally on the phone to a friend, this suggested the kind of person she was as she rejected a friend’s invitation to go out suggesting her not so out-going nature. We later deleted our phone call scene as it decayed the feeling of suspense which is what we were given as feedback when showing a preview of our film to a real audience. To engage the more mature audience, the flat we used was kept un-cluttered and well ordered to avoid the setting being too complex for the audience to absorb. Our main target audience was towards C1, C2, D, and E. Our film may appear to the middle-class and higher middle-class as it is a psychological thriller and there is thinking involved in working out the storyline. However they wouldn’t necessarily always have the time to watch a film so we aimed it at the other audience types as we felt they would definitely enjoy it.
Another reason we chose our plot was because it was more straight forward to represent social groups as we can associate our character with our real lives and add our own knowledge of what we thought would represent our age group and also typical students. Our project shows problems a student may face when dealing with the workload and stress they may be feeling. By having someone ‘beaten up’ in our film we suggested the younger age groups as adults deal with obstacles in life differently to teenagers.
Our particular film may be distributed by ‘Film 4’ or could even be shown on ‘itv1’ or ‘itv2’ after 9pm as it is too disturbing to be shown before this time.
Our filming was a lot more time consuming then we had originally thought it would be. It was difficult to take the outside shots as people or cars went past. Also the shots that show our main character being sick required a lot of attention to assure it looked realistic.
The technologies were quite bothersome when first attempting to edit the project. It was complex splitting scenes and putting them together. However once we finally achieved a way of doing this our editing process moved along much quicker. Finding music for the film was also quite challenging as we had to avoid copyright complications. It was also difficult to find a piece of music that fitted our scenes. We all wanted something that felt right to create the suspense we wanted in our film. We managed to use three different pieces which worked extremely well with the whole film. It was beneficial to understand how the technology for the editing worked as we were then able to practice putting in our credits. It was even quite fun creating our film and playing with different effects and themes.
From my original preliminary task I feel I have learned more about and understand the combinations of making a film and editing it. I also believe I have learnt a lot more about the conventions and mis-en-scene as we were able to add these into our film effectively. I have understood it as I have now seen the results and the effects of this. The audience’s feedback also suggested the conventions and mis-en-scene used had worked as they said the suspense created made it creepy and scared them slightly too. A criticism we had was that our phone call ruined the atmosphere and lowered the level of suspense. This is why we chose to cut this scene and delete the audio out of it because we wanted it to be right for the audience not us. It was also exciting adding voice to the film especially when watching the film back. We used our soliloquy to inform the audience of the characters main thoughts and feelings and give them an insight to what she is like. It was a clever way in telling some of the story by just using a recorded voice.
Overall, I am pleased with the final version even though it was very time-consuming and ambitious to get it the exact way we would have liked it to be. I have realized some parts of a film have to be changed as not everything always works well together, for example our phone call and certain shots which either didn’t match up or ruined the film’s sense of flow. However I really love our film and it was an exciting task to complete it.
My blog hyperlink: http://cherwellmediamcritchlow.blogspot.com/
(1310 words.)
Monday, 2 March 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Draft Blue Alleyway Evaluation
Media Evaluation
When first thinking up ideas for a film, we had to decide on a genre, themes, setting and actors. We decided a horror/thriller film would be the most simple to make as the conventions and mis-en-scene is more obvious to work with then a romance or maybe comedy. We changed our idea a lot as we went through the planning process, especially the setting. At first an outside setting would have looked great however we would have needed a lot of time and patience to get the shots right in correct lighting. This is why we decided to have the film take place inside, which was lucky that we had a suitable flat to use. We filmed part of the film outside as we had a specific alleyway we wanted to incorporate in our film. We didn’t decide on the acting straight away until we came up with the story which was when we chose what we each wanted to do.
As part of the media task we needed to use certain conventions and mis-en-scene of our particular genre. We had three quick shots to begin with which incorporated a black and white theme, we did this to give mystery to the opening of our film. For one character in our film we used dark clothing to give bad connotations of that person. We used a typical setting for a university student, which was our main character, a classic en-suite room. We kept the room simple and tidy; we added a “night nurse” medicine box on the bed-side cabinet to denote our characters sleeping problems showing she isn’t mentally healthy. We also added a pair of reading glasses on the ledge near the bed which we used to give connotations of intelligence. When filming into the mirror, a canvas showing different faces is on the wall opposite, deliberately, we used this as it could be associated with our characters’ schizophrenia. We were lucky to be able to film when the moon was at its fullest so we included it into our film as it fits in with our particular genre.
We included a series of different shots in our film. We used a panning shot when showing a particular character walk from one point to another. We also used a close up when having a cigarette being lit up. We also showed that we used the 180 degree rule, as when the camera followed the character we made sure it didn’t exceed 180 degrees. We also used a over the shoulder shot when as the main character looked in the mirror at herself.
We aimed our film towards an older audience as it wouldn’t be suitable for young children. It will also attract students or maybe teenagers as the main character is a student herself and deals with situations, teenagers are likely to deal with. To enthral this type of social group we managed to have our main character as a typical university student, we also thought out the clothes and type of personality this student would have when around their friends. We showed her relationship with a friend in a phone call; however we later deleted our phone call scene as it decayed the feeling of suspense. To engage the more mature audience, the flat we used was kept un-cluttered and well ordered to avoid the setting being too complex for the audience to absorb. Our main audience was C1, C2, D, and E. Our film may appear to the middle-class and higher middle-class as it is a psychological thriller and there is thinking involved in working out the storyline. However they wouldn’t necessarily always have the time to watch film so we aimed it at the other audience types.
Another reason we chose our plot was because it was more straight forward to represent social groups as we can associate our character with our real lives and add our own knowledge of what we thought would represent our age group and also typical students. Our project shows problems a student may face when dealing with the workload and stress they may be feeling. By having someone get ‘beaten up’ in our film showed this kind of age group are likely to have problems with relationships and may also have trouble coping with them.
Our particular film may be distributed by ‘film 4’ or could even be shown on ‘itv1’ or ‘itv2’ after 9pm as it is too disturbing to be shown before this time.
Our filming was a lot more time consuming then we had originally thought it would be. It was difficult to take the outside shots as people or cars go past. Also our shots that show our main character being sick required a lot of attention to assure it looked realistic.
The technologies were quite bothersome when first attempting to edit the project. It was complex in splitting scenes and putting them together. However once we finally achieved a way of doing this our editing process moved along much quicker. Finding music for the film was also quite challenging as we had to avoid copyright problems. It was also difficult to find a piece of music that fitted our scenes and had the right feel to it for the suspense we wanted the film to give. We managed to use three different pieces which worked extremely well with the whole film. It was beneficial to understand how the technology for the editing worked as we were then able to practice putting in our credits. It was even quite fun creating our film and playing with different effects and themes.
From my original preliminary task I feel I have gained the tactility to understand the combinations of making a film and editing it also. I also believe I have learnt a lot more about the conventions and mis-en-scene as we were able to add these into our film effectively. I have understood it as I have now seen the results and the effects of this. The audience’s feedback also suggested the conventions and mis-en-scene used had worked as they said the suspense created really worked. A criticism we had was that our phone call ruined the atmosphere and lowered the level of suspense we had at the start this is why we chose to cut this scene and delete the audio out of it. It was also exciting adding voice to the film especially when watching the film back. We used our soliloquy to inform the audience of the characters main thoughts and feelings and give them an insight to what she is like. It was a simple way to do so.
Overall, am pleased with the final version even though it was very time-consuming and ambitious to get it the exact way we would have liked it to be. I have realized some parts a film have to be changed as not everything always works well together, for example our phone call and certain shots which either didn’t match up or ruined the film’s sense of flow.
When first thinking up ideas for a film, we had to decide on a genre, themes, setting and actors. We decided a horror/thriller film would be the most simple to make as the conventions and mis-en-scene is more obvious to work with then a romance or maybe comedy. We changed our idea a lot as we went through the planning process, especially the setting. At first an outside setting would have looked great however we would have needed a lot of time and patience to get the shots right in correct lighting. This is why we decided to have the film take place inside, which was lucky that we had a suitable flat to use. We filmed part of the film outside as we had a specific alleyway we wanted to incorporate in our film. We didn’t decide on the acting straight away until we came up with the story which was when we chose what we each wanted to do.
As part of the media task we needed to use certain conventions and mis-en-scene of our particular genre. We had three quick shots to begin with which incorporated a black and white theme, we did this to give mystery to the opening of our film. For one character in our film we used dark clothing to give bad connotations of that person. We used a typical setting for a university student, which was our main character, a classic en-suite room. We kept the room simple and tidy; we added a “night nurse” medicine box on the bed-side cabinet to denote our characters sleeping problems showing she isn’t mentally healthy. We also added a pair of reading glasses on the ledge near the bed which we used to give connotations of intelligence. When filming into the mirror, a canvas showing different faces is on the wall opposite, deliberately, we used this as it could be associated with our characters’ schizophrenia. We were lucky to be able to film when the moon was at its fullest so we included it into our film as it fits in with our particular genre.
We included a series of different shots in our film. We used a panning shot when showing a particular character walk from one point to another. We also used a close up when having a cigarette being lit up. We also showed that we used the 180 degree rule, as when the camera followed the character we made sure it didn’t exceed 180 degrees. We also used a over the shoulder shot when as the main character looked in the mirror at herself.
We aimed our film towards an older audience as it wouldn’t be suitable for young children. It will also attract students or maybe teenagers as the main character is a student herself and deals with situations, teenagers are likely to deal with. To enthral this type of social group we managed to have our main character as a typical university student, we also thought out the clothes and type of personality this student would have when around their friends. We showed her relationship with a friend in a phone call; however we later deleted our phone call scene as it decayed the feeling of suspense. To engage the more mature audience, the flat we used was kept un-cluttered and well ordered to avoid the setting being too complex for the audience to absorb. Our main audience was C1, C2, D, and E. Our film may appear to the middle-class and higher middle-class as it is a psychological thriller and there is thinking involved in working out the storyline. However they wouldn’t necessarily always have the time to watch film so we aimed it at the other audience types.
Another reason we chose our plot was because it was more straight forward to represent social groups as we can associate our character with our real lives and add our own knowledge of what we thought would represent our age group and also typical students. Our project shows problems a student may face when dealing with the workload and stress they may be feeling. By having someone get ‘beaten up’ in our film showed this kind of age group are likely to have problems with relationships and may also have trouble coping with them.
Our particular film may be distributed by ‘film 4’ or could even be shown on ‘itv1’ or ‘itv2’ after 9pm as it is too disturbing to be shown before this time.
Our filming was a lot more time consuming then we had originally thought it would be. It was difficult to take the outside shots as people or cars go past. Also our shots that show our main character being sick required a lot of attention to assure it looked realistic.
The technologies were quite bothersome when first attempting to edit the project. It was complex in splitting scenes and putting them together. However once we finally achieved a way of doing this our editing process moved along much quicker. Finding music for the film was also quite challenging as we had to avoid copyright problems. It was also difficult to find a piece of music that fitted our scenes and had the right feel to it for the suspense we wanted the film to give. We managed to use three different pieces which worked extremely well with the whole film. It was beneficial to understand how the technology for the editing worked as we were then able to practice putting in our credits. It was even quite fun creating our film and playing with different effects and themes.
From my original preliminary task I feel I have gained the tactility to understand the combinations of making a film and editing it also. I also believe I have learnt a lot more about the conventions and mis-en-scene as we were able to add these into our film effectively. I have understood it as I have now seen the results and the effects of this. The audience’s feedback also suggested the conventions and mis-en-scene used had worked as they said the suspense created really worked. A criticism we had was that our phone call ruined the atmosphere and lowered the level of suspense we had at the start this is why we chose to cut this scene and delete the audio out of it. It was also exciting adding voice to the film especially when watching the film back. We used our soliloquy to inform the audience of the characters main thoughts and feelings and give them an insight to what she is like. It was a simple way to do so.
Overall, am pleased with the final version even though it was very time-consuming and ambitious to get it the exact way we would have liked it to be. I have realized some parts a film have to be changed as not everything always works well together, for example our phone call and certain shots which either didn’t match up or ruined the film’s sense of flow.
Friday, 30 January 2009
Update.
When recording our film we initailly assumed it would be easier and time saving to take loads of shots and cut and edit them when we had done all the filming. However we found the editing programme quite intricate and therefore we had lost alot of time trying to understand how it works. Once we were accustomed to it, everything got moving alot quicker and more swiftly.
We had to adjust some of our cuts for the film to flow properly, as when put together it didn't look quite right according to how we had originally thought it would.
Muisc was also challenging to arrange as we had to be careful as to avoid copyright, we used 'Audio Network PLC', http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/.
We had to adjust some of our cuts for the film to flow properly, as when put together it didn't look quite right according to how we had originally thought it would.
Muisc was also challenging to arrange as we had to be careful as to avoid copyright, we used 'Audio Network PLC', http://audio.lgfl.org.uk/.
Our film soliloquy
When will things change?
When will the madness end?
Is this a justification from right to wrong?
Could any of this be real, maybe I’m just dreaming and yet to wake up from the reality of my passed.
The passed reminds me of simple vivid images that I later on regret to see or remember.
Psychologically was it true what I was capable of, it can’t be true.
Lies and deceit begin to take over my life again and again.
My own thoughts and manifestos delude me; I become insane in my own membrane.
Everything is a battle from here on, onwards.
When will the madness end?
Is this a justification from right to wrong?
Could any of this be real, maybe I’m just dreaming and yet to wake up from the reality of my passed.
The passed reminds me of simple vivid images that I later on regret to see or remember.
Psychologically was it true what I was capable of, it can’t be true.
Lies and deceit begin to take over my life again and again.
My own thoughts and manifestos delude me; I become insane in my own membrane.
Everything is a battle from here on, onwards.
Film Pitch
Living in the heart of Oxford criminology student Steph grows increasingly paranoid as young girls begin to turn up dead around campus. This gruesome yet gripping psychological thriller will keep you guessing as the plot takes a harsh turn of events revealing the horrific truth.
Research of Genre and Film influences
- The genre of our film is: Psychological Thriller.- This is a sub-genre of the wide ranging Thriller genre, which can also be closely linked to the genre’s horror and mystery. - Thriller are usually full of suspense, serious and sometimes disturbing content, they are meant to shock and excite the senses. Psychological Thrillers add elements that can be related to the psyche.- We chose three films that influenced our ideas and best related to our film.- “Hide and Seek” directed by John Polson, written by Ari Schlossberg and released on the 25th February 2005. The genre is described as a horror/mystery/psychological thriller, the exact genre’s we wish to convey with our piece. We noted the movies techniques of suspense using build ups of tense music and long camera shots followed by quick sudden actions to encapsulate the perfect level of anticipation, which if we were to make our whole film we would want to demonstrate similar techniques. We also thought the unexpected twist in the plot leading to a switch of focus in the film as the protagonist becomes the bad guy created a direct parallel between our own ideas and the plot of “Hide and Seek”. - “Fight Club” directed by David Fincher, Written by Chuck Palahniuk (novel) and Jim Uhls (screenplay) and released on 12th November 1999. Described as a action, drama, thriller although does not have the horror element we wish to embody in our own project there are many parallels between the psychological elements of the film, in particular the hallucinations. If we were to make the entire film we could use many of the techniques for distorting camera angles to recreate the distorted head of the protagonist. For our introduction we wish to take influence on the lighting and camera angles for the alleyway seen, distorting light and having fast pace music as “Fight club” includes in the more violent scenes of the film.- “Scream” directed by Wes Craven, written by Kevin Williamson and released on 2nd May 1997. The film is described as a Horror/Thriller. We wished to learn from the stereotypical horror genre elements of the film. That build suspense for the viewer, two particular influences for us were the setting, in your own home (the way they take away the comfort and safety of your home), the protagonist (teenage girls are the typical victims) and recognisable motifs, for example answering a phone alone at night, leading to come kind of trouble.
- The genre of our film is: Psychological Thriller.- This is a sub-genre of the wide ranging Thriller genre, which can also be closely linked to the genre’s horror and mystery. - Thriller are usually full of suspense, serious and sometimes disturbing content, they are meant to shock and excite the senses. Psychological Thrillers add elements that can be related to the psyche.- We chose three films that influenced our ideas and best related to our film.- “Hide and Seek” directed by John Polson, written by Ari Schlossberg and released on the 25th February 2005. The genre is described as a horror/mystery/psychological thriller, the exact genre’s we wish to convey with our piece. We noted the movies techniques of suspense using build ups of tense music and long camera shots followed by quick sudden actions to encapsulate the perfect level of anticipation, which if we were to make our whole film we would want to demonstrate similar techniques. We also thought the unexpected twist in the plot leading to a switch of focus in the film as the protagonist becomes the bad guy created a direct parallel between our own ideas and the plot of “Hide and Seek”. - “Fight Club” directed by David Fincher, Written by Chuck Palahniuk (novel) and Jim Uhls (screenplay) and released on 12th November 1999. Described as a action, drama, thriller although does not have the horror element we wish to embody in our own project there are many parallels between the psychological elements of the film, in particular the hallucinations. If we were to make the entire film we could use many of the techniques for distorting camera angles to recreate the distorted head of the protagonist. For our introduction we wish to take influence on the lighting and camera angles for the alleyway seen, distorting light and having fast pace music as “Fight club” includes in the more violent scenes of the film.- “Scream” directed by Wes Craven, written by Kevin Williamson and released on 2nd May 1997. The film is described as a Horror/Thriller. We wished to learn from the stereotypical horror genre elements of the film. That build suspense for the viewer, two particular influences for us were the setting, in your own home (the way they take away the comfort and safety of your home), the protagonist (teenage girls are the typical victims) and recognisable motifs, for example answering a phone alone at night, leading to come kind of trouble.
For the first shot we will a line of sugar which we will suck up a rolled up ten pound note, to represent someone taking cocaine. This opening image will connote to an audience how distorted the character’s mind is throughout. In the editing process we may use effects or colour changes, perhaps black and white; to emphasize this further.
This shot will be sudden and also fast and there will be an emphasis on the noise of the slamming door to show the urgency of the character.
This frame will be in a similar quick style as to the two preceding, it will show someone lighting a cigarette and exhaling; again connoting stress or anguish. Following on nicely from the first two frames however contrasting the fourth which will be a longer shot.
Contrasting the shots preceding this shot will last longer. A long shot by panning, as the character as they walk from left to right. The length of this shot and the music we add will add suspense. We may also add the titles to this frame perhaps rolling upwards.
This shot will pan from left to right as one character walks into the alleyway and approaches the other. The shot will last between 4-6 seconds and will end sharpy just as one character reaches the other, before the action. Causing confusion and suspense for the audience.
This will contrast the frame preceding. It will be a fast shot and similar shots will be repeated in between similar shots in the alleyway. This frame is set after the events of the alleyway however showing the frames as if in the same time frame links the two events, connoting to an audience that perhaps this character is vommiting due to the events in the alleyway.
This will be 1-3 seconds long. It will show two characters fighting in an alleyway and will be repeated between the repeated frames of the preceding frame. We may add effects in the editing process to disort the frames.
This shot will again be a quick shot however will break the repetition of the similar shots.
This will last between 1-2 seconds, it will zoom in on the characters. The quickness of this frame contrasting to the ones preceding and afterwards represent this as perhaps a memory of flash back of the girl in the apartment.
This shot will last between 8-15 seconds, it will have a voice over of the characters thoughts as she looks into the mirror, revealing characterisation and intialising a plot. However the dialogue and disortion using mirrors will still cause confusion and tension for the audience.
This will last between 1-2 seconds, it will zoom in on the characters. The quickness of this frame contrasting to the ones preceding and afterwards represent this as perhaps a memory of flash back of the girl in the apartment. A repition an earlier frame.
storyboard changes
During the making of our film, we had to change our storyboards as changes needed to be made to a number of things.
Old and new storyboard to follow...
- lighting
- flow and order of shots
- length of shots
- position of shots
This all changed mainly because of a different setting and we were only able to make estimations on the setting before we saw it. However we managed to alter what we could in order for it to be a success, including a new story board.
Old and new storyboard to follow...
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
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