'Analyse one of your media productions in relation to representation'
Representation is a key feature to the development and creation of my product. Representation, as described by Stuart Hall, refers to the idea that all texts are encoded with specific ideas and expressed through careful mediation. Presenting reality is a twisted and specific way. My production is my A2 music video, 'Pompeii' by Bastille, which comes under the genre and sub-genre of indie rock/alternative rock. I will refer to a range of theories that reflect or challenge the concepts of representation in my music video, analysing and using examples to apply such theories to my product.
Sunday, 31 May 2015
1A Conventions from real media texts essay (4)
CONVENTIONS FROM REAL MEDIA TEXTS
In terms of my foundation portfolio (AS) I had to create an opening title sequence for a thriller movie which I named vindicate. It focused on 2 male protagonists who were on a look out for an assassin in an abandoned house, in order to prepare for the opening title sequence I was also required to complete a preliminary task which taught me the basics about maintaining continuity and familiarising myself with the editing software. My advanced portfolio (A2) production focused on a music video for the indie band 'Bastille' and their song 'Pompeii', the video is about a couple who are on the verge of a relationship breakdown, we decided to hybridise the type of the video and created a performance based music video with a narrative based twist, the advanced portfolio was also accompanied by a magazine poster and a digipak (CD cover) which was part of the ancillary tasks.
In order to get a better understanding of conventions of real media texts during AS media; during research and planning I viewed existing opening title sequences of mainstream thriller films, this made me get a better understanding of opening title sequences in general and what their main conventions were for example, Jack Reacher (a thriller film starring Tom Cruise) had specific conventions such as titles shown consistently through the film and theme of protagonist vs antagonist (binary opposites). However, during A2 media not only did I analyse existing music videos made but I annotated them and considered aspects such as mise-en-scene, editing, sound and camerawork this meant that I knew what props were used in pop/indie music videos, what type of editing was sued (usually fast cut) and the variations of camerawork; this ultimately meant that I studied the conventions more which made me understand the concept. However during AS I was limited in the sense that the thriller genre was quite generic as it needed to consist of specific conventions (as Steve Neale would say) however in A2 media I had to create a music video which come in all shapes and different sizes and could vary in forms such as a performance based, narrative based or concept based music video.
In terms of my ancillary task, looking at existing magazine posters of bands had also developed my my product. For example, posters tended to have specific band logos with the title of their new album capitalised in order to make the magazine stand out, they also tended to stick to 3-4 colours and not over-saturating it with various colours; therefore I was able to push out on the ideas and make my poster seem professional; in order to help me do this I used photoshop CS6 and used tools such as the gradient tool, background eraser and the brightness tool where I increased the brightness of the photo to make it look more bright and vibrant.
Furthermore, in terms of my digipak (ancillary task); within real media texts I have noticed that an artist will attempt to achieve continuity across all their products, so their appearance, brand and style us recognisable to the public. This inspired me to use the same consistent colours within all of my A2 media products; for example, the four main colours (red, blue, green and yellow); I used this in my magazine poster and digipak through the help on Photoshop which provided me with tools such as filters to change the colour scheme, but it was also used in my music videos due to professional studio lighting - this meant that all three of my A2 media products were unified.
Overall, my analysis of conventions have significantly improved from my foundation portfolio to my advanced portfolio in the sense that my knowledge has expanded and that by analysing real media texts allowed me reinforce the ideas to my products. For example having a particular style of editing, using particular props to reinforce the genre of that product. I also felt very confident with the understanding of conventions and challenged some as well.
In terms of my foundation portfolio (AS) I had to create an opening title sequence for a thriller movie which I named vindicate. It focused on 2 male protagonists who were on a look out for an assassin in an abandoned house, in order to prepare for the opening title sequence I was also required to complete a preliminary task which taught me the basics about maintaining continuity and familiarising myself with the editing software. My advanced portfolio (A2) production focused on a music video for the indie band 'Bastille' and their song 'Pompeii', the video is about a couple who are on the verge of a relationship breakdown, we decided to hybridise the type of the video and created a performance based music video with a narrative based twist, the advanced portfolio was also accompanied by a magazine poster and a digipak (CD cover) which was part of the ancillary tasks.
In order to get a better understanding of conventions of real media texts during AS media; during research and planning I viewed existing opening title sequences of mainstream thriller films, this made me get a better understanding of opening title sequences in general and what their main conventions were for example, Jack Reacher (a thriller film starring Tom Cruise) had specific conventions such as titles shown consistently through the film and theme of protagonist vs antagonist (binary opposites). However, during A2 media not only did I analyse existing music videos made but I annotated them and considered aspects such as mise-en-scene, editing, sound and camerawork this meant that I knew what props were used in pop/indie music videos, what type of editing was sued (usually fast cut) and the variations of camerawork; this ultimately meant that I studied the conventions more which made me understand the concept. However during AS I was limited in the sense that the thriller genre was quite generic as it needed to consist of specific conventions (as Steve Neale would say) however in A2 media I had to create a music video which come in all shapes and different sizes and could vary in forms such as a performance based, narrative based or concept based music video.
In both of my productions props was used, for example whilst analysing thriller films it was evident that there tends to be use of weaponry (key convention of a thriller film in terms of props) however, the act of obtaining/creating was rushed during AS media as we made them the day before production meaning that we didn't have enough props to relate to the genre film and they were not done at an adequate standard. However, during A2 media we looked at the conventions of props (and mise-en-scene) and in an indie music video and these tended to be a microphone, mic stand, and instruments. All these props and the costumes (clothing) were obtain a week prior production which meant that we were well organised and meant that when it came to filming our props were not rushed and were maintained at a high standard.
Researching into existing music videos allowed me to recognise the different types of styles within music videos and how we like Hype Williams could be an Auteur. An auteur is a film maker who has a distinctive style, Hype Williams' videos are unique in the sense he commonly used fish-eye lenses, he put his name in all of his videos and made references to money. In relation to my music video using Final Cut Pro allowed me to have unique factors within my music videos which challenged conventions of real media texts such as a white letterbox (as opposed to conventional black letterbox's), having a watermark of my name in my videos using the font 'Bebas Nue', this is a unique font which helps me as a potential film-maker to be recognised. However, during AS media my opening title sequence was quite generic and didn't significant stand out which meant that it could become blurred with other media productions.
Furthermore, in terms of my digipak (ancillary task); within real media texts I have noticed that an artist will attempt to achieve continuity across all their products, so their appearance, brand and style us recognisable to the public. This inspired me to use the same consistent colours within all of my A2 media products; for example, the four main colours (red, blue, green and yellow); I used this in my magazine poster and digipak through the help on Photoshop which provided me with tools such as filters to change the colour scheme, but it was also used in my music videos due to professional studio lighting - this meant that all three of my A2 media products were unified.
Overall, my analysis of conventions have significantly improved from my foundation portfolio to my advanced portfolio in the sense that my knowledge has expanded and that by analysing real media texts allowed me reinforce the ideas to my products. For example having a particular style of editing, using particular props to reinforce the genre of that product. I also felt very confident with the understanding of conventions and challenged some as well.
Friday, 29 May 2015
Guideline Template 1A
Paragraph 1: should be an introduction which explains which projects you did. It can be quite short.
Paragraph 2: should pick up the skill area and perhaps suggest something about your starting point with it- what skills did you have already and how were these illustrated. use an example.
Paragraph 3: should talk through your use of that skill in early projects and what you learned and developed through these. Again there should be examples to support all that you say.
Paragraph 4: should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later projects, again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this represents moves forward for you from your early position.
Paragraph 5: short conclusion
Paragraph 2: should pick up the skill area and perhaps suggest something about your starting point with it- what skills did you have already and how were these illustrated. use an example.
Paragraph 3: should talk through your use of that skill in early projects and what you learned and developed through these. Again there should be examples to support all that you say.
Paragraph 4: should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later projects, again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this represents moves forward for you from your early position.
Paragraph 5: short conclusion
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)