Planning and research

Detailed analysis-
Focus group-
Questionnaire- What my audience want to see in
Textual analysis- helped me to get ideas on camera movement
Secondary research into audience

Digital Technology

Online Survey
Photoshop
Indesign
Premier pro
Youtube
Social media
Camera
Microphone




Essay:

Section 1B media revision

Genre:

• Indie- fast paced, doesn't follow a narrative, jump cuts, thematic 
• usually shot outside, in cities- ours subverted this as in house
• Low key lighting, theme of drugs/alcohol
• Party, youth, rebellion, house party
• Genre conventions have been adhered to, band playing in music video has been subverted 
• Genre fits with song, if they are a fan of indie they will appreciate our music video

Narrative:

• Thematic- Youth 

Audience:

• 15-25
• All genders
• All ethnicity
• All classes

Media Language

• Multimedia
• Digipak
• Website
• Music Video
• Online Survey

Apply the concept of Genre to one of your coursework productions (26)

The coursework in second year took on the genre of an indie music video

OCR revision exam question

• Creativity

Colour

Vignette 

Locations 

Film Treatment 

Costumes

Lighting

• Research and Planning

Focus Group

Audio Permissions 

Audience research Gears & Rubicam

Questionnaire

Storyboard

Textual Analysis 

Timed Analysis 

• Real Media Conventions

• Digital Technology

Indesign

Online surveys

Photoshop

Premier Pro

Camera 

Youtube

Social media for feedback                                               

• Post Production

Example

Over the two year media course we had to produce both a foundation portfolio of a
school magazine and music magazine as well as an advance portfolio of a horror
teaser trailer, film magazine – developing foundation skills further and a poster to
advertise our trailer.
 In the first year we researched existing music magazines and analysed each one so 
that we could gain knowledge of particular layouts, fonts and key elements that need
 to be contained in our production to make it successful. Research and planning
 allowed us to recognise ‘mastheads’ on magazines as being the most important and
 therefore the need to focus on a font more detailed to keep continuity with the
contents page and double page spread which we also had to create. Personally I
 researched ‘Rock’ magazines such as Kerrang, NME and others because I had chosen
 after carrying out a questionnaire to use Rock music as my theme. The real life media
 texts allowed me to visualise my favourite parts from each magazine – wripped
 sticker graphics and broken font on my own work which I then attempted to recreate
 within Photoshop CS4. In year one we were limited to what we could research 
because magazines were the only theme however, in the second year I was able to
 develop my ability to  research real life media texts much further because we had a
range of products we needed to create all under the ‘horror’ genre this time. I was able
to research teaser trailers analysing my favourite and least favourite parts allowing me
to plan with a mood board which I produced from a range of stills from previous
 horror films my ideas for my own trailer which helped me to develop my production
 of my products in relation to real life media texts and techniques such as restricted
narration and handheld camera found in the ‘Blair Witch Project’ trailer which
inspired my trailer ‘Laquem’ which is also set in the woods. Research into film
documentaries like the ‘American Nightmare’ inspired me to create a product which
reinforced fear and went against usual horror conventions to make it more interesting.
Over the second year research became so important to achieving a product which was
realistic and is now like my own distributed on on youtube as a real life media text of
its own.
Real life media texts like advertising film posters were able to help me develop my 
Photoshop skills further because I was able to push myself with the ‘colour burn’
filters and want to create the scary atmosphere of my trailer from just an image and
text which I found really fun.
Research into film magazines allowed me to develop my work from AS level so much
 further because I was able to produce a high standard piece of work in two weeks this
 year when the magazines took over 3 months last year which shows how much my
 skills have improves just by being able to constantly refer back to real life media texts
 for inspiration and even colour schemes that work well together such as black and red
 which in the first year I just found experimenting with. Research into horror trailers 
allowed me to recognise different styles of film and how we like Alfred Hitchcock
 could be an auteur creating new angles and ideas using generic conventions as well as
unconventional representations that I have picked upon when watching films and
 analysing certain techniques which I have then attempted to do in Final Cut Pro when
 editing certain shots together to create collision cutting and changes in pace which my
trailer does extremely well. I was inspired initially by the hand held camera in the 
trailer REC and the fact I want as an auteur to change the stereotyped representations
to be able use a female psycho killer.
Research also allowed me to produce text and intertitles that shook in order to capture
my audience but narrating the story slightly so the shots when together made sense.
Research into types of camera movements needed were really helpful and allowed me
 to completely change the pace with tracking shots and handheld camera which I
noticed was used in Silent Hill and American Werewolf in London which I analysed
 and placed on my blog for reference as some pieces of footage I wanted to recreate
including the final girl representations.
EAA 8
EG 8
T 4
(20)

1 (a) Explain how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer. [25]

Over he past two years in media our task was to produce a magazine cover and film opening in the foundation portfolio and a music video in the advanced portfolio. Within the first year our research and planning consisted mainly of researching our target genre for the film opening, as a group we decided on horror. In order to research this I completed a timed analysis of the opening credits to 'American Horror Story: Coven' from this I collected specific features which I then used in my final product. These features included low-key lighting, frequent use of jump cuts and eery music in the background. I also completed a textual analysis on the same opening to look at specific mise-en-scene within the film. From this we took inspiration on the costumes used, in which the characters were dressed in all black with minimalist makeup. We also took inspiration from the use of twigs to represent satanic symbols, this would come under Barthes narrative theory of semantic code. A big part of our research and planning helped us to pin point our target audience in order to get feedback on our ideas. As a group we put forward our own individual idea and allowed the target audience to pick their favourites. From this we decided to use different parts of each idea in order to make an original idea which took parts from our target groups favourite ideas. These skills were used in our second year within the advanced portfolio, this time the use of online surveys which were distributed throughout social media platforms allowed us to gather a range of different peoples opinions rather than the opinions of those who were available to us at the time. In this example you can see how our skills developed, from simple questionnaires to online surveys which produced raw data. Something that we did in year 2 which wasn't used in year 1 was a focus group. We decided that we wanted to engage with our target audience and fully grasp what they looked for in a music video. From this we can confidently say that our music video would appeal to our target population, as many of the ideas used come from the audience themselves. When choosing the target audience of our music video we paid close attention to Gears classification systems. Through looking at gender, ethnicity, age, religion and socio-economic status of what we imagined to be the target audience, we could select who we wanted to be in our focus group. When it came to planning for the foundation portfolio we first started out with a storyboard, this showed us the camera angle and also what would be in the scene. For the storyboard in the second year we took this one step further and added time points for each scene, this enabled us to have a clear vision of how our music video would unfold. In both first and second year the planning included a risk assessment and location scouting. In the first year we shot our film opening in a public space which meant that we were faced with risks that were hard to suppress, such as traffic noise and the public. However in year two our location was at a house, which meant that the risks became much easier to control and therefore the risk assessment sheet was more thoroughly completed. This meant that when it came to filming we knew exactly what to do before hand in order to prevent hazards and what we would need to to if a hazard occurred. Unlike year 1, year 2 required us to contact the producers of the song we wanted to use, and gain audio permission. This was important as without permission, or at least acknowledgement of permission, we would not have been able to go ahead with the filming of the video. For both final products we had envisioned two very different results, the foundation portfolio needed to be darker and more scary, whereas the advanced portfolio was based around a party and so the use of colour was very important. Therefore when we sat down to think about planning for the editing of the product our skills were very different from the previous year as we had to work with different effects

Disability representation and collective identity

A brief history of Tim-Tim Renko

Within the short film Tim is seen as a confident, self sufficient person who turns his disability into a part of him, his personality shines past the obvious physical disability as we see Tim make jokes towards people who seem to patronise him. This goes against the normal representations of people with disabilities within the media in which they are seen as a burden to others. In this situation it shows how people without disabilities are acting different towards tim, making him seem like the odd one out within society. Tim takes his disability with a pinch of salt and seems very comfortable with the person he is. People with disabilities within media are sometimes seen as the villain, however in this case the audience were left rooting for Tim, wanting him to succeed. We saw one characteristic of the disabled being portrayed within the film when the people that Tim met pity him, this is stereotypical of the portrayal of the disabled.

Examples:

• Glee- can't get a girlfriend, just wants to be accepted
• Me before you- wants to end his own life, angry towards others, not happy with who he is
• Fundamentals of Caring- uses humour, overly sexualises others
• Lifes too short- pitiful, making a joke out of what he can't do
• Theory of everything
• The fault in our stars- angry at his disability 
• Hush 

How are the disabled mediated?

Is this representation useful or detrimental?   

Include Kapf’s theory within your argument.

Kapf suggested that charities are needed within society but that the audience are put into the position of the giver whilst the disabled children shown as to be grateful and dependant. The mediation places the disabled children as being reliant on the audiences donations, encouraging the people at home to raise more money. I think because of this the representation is useful when it comes to money raising, however it can make the children seem like a burden to society. By using famous people to introduce and meet these disabled children it makes the audience want to give more money as they think that stars they look up to are supporting the charity, perhaps without even thinking about the cause as much.

The disabled person as sinister and evil? 

Blow-feldt 

Dr No

Silva

Larry harvey (american horror story)

Jenny Morris (1991) argues that cultural portrayals of disability are usually about the feelings of non-disabled people and their reactions to disability, rather than about disability itself. Disability thus becomes: ...a metaphor...for the message that the non-disabled writer wishes to get across.
In doing this, the writer draws on the prejudice, ignorance and fear that generally exist towards disabled people, knowing that to portray a character with a humped back, with a missing leg, with facial scars, will evoke certain feelings in the reader or audience. The more disability is used as a metaphor for evil, or just to induce a sense of unease, the more the cultural stereotype is confirmed. 

Disabled people are sometimes included in the storylines of films and TV dramas to enhance a certain atmosphere, usually one of menace, mystery or deprivation, or to add character to the visual impact of the production. This dilutes the humanity of disabled people by reducing them to objects of curiosity.

Super cripple:

•Disabled person is assigned super human almost magical abilities.

•Blind people are portrayed as visionaries with a sixth sense or extremely sensitive hearing.

•news stories about disabled people's achievements -either extra-ordinary or managing to fit into a 'normal life' -both on television and in the press. On television they account for over a quarter of all news stories about disabled people.

Disability and gender: ‘Supercrips’
Supercrips are people who conform to the individual model by overcoming disability, and becoming more ‘normal’, in a heroic way. Jenny Morris argues that in film and TV drama, disability is often used as a narrative device to express ideas of dependency, lack of autonomy, tragedy etc. She argues that

Thus many Supercrip films are about the hell of dependency for men. Since women are viewed as dependent, there is little point in making films about their ‘struggles’ with disability. Perhaps disability does not ‘matter’ so much to a woman?

An example of a ‘Supercrip’ is the Irish writer Christy Brown, who described his book My Left Foot as his “plucky little cripple story”. The film of the same name is full of useful sequences. Problems with the Supercrip stereotype:
• It focuses on a single individual’s ability to overcome, then puts the onus on other disabled people to do the same.
• What about those who can’t or won’t try to live up to this stereotype?
It is notable that the actors playing these Supercrip roles - which often earn them Oscars - are invariably non-disabled superstars with the requisite face and physique. Thus an impaired male body is visually represented as a perfect physical specimen in a wheelchair.

Lifes too short:

• Standing on shoulders to portray burden
• Pun of lifes to short- humour ridicule 
• Pitiable as needs to be lifted higher to see

Example Exam Response

Extract from Candidate Script 1

I have been researching teenagers and their identity. I’ve been looking into how the media shown teenagers.

I will relate this to Misfits and Fishtank, and explain their collective identity.

Misfits is a british tv series based on a group of teens who are all facing community service.

We learn all there individual identity’s and are made to believe they have no hope. We meet 5 teenagers who are all stereotypically shown with anti-social behavior. In the group there is a party girl, sports runner, cocky one etc.

Tajfel and turner quote that ‘people tend to categorise themselves into groups which they then build their identity’s’. I disagree with this as these have been emerged together as they have all been in crime. These include drugs, drink driving, fighting etc.

Historically this can relate to Skins and grange hill, these are all school based although skins covered more controversial issues. We see petty crimes which aren’t as serious as the ones in misfits. Tajfel and turner quite is related to skins as they are all a group of friends and they build there identity together.

Fishtank a 2009 film, teenagers are portrayed differently. We get to see Mia a 15 year old girl who has no hope. She has a dream of dancing but with young single mothered mum who shouts and swears at children she has a poor family structure to help her. David Buckingham quotes that the media don’t just offer a transparent window of the world but a mediated one.

Mia smokes, binge drink and has underage sex. The audience are made to believe that all teenagers are like this. He young mother who gets a boyfriend, he wants to help Mia and find her identity. He often asks her to dance to his favourite song although when she does we see them having sex. David Buckingham quote can be related to misfits, we are made to believe that all teenagers have convicted crimes. In Bullett Boy we see a gang of boys who are all involved in drugs and crime. The media show teen culture in a very bad way. Misfits is released on TV past the water shed times as they all swear etc. It is shown on both E4 and channel 4, their website contains games, podcasts, blogs etc. On the blogs you can communicate with other fans. They have a facebook and twitter page with all individual accounts. David Gauntlett explains that identity’s are complicated however everyone thinks they have one.

In Fishtank her mothers boyfriends finds a dance event she can attend Mia then believes she made have found her identity when she gets there she is called up on stage for which she didn’t know it was pole/lap dancing.

The media then show how teenagers have no hope or luck.

Historically this could be related to Dawson’s creek as we are made to look down on the anti-social behaviour teens. It could also relate to Waterloo road which is a tv series on a school who the youngens follow the action of the olders.

We then get to see the mother having a party in her council estate flats with family and friends. Her two children aren’t invited an stay upstairs. This shows the lack of family structure at home. We meet Mia’s little sister tyler with a friend both who are swearing and smoking.

The audience are left to believe all young mums live in broken britain and teenagers have no hope at all.

Mia was kicked out of school and they receive In both misfits and fishtank the media have stereotypically shown teenagers and portrayed them very negatively. We are made to believe that all teenagers are into anti-social behaviour, drinking, drugs, smoking etc. The media will only shown the negative sides of teen culture so everyone will believe teens do this in everyday life not the positives 
that they do.

A LEVEL MEDIA STUDIES EXEMPLAR CANDIDATE WORK

0/20 for terminology

6/20 for examples

5/20 for theorists

2/20 for analysis

13/50= E

Lots of examples but not a lot of theorists or analysing and relating back to question. They need to expand more and keep relating back to the original question. Perhaps different examples could be used for different explanation instead of rinsing one example.