Friday 24 January 2014

Dan Prezi Script

Slide 1: We are going to talk about the purpose of music videos and go in-depth on the techniques and styles.

Slide 2: Music videos are created for different reasons, some being;  product placement, to promote a business, promote the artist and to increase record sales. For example, product placement is Where a company pays an artist to include their product in a video for advertising and to increase sales.

Product placement is used in Miley Cyrus' music video, we can't stop. As you can see from the picture the video features an extreme closeup of Eos lipbalm. It also has many other ones to show the audience that there are a lot of different ones that you can buy. Miley Cyrus is a really big recording artist so a lot of people are guaranteed to see her music videos. And the more people that see her music videos the more people who see the product placement and the more people bound to want to buy it.

Slide 3: Different styles of music videos are animation, narrative and surrealist. Creators of videos can make theirs a parody, homage or pastiche. 

A parody is a humorous imitation of a previous work. Homage is a respectful reference to someone else's work and pastiche is borrowing techniques or styles from someone else's work. 

For example Katy Perry's music video California Gurls is made in the surrealist style. We know this because of the props that are used in it. The larger than life props. Like the lolly pops, the sweets and the candy canes. The sky is unreal. The clouds that she lies on aren't real.

In music videos, different techniques can be used, some being; chroma keying, using different shots, mise en scene and lip syncing.

Slide 4: Conventions are what you expect to see in something.
Oasis fall into the rock/alternative rock genre and the conventions of those music videos are using a lot of black and white/sepia washes, lots of shots of the band and close ups of the lead singer. 

You can see in the screen caps below that Oasis and The Stone Roses though they are different bands, they both include close ups of the lead singers face. We know that they do this because of the fact it's seen as a generic convention of rock/alternative genre. 

In the next screen cap you can see that Oasis and The Who, again two different bands follow a similar theme in their music video. The black and white colour wash that they both use prove that this is another convention of the rock/alternative genre. 

Slide 5: In Oasis' music video for Stand By Me the style is a narrative we know this because of the fact that you can see a story start to unfold as the music video progresses and it has a plot twist because it looks like a man is pushing a woman against a wall to attack her when he's actually saving her from getting hit by a motorbike. The purpose of this music video is to promote the album which is advertised in the description bar. 

The techniques used in the video are slow motion, shifting the colour wash from black and white to being vibrant with a high saturation and lyric interpretation. 

Sunday 19 January 2014

Unit 6, Assignment 1 Prezi Notes

Outnumbered

Slide 1
I'm using an episode from series 4 of Outnumbered where Ben is trying for the talent competition, Jake has a new girlfriend and Sue's sister turns up unexpectedly.

Audience
Around 10-40 around those ages will get the humour and it's an all ages show so it will appeal to them
Appeals to boys and girls because it follows a family with male/female children so it's easy for both genders to watch
Psychographics are mainstreamers because the programme is about a family so it will attract families to watch it and parents might feel like they can relate to the parents in the show.
The show is aired on BBC One at around 8pm so it's an appropriate time for them on a channel that can be accessed through Sky and free view. The show follows a family with two young children, they can relate to them and find them funny so enjoy the show.

Mode of Address
The tone is informal to some extent because they're children and it's in their personalities to not take it seriously. For example where Ben says: "big kids keep coming up to me and saying oh you're jail baits' brother... that's his nickname" when he said it his mum is shocked by it but he doesn't think twice about it and goes on to ask for a mini eclair.
The gratification for Outnumbered is entertainment and the show makes us feel happy because it makes us laugh when we're watching it which fulfils the aim for this show which  is to make the audience laugh because we're laughing and enjoying the show it makes us feel happy.
Karen and Ben are very grown up for their ages with what they say and the fact that they're children is what some people find funny. When Karen opens the door to Brick and she just says "I'm getting bored now" and closes the door in his face is rude but because she's 10 she gets away with it. Their tone is very sarcastic sometimes, at 9:27 onwards in this episode http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsdkug_outnumbered-s04e05_shortfilms when Karen sees her Auntie and says "oh Jesus" and she says to her face that it's not a good idea she stays with them "it won't be a nice surprise".

Genre
It's a comedy sitcom. We know it's a comedy because of the language used which is informal, humorous and quite laid back. Also due to the fact that it has such a simple setting - an ordinary house in London but the plot throughout the episode and characters add to that. Which is what comedies do - take something simple and make it funny for example when you see stand up comedy shows like Live At The Apollo, it's a simple stage with a sign and a comedian which is a very simple idea but people pay to go and see it.
It entertains me purely because it is a comedy, these are my favourite kind of shoes because are quite a few characters who are all different and it's fun to watch them and what their situations are throughout the episode. Also I'm getting a laugh out of it so it's good to watch.  

Genre is so important to audience because they want to know what they're watching is going to be right for them. Some people who can only watch comedies and struggle watching dramas will know that this is appropriate for them so will tune in to watch, letting the audience know about the genre is ahead of time can improve ratings. The show does follow the generic conventions of a comedy which usually are; slapstick humor, using different kinds of actors - age/gender so that the show will appeal to a wider audience and putting actors in situations to get different reactions, which in Outnumbered, are often made up on the spot.  
Including conventions like this is good because the audience know what they're letting themselves in more and they're comfortable watching it and they can see similarities between the style of this and other comedies, like Miranda. However the down side of this is that it makes the show quite predictable so it's good for the producers to challenge the conventions so that the audience is kept entertained, the structure of the show always the same and they're left wanting to watch more episodes. 
The show isn't funny for telling jokes which you'd expect in a comedy, it's more the witty remarks from Karen and Ben and how the parents react to them.
The show uses mainly wide shots and mid shots, we get a few close ups of Pete/Sue's faces when there's something to react to. We tend to get a lot of wide shots in comedies so we can see everything that's happening in the scene, we want to know what it is that actors are reacting to and what everyone's doing which can be shown using wide shots.

Narrative
It has a linear, narrative, episodes are chronological and straight forward. This episode is multi strand, each of the characters have something for us to follow along while we're watching. In this episode we follow Sue's sister coming, the story of Jake having an 18 year old girlfriend and his mum trying to hack into his Facebook, as well as Ben trying to pick something to do in the school talent show, he's using a book as a prop, reading stunts that professionals have done and wants to try and copy. The parents have to deal with each of these strands throughout the whole episode.
We want to watch to find out what's happening with Sue's sister and Misty, why they lied about hotels being fully booked. They leave it on a cliffhanger with a "to be continued.." at the end making us want to know what happens next. No one speaks, they all just look at each other shocked and they don't know what to do.
It's entertaining for me because I want to know what happens next, it's good to have the mystery almost of what Angela is hiding. The fact that none of the episodes are single strand is appealing to me because I find that boring whereas following different characters is more entertaining because you have more going on and more to watch.


Representations
Costumes represent an average middle class family living in London. Kids wearing school uniforms, mum and dad wearing laid back typical "parent" clothes with simple colours.
The characters can be seen as stereotypical because the mum is the one who is stressed out the majority of the time while the dad is very chilled.
Jake is shown as a typical teenage boy because throughout the scenes he's given props like a laptop, showing that a teen in school is always on the computer whether it be for work or on facebook. Also in the whole episode and in the majority of the rest in the season, he's wearing his school uniform which is an accurate represention as most don't get changed out of their uniform after school and in parts he's set in his bedroom with the door shut showing he wants his privacy which a lot of teens will argue about.
Him being represented like this, a typical teenage boy is appealing to me because I can relate to it. 
Similarly the two younger children are also always in their uniforms and are shown as typical children really, Karen is shown as a young girl with what she plays with - she's given a plastic toy dinosaur and a bucket of water and knocks it into it, children can be easily entertained and by using this in the scene it shows how she is a typical child.
 The children "run" the house and out number their parents, hence the title and some people see that as a negative thing. In the scene from the screenshot from her facial expression she looks fed up and stutters because she's going over it too much and getting stressed.   http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsdkug_outnumbered-s04e05_shortfilms
In my opinion the representations are debatable as to whether they're good or bad as the mum is shown negatively being the one who's stressed out and other mums who watch might think it's very stereotypical of the husband to be the one who's more chilled. On the other hand you get the kids who are shown positively, very cheeky and witty and in the episodes they're never naughty so it isn't giving us a negative impression.

Concluding slide
I think that the programme is good at targeting me because the language is quite informal, it's on at a time when I can watch it and it's humorous so it isn't dull to watch.
"I'm in the target audience age range for this show but I don't watch it because the concept of the show doesn't appeal to me. I don't really think it's funny and I prefer all adult comedy shows." Lena
Oppositional readings could be from people who don't find shows like this funny, the fact that no one fully follows a script is unappealing to some people and it makes the show seem thrown together.
"The way the scripts are written it is as if they were written by two different teams, one for the adults and one of the children and then it is a surprise to the adult actors what the children will say." IMDB review.
Or some older people who are still in the target audience because they just don't find it funny or they prefer comedy sitcoms like Miranda with an all adult cast and the language is more targeted at adults.

Tuesday 14 January 2014

Music Video Production Unit 29

Deconstructing music videos
Things we would expect to see = conventions.
Unconventional = not what the majority would expect to see/enjoy. 

Style
In concert/as live
- gig footage
- shots of stage
- shots of audience
- wide shots of crowd
- backstage footage
- lyric interpretation

Animation
- stop motion
- 2D drawn
- 3D computer animated
- animated characters
- visualise abstract ideas

Narrative
- filmic
- cinematic shots
- storyline - draws audience response
- fictional characters
- lyric interpretation
- consolidates song meaning

Surrealist
- unreal
- bizarre
- dream like
- people behaving weirdly
- lyric interpretation
- abstract mise en scene
- challenging "normal" expectations

Taking inspiration
Pastiche - borrowing techniques or styles from previous work
Homage - a respectful reference of a previous work
Parody - a humorous imitation of a previous work

One Direction
- narrative
- lyric interpretation
- energetic
- positive
- love interest

________________________________________________________________________________

Techniques 
Chroma keying
Camera shots
Mise en scene
Cutting to the beat
Lip sync

Style;
Animation, surrealist, camera shots, mise en scene - monkeys, lip sync, 2D animated characters, cutting to the beat.

Purpose;
Entertainment
Generate interest in the artist - camera shots, split screen
Makes it engaging

Style;
Close ups of Lorde - promotes the artist
Narrative
Slow motion
Fictional characters

Monday 13 January 2014

Unit 29


  • Pan's people - dancers on shows such as Top Of The Pops
  • First video = Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Purpose of music videos - promote the artist
                                        - create a positive audience reaction
                                        - create a buzz
                                        - sell more records

Synergy - when 2 things work well together

Purposes of why the music videos were made;

Promotes a business - John Lewis
Promotes the artist
Promotes a TV programme
Product placement
Reference
Increase in album sales

Mode Of Address

What is the mode of address?
Upbeat, cheesy, energetic, positive

Prove it. (facial expression, colours, sound, camera..)
Lots of energy - dancing, they look happy, coloured umbrellas that match the show title and they're all wearing black and white - the font gives you the impression that it's a laid back show. You can see a bit of their personalities from their close ups. The song has happy lyrics and is catchy.

How does it make you feel?
Happy because it looks like it will be a fun show and we want to watch.

Genre - generic conventions of a sci fi.
Scientific props and sets - labs, spaceships, space
Futuristic costumes
Reference to aliens
Futuristic sets - other planets
Unknown dialogue - non diegetic sound e.g electronic
Unusual narrative

Did the trailer meet your expectations?
Futuristic props and setting
Robotic characters
Characters didn't look like normal humans
Set in space
Spaceship battles
Unknown creatures

What didn't you expect?
The car chase - seemed too normal, the setting of a desert wasn't typical of a sci fi. Slow mo dive looked like an action film. It makes the film more interesting because you're getting something new.

Genre means type.
Mode of address is the way something makes you feel (tone).
Target audience is who you want to watch your product (Demographics; age, gender, orientation, place)
Oppositional reading is people who have an opposite opinion to yours.
Preferred reading is what producers want you to feel - have a good opinion about it.

Generic conventions are what you expect to see.

Defining audiences. 
Target audience of Star Trek;

  • Sci fi fans - it has the conventions of one.
  • Teenagers and up - has a 12 rating.
  • Males because the characters are prominently male and includes a lot of action conventions. - It speaks to the stereotypical interests of men. 
  • Fans of Star Trek - "Live Long and Prosper" sound and mid shot of Spock. 
  • Women - strong female characters, hints of romance. 
  • Psychographics of explorers, mainstreamers and generic. 
  • Oppositional - older fans. 
Narrative.
Single strand - Die Hard - simple storyline, save the building, kill the bad guy.
Multi strand - Love Actually, lots of different story lines - is my product single or multi strand? 
Enigma codes - puzzles that have to be solved to keep us interested.
Character types - hero, victim, villain.
Flashbacks - distorts the narrative, sometimes in black and white. They give us better understandings of a film or could shadow something that is about to happen. 

Representations.
People or places in media products are re-representations of reality.
They are easy for audiences to watch and relate.
They can be described as; positive, negative, stereotypical.

Stereotypes.
Geeks - glasses, buttoned up shirts, clever, shy, outcast.
Women - act ditsy/dumb, takes ages to get ready.
Lads - heavy drinkers, immature, sporty, large groups.

In my media product I have to prove it by what they say, how they look and behave. 

Representation task
Elderly people are being represented in a negative way.
Stereotypical that all old people can't see without glasses and as you get older your eyesight goes a bit. Moaning about it being too over crowded and not having fun from their facial expression and the way that they're dressed is very plain and includes beige which is typical elderly clothing. Brought their own tupperware with sandwiches.
Audience find it funny, comical mode of address.
Oppositional - old people can get offended because it's suggesting their hearing is a bit off and can't see. 

Sunday 12 January 2014

Reflective Analysis

With the production of our documentary what worked well was us being able to work in our own groups and we could picked who we work with and because we already knew each other we didn't feel shy telling people to do more work but the down side to that is that we weren't always focused on getting work done. We were also good with getting the paperwork done and we were able ti plan out what we were filming when and what to say - the draft script was done on time and we were able to alter it so it was better.
I think our organisation could have been improved because we talked about what we wanted to get filmed but 8 times out of 10 we didn't get get it all done and it put us behind a bit so the end result wasn't as long as we wanted it to be and we had to include footage off youtube which was our plan b but ideally w didn't want to.
In future productions I want to get all the paperwork done first and make sure it's done properly so that when we come to practically making it all goes how it should - some of the interviews we did got scrapped because they didn't look good and it wasted a lot of time.
From the project I learnt how to work in a group and share responsibilities and how important it is to make sure you communicate with your group so you know what you have to do in terms of paperwork and job roles when you're filming.