Telling Lies vs Soft Reviews

During the week we had been watching two films, one short and long; and we had begun to analyse the differences, similarities and more. I will be writing a personal review on the similarities and differences I had found. They had been quite a few similarities between both films; most common similarities were relationships between the family, love and chances.

Fish tank had been created in 2009 by the director and writer - Andrea Arnold. It had been released in September 11 2009. The genre of the film had been drama. The main plot of the story had been based on a 15year old girl called Mia when her mother bring a new boyfriend home, her life changes. Also the short film wasp had been directed and written by the same director in Fish Tank. However, it had been released in 2003 which had been 26 minutes long. It's based on a mother " Nathalie Press" as a struggling mother determined not to let her four young children prove an obstacle in the pursuit of rekindling a relationship with an old ex-boyfriend. 

Similarities 
The similarities between both of the films is relationships because the sisters seem to have a better bound with each other;other than their mothers. The sisters seem to always look out for each other, although it is not clearly shown in the fish tank but in wasps it's clear because the older sister will do anything for her siblings to eat food and they are safe. She shares whatever she has with her siblings from the sugar to the chips the drunken boys had dropped off. Whereas, in fish tank the sisters bound isn't clear enough until the end of the film before the older sister is about to leave hoping for a better life they share an emotional moment together because her little sister doesn't want her to leave. In society we have that attitude towards our siblings we may not always get along but we love having our siblings around because they make us feel complete and not alone. Another similarities, both families are from broken homes because the dad is not present and the mothers both feel lonely in their lives while coping with the stress of looking after they're children's and where the film is set, it tells the audience that they are not from middle class because you see a lot of abandoned homes, mostly flats which have not been refurbished, the way they dress is not sophisticated, their clothes are mostly old fashioned and dirty this also defends the point about the mothers being stressed because they maybe living of income support which isn't enough to provide for their children, so they feel to find a boyfriend who may be able to provide for them both. this shows the audience that this type of situations still occurs in our modern life today nothing has changed. And the writer wanted the audience to become aware and maybe to contrast they're own lives to how the families are living. The children seem to follow the wrong footstep because most of their language is inappropriate they already know how to swear from an early age this shows that the mother isn't setting a good example to her children; also, the children don't have good role models to look up too apart from they're mothers so they follow because they think its the only way forward for them in life. Both of the children in both short films seem rebellious because they don't always listen to their mother they seem to do things their own way. In wasp, they didn't share the food equally, they would interfere with their mothers date because of the baby. In fish tank the sisters don't seem to respect their mother they both swear at their mothers leave the house when they please. This could suggest that the y feel the mother does not care for them. 
Differences 
On the other hand, the are different between both films. In wasp, the mother shows more love towards her children more affectionately because she fights a woman because one of her children had been hit, she tires her best to make sure her children are always okay this is shown because she takes her children out on her date with her and she tries to provide for her children while on her date. Where as, in fish tank the mother is quite distant with her older child, they don't seem to always get along the mother seems to abuse her daughters right and she shows more love to the younger child. Until the point where the older daughter is leaving home the dancing moment they share is way to say goodbye and farewell because they both seem stubborn to tell each other they love one another or show their feelings through tears and the mother feels hurt but she hides her emotions because she tells her to "fuck off" trying to show her daughter she doesn't care but deep down she does. Also, in fish tank the mother is jealous of her daughter because when her boyfriend stares at her she becomes jealous so she tells her to "put clothes on" this suggests that she can't compete with her daughter because her mother tries to dress young but it doesn't seem to attract her boyfriends attention. So she wants her daughter to be more dressed so that the mother can feel more confident about herself. The main similarities and difference between both films is the boyfriends. In fish tank the boyfriend had been aware the mother had children and he normally looked after them but he had left towards the end to join his own family where as in wasp the boyfriend didn't seem interested in dating her again if she had children towards the end he finds out and he helps her, this suggesting that he is still looking to be with her and her children. 

Both films express the lifestyle people live among us clearly because we are blind to see what is going on in the world since we are so used to knowing what's good around our own lives and others who live the similar lifestyle we do. Our society doesn't seem to be interested in wanting to know sad, depressing situations because they don't like feeling sorry for people since they know they have the lifestyle they wanted and either way we are distracted by other un-important problems in the world. 

I completed this review an I shall be emailing you the pre-production to post-production work and the work I missed last Wednesday by tomorrow afternoon. 

Fish Tank & Wasp

During the week we had been watching two films, one short and long; and we had begun to analyse the differences, similarities and more. I will be writing a personal review on the similarities and differences I had found. They had been quite a few similarities between both films; most common similarities were relationships between the family, love and chances.

Fish tank had been created in 2009 by the director and writer - Andrea Arnold. It had been released in September 11 2009. The genre of the film had been drama. The main plot of the story had been based on a 15year old girl called Mia when her mother bring a new boyfriend home, her life changes. Also the short film wasp had been directed and written by the same director in Fish Tank. However, it had been released in 2003 which had been 26 minutes long. It's based on a mother " Nathalie Press" as a struggling mother determined not to let her four young children prove an obstacle in the pursuit of rekindling a relationship with an old ex-boyfriend. 

Similarities 
The similarities between both of the films is relationships because the sisters seem to have a better bound with each other;other than their mothers. The sisters seem to always look out for each other, although it is not clearly shown in the fish tank but in wasps it's clear because the older sister will do anything for her siblings to eat food and they are safe. She shares whatever she has with her siblings from the sugar to the chips the drunken boys had dropped off. Whereas, in fish tank the sisters bound isn't clear enough until the end of the film before the older sister is about to leave hoping for a better life they share an emotional moment together because her little sister doesn't want her to leave. In society we have that attitude towards our siblings we may not always get along but we love having our siblings around because they make us feel complete and not alone. Another similarities, both families are from broken homes because the dad is not present and the mothers both feel lonely in their lives while coping with the stress of looking after they're children's and where the film is set, it tells the audience that they are not from middle class because you see a lot of abandoned homes, mostly flats which have not been refurbished, the way they dress is not sophisticated, their clothes are mostly old fashioned and dirty this also defends the point about the mothers being stressed because they maybe living of income support which isn't enough to provide for their children, so they feel to find a boyfriend who may be able to provide for them both. this shows the audience that this type of situations still occurs in our modern life today nothing has changed. And the writer wanted the audience to become aware and maybe to contrast they're own lives to how the families are living. The children seem to follow the wrong footstep because most of their language is inappropriate they already know how to swear from an early age this shows that the mother isn't setting a good example to her children; also, the children don't have good role models to look up too apart from they're mothers so they follow because they think its the only way forward for them in life. Both of the children in both short films seem rebellious because they don't always listen to their mother they seem to do things their own way. In wasp, they didn't share the food equally, they would interfere with their mothers date because of the baby. In fish tank the sisters don't seem to respect their mother they both swear at their mothers leave the house when they please. This could suggest that the y feel the mother does not care for them. 
Differences 
On the other hand, the are different between both films. In wasp, the mother shows more love towards her children more affectionately because she fights a woman because one of her children had been hit, she tires her best to make sure her children are always okay this is shown because she takes her children out on her date with her and she tries to provide for her children while on her date. Where as, in fish tank the mother is quite distant with her older child, they don't seem to always get along the mother seems to abuse her daughters right and she shows more love to the younger child. Until the point where the older daughter is leaving home the dancing moment they share is way to say goodbye and farewell because they both seem stubborn to tell each other they love one another or show their feelings through tears and the mother feels hurt but she hides her emotions because she tells her to "fuck off" trying to show her daughter she doesn't care but deep down she does. Also, in fish tank the mother is jealous of her daughter because when her boyfriend stares at her she becomes jealous so she tells her to "put clothes on" this suggests that she can't compete with her daughter because her mother tries to dress young but it doesn't seem to attract her boyfriends attention. So she wants her daughter to be more dressed so that the mother can feel more confident about herself. The main similarities and difference between both films is the boyfriends. In fish tank the boyfriend had been aware the mother had children and he normally looked after them but he had left towards the end to join his own family where as in wasp the boyfriend didn't seem interested in dating her again if she had children towards the end he finds out and he helps her, this suggesting that he is still looking to be with her and her children. 

Both films express the lifestyle people live among us clearly because we are blind to see what is going on in the world since we are so used to knowing what's good around our own lives and others who live the similar lifestyle we do. Our society doesn't seem to be interested in wanting to know sad, depressing situations because they don't like feeling sorry for people since they know they have the lifestyle they wanted and either way we are distracted by other un-important problems in the world. 

I completed this review an I shall be emailing you the pre-production to post-production work and the work I missed last Wednesday by tomorrow afternoon. 

Music Production

Task 1 (A) 

1. Rick Ross - So Sophisticated. The video promotes the drink ciroc because the video is explicit and the video will only relate to people who are older than 18 since people of those age ranges know about the drink and they is too much swearing as well. The artist is trying to portray his life showing the life he's living, with the fancy cars, half dressed woman and his tattoo's because in his lyrics he's seems to be trying to get his point across by talking about how he is so sophisticated. The artist is in the so the video is not animated. They try to make themselves seem legendary trying to contrast their lifestyle with others. The video is quite trendy because many boys will see him as an idol and want to live the life he's living and also, since they had seen him drink on a Ciroc drink they feel to try themselves, this will make them seem really cool because they managed to try the juice someone famous has tried. The Genre for this video is Rap, because the video doesn't have any other theme.

2. Michael Jackson - Man in the mirror, the music video tells a story about poverty, judgement, stereotype and the crisis in the world and he's trying to inspire people to make a change about how they live and who they are effecting around them. The artist does not appear in the video, only in some parts of the video but he tried to make the viewer’s focus more on what's going on in the world. Also, he had tried to make people contrast people's own lives with the people in the video. They had used many medium close-ups so people can see how the people in the video are feeling. The video is not a modern up to date video because normally artists will perform these types of songs live, with the slideshow in the background, which doesn't really impact because the viewers are not really feeling the sorrow they should for people that had been in these situations or still are. The genre of this video is soul.

3. Trey Songs - Inside Part 2; the purpose of the video was that the artist wanted to express his sexual feelings to a woman, to his audience mostly female audiences because he is seen as a very attractive male artist, so he would gain more viewers. However, men can relate to the song as well because they have expressed themselves in the same way, and this could show that the artist thought making another part to the song inside because he knew he would make more with the second part if the first one had been good. The artist has not made a actual music video because he may not feel comfortable making a video expressing his feeling even though he has in his other video's but because the lyrics are explicit he may not be able to make a video since they are young children who may end up influenced in the video. The genre of this video is RNB.

4. Evanescence - Bring me back to life. The purpose of the video is showing how the couple have an argument and the girl feels hurt so she expresses her feeling by trying to kill herself since she feels like she's dying inside. The video is quite dark, the sound of bass and electric guitars are being played with drums; this is what you will mostly find in a rock video because they like to express their feelings in a very dark, strange way. In the video the girl, goes onto her window and tries to climb, this is mostly what you expect in a rock video because they are considered to be the most risk takers. The video may relate to many people because when people are in relationships they tend to feel like they are dying inside, especially when they are in love.  The camera quality is really good because even though the video is very dark, they had managed to show all the effects and the video had contrasted with the other couple's in the video because they were together and seemed focus on the television. The style of the video was done in the future as said before you see two couples in a room together watching television and how the video starts is very dark and it looks animated because none of the lights seemed real. They had used a long shot and zoomed into the medium close-up to show who was in the first shot and how the video would start, the long shot helped established the setting of the video and also, it helped hint what type of genre the video could be. The genre of this video is Rock.

5. Britney Spears - Piece of Me. the artist had tried to get her point of across about people always in the artist business, judgement and how she feels effected by all this. Also, this was her come-back song since she had not produced music in a very long while with all the drama she had been going on. The video has a lot flashing lights and paparazzi which back-ups her point about people always being in her business and how she is being followed because she is out with her girl's at a night club and where ever she goes she had camera's following her about. The beat used enables us to think it will be a pop song, since she is considered as the princess of pop. The video shows in a way her legacy because she had used many paparazzi and magazine's to present herself. The genre of this song is pop.

Task 1(B)

Styles and Conventions of Music Videos.

Chris Brown – Don’t Judge Me. The video uses the army as the style of its video to show a different type of style to an ordinary RnB music video; which you’ll mostly see a man and woman being passionate towards each other in different ways such as violent, sexual and romantic. However, Chris Brown has chosen to use the army format to also show his viewers what happens in the army and how it may affect loved ones. It had been done effectively because he shows himself in the army and sacrificing his own life to save the people he loves and the country he serves. Even though; normally, in Chris Brown Rnb Video’s he usually shows his expressions through dance, or singing to woman. (RNB)

Eminem – Toy Soldier. The style the video is different to most of Eminem video’s because he’s expressing his feeling about the loss of his best friend, to make his audience feel that he can also be hurt by losing someone. He shows his best friend in the hospital trying to be revived, but he does not make it through.  Most of Eminem video’s his videos are normally dark, dim lights, he usually wears black and he performs his video in his home town, this emphasises what he says in his lyrics because most of his music are about his life and how hard it had been, so he uses the dark, dim lights etc. to portray how life can be hidden by darkness. (RAP)

Lady Gaga – Marry The Night. The video is used to show herself as an upcoming artist because the video tells a story of how she got to where she is today. She has chosen this style because she’s trying to tell her audience that you can achieve anything in life if you work for it and she has used this type of video to show it because most of her videos tell a story about her life. For example, Paparazzi tells a story about a lover that she kills because she was deeply in love with him. Her style of make-up in most of her videos are long wide eye-liners, weird clothes that make her seem unique mostly black item of clothing because her videos are quite dark, makes most of her video’s seem very mysterious because skeletons are in most of her video’s. The video uses flashing images to please the audience, sometimes the artist will use forms of split screening to make the video interesting, she had used in her other video such as born this way; just dance; paparazzi and lovegame. The director has also used the vocals of the artist so they can make the video into an shorter film; they use lighting mostly black and white to emphasise a particular mood mostly in the video born this way they had used black and white to show the enhance the feeling of feeling free about who they are, because she had used a man in the video who tattooed himself as a Skelton. Also, the sound because the song has a full/short music video so the producer can use their voice to make a shorter video. (POP)

Evanescence’s – Going under (ROCK)

The video is used to show their audience how she feels about someone she’s in love with. The video is dark and a lot of flashing images are used this portrays how she feels in the situation she’s in she feels because the colour black doesn’t symbolise good things it’s mostly symbolised for things such as death, evil, pain etc. Also, people in the video are seen going under places which backs up the point of the soundtrack name; the video involves creature this could emphasise her feeling of hurt and she’s going crazy feeling like a monster because the audience all have not pleasant faces. Also, the video suits the genre of the song because most rock music videos you will watch it mostly contains a band, the scene is dark, the way they act is very demonic they will walk and act a different way in video’s compared to their own lifestyles, however this could explain the reasons for Rock artists feeling different and they express those feeling through head banging, dark, heavy electric guitars and drums, as well as trying to entertain their fans. When Close-ups and medium close-up are used in the video it shows how they’re feeling in a scary way because their eyes are different colours which change the appearance on their faces and the background normally gets darker so you can only play attention to their face expressions. Jumps cut are used in the video to go from her performance scene to her walking towards the stage.

Vybz Kartel – Go Go Wine (Reggae)

The video is used to show the artist (Vybz Kartel) feeling towards woman dancing and what he would like to see. The video is a short video because there isn’t much of an story apart from the woman in the video work in a strip club, which emphasis the artists lyrics because he has his eyes set on a female and he enjoys watching her dance, this is the message he is trying to send through in the song. The video is set in Jamaica, his hometown and the video isn’t too dark it’s bright until the girls reach the club. Jump cuts are used to show Vybz Kartel in the video as well as seeing the female’s routine throughout the day. Through the video the females are mostly dancing to show the audience how Vybz feels when he sees the girl dance. Since most of his video’s he talks about how different make him feel. 

Task 1 (b) - Music Video Production

Camera Shots: 

Music videos tend to include many long shots, close ups and mid shots. This is to create emphasis on the artist, location and emotions. Also, close ups are used not only to show emotions but to reflect the words of the song with the movement of the lips of the artist.

Camera Movement: 

The movement of the camera is used to follow and trace the artist or band. Camera movements include tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots.

Mise-en-scene:

 This is the sequence of props and performers on stage or in a music video. Mise-en- scene puts notification on the representation of something. An example is, ‘Mad’ by Neyo. The scene involves him walking down a road alone, feeling isolated. This reflects the isolation from his lover. Also, the props include hats and dark clothes which represent the down mood. Similarly, the lighting is kept very dark as it is black and white; this connotes the angry and depressed mood. 

Editing: 

Jump cuts is the most used editing technique used in music videos. This is because this allows a sudden change from one scene to another. Transitions such as fade and dissolve are very common in music videos as they create a different effect to cuts. 

Lighting: 

Some music videos are black and white which help emphasise a particular mood and some videos have artificial lighting which put the artist/s in an enhanced look.

Sound: 

Sound is mainly the vocals or the song but in some cases such as Michael Jackson – Thriller, the producers can make the music video into a short film.

STYLES:

Editing and Digital Effects:

 Often enhancing the editing are digital effects which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. This might take the form of split screens, 

16.1.2

STALKER UNEDITED PRODUCTION BY SAFFRON, LILIANE, RAY, PATRICA & PRI.

We, as a team had an hour to record a short film about a young girl who was in rush to be somewhere without noticing she was being followed. However there was twist to the storyline. No editing was allowed, as it was an single handed camera task.

What i enjoyed about the project was, our group had used a range of shots within planning. For example;
POV shot - to show what direction the stalker was heading it and also to see who the victim was in fright.
SHOT REVERSE SHOT - to notice the facial expressions as actions speak louder than words.
CLOSE UP - showing the face down to the shoulders.
TILT - illustrating the movement, clothing and attitude of the actor. Along with;
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
LONG SHOT
EXTREME CLOSE UP
                We were impressed with our video because there was no editing involved yet the pace and presentation of it made sense. Also the camera was quite steady as there was use of a tripod and the audio at the end was clear and understanding, The preparation of the project and the contribution in the task was satisfactory as each individual had an input and all ideas were taken into consideration. On the other hand the difficulties were trying to keep the camera in focus after setting certain shots, so throughout the whole video had not been vivid.

What would be done if i could edit the film;

• Re-record some scenes: reason being is to set the focus properly.
• Add dramatic classical music to add intensity and suspense.
• More add more shots to the film: example - high angle to make the victim more vulnerable and the predator more empowered. 
• Better location as it was not suitable for the genre we had chosen.

Reviews

Skyfall Review

Earlier, during the week my media class had to write a review about one of our favourite films and write a detailed analysis about the favourite film we had seen. Also, write another review about another film we had watched but we had to explain who we had watched the film with, how it made us feel etc. So I have chosen to write a detailed review on Skyfall, since it had been the latest film I had seen, which would have made it easier to remember; I had written a small review about Avengers Assemble.

Skyfall

Skyfall had been release in October 26^th 2012 in the U.K.

The storyline of Skyfall is that Bond's mission is to keep a computer drive that has a list of British agents from being used against them. He chases the man who has it and they have a brawl on top of a train. Eve, an agent sent to assist Bond has them in her cross hairs but hesitates to take the shot because she might hit Bond but M orders her to take it. She does, and hits Bond who falls into the river and is believed to be dead. A few months later, the British government is upset with MI6 for losing the list; specifically with M. She is told that she'll be allowed to retire but she refuses to leave till the matter is resolved. So she returns to HQ to work on it but as she arrives, there's an explosion. In the meantime, Bond, who is not dead, has been laying low. When he learns of what happened, he returns. And M tasks him with finding the one who has the information. He eventually learns that the man, who has it, is someone from M's past and who has it in for her. The genre of the movie is action; crime and adventure.

When I had watched the film I had been quite impressed with the film; it had been quite interesting to watch since it had been the first bond film I had seen with Daniel Craig as Bond, because I had not really considered all the other bond films by Craig to be in my interest because the trailers had seemed not very interesting, they had reminded me mostly of Chinese movies because they had followed the theme Rush Hour would use etc.  Craig as Bond, which in my opinion is the best who portrayed the Iconic spy, Dench as M, and Bardem as Silva, which by himself takes the movie to a whole new level both as an actor and the character itself, since among the Daniel Craig-led 007's, Skyfall is the first film to bring us a true villain, an archenemy, one that is actually in-par to Bond himself. However, I had considered “the golden finger” directed by Guy Hamilton; to be the ultimate best bond movie I had seen staring “Sean Connery” back in 1964, because it had been classic, he had been the third man to play the role of James Bond. Gold finger was described as “the quintessential, definitive bond film, the first of the series to set the necessitates of the entire saga in motion. It is also the best of the Bond movies, arguably the most suave and sophisticated” from one of the critics who had reviewed the film, which back-up my point as the Gold finger being the best bond film made. Also, because the far-fetched gadgetry (including fast cars, the one being Aston Martin) and, arguably, the first of the series to feature the famous line “Bond, James Bond” which was 007 catchphrase. When Bond had used those lines they would normally zoom the camera towards his face, then the 007 theme song will play and he will use his second catchphrase line “Its Bond baby”. However, the catchphrases had not been used in the recent bond films which weren’t very interesting to keep because I prefer the director to keep to the same catchphrase, since the line never dies as also, the line “Bond never dies”.

Personally, I had thought that Daniel Craig seem to play the James Bond Character really well, in the movies it seems as if he lives the bond life in reality because his character is very believable; even though, I would not consider him as one of the best bonds, because he is the recent Bond and the movies that he had starred in hadn’t interested me, however; I will have to wait until more Bond films to see if he can match up to the best Bonds who lived.

I had really liked the Villain Gareth Mallory acting he had seemed really believable and very unique as a person, because his characters personality had been very strange because he had metal plates, his missions and how he spoke was very strange but I had found it interesting because most villains. But the villain is funny, unpredictable, frightening and mostly interesting and tragic. A fantastic Bond villain. 

I had liked the bond film because they had many great stunts and thrills. They had long sequences – bond is not burdened with gadgets and still had lots of energy. Skyfall feels like a true resurrection of the character and the Bond universe, and an incredible addition to the storied franchise. From its spectacular opening scene in Istanbul to its sensational climax in the Scottish Highlands, the film grabs hold of the audience and never let’s goes.
The director Sam Mendes had added a little more humour than the last two recent Bond films Daniel Craig had starred in and had successfully planned the storyline out because it was interesting to see where Bond had been raised because towards the end of the film he had used a flashback to show where he grew up. Sam Mendes at the helm, Skyfall is propelled by a veritable narrative purpose. Mendes values story and character over anything, and he gets Bond. His action sequences are thrilling, artfully directed; He directs with finesse and nuances the powerful character-driven scenes. Also, he understand bond’s and respects the Bond style which has gone through decades but also breaks new ground with the treatment of the story  The key fact factor of the flashback was he had brought back the Aston Martin vehicle because the car was part of Bond’s identity. It had a retro touch to the film that pays homage to 50 years of James Bond. The movie was very classy, adventurous since that is the genre of the film including crime. Lastly, I had really liked the soundtrack they had used “Adele – Skyfall” because the way she had sang the song it had gone with the theme of the film, because it didn’t seem as it was a movie, I felt like I had been watching a TV series; which I enjoyed because they had make an entrance instead of starting the movie and trying to work out what character had been which if you had watched the film for the very first time. However, her vocals had been really good but I still would have preferred if they stayed with the original bond soundtrack. I come to the conclusion that I’ve rated the film 8.5/10.

The movie had been rated PG-13 for intense violent sequences throughout, some sexuality, language and smoking but I would have preferred if they had rated the movie quite higher because I would have enjoyed seeing more of the violent sequences since I enjoy watching a lot of action movies.

Short Review – Avengers Assemble.

                                                     

One of my favourite films has to be Avengers Assemble which had been released in 26^th April 2012. The main reason why I consider Avengers Assemble to be my favourite film because the storyline line had been very interesting and the trailer was very catchy because they had gathered plenty of known loved super natural hero’s to create this movie; Whedon's cast not only work brilliantly together but are perfectly comfortable wailing on each other and threatening each other all day and night. because the movie has its own twist because normally super natural’s don’t get along since they want their powers to be better than other super naturals. Seeing Joss Whedon's direction and envisioning of the film come to life on the big screen is perfect. The script is amazingly detailed and laced with sharp wit a humour. The special effects are literally mind-blowing and the action scenes are both hard-hitting and beautifully choreographed. The actors' performances in "Marvel's The Avengers" are simply captivating and there are many instances where we get a glimpse further into their characters pasts and innermost feelings. Robert Downey Jr. will have you in stitches. Scarlett Johansson will have you staring in disbelief as she winds her way through sticky situations. And Tom Hiddleston will have you simply shaking in your seat with fear. I had watched the film with my friend’s from school, after school because it had come out during the week and we could not wait until the weekend to watch the film since the trailer had been very interesting. I had watched the Film in O2 centre because their cinemas are really good with audio, even though the film is very bright, which hurt my eye sight because they had been many flashing images, and, because the audio had been so loud the movie built tension, and kept me off my feet. It had increased my heart beat because I had thought scary scenes would appear.

UNIT 60 (16.1.1)

UNIT 60: 16.1.1

• What is editing?

Without the process of removing, adding and manipulating source material, all film and video would have to be shot in a sequence and without mistakes.

• What is Elliptical editing?

To help fill in the gaps, so the audience can see where what the character is doing and where she is, helps to move the story on quickly. For example, the video the girl was shown sleeping, but the camera didn’t have to show a close-up because the long shot shows she’s sleeping and where she is.

• Why are long shots used?

Long shots are used to keep the audience where of her surroundings and where she is, because in the beginning of the video her partner was seen in the video and then he disappears; so the director would use another long shot to remind the audience that the partner is no longer existent.

• What is ‘non-diagetic sound’?

The music that had been added to the scene to set or create an atmosphere or to create tension. For example, when the girl had gone to pick up the ring as she was getting up the music had been played to create the suspense that something bad has happened to her partner. It can be a voice, sound or music and it’s played unnaturally because the actor is not aware what is being played.

• How do we know she is bending down to pick up the ring? (What shots are used and why?)

The director had used the close-up of the ring and her hand reaching towards the ring, rather than showing her face going to pick up the ring; this saves times because when she had picked up the ring the camera had shown her face-expression before and after she picked up the ring. The use of the close-up of the ring was to save time of showing her full action. 

Hustle

• Overhead establishing shot – what does this achieve?

Overhead establishing shot is achieved to show the audience who is part of the scene and where everyone is placed and what they are doing. Also, this helps show the audience different status, to show that’s powerful in the conversation.

• What is Shot-Reverse-Shot?

It a shot cutting back and forth showing the audience that the people are talking to each other. It shows an understanding that they are in a conversation. It assumes they are looking and talking to each other.

• What is Eye-line matching?

The man stands up looks off screen and down and the guy sitting down looks off screen and up but they’re eyes angle show that they’re staring at each other.

• Why do we cut to the other members of the group?

So we can see their faces to see the other member’s reaction to the plan the boss has set, and tells the audience their reaction to what is planned and it makes it easier for the audience to know who they are in future references.

• What is a wipe?

To move the location at a different place and time and he uses and diagonal shot to make the view seem mysterious or not to scale.

• What is the effect of using quick cuts?

This creates a fast rhyme and keeps the audience on their toes because the tension is still there.

Now watch ‘Editing: The Invisible Art’ and take notes:

• How can editing build tension and pace?

They use editing to keep build tension and keep the story moving at a good pace.


• What is crosscutting?
Cross-cutting is an editing technique most often used in films to establish action occurring at the same time in two different locations. Considered as an editing method in which the point of view (P.O.V) switches alternately from events at one location to those of another related action. This action is usually a simultaneous and used to create a dynamic tension as in the chase scene. For example, in the edge of the world (1987) they use cross-cutting to show the males progress as they climb up the mountain.

• What are reaction shots?
Reaction shots,(in a film or video recording) a portrayal of a person’s response to an event or to a statement made by another, is a term used in motion picture production and cinematography referring to a basic unit of film grammar. It is a shot which cuts away from the main scene in order to show the reaction of a character to it. For example in the edge of the world (1987) they used a reaction shot to show the audience the reaction of the people watching the two men climb up the mountain.

• What is seamless editing?
Seamless editing is the predominant style of editing in narrative cinema and television. The purpose of seamless editing is to smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the editing process and to establish a logical coherence between shots. For example, the shots are varied by close-up and long shots, showing the men as tiny in contrast with the cliff they are hanging to. This enables the audience to fill in the caps, because when we are used to seeing these sequences in other movies we either expect something bad or good to happen, it keeps us engaged so we don’t notice how it has been constructed.

• What is a jump cut?
A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subjects are taken from camera positions that very only slightly. This type of edit causes the subject of the shots to appear to “jump” position in a discontinuous way. For example in Food for a blush (1959) shows a man with a big black hat next to a big bowl striking at it gong when the sound fades the camera cuts to show a smaller bowl.

• What is a flash back and what does it achieve?
A flashback is a transition in a movie or novel when the scene is set in a time earlier than the main story. This makes the audience understand a key moment/scene in the person’s life which explains how they are now. This is known as a back story. It also helps add tension, drama and interest to their stories. For example, in a cottage of dartmor (1928) uses flashback to tell the story, it goes from a convict fleeing across dartmor cottage to a woman with a baby alone in the same cottage. From the way the action is cut together it shows that it’s happening at the same time supposedly this should be the present; however when the woman recognizes the man standing in front of her, the film cuts back to a flashback showing the man “Joe” in a different way, he looked much healthier and seemed to enjoying life. He looks very different from the present. Throughout, the film it shows the flashback to how he became insane because he is seen cutting a woman throat but before he makes another threat the film has gone back to the present to the point where the flashback had started. The flashback made it easier for the audience to understand who this man was and what he done which then makes the present seen complex and emotional because we know what he capable of doing.

• How can editing be used poetically?

Poetically editing can be used by symbols, face expressions etc... To make the audience understand the connection between them. For example, in Distance Voice still lives, outside it is raining and umbrellas are shown through then the scene dissolves and zooms into an audience then pan’s across to two woman wiping, this doesn’t make it clear because the connection isn’t obvious, the viewer makes the connection the woman are inside watching something while outside it’s raining. Another example, two men falling in slow motion and eventually crash through a glass maybe through a roof, which breaks up into tiny shades of glass. The director has purposely put these two actions together in order to make the audience think about the connection. This can make the audience wonder because the audience will want to know why the director has chosen this style of editing.

C. Watch ‘Playing with Time’ – watch the film ‘The Gloaming’. Write a short evaluation of the editing used in this film. Refer to detailed examples from the film and use the terminology you have learnt today.

The director had chosen to start with a blackout while the music begins to play, this could have been done to make the audience think the tension will start at the beginning but instead the blackout transits into a Medium Long-Shot of the married couple on their motorbike riding through fields this suggesting they are around the countryside; which is followed by a medium close-up of the wife face, showing how she’s feeling. The shot has changed into a medium shot of behind the motorbike this makes the audience aware they are a married couple which is then followed back into the close-up of the woman’s face again. However, the camera does not seem as its steady because the camera is moving this suggests the cameraman could be on a vehicle and he may not have a good balance with the camera at that they are driving. There is a sudden change in the music because the scene has gone into the fields and changed into another point in time, maybe suggesting it is the present because the woman is no longer present with her husband and the scenery is quite dark, suggesting it is a cold day because the woman look as if she is cold whilst in shock with what has just happened. A close-up had been used to show the woman’s expression. The music has also stopped and you can hear her footsteps as well as her heavy breathing. It seems that the woman is probably looking for her husband whilst she is looking confused since she doesn’t know where she is heading. Music has faded into while she looking around, you would not have noticed because the audience will be paying more attention on where she is going. A flashback has been used to show the couple driving and the music seemed to change into another shows they have used a non-diagetic sound. The woman has stopped and it has gone into a flashback showing her husband telling her to come back onto the bike because she’s standing the way, however the director has combined the shot-reverse-shot as if her husband’s right in front of her, as if he is talking to her at the present moment even though the scenery is different; the music has also gone louder.

Established shot has been used to showing the lake; however it can also be considered a point-of-view shot because she could be facing the lake but the director has chosen not show this in order to save time. The music has faded out so you can hear the birds, whistle, long sound and her movement. The camera has gone to a close-up showing the viewers she is staring at the lake this suggests she remembers something sufficient about the lake, this is then shown with a flash, where the couple are sitting down and the woman is smoking and staring at her husband, music has been added to set the pace. The shot-reverse-shot has been used again to show the woman’s reaction as she remembers what happened; the music fades out when there is a close-up of the grass where the woman’s hand is reaching for the ring, the director has not chosen to follow her action while she goes down to reach the camera when her hand explains how she would of reached for the ring, it has gone back into a close-up to show the woman’s reaction then it zooms out into a medium close-up showing her putting on the ring, then the music that had been playing at the beginning fades in. Which a wipe s used to go back to where she was at the lake with her husband smoking. A wipe is used from the close-up of the woman’s face into a longshot where she’s sitting by a fire pit suggesting she is in the forest because the fire showing the trees and grass in the background; a medium shot is used showing the woman’s hand reaching into her bag and bringing out papers. Also, it shows the woman looking at the fire and papers suggesting she’s thinking of what to do, instead she burns them and a clos-up used showing the paper burning in the fire.

Close-up of the woman face showing she’s cold however they are quick transitions while she closes her eyes quick glimpse of her husband is shown but it is not very clear then the flashback is shown and it seems that their motorbike has broken down because his wife bends down to join him and the music fades out when the scene wipes to another where the couple are standing in the middle of the fields and the camera has turned to their angle using a P-O-V(Point of view) shot to show what the couples are facing, a long shot is used to show the vehicle near in between the fields but the camera seems to be recording from a long angle not eye-length because you can see the grass instead of the road. A medium close-up is used to show the couple looking into the vehicle; the director has used the medium shot to cut out the section where the couple will be walking towards the vehicle. Music is played very loud while you can still hear the wind. Close-ups are used to show what the woman is looking at and touching; then a point of view shot is used to show she has seen something that has interested her, then a close-up is used to show her face expression while she reaches for to see what’s underneath. It wipes to her hand removing the blanket where a skeleton of someone’s face is underneath and it’s a reaction/medium shot was used to show her reaction (she had screamed). Fast pace music was used to increase the tension between the women revealing what was underneath the blanket. Another wipe was used to go back into the present where a long shot is used telling the audience she is still in the forest, and where she’s laying. The music changes into slow pace to go with the scenery. The long shot is used even when she has woken up we can see this through the smoke being passed and as she gets up; which is then followed by a close-up of the woman’s face shows she scared, lost and confused. The background has been blurred so they’re more attention paid to her face. They use quick transition flashback showing her husband standing facing her while still being in the present. The music gradually gets higher increasing the suspense because we don’t know what she is thinking. Drums have been added to the music this normally creates more tension because it can imply something bad could happen. Lastly, she is blurred so she blends into the scenery of the smoke but her shadow is still able to be seen and the music helps fade out the scenery into a blackout.

Legal and Ethical

Legal and Ethical 

What does copyright mean?

The exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same

3 different things that could be subject to copyright:
- Audio, Videos and pictures

List two website that give copyright free music:
- royalty free music and airmp3.net

places where you can find free or low fee photographs:
Google, tumblr
Dreamstime.com and shuttershock.com

what is a location release form and why is it needed for filming?

Having the right to use their location and to allow them to show their setting in a film or TV advert. It’s the rights to films/record locations for shooting. It is in form of a contract they have to sign giving the director the right to use the property and how things will be dealt with if equipment is broken.

What is a contributor release form and why is it required?

A form that gives ownership rights. It’s required to commercially exploit the contributers.

Task 4, Video Analysis: Viral Marketing and User Generated

The Characteristics of Existing Interactive Video

Introduction

The term interactive video usually refers to a technique used to blend interactions and linear films or videos. They are mainly two types of interactive videos, they are viral marketing videos and user generated videos. 

Viral Marketing Videos

Viral marketing videos are a type of marketing techniques used to advertise films or video's to increase brand awareness. They are sent around popular social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, twitter etc. to increase to their viewers and it will also help them to spread their videos around to other countries. They can be delivered to people through the word of mouth or enhanced by the internet. Viral marketing may take the form of video clips, interactive flash games, averages, brand able software’s, text messages, images, email messages or web pages. But the most common used viral marketing is mobile devices. They also create an organisation to make profit from big companies. For example, Cadbury had advertised their chocolate by using a gorilla to play the drums. The video gained many views because viewers had spread the word to their friends mainly through social networks and work of mouth. This benefited the company because they have gained profit from this advert. Another example, SB.TV they are makes video's interviewing artists and producing music videos. They are advertised worldwide because of social networks they influence other people to watch their videos. Both video's use file compression, so it makes it easier for their viewers to see their image quality is very high, also to make it easier for themselves to upload their videos, if people choose to download the video it'll be easier because they will be space in the video. They mainly target teenagers, mostly males because stereotypically females would have much of a big interest in watching a gorilla play the drums or male artist being interviewed because they don't have much in common. Also, they target teenagers because they normally find that sort of videos interesting and they seem to talk about these videos a lot with different friends which influence others to watch their videos. It saves the company money. The purpose of each of the videos is they are trying to entertain their viewers as well as trying to gain new viewers. Cadbury advert their purpose was to entertain their viewers so the advert was eye-catchy while trying to gain Cadbury buyers. Whereas, SB.TV they also entertain their viewers, so they can spread the word to other people or post their videos in different social sites. 

For example,

Cadbury Advert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHjieD6CTYs

The Gorilla is playing the drums to the song "In the air tonight" by Phil Collins, for the Cadbury advert. The purpose of this advert was to entertain people, both male and female and all age ranges also, people who enjoy to buy chocolate from the Cadbury brand into buying their chocolate or to gain more buyers. They had used the Gorilla to be unique to show another way of promoting their advert because it would have attracted the young children who find these sorts of things very interesting. The advert had no stereotypical aim, it was aimed at everyone no matter what class, gender etc., they were. The shots were clear because you could see where everything was and the sound was clear too. 

The Maybelline Advert 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTgeUVOxl8E

Another example is the Maybelline advert. They had used the model Adriana Lima to show this advert. She is shown wearing the Liquid foundation and how the foundation works and what it protects. The purpose of this advert was to show woman who wear foundation, how they have upgraded they're foundation into better ones and to persuade woman that this foundation is right for them. Also, to gain buyers. They're target audience was mainly woman who wear make-up mostly teenagers and older woman because they know when woman are around those ages they may feel insecure about their skin. Also, men would not be interested in make-up and the benefits of what it does. The advert was not aimed at any social class even though, the woman they had used was models but because I am one of Maybelline's customers I believe it was not class aimed. The shots, image and audio was clear because everything was heard. They had made the audio higher towards the end because the word "Maybelline" is very catchy to say and easy to remember because it sounds like a song.

Task 4, Video Analysis: User Generator 

On the other hand, user generate videos are video's which are not commercial; they are not produced by big companies, mostly made by amateurs. They are also posted through social network sites so the producers can gain views, or they send their video's around just to entertain people with their latest gossip, their reviews on music video, blogging etc. For example, Cinnamon challenge people post video's entertaining their viewers or to make themselves known in the public, this could also help them to become famous. Another example, they make video's for educational purposes, teaching children different ways they can learn a subject or they may make tutorials about different ways to cut their hair or do their make-up. However, most amateurs videos are not always file compressed they are too big to download, which makes the image blurrily to see. They normally target anybody who is interested in what they do such as make-up tutorials they are targeted to females, who have an interest in wearing make-up; cinnamon challenges they target people who are risk takers etc. 

User Generated Content refers to materials on websites, and occasionally other media sources that are produced by the users of the websites. For example, a website designed by a company which puts forth material produced by professionals. Most cases Amateurs contribute to the content.

For example,

ROCKING NIGHT OUT!!! Completed Look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iokDryA747s

The woman in the video (Andrea) is showing her viewers her own way to having a "rocking night out" look. The video is mostly aimed at woman who likes those sorts of fashion and make-up because lately, the fashion is very different so woman may need advice on ways to look good. This video was targeted at all races, but mostly to people of her own race because the make-up material she used suited herself and mostly people of her own race. Andrea also tried to gain other viewers who may have not heard her attention because they are searching for the same problem so she made the video for everyone who was aiming for this search and also to gain viewers and subscribers. The digital platform for this video would be the internet on YouTube where most people go to watch videos to be entertained. The video was not pixelated, you were able to see all of her actions only when she had to used eye-liner to do her eyes, the camera may have lost focus because she had to get closer to the camera so people can see how she did it. The video had been edited because in some of the scenes of the video she showed the audience how she made the jacket and the make-up she used for the woman who may want to shop for the brand she uses. The audio had been clear; it was easy to understand what she had been saying because her voice was projected. Also, she had used voice over's because she may of found it difficult to speak while doing her hair and make-up. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3ZylAxwzg

Ask Ayy 3 

This video is about a guy called Alexander but he is called ayy and he made this video for his viewers to ask him questions on twitter, so he could reply to them and the audience can see his views on certain things. He tried to make the video as funny as possible to entertain his fans and also to get his views to promote his video through word of mouth, because the way he acts is very weird which makes the audience want to interact more with him and when they tell their friends they also become interested in watching his video's. His target audience was mainly towards teenagers because they would mainly find his video's funny and teenagers mainly make video's or search for people who make funny videos. Also, the video was aimed at both genders however males would find this video funnier because the responses he says men would find it funny but woman may find them insulting since, most of the questions woman can be used as a response. The video was social classed aimed; at young children from middle class because teenagers in high class would consider the video maybe to be immature and offensive and teenagers from middle class and go to public school would understand his language because he sometimes uses the "ghetto" language. Also, when he speaks in the Jamaican language, people who are not Jamaican will not understand what he is saying. The video attracts mostly at black people because they would understand what he may say and his viewers are mostly black people mostly living in south London because that's where he is from. The digital platform of this video is on the internet (YouTube). The audio was clear because you could understand what he was saying even though they had been a little noise in the background but the video was clear, i was able to see everything clearly