Audience essay

 "How does your own experience of media consumption illustrate wider patters of audience behaviour?"

As the years progress, more and more different means of media distribution are created, more streaming platforms and more channels and apps. This has dramatically effected my own experience of media consumption as now there are plenty of options to choose from with how you wish to consume media. There are 5 big conglomerate companies that dominate the film industry and it consists of Disney, universal studios, Colombia pictures, paramount pictures and warner brothers. They got to being the biggest by aqauiring other film companies, (subsidiaries) for example Disney acquired fox in 2019. These companies since the beginning have based their main way of having their media consumed, be through being screened to the public through theatres and such. This has changed over the past 10 years especially, with Disney they came out with their own streaming service at the end of November in 2019, this is a subscription services that shows only movies, shows and such produced by Disney so there are no middlemen and all the money goes straight to the company. With covid-19 being so prevalent in 2020, this service being released so close to the same time the pandemic began to spread, people were more open to subscribing to a service that will show them all their favourite shows to them in the comfort of their own homes during lockdown. During this time the theatres were closed for obvious reasons and so the only options left were to watch the tv channels or subscribe to a streaming service. This is also where netflix truly thrived as they are the largest streaming service so when people think it's time to subscribe to a streaming service, they go for Netflix as it is the most well known. The pandemic was also the root cause as to why the movies in box office weren't making any revenue. 

However many other companies are bringing in their own streaming services with shows exclusive to them and those who sign up, in order to give audiences a reason to pick their streaming service over the other ones available, with Netflix having their Netflix original series, hulu with exclusive popular shoes such as "euphoria". Although the problem begins where every company brings out shows exclusive to their company's streaming app, so it gets harder and harder for audiences to choose which service to pay for. This leads inevitably to audiences reverting to paying for one subscription service and watching the shows the other companies offer, through illegal means, through watching them pirated. Not only is pirating against the law but it also puts companies in a position where they are losing their audience because why would someone pay to watch something they can watch supposedly for free. Global digital piracy is causing the US to make losses of an estimated $29 billion and can even reach up to $71 billion each year. For smaller indie film companies this can be an exceptionally big issue, for example with the film "laid in America", made by a small company starring widely recognisable YouTubers, the film was distributed by universal pictures home studios and was not released on many places so people decided to watch it pirated, the film then went on to making a loss because of the level of piracy going on and it became one of the most pirated films regardless of the fact that it was made with many celebrities. This shows the audiences number one priority when trying to find a film to watch, is where is it most accessible. 

Generation Z and generation X are the generations that use technology the most, they grew up with it so they rely on everything online. Media consumption methods are always developing and according to stuart halls reception theory on how audiences perceive film content, the directors generally fit in different messages and ideas and the audience interprets in in various ways. The most common one is the negotiated reading, we see many youtube channels that come out with breakdowns of films where they fit in their interpretation of the movie and compare it up against what they know the directors intentions of message were. This is because audiences want reason, they look into why certain things happen in a movie and they might go along with what the majority thinks or go against it and come up with an alternate meaning, this all affects the overall idea of how media consumption illustrates wider patterns of audience behaviour. Another common method of understanding the intentions and ideas from a director in a movie, is through dominant reading and this is where what the director is trying to show and say is so clear that a majority of the people who see the movie will agree on the meaning, the narrative is made to be easily understood by specifically their target audience and this makes the film easy to follow along with, this is a method generally seen used in children's films as they are younger and will find it more difficult to comprehend deeper meanings. To create more buzz and talk about a film, directors may also aim to have their film interpreted through an oppositional reading where each individual when watching the movie will come up with their own interpretation. 

With means such as web 2.0 coming up more on the rise more and more companies are connecting with their audiences through different internet sites and such. For example with the New Zealand film 'What we do in the shadows', the company had used web 2.0 to reach out to the audience and make their experience in correlation with the film, more memorable. For example the film company had made a tinder-like dating app that was for the characters in the movie to relate with the average media consumer. Web 2.0 is allowing film companies to seem as though they are coming off their perdestal to be on the same level as the audience and this in turn gets them more invested and interested into the film. 

For me personally my media consumption actually only increased once i joined a streaming subscription company, Netflix. They are constantly releasing new films, always being talked about as they are already widely known. During lockdowns as a result of the ongoing pandemic, I find myself indulging in countless hours on Netflix, as it is accessible. Another aspect that I enjoy is that the movies are practically portable as once you download them on Netflix you can watch them offline, so this also leaves out the restrictions that otherwise would've been in place if it were perhaps a theatre. My media consumption also increased with online learning, watching documentaries and films for research became more of a viable option for information intake for me. All to say as the years go on, seemingly my media consumption increases also as we become as a society more and more reliant on it. 

Hotel Babylon

 In this clip from the TV series "Hotel Babylon", the main groups represented are through Ethnicity and social status, and their connection. An over the shoulder shot is used in the first scene from the angle behind the swat team facing the leader of the whole operation. This camera angle was used so that the audience could almost feel as though they were there with the swat team, being talked to by the leader, it allows the audience to be more emotionally involved in the film material. It also shows the audience the relation back to the groups being represented, it shows that people of authority seem to be white/European, and it is showing that there are generally significant ties between ethnicity and social status in our society and this actively showcases that. There is a zoom-in shot where the camera moves in on the receptionist lady and it's done this way to show the audience the reaction of the receptionist when the inspection team comes into their hotel which later on we move to find out that the hotel employs illegal immigrants. Ironically this also ties back into the representation of white people in this clip which is that white people are the saviours of society, the inspection team think they're doing good for the country, and the white receptionist woman is thinking she's doing good in the eyes of those in need as basic humans, giving them what she feels they're entitled to regardless of the law which is a source of income to survive. Either way, this first scene alone is showing us that white people are seen in society as the "good" people. A hand-held shot is used to show the inspection team coming in, it is filmed in this manner to only capture the chaotic feel of the whole situation, to capture the tension of it all, this way the audience can almost feel the frustration and stress through the screen, keeping them on the edge of their seats with this drama. As Jackie, seemingly someone who is for the immigrants is opening the door, we see that there is a mid-shot used to show her unlocking the key lock and it is almost representative of the immigrants being locked up in their own countries for a while and coming to the hotel in the country they're currently in would've been them unlocking themselves from the chains of their own country. There is a close up of the "staff only" sign on the door, it is in red which is a representative colour of danger, warning and it accurately relates to the current situation of the immigrants as their lives are at stake here. We see Jackie taking a headcount, and to showcase the reaction when she realises one of the workers are missing, a zoom shot is used. It shows the expression up close and then in drawing the camera out they are showing that this is reality and then they proceed to show how she acts on the situation. 

After this whole ordeal is done with there is a quick panoramic shot of the foyer, this is so that the audience can grasp the reactions of those who were staying at the hotel as well as the other staff who work there legally. Finally, there is a close up of Ibrahim's locker (the man who was missing), as Jackie removes the photos of him that he put up, we see that this is in fact the life of a lot of immigrants, stripped away because of the fact that they were just trying to make a better life for themselves. During the beginning scene, there was the non-diegetic sound of almost a ticking time bomb, ticking away as everyone is moving fast-paced trying to get the immigrants hidden. This is just to really elevate the stress and allow the audience to be fully emerged into what is happening. It makes every single thing that happens in the scene, anticipated. An important piece of dialogue is when the man entered with the search team and said "John from immigration services" it instantly had a light switch effect on the people who ran the hotel as they were hoarding illegal immigrants there. This is what allows the audience to grasp the situation for what it is and make them wonder if the immigrants will truly be caught. While Jackie is running through the hotel trying to gather all the immigrants there is a diegetic sound of shouting and this is kept in so that the audience can feel the frustration that the people on screen are experiencing, this generally actually keeps their heart rate up which makes them feel more for what is happening, anticipating if they will make it. When a woman collapsed due to her diabetic problem, one of the immigrant cleaners knew exactly what to do, and took initiative to make sure the woman will be okay, during this scene a very significant bit of dialogue was shared and it was "I wasn't always a cleaner". This really ties back in with the represented groups in the film, as someone who is coloured and seems like they're at the bottom of the social ladder, with having the reality be for this man and for many just like him, that back in their own countries they were extremely qualified but due to being in the country illegally, they are unable to practice they're filed openly so they have settled for jobs such as cleaners and such just to make a living. This is a hard reality for a lot of immigrants. Another thing to note is that when the lady did collapse, there was soft music playing in the background as non-diegetic sound, it was so that even though the world outside that maintenance room may be chaotic but in a time where a peer is in danger, it is best to stay calm and be rational. 

The mise en scene showed to be based around a classic hotel that was fairly old, it was draped in classic old timely colours like red and such which would lead the audience to see that the place was definitely not modern. The lighting when the inspection team are first introduced is quite bright which ties back into the idea of the white people to always be seen as the saving grace even if they're saving one side to hurt the other, a group of people at that. However when all the immigrant people were in the maintenance room with Jackie, the light was dim, this really shows that these characters are boxed into a dark place, mentally, psychologically and physically. This reflects. that outside the hotel things may seem average and innocent but from within the hotel, there have been immigrants working illegally. Another thing to note is that the receptionist woman was also wearing almost fully white, which would again tie in with the white saviour mentality as white is associated with purity, innocence, good and peace. During this entire clip, the main transitions that were used were just quick cuts and the reason for this is because everything is so fast-paced in the film, things are moving quickly and it is very highly tensile and so the film-makers just really wanted to capture that, capture the speed at which Jackie also had to be moving in order to save these immigrants. Cutaways and jump cuts made up a majority of the shots that were taken just for time sake along with that seamless editing was a technique used so that there is more continuity and flow, which gets the audience engulfed in what is happening and makes them believe whats on the screen is real, and overall just increases the amount of verisimilitude, which is ironic because things like this happen daily to immigrants which is why the film-makers made the show this way, to really open the eyes of the audience to whats happening in our society. 

synergy and CMC

 "Synergy and Cross-Media-Convergence are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences." To what extent do you agree with this statement in relation to your chosen media area?

I strongly agree that synergy and cross media convergence are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences. An example that showcases just how important these aspects can be for a company is Disney as a conglomerate, Disney has a major advantage especially after using horizontal integration to acquire Fox back in 2019. This means another connection amongst many other, Disney can use this connection to advertise as such on all the other platforms they now have control over, this means they can use this as an opportunity to collaborate to showcase whatever films Disney comes out with. An example of where Disney really excelled was where they released the film Frozen which was released in 2013, they made a worldwide gross of 1.3 billion dollars. This is due to the extensive amounts of cross media convergence that was attached to this film, with companies such as Mattel. Disney has also acquired companies such as ESPN, Marvel, Lucas Film as well as Touchstone pictures. This allows Disney to promote and advertise their films on multiple different platforms and channels. Disney also has Disney+, another means through which Disney promotes their films is through synergy with having theme parks located all over the world in countries such as Hong Kong and America, which also ties in which Disney's censorship with Asia as they try to accommodate them as they are the biggest film industry. 

A movie that was heavily promoted through synergy and cross media convergence is the remake of Lion King in 2019, they made a world wide gross of 1.7 billion dollars. This film was incredibly successful as it was a remake of a film that was already a very successful film, and on top of that it uses two very relevant singers, Donald Glover and Beyonce. These two artists also have a very large social media following on which they were able to promote this film on, the reach they could achieve is incredible with Beyonce having 200 million followers, being on the top 10 most followed Instagram accounts and Donald Glover having 4 million followers on Instagram. Especially with Beyonce being an A-list celebrity, her influence alone is plenty of promotion for the film. A few of their promotional strategies included partnering with the biggest fast food chain, McDonalds, they had partnered with them to create a toy that would be added in the happy meals. Another promotional partnership that highlighted the significance of synergy was their partnership with the very popular jewellery company, Pandora. They had worked together to create jewellery that represented the characters and such that were a part of this film. Major league baseball and major league soccer encouraged their fans to lift up their young ones out in the stadium during the game in the way that simba is lifted in the film, in order to have the chance of appearing on their "Simba-cam", appearing on the big screen. These are just a few to name, and they all get the audiences and general public thinking about the films release in the early stages and as well as actually going and watching this heavily promoted movie in the cinemas in general. Relating back to the cross media convergence they really used their ownership of a popular theme park, to their advantage by having Lion King themed scavenger hunts as well as performances of songs from the movie. 

Just to emphasise how important synergy and cross media convergence is, a film was made with a budget of only $60,000, yet they managed to gross in a worldwide amount of $250,000,000. This is entirely due to their promotional strategies using synergy and cross media convergence. Some ways this film was promoted was with "missing person" leaflets which were left around the city that were of the characters in the film. The aim of this marketing strategy was to really get the potential viewers to think about whether or not the footage in the film was real and if it was based of real life events, and this is what the marketing team suggested would get the film talked about and they were absolutely correct about that because people did infact get drawn in by this method and watched the movie just to see what all the talk was about. A website was made about the film, discussing what 'myths' were circling around about the movie, the website aims to make it so that the audiences think everything is real, really trying to draw in the people into the world of the film and extend it from the theatre into real life. This film was made in 1999 so the internet was not at its peak at this time, people were still figuring things out so having this website with footage taken from when they were filming, attaching it to witchery stories, the people were taken back by it all. 20 years later this film still haunts the internet after all its viral marketing, having being seen as one of the scariest horror movies ever made. The film-makers also manipulated the iMDB website so that when people click on the actors that played roles in the film it would come up with a notice saying that they were either dead or missing so this obviously was all a big viral marketing stunt and it worked out to promote the film to an extensive degree, with people actually believing and falling for some of their tactics. This truly highlights the importance of synergy and cross media convergence and proves that you don't have to have a massive budget and be part of the big 5 to be able to promote your movie successfully. The big 5 are conglomerates with subsidiaries, the Big 5 is made up of Disney, universal pictures, paramount pictures, warner bros and Columbia pictures. 

A film made in New Zealand is "what we do in the shadows", and this was was made in 2014 with a budget of $1.6 million, they grossed in a worldwide amount of $7.2 million. This film was heavily promoted in NZ with means that would include the involvement of the public with having a dating website with the vampire characters. This really brings in the audience into the actua.  world of the film, which also increases the films verisimilitude disregarding how unrealistic the film actually is, this adds a bit of believability regardless. Another way this film was promoted was by having the wellington sign changed to Vellington, they also had the actors from the movie, got them to dress up and had them be in the theatres that the film was playing in, surprising the people who were watching the movie. This all gets the movie both talked about and has the people who were avidly part of these experiences with the cast, to be more excited about the movie having many of them post about it as they would take pictures with the cast and put that up to show everyone which is giving free promotion for the movie anyways. 

  "Analyse how media institutions are using different platforms to engage with their audiences."

In the film industry, there are 5 big conglomerate companies that dominate and these conglomerates consist of smaller companies as such that come under one big company and these are referred to as subsidiaries. The big 5 was once known as the big 6, however, Disney acquired Fox in 2019, so Fox became one of Disney's subsidiaries. These big companies use different platforms to engage with their audiences to be able to reach their target audiences more effectively and efficiently. Something important to note is that the big 5 consist of Disney, universal pictures, paramount pictures, Warner bros pictures and sony.  These different companies connect and engage with their audiences through different means. Each company may uniquely have a specific method they use and that may be passive or active. Stuart Hall's reception theory touches on the idea that companies are actually encoding and decoding text within a film to create meaning and messages in the film. There are 3 types of readings according to this theory, the first one is the dominant reading, this reading, this is where the audiences is given a chance to decode the message for themselves, and see the reading that the producers actually want them to see. This is so that all the people who watch the film are on the same page. This type of engagement with audiences is commonly used in Disney movies as their age target audience is definitely on the younger scale so it would be appropriate for them to have their films made in a way where the meanings could be understood universally and easily. For example with movies such as Frozen, there is no intense other meaning, it is just what is shown and that is how the producer intended it to be. The second type of reading from Stuart Halls reception theory is negotiated reading and this is where the producers do have a specific message they're tying to include however you adapat that as the audience to your own beliefs and such. This is a technique commonly used with sony as they have made movies such as spectare and the davinci code. These films have a basline ideal response they ellicit however many people interpret it differently. The third type is oppositinal reading, this type of reading is where the audience rejects the message the producers are trying to pursue, because they have their own interpretation already, despite knowing what the producer wants them to think. A company that tends to move towards making films with this type of reading is universal pictures with movies such as 'old' which is a prime example of a film that can be taken as a oppositional reading. 

Shirky came to a conclusion that overall there is the overarching idea that audience behaviour has adapted and changed in a way that shows them to be more adaptive to the films that they watch. In the sense that the audience now produces media and this is called being a 'prosumer'. As times have evolved, technology has advanced and grown to the point where anyone, any amateur can create a film if they want to so we have gotten to get used to the idea of getting the idea that we want, so now when we watch films we are no longer a passive audience - according to this theory. Shirky believes that we are more active audiences nd this is because of the age in which we live, where everyone has access to a lot of media so now we are the most active audience there has ever been as our generation interacts with media more than any other generation. Now audience behaviour is not so. predictable which can make it difficult for producers to actively get their own message out to the audiences however this does mean more leeway for audiences to have a more enjoyable experience as filmmakers are adapting to the fact that audiences' thoughts and perception cannot be controlled. 

Representation - Homeland

 In this crime drama, 'Homeland', the societal groups that are being represented are ethnicity and gender. The city in the middle east where this is filmed in is shown as being very cultural, supported with the mid-shot of the men in the streets wearing religious headwear such as the caps that belong to the Muslim religion. This would also allow the audience to assume from seeing this show that in the middle east the majority of the general public goes by the Muslim faith. How the country and specifically the city is being represented is as congested and polluted with dusty clouds taking over parts of the city. An over the shoulder shot is being used when showing the prisoner looking out through his jail cell bars and into the courtyard where the tools needed for his death are being prepared. The camera slowly moved down with his head and this is representative of how this man feels as though we are able to see his internalised thoughts through just the swift downward motion of his head. A majority of the shots taken in the middle eastern county are taken on a handheld camera and we can see this as most of the shots are shaky and the footage is filmed as though it is from the point of view of the woman. An example of this is when the woman was driving and on her way to the prison cell of the locked-up man, and as the audience, we can see the camera moving in coherence with how the car is moving on the road and this is significant as it allows the audience to feel as though they are there in that place with the characters, allowing them to move into the world of the movie, this effect overall heightens the emotional involvement that the audience has with the film. A high angle shot of the streets and roads of the place was used to really showcase to the audience how the country is and how normalised behaviour such as pulling out a chair and sitting right there on the road is. You can see that the country is not as concerned with health and safety with all the exposed wires and such. This all is important as when it is compared with how it is in America, it truly shows the cultural difference. This is supported by the mid-shot of the CIA/man of higher authority, in America where he is on a phone call with the woman in the middle east when the camera is focused on America, it is still and balanced, this is trying to suggest in a way that this is how America is, balanced and calm. In the same mid-shot, we also see that everyone is wearing black and white, whereas the Middle Eastern people are wearing clothes of all colours, this ties in with black and white combinations in clothes being associated with high-class status and luxury. The contrast between the atmosphere in the middle east vs, In America, is significant, as the middle east is clearly shown as being hectic and all over the place metaphorically and America is proper, calm and peaceful. A shot reverse shot is also used in order to allow the audience to see and translate the emotions and expressions that are shown on the faces of both characters that are involved in the conversation, and how they connect and react to each other.

The way in which gender is being represented is that females are weak physically but strong mentally, whereas men are strong physically but not so much mentally. This is shown through the scene where the woman is getting pushed out by the guards by force, as shown through a close-up shot of the chaos with three men's hands being on the woman at once. A way we can see that women are represented as being mentally headstrong is where the woman is being persistent as the guard that she bribed to let her be in there said "the Guards, they're coming" which was diegetic sound. Even after knowing that the guards are coming, knowing how dangerous they seem to be in this country, the woman regardless stayed and tried to listen to what the man had to say so that she could get the information from him, she persisted and was determined to stay there until she was physically forced off the premises. According to the Stuart Halls theory, this could result in a dominant reading from the audience, this is because the director may be trying to get across that women are headstrong and determined whereas the audience may accept that on one hand and on the other, think that perhaps the lady is overstepping her boundaries and shouldn't even be doing something illegal in the first place as if she had to bribe someone to be able to do something then perhaps the action isn't morally correct either. When showing the middle eastern country there was the diegetic sound of the people talking in the streets and being just the average 

representation essay homework

Breaking Bad is a show that includes ideas based around drugs gangs and drug dealing. In the first scene, we see a panorama shot of the paint buckets, this is shown in the scene to establish the environment and setting location the following events are about to take place in. The panning shot showed that this scene was based in a hardware store, the paint tubs were mostly by the brand 'Kilz' which could be foreshadowing what events might take place in the rest of the show, it is subliminally telling the audience something is about to go down as out of an entire hardware store the directors decided to open with a shot of 'kilz' paint. The camera then swiftly moves to the bald man with a mustache, what the bald head may be associated with is jail, generally inmates must go bald to show they're not hiding anything as one of the many reasons yet it's contradicting as this man seems like he is actually hiding quite a bit as we are only just getting introduced to the character. The facial expressions on his face also seem to be very serious and he comes off as knowing what he is there for, he walks with purpose and it is shown in the downwards point of his eyebrows, which narrow his eyes more and gives off the look that he is focussed and in the zone. There is a close up shot of the man picking up a tub of 'kilz' paint, and this was done intentionally by the filmmakers to show that he has a gold wedding ring on his ring finger, suggesting he is a married man and most likely has a wife and kids. The man is also wearing fully black, this colour is associated with darkness, evil, ill intention having people and over all antagonists are the ones who mainly base themselves around this colour in films. The choice of clothing also instantly tells us there's something that could be dark and twisted with this man. The next shot is a tracking shot where the camera is going alongside the character to follow him and take the audience along, making them feel as though they are there with the character watching him in real time. The camera technique that is used next is a close up of the paint can the man is holding, being focussed in on the brand name, as well as the fact that it is red which ties in with what that colour represents which is blood, pain and danger which in association with the colours connected to the man, would suggest to the audience that something will go wrong wether that is during this scene or during the show in general. The camera then follows the man and moves into an over the shoulder shot which moves along with the idea of the audience feeling like they are there with him, possibly looking over his shoulder in shock aswell. What is shown from this angle is a trolley filled with what would seem to be the most random items, and they're bought in abundance which has clearly peaked the mans interest. A zoom shot is used to gravitate closer to the mans face, allowing us the audience to see what facial expressions he is making, allowing us to see his reaction to what was shown at the beginning of the shot, as the camera slowly narrows in on his face, it emphasises that the man can see something off with what is in that trolley. The camera during the scene is not still and the shaky effect is what makes the audience feel like they are watching him in real life and aren't just watching a recording or film, it adds a sense of realism.

The following character is introduced through a mid-shot, he looks to be significantly younger than the rather middle aged man we were shown earlier, this character looks dishevelled and as though he is a highschool dropout, he is wearing an all brown outfit that looks like it has not been washed in months, he looks to not be a home owner, the bags under his eyes would suggest he takes intense drugs of some kind, which is ironic as all that is in the trolley seemingly is connected with the production of a drug. The young man has a skull embroidered onto his beanie and this would be a symbol of death which is important to note with all the other ideas that are connected to the same overall atmosphere with the use of dark colours as such. A two shot is used to show both the characters locking eyes, we also see the man with his pants dropped to his upper thighs, suggesting he is indeed a junkie. The two shot was used to show the relation between the characters, the young man visibly seems uncomfortable so this would suggest he does not know this man standing in his way and staring him down. A wide shot is used to show the older man walking out of the store and as he moves closer to the camera, he is getting moved into a low angle shot which would show him dominating and proving himself to be of power and influence.

There is only diegetic sound used during filming in the hardware store location, this would make the audience feel like there is nothing too off about what is going on, the man seems average and seems to just be running his daily duties as such. This also adds in a sense of realism again, making it feel as though we are there with him. The middle aged man says to the junkie as he sees his cart full of materials to make illegal substances, "you're buying the wrong matches" this would suggest he knows exactly what the young man is up to and even though he is aware that what he's doing is not good, he proceeds to give him advice on how to continue these activities, telling him how to do it without getting caught, suggesting he is looking out for him in a condescending manner. The man looks around thinking something along the lines of "does anyone see this?" the man throughout their entire interaction only said one word "what" which really emphasises his confusion with what just happened. The man proceeds to be overwhelmed by the situation and in running away we hear a skid sound which would suggest he is running away scaredily and is stumbling, really showing how taken back he is to the point where he cant even think straight enough to walk properly. The middle aged man laughs which shows he's almost mocking the young man who just ran away, laughing at how pathetic his attempt is at getting involved in illegal substance making, and this would also put the idea in the audiences minds that perhaps this character is also involved in the same thing as he seems extremely knowledgeable in the topic. As he walks out of the store, non diegetic sound is begins to play, the beginning to a grungy song starts, under the song we hear the diegetic sound of the young man arguing in the car parking lot with a bigger tougher looking man. The music used makes the character the whole scene is directed towards, as a dissident intimidating person. To the bigger man, the middle aged man says "stay out of my territory" which suggests that whatever business they were up to, needs to stop as this is his zone, no response is given which suggests he made his point clear and they were fearful and surrendered in a way. This whole ordeal taking place in the parking lot is intentional as the mise en scene would tie in with the connation that is suggesting that parking lots are generally where rough things go down, its more secluded and seems casual to the eyes of others, however it can be a place of dealing as such and as shown here, setting boundaries. The way this scene is edited is in a way that feels as though the audience is simply just following along with what events take place. This increases the audiences emotional involvement as well as it making the show seem more intimate. The cuts from shot to shot and setting to setting, are quick yet smooth, this really emphasises that although the scene may not seem as serious, it is and the director wants to show that by not dwelling in shots too long. There is a match on action used in the last portion of the clip that shows the middle aged man walking from the store through the perspective that he is in the store then cuts to him outside the store from the perspective of the parking lot.

NZFC

Article 1

The New Zealand  Film Commission is responsible for providing loans and equating financing to New Zealand filmmakers to make it possible for them to effectively create and produce feature and short films. It is also heavily responsible for being in charge of holding any international film events or festivals and such. 

Article 2 

History 

Begins with the 1890s to the 1920s with early film, then moving onto the classical era in 1920 to 1960. The New Zealand Film Commission began during the 1970s to 1980s with international breakthroughs happening from the 1970s to 2005. Currently, we are at the peak of the film,  with increased amounts of resources as such to make films, giving opportunity for companies to really show what they are capable of. 

Article 3

Distribution and Marketing

There is a lot of research that goes into creating these films especially with New Zealand being so small, the companies only have a small shot at appealing to everyone so they want to try to at least appeal to as many people as possible. A means through testing feedback is through playing films publicly.  New Zealand tries to showcase New Zealand culture as much as possible so that is especially gets the attention of the people of New Zealand. International festivals and such which are supported by the New Zealand Film Commission, is a way of showing what we are capable of. 

 

CCR Pt. 2

 

Question 1 

CCR Q.1 by Carol Joseph

 

After effects

 shake screen when there is a scream 

 

Walt Disney chose to have their logo as a castle because the company is known for making all the iconic princess films. They base their films around fairytale so It only makes sense to have their logo look like an identifying part of any princess film which is the castle. In the beginning, it was just the wording but they added the castle in the back because it is iconic. 

The history behind this logo is disturbing as they used a real lion and tied him down to take this photo, which is animal cruelty. However, this company was actually known for being grim and pushing the limits of what is acceptable, with their biggest scandal involving the film Alice in wonderland. The actress was fed pills constantly to keep her able to film and later after the film she became addicted and it did not end in a pleasant manner. So this company overall does not seem to care for the wellbeing of anyone, they are only concerned that their film is finished being filmed well and efficiently. 

Pixar's animation is a reminder that ideas are good to have the company is focussing on the fact that. Steve Jobs is the person who came up with the idea for the logo and seeing as he was also a big part of the apple, this would make sense as apple is all about innovation and constant improvement. 

The 20th century fox is a film company that preys on the idea of the future and the logo is an indication that the films they make will be extraordinary and like no other companies film. The word fox was added because in a song they referred to a girl as a fox. This is important as when audiences see this logo they instantly assume the film is going to be ahead of their time as the 20th century is associated with moving forward in the future. 20 is a number that is associated with the future for example it is almost like how 2020 was a big milestone for everyone, 20 is associated with milestones and breaking new grounds 

CCR- portfolio task

 

Add a heading by Carol Joseph

Question 2 How does your product engage with audiences?

by Carol Joseph

Pt. 2 final edit

 https://youtu.be/uTwRmUzG7Zw

Representation Essay

 Downton Abbey is a show that tackles the representation of women and hierarchy during the post-Edwardian era. One of the key representations in this film would be women of less social importance, and women overall. This show is portraying women in this era as powerless, and their only purpose is to satisfy the needs of the men in the house. We can see this through the way the first shots are solely based on tracking and showing the lifestyle of the girls that work as servants to the Crawley family. The diegetic sound of one of the servants saying “for once I’d like sleep till I woke up natural”, instantly tells the audience this way of living has been going on for their whole lives, this shows that the servants are indebted to the rich, connecting to the overall arching idea that the lower down the social hierarchy you are, the more indebted you are to those above you. That quote lets us also know that these women have not had a single day off in their lives, which connects to the representation of the lower working class. A series of mid shots are used to show the workers having their instructions shout out by the head of the group of servants, her apparent age and manner suggest that she may be someone who has been the most loyal to the Crawleys, always done her best to serve these people, showing that people of the lower hierarchy are only seen as valuable based on how well they serve the rest of the household, specifically the men, basically only seen as valuable based on how useful they are. The music is very classic to the era, mellow and not heavy, considering how this music is so calm, during all the time the servants are being shown, it tells us that this is normal, it is normal for them to be treated this way and to be seen as inanimate objects who just do everything regular people would have done themselves, but for a rich family. The editing helps the image of the lifestyle back in that era, to be seen as casual through the use of smooth cuts and transitions, this lets us know that this treatment is nothing out of the ordinary, it all works together to show that in the post-Edwardian era, women were seen as tools that would help elevate the men in society, suggesting that would be a woman's only purpose in life, also suggesting that they are the minority. This message that is being portrayed about women, and more specifically women of lower economic social status, is very conforming to what we know of this era. Women were only openly allowed to be part of a proper workforce outside of their masters' homes, during the ’60s and this show was based on the ’20s. This would lead us to assume before then, what is shown in the film and how women are represented is accurate to what we believe that time to be like. 

Men are represented as the only ones in the house who could be of authority, specifically rich men. We take this as obvious because there are simply no male servants in the household as they were stereotypically seen as more valuable than that of the woman. This makes the audience automatically assume after maybe re-evaluating their life, that everything has changed and because of time, now women and men are being treated exactly the same as if their gender does not affect their place on the hierarchy. However, upon closer investigation, people would come to realise we are not as far ahead as we think, as in many traditional homes a woman is still seen as only a housekeeper, and in many countries, men and women do in fact not get paid the same so it really challenges the audience's emotions and psyche. This challenges not what we know of the post-Edwardian era, but in fact the era we currently live in. Even now both societal groups are seen through the eyes of stereotypes, the only difference is that in the 1920s, it was more widely spread sexism and openly expressed too, whereas now it is more discrete and subtle, which cause many to believe it does not exist even though the effects are being held throughout all generations. Even in the minor aspects of life, sexism exists for example in everyday advertisements for items as simple as body wash, the women's ones are called “vanilla” “cherry blossom” whereas the male's body wash is bombarded with the feeding into of male stereotype propaganda with titles such as “Mountain birchwood” “Man Cave” and “Old Spice high endurance”. This shows that still the media even is portraying women to be subdued and men to be the outgoing, hard-working people of society, and this show helps the audience to realise these things and keep an open eye for them. Another way we are shown the representation of men is through the mise en scene of how in the house the women servants are treated in terms of living conditions and lifestyle in comparison to the rest of the house, the women are sleeping in a shared room that looks old and as if neglected for many years, whereas when the rest of the house is shown it seems to be remodelled into being more modern and well kept, so this would suggest the Crawley family just set aside rooms for the servants and have neglected it since as a write off of kindness and basic human decency when in reality that is not at all accurate. The rooms seem dull and monotone which almost portrays the way their life is, the same duties every day, working for the same people and living the same way for their entire existence, the main house, outside of the servants' rooms seems more lively which would also connect to the fact that they are treated overall more like humans than the servants. Even within the group of servants, the men of social-economic status are given slightly less degrading duty as butlers, showing that even down to the lowest portion of the hierarchy, there is still a difference in the way men and women are being treated. 

Oppression is a key representation in this show, the servants are being oppressed by the rich, they are being treated differently due to circumstances they are not given the opportunity to change. The men in the house are the oppressors mainly, they take authority in the house as they are stereotypically seen to be indebted to having more power and to be the backbone of a house as women are seen to be careless and not to be trusted with anything of major importance which is why all that they are trusted with is perhaps a mop and some wood. The non-diegetic audio of the warden woman saying “go down to the kitchens before anyone sees you”, shows us that this group of women are looked down on so much to the point where they should not even be seen by those of higher social importance. The men of the house wish to have all their duties fulfilled, all jobs are done without even having to glance at those that it was able to be done because of. This is because they are seen as the lowest of the lows so the men do not want to see them in a place they also spend time in because to them it would be degrading to be connected to them in any way. We also know this through a midshot of all the servants and butlers eating, at a separate table to the rich men and women, suggesting that they are not worthy to sit with people of such class. The lighting shown in rooms and situations where it is just the servants and/or butlers is always dull and lifeless, this would show that their lives alone are dreary and muted much like their basic human rights and emotions in this household.  The girl in the pink dress, Daisy is new to her addition of jobs, she is not resenting any of the work she had to do and instead is proudly announcing it as done to the head of the kitchen within the servants, this would suggest that since this is the norm, the girl has accepted this will pretty much be her life for the rest of the time she is here, connecting to the representation of social pressure that is being put on women and specifically women of lesser social status.

Preliminary Task 2: CCR Q.2

 

Preliminary task 2 rough edit feedback

 Teacher Bianca:

• music 
• quality of focus
• dialogue louder 
• establishing shots to start with fade in-between
• continuity
• cut up the shot of Kevin begin

Other/s:

• Can't hear Oscar in speaking scene
• The sound is too much and needs work 
• there are parts of the sound which are not meant to be there
• Nice sound effects
• needs to be longer to reach 1.30 minutes

What will be done different for final edit:

In the final edit there will be a proper music track added for suspense rather than the sound effect soundtrack alone. However I will keep some of the impending doom parts where they are heavy to emphasize the dramatic parts because having there be dramatic sounds throughout the entire film seems a bit excessive and takes away from the suspense. Another change that will be made is that the quality of the focus will be rendered again to be higher so that the film is actually watchable. The music is said to be louder than the dialogue sound at certain parts so what will b changed is the volume of those particular parts so that the words are not drowned out by sudden dropping sounds. There is one establishing shot near the beginning of the film however to make the film have more context I will be adding establishing shots right at the beginning of the film, establishing shots of the gazebo, establishing shots of the bridge as such. The continuity is also an issue as the videos do not align in such a way that isn't very cut and paste. In order to fix this issue I will be adding in an effect that replicates very fast blinking, like a flicker cutting in and out of the shot so that it seems more tense because that shot is actually supposed to be one of the more suspenseful scenes. Finally the video is only 1.26 minutes and so to make sure that it reaches the required time duration of the film, I will be adding in a few more establishing shots. 

Target Audience

Opening Sequence Pt.2

How is the sequence engaging and how does it conform to traditional Thriller codes and conventions?

(think about the 4 technical areas as well as narrative conventions)

1. Inception

Sub Genre: Action Thriller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LYz4tUrxzs

At the beginning of the opening sequence, the film makers decided to add in their film company's classic, universally recognisable  title sequence with their logo. The effect this has in the audience is excitement, when you see the logo of a film company that is known for making good movies, the audience is on the edge of their seat to watch the movie because they expect greatness. The first proper shot in the opening sequence is based in the water with waves crashing, this leads to confusion of the audience and curiosity, this curiosity drives interest and attention to the movie. Then it shows a man just laying there washed up on shore, this heightens engagement as they are showing a situation and leaves the audience to wonder how this man ended up here, so now they will want to pay attention to the rest of the movie. Thriller movies usually have a lot of symbolism and in this film there is a spinner top that is used as a significant symbol in the film that helps differentiate which is a dream and which is reality. When seeing a reoccurrence of this item throughout even just the opening scene, the audience understands that it is significant. 

2. 

Sub Genre: Horror Thriller

Death Note 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVNIq0QiEK4

The opening sequence of film begins with an establishing shot that shows the city, panning the scenery coming through with the mise en scene.  Then the screen blacks out and moves to the next shot which is of school and moves to the next, showing the fast pace life of the characters that are about to be shown. This showing a normal life yet the music gives off the feeling to the audience that something is off, hence the genre of horror thriller. showing that it is conforming to the conventions of a thriller. With thriller there are a lot of jump cuts and this film follows that convention as within the opening scene we are flashed with multiple shots that we know will only be unpacked later on in the film. The use of jump cuts actually heightens the audiences engagement as they are simply being given a lot of information with no context so obviously to understand what is going on they would have to continue watching the film so the audience would be at the edge of their seats waiting to find out what are all the connections between the shots/scenes. The music is flashy at points and this is because it is showing a series of events occurring in a certain time frame, all of which leading up to something big and this is shown and portrayed to the audience through the use of music.

3. Maze Runner

Sub Genre: Man vs. Nature Thriller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpezsRoq1nw

The film makers have the opening scene consist of a title sequence showing the logos that may be familiar to the average movie watcher. The 21st Century logo being shown instantly gets the audience more interested because they are familiar with the  company and as they are known for their great and iconic films, so when the audience sees this logo they know/have a gut feeling that the movie will be worth while. Then the screen cuts to being pitch black and slowing a moving light is shown, then we come to the realization that the character is in an elevator type contraption, the way the screen starts with black gives the audience a feeling of "where are we" and it is also conveyed through the stress the character is experiencing. This puts the audience in the shoes of the character on screen as they also feel tense, they too have no clue where the contraption is taking the character. The mise en scene once the character gets out is green. blocked off and constricting. The light in the contraption turns red, red is a universal symbol of danger so the audience is now aware that the character is currently not in the ideal situation. This is very compliant with the conventions of thrillers as it is commonly used in these types of movies to make it clear something is wrong. There is a point of view shot, commonly used in thrillers to get more emotional engagement by getting the viewers to feel what the characters feel, the point of view shot is showing from the perspective of the main character who was in the contraption which opens to show a group of people huddling around him, this makes us understand his confusion and gives us a reason to continue watching just to see where he is and where this goes. 

Preliminary Task 2: Brainstorm

Made by Brianna Hodder
 

Preliminary Task 2: Roles

 Chloe: 

- Script

- Talent

- Filming equipment organization

-Filming equipment final check 

- Film schedule

- Director

Brianna:

- Brainstorm

- Storyboard

- Camera

- Props and costume

- Call sheet

- Audio

Carol:

- Mood board

- early technical decisions

- location

- weather check

-Lighting 

Location shot set up

Treatment Roles: 

Chloe:

• Character names and their motivations/representations in the film
• Ideology
• Narrative

Carol:

• Mood and tone
• Mise-en-scene/setting
• Location

Brianna:

• Camera shots, camera movement/lighting/angles, lighting
• Themes and motifs
• Symbolism

All:

• Sound and music
• Use of credits and logos
• Editing