No Amnesty screenplay

No Amnesty screenplay

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No Amnesty Storyboard and Plans.

Before starting the production work of our trailer, poster and magazine, we created flat plans in order to have a clear outline of what shots were needed for all three.

Learning Horror Makeup and Effects

On the 3rd of November, we had the chance to meet Cliff Wallace (specialist in prosetics) and Christine Blundell (professional Make-up artist). They both gave us information on how they got into their career, where they have worked, their budget and much more useful information.

They brought along Props (an image of one shown below) which were used in films they worked on. These gave us ideas as to what effects we could use in our own horror trailers. However, we were aware we don't have as high of budget as they did, therefore they gave us some useful tips on how to create believable effects without spending too much. For instance, to create fake blood you can simply use; golden syrup and red food colouring mixed with blue.

This Image shows a lifelike mask which was used in Sherlock Holmes. 

Furthermore, Christine Blundell showed us how she would create a scar using some wax and mold. This was extremely useful as we are now able to do something similar in our group, creating more lifelike effects in our trailer.

Conventional Characteristics of Ironic Killers

Adorno's Culture Industry theory.

Culture Industry is a term discovered by Theodor Adorno, arguing that popular culture is related to a factory which produces standardised cultural goods - through film, media and the masses. This causes 'passive satisfaction', making people docile and content no matter what their economic circumstances are.

Culture Industries -

False Needs -

Commodity Fetishism -

Standardisation -

Pseudo-individualisation -

Character Research and Narrative 'Propps' Theory.

In films there are certain character types shown in order to create a certain genre/follow a story line. I am going to look at each of these characters, and link them to examples from modern films.

The Popular Girl - The Popular Girl is someone who you ever love or hate. They are always portrayed as two faced  wealthy and popular. She is normally respected by most people due to them being scared of her, or wanting to be popular themselves.

One example of this could be Megan Fox in 'Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen' who plays Carla, a girl who gets what she wants and is the most popular, 'perfect' girl in school. 

The Wanderer - The Wanderer is the character which puts themselves in situations which are hard to get out of, and sometimes even fatal. They are often the weakest in the group.

An example of this could be Bella from Twilight, who gets herself caught up with Vampires who wish to kill her. As she is in love with Edward, she falls into a trap which results in her having to sacrifice herself into being a vampire. 


Jock - The Jock is the character who is good looking, muscular, in to sport and not very intelligent. He is usually the one which the popular girl falls for.

An example of this character could be Troy (played by Zac Efron) in High School Musical. He is a Basketball Player, who Sharpay Evans (the most popular girl at school) fights to get.

The Final Girl - This character is the final person left to confront the killer. She is normally the most intelligent out of the other victims, and then may be recognised as the 'hero'.

An example of this character could be Laurie Storde who survives to confront the killer but then is also saved by another male character. 

The Pervert - this character is usually male, and gets himself in situations where him and a girl are alone together. He often tries to sleep with her at any given opportunity.

Vladimir Propps eight broad character types:

• The Villain - struggles against the hero.
• The Donor - Prepares the hero, or gives them some kind of magical object to help them.
• The Helper - helps the hero
• The Princess - the character most threatened by the villain, father is the one to give her away
• The Dispatcher - character who sends the hero on his task, which could typically be the princess' father
• The Hero - Restores the equilibrium by embarking on a quest. Usually marries the princess
• False Hero - tries to take credit for the heroes actions, and tries to marry the princess

Technical Experiment

Today, we experimented with how to do manual focus, and F stop on a canon E0S 550D, and experimented with using a Zoom Handy Recorder to record the sound. This was an extremely helpful lesson, as we will be using these when producing our horror film trailer, meaning we will be able to create more of a professional looking piece of film.

With the manual focus, we learnt that we are able to focus on one specific object/person, whilst the background can be blurred, rather than an an auto focus, which automatically chooses what to focus on, which could be something that isn't needed to be.

With the Zoom Handy Recorder, we experimented with recorded from distances, and how close you had to be in order for the dialogue spoken to be clear. Also, how we are able to sync the voice and film footage together in  perfect time, by creating a loud noise at the start of each scene so it is made clear.

Multi-Modal Texts

A multi-modal text is when it has been combined with two or more ways for someone to understand the text. Film trailers frequently use this to persuade the viewer to go and watch the film, and give them hints as to what it is about, without giving away the whole story line. This could be through spoken language, text on the screen, music/sound effects, moving images and voice overs. I have analysis the multi-modal text on the film trailer 'Smurfs'.



The trailer starts with text showing the name of the production and distribution companies, in order for the audience to be aware of who the film was produced by. Typography is also used; 'No one knows where they came from', 'no one understands what they are', 'but this august', 'they arrive', and a few more. This gives the viewer a brief idea as to what is going to happen in the film, also 'August' gives us a release date.

Voice over is also used; 'The Smurfs', 'This Summer', 'Our turf, gets Smurf'd', 'The Smurfs, in 3D'. All these quotations give the viewer the information they need, with the title of the film, that it will be in 3D, and the season of release. Also, 'Our turf gets Smurfed' is a effective pun, which highlights the film will include comedy and 'fun'.

The sound effects and music are dramatic, starting off with a quiet sound of wind, increasing to dramatising music to create suspense. Also, a well known song is played at the end, making it relate to the genre more and not make the film appear to be so serious.

Postmodern Theory

Pastiche -  these are often 'tongue in cheek' imitations of another persons style. An example of this 'genre' could be Scary Movie, which imitates the horror films: Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Usual Suspects and many more. It over exaggerates the stereotypical characters shown in horror films. CLICK HERE
to view the trailer of Scary Movie.

Flattening of the Affect -  this 'genre' displays violence, drugs, and the media lead to detached, emotionless, unauthentic lives. An example of this could be Fight Club. This film has extreme amounts of violence in, which is there to shock the audience. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Fight Club.

Hyper Reality -  this type of film creates a world which is often desirable to the audience, and not lifelike. This could be linked to a film such as; Inception, which is about a world in which technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Inception.

Time Bending -  this 'genre' allows the protagonist to play 'what if' games, as it plays with time travel and shaping reality. A good example of this could be the film; Donnie Darko. This film is about a boy who is led into committing crimes by an imaginary bunny. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Donnie Darko.

Altered States -  these are often with drugs, mental illness and technology which provide a gateway to new realities. An example of this could be; Naked lunch, which is about a man who becomes addicted to the substance he uses to kill bugs, an exterminator accidentally kills murders his wife, then gets involved in a secret government plot. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Naked Lunch.

More Human than Human -  this 'genre' uses robotics or technology. An example of this could be; Avatar, which is about a paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, and finds himself torn between his orders and the protecting the world he feels is his home. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer of Avatar.

Voiceover.

Voice over Functions

1. Helps us make sense of the narrative by giving us background information, such as where the action is set

2. Inform us about the characters

3. Showcases the stars appearing in the film

4. Gives us information about important production personnel such as the director and producer and their previous work

5. Helps us to build a sense of anticipation about the film's release

6. Reinforces the title of the film

7. Sets the tone for the film 

8. Summarises the story in around 5-8 lines. It does not give away the ending, but helps us anticipate what is to come

ANALYSING VOICE OVER IN HONEY 2 TRAILER. 

1. We are made aware that this is an ongoing dance battle and this is her second chance. 

2. The character focused on is Maria, who 'had all the right moves' 

3. Features music from; Estelle, La Roux and Far East Movement. 

4. From Universal Pictures and the director of 'Honey'.

5. 'Featuring music by..' helps the viewer build anticipation about the film's release as they will be able to relate the music to the film. 

6. It then reinforces the title of the film by saying 'Honey 2'.

7. The upbeat, energetic voice sets the tone for the film. 

8. 'When the battle begins, go every step of the way'. This gives the viewer clues, and makes it clear there is going to be dance battles, and they will do everything they can to achieve their best. 

Further Horror font practice.

Five ideas for Typography

I got the following font types from Adobe Photoshop, which I thought could fit well with my Horror Movie Title.



Adobe Photoshop Horror practice.

Horror adobe photoshop practice

View more presentations from Danielle Nash.

The Male Gaze Theory applied to 'Jennifer's Body' trailer.

Close analysis of film trailer 'Filth to Ashes'

Filth to Ashes starts with everything appearing to be normal. With a man and woman situated in a car, wearing normal clothes this doesn't give the impression that anything abnormal is about to happen. The word 'Psycho' is then mentioned and that's when the horror starts.

It is shown to be set in an area which is deserted, meaning no one will be able to hear them, adding to the fear and suspense from the audience.

Guns and knifes are shown throughout, with relates to a lot of crime happening today so some of the audience may be able to relate.

Experimenting with fonts for Horror poster.

Narrative Structure of a Film Trailer.

What is the common narrative structure of a trailer? 
- Most trailers normally start with establishing the setting and introducing the characters. This gives the audience an idea about what the film is going to be about.
- Then a series of disruptions/ dilemmas are shown, which the characters have to try to overcome.
- We then see the characters trying to overcome these problems, but a resolution is not shown in the trailer.


How does the narrative structure differ from Todorov's structure? 
- Todorov (a theorist) suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages:

1. A state of equilibrium of the outset.
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action.
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption. 
4. An attempt to repair the disruption. 
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium. 

- The difference between the two are that a trailer doesn't include a main feature of Todorov's structure; 'a reinstatement of the equilibrium'. If this was included, there would be little point in watching the film, as the viewer would already know the ending.


How does the structure of a trailer help to sell it to an audience? 
- A trailer tells the audience the genre, target audience and some of the story line. This attracts the target audience it is aimed at, as by watching, the viewer will be able to tell whether the film is suitable for them.
- Secondly, as the narrative structure doesn't include 'a reinstatement of the equilibrium', this may make the audience eager to know the resolution to some of the obstacles shown in the trailer.

Analyse ONE trailer using Todorov's Theory.


PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 TRAILER










Paranormal Activity 3 follows Todorov's theory, but as it is a trailer as said above, it doesn't include the fifth stage.

- The trailer starts with a state of equilibrium of the outset, with the date being shown; September 3rd 1988. This tells the audience the film is set in the past, and for people who have seen the other two Paranormal Activity films before this, will give them a clue already as to what the story is based on.

- We then see a disruption of the equilibrium by some action with the filming going fuzzy, hinting to the viewer something isn't right.

- A recognition that there has been a disruption is when a woman appears to be dragged across her bedroom floor, but this seems to be set in the past.

- We see  an attempt to repair the disruption when you hear the woman say 'what ever happened to us when we were little Katie', and flash backs are shown. This shows them trying to repair the disruption between the characters.

- As I said above, a reinstatement of the equilibrium isn't included in trailers, as this leaves suspense as to how the characters solve some of disruptions shown, leaving the audience in suspense.

Uses and Gratification Theory.

SURVEILLANCE - This is based on the idea that people feel better once they know what is going on in the w#orld around them.











For instance, the film trailer above: 'Black Power Mixtape' is a documentary showing the lives of Black people in an African-American community in 1967 - 1975. This shows the viewer what Black people went through, and tells the story of 'Black Power'. This makes people feel at ease showing what happened back then, and how it has now changed drastically. 















PERSONAL IDENTITY - Personal Identity is when the audience is able to compare their life to the life of a characters. They may find similarities in themselves with a character, and watching them overcome problems may even help themselves. Also, they may feel above certain people by watching them, helping them gain more confident in themselves.


The film trailer above; 'Kidulthood' shows the lives of a group of 'youths'. Their everyday lives include; drugs, alcohol, sex and violence. For people watching this (especially teenagers), they may be able to relate to some of the characters in some of the situations, or even feel above them and gaining more confidence. 


DIVERSION - The Diversion need describes what's commonly termed as escapism. This means watching a film to forget about the problems in your life, or making them seem better. For instance, watching a tragic ending to a film and thinking 'well at least my life isn't that bad'. 

Codes and Conventions of a Film Trailer

• A VOICE OVER - This could be a narrator, voicing over some of the pictures shown in the trailer, but they tend to not give too much information away, as it is only a trailer. 
• FOOTAGE - Selected footage from the film will be shown, this doesn't have to be in chronological order. This will give the audience an idea of the genre, the plot and the age group/gender it is aimed at.  
• TITLES - may reveal something about the film. They may also be relevant to the footage being shown. 
• OPENING - there is always an opening which establishes setting and introduces the character/s. 
• EVENTS - a series of events are shown where people try to overcome obstacles and solve problems. 

Functions of a film trailer.

Trailers are key to advertise a film and get the audience to go and see/purchase it. They are able to portray the genre and target audience instantly in order to attract the correct demographic audience.

They have many functions. These include:

• To Advertise and persuade the audience to buy/watch the film, this could be through certain celebrities which will could attract a certain audience. For example, someone like Zac Efron would appeal more to teenage girls.
• Appeal to the target age group, which could be made obvious by sexual scenes and swearing.
• Cinema release date, giving the viewer a date to which they will be able to go and watch it.
• Give a brief outline of the story/genre, so the viewer can be clear as to whether or not it is suitable for them. 
• Inform the audience of the main cast members, director and film company. 
• Advertise a website which the audience can look further into the film if desired. 

The Brief - Film Marketing.

• A teaser trailer - requires the planning and production of a teaser trailer. This requires a digital camera and working as part of a team. 
• A film magazine front cover - using Adobe Photoshop.
• A film poster advertising the film.
• An electronic evaluation of the production portfolio - this will take form of a blog. We will be required to evaluate our work electronically. 

A2 Media Studies.

In A2 media studies, we are going to be doing the following:

• Making a horror film trailer in groups. 
• Make a poster for our horror film
• Make a magazine cover for our horror film

My Island.

This is my Island showing the positive and negatives of my AS media experience. 

• I drew a sun but with some clouds going over to show that some of my experience was good with some negatives. 
• I used an anchor to show how some of the work load dragged me down 
• 
  

Year13 Media Studies; Evaluation of The Meeting.

Today, we were put into groups and asked to make a short clip of a meeting of our choice, using different camera shots. To do this, we used 'FlipCam' and a tripod in order for it not to appear shakey.



My group of 4 chose to do 'School Apprentice' which is a parody of the show The Apprentice, showing three pupils fighting for a place at university. We filmed this 'meeting' in an empty classroom, and rearranged the tables and chairs in order to make it seem more like an office. No props were needed, apart from a folder at the head teachers desk in order to make it seem more formal. The four pupils were sat at a long table, whilst the head teacher had her own desk. This made the situation appear more real.

It was the first time i'd used a FlipCam, but I found it very easy to use. I had used a Tripod before, and this was useful to make it steady. Also, it was easy to get the filming straight onto the computer, as all you had to do was plug the camera itself into a usb port.

We used various shots including: an establishing shot, close ups, mid shots, long shots and panning from side to side.

I thought it went really well, as we got to experiment with different shots ourselves, and overcome problems. For instance, one of the problems we had was when we filmed a part of our meeting on a bus. The bus was noisy, with people talking in the background meaning it was a distraction. To overcome this we tried filming on three different buses, and the last bus we tried had fewer people in it, meaning the noise was less distracting. However, in future I think we realised that filming on a bus would take more time and effort.

When editing, the first thing we changed was were we filmed the bus coming towards the bus stop. People, including ourselves, could be heard talking in the background. We decided to mute the sound, and add a sound effect of a bus pulling up. This was effect as it sets the scene. Due to time, we didn't get to edit the first part of the meeting which was in the classroom. However, we didn't think this needed much editing as the shots were in the correct order and it run smoothly.

Subject review

            

In my Media course, I have learnt many different skills that have helped me develop my music magazine to the best of my ability, and will help me in future.

Firstly, I learnt how to use technical programmes such as, Photoshop. Before this course I had no experience using any of these but as I went a long I learnt more and more which helped me create a professional looking magazine.

Secondly, I learnt analytical skills, looking more into the meaning of advertisements and images than I did before. This allowed me to take my own pictures to represent a meaning rather than for no apparent reason. This including thinking about the audience and whom it was appealing to, making decisions about: costume, makeup, people included, environment, background, camera shots and poses.

Thirdly, I learnt how to research into the music press, using different magazines to inspire my own. The one I looked at in detail was, Top of the Pops, which was entirely different from my magazine with its girly colours and target audience of young teenage girls. However, as it explored the same genre; Pop it was the most appropriate to look at. Looking closely at the codes and conventions of the magazine, I looked at how they used features to attract their target audience and how I could do this for my own. Furthermore, I looked at different genres of magazines such as, Kerrang! in order to see how it differs from a stereotypical Pop magazine. 

Evaluation Question 7

Evaluation Question Seven: How does your music magazine represent particular social groups? 


 The social group I am planning to attract are 16-19 year old male and females, interested in the genre of Pop. To do this I have used specific devices.

Firstly, in my Masthead 'LIMITED' I flipped around the D turning into slang which makes it apply to teenagers, as slang terms are frequently used by that age group. CLICK HERE to view my Masthead. 


My pictures also represented my aimed social class, for 16 - 17 year old teenage girls, with their own individual style. The clothes they were wearing represented their own individuality, expressing themselves rather than a stereotypical Pop group. Due to this, teenage girls themselves will be able to link themselves with the girl band, meaning it is more likely to grab their attention making them more likely to purchase the magazine. Furthermore, as I wanted my social group to include males, I believe that having females on the cover will be more persuasive for them to buy than having males on the front, as they may feel that this would question their sexuality, and 16-19 year old boys are also very interested in females.

In contrast, Top of the Pops magazine more frequently uses males on the cover, in order to attract female attention rather than males. This is due to their 'celebrity crush' appearing in the magazine, meaning they want to read on.

For instance, all magazines aimed at just males usually have women showing their bodies on the cover, as publishers believe this is want they want.

This 'Lads Mag' shows a women revealing flesh. However, I believe this isn't necessary to draw in males. I was trying to create something that appeals to them rather than using women as Sex Symbols. Therefore, I used devices such as typography, images, lures and cover lines which also appeal to them. 

Click HERE for an example of a Top of the Pops front cover.