13A2 Advanced Production

Mise-en-scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57P9C4SAW4

The video to Katy Perry's song, 'California gurls' has made a great impact on me, as I think its an extremely eye catching video with a lot of interesting, fascinating aspects about it. The Mise-en-scene within the video explains why i think this, for example the lighting in the video is really bright and vibrant which emphasizes the colourful setting around. The target age group for this video I believe is between 16-25 because it has a very fun, young vibe to it which i don't think the elderly people will enjoy. I also don't think its suitable for people under 16 as the nudity included in the video may be taken to offence and seen as inappropriate. The costume worn by the artists such as the; colourful wigs, cupcake shaped bra's and glittery pants also attracts my attention, I think it's appealing and unique it's just different to what we are use to seeing. The sound within the video has a fun, upbeat, energetic vibe to it which represents the whole idea of 'having a good time' and enjoying life no matter what your age is. 

Camera work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig

The Music video 'Halo' by Beyonce has made a great impact on me. I think it's very touching and has a deep meaning to it, The lyrics describe a sublime love. The genre of this particular song is 'pop', It includes drum, piano, keyboard, string, synthesizer and percussion instrumentation. The camera work throughout this video contains the use of close-ups, mid-shots and high angles quite frequently. In this video we are able to identify a load of close-ups for example at point 0.20, we see Beyonce and another male actor in an extremely close-up shot were they are seen to be very affectionate. The close-up denotes the intimacy between the two very clearly and emphasizes the idea of love and affection. The facial expression seen on both of their faces connotes that perhaps they are passionate about one another which is accentuated by the slow camera movement.


Editing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnpyRe_7jZA

 
The music video to Nicki minaj's song 'High school' has made a great impact on me as I think its really appealing and engaging for my type of age group (teenagers). 'High school' is a hip hop and R&B song, The lyrics are about nicki minaj being attached to a male (Lil wayne), it connotes how they both have given up on love and enjoy each others company as they understand one another and make a great team together. The editing techniques used within this video include fades, dissolves, cutaways and slow motion. Techniques such as the slow motion gives the video an extra sense of dramatic-ism and exaggeration. The music video uses a lot of cutaways especially at the beginning which establishes the different settings/locations and actors. Cutaways are very typically seen in music videos which are within this genre (R&B and hip hop).


Performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR0v0i63PQ4

The music video to Rihanna's song 'Cheers' has had a great impact on me, I think the video is really fascinating to watch as it's so hectic with so much going on! The genre to this song is 'pop rock' The lyrics have multiple references to drinking alcohol. This song includes a mixture of music video and live performances at her own concerts, which portrays the amount of entertainment Rihanna has to offer to her fan-base. Overall this song is extremely catchy and powerful which suites the chaotic video which comes along with it.

Mise-en-scene, Camera work, Editing & Performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY

The music video to Beyonce's song 'Single Ladies' has made a great impact on me mainly due to the performance within it, (Dance routine) it is incredibly memorable and very alluring to watch, It almost makes everyone want to get up on their feet and dance! It's a very skillful dance routine with many difficult moves to it which not everyone can carry out. The genre within this song is R&B and dance pop, The lyrics in the song signify female empowerment and the ability of them being able to move on from a man who doesn't commit to them. Editing techniques such as fade ins are seen frequently within the video, in this case they use it instead of cutaways as we see that after every fade in the lighting changes. Camera work such as wide-shots, zoom-ins, zoom outs and panning are used often throughout this video, by doing this we can see her dance routine from all different angles and perceptions. The mise-en-scene goes appropriately with the music video, as the lyrics perhaps aim to make females feel 'sexy' which is very well denoted through the costume worn by beyonce and the other two females besides her. The costume is incredibly tight and revealing which emphasizes the idea that she feels seductive and all women around the world should feel the same about their selves.

part 8

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?


Here is the footage from my preliminary task

The preliminary task was a continuity editing exercise, where we had to make a short clip called 'The Encounter'. The scenario for this clip was given to us; we had to include the action of a character entering a room then sitting opposite another character and creating a conversation. During this process the key media language skills we were asked to demonstrate were; match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

What was successful/unsuccessful about your preliminary task?
Digital Technology

The high quality of the camera is denoted through this shot as
 the detail on her face is clearly visible.

In terms of Digital technology, we had to use a Digital HD camera and the iMovie software on the iMac's when creating this short clip. The fact that we got the chance to film using a HD camera was very useful as the shots came out in a much higher quality making the footage look extremely clear and well-defined. This was successful because the high quality of the camera made our clip look more appealing and clearer for the audience to watch. 

I think the Editing within my preliminary task was unsuccessful as I found it quite difficult using the Imovie software. Even though I was a past GCSE media student there were a lot of techniques I forgot about as it felt quite new to me at the beginning of this year. We got set the preliminary task right at the beginning of the year, I think that my skills at using this software weren't so great back then which explains the weak editing on the finished piece. For instance there were couple shots that didn't flow too accurately and also the sound was quite jumpy at times.
I noticed a massive improvement within my editing skills on the BSR film compared to the preliminary task. I felt like at this point I was more familiar with using the Imovie software and knew how to handle it a lot better which is evidently shown through the accurate continuity flow within my BSR opening sequence. I think that the weak continuity flow and editing skills on the preliminary task made me and my partner more conscious when it came to editing the BSR film.

I think that the action in my preliminary task from, 0:53-0:55,
 evidently denotes the fact that the shots are incredibly jumpy with hardly any continuity flow.

The continuity flow has improved a huge amount within our bsr film, this is denoted below.

The continuity flow is very accurate between these two shots of our bsr film. (0:14-0:18)

Creativity

I think that the great amount of creativity we used within our preliminary task was quite successful. I think that we made the scenario that was given original and unique as well as keeping within the rules. The scenario that was given didn't have too much going on, so me and my partner developed it into something more interesting as we decided to go through with the idea of a person getting bullied. We thought that this would be appealing as the idea of bullying can be quite interesting to watch as an audience to see the effect of it. I think that my preliminary task was quite unique as there was a lot of unexpected action going on, for instance the situation in the scene jumped from being calm to crazy and loud. 

The fact that we had to keep within the rules for this brief and stick to the scenario that was given, limited the creativity. I found this unsuccessful as it restricted me from coming up with a different storyline which probably could have been presented in a better form and made to look more original. 

The creativity was improved incredibly within our BSR film, I felt that it was very much original. The fact that we got to do a lot of research on the BSR genre, and watch various existing bsr films we managed to gather different ideas which was explored within our own production. Overall I noticed a great improvement on the creativity within our bsr opening sequence in comparison to the preliminary task. 

Below here, is my final production piece of the BSR opening sequence.

Next year i will mainly focus on using a variety of shots whilst filming and improving on my editing skills even more by getting that continuity flow on point. 

Part 7

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

part - 6

How did you attract/ address your audience?

part 5

Camera, angle, shot movement and position 

In this shot you can clearly see that Ayesha subverts the stereotypical representation of a 'Religious' girl that she portrayed herself to be. Ayesha is represented as a rebellious, Confused, troubled young girl, this is shown through this close-up of her as she strips her hijab off in a broken down, gritty alley way. In this close-up shot you are able to identify her facial expression clearly, we see that she has a sad, worried look on her face which connotes that she may not want to go against her family and do prostitution but she is willing to do so purely due to the fact that she is in need of money. The fact that Ayesha goes against her religion and extremely religious family just for money, it signifies how much they are suffering from poverty because it shows that she goes to a far extent of 'selling' herself simply to earn money. 

This extreme-close up shot of one of Ayesha's clients calling her, inquiring about where she is clearly portrays the idea of prostitution. This conforms to the stereotypical representation of women being sex objects as we see that it only takes a phone call and money to sell her body off.

Editing

This is a Long take of the protagonist walking through the middle of the road and heading towards the alley way in a dull, gloomy day. This shot is able to create questions and enigma as it makes the audience wonder where she's going and why she's rushing so much. The editing in this shot is fast paced as we see the girl walking in extra speed, it gives out a dramatic feel and keeps the audience in suspense. As we showed Ayesha walking from her house to the alley way in many different angles it emphasizes her superiority and highlights the fact that she is an important character. 

The Editing here was really well thought out as we switched the shots between Ayesha's mother praying whilst Ayesha is getting changed in a dirty alley-way for prostitution. This emphasizes the harsh reality of Ayesha's lifestyle, It exaggerates the fact that she is doing something incredibly wrong and rebelling against her family. The editing is incredibly fast paced whilst Ayesha is getting changed it connotes that she is in a rush and doesn't want to get seen by anyone. Also the fact that she isn't spending much time to get ready and look elegant it portrays the idea that all she wants is  money, The men are not relevant.

Sound

The sound score in my opening sequence is heard right from the beginning which represents her dull lifestyle as it has a low, depressing tone to it. The soundtrack has an Asian tone to it, which portrays a clearer identity as it represents the protagonists background and ethnicity. As the music goes on it gets louder and busier which engages the audience with the fast paced action that is going on and engrosses them within the film. She is willing to get changed in an alley-way with the risk of exposing herself, this conforms to the common ideology that prostitutes barely have any self respect. 

Mise-en-scene

Location; The stereotypical representation of working class people living in poverty is represented through the location of our film. The broken down, gritty alley way connotes that Ayesha lives in an urban area, it represents the theme of poverty evidently. This location emphasizes the harsh reality that working class people are suffering through, it highlights the idea that she is financially unstable as she cannot afford to live in a better area.

Iconography

The iconography displayed in our opening sequence, such as the prayer Matt evidently portrays the Family's faith and religion. It connotes to the audience that Ayesha's family is extremely religious and reminds them about how rebellious and wrong Ayesha's behaviour towards them is. 

part 4

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

                      Click the link below to view The annotations for our opening sequence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-hq4i0TkvI

Part 3

What impact did the media institution Film 4 have on each production stage and why?