I decided to pick a blog at random from the Kett Media blog to then analyse. I wanted to compare and contrast the random blog to my own blog. Hopefully i discover some good points i missed out and that i will improve on my blog!
The first blog i analysed was: http://tomcowlesa2.blogspot.com/ that i picked at random. from the first glance i could see that there are a lot of uploaded videos that i should also apply to my blog. A few weeks ago my group and i made our opening title sequence of a film noir, so that would be a very good thing to upload onto our blogs. It would also be helpful to upload videos from the Internet that are on the subject of a film noir to boost marks. I did also notice that he has applied his own photography to his blog, and as i do photography as an A Level too, i could put my knowledge to good use! I do like that there are alot of posts, but they are short, sweet and straight to the point.
As the last post i analysed was a boys one, I also decided to analyse a second blog (just in case i need more guidance) which was a girls. This blog was: http://jennidack.blogspot.com/ this looked very similar to my blog and posts - detail, different use of media, and very analytical of different conventions. I did like that this blog was very detailed and it wasn't boring!
I made sure i noted down these blogs for you to check out and for me to look back on, and maybe to compare later. Bonne lecture!
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Key words for media studies so far!
There are soo many keywords that i have collected just from the first half-term. I have decided to post them as it would be helpful to have them all in one place, rather than scattered throughout my folder. I have found all of the definitions for them and some of them i have previously talked about in other posts but this might make it easier to remember them. However, i cant go into too much detail (like defining EVERY single camera angle) as i would be here forever but i have tried my best to write as many as i can!
Thanks to Kett Media, i have now added a few links that further my keywords list. Some of these keywords can be used in other subjects, not just media and the definitions are helpful and detailed. But also, some of these definitions are soo obvious. So here are some of the links i have checked out:
http://www.heanorgate.org.uk/visualarts.asp?pageID=MediaKeywords
http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/GCSEKeyterms.html
I'll sure be adding some more later!
- Diagetic sound - Sounds that are present when filming, natural sounds
- Dialogue - Accents
- Non-Diagetic sounds - Music edited in, sound effects
- Microcosm - Mini world of a big picture. Eg, Eastenders, not everyone in London has a cockney accent
- Nostalgia - To look back on life or to want to return to one's past in an affectionate way
- Establishing shot - Sets the scene, set the location. Eg, America
- Enigma - We don't know whats going to happen
- Diagesis - The fictitious place
- Sound bridge - Links two shots together
- Score - Set of music (soundtrack)
- Ambient sound - Sound that is atmospheric, creates feeling
- Incidental sound - Sound that is accidentally in the shot. Occurs by chance
- Covert - Sneaky, not obvious
- Overt - Obvious
- Signifier - Something that is shown
- Denotation - Description
- Connotation - The meaning behind it
- Binary - Polar opposite. Eg, good or bad
- Conventions - What you expect
- Narrative - The story
- Polysemy - Different meanings
- Realism - As real as you can get
- Post-modernism - Remixing the past in the present
- Synergy - Two or more things helping each other. Eg, grand theft auto doing an advert with coke
- Intertextuality - When texts are mixed up. One media product talking about another. Eg, an Eastenders character reading Heat magazine
- Verisimilitude - Getting things to look as real as possible
- Suspension of disbelief - Sit back and accept what is in front of you. Not to judge
- Antagonist - Baddie, villain
- Protagonist - Main character we sympathise with
- Parody - Micky take, spoof. Eg, the 'Scary Movie' (2000)
- Homage - Respectfully coping something 'Romeo and Juliet' (1996)
- Pastiche - Mix things together
- Satire - Mocking something but with a serious message
Thanks to Kett Media, i have now added a few links that further my keywords list. Some of these keywords can be used in other subjects, not just media and the definitions are helpful and detailed. But also, some of these definitions are soo obvious. So here are some of the links i have checked out:
http://www.heanorgate.org.uk/visualarts.asp?pageID=MediaKeywords
http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/GCSEKeyterms.html
I'll sure be adding some more later!
Notes on the popular film noir OTS - The Killers (1946)
The film 'The Killers' ticks most of the boxes when it comes to stereotypical conventions found in a film noir. So here are some of the typical and very often occurring points that i have seen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwbpnl07rTs
- Diagetic Music
- Black and white
- Nothing spoken in the first half of the opening title sequence - silence
- The costumes that were typical of that era - hats, moustaches, pin-stripe suit
- Hats aren't taken off by baddies when inside the diner
- The baddies are rude, and they act threatening and inferior to everybody else
- Stereotype - A black man is the cook
- All of the credits are at the front of the film, and at the end, it will only have said "THE END"
- The audience would watch it because of the cast or the genre, not because they saw the advertisement
- Iconic images found very often in film noir - Guns, cigarettes, however icons change through time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwbpnl07rTs
Notes for my concept board.
This lesson i was thinking about whether or not to go by myself or in a group. The advantage of working on your own is that the work is easier to organise, but on the other hand, you have to do more work yourself. The advantage of working in a group is that there is less work for each person to do, but everyone might not agree and confrontation can be caused. So after 'toing and froing', i decided i would like to work on my own as i have never before and i was to see what i can do! I am quite a organised person and always like to do a large amount of work (sometimes more than i should!) and i also like to do it well.
In our lesson today we made notes that we can use to help us with my concept board which will be presented in front of the class in a few lessons. The points i need to remember are in blue pen, and there is extra notes coming from them. I guess you can say the blue writing indicates the sub-headings in which i need to write about on my concept board. I have decided to use a different media and take a picture of my notes and then upload them onto this post. These notes will help me to add more detail and make sure we don't forget to include anything in our concept board. Bonne lecture!
The concept board is now uploaded onto a prezi, and the video of me presenting it to the class and the class then giving me feedback - asking me questions and giving comments of their own etc.
In our lesson today we made notes that we can use to help us with my concept board which will be presented in front of the class in a few lessons. The points i need to remember are in blue pen, and there is extra notes coming from them. I guess you can say the blue writing indicates the sub-headings in which i need to write about on my concept board. I have decided to use a different media and take a picture of my notes and then upload them onto this post. These notes will help me to add more detail and make sure we don't forget to include anything in our concept board. Bonne lecture!
The concept board is now uploaded onto a prezi, and the video of me presenting it to the class and the class then giving me feedback - asking me questions and giving comments of their own etc.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Our trip.
The other week we went to Epic Studios (http://www.epic-tv.com/) to find out about different parts of the media industry. In Epic there is 4 studios and facilities which means you can hire specialised equipment, use thr DUB theatre, a radio station is based thee and a few companys are based there also.
Epic stands for: East of England Production Innovation Centre. It used to be Anglia Television (1998-2004) and where the popular problem-solving show 'Trisha' used to be filmed.
The event gave us students a unique opportunity to learn about the prospects in the media industry from local, regional and national speakers. We got a variety of different people talk to us like; journalists, radio presenters, website designers and people who work in film and television etc. They told what they do in their job and how they managed to get the job. For me, the most interesting people that talked to us were: film and media and journalism. They told us their crazy stories of what they had to do to get a story or to get the perfect shot.
It was quite an interesting day!
Epic stands for: East of England Production Innovation Centre. It used to be Anglia Television (1998-2004) and where the popular problem-solving show 'Trisha' used to be filmed.
The event gave us students a unique opportunity to learn about the prospects in the media industry from local, regional and national speakers. We got a variety of different people talk to us like; journalists, radio presenters, website designers and people who work in film and television etc. They told what they do in their job and how they managed to get the job. For me, the most interesting people that talked to us were: film and media and journalism. They told us their crazy stories of what they had to do to get a story or to get the perfect shot.
It was quite an interesting day!
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Here is some more notes of Film Noirs:
Representations and Stereotypes
- Film Noir came from the phrases 'black film' but it wasn't called 'black' because of the colour, it was because the films were more darker and tragic than anything Hollywood had seen before.
- A lot of the crimes in the films were very dramatic, crimes like murder and assassination were quite popular to create.
Plot and Structure
- The plot structure was often very twisted and complex (could even be described as maze-like).
- There were often flashbacks to see what happened in the past or how somebody committed a crime. For example, in the film 'The Killers' (1946), the main male character is killed but to find out why he was killed, there is flashbacks taking you to the past explaining the reasons for his killing. We did not expect him to be killed near the start of the film as it is not in chronological order.
Stereotypes
- Microcosm - It means the mini world of a big picture. Like Eastenders - not everyone in London has a cockney accent, but most of the people in the programme has the accent.
Iconic Objects
- There is objects that are found alot in Film Noirs because they can be closely associated with crime and stereotypes of people. Objects like guns and cigarettes are used a ot. Guns can be associated with bad people, protection and murder. Cigarettes can be associated with sophistication and gang members.
Diagetic and Non-diagetic sound
- The technologyy we have today wasn't around in the 1940's and 1950's so mainly sound effects were foleyed. The sounds had to fit with the images and had to sound real - as if they hadn't been created after filming.
http://filmsound.org/terminology/foley.htm
Mise-en-scene
- Everybody is dressed to show what type of character they are before they have even said anything. We stereotype a person with a suit, a cigarette and a hat on inside is a baddie. Scenes are often set in dark alleys and bars, places that could create a cold and dark atmosphere.
- Film Noir came from the phrases 'black film' but it wasn't called 'black' because of the colour, it was because the films were more darker and tragic than anything Hollywood had seen before.
- A lot of the crimes in the films were very dramatic, crimes like murder and assassination were quite popular to create.
Plot and Structure
- The plot structure was often very twisted and complex (could even be described as maze-like).
- There were often flashbacks to see what happened in the past or how somebody committed a crime. For example, in the film 'The Killers' (1946), the main male character is killed but to find out why he was killed, there is flashbacks taking you to the past explaining the reasons for his killing. We did not expect him to be killed near the start of the film as it is not in chronological order.
Stereotypes
- Microcosm - It means the mini world of a big picture. Like Eastenders - not everyone in London has a cockney accent, but most of the people in the programme has the accent.
Iconic Objects
- There is objects that are found alot in Film Noirs because they can be closely associated with crime and stereotypes of people. Objects like guns and cigarettes are used a ot. Guns can be associated with bad people, protection and murder. Cigarettes can be associated with sophistication and gang members.
Diagetic and Non-diagetic sound
- The technologyy we have today wasn't around in the 1940's and 1950's so mainly sound effects were foleyed. The sounds had to fit with the images and had to sound real - as if they hadn't been created after filming.
http://filmsound.org/terminology/foley.htm
Mise-en-scene
- Everybody is dressed to show what type of character they are before they have even said anything. We stereotype a person with a suit, a cigarette and a hat on inside is a baddie. Scenes are often set in dark alleys and bars, places that could create a cold and dark atmosphere.
Monday, 11 October 2010
My research and information of Film Noir.
Film Noir is a genre of films that are bleak, black and white and always have the theme of crime -creating tension and a mysterious and suspicious atmosphere. They originate from old Hollywood and generally were made during the 1940's and 1950's. Films nowadays can look like they have been inspired by Film Noirs but in an up-to-date way. Stereotypically, the main female role in the films is normally very beautiful and the male character is normally handsome and very popular with women. The main male character and female character are typically very attracted to each other creating a love story inside of a crime drama. The lighting in the films are very low-key and dark, this is comparable to the very low-key and dark characters. A lot of long shadows were created and rooms were filled with smoke to create a claustrophobic and pessimistic feel. The contrast of the black and white is very strong (very black and very white, so not as soft as other films around this time) creating a sharp, harsh and dramatic mood. Also many scenes in this film genre were set in dark alleys, steaming hot rooms and quiet eerie streets, all living up to the mysterious characteristics of a Film Noir. The visual aspect of a Film Noir is very important because it can tell us quite a lot about a character before we know who he or she is. For example, in the film 'The Killers' (1946), 2 men walk into a bar dressed in sharp suits, hats and are carrying guns. These men didn’t take their hats off before they entered the bar and are fearlessly holding guns. We assume that these men are in this bar to cause trouble, be rude and not to play by the rules. The person that tries to stop these men doing bad things is normally classed as the hero. The characters we get to know normally have troubles like paranoia, alcoholism, obsession, jealousy and love drama. These make the films more dramatic and make us feel more sorry or protective over the characters.
The ending of a Film Noir is normally a happy one for the hero and heroine of the film. The attraction between them throughout the film then results in them falling in love. Even though we always knew that the male and female characters will get together, we still want to find out more and see them falling in love with our own eyes. The baddies always get what they deserve, whether it is jail, not getting what they wanted or even getting killed themselves.
Below i have created a prezi that shows my evidence of my research into the Film Noir genre.
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