Today was sick.

Comparing two different films and their cinematographies.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)
http://youtu.be/lyuwBW9lNa8

The use of establishing shots to set the scene at the start of a scene is useful to allowing the audience to identify where the film is set. A vast use of tilt shots that slowly reveal a character are used to create tension and suspense in the extract. The use of extreme close ups are utilised in this scene to clearly show the facial expressions of characters. The use of medium to long shots to show the body language and stance of a character are also used.

Inception (2010)

http://youtu.be/-VXkUzf1et4

The use of slow motion and ambient setting within the extract sets the mood for the film and tells the audience how to feel, the often use of an extreme close up shows the audience the emotions of a character mostly their faces. The use of a high angle shot emphasise the power of the antagonist and portrays them as negative in the extract.

MEDIUM SHOT 
-The protagonist is looking a direction that we do not know, this creates suspense as we want to find out.
-The use of a distant city behind him could connote that he is the protector of that particular city.
-His superior physique emphasises his power.

HIGH ANGLE SHOT 
-This is effective because the use of putting spider man in front of the whole city connotes that he is of importance to the whole of that city.
-The use of his posture could connote his strength.
-His eyes are the same colour as the city, the city is reflected in his eyes. This could connote that he sees the city as important too.

LOW ANGLE SHOT 
-The use of a low angle shot emphasises that he is dominant and that from this we can tell that he is the protagonist.
-The use of putting a gun in his hand could connote that this film is going to be an action film as weapons are often used as an iconography towards this film genre.

LONG SHOT

-The use of a long shot that shows all of the main characters in the movie connotes that these four, and only these four, are going to be the main characters in this movie alone.

-The use of their body language shows to us that this is going to be a comedy, which it is. 

-Putting women half naked at the front of this image is sex appeal.

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Moving Image Lighting Analysis

The Dark Knight (Batman)

The use of lighting in this trailer is key to the audience identifying the good characters from the bad, in that the lighting used allows the audience to know who is who, to differentiate between protagonist and antogonist.

For example the lighting used on batman's face as opposed to joker's face connotes that he is the protagonist. However the light used on the joker's face, which is mostly dark and shadowy connotes that he is the antagonist.

The trailer as a whole is shot mostly using low key lighting, which in a sense, could connote that there is more bad than good in this film.

Night At The Museum Still Image

Night At The Museum Still Image (Lighting Analysis)


In this still image, there is use of key light and back light, which are used to emphasis the protagonist in the still image, as the cameras are fixated on him.

He is in an action pose within this frame and appears to be wearing a security guard's outfit and has a torch which could connote that he is therefore important within the film and the audience could identify the image being set in a museum setting, as there are polished floors, banners and fountains which could be stereotypical of museums. The use of back lighting and key light (main source of light) could signify that he is important and could denote he is ready for action, as well as his stern and composed facial expression.

Interestingly, the use of top lighting is implemented within the image, as the light appears to accentuate the features of the character and could make him look more influential and significant.

Most importantly, there is use of high key lighting, as filler lights are used to make the protagonist seem realistic and imposed. However, the use of binary opposition such as light and dark is less pronounced, as shadows are overwhelmed by the substantial amount of light which seems to be dominating the image and which could have been used to signify the importance of the character as being the hero, as high key lighting used on the prop which is the torch could connote how the film could be an adventure based genre.

Kidulthood Opening Scene Analysis

Summary: An urban drama set in west London following a 15-year-old and his struggle to stay on the right side of the law.


Analysis

The first thing we see in the film is a playground full of drug taking, sexually active, delinquent teenagers, this juxtaposition instantly subverts all traditional connotations of a playground and sets the audience up for what is to be shown in the rest of the film. After being bullied by fellow classmates, a white, middle- class teenage girl commits suicide and as a result of this, students are given a day off school to reflect. The audience would expect this to be a day where the students mourn for the loss of their classmate however, activities the group take part are the complete opposite. Clearly, the film is presenting to the audience, a negative representation of teenagers throughout however, critics argue the extent to which this representation is reflective of British society. There are a number of arguments which suggest that the issues raised in the film are the magnification of a small minority of delinquent youths used to create a moral panic however, others argue that the film is simply raising awareness of what is happening in today’s British society.

My Average Daily Media Consumption As A 16 Year Old

Television - 0-1 hours a day, there is many more ways to watch programmes than just on the television, hence e-media (iPlayer).

Newspapers - Daily reading of The Metro, Daily Mail.

Music - almost 60-75%  of my day is spent listening to music.

Internet - wherever I am, it is possible to access the internet, i.e through my iPhone etc. that's why I am able to say that I am on the internet almost 90-100% of the day (obviously this is not inclusive of the time I spend in school).

Radio - rarely, as it its now possible to listen to music on-demand, so the need to tune into a radio station to listen to music is long gone.

Film - I watch films almost 2-3 times a week, my favorite genres are comedy, romantic-comedies (hybrid film genre) and also romantics.

John Lewis Mini-Essay

Media Forms - How are different techniques used together to compress a person's life into 60 seconds

Media Institutions - How does the advertisement communicate brand values for John Lewis?

Media Representation - How is a woman's life represented in the
advertisement?

Media Audiences - What pleasures does the advertisement offer its audience?

The life of one person is compressed into 60 seconds as the whole advert is more or less the same shot, by using this effect, it is possible to save time by just moving the camera around instead of having transitions between shots.

The advertisement features a slogan 'Never Unknowingly Unsold' which summarises the whole brand in one line. Also the clever use of music emphasises the brand, especially the words within the song, that communicate with the audience, the song is meaningful and achieves what John Lewis aimed to achieve.

A woman's life is represented by showing the typical life of a woman i.e (coming home, cooking, housewife duties) however it also portrays the main character at a young age, growing up, studying, and graduating, therefore the audience will aspire to be like the woman portrayed in the advertisement.

The advertisement for John Lewis provides the audience with a pleasure in that they give the audience a family feel, as the music is the only audio in the advertisement so therefore the audience will be listening to the words.

New Moon Poster Analysis

New Moon Poster Analysis

The trees in the background give the sense of mystery The moon in the corner is bright The background is a sepia tone and darkness, especially as which ties in with the name of the which makes the main characters the trees become less clear film and suggests that the moon stand out and shows that these are as they get further back may have some relevance to the the main focus of the film. which gives the audience a film. 

The moon’s brightness is sense of uncertainty because emphasised by the saturated some of the background is background. covered by fog/ mist. The main light is on the characters’ faces which draws your attention to their facial expressions The Antagonist has a tense look on his face and his face is turned towards the Her facial expression other person which gives the impression shows that there is that she’s confused some conflict and her face looks between the two very vacant. This males. shows the audience that perhaps she is the reason behind the two males’ anger between The two males each other, perhaps a have there fists fight for her clenched which affections. emphasises the tension and anger She is also looking between them straight ahead rather both. than at the two characters which could mean that she is The positioning of the impartial and isn’t characters show that taking sides. However, Edward (Antagonist) her hand is placed on is being pushed out Jacob’s arm which and it gives the shows that she feels impression that Jacob secure around him and is trying to protect emphasises her Bella from him as his vulnerability. back is towards Edward. 

They have put the The thick mist along the bottom of the poster date of when the creates an eerie, supernatural feeling to the Edward’s dark clothing has film is released, image and exaggerates the theme of it being connotations of him being evil reminding the mysterious and unclear. and sinister compared to the audience that this other two characters which are is an important both wearing lighter shades; date. The title of the film is in yellowy golden colours this could suggest that he is the which makes it bold and stand out from the rest ‘bad guy’. of the poster. The style of the writing is simple but effective as it is easy to read and has an old, rustic feel to it.

Print Advert Analysis

Lucozade Print Analysis

In my print advertisement as pictured to the left, the bottle is photographed with a low-angle shot. The reason I chose this shot is because I wanted the Lucozade bottle to hold a powerful presence which signals to the audience that the bottle has status. By taking a low-angle shot the Lucozade bottle is seen as powerful and dominant by the target audience (with reference to Socio-Economic Classifications, my target audience are people of C1 & C2, primarily C2’. The aim is for Lucozade to dominate the sports drink market above its competitors i.e. Gatorade, Powerade. The lens flare has been artificially added in Photoshop to create a summer’s day effect.

The colour used for ‘Lucozade Sport’ is the same colour as the Lucozade bottle; this is to ensure the Lucozade bottle will be associated with this text. Also, the ‘Lite’ is a slightly lighter colour than the bottle; this is purely because of the word ‘lite’ hence ‘light’.  The slogan put onto the print advertisement is ‘Speed Up Your Gears’. The colour grey is used for most of this slogan due to grey being a really stylish, chic, elegant, classy, fresh, innovative, modern and high-tech colour. The word ‘Your’ is emphasised by putting it in black as opposed to the rest of the slogan which is in grey. My intentions were for the word ‘your’ to address the audience and be direct.

The colour black enforces the word ‘your’ and when the audience will see the print advertisement they will see this word first. The background behind the Lucozade bottle has been deliberately chosen to create a natural effect, and the fact that there is a natural background represents and connotes the natural qualities of the drink itself. Finally I chose to place a Lucozade Sport logo on the bottom left because I wanted to establish the brand, after all it is a Lucozade campaign.

The whole purpose of the print advertisement was to give lucozade a summery feel, hence the weather and lens flare which is artificially inserted through photoshop. Also, the type of people targeted by this advertisement are people who enjoy running, predominantly men, as the video advertisement is focusing on men who are sporty, however the print advertisement (above) does not predominantly focus on any particular gender.

Why Media Studies?

Why I have chosen Media Studies?

I have chosen media studies because I had done it at GCSE level and so this meant I had experienced what media is like and therefore I knew I would enjoy media at A-Level. I am very interested in Media Studies because it provides me with an insight into the media that I wouldn't have if I had never studied media studies, so from now on I will never view a piece of media text without asking Why? What? Where?

Also, I have chosen media because I am interested in gaining skills that will help me improve my argumentative/analytical skills. Greenford High School had a very good reputation in results within the media studies subject, so I knew I was entering a field in which I would be provided with excellent teaching as well as guaranteed grades.