Maintaining my grade

A lot of work will be required to maintain my current grade. This means more time and effort needs to be spent on homework and assignments. Also my coursework needs to be completed to a high standard, in order to achieve a high overall grade. In general contribution and effort in class needs to be excellent, as this will be key in maintaining my grade.  I need to show the teacher that i have alot of knowledge about media and certain areas of our subject, which will assure him and her that i deserve a good grade. 

Audience

The audience as “Mass”
· The media are often experienced by people alone. Some critics have talked about media audiences as atomised – cut off from other people like separate atoms.
· Wherever they are in the world, the audiences for a media text are all receiving exactly the same thing.

Herbert Blumer’s description of 1950
· First, its membership may come from all walks of life, and from all distinguishable social strata; it may include people of different class position, of different vocation, of different cultural attainment, and of different wealth.
· Secondly, the mass is an anonymous group, or more exactly is composed of anonymous individuals, Blumer means anonymous in the sense that unlike the citizens of earlier communities, the people who are members of the mass audience for the media do not know each other.
· Third, there exists little interaction or change of experience between members of the mass. They are usually physically separated from one another, and, being anonymous, do not have the opportunity to mill as do members of the crowd.
· Fourth, the mass is very loosely organised and it not able to act with the unity of a crowd.

Self Evaluation

Attainment- 2 i think im in most of the times, but when i am not i have a valid reason. I acgieve most of my aims.

Effort- 1 i think the amount of effort i put in lessons is substancial ( dont mean to blow my own trumpet =) ) this is because i am always contributing and putting my ideas across, to the class as well as the teacher.

Punctuality- 3 my punctuality can be better, but most of the time i am in ontime.

Submission and quality of homework- 2 my submission of work is mostly on time, also the effort and quality is reasonably good, but again it can be improved.

Ability to work independtly- 1 My ability to work on my own is fantastic, as i can carry out alot of tasks on my own, using my own knowledge. Most of the time i am not dependent on other peoples knowlegde, apart from the teachers.

Quality of writing- 2 the quality of my writing is quiet good, but at times i find it hard to put my point across the way i would want it to. But i would say most of the times it is good.

Oragisation of media folder- 2 i have a media folder which has all my handouts init, however i prefer to have a book were i keep all my class notes in. I find it easier to operate this way.

Oral contributions in class- 1 My oral contributions in class are always the same. Every lesson i always have something to say or comment on certain aspects of media, whether it being analysing an extract or something else.

Contribution to your practical production group- 1 because there is only 2 people in our group, we both have to put in alot of work and share our duties equally.

NBS

Because of the make up, costume, lighting and setting we as an audience are led to feel concerned and anxious at certain parts of the extract. The audience have established a bond with the character; therefore they would like to see him succeed when overcoming his obstacle. The director has chose this technique as this would keep the audience focused and will make them watch on. By sympathising for the character, the director knows that the audience will stay intrigued; this is the reason why this type of technique was featured in the extract. 

Click- analysing a short extract

Throughout this certain scene, extracted from Click, there are many techniques the director has used to add effect and tension. The whole scene, also known as the Mise-en-scene, coincides with the atmosphere as the location is quiet dark and gloomy. Some low-key lighting is featured in the scene, which creates mystery and adds to the sadness, which is shown through the characters facial expression and dialogue. The lighting creates a dark silhouette around the characters, which could outline some sort of danger or hazard.

From the primary characters make up, we can establish that he is quiet weak, also he seems quiet distressed due to the dark circles under his eyes, indicating a lack of sleep. From this the audience can gather that the character is suffering from an illness, also that he is in a poor condition, which gives the viewers an insight as to how the character is feeling, which may lead them to view the character in a certain way.

The setting is not shown in great detail, however the character is outdoors and later is lying on the road. We sympathise for the character as heavy rain is featured in the scene, which creates an obstacle, as the character has to try harder to be noticed, even with his extreme condition. This makes the audience play closer attention, as they want to know how the character solves the problem.
We know that the character is suffering from an illness or is in a critical condition, as he is seen to be wearing a hospital gown. At this point the actor is shaking and shows a form of struggle through his acting and body language, because of this the audience get an insight as to what the character is feeling.

The type of lighting varies throughout the scene as both backlight and filler light are included but at different times. The filler light is used to help soften shadows that are created on the characters face, this is done to make the actors facial expression visible, so the audience knows what he or she is feeling.
A lot of top light was used, again to show the characters expression. Because of this more effect is added, as the audience can see what the characters is going through.
The key light is also used, so that the characters stand out due to the bright influential light.

Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is included, as there is sound that is coming from watch we are watching, as well as sound added during postproduction. This is done to add effect on the scene, which will help the audience stay focused. The sound brings reality and authenticity to the scene, as the atmosphere seems real. As a result, the audience feel more involved, which makes them pay more attention. The director chose this technique to make the audience feel sympathetic and to bring out their caring side. This will encourage the audience to watch the whole film, as they will have a connection between them and the character.

Parallel sound is present in the sequence, as we would expect to hear this type of music, accompanying the scene. The music is slow and seems quiet soulful. At times the music increases in volume, to intrigue the audience and to grab their attention, this is because the director wants the viewers to pay close attention to certain parts of the scene.

In the extract no edits were used, as the scene was shot in one continuous sequence. If a series of edits were used, the scene would not be as effective, as at times editing can look cheap and unprofessional. Editing could take the effectiveness away from a scene, as the audience could lose concentration and they will be focusing on what types of edits were used, rather than what is actually going on or the dialogue coming from a character.

Throughout the sequence various shots were used to show the character in a different prospective. The shots ranged from long shots to close ups, depending on what type of effect the director wanted to create.
The long shot was used to show the character and his surroundings, which gives the audience a preview as to where and what the setting is. This produces an atmosphere, as the viewers could be familiar with the surroundings. If none of the setting was exposed the scene would be quiet ambiguous, as some of the audience may not know what to expect. Because the setting is shown, the viewers know what to expect and can link it back to the film.

At times close ups were featured to show what the character is feeling, which is demonstrated through their facial expressions. A close up is the most suitable shot to show the characters emotion, as the main focus is the actors face.
Point of view shot was also present, as the audience gets to see what the character is looking at. This creates a form of identification, as the viewers can interact and share a connection between the character. As a result, the audience can identify what the character is seeing from his point of view.

A pan was included in the sequence, as the camera follows the character while he is moving. This shows what the character is passing and the speed at which he is doing this.
Also a zoom out was included to specify that we are moving away from the scene or sequence. This indicates to the audience that the scene is coming to an end.

To summarise the director of the film has chosen his or her techniques very specifically and each method creates a certain atmosphere or mood to coincide with what is going on in the scene. I think the techniques worked very well, as each of them led the audience to feel a certain way towards the character.

Four Film Stills

In this image, taken from Bad Boys 2, a medium shot is used even though we can see the characters fascial expression in great detail. The shot is very effective as we can see both what the character is wearing and holding, also his expression. As a result the audience has an insight as to what the character is feeling and how this relates to what he is wearing.

Lord Of War

The image extracted from Lord Of War, consists of a long shot as we can see the character and his whole surroundings. The main subject in this image is the character, as we can clearly see him and his expressions. Behind the character we can see burnt down cars and bullet shells, which signifies what the film will be about and what sort of action will included.
Some backlight was featured to create a shadow on one side of the characters face.

Toy story

This image taken from Toy Story, again is a long shot as we can see the two characters in their whole surrounding and environment. This is effective as the audience has an insight as to what the setting is going to be like. This type of shot is frequently used in comedies and PG films.

La Haine

The still image which shows a character using a hand gesture, to suggest he is holding a gun, is a medium shot. This is because we can see some of the characters surroundings and the top half of his body. From this we can see what the character is thinking and the nature of him, as a person holding a gun is seen to be quiet bad and cold hearted. No colour is used in this image, which gives an old, grimy and evil look. From this more effect is added as it coincides with the character.

Two extracts

Sunset Boulevard



Throughout the extract, various shots were used. However the primary shot featured was a medium shot, as we can see the character and some of their surroundings. When scenes were more emotional, close ups were included to show the characters fascial expressions. In these scenes, the music changed from being loud and harsh to soft and gentle, to coincide with the situation. The music used is parallel sound.

High and low shots were also used depending on who the character was. Some characters appeared more superior than others as a low shot was included, however at other times high shots were present to demonstrate powerless characters.

Camera movement is quiet scarce in this extract, although tilts and pans were featured. This was done to show movement and follow the character while they are in motion.

Blood In Blood Out



In the second extract, the primary shot used was a long shot to show the character in all of his or her environment. This was done to help set the scene and create a more suitable atmosphere. When the director wants the scene to be more emotional and meaningful, a close up is used to show exactly how the characters is feeling. The sound used was all diegetic and there was no presence of non diegetic sound.

A number of low angle shots were featured in this extract , this was again done to create a sense of superiorness. As a result, the audience knows who has more dominance in terms of power. Not alot of camera movement was included in this extract.

Key differences

The primary type of shot used were different as Sunset Boulevard included medium shots and Blood In Blood Out featured long shots.

Sunset Boulevard had non diegetic sound, whereas the other extract only included diegetic sound.

More high angle shots were used in Sunset Boulevard.

Camera movement was not present in Blood In Blood Out, however Sunset Boulevard consisted of both low and high angle shots.