Market Research Survey: Main Task

Nathan's Media: Market Research Survey: Main Task

Intro

Title Sequence

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Plot Summary

Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) saved his fellow soldiers after his army unit was ambushed during the first Gulf War. His commanding officer Captain Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington), was knocked unconscious. Shaw becomes a vice-presidential candidate and Marco becomes a Major who is constantly dreaming of what happened or didn't happen in the war. He investigates to the point where he questions if any of it happened. Is it possible the army unit was brainwashed to believe Shaw is a war hero as part of a plan to takeover the White House? The Manchurian Global corporation appear desperate to stop him from finding out.

Liev Schreiber - Sergeant Raymond Shaw

Denzel Washington - Captain Bennett Marco

I've chosen to look a short clip from the movie which is Marco being interrogated by government officials and police.

The camera angle is tilted almost portraying the pressure and madness of this intense situation. However Marco stays calm under pressure rising above it. The shots put us in the room as if we are looking at this interrogation ourselves and the slow methodic music builds up the pressure of the scene, so when Marco punches the officer us as the audience are shocked as it was unexpected.

FilmFour Film - Slumdog Millionaire

It is adapted from the novel 'Q&A' by an Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. It is completely set and filmed in India. The story is about a young man named Jamal Malik from the slums of India, who exceeds expectations in the Indian version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. Many officials are suspicious that he may have cheated to do so well.

Director - Danny Boyle

He won a number of awards for the movie including the Academy Award for Best Director. He was also the Artistic Director for the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony called the Isles of Wonder. The first movie he directed was 'Shallow Grove' and was commercially successful in  1995 and this led to the production of 'Trainspotting' based on a novel by Irvine Weslh.

Producer - Christian Colson

He received a number of awards for the movie, including the Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award. Other movies he has produced are The Descent, Separate Lives, Eden Lake, The Descent Part 2, Centurion, 127 Hours and Trance.

Scriptwriter - Simon Beaufoy

He won the Acdemy Award for best Adapted Screenplay, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. He has recently adapted Thr Raw Shark Texts, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Full Monty. He also worked with Christian Colson on 127 Hours.

Analysing a Film Poster

Blumler and Katz (1974) - Uses and Gratification Theory

Surveillance - Becoming aware, informed and educated about the world around them

Personal identity - shaped by hating/relating to specific characters.

Personal relationships - with the media and with people about what happened in the media.

Diversion - escape and entertainment

Editing

Different Editing Transitions

• Cut
• Fade
• Dissolve
• Wipe
• Digitals effects
• Match cut

Cut

an instant change from one shot to the next.
Cuts are used in Michael Jackson's Don't Care About Us video, throughout the video:

Wipe

one shot replaces another by travelling from one side of the frame to another
Paris When it sizzles uses Wipes to cut into the story during the credits:

Fade

Fades the shot to a single colour, usually black or white. The "fade to black" and "fade from black" are ubiquitous in film and television. They usually signal the beginning and end of scenes.
At the begiining Fade is used to show his face:

Disolve

a gradual fade from one shot to the next

Digital effects

effects include colour replacement, animated effects, pixelization, focus drops, lighting effects

Match Cuts

Cut between either two different objects, two different spaces, or two different compositions in which objects in the two shots are similar in some way.
2001 A Space Odyssey - match cut of the bone then cutting to a ship:

Parks to film in...

[Written by Nile]

Victoria Park

Victoria Park may be a good place to film our scene because of the environment.  The park could make the whole scene more real because of all the diegetic sound.  People wallking through, bird noises and birds flying.

Finsbury Park

We are thinking about filming the park scene in this park because of it's wide spaces, long paths and
because it's a nicer area than hackney to film.

 

Clissold Park

Clissold park seems like a good choice because there are loads of spaces good for running and it's equipped with obstacles and things for Ryan (my character) to overcome because he (as a character) is agile and fit.

Let's Have a vote...

As a group we could'nt decide on whether we wanted to do

• Rom-Com
• Action
• Coming of age/Party

We decided to ask 60 students from from both year 12 and 13 as 16 - 18 year olds are our chosen audience. 15 girls and 15 boys from year 12. 15 girls and 15 boys from year 13.

We then put their results together as a whole

It was very close, but lucky for me Action won.
So our Movie now became and Action/Thriller as we saw that as being more exciting for the audience.

NYPD Blue Case Study

NYPD Blue is an American TV programme set in New York City created by Steven Bochco and David Milch. Bill Clark, a former member of the New York City Police Department eventually became one of the show's producers. It explores the idea of not only the cases and the crimes the team face, but the issues that sit internally between team members and family. Each episode follows on from the last and always has a twist to it. Exluding extras, the show generally had 25 actors and 14 management staff.

Genre Conventions

The genre of the show is a drama, following the conventions of Police Precedural. Any Sipowicz, the Sergeant is played by Dennis Franz is typically conventional since the programme does tackle issues of sexism, however, around this time, and in many police dramas, the sergeant always appears to be played by a male, not a female. There are several other sergeants, who all appear to be male, and only 5 or 6 detectives played by females. Even though they are respected throughout the show, the detective is the highest rank that a female plays witinin the progamme.

There are many icons that are explored, which follow the conventions of a police drama such as the uniforms, guns and the typical office set up with each member of the team at their own desks full of papers and all have a wired up phone. The higher ranked staff wear smart clothing, since they are the ones that actually go out and sort the cirmes/cases, whereas the people who stay in the office, and deal with administration tend to be dressed more casually, since they do not leave the office and do not have to be concerned about the reputation of their department. The fact that there is an older sergeant running the department converts to the typical ideas that we think of when we think of police dramas, since the fact that an older character is running the deparment suggests wisdom and experience. Experience seems to be a big icon since the sergeant gives the new people a hard time, making out and assuming that they will be rubbish detectives since they are young, and lack experience. All of the detectives and sergeants wear badges, which again, is another convention, since when we see a badge, we think achievement or authority, and when we think of authority, we think of the police force.
Other conventions such as joking around and arguing are consistant conventions that run through most episodes. When they are in the office, of course there will be quarrals and arguing, this is what we expect from the detectives/ police department, since they are in close proximity and lots of important descions need to be made, and each individual opinion must be heard; some may be more persistant when trying to have their opinions and ideas heard. However, there is the joking side. These people work everyday mostly all day together, and do tend to crack jokes and friendly banter. On the other hand, each individual has mutual support from their other team members, and that support is always there, they never give up on each other. This links into the convention of them going around in pairs or three's. When we think of detectives, we always think of detectives going around in two's, and most of the story line is based around their relationship and how they help each other. The sorts of things that they have to face together, and quite often, their relationship is tested due to the crimes and cases they have to study together.

The name it's self, NYPD Blue sounds like a police force. We also associate blue as a police colour, since when there are police cars, quite often there are sirens and blue flashing lights. The fact that it's set in America, also suggests that blue is a colour associated with the police, since their police cars are in fact blue.

Representation

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->

These are the main members of NYPD Blue from season 11, left to right, Greg Medavoy (Gordon Clapp), John Clark Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Rita Ortiz (Jacqueline Obradors), Valerie Haywood (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon), Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), Baldwin Jones (Henry Simmons), Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross), John Irwin (Bill Brochtrup) and Tony Rodriguez (Esai Morales). 

In the past, most police detectives were shown as being male in the media, this is still mainly the case although more women are coming to the forefront of what is depicted to be a man’s world. Instead of just getting rid of males as the leading detectives in NYPD Blue, they have found a way of incorporating a female detective as a team amongst the men. The front three are the main characters John, Andy and Connie.

Connie is presented to be tough and is not a detective who feels the need to exploit her femininity in any way when dealing with cases. She is stereotypically good-looking with cleavage and blonde hair mildly subjecting to the male gaze. She is always surrounded by men to give her back up if she is struggling to deal with a male suspect. This now weakens her character as she now conforms to the stereotype that women are gentle creatures while the men are the brute force. As an audience member this was sad to see as her leather jacket suggested her ‘kick ass’ attitude, long trousers with shoes take away her seductiveness and empowers her, as it keeps her flesh hidden. Her stance is much like a male character juxtaposed by her blonde hair, which highlights her potential ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype. However through the seasons we see she is very clever and helps to solve a lot of cases but of course not without the help of a man. She almost represented the social change in the way we should see women in the media. But her lack of prevalence on screen and dependency on men to help her in physical situations slips her back into this still very patriarchal society in which we live in.  

Andy Sipowicz is very much the protagonist of the show. He’s the old, fat and bald detective who has seen it and done it all whether its being in the army and fighting in the Vietnam War, having his mother die when he was a boy and his dad being a criminal. Heroes in the media tend to be born from bad situations that have happened in their lives and therefore are scared to end up that way, so turn their lives around. His character does not necessarily represent real life but the audience watch it to entertain and identify with certain views that his character has on the way things should be run, as he is quite old fashioned. He treats the younger generation as rookies, like the way in which he treats John, which can be disrespectful but he does eventually realise his mistakes as a hero should allowing us as an audience to like him again. John being a younger detective looks up to Andy and the confrontations between the two due to male pride and the showing of masculinity can be funny for the audience but again conforms to the stereotype males as full of pride.

NYPD Blue became very famous during its run from 1993 – 2005. It was made for adult viewers as they are more likely to relate to the characters such as the grumpy old man (Andy). The witty banter between the detectives, the way in which the jokes are structured to suit a mature age. Audience identification is key as the male characters in particular create a loveable persona, that don’t always do right at the beginning but (for media purposes which do not represent real life and is more like fantasy) there is a happy ending eventually.   

Camera Shots, Camera Movement, Editing, Sound, Movement, Composition and use of Mise-En-SceneNYPD Blue employs various camera techniques as an American television police drama. A common shot is featured throughout the series when showing the establishing shot; includes a montage of fast cuts portraying the city in which the show is set in which is also captured by the use of swooping pans and zooms. The use of this camera technique allows the audience to identify with the location in which the series is set. As well as this, it allows the audience to be aware that the size and the hectic nature of the city is which also reflects the nature of the detectives work. In the establishing shot the camera picks out specific locations in New York that the viewer can recognise which creates a sense of realism and invites the viewer to sympathise with the show. The show also creates realism through the use of the diegetic sound of the city, for example cars driving and road works, which makes it more realistic.

A frequent camera movement technique used in the show is panning. It is used on several occasions during the show and creates several effects. Panning camera follow the protagonists as they move through space with occasional use of hand held camera intended to create more dramatic tension. The shakiness of the hand held camera makes the shot more realistic as in real life people view is not still. Panning is also employed to reflect the rushing of the detectives and how fast paced their work is as the camera is constantly trying to catch up with them. As well as this, panning is used during conversation to show the back and forth of ideas between two people and allows the viewer to continuously change their opinion.

Low angles are employed in the portrayal of detectives. The use of this angle heightens the importance of the object photographed, making the viewer perceive the person to be in a position of power and authority. The detective’s position of power is also supported by their black suits, which suggests their mysteriousness and authority. Hierarchy is a key issue explored in the series. It is portrayed by using a common tilt down of the camera which implies a character is coming down to another characters level and vice versa.

The protagonists in the series, which are the detectives, are always portrayed wearing suits which help views associate the show to the genre. As well as this the setting of the offices and the props such as paper work and filing cabinets also informs the viewer what genre the show is. A significant amount of the show is shown in an interior. The use of low key lighting, stereotypical to this genre, sets the atmosphere and mystery and supports the plot as the as the viewer is unaware of the culprit until the end. The use of low key lighting emphasises the viewers’ suspense. Another way suspense is created is by positioning the characters, in particularly the accused, closer to the edge of the frame which heightens the intenseness of the situation and implies they can’t escape from the situation. As well as this, flash cut editing (flashing the screen black) is employed when switching scenes which leaves the previous scene on a cliff hanger and also increases the viewer’s suspense.

Relationships are established by the frequent use of shot reverse shot and over the shoulder shot during conversations. The men in the show stand within social distances of each other which suggest their professionalism and reflect the seriousness of their job. However, some of the women stand within personal distances to other characters which suggest that they are more open to friendship and may suggest that they’re unprofessional. As well as this, while all of the other characters wear black and colours that don’t attract attention, some of the women wear red shirts and crop tops which suggests her sexualisation. This implication that women are unable to carry out their job without using their position as women conforms to the stereotypical perception of women in this genre.

Research for our Main Task

[Written by Nile] I've been researching the Rom-com film genre; the movies i've been looking at are the following:

Friends with Benefits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfJAps5vqRQ&safe=active

Just Go With It: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz5Ubqhru7g&safe=active

She's Out of My League: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6M9UfytUPM&safe=active

Crazy Stupid Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK68Y3oMEk8&safe=active

Research for our Main Task

A party scene, coming of age is another idea [Written by Nathan] My idea is to shoot the first 2 minutes of our main task incorparting ideas used in the examples below. For example point of view shots, blurry camera shots, shaky camera, flashes, smoky atmosphere, slow motion etc. examples include: Misfits Season 4 Episode 6 Etta Bond's: Resolve (Music Video): http://sbtv.co.uk/2013/01/etta-bond-resolve-music-video/ Project X: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rl1TJG17Wk&safe=active

Research for our Main Task

My group includes: Nile and Naithan

An Action scene can be exciting as there are alot of fast cuts and editing and overall just lot to shoot.m a free running scene will be very hard as we need to think about where we could set the scene and the storyline.

My idea is to shoot the first few minutes of a free running scene and I have been inspired by these three movies:


James Bond Casino Royale

 District 13

Takers

Evaluation of Preliminary task

We needed to create a clip using a variety of camera shots and editing techniques. We each had a role including editing, continuity, director and cameraman also actors. I was the director and i decided on a number of different shots to use when it came to the filming process. We debated for a while about what genre to use for our task, but we eventually came to the joint decision of a crime drama. Are target audience was then mainly 16+ as it is focused on the teen generation. As the Director I focused on the storyboard and worked with my Cameraman (Charlie) to produce the floorplan. But as Brolin and I were the Actors also, we had to work on the script together and study our floorplan to see where we are positioned. We chose to do a sit down scene with a kind of Godfather feel to it, so we had the nervous informer being myself and the Boss being Brolin. Our use of Match on Action worked very well as I entered the room, it looked smooth and natural as it should. We tried to add alot of shot reverse shot and a few over the shoulder shots. Although these did not work out so well as the eyeline of each character did not quite match. So for next time this is something we must focus on as a group. The fade out at the end worked as it almost looked as if there was more to come in the story much like a cliffhanger for the audience. The diagetic music for our scene included alot of slow string and synth intruments to create this mobster feel to it, this played quietly in the background. The key prop for me was the swivel chair and the desk which was available. The reason I wanted this was because it allowed the boss to turn on his chair and create an ellaborate entrance for him as a bold character in frame. The light through the window was the only thing we couldn't control so much, which didnt quite make Brolins' character seem as scary as he could of been whereas if it had been darker the mood for his character would have been set. Overall I think our Preliminary task stuck to our storyline and the storyboard I created, proving how planning helps in the organisation of the scenes and filming. The match on action through the door was the most effective as it looked very smooth and natural. The key thing to work on is the choosing of shots and having the eyeline correct in the scenes.

Skyfall (2012)

Personally I am a big fan of Daniel Craig especially in his portrayal as Bond. He personifies the cool and suave nature of the character. This story forces the British action hero to dig deep into his past and overcoming it. This also applies to M (Judi Dench) who's past comes back to haunt her. I quite enjoyed this movie as much like many of the iconic Bond moments in the past, it has its own once again with its thrilling chases and fight sequences. The only one bad thing I would say is about the cheesy one liners, that the characters came out with, which were unrealistic and sometimes pointless. Javier Bardem who played the villain Silva was fantastic, a bi-sexual and twisted but clever man. He stays one step ahead in the movie but loses out to the hero which is of course James Bond. There is a shocking twist to the movie but I won't ruin it for you if you haven't seen it. Overall a great movie, with lots of amazing Bond scenes that you will love if your of course into Bond.