Theorists

 

 

Stuart Hall

 How media can affect the minds. I.e. if a particular image is frequently associated with a particular feel or scenario, then that can affect our outlook on such things.

 

Barthes

 Semiotics. Symbolism. How we view a particular item, scene or look. I.e. how a piece of clothing  linked to terrorism can cause fear. Or how someone wearing an authorities uniform can seem more trustworthy.

 

George Gerbner

 Television. Cultivation theory. How people, if enough time is spent in the 'television' (or media) world, they will begin to believe the messages being portrayed. "Grown" to believe.

 

Hypodermic

 The theory that the media 'injects' views directly into the passive audience. I.e. with Nazi propaganda, it was wholly believed by the people, and acted uniformly regardless of stimuli.

 

Albert Bandura

 The theory that media can affect behaviour and thoughts through imitation. As a child would, different stimuli within the media can affect people and cause them to act in a particular way.

 

Steve Neale

 Genre. How a film must follow a specific set of 'rules', by following stereotypes and conventions, to be able to be defined as one of that genre.

 

 

Curran and Seaton

Industries. How the media is owned by a 'specific group', and how that can affect what it portrays. I.e. Rupert Murdoch owning a lot of News outlets, can decide what gets reported and not.

Mise-en-Scene

• Mise-En-Scene is a French term meaning what is put into a scene or frame
• It is made up of visual information in front of the camera
• It communicates essential information to the audience about setting (time & place) and characters
• It is made up of 5 elements. Costume, Lighting, Actors (gender / age), Make-up, Props and Setting. (Settings & Props - costume, hair & make up, facial expressions & body language, lighting & colour, positioning of characters / objects within the frame)

 

Settings & Props

 

Settings & Locations play an important part in film-making and are not just 'backgrounds'. Sets are either built from scratch or a great deal of time is spent to find a setting which already exists. Settings can manipulate an audience by building certain expectations and then taking a different turn.

 

Settings and props in:

 

A science fiction film:

 

• Sleek, modern designs
• Futuristic inventions
• Space / Aliens / Other planets and galaxies
• Hovercraft
• Lasers
• Holograms

 

A romantic comedy:

• Highschool / university / college
• Chocolates
• Roses
• Animals

 

A horror film:

• Fog
• Forest / Abandoned building / night-time
• Knife
• Mask
• Blood
• Body parts

Semiotics - Barthes

 

First off, the characters are clearly not human. The light blue dots lining up the features of the darker blue skinned creatures makes them look primal yet also in tune with their bodies. Similarly, the wide eyes with stark green contrasting from their blue complexion captures the attention, and presents them as 'spiritual', as the eyes are the gateway to the soul.

The two characters in the scene are also at equal height, similar facial expression yet easily differentiated. This shows a sense of unity and non-prejudice between the creatures, yet the emotions portray thoughts that the film will have a serious tone. This could be because everything in the scene is blue tinted and appears natural, (with the world and animals), while the scene is also centred on and is being invaded by unnatural grey military helicopters, which suggests a possible conflict for the land the creatures live on.

Finally, the two planets being split in half but still near each other suggests that the helicopters could be of a different planet to the creatures, possibly Earth and humanity.

Media representation of me

This is a representation of my most used media.

Media Vocabulary

Mise En Scene

The arrangement of props and other items on the set of film, or the stage of a production. Typically placed specifically to further the narrative or create a mood.

Semiotics 

The study of signs of symbols and their use or interpretation.

Genre 

A style or category of media you can come across that can spread information. I.e. Newspapers, Radio, Videogames and Music.

Denotation

Referring to something through a word or symbol.

Connotation

A thought or feeling that can be conveyed from something, other than it's primary, literal or physical meaning.

Psychographic

The way of categorizing a population by personality.

Demographic Profiling
Categorizing by occupation. (A, B, C1, C2, D, E).

Practice Footage

Today we learned how to use Adobe Premiere. This allowed me to get a deeper grasp of the skills required for editing and on top of this allowed me to become ready for any future tasks involving this.

The creativity I could use on this task was helpful, as I wasn't restricted to a specific theme bar the footage used. This meant it was easier to make a final product I felt was interesting, and could feel satisfied with.