Tuesday 17 July 2012

Understanding theoretical issues.

Representation
Representation refers to the re-presentation of certain aspects of reality such as gender, race, age, location, disability etc. Media texts are representations of reality as they are written, composed, framed, cropped, branded, targeted and edited by producers. Arguably, they are artificial versions of reality. For example, the character Benigni is represented as weak and lonely which is signified through the long shot as it reveals the empty room. The shot also portrays him as dull as the brown wallpaper/carpet connote unexciting colours. Therefore, the short film is representing old people as lonely and uninteresting. 
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas or beliefs that represent a person's actions, emotions, personality, goals or expectations etc. In the media, its the ideas behind a text which is basically the purpose made by its producers. For example, some dominant ideologies in society such as football is seen with a hegemonic (dominant) status in the UK. This is because newspapers are dominated in the sports section so everyone is expected to understand and accept its national importance. 
Audience
An audience is people who watch or listen to a television, radio program, a play, movie, concert, etc. They are the consumer of a product. Target audience is when certain people are targeted for a certain product, for example: a barbie doll advert will include pink colours to target girls. In the media, The Hypodermic Needle Model, explains how passive audience's recieve information without challenging what it is. It suggests that in society, "information from a media text passes into the mass consciouness of the audience unmediated, ie the experience, intelligence and opinion of an individual are not relevant to the reception of the text." (http://www.mediaknowall.comTherefore, it means that as an audience, we are manipulated by the media. Furthermore, our beliefs, ideologies and personality are all controlled by the media as this is a passive audience. Active audience's are people that challenge or question what information they are receiving. They are not controlled by the media.










The gif above explains how passive audiences take in information. Additionally, I also found this short film which is about passive audience's in society. The characters in the film are controlled their 'leader' through media such as TV. They think they know the real world but in reality they are controlled by the media. 


Institution
An institution is an organization or brand, for example, Chalfonts Community College is an institution. In the media, institutions are responsible for producing media texts such as: film, newspapers, magazines, music, tv, radio and the internet. Institutions include its producers, their set of codes and values, and their relationship to an audience.

Monday 16 July 2012

Short film: blik.


Investigating short films

 Benigni


Lifeline


 
Alarm



Do they adhere to or challenge the traditional conventions?
Above is my research into what I believe the main codes and conventions are of short films, and whether 3 examples of short films fit into the 'rules' for a short film. Practically all examples fitted in perfectly as all where under 10 minutes and all of them show a sense of ambiguity. On top of this, most of the narratives where unclear which adds to the convention of an ambiguous nature in short film. Furthermore, all examples show no dialogue and all films included a twist, focusing mainly on the protagonist. Therefore, through investigating 3 short films, I have found that most films adhere to the conventions of short film, even though most short films challenge 'mainstream' labels. 

Monday 9 July 2012

Codes and conventions of a film review.

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Secondary research: film magazine reviews conventions-
  • magazine name is clearly indicated
  • house style of colours and font is used in review
  • large images of film are used
  • quotes, ratings and facst and used

Sunday 8 July 2012

Codes and conventions of a film poster.

Analysis of Posters

Reflection
  • large image of the main character
  • large font that is easy to read
  • different sized fonts eg- title of film is largest
  • a suggestion of the film genre
  • a tagline may be evident
  • actors names positioned above title

Audience research: primary & secondary.

Secondary research: The short film industry has a specific audience compared to the mainstream feature film audience. For example, niche audiences are a specific group of people that have a unique interest in the market. Arguably, this audience is targeted for the short film industry. The two main groups of audience for short film according to my research shows they are young students producing short films and people working in the shot film industry. For young students interested in short films, the target audience would be in the demographic social group of E due to unemployment. For the employers in the industry they would be categorized into the social group of A-C.

Primary research: the target audience for the Pixar short of 'Day and Night' would be targeted for children due to the company making child-like films such as 'Toy Story' etc. However, due to light hearted nature and fun narrative, I believe this short could be targeted for any age. Alternatively, the music targets adults as it shows a classical piece playing throughout the whole film, and children wouldn't know the composer etc.
Day and Night
'Benigni' on the other hand targets adults as the film shows affection for a child-like character which could relate to adults having children. Another reason for this is because the film ends where the film begins: the protagonist being lonely. This theme of loneliness, and the death of the child-like figure would be too upsetting for children to watch, hence the target audience of adults. The social group may be positioned in A-C as they could feel pleasure knowing the main character is in a lower position than them (dirty small flat).
Benigni
However, the short film 'Alarm' clearly targets an audience of teenagers/young adults as the protagonist shows young features: eg not wanting to get out of bed. The mise-en-scene of the gun also indicates a fantasy  feature to which teenagers/young adults may relate to. The small flat may relate to graduates at university or it could relate to young adults living alone for the first time with their first job (indicated by suit in the lift) 
Alarm

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Short film: alarm.

In this short film, Alarm, I really like the use of shots and camera work.

Short films: theme of love (negative)

Benigni

Lifeline

Short films: theme of love (positive)

heartstrings

when you love someone

Codes and conventions of short films.

Length: A short film will most commonly last between 3 to 15 minutes, however some can last for 40 minutes.
Storylines: Storylines are generally kept simple but are sometimes hard to follow as they contain a sense of ambiguity. Narratives include linear, open, closed, circular which is usually condensed with limited dialogue. In particular, voice over’s are also used instead of dialogue which usually focuses around the central protagonist. For example, The Man and The Rat is narrated to follow the storyline.
Character: Due to the length, short films will usually introduce between 1 and 3 main characters. The central protagonist will remain central in the frame and an example of this is ‘Geri’s Game’ were he is the only character. This is done in order to keep the audience engaged and be able to follow the storyline without confused or diatracted with new information or new characters. Short films will last only long enough to connect the audience with the characters.
Twist: Including a twist is a common convention in short film which allows the director to tell a short story in an interesting way or in their own style.
Creativity: Short films tend to include creativity as they portray ideas in original yet vague way. This is made through a number of creative shots which enables the director to show their own style. This is particularly evident in Tim Burton’s work as he portrayed alternative sinister ideas through ‘Vincent’ which was carried through his other work in ‘Corpse Bride’.
Niche Audience: Short films tend to have a smaller yet niche audience, compared to mainstream work in feature films. Due to the creative nature, length and simple storyline, short films include a unique style which appeals to a much more specific audience.
Emotion: Short films are used to convey a strong emotion to the audience whether this can be sadness, happiness, or anger to make certain comments  in society.