29th November - opening sequence analysis

film opening analysis one: step up - 2006 directed by Anne fletcher
For each opening scene i analyse i will do an individual blog post focusing on each opening therefore meaning the quality would be quite high compared to me just doing an blog post featuring all 5 openings.


The opening scene of step up consists of two groups of characters dancing too music with the scenes switching from one group to the other, then a scene in a bar/club with one of the main characters (Channin tatum)

mise-en scene-
in the opening scene they're is a clear contrast between the 2 groups of characters. One way this is connoted is through costume as one group are wearing hoodie's , tracksuits and urban clothing whereas the other group are wearing ballet costumes, this would then denote that the characters are clearly segregated as the difference in costume could represent the difference in social class/status and personality in the characters, however it also denotes that both groups of characters are dancers. This also fuffils some conventions as the characters fall in love as they do in most musical dance films, costume also supports this as the characters wear clothing that suits they're style of dance.

sound-
In the opening scene we also hear non diegetic sound (music) being played in the scene. The music played in the scene is urban/rap music, this would then denote that this is music that teenagers like to listen too and therefore dance too, this also fuffils come typical genre conventions as the music has a beat which is quite good to dance too therefore suggesting that this is also a musical dance film.

editing-
In the opening scene editing is also quite prominent as the credits roll over the opening scene and the dancing is in time with the beat of the music , this would follow genre conventions as the music tends to be edited in time with the clips of the characters dancing in the scenes.

camera-
In the opening scene camera shots are used to denote that this is a dance film. For instance mid shots and low angles are connoted when the two groups are shown , this therefore denotes that they are important to the story. Tracking shots and close ups are also used on the characters at a mid angle, this would then represent that they are more important than others as the close up would signify they are more significant than other characters in the scene.

target audience-
The target audience for this opening scene/film are teenagers i.e 14-18 year olds, this is due to many of the themes being related too the trials and tribulations some teenagers face, the rating also denotes this as it is a "PG" and also mentions that the film contains mild violence, sex references and language this therefore denotes that it is representative of modern teenager-hood as many teenagers often are violent, use offensive language and understand sex references which therefore supports that this film is targeted at teenagers or 14-18 year olds.

coursework research- characteristics of "dark" characters.

In our coursework piece, our coursework group decided to break the traditional conventions of musical dance films by having the characters act fragmented and completely opposite to the kind, generous, hard working characters that are traditionally shown in films.

To break these conventions ive looked at alot of characters from many different genre's of film/movie's to get an idea of the "bad boy" / "dark" characters that are sometimes featured. From my research i could see that most of the characters tend to be aggressive or be emotionally distraught, therefore taking they're problems out on everyone else around them , this would be a good characteristic for the characters to have as it would be a more realistic/unique approach to the musical dance genre.

23rd november- coursework group presentation task.

For our latest task group 4 (me vicky yasemin and david) had to do a presentation of our idea to the rest of the class for feedback on our idea. My part in this was that i described some details about the back story and the characters specifially how unlike most musical dance films the characters would be fractured, even arguing at the start of the film. This would break typical genre conventions as the characters usually get along as if theyre the best of friends even though theyve just met, another convention we also are planning to break is the fact that theres always a romantic interest between a male and female main character, weve chosen to break this convention because we feel it will make our film more realistic as it is very unlikely that 2 people who havent even known eachother very long would fall in love pretty much the first time they meet.

However weve also decided to keep to some conventions to make the film seem familiar and recognisable to audiences. Weve decided to keep the idea of the characters coming together through fate/chance to a competition as this is a familiar and effective setting that is effective in films. 

coursework group research

http://www.scribd.com/doc/42752189/Drama-Genre-Power-Point
here is my coursework research , the group had decided to give everyone a task and each upload our own task to our blogs, we have decided to do a dance drama genre of film for our coursework project

Peer assessment task- monday 15th november.

for our task we had to make a short opening based on a gangster film. We choose "Casino"

For my idea i thought of the film starting in the middle showing the character being betrayed then how he got to the point and then advancing the plot, this would include slow motion, dramatic music, cars, cigars, suits and betrayels.

The criticisms i received from it was:
David :
www: starting in the middle was different.
ebi: establishing shots would be better.

Vicky:
www: Flashbacks are good
ebi: explain the idea more

Yasemin : the www, and ebi were the same as vicky's.

media homework task: gender representation in "Dalziel and Pascoe - a clubbable woman"

Dalziel and Pascoe is a tv crime drama series that aired in the late 90's. For my homework i have been tasked to do 4 P.E.E paragraphs writing about how gender is represented in the show.

Firstly Mise-en-Scene is used to represent gender by character.This is due to there being no female police officers shown working for the force/in the investigation and the woman character being murdered. This suggests that since it is set in the 80's that there is still the traditional dogma that men went out and got a job and women did all the housework as the female characters in the show all appear to be wives or daughters, which stay at home (with the exception for the male characters daughter as she returns for the funeral.) therefore suggesting that the male characters are primary and integral parts to the story , which would mean that the male gender is portrayed as strong and integral, yet the femal gender on the other hand is portrayed as weak and needing to be protected and therefore the weaker gender in this episode/tv series.

Camera is also used to show gender representation by the use of angles and shots. This is shown by a low angle being used more primarily on male characters as opposed to mid/high angle shots on the female characters, this would suggest that the female characters are represented as the female sex in this episode , dialoug could also support this as they tend to have more shots focusing on the male gender which would show that the males are represented as being the more powerful/dominant and important gender in the show.

There is nothing in editing to support the representation of genre.

Lastly sound is also used to show gender representation by the use of music in scenes. This is shown by the music going slightly louder when the female gender speaks whereas the music goes quieter to suggest that the male characters scenes are much more integral and important to the story than the females.Therefore showing that the male gender is represented more strongly than the females.

Inconclusion i think Mise-en-scene represents gender representation as biased, as male characters are more prominant and more dominant in the scenes in the episode.

prelim editing group 4 blog post task - 8/11/10

my role in the editing process was very limited. as most of the work was completed before hand and also it was my first time using imovie, and i was given the "directors chair" last.

seconly we met the brief by filming scenes which showcased the 3 rules and the door opening and interaction (dialoge) between the two characters. we showcased the 3 rules by firstly only staying on half the room , meaning we could carry out the 180 degree rule, secondly we showed match on action by showing the characters interactions and showing both the characters talking.

lastly what worked well in the group was that the idea was different and therefore interesting, we also managed to carry out the brief, we also all got a go of editing and i got to act meaning we all had something to do. However i think it couldve been better if i actually got my voice heard by the group. As i feel like im just there because i had to be added in and not because the group wanted my assistance (which it clearly doesnt need)

heres the link to the video of the prelim task.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJAbNTuewAU

prelim filming task- with Vicky ,David and ,Yasemin - 2/11/10

for our next task we had to choose the locations , film and realise our initial ideas.

Firstly we decided to choose somewhere which would look similar to a meeting room, which was the setting in the narrative that our group had come up with. The meeting room also suited the "waiting room" as it had a lot of chairs and was spacious enough to suit the waiting room look.

Secondly David filmed the 180 degree rule by staying on one half of the room to which we moved the tables, This allowed us to make sure that we would not cross the half circle and break the line , and therefore follow the rule effectively.

David also managed to film the match on action rule by having both characters appear in the scenes,however even if some scenes did not include all characters we still managed to show match on action as the other characters voice would be heard in the scene, therefore showing accurate and correct use of match on action.

Lastly we realised our ideas by firstly deciding on where to film , then we decided to change the seats and tables around to suit the look of a waiting room in a hospital. however we adapted our initial ideas by the addition of props, as we agreed that it would be hard for the audience to believe im a doctor if i wasnt wearing a lab coat, which helped to show me as a doctor as doctors tend to wear labcoats.

Target setting - 2/11/10

I have been tasked to make a new target for the second term of this course. Therefore i have chosen to set myself the target of reaching deadlines as my 'This is england ' 86 piece of work was not fully completed for the dead line, therefore i need to complete my work with more time to spare to be more efficient. i plan to complete this target to the highest standard by the end of this term/start of next term.

2/11/10 - Target 1 september

My first target (september) was too provide examples to back up points in my evaluative writing. I have met my target as i use more examples from the media text to back up my point.

lesson- 1/11/10 prelim task.

For the preliminary task we had to create a 30 second scene between two characters involving dialouge, camera techniques, rules (180 degree angle and match on action rule )

The 180 degree angle rule is when the camera can move anywhere within a half circle but cannot stray across to the other side otherwise the shots between two characters would show them facing the same direction.

The match on action rule is an example of continuity editing, this typically embeds cuts in the middle of an action. This technique helps hide the cut since the viewer is paying attention to the action rather than the edit.

This is an inital idea that the group (me , vicky , david and yasmin ) came up with.

(Direct address shot of woman sitting in a waiting room of hospital – waiting for news on husbands operation)

(Woman’s fidgeting badly, she paces up and down the room, then sits down and she is tapping her feet on the floor and fidgeting with her hands) (nurse enters and woman jumps up out of her seat)

(close p on her feet- then close up on the door handle- woman jumps up- log shot back at the nurse standing there)

Woman: (shot-reverse-shot) what is it? What has happened? Is he going to be okay?

Nurse: would you like to take a seat..?

Woman: can you just tell me if he’s okay?

Nurse: (zoom out to long shot when they sit down) he pulled through the operation-

Woman: (buts in) (close up on womans face) ah thank god! I’ve been so worried, i-

Nurse: (buts in) but… although we’ve got rid of the tumour, he’s lungs aren’t strong enough to keep him alive, the life support machine is what is keeping him alive.

Woman: (mid shot looking at both characters)( stutters) just tell me how long he’s got left?

Nurse: (moves in closer and holds her hand) I cant guarantee it, but from past experiences, 2weeks, tops… but if you give us your permission we would turn the life support off to put him out of the pain he is in, it’s up to you…

(close up on womans face as she quivers, then as she cries her head drops)