Theorists

Henry Jenkins - Flow on contexts across multiple media platforms. People will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want. Audience = Eyeball


David Gaunlett - every making and sharing of digital media and the role of such media in self identity and self expression. What social media you use and share has a big part of your identity. d igital medias chaning

Youth representation

Essay - Audience

Our song was very upbeat and feel good. In our music video we told a story of being a work from 9-5 then while the song was going on it was the workers imagination getting away from an office job. This went along with the lyrics. We tried to target ages from 15-25. This was the main audience we was targeting but the song was quite old so the older audience may be able to relate to it also. We targeted our audience by using some theorist. We looked at many before we started and chose some that would relate to s the best and therefore place our audience how we wanted.

The first theory we thought of using was hypodermic syringe. The happy feel good vibe of the song made us think about the greater picture of whats gong on in the whole of the world and therefore we wanted to make people get away from that for 3 or 4 minutes and even change there mood for the rest of the day. Also get them to watch our video when they're down to try and change there mood. We did this by trying to be funny throughout the whole clip and and have bright bubbly colours thats attracted the audiences eye. Such as filming on very sunny days with bright blue sky's. The playground we filmed in for part of the music video had bright colours swings and a round abut with a bright blue wall behind and therefore was a perfect location. Filming on a bridge by a river had really bright green bushes around with blue sky's in the background. our media platform works like a happy drug when people view this. Furthermore our digipak and website match the bright colours and happy feel.

However we also looked at the theory of liberal pluralism. Our video can be interpretation in many ways allowing our audience to have their own view at the end of it. There so many wacky and questionable locations and things happening during the video which means the audience had their own ideas of what were meant to be portraying . This would actively bring in our audience to take their own view of our band. Some of the locations we used where fields to a indoor hall and even a playground. In party of the music video we was hanging off a bridge. Furthermore us bringing happiness and joy in our video to try and cane peoples view we purposely tried to achieve this by looking at Uses and gratification theory. It gives the audience and chance to escape from their daily stressful life. Gives the power with the audience to try and divert

Media Language

Paragraph 1 - Introduce media production

Paragraph 2 - Mise En Scene

Suits/sunglasses/sports wear/Avenue road/Playground

Paragraph 3 - Camera

Most common was eye level/ Long of us in the road/Low angle of us walking under subway.

Paragraph 4 - Sound

Genre/Pace- how we edited to this/ fun and light hearted/strophic structure

Paragraph 5 - Editing

Wavey transition

Paragraph 6 - Ancillary (Digipak,Website)

We used our website to attract our targeted audience we intended to listen to our music video. 

Conclusion 

I think our mise en scene was key for our music to really stand out and pop. Effective use of media languages is vital for a text to communicate its intended meaning to its target audience successfully.

Essay - Narrative

Apply the concept of Narrative to one piece of your coursework

For my year 12-course work I did a sport drama film opening about the world cup winners life George Cohen.

We thought about the production carefully and looked into Levi Strauss’s theory and wanted to apply this to our film opening to make it better. Our first opposite clearly was old verses new. We had George Cohen as an old man then it flashes back to him as a young football player. This binary opposite sets the scene as to what this film will be about and how it will go through this bright players life. We did this to set the nostalgia in our opening sequence. Also it was used to cement the narrative of the whole movie. We needed to grip the audience within the first few minutes and showing this opposite helped us achieve this.

Secondly we looked into Barthes theory of setting enigma. We needed to do this as it was a filming opening which need to entice there audience in the first few minutes so they will want to watch the rest of the movie. Setting the scene for the rest of film. We did this through implementing a lot of question in the opening sequence such as who is the old man and why does it play back to a football changing room? What does the football represent? We did this to get the narrative clear in the first sequence and also to make people want to watch the rest of the film.

Furthermore we also looked at Todorovs theory about equilibrium. We did not think we needed this in our opening, as it was a deep start. Our opening doesn’t have any disruption, as it was the only the start and we wanted to set the scene that it was a sad moment in this players life. The ball triggered a memory that made him play back over his life, which could be argued, as the disruption. He thought back to better times, which caused his mood to change. It wasn’t a major change however as the mood in the opening didn’t change dramatically.

Finally we looked at Propp’s theory about the different characters in movies ??????????

To conclude for our film opening to work we thought Levi Strauss’s theory was  most important to use as our whole story was going to be told by a old George Cohen and then played by younger and forever ageing football players. It showed the journey through his life and also many other opposite would be used through the film such as past and present, modern and olden times, colour and black and white.

Representation

Cohen

Age - contrast between young and old

Sports - football in 60s

Nostalgia

deep music

NGRAM

Audience

Narative

Define your media production you have chose (either Cohen or monday morning).
Use theorists in first couple of paragraphs - Propp, Barthes, Levi Strauss, Todorov.
Linear & Non linear - time zones e.g. flashbacks/forwards.
Conform & subvert the concepts.

Digital Technologies

My AS media production group produced a film opening sequence for a sport/drama film entitled 'Cohen'. It focused on 1 male that has grown old and was having reflecting back over his life as a football player winning the world cup. Where as our A2 media production focused on a music video for the artist 'Avenue' and song 'Monday Morning'. For our music video we wanted to be more creative and use a wider variety of skills. Therefore decided on a happy feel good video that had more variety and complexion to the story line. We had more skills and ideas as what programme was best to use therefore it looked better quality.

During the preliminary stage at the start of the course, our groups knowledge on the whole was very limited on the whole was very limited on post-production and editing technologies. We had to start editing on premier pro when we did our 'Juno' task, but I was very unfamiliar with the software and its features were overwhelming. This task was required to include certain shots, therefore I focused on this and not music effects, colour correction, transitions etc. But instead ensured match cuts, shot reverse shot and 180 degree rule were present.

Research and Planning

For Section A of the exam. You have to evaluate your progress over time as a student. This is my planning for the essay with reference to research and planning.

Introduction
First of all in year 12 we did a littler task called juno. We had to storyboard the opening sequence and then recreate it. then we made a prelim film opening which was a Rom-com Unforgiving fling, then we created our final film opening which was called Cohen. 
In year 13 we then did a prelim music video, we created the video of My love - Route 94. Then we had to make our own music video in which we made a funny upbeat video to Pressure - Tensnake

Media Conventions and Real Texts

Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed over time.

What we made at AS and A2 - film opening and created a brand image for an artist
Using conventions of real media texts.
AS Film Opening
Institutional conventions - what you expect in media products.
Format conventions - what elements you expect in a film opening.
Genre conventions - narrative, characters, setting, style. What made it that genre
Similar films, titles, fonts and colour titles, order of titles, colours, enigma, narrative and characters.
A2 Music Video
A lot more research, influences.
Disjuncture - things all over the place
Video had a lot more cuts, trickier than the film opening and specific videos.
Real media used, what you gained and how it influences you.

Post Production

What we created in Year 12 and Year 13. All about progress and development. PEE and examples and specific areas that you have progressed in.

Post Production includes;

• Website - made using Wix. What tools did you use to create what we did?
• Magazine cover/article - made using publisher. This made the article easier to make because publisher gives us columns like an actual magazine. What tools did we use
• Digipack - was made on Photoshop. Tools used? Highlight or Text Box. How we done the layout and the spines. Made sure colouring was matched to our brand image. Insert text and then made images to black and white.
• Tour Poster
• Editing

Preliminary Task was Cohen. It was hard to film because we didn't have much experience. We hadn't done much research and this meant we didn't have much knowledge of what to do. It was hard but it was fun to make as it was interesting. Used premiere and the tools. Researched features of our genre e.g, lighting and the feel of it. Skills of digital technology improved a lot. 

• Black and white effect
• Voice over/ Foley
• Film Poster

Narrative coherence, James Bond clip for practice. Used Abode Premiere CS6. 

Ancillary texts linked to music video. 

Progress and development.

Exam

In today's lesson we went through what our exam was made up of and had a discussion about one of the questions.

Section A
Question 1A - 30 minutes (25 marks)
Evaluate your progress over time as a media student

• Research and Planning
• Digital Technology
• Post Production
• Recreate codes and conventions
• (Creativity) - won't be asked for creativity on it's own

Question 1B - (25 marks)
Apply the concept of NGRAM to one piece of your coursework

• Narrative
• Audience
• Representation
• Media Language
• Genre
• Apply theory/theorists

Section B

1 essay, 1 hour (50 marks)

Collective Identity
Representation of British Youth

• Old texts (30 years ago)
• Contemporary texts (last five years)
• Future
• 3 media platforms - moving image, print work, web representation

Talk about how British Youth is represented, good or bad? Make reference to Baddow Aid (good image for British youth).
As a class we then discussed Question 1 and Digital Technology. This is all the technology we would have used in all processes of our first media project and also A2. We came up with different categories and digital technologies. We would talk about Mania and Love Now.

Communication
WhatsApp
iMessage
Email

Presentation/Research
Blogger
Emaze
Prezi
PowerPoint
PowToon

Production
Cameras - SLR and GoPro

Post Production
Premiere
After Effects
Photoshop
Wix

When using a software such as premiere we would discuss how we have improved when using it. We would talk about how for our music videos we tried green screens, the box effect, thought beats and the cuts.