Credits background.

For my OTS i am having my credits traditionally at the start of the film. I have decided to have a city scene of buildings to set the scene. I wanted to capture the fog in my photos but i think it was too foggy over the city of Norwich. However, i still took the photos seeing as i was there, and i could try and do something on photoshop to improve the atmosphere.

This is one of the photos i took which as you can see, the fog has taken up most of the picture. Most of my photos are like this.












If i have another chance to take some more photos, i will try and capture lights which will look interesting through the fog. I have to be very careful incase a modern,not-very-1950's building is shown. It will make the whole picture look out of place. I also have another idea of trying to get a church in the photo, not only because we are know to have many of them in Norwich, but im sure they will add to the gothic-factor.

I looked on Flickr to see if i could find some inspiration from what other photos people have taken. Here are a few good examples of the type of photos i would like to take:

I love how the trees are at the bottom of the photo, it partly frames the city - showing you where to look. Eventhough this photo is already slightly foggy, i think i would prefer to take my picture when it is darker and slightly more foggier. I also like that you can see the detail of the buildings without showing modern buildings. I also think it would be a good idea to have a good amount of sky visable, as it will make the credits easier to read and you would see more of the city - not having distractions behind the text - which would have been the city.

Again this picture has shown part of the trees and a good amount of sky. I would prefer my picture to be taken closer to show more detail of the city. Both of these photos were taken a Mousehold Heath, which is where i took my really foggy photos.

I will very soon be uploading my FINAL picture, which will be taken at Mousehold Heath and i will probably have to photoshop is it isnt dark enough or have the same effect. It will also be put into black and white. I am going to try and see what the credits look like over it.

Task 6: The Two Step Flow.

Are my opinions about television, films and other medias ever influenced by other people?


I personally like to be different from somebody else so my opinions about television, films and other medias aren't really influenced by other people. For example, when i like a television programme that none of my friends specifically know about, i could tell them that i like this programme, so they then go to watch it themselves. I have then influenced somebody by introducing and suggesting to them a programme i like - making me the opinion leader in this case.


The journalists on the news and when we read articles articles normally try and make us lean to one side of the story, and make the other side of the story look bad. Journalists can tell us as much or as little as they want us to know, giving as much information about the story as they want. I think the news has a major impact on the whole country. For example, the major scandal with MPs claiming false expenses to fund dog food and adult films and multiple of other unneeded things. The country was understandably fuming because tax payers are funding the dog food. Because this scandal effected everybody, everyone was talking about it.
We believe what the journalists tell us, eventhough at the back of our minds, we know they probably exaggerate the stories some way or another. The journalists who reported these crazy stories (a lot of journalists reported them!) had their opinions, which was the same as the public - MPs shouldn't be claiming false expenses. Therefore we respect journalists opinions, they are opinion leaders.


I decided to only interview females because i think more women are likely to watch my film noir than men (i do think men would still be interested in watching it). Here are the questions i asked and the answers i got:

Going a stage further: do i think a friend's ideas about a media text could ever effect my behaviour in anyway?

I do because if a friend said a film was rubbish and if they werent impressed at all, i wouldnt go to see it. I dont think it could affect my behavious violently but for example my friend talked about the film 'Saving Private Ryan', it might influence me to think badly of war eventhough it is set years ago. If my friend talked about how they didnt agree with war and the problems and situtations it causes, i might be influenced to think the same. There is no good side to war and the film obviously shows that there is no good side. I also think how a film has presented the story of it. There is never a good side to war and i think the makers of 'Saving Private Ryan' have taken this idea and ran with it. We are never shown happiness war could possibly cause.

If a friend's idea about a media text like a book which we have both read, and i thought the book was good and my friend didnt agree, this might cause me to argue my point of view.

 

Task 5 - Status in society when it comes to media.

In some ways, i think that depending on what types of media, we are judged and given a certain status. I think that music choice has a strong influence in the ways other people view us and what type of people they think we are. If a boy likes punk music, a girl who likes rap or hip hop might think the boy is 'uncool' and therefore having a lower status than her.If you are uncool, you are seen to have a lower status to a person who could be classed as 'cool'. Soociety as a whole could give a stereotypical label to somebody who likes rap and hip hop music as being 'yobs', 'troublemakers' and people who hang out in the streets and not interested in education - then linking them on to be seen as unintelligent.
To be seen as upper-middle class, a person would be listening to classical music. This genre of music is also seen as intelligent and intelectual.

However recently, music has developed into something more than just typical separate genres like rock, punk and pop etc. There has been a mixing of genres like 'pop punk' and 'indie rock'. This means there is a crossing of sterotypical people going into one. People are trying to break stereotypes and boundaries as they can be seen as predictable and i dont think class is as important nowadays. Break the stereotypes and listening to sometimes weird and different types of music can be classed as 'cool'.

A really good example of music separating different types of people would be back in the 1960's when there was a split between teenagers: you were either a 'Mod' or a 'Rocker'. Both hated eachother. Both had their own types of music. A mod couldnt listen to rock music and rockers couldnt listen to mod music. Both groups thought they were cooler than eachother.I think they were seen by society as trouble makers who hung out in streets, partying, taking drugs and drinking.

I myself listen to a wide variety like, alternative, new wave, punk, rock and cheezy 60's pop. I dont think it can define as person as something like it did a few years ago. I wouldnt like to judged and stereotyped in society as something specific just because of the music i listen to.

Linking this to the hypodermic syringe theory, i think the type of music you listen to can affect your actions. If you have been listening to agry music, it might cause you to be in an angry mood. If a teenager looks up to a musician who is into drugs and heavy partying, that teenager might think it is cool to act that way, and they are then influenced to do it themselves. However the fact that a musician is known to do drugs and party hard could then be linked to the information i did on magazines and newpapers in task 3. Stories of that musician doing drugs can be emphasized by the media, making it much more of a story than it actually is. So the teenager is influence badly by the musician who isnt actually doing as much drugs as the papers make out.

Society can see a teenager who watches the news, documentries and is interested in polictics as somebody who is intelligent and is going to be successful when they are older. Watching these programmes can influence somebody to be ambisious and wanting to be valued in society. A teenager who still watches cartoons and 'The Inbetweeners' could be seen in society as somebody who has a ood sense of humour, but doesnt have the intellgegence or thoughtful enough to go far in life. I do feel that this is very stereotypical of society to think that way.

Drawings of poker table layout

I decided i needed to plan what may table will look like, so i took time drawing these pictures and uploaded them!

Even though i have demonstrated the table layout on a round table, i am actually film my poker game scene round a rectangle table. I know its not very conventional, but it is a good size and means i don't have to worry about the spacing between the characters by having one on each side of the table.
I am not having proper poker chips. This is because when the man talks to the stranger on the phone talking about money, he cant say 'i have the chips', it sounds better when he says money.
Having money to be won instead of chips gives the sense that these characters will not be seeing each other after this poker game. They can just grab the money and go! I also think it makes the situation more serious. Money is serious. It looks as if the characters have no time to worry about 'silly old chips' that they then have to get changed into money.

The sheet will either be black or traditional green, depending on the amount of light in the room. if the sheet is black and the lighting is very dark, you will not be able to see very much, but green might reflect a bit of light!

 In this drawn picture i have shown that i am having a sheet to go over the top of the table. They would have done this back in the 1950's to make it easier to pick up the cards. This also helps with the idea that my male character is hiding a card in his cuff, the sheet will help to keep the card from the other female characters.
I have a shot of a female character tapping her foot on the floor in nerves, which i also do not want the other characters to see.

Task 4: The Cultivation Theory.

What do I think about the idea that years and years of watching violence on television makes you less sensitive to violence and watching multiple episodes of soaps where women are mistreated will make you less bothered about it in real life? Can I think of anything that upset me the first time I saw it on television which now doesn’t affect me at all?

I do agree with the statement that the more you watch something, the more unfazed I am and the more normal it seems. When watching ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’, I am exposed to a lot of family troubles and problems with individuals that I haven’t experienced myself. Every time you watch a show you know what to expect and a lot of the time the stories are very similar. It has made me less shocked and sensitive to other people problems, possibly making me think these issues are ‘everyday’ and ‘normal’. You don’t really feel sympathy or compassion towards these people because you often think they have brought in onto themselves and it is their own business.

However, in programmes like ‘big brother’, you hear their story (which could be good or bad), but you feel sympathy towards them unlike ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’. You feel sympathy because you get to know them as a person, somebody who you get to know a lot about. ‘Big Brother’ is a house of complete strangers to you where they have offered to show you what they are like as people, for you to vote for them and to judge whether you like them or not. But really, we don’t know these people at all. We don’t take into consideration that they are showing us their lives possible because there is a money prize at stake.

When it comes to celebrities it is different. They show us their personalities, but they do not like to share to us where they live, their relationship status or tell us too much about their backgrounds – the complete opposite to ‘Big brother’ contestants. We want to know more about celebrities, but they will not always give it to us.

When I first watched ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ I had my eyes hidden behind a pillow but after watch multiple episodes of it, there are no pillows in sight. This is definitely because I have become less shocked and affected by the incidents and gore which I once avoided seeing.

Parents often let their children watch soaps without blinking an eyelid, but in detail you can see that allowing a child to watch these types of programmes shows them people in bad situations, being mistreated, drug taking and underage pregnancy (etc) from a young age. This could later cause them to be influenced and think this is normal and good behaviour.  

The programme Skins has content of sex, drugs, alcohol, bad language and had all around adult themes. Even though this was the case it is teenage-targeted. The after the first episode i wasn't only hooked, i wasn't fazed or affected by the adult content. It seemed normal after watching it through all of the 4 series.If I'm being honest, if they stopped showing all of the drugs, sex and crazy parties, i might find it boring. This adult content is what makes it interesting, exiting and watchable, as it is not what my life is like. It not a lot like lots of teenagers' lives but we all still watch it. As a consumer, it is seen as normal to see this in teenage-aimed programmes. Showing risque' subjects in teenage programmes has made other programmes try and beat the standards which have been set.

At a later date i will find visual evidence for how the opinion of an audience may change. I will consider levels of tolerance for swearing, violence or sexual imagery. I will then carry out a short interview to 'prove' my own opinion of the cultivation theory putting it into videos and then onto my post.

I have organised a few questions that i will ask:

1. Has there been anything on television which shocked you the first time you saw it? Have you watched it again since, or has it caused you to never watch it?

2. Do you think that programmes will become more risque with more drugs, alcohol and adult themes?

3. Does watching a film or programme with adult content affect your actions afterwards in anyway?

This video of questions will be uploaded soon!

Task 3: The Hypodermic syringe theory.

Do i think the hypodermic syringe theory could work sometimes? Can i think of any media texts which i feel have had a big effect on me and made me behave in differently to normal?

The hypodermic syringe theory could never apply to everyone equally because it would depend on what type of films you watch and what type of state and mind or what type of personality you are. You can’t generalize how a film would influence somebody. Urge to be angry after watching a hard-hitting and powerful film. This person may not know that the film is what influenced them to be angry. It also depends on how other characters in the film react to the violence and rage a character may show. I think somebody would be put-off violence if the film showed the consequences of that violent person actions for example prison or death.

I do think the hypodermic theory could work with example from the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. He allegedly killed 17 people in certain ways where the ‘inspiration’ came from films he watched before he went out to kill somebody. However, I do think that instead of always influencing somebody to recreate the bad things they have seen in films, films can influence somebody to something good for society. After I had watched the film ‘Blood Diamond’, it made me want learn more about the subject of blood diamonds and to research the situation of the people who are made to hunt for these diamonds in Africa which are sold to finance conflicts.

Another media which I am influenced by is music. A happy and upbeat song can make you feel just that, happy and upbeat. I also think it depends on how I listened to this music. If an angry song was played on a loud speaker, I wouldn’t be as influenced by it compared to if I was using ear phones. When you listen to music through ear phones, you become more shut off from the rest of the world and hear only the music.

The example of a media text which I have annotated notes about are newspapers and magazines. I have also noted how theirs type of media can influence an audience, and different type of audiences:

Magazines. They give us the latest news on celebrities, fashion, film reviews and occasionally, world issues. They influence a readers opinion of somebody greatly, the reader believes what they read. Magazines do make me wonder how they know so much about a celebrites' personal life as bearing in mind, they try and do anything to sell as many copies as possible. From this Heat magazines cover, they have made a interesting story about a paparazzi picture which was taken. Heat magazines tries to be sarcastic and 'funny', hooking in the audience of female women and housewives. It is an entertainment magazine, so the chance of true hard-hitting news which doesn't involve celebrity scandal is slim. The cover of this heat magazine has "CHERYL'S BIG SECRET" highlighted over the front, with isn't missable. There isn't much information on the 'secret' but as Cheryl is 'the nations sweetheart' a lot of people would be interested to read about her. The photos on the covers of most magazines are paparazzi photos with natural eye contact - drawing the buyer in. Bright colours, catchy slogans and 'juicey' scandalous stories can influence the possible buyer to actually buy it.

Magazines can link back to the hypodermic syringe theory by the reader acting badly towards a certain celebrity or story )possibly even ending in protests, hate mail etc). A celebrity may not be very liked throughout the nation, so the magazine takes this bad reaction of somebody to their advantage. Somebody who had got into a spot of trouble involving love, drugs, too much partying or a stressful divorce could mean the magazine has lots of 'stories' to write about - therefore selling a lot more magazines because people want to read about these 'stories'. From the example of this Heat magazine cover -> in this day and age we are obsessed with the way we look, and the way other people look especially celebrities. People are desperate to find out what the latest must-have-trend for spring is or to read about "how to lose 5 stone in 6 months" stories. The makers of magazines know this subject is what people like to read about so they have turned it into their advantage. Its a shallow yet smart way to sell magazines. Females tend to care more about appearance, so as these magazines focus more of targeting a female audience, they have to write about appearance to sell magazines. 

Are these stories fully the truth? Does a journalist get into a lot of danger to find out the story behind Kerry's, Jordan's or Cheryl's meltdown? The audience doesn't know fully, but i don't think they care entirely either. However the audience stills believes what they are told!                        

If a magazine can get somebody who has had a couple of run ins with the law, gone in prison a few times and been filmed doing drugs, then its a bonus. Fabulous magazine is free with the 'News of the World' but somebody will still buy the newspaper, just for the free magazine inside - just to read about the celebrity on the cover. The word 'FREE' has influenced. People like free things.The husband would read the newspaper, while the wife would read the magazine. However, having a famous troublemaker on the front of the magazine can influence the younger generation if they were to pick it up and read it. They may like this celebrity for the films they have been in, so might look up to this person and think it is normal to behave in a way that is wrong.               

Magazines tend to put emphasis on stories for entertainment value and newspapers generally contain everyday news.However, this doesn't stop newspapers from emphasising on stories also. Compared to magazines, newspapers would dare to print controversial news and do not have very many adverts. I would say that depending what is on the front on the newspaper (different stories can interest different types of readers), different people would want to read it. newspapers can be seen as an 'sdult' thing to read if you are a child, so they may not take much interest. Headlining a newspaper with a story about politics ,war or the way the country is run is risky business because everyone is effected. The audience may agree or not agree, possibly influencing protest and some very angry readers.

Newspapers and magazines are a strong way to influence a lot of readers at once. People believe what they are told and act upon what they are told. Magazines and newspapers want a reaction so the stories they right are shocking and interesting - whether they are true or not - then influencing a good or bad reaction from the reader.

Task 2: Thinking about Blumer's ideas.

1. Do you think the audiences for most media texts do come 'from all walks of life' or do different kinds of people watch very different kinds of programme? Are there any examples of media texts that you can think of that do seem to have audiences of all different kinds of people?


Depending on what subculture, age, gender or class you are in, we all like different types of media texts. I think that peer pressure can affect what type of media somebody likes, for example, somebody may not want to watch a certain programme in fear that their friends or peers will show a negative response.  However, media like photography can be seen as something that each individual can determine if they like it or not, not if they are in fear of what their friends think. I do believe that age has a major part in what types of media texts you are involved with. Whenever somebody makes a media product or text, they almost always have a target audience in mind to have something to aim for. With films, there is an age restriction to who can watch them, so normally for example, a 12 year old will not watch an 18 certified film.

Using the example of newspapers, class can depend what media text you are interested in. Everyone may read newspapers, but different ‘brands’ of newspapers can depend on what class you are in. A working-class person may not like the way in which ‘The Independent’ newspaper writes about stories, they may be more interested in the less formal and the quirky way in which ‘The Sun’ newspapers writes about stories – however they both still write about news and the latest events. The now multi-millionaire Alan Sugar came from the humble area of East London which back then his family would have probably read ‘The Daily Mirror’ (a tabloid and supports Labour) but now because he may look at money and society in a different way, he would probably read ‘The Times’ – as it is a broadsheet, is £2.20 an issue and is seen as a serious publication with high standards of journalism.

Who watches a certain television programme can be determined by what time the programme is shown and what channel.  An adult wouldn’t choose to watch ‘Mickey Mouse’ on the Disney channel if their child wasn’t watching it. However, when it comes to teenagers, they are much more likely to watch general programmes instead of children’s television.

A media text that does seem to have audiences of all kinds of people would be photography because a picture can be taken from the photographer’s personal perspective. There is no right or wrong. It can be whatever the photographer wants it to be. Not everyone could understand what the photo means or the purpose.

Another interesting example of a type of media that could be watched by anyone is the news. The children’s television channel ‘Newsround’ takes serious issues but directs them at a younger audience by using less complicated and direct dialogue and tells the news fast to keep the young viewers interested. They also tell strange and sometimes unique stories to keep interest. However, I do think it also depends on the issues. The news aimed more towards adults may try not to ‘polish’ an unpleasant story like ‘Newsround’; they would just tell it how it is.

Reality television programmes like ‘Big Brother’ or ‘The Jeremy Kyle Show’,  aren’t made to focus on one specific gender, but they do without purpose are watched by mainly females.

Teenagers are easily led by their peers which could then link onto what music a person listens to. If you are put into a subculture, you would be expected to listen to the type of music which has been made by other people from the same subculture as you. We may be pressured to be interested in the music in which we are stereotypically ‘meant’ to listen to. A person in a subculture may feel peer pressure if they do not like or choose to listen to the type of music which is typical. However, there will always be somebody who likes to break the stereotypes of their subculture, and not listen to the type of music in which other people have set them.

2. How much of your media experience is when you are on your own and how much when you are with others?

When you go to the cinema, you are much more likely to go with somebody else than you are by yourself. However, when you buy the DVD to this film that you watched at the cinema, you would watch it on your own at home. Also, if a child is watching a child-aimed television programme and an adult comes to sit on the sofa, that adult wouldn’t turn the programme over, they would watch it. I think it also depends on who has the main control over the television remote if the whole family is watching the television.

A games console is more likely to be used by males of different age groups, social class and subculture. What games console and how many games a certain person has may be affected by what they can afford. A person can play on a games console on their own or with friends.

Reading a magazine or newspaper can be seen as an individual thing for somebody to do. As it depends on what events each individual is interested in whether it is celebrities, fashion or world events etc.

An iPod is for an individual use as it is possible to only fit one pair of ear phones in it. However if you are listening to music from loud speakers or live, there is an unlimited amount of people who can listen to it.

3. Are there any ways in which you share your experiences of the media with other people who weren't around when you experienced the text?


The main way you share your experiences of the media with other people is by telling them face to face. You can ell them your own opinion and views on technology, films, magazines etc. If you were to tell your friend about how you didn’t like a film that you saw, they may not want to go and see it as you have given it a bad review. Another way you could share experiences of media is by social network sites, online forums, blogs and reviews when on the internet.  These can rapidly affect peoples thoughts on whether they want to buy a product or go to see a film at the cinema. People are free to have their own opinions about different media forms.