Walt Disney
What type of marketing do they do at their resorts?
I think they sell merchandise for their films, such as toys and costumes, show trailers there and use their mascots (people dressed up as the characters) to market their films.
Neal Street
What else do the owners do?
Sam Mendes: was married to Kate Winslet from 2003- 2010.
is a well known film producer and director, directed films such as American Beauty and Skyfall.
Caro Newling - produces stage shows like Enron and Shrek: The Musical.
Pippa Harris - worked for Carlton and Channel 4 before moving to the BBC in 1997 as Head of Drama Commissioning. Produced things such as Cutting It and The Lost Prince.
Sunday, 2 December 2012
Extra questions for film industries prezi
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Sunday, 18 November 2012
Thursday, 15 November 2012
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Editing
This is Continuity Editing as there are several cuts in the editing where different things occur. It is a longer situation condensed into a few minutes.
These are both Hollywood montages as they show long situations in a few moments.
This is a soviet montage as several seemingly disconnected scenes are placed into a montage of shots, and the audience are very aware of the cuts.
Friday, 26 October 2012
Ratcatcher sounds
The starting image is rather abstract, which is reflected by the muffled sound of children shouting.
The image and sound are both in slow motion as the boy wrapping himself in a curtain distorts both himself and his hearing. It is slow and muffled as it is barely audible over the curtains.
We are firstly introduced to the real world by the hard slap over Ryan's head by his mother and her telling him off for spinning on the curtain. This is a harsh sound as he has to come out of the curtain, and it shocks the viewer as the muffled sound is taken over by the mother catching him and telling him off.
As the curtain unwinds, the background noise that we hear is again the muffled sound of the children shouting. It seems to be coming from outside but we cannot be sure.
When Ryan is looking out of the window, you can hear the children shouting ans playing again, and you can see a boy throwing stones into the river on his own. This could suggest that Ryan wants to join him, and he is fed up with his mother telling him what to do.
When he and his mother leave the housing block, we hear and see children playing, which is what we could hear before.
Ryan runs away from his mother and pulls his trousers out of his boots. The sound designer has stressed that this is an important sound of defiance as the sounds are emphasised from what it is normally. This shows that he has power over his mother.
There is a parallel sound between Ryan and James 'playing' by the canal and Ryan's mother buying him some shoes. By the canal, you can hear the boys splashing around and submerging each others heads into the water. They also swear at each other a lot. In the shoe shop, the sound is quiet and muffled, as if she doesn't know what is going on. you can hear a ringing sound in both cuts.
James then pushes Ryan into the canal. The sound then goes silent when Ryan doesn't surface. This creates a very sullen mood which shows that he has drowned.
James' mother then comes home, from the street to the staircase. the sound stops as the camera moves to the staircase. This shows that she has seen that James has killed Ryan, and we feel shock at what has just happened.
The sound moves from concrete to abstract very abruptly, without any form of warning, such as when Ryan's mother has a go at him for spinning in the curtain.
Sunshine Sounds
We have no idea what sounds might live in space, but there are some ideas created by the sounds we hear accompanied by the spaceship. The non - diegetic music itself is monotonous, yet powerful, which could show that the spaceship is a very large powerful machine but not much to look at. The music is asynchronous with the movement of the spaceship, but as it gets closer to the sun, it reaches a crescendo. This could show that something dramatic or shocking is about to happen.
The exterior sounds of the spaceship sound more soft and monotonous because as space is a vacuum, everything seems to be free flowing and has no force to it. The monotonous sound could show this slow free movement. The interior sounds however are clearer as there is a pressurised atmosphere, so the sounds that we do hear are clearer and more metallic as most of the interior is made of metal. The character with the spacesuit free falls in the spaceship to the door where a scream occurs.
The interior sounds are made of sharp screams and growls, which could suggest that it is a very scary unpredictable atmosphere under there. we see a bloody hand print on the metal, which along with the screams shows that there has been or will be death in there.
The music heard throughout the clip is monotonous yet powerful, with a mixture of high and low pitch sounds. This is a very overwhelming sound as it can be a very scary time out in space. The crescendos make it sound very dramatic, tense and powerful, as you don't know what is going to happen next.
We believe that sounds that we hear as although these sounds are non-diegetic, they sound realistic to the sound effects of the spaceship, very metallic.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Hunger Sound Effects Questions
The sounds that I hear throughout the extract are:
- A humming sound that continues throughout the whole clip. This gives an eerie, grim, dull and creepy atmosphere, as there is barely any dialogue. The clip focuses on the demise and death of the main character, Bobby Sands, so this adds to the grim sparseness of the music. This is a soft sound.
- The footsteps of police officers walking around the jail. These are harsh sounding compared to the rest of the sounds there, as it shows the only activity there, and any sound that occurs in the sparse silence of the surroundings will sound creepy.
- The sound of birds wings flapping. This is a representation that keeps appearing throughout the clip.
- Him slumping on the floor when the officer refused to help him out of the bath. This shows his weakness at the end of his life.
- Breathing. This gets heavier the closer he gets to death, which makes it even more eerie.
There are 2 main sounds that feature throughout the clip, birds and breathing. The bird sound represents the life of Bobby. They are around doing their normal activity when Bobby is alive. At the end of the clip after Bobby has died, they fly away, representing that he has emigrated to heaven, like birds emigrate somewhere else in the winter. A similar representation happens with the breathing. His breathing gets deeper and more audible towards the end of the clip, which suggests that he is a dying man and he is struggling to breathe more towards his death.
Towards the end of the clip, there is a flashback of his childhood which is represented by the young boy in his cell. It is here where the music starts. This music is plain, sparse, metallic and monotonous, which suggests that he could have had a bad childhood, but the start of the flashback suggests otherwise. He is running around with his friends. The second part of it shows him looking miserable on the bus whilst everyone else is singing. When one of his friends shouts his name to sing, he shakes his head. The music gets louder and more prominent the deeper he runs into the dark forest, and therefore the closer to his death. Shortly before his death, he sheds a tear, which shows that it is too late to turn back and he doesn't believe where he is, at the end of his life. When he looks behind him after running too far into the forest and he gets lost, it is too late to turn back, which represents that he has gotten too weak to get better and he dies. The music then stops representing his death, then the birds fly away.
The filmmaker builds up the sounds to his death then stops the after he has died. This could represent the life flashing before his eyes before his death. The silence emphasizes the sounds that are second nature to us, such as breathing, which is emphasized when we are struggling to breathe. This adds a creepy atmosphere to the clip as it is to do with death which is very creepy and sullen.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Sound Effects Terminology
Non -diegetic sound
This is the backing track of the trailer, to ad a catchy effect to it. Only the audience can hear it so it is classed as non - diegetic sound.
Diegetic sound
The alarm clock here is classed as a diegetic sound as both the character and the audience hear it so it is part of the narrative.
Synchronous Sound
This is synchronous sound as the dialogue is shown in time with her lips moving, so it is in sync.
Asynchronous Sound -
This is asynchronous sound because the dialogue is not in sync with the lips moving.
Sound Effects
In this clip the car horns have probably been added to emphasize the effect of a working morning in a busy town with everyone wanting to get to work. This is a sound effect.
Sound Motif
The silence after she says that they are getting married even though they strongly dislike each other each other represents the dramatic turn in the storyline. this is a sound motif.
Sound Bridge -
This is a sound bridge as the backing track is playing over a number of cuts/transitions.
Dialogue -
This is dialogue as it is filming people have a conversation (talking to each other).
Voiceover
The man talking over the narrative of the trailer is giving information about the movie. This is a voiceover.
Direct Address
This is a direct address as he is looking at the audience telling them to watch his movie.
Sound Perspective
This is a sound perspective as the car horns get louder as Andrew comes closer to the cars.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Representations of age in Skins
Representations of Age in a Skins Scene
Skins show the representation of ages in several ways through mise en scene, camera angles and the music itself.
The theme tune shows that it is a show about teenagers as it is fast paced and timeless. It is not a song, just a catchy young sounding theme which creates an identity for the show. As Tony does his montage of weight training and exercises the electro music kicks in. This is a very teenage sounding tune with harsh beats and non- diegetic, which means the characters can't hear the music. It relates to the target audience of the show as it sounds young and edgy.
The main character of the show, Tony, is represented as a typical teenager in a way that he plays loud music to deliberately to annoy his Dad, and he is seen admiring himself in the mirror in an over the shoulder camera shot after he has done his montage of exercises. However, there are some major binary opposites between a stereotypical teenager and the character of Tony. First of all, his room is tidy, and his clothes are plain colours and folded up perfectly which could imply that he suffers from OCD. He is reading a French book called Nausea and the posters in his room are of French movies. The mise en scene is very beige and dull. He is also dressed in relatively plain clothes with a simple haircut, wearing chinos, a plain shoe, a plain T shirt and a jumper/hoodie. Typical teenage boys have a messy room, sport a preppy up to date look and have posters of films and posters in their room. He also has a mischievous side to him. He puts loud rock diegetic music on to distract his Dad while younger sister Effie sneaks in after her night out. He also locks the bathroom to annoy his Dad while he climbs out of the window to admire his neighbour, who he has previously watched getting changed out of his window.
Effie lives a double life, at night she is out clubbing and drinking, as shown by her messy look of one sock up, one sock down, a short skirt and top that make her look older than her years. Her hair is messed up and her makeup smudged. When she sneaks upstairs, she takes all of that off and changes into her school uniform, which makes her look younger. A long shot is used to show her coming home from a night out, which could show that she is out of touch with her family, and to show that she acts older than her age. She walks with an attitude as most teenagers do. She seems dishonest and manipulative.
Their father is the binary opposite of Tony, as he is fat, short and hairy, and Tony is tall, thin and smooth. He uses foul language towards his family to show that in many ways he acts like a teenager, and he lives up to being the representation of a typical Dad by walking around in his underpants showing off his beer belly, hairy chest and crack as he ends down. The camera usually points down on him as Tony and Effie have the upper hand over him. The mother in the house seems to be fed up of the father’s language. She smiles as Tony walks in from the bathroom to the kitchen, which suggests that she knows what's going on with her children and the Dad doesn't. She claims that Effie is having egg as she didn't sleep well, which implies that she knows what’s going on, and plays along with it.
The bird’s eye view on Tony shows that he has a lot of responsibility for Effie, and he sets an alarm just to let her in. This isn't really a representation of a teenager as they aren't usually very responsible people. The duvet cover on his bed shows a man and a woman, with him in the middle of them, which shows that he is confused about his sexuality, as some teenagers that age will be. It is perfectly straight which usually doesn’t happen for anyone who wakes up. He is also a man of routine, as shown when he lets Effie in and how he does his exercise montage at exactly the same time each day. Most of it is in medium shot to show clearly to the viewer these representations of age and to keep them involved in the storyline.
Skins show the representation of ages in several ways through mise en scene, camera angles and the music itself.
The theme tune shows that it is a show about teenagers as it is fast paced and timeless. It is not a song, just a catchy young sounding theme which creates an identity for the show. As Tony does his montage of weight training and exercises the electro music kicks in. This is a very teenage sounding tune with harsh beats and non- diegetic, which means the characters can't hear the music. It relates to the target audience of the show as it sounds young and edgy.
The main character of the show, Tony, is represented as a typical teenager in a way that he plays loud music to deliberately to annoy his Dad, and he is seen admiring himself in the mirror in an over the shoulder camera shot after he has done his montage of exercises. However, there are some major binary opposites between a stereotypical teenager and the character of Tony. First of all, his room is tidy, and his clothes are plain colours and folded up perfectly which could imply that he suffers from OCD. He is reading a French book called Nausea and the posters in his room are of French movies. The mise en scene is very beige and dull. He is also dressed in relatively plain clothes with a simple haircut, wearing chinos, a plain shoe, a plain T shirt and a jumper/hoodie. Typical teenage boys have a messy room, sport a preppy up to date look and have posters of films and posters in their room. He also has a mischievous side to him. He puts loud rock diegetic music on to distract his Dad while younger sister Effie sneaks in after her night out. He also locks the bathroom to annoy his Dad while he climbs out of the window to admire his neighbour, who he has previously watched getting changed out of his window.
Effie lives a double life, at night she is out clubbing and drinking, as shown by her messy look of one sock up, one sock down, a short skirt and top that make her look older than her years. Her hair is messed up and her makeup smudged. When she sneaks upstairs, she takes all of that off and changes into her school uniform, which makes her look younger. A long shot is used to show her coming home from a night out, which could show that she is out of touch with her family, and to show that she acts older than her age. She walks with an attitude as most teenagers do. She seems dishonest and manipulative.
Their father is the binary opposite of Tony, as he is fat, short and hairy, and Tony is tall, thin and smooth. He uses foul language towards his family to show that in many ways he acts like a teenager, and he lives up to being the representation of a typical Dad by walking around in his underpants showing off his beer belly, hairy chest and crack as he ends down. The camera usually points down on him as Tony and Effie have the upper hand over him. The mother in the house seems to be fed up of the father’s language. She smiles as Tony walks in from the bathroom to the kitchen, which suggests that she knows what's going on with her children and the Dad doesn't. She claims that Effie is having egg as she didn't sleep well, which implies that she knows what’s going on, and plays along with it.
The bird’s eye view on Tony shows that he has a lot of responsibility for Effie, and he sets an alarm just to let her in. This isn't really a representation of a teenager as they aren't usually very responsible people. The duvet cover on his bed shows a man and a woman, with him in the middle of them, which shows that he is confused about his sexuality, as some teenagers that age will be. It is perfectly straight which usually doesn’t happen for anyone who wakes up. He is also a man of routine, as shown when he lets Effie in and how he does his exercise montage at exactly the same time each day. Most of it is in medium shot to show clearly to the viewer these representations of age and to keep them involved in the storyline.
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Bridesmaids Case Study Video and Transcript
Genre: comedy
Plot: Annie is a middle aged woman whose life is a mess. When she finds out that her lifelong friend Lillian is engaged, she is assigned Maid of Honour, where she has to organise her wedding along with her other Bridesmaids. Annie and Lillian’s posh friend, Helen, get into a bitter rivalry over their friendship with Lillian and try to upstage each other.
Pre-Production
The script was written by Kristen Wiig (plays Annie, the main character in the film) and Annie Mumolo. They are good friends in real life and they met at The Groundlings, where they wrote sketches together in the early 2000s. The script was initially called Maid of Honour.
The film’s original idea was cast in 2006, soon after Kristen Wiig was cast as a supporting role cable television executive in producer Judd Apatow's comedy film Knocked Up. When Apatow realised that she had comedic talent, he asked Wiig if she had any ideas for a screenplay herself, a similar idea which produced ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’.
The writers then came up with a script for Bridesmaids. Over the next few years, writing started, with Wiig working on Saturday Night Live in New York City and Mumolo writing the script in Los Angeles. They would meet at weekends and show drafts to Apatow to get his feedback on the script. The film was produced by Universal, along with Apatow pictures and Relativity Media.
Production and filming-
It was budgeted at $32.5 million. It was originally set in Milwaukee and Chicago, but some photography actually took place in Los Angeles.
Jefferson sage, the production designer said of the film, “you had these two disparate worlds: There was Annie's world in Milwaukee, and then there was Helen's world in Chicago. It immediately drew this dichotomy between the rivalry that developed between them”
He also said that it was challenging to find architecture that would give us those Midwestern worlds.
They used Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden for Lillian and Doug’s wedding.
In some scenes, filming took place in Oxnard, California, where the roads between Milwaukee and Chicago are in the film.
Distribution
The film was distributed by Universal and its arms in most countries, but in other countries it was distributed by their own country.
Here is a list from IMDB of the distributors of the film:
•Universal Pictures Canada (2011) (Canada)
•Ro Image 2000 (2011) (Romania)
•United International Pictures (UIP) (2011) (Slovenia)
•Universal Pictures (2011) (USA)
•Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2011) (Australia)
•United International Pictures (UIP) (2011) (Iceland)
•United International Pictures (UIP) (2011) (Hungary)
•Finnkino (2011) (Finland)
•Forum Cinemas (2011) (Lithuania)
•Solar Entertainment (2011) (Philippines)
•Tokyo Theaters Company (2012) (Japan)
•United International Pictures (UIP) (2011) (Argentina)
•United International Pictures (UIP) (2011) (Greece)
•United International Pictures (UIP) (2011) (Philippines)
•United International Pictures (UIP) (2011) (Singapore)
•Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2011) (Belgium)
•Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2001) (France)
•Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2011) (Netherlands)
•Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2011) (Portugal)
•Argentina Video Home (2012) (Argentina)
•Film1 (2012) (Netherlands) (TV)
•Home Box Office (HBO) (2012) (USA)
•Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2011) (Greece)
•USA Network (2013) (USA) (TV)
•Universal Pictures Benelux (2011) (Netherlands)
•Universal Pictures (2011) (Germany)
•Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (USA)
•Waylen Group (2011) (Taiwan)
Marketing
Teaser and Photos released on 1/2/ 2011
Trailer 15/3/2011
International trailer 19/4/11
Restricted trailer 26/4/11
TV shows "Celebrate" and "Best Ever", 7/4/11
TV shows "Event of the Century", 19/4/11
Featurette 19/4/11
6 clips 3/5/12
Video interviews 5/9/11
Soundtrack 10/5/11
Bloopers: 5/25/11
According to:
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=63411
Exhibition
It was released on May 13 2011, grossing $26,247,410 on its opening weekend and $287,797,912 ($169,106,725 domestically and $119,276,798 in foreign markets) worldwide. It was shown on 2918 screens.
It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 20, 2011. This DVD includes commentary from the actors, writers and directors, as well as deleted and extra scenes and a few other extended features. The Blu ray includes the same as above but with a ‘Made of Honor: Behind the Scenes of Bridesmaids’ feature, a performance of Wilson Phillips' "Hold On", and a digital copy of the song. There are also several iTunes extras.
It was released again as part of the 100th anniversary of Universal Studios on September 4 2012.
Critical reception:
It has received mostly positive reviews from critics.
“A marriage of genuine characters, gross out gags, and pathos, Bridesmaids is a female-driven comedy that refuses to be boxed in as Kristen Wiig emerges as a real star"
Jeff Bayer: “The best female-driven R-rated comedy of all time"
Owen Gleiberman (Entertainment Weekly): ‘brilliantly written and shrewdly honest about what's really going on in women's lives’
Awards:
1 Critics’ Choice Award (Best Comedy)
1 Las Vegas Film Critics Society (Best Supporting Actress, Melissa McCarthy)
2 New York Film Critics Online (Best Ensemble Cast Best Supporting Actress)
2 MTV Movie Awards (Best Comedic Performance, Best Gut Wrenching Performance)
1 NewNowNext Award (Next Must-See Movie)
1 People’s Choice Award (Favourite Comedy Movie)
1 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association (Best Acting Ensemble)
My opinion: Outside of the Box Office, I think that the film was successful. This is because it was making extra revenue out of the sales on iTunes. It was a funny film with some hilarious scenes, and it is worth a watch.
Credits:
By Rebecca Dickinson
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridesmaids_(2011_film)#Filming
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478338/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478338/companycredits
http://www.comingsoon.net/films.php?id=63411
Song- Kate Nash - Do Wah Do
I chose the song as it's on the soundtrack to the movie.
Sunday, 30 September 2012
Shots and Angles
Camera Shots
This is an extra long shot. Any human is this shot is dwarfed by their surroundings. In this particular shot, the man on his bicycle is dwarfed by all of the vehicles. this draws the viewers attention on the fact that everyone is rushing to work on a typical New York working morning.
This is a medium long shot(Andrew). it shows mpost of the body, usually from the knees up. The man on the right next to the filing cabinet reflects a long shot. These are very similar shots, usually showing the body language of a person.
This is a mid shot. This includes the head,shoulders and a bot of the torso. In this shot it shows Andrew running to work, showing his facial expression that he is running extremely late for work and is panting.
This is a medium close up. This shows just the head and the shoulders on a human being. In this shot, it shows Andrew getting out of bed after realising he is very late for work.
This is a close up. It only shows the persons head in specific detail. Here, it shows Margaret, the strict boss, getting out of the shower. You can only see her head peering out of the shower. This can show an intimidating effect to a character or show great detail on their emotions.
Camera Angles
This is an aerial shot. It gives the viewer an idea of the area of the place that the movie is set thus setting the scene. In this shot, the massive surrounding of skyscrapers represents Andrew's surroundings in the morning of a typical New York working day, and it looks intimidating, suggesting that he is intimidated by his workplace. It looks like it has been taken from a plane or a helicopter. This could also be classed as an extreme wide shot, which has a similar effect but could be more common in a movie.
This is a low camera angle. It is where the subject of a camera is filmed from low down usually to show authority in a scene. in this particular shot it is filmed from low down because Margaret, the boss who no one likes is coming. this can also show the intimidating height of a building.
Here is a shot from above. This is where the subject is filmed from above showing inferiority or someone looking down on something/someone. In this particular shot it is showing Margaret looking down on Andrew, as she is his boss, showing his inferiority and her power.
The canted angle shows a disorientated angle of a person. It is used to show the disorientation of a person in a movie when they don't know whats going on. In this shot one of the colleagues is laughing out of confusion when he found out that Andrew had agreed to marry Margaret.
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Sunday, 23 September 2012
American Beauty- Lester Burnham
Scene 1- the Pan over the neighbourhood and the family's typical morning.
Lester Burnham’s narrative is set in a very negative light. The most poignant phrase in the narrative is that he will be 'dead in a year' because it makes the viewer wonder why he will be dead in a year. When Lester is in his room, the mise en scene is very dull, with beige colours both on the walls and the furniture. This is a reflection of his life, dull and boring. The room is very empty as well which shows that he is a lonely sad man. The main camera angle in here is a bird’s eye view, which shows his inferiority as a human being. He was sleeping face down, which shows that he doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning as he doesn’t feel it's worth it. As the camera pans in on him, you see that his face is half shadowed. This shows that he wants to fade away and he is a shadow of his former self. The fact that he's 'Jerking off' in the shower shows that he has lost the romance in his marriage and you wouldn't expect a 42 year old man to do that. He lets out a sigh as he turns around in bed and his facial expression is lost and depressed, like he has lost something but can’t work out what it is.
The second part of the scene is him watching his wife interact with other people, whilst he is standing inside, trapped. The over the shoulder camera angle makes the viewer feel trapped in the house with Lester, and make him seem further away. The roses in the scene are a repetitive symbol of the love the family used to have which is lost, as symbolised by his wife, Carolyn, cutting the roses that she has in her garden. The colours of red, white and blue in the front garden symbolise the patriotism of America. His daughter, Jane whom he describes in his voiceover as 'angry, insecure and confused' is a reflection of himself and he thinks that this won't pass over for them both.
Carolyn is the head of the family and bullies her husband and daughter using extremely negative sarcastic language. She asks her daughter 'are you trying to look unattractive' to which Jane replies 'yes' and then her mother says 'congratulations you did a good job' which shows that they both know she has no self-esteem and her mother likes to have the last word. Lester then walks out and she says 'Could you make me a little later please?' which shows that he works to his own schedule and she gets frustrated with him. He then drops his things which shows that he is childish and clumsy. Both his wife and daughter look down on him and have no respect for him at all as a husband or father.
He is slumped in the back of the car with his wife driving and daughter in the front, which is against the usual family stereotype of the man driving, the wife next to him and the daughter in the back. This shows that he has no control in the family as he is being driven to work by his wife. The scene ends at work, where the reflection of his face in the computer seems to be behind bars, again reflecting the fact that he is trapped in his life. The final line of the narrative shows that it is not too late to change and ends on a positive note.
Scene 2 - at work and around the dinner table.
This scene starts with a typical office scene where everyone is on the phone and in smart clothing. His desk is again decorated in red, white and blue. When he is on the phone to a client, you see a change in his personality. He is happy and content and laughing. This shows that he would rather be at work than at home, as he is being paid. Towards the end of the call however, his voice becomes very sarcastic and appears to give out a fake phone number and the slams the phone down. That's when the camera pans up, showing that the boss, a figure of authority comes along to call Lester to his office. The camera then pans down at Lester, showing that he is not as important as the boss, making him look smaller. The same camera angles are used in the office, with the boss looking high up with a name badge, making him look professional, and he is wearing colour against a white background to make him stand out more. Lester is shown lower down, and he is sitting on a low chair like a child, showing that he is small and being quizzed. When the boss says that someone may get fired and he has to write a statement of his job description to see who was the most efficient, Lester’s voice goes low - pitched and defensive, jumping to conclusions as he has heard it all before. This rant continues in the car with his wife, to which she says that he is being over dramatic and to just write the statement anyway to save his job. This argument continues as they get out the car, showing that this couple can't communicate, just argue and shout at each other. The camera the pans at a number of photos of the family in happier times, including one of Lester with his hand on his wife’s shoulder and her hand on his, and he has his other arm round his daughter, showing that the family was united at one point, and he was in control of the family, and it has fallen apart. The family are sat at the table, and Lester and his wife are sitting on opposite ends of the table, with Jane being sat in the middle of them between the candles, therefore the light is shining on her showing that she is the family priority. The music here is very posh, depressing and mournful, showing that the family mourns the closeness they once had. This is elevator music, as Jane points out when she asks her mother if they have to have it playing at the table every day. Carolyn then replies very sarcastically with the fact that if she made the meal then she could choose the music. This shows that Carolyn is very much in control and she holds the dysfunctional family together. The family rarely talk, but when Lester talks to his daughter, she replies very sarcastically as he keeps questioning her. When Lester has yet another rant about his job, Jane replies with 'you can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you've had a bad day... I mean hello? You've barely spoken to me for months' and walks out. This just shows the heavy strain on their relationship. He then mutters under his breath at the table to which his wife responds 'WHAT?!' like he is a child. The music then turns mournful as he asks what happened to their relationship, and their voices become muted as the cameras pan out, and Jane walks off like she's given up on their relationship. What they don't know is that a creepy, dishonest looking man is seen recording them with a camcorder. The final shot shows a picture of the family in black and white in happier times. There are a few splashes of colour in this final scene, which are probably added by Carolyn to make the house look presentable and bright against the dull colours which represent the family mood and atmosphere.
Lester Burnham’s narrative is set in a very negative light. The most poignant phrase in the narrative is that he will be 'dead in a year' because it makes the viewer wonder why he will be dead in a year. When Lester is in his room, the mise en scene is very dull, with beige colours both on the walls and the furniture. This is a reflection of his life, dull and boring. The room is very empty as well which shows that he is a lonely sad man. The main camera angle in here is a bird’s eye view, which shows his inferiority as a human being. He was sleeping face down, which shows that he doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning as he doesn’t feel it's worth it. As the camera pans in on him, you see that his face is half shadowed. This shows that he wants to fade away and he is a shadow of his former self. The fact that he's 'Jerking off' in the shower shows that he has lost the romance in his marriage and you wouldn't expect a 42 year old man to do that. He lets out a sigh as he turns around in bed and his facial expression is lost and depressed, like he has lost something but can’t work out what it is.
The second part of the scene is him watching his wife interact with other people, whilst he is standing inside, trapped. The over the shoulder camera angle makes the viewer feel trapped in the house with Lester, and make him seem further away. The roses in the scene are a repetitive symbol of the love the family used to have which is lost, as symbolised by his wife, Carolyn, cutting the roses that she has in her garden. The colours of red, white and blue in the front garden symbolise the patriotism of America. His daughter, Jane whom he describes in his voiceover as 'angry, insecure and confused' is a reflection of himself and he thinks that this won't pass over for them both.
Carolyn is the head of the family and bullies her husband and daughter using extremely negative sarcastic language. She asks her daughter 'are you trying to look unattractive' to which Jane replies 'yes' and then her mother says 'congratulations you did a good job' which shows that they both know she has no self-esteem and her mother likes to have the last word. Lester then walks out and she says 'Could you make me a little later please?' which shows that he works to his own schedule and she gets frustrated with him. He then drops his things which shows that he is childish and clumsy. Both his wife and daughter look down on him and have no respect for him at all as a husband or father.
He is slumped in the back of the car with his wife driving and daughter in the front, which is against the usual family stereotype of the man driving, the wife next to him and the daughter in the back. This shows that he has no control in the family as he is being driven to work by his wife. The scene ends at work, where the reflection of his face in the computer seems to be behind bars, again reflecting the fact that he is trapped in his life. The final line of the narrative shows that it is not too late to change and ends on a positive note.
Scene 2 - at work and around the dinner table.
This scene starts with a typical office scene where everyone is on the phone and in smart clothing. His desk is again decorated in red, white and blue. When he is on the phone to a client, you see a change in his personality. He is happy and content and laughing. This shows that he would rather be at work than at home, as he is being paid. Towards the end of the call however, his voice becomes very sarcastic and appears to give out a fake phone number and the slams the phone down. That's when the camera pans up, showing that the boss, a figure of authority comes along to call Lester to his office. The camera then pans down at Lester, showing that he is not as important as the boss, making him look smaller. The same camera angles are used in the office, with the boss looking high up with a name badge, making him look professional, and he is wearing colour against a white background to make him stand out more. Lester is shown lower down, and he is sitting on a low chair like a child, showing that he is small and being quizzed. When the boss says that someone may get fired and he has to write a statement of his job description to see who was the most efficient, Lester’s voice goes low - pitched and defensive, jumping to conclusions as he has heard it all before. This rant continues in the car with his wife, to which she says that he is being over dramatic and to just write the statement anyway to save his job. This argument continues as they get out the car, showing that this couple can't communicate, just argue and shout at each other. The camera the pans at a number of photos of the family in happier times, including one of Lester with his hand on his wife’s shoulder and her hand on his, and he has his other arm round his daughter, showing that the family was united at one point, and he was in control of the family, and it has fallen apart. The family are sat at the table, and Lester and his wife are sitting on opposite ends of the table, with Jane being sat in the middle of them between the candles, therefore the light is shining on her showing that she is the family priority. The music here is very posh, depressing and mournful, showing that the family mourns the closeness they once had. This is elevator music, as Jane points out when she asks her mother if they have to have it playing at the table every day. Carolyn then replies very sarcastically with the fact that if she made the meal then she could choose the music. This shows that Carolyn is very much in control and she holds the dysfunctional family together. The family rarely talk, but when Lester talks to his daughter, she replies very sarcastically as he keeps questioning her. When Lester has yet another rant about his job, Jane replies with 'you can't all of a sudden be my best friend just because you've had a bad day... I mean hello? You've barely spoken to me for months' and walks out. This just shows the heavy strain on their relationship. He then mutters under his breath at the table to which his wife responds 'WHAT?!' like he is a child. The music then turns mournful as he asks what happened to their relationship, and their voices become muted as the cameras pan out, and Jane walks off like she's given up on their relationship. What they don't know is that a creepy, dishonest looking man is seen recording them with a camcorder. The final shot shows a picture of the family in black and white in happier times. There are a few splashes of colour in this final scene, which are probably added by Carolyn to make the house look presentable and bright against the dull colours which represent the family mood and atmosphere.
Tuesday, 18 September 2012
5 by 5
These are in no particular order as I don't really have 'favourites', so I just picked the best ones.
Favourite films:
1.The Proposal
2. Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1
3. Mamma Mia!
4. Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
5. Cool Runnings
Rocky Songs:
1. Muse - Starlight
2. Linkin Park - Numb
3. All Time Low - Weightless
4. Linkin Park - What I've Done
5. Linkin Park - New Divide
TV Shows:
1. Waterloo Road
2. Come Dine With Me
3. X Factor
4. TOWIE
5. Shooting Stars
Artists:
1. Linkin Park
2. Coldplay
3. All Time Low (some songs)
4. Italobrothers
5. Muse (2 songs)
Talent Shows:
1. X factor
2. Britains Got Talent
3. Dancing On Ice
4. Project Runway
5. So You Think You Can Dance
Favourite films:
1.The Proposal
2. Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1
3. Mamma Mia!
4. Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
5. Cool Runnings
Rocky Songs:
1. Muse - Starlight
2. Linkin Park - Numb
3. All Time Low - Weightless
4. Linkin Park - What I've Done
5. Linkin Park - New Divide
TV Shows:
1. Waterloo Road
2. Come Dine With Me
3. X Factor
4. TOWIE
5. Shooting Stars
Artists:
1. Linkin Park
2. Coldplay
3. All Time Low (some songs)
4. Italobrothers
5. Muse (2 songs)
Talent Shows:
1. X factor
2. Britains Got Talent
3. Dancing On Ice
4. Project Runway
5. So You Think You Can Dance
Sunday, 16 September 2012
The Male Gaze
Freddie Ljungberg
I think this man has a seductive look on his face, which sends out a message to men that this is how you seduce women. He is half naked so the attention is on the product advertised: the underpants. He is putting one hand on the product and one hand out the way so the viewer can see the underpants. this also shows his muscles which is what the target audience would find attractive. The product is advertised for men and the object of the image is for women and gay men. The man has a toned, close shaven body which means that he takes good care of himself. He is breaking the 4th wall by looking at the camera, and women would think that their men would look like that if they bought the underpants. His body is toned which means he 'exercises' a lot, as shown by the sweaty/oily body. The necklace shows a softer side to him.
Marjorie Furguson's Facial expressions (1980)
Chocolate Box- is a half or full smile with lips together or slightly parted. Teeth are not really shown in this facial expression. either full or 3/4 face to the camera.
The mood of this facial expression is warmth, pleasing, unique and individual.
Invitational- camera emphasising on eyes, so usually attractive eyes are used on the woman. the head is either to one side or looking at the camera. The mood here is mysterious and mischeivous and means business.
Super Smiler- Full face, Breaking the fourth wall by looking at the camera, large toothy smile, head thrust forward. Suggests a 'look at me' arrogant attitude.
Romantic or Sexual - Male and Female Couple, not smiling and dreamy and heavy lidded. The moodhere is overtly sexual or possibly 'available'.
Trevor Millum (1975)
Carefree- happy, smiling, active, healthy, outdoor person, outgoing.
Practical- concentrating, business-like, unsmiling, mouth closed, eyes breaking the fourth wall, hair either short or tied up.
Seductive- narrow eyes, shades, facial expression self sufficient and confident. may include a slight smile.
Comic- pulling faces, exaggerated, acting the fool
Catalogue- barbie- doll like, artificial, like a dummy, any position but mainly eyes wide open and large smile but no personality.
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Summary and the UK and USA film industry
One of the main issues with the film industry is that it has a 90% oligopoly of 6 main conglomerates (the Big 6, each a subsidiary of a conglomerate), which means that smaller companies don't really have a chance to make it big due to this massive domination. this means that the larger companies can take bigger risks in filmaking, as they have the money to make up for it if it goes wrong. The small companies can't take these risks because they don't have the budget for it. They can't use special effects in their films due to budget issues. They could have a co- production with a larger company, but they probably won't have much success unless they have a good film idea that they would want to invest in.
American film industry consists of 90% of the Big 6:
Warner Brothers- owned by Time Warner Media and has produced films such as Harry Potter, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Rock of Ages.
Paramount- owned by Viacom and has produced films such as Shrek, Paranormal Activity, Mission Impossible and The Dictator.
20th Century Fox- owned by News Corp and has produced films such as A-Team, Avatar, Ice Age and Promethus.
The Walt Disney Pictures- owned by The Walt Disney Company and has produced films such as Pirates of the Carribean, The Chronicles of Narnia and Toy Story.
Columbia - owned by Sony and has produced films such as Men in Black, Bad Teacher, Just Go With It and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Universal - owned by GE and has produced films such as Bourne Legacy, Ted, Safe House and Kickass
The UK film industry is dominated by 75% of the Big 6 and 18 out of 20 of the Top 10 Box Office Films in 2010 are of American Productions.
The Rest of the UK film industry is covered by independent companies such as Big Talk Pictures (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Working Title Films (Notting Hill, About a Boy), Film4 (Channel 4, produced films such as Trainspotting and This Is England), BBC Films (BBC, Nativity!, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), Ecosse Films (Mrs Brown, Charlotte Grey) and Government Funding (The Kings Speech, Kidulthood and Adulthood)
Vertical Integration- a different company does each stage of the production.
Horizontal Integration- when a company owns several companies at the same stage in the supply process. This allows targeting at a specific audience or a range of audiences for a wider marketing campaign.
American film industry consists of 90% of the Big 6:
Warner Brothers- owned by Time Warner Media and has produced films such as Harry Potter, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, and Rock of Ages.
Paramount- owned by Viacom and has produced films such as Shrek, Paranormal Activity, Mission Impossible and The Dictator.
20th Century Fox- owned by News Corp and has produced films such as A-Team, Avatar, Ice Age and Promethus.
The Walt Disney Pictures- owned by The Walt Disney Company and has produced films such as Pirates of the Carribean, The Chronicles of Narnia and Toy Story.
Columbia - owned by Sony and has produced films such as Men in Black, Bad Teacher, Just Go With It and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Universal - owned by GE and has produced films such as Bourne Legacy, Ted, Safe House and Kickass
The UK film industry is dominated by 75% of the Big 6 and 18 out of 20 of the Top 10 Box Office Films in 2010 are of American Productions.
The Rest of the UK film industry is covered by independent companies such as Big Talk Pictures (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), Working Title Films (Notting Hill, About a Boy), Film4 (Channel 4, produced films such as Trainspotting and This Is England), BBC Films (BBC, Nativity!, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), Ecosse Films (Mrs Brown, Charlotte Grey) and Government Funding (The Kings Speech, Kidulthood and Adulthood)
Vertical Integration- a different company does each stage of the production.
Horizontal Integration- when a company owns several companies at the same stage in the supply process. This allows targeting at a specific audience or a range of audiences for a wider marketing campaign.
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Representations
A representation is how a character is percieved, and the impression that is given by a character.
The Man
Judging from the picture, I think that this man is homeless because he looks like he doesn't really take care of himself. he looks in an unhealthy state as he is smoking, which is what is normally associated with homeless people. It looks like he does not own many clothes as his outfit is mismatched. People appear to be avoiding him due to the state of him. he looks like he could have had a job but became homeless.
The Man 2
This man is wearing smart clothes and holding paper, so I think he is a businessman who knows what he is doing. The stern expression on his face shows that he is a very intimidating man who looks down on people less important than himself. I see a sense of dishonesty in his eyes and body language, as there is a sense of evil in his eyes and he looks very shifty.
The Woman
I think this lady is very creative and eccentric due to her wacky, unusual dress sense. Her surruondings are very dull, isolated and dishevelled, and she is the complete opposite to her environment. This shows that she is a very out of touch, lonely woman who isnt very liked, and she looks very lost.
Myself
Judging by this picture of me, the representation of me is that I like rock music due to the fact that my t shirt looks like a rock concert T shirt. I have long hair and a choppy side fringe, which shows that I am not very girly. This also is shown by the lack of the colour pink on my clothes. I look very laid back and happy on this picture, with a casual dress sense of just jeans, T shirts and hoodies. I look like I am a little bit shy as well.
The Man
Judging from the picture, I think that this man is homeless because he looks like he doesn't really take care of himself. he looks in an unhealthy state as he is smoking, which is what is normally associated with homeless people. It looks like he does not own many clothes as his outfit is mismatched. People appear to be avoiding him due to the state of him. he looks like he could have had a job but became homeless.
The Man 2
This man is wearing smart clothes and holding paper, so I think he is a businessman who knows what he is doing. The stern expression on his face shows that he is a very intimidating man who looks down on people less important than himself. I see a sense of dishonesty in his eyes and body language, as there is a sense of evil in his eyes and he looks very shifty.
The Woman
I think this lady is very creative and eccentric due to her wacky, unusual dress sense. Her surruondings are very dull, isolated and dishevelled, and she is the complete opposite to her environment. This shows that she is a very out of touch, lonely woman who isnt very liked, and she looks very lost.
Myself
Judging by this picture of me, the representation of me is that I like rock music due to the fact that my t shirt looks like a rock concert T shirt. I have long hair and a choppy side fringe, which shows that I am not very girly. This also is shown by the lack of the colour pink on my clothes. I look very laid back and happy on this picture, with a casual dress sense of just jeans, T shirts and hoodies. I look like I am a little bit shy as well.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
About Me
Hey, I'm Rebecca Dickinson and here are my media interests:
One of my favourite bands is Linkin Park. I like the rocky sound of their music and I can relate to some of the lyrics of their songs. I can just listen to their music for ages and not get bored of it. an example of their songs above is 'What I've Done'. I really like the sound of this song as its captivating and you can just listen to the lyrics. Other good songs include 'Numb', 'Breaking The Habit', 'Papercut' and 'Faint'.
I really like Waterloo Road. It is a really dramatic soap and I enjoy watching it every week, and every episode has a major cliffhanger at the end which really makes me want to watch the next episode to see what happens. it is based in a school so I can relate to it massively. One of my favourite characters is Scout, as she seems a very down to earth character who has had to grow up very quickly as her mother neglects her and her younger brother. The teachers in the soap are very good at helping the pupils through their problems. Grantly Budgen is a very negative character but comes out with really funny one liners. It's not the most realistic of programmes as it prortays some of the children as really naughty and do what you normally wouldn't get away with in class, but thats what makes it entertaining.
I dont really listen to specific bands as my music taste is very versatile, but I have taken a like to Linkin Park's music, and I like rocky music with meaningful lyrics.
I dont really listen to specific bands as my music taste is very versatile, but I have taken a like to Linkin Park's music, and I like rocky music with meaningful lyrics.
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