1a) Digital Technology

Digital technologies that I have used for both my film opening and adverts:

• Adobe photoshop
• microsoft word/ powerpoint
• You tube
• Slide share
• Digital video camera
• studio camera
• web 2.0 (internet)
• premiere pro
• prezi
• blogger

What were the technical pro's and cons of the hardware/software?

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop was a very important software that I needed for both AS and A2. The pro's of photoshop was that it allowed me to edit professionaly a film opening name for my as and a company logo for my a2. The resources that I used were to begin with the editing resource 'T' this was to apply text which was then styled with a font type, variety of colours and sizing. This aloud me to manipulate my company logo to be specifically aimed at a female audience as well as the film opening name 'Scarlett' to conform to the genre of horror and fit in well with this theme. 

I also used photoshop for my online pop up in my a2 coursework. The benefit of using photoshop was that I could create a pop up that was very similar to the inspiration of real pop ups that already exist in the media. To begin with I created a new canvas and used the custom shapes tool using a square to directly show where the text and image will be shown. I then experimented with different fonts, colours and sizes to aim for a bold and eye catching outcome to attract my target audience of females. The photograph that I took on the hardware of a digital studio camera was carefully cut out using the lasso tool and dragged into the popup allowing the background to be removed. I used the curves and levels to brighten the photograph and allow the vibrant colours in the sportswear to be enhanced. I feel that due to my advantage of already using this technology in photography the tools I used I was already familiar with therefore the aim of making my online pop up very striking was easier than expected. In this pop up I also incorporated my company logo that I had already made previously to this task this was re sized to fit in the space I had required for it using the custom shapes and made very large so that the audience instantly become aware of my company to build its popularity. 

Microsoft word/ powerpoint 

The digital softwares Microsoft word and powerpoint were used both in my as and a2 coursework. These softwares were used to present my research, planning and evaluations in a professional lay out. Both these softwares allowed me to insert images to my work to show evidence of what I have written and to illustrate my points. For example in as I created a powerpoint of the main influences of our horror film opening and by inserting images of sections of the films that were most influential for example title's, camera angles, locations allowed myself to reflect on visual inspiration if me and my production group needed ideas to develop. I also could insert youtube horror film openings from the digital site You tube and apply them using the digital software slide share which was a very simple and fast process. Furthermore in A2 I used both these digital softwares more frequently as it was a successful way to present my work in the first year. I used both word and powerpoint in the majority of my work and one in particular I used both these softwares for my two of my evaluations this is because of there was enough space to allow me to write all I needed and to show my creativity in both my including a running background theme through out as well as different fonts and images to make my answers appear more interesting to look at and read.

Youtube

This was one of the main digital sites that I used and to access this was through the web 2.0. I used You tube for both my as and a2 projects. I accessed film openings, sponsorships and sports adverts that already existed in the media industry to research what conventions were used and how I could use them in my own work to conform or challenge them. In my as coursework I looked at 3 main horror film openings Chucky, Sinister and Cabin in the woods which gave me an insight into the structure of the narrative to allow myself to gain a starting point for the storyline of my horror film opening. The skill of researching on You tube was developed in my a2 and this digital site I relied on a lot more when researching ideas this is because in every circumstance I always referred back to You tube. For example          when creating my story board I had referred back to youtube to recap on the popular camera shots that were used in sports adverts to make sure my story board was correctly showing this. 

You tube was also where I had uploaded both my horror film opening, sponsorship and two adverts to this then allowed me to upload it to my blog. This indicates how important this digital software was as it  was included in the process of uploading my main tasks.

Digital video camera

This digital hardware was the most important aspect of both my projects as this was the resource that allowed me to get the resultant footage that I needed to then edit my tasks. In as was the first time that I had created my own film opening therefore the use of the digital video camera was very important. Before I could film my horror film opening a lot of practise was needed to make sure each individual shot was as sleek and accurately composed as possible. Therefore by establishing the camera shots I needed to use from looking at horror film openings that already exist on the digital software You tube I had then gone out several times and practised these shots. Where as in A2 the filming was already in my knowledge of how to use the camera and how to compose the shots therefore even though I had still used the digital camera to practise the shots the idea behind this was more to see if it works well in the fast paced adverts that I was constructing.

Premiere pro

This digital software was used in both my as and a2 coursework and was introduced to me in as therefore in my as coursework the skills that I had learnt was developed in a2 when I discovered I could do a lot more. For example in as to edit my horror film opening I used the razor tool to separate the clips  of the teenagers walking towards the park to speed up the pace of their walk. I also used the transitions of dip to black and fade to black to create a dark and haunting feel to the shots. Where as in a2 I used these techniques as well as using speed and pace to create a range of speed in the actions shots, as well as creating a layer to adjust the curves and levels of all the shots and creating one individual shot two and three times to see the same shot repeated to show more creativity in my work using premiere pro. 

  What were the technical pros and cons of the hardware/software?

In what ways was technology used to create the production?

In what ways did the technology constrain or enable the production?

Discuss how one or more groups are represented in the media

In the media everything has to be mediated to meet the time requirements that they have been given. This means that anything that has passed through mediation has been carefully selected, organised and then has a focus to them. By mediation taking place shows that anything that is shown in the media is not normal or natural it has been coined to gain a large audience's attention. The first stage of mediation is the selection this is where the gate keeper selects the parts that he or she feels will shock, entertain, scare or interest the audience the most. For example a news report that I recently watched about the London riots had been carefully selected where the camera was from the police officers perspective representing the youths as very violent and intimidating this then creates a moral panic that all youths are overpowering in dominance. Furthermore the organisation stage is where the individual shots are organised to get your attention better and by the third stage of focus simply putting the media source in front of you by gaining screen time will allow you to actively participate.

The idea of hegemony is shown where one class has more authority than another therefore by the middle class producing the media shows how they are in control of what representations are shown. This means that the youth are the weaker class as they have no control how the media portray them. This representation is known as intentional as the middle class are forming their own opinion on youths through films, documentaries and news reports. Examples of this are firstly the historical film 'This is England' produced in 2006. The representation of youths is shown through out this is because the producer has represented them as prioritising their appearance this is shown through the group 'Skin heads' where the boys all have their hair shaven and they wear ben Sherman shirts with thick laced boots. The idea of the youths all dressed the same way gives them a sense of belonging. This is one of the reasons why Shaun the younger youth wanted to dress exactly like them so badly this is because this gave him a uniform and sense of belonging.

Comparison between 'This is England' and 'Young Apprentice series 3'

The representations of youths in 'This is England' and 'The young apprentice' was very different this is because:

• In This is England the race of the youth in woody's gang was very isolated and the adults especially had a very negative opinion on him and his background where as in the youth apprentice the ethnicity of the boy and girl was admired and they were treated as equal as the others in the program.
• In the young apprentice the youth was represented as very high class and the location in London that the program was filmed, the cars they travelled in, the well dressed outfits and the board room gave an overall view for youths that money is the goal in life. Where as in This is England the location up north was typical working class streets the location wasn't wealthy looking, corner shops were shown. A similarity between the youth represented in This is England and The London riots on sky news is 'gangs' are seen as stealing and being represented as intimidating when being violent. This could be because a representation of youth not seeing a future for themselves makes them feel that anything they do they have nothing to lose. This is a recurring theme in all the sources I have looked at for example Ill manors with the drug dealing as well.
• In This is England the leader at the time 'Margaret Fatcher' had classed the soldiers as 'Our boys'. One of the main characters Combo had tried to form a gang being influenced by this of the youths and called them his 'troops' this shows that youths are reliant on having a sense of belonging and needing each other. Where as in the Young apprentice the groups that are formed are very aware that they are doing everything for themselves and are very strong minded especially in the board room selling themselves. This shows a representation of youths in two different ways. This also exaggerates the idea of an in group and out group where Combo's 'troops' are the 'in group' and the ethnicity are the 'out group'. This is also shown in the young apprentice where the 'ungroup' are the successful group and the individual that is fired is classed as the 'out group' this is a common theme that the sense of belonging is very important to youths. 
• The representation of youths prioritising their appearance and their fashion of what they wear. This shows youths as very self conscious and the idea of all having the same style allows them to fit in. Examples of this is quadraphenia 'mods and rockers' This is England 'Skin heads' The young apprentice 'Smartly dressed'.
• In the Sky News report of the rioting the male youths who did not want to be seen on camera when expressing their voice the camera men made them cover themselves up. This made their appearance look more intimidating where as the rioting report that was shown as very unprofessional with the use of the shaky hand camera and mistakes that had not been taken out did not show the youth. This shows a representation of the youths voice being heard not there looks being judged before they speak.
• The idea of a recurring theme of the representation of youths wanting a voice shows the idea of self representation as the opinions they express says a lot about them. For example in the London riots when the youths said 

Cohen's theory (1987) about the moral panic and how moral panic causes a worried and anxious society reflects the London riots this is because through the selection of mediation the dominant middle class have chosen to organise specific clips of the youth from the police force's point of view. This had been done my camera angles behind the police and by over reporting this issue streaming it every where to create a panic and threat of youths to society. The representation that they have made show youths as very violent and out of control as they are vandalising a police car. These representation link with the argument that Cohen has made relating to the 'Folk devils' stereotyping the youths to be danger  towards the general public.

In addition in the histroical film 'Qdadraphenia' youths are also represented in a negative way 

Analyse media representations question

Analyse media representations in one of your coursework productions.

In my horror film opening the term 'Mediation' was used as the three key points that expand from mediation are: selection, organisation and focusing. The idea of selection is where in the media industry for example a photo shoot the selected photographs published in a magazine were chosen for a reason and the others weren't chosen fro a reason. In my horror film opening the specific clips that were chosen were chosen because they highlighted the representations and stereotypes more and allowed the audience to see these clearer. For example a medium close up shot of the teenage male and female looking into each others eyes in love was chosen. This is because teenagers are represented to be obsessed with the opposite gender and making this a priority over other more important things. Therefore the representation of this was shown in the clip to show the stereotype being conformed to. Another example would be a close up of the female character 'Riley' screaming in fear. This shot was chosen through mediation because the shot best enhanced and exaggerated the representation of women being very vulnerable and weak as one of the conventions of the genre horror is the women to play the character of the victim to show them being overpowered. Furthermore several shots weren't used because they were either blurry or they didn't best show the representation that I wanted to put across to the audience.

Secondly the whole of the horror film opening was organised in a way that would create a very unsettled atmosphere and would make the audience want to carry on watching. This was shown through the mise-en-scene and the narrative. Firstly the mise-en-scene of the lighting being very natural and calming to begin with and to end with however during the flash back in the middle was very dark and sinister shows how the clips were organised following the narrative theorist 'Todorov'. This was to represent his equilibrium theory through out. The disruption of the equilibrium is highlighted through the change of lighting and this enhances the audiences attention in many ways as it changes the atmosphere completely. In addition this was also chosen to be done as it allowed the audience to focus on the 'Villain' in this film opening as the zooming in and close up shots of her were shown in the flash back making her the main focus of the clip. This also highlighted the representation of the theme of evil that is one of horror's main conventions.

In my film opening I used the reflective view of representation this is because in previous research and planning I had focused mine on previous horror film openings that already exist. By doing this I had found the representations used in horror and how they are used. Therefore reflecting this in my own planning and construction to show to my audience the most accurate horror film opening that is following codes and conventions of horror very well. For example the media represent teenagers as very low class, smoking, drinking, wearing hoodies and very rebellious. This is because of the media is made by adults and they have this representation on teenagers therefore showing it in a lot of films made. This shows how they have made an opinion on them to be very out of control and as an individual (part of the audience) watching this it is then your decision whether to believe this or not. Therefore a conclusion is made on your position for example I am a teenager therefore I would not agree with this representation.

Narrative question

Apply theorists of narrative into your coursework.

For my coursework that I constructed in my first year me and my group created a film opening. We as a production group decided to choose the genre horror. This is because the genre horror has a lot of sub genres which made our film opening easier to create as the ideas are endless. We also chose this genre as we had a clear narrative that we could use to fit in with the horror film openings that already exist. The narrative behind our horror film opening was a flash back to a nightmare.
Furthermore to make sure that I engage my target audience and make the film opening very interesting we decided to follow the narrative theorist 'Todorov'.We done this by showing the three stages which are: equilibrium, a disruption and a new equilibrium however if we would of made the rest of the film this narrative would have been shown much clearer and easier. To begin with we showed the equilibrium through a number of long shots and medium shots of the teenagers 'hanging out' in the park drinking and smoking which is conforming to the teenage stereotype this was a very chilled atmosphere which allowed the disruption to be exaggerated and made clearer to the audience. This was because the disruption was shown in the flash back. This was filmed in the late evening therefore having to use the night vision option on the digital video camera this made the effect of the clips very sinister and highlighted the fact that the disruption was being shown. The disruption included the audio of screaming and the nursery rhyme sang by Scarlet the doll. The aim of the disruption was to take away the innocence of the park and create an atmosphere that is showing the doll haunting the vulnerable teenager. Lastly the new equilibrium was a flash forward back to the teenagers hanging out in the park comforting each other that the park was not haunted. These clips were very unsettled showing the situation not yet fixed.

To make sure that the narrative was correctly followed we as a production group followed specific conventions they were: fade to blacks, a innocent location surrounded by woods, vulnerable children/females, dark lighting, fast cuts and an unsettled atmosphere.

Furthermore expanding on the point above about using the characters of 'teenagers' to conform to their stereotype allowed the narrative to be shown even clearer. However we also challenged stereotypes as we made a female woman the main character this is not following the conventions of the characters in horror films. This is because women are normally the victims as they are seen to be vulnerable and weak. By challenging the stereotype allowed our narrative to stand out and show a twist in the story line.We also developed the narrative by using a flash back. This made the narrative very tense and exciting as it gave short flash backs on the evil in the doll 'Scarlett' and showing reaction shots of the teenagers which make the audience want to carry on watching which was our aim.

Lastly even though the narrative theorist's 'Todorov' was our main influence in our film opening we also applied the theorist 'Propp' to the film opening. This is because the theorist Propp created the idea of having character types when he was analyzing a fairy tale. Therefore in our film opening we followed the structure of a Hero and  Villain shown in the flash back between Scarlet the doll and the teenager Riley.

Digital technology question (1a)

Describe the ways in which your project work was aided by your use of digital technology and how your ability to use digital technology developed over time.

What they mean is to cover both your AS year and A2 year. Include research and planning as well as construction in  our answer, and do not forget to state what products you are talking about.

Digital technology has become a very important part of film making and the way it has advanced has allowed the three stages of research, planning and construction to be easier and more accessible. 
By studying media studies with my own practical productions I have developed my skills using different digital technologies which has given me more creative decisions.

The first digital technology that I have developed my skills through is the        video camera. This has been the first technology that allowed my skills to advance. This is because the camera held hours of footage that I had shot to give me several times to make sure each individual shot i was filming was as accurate and framed correctly to get the best film opening/ advertisements which I done in as and a2. The size of the camera was also very compacted and by using a stable tripod allowed me to get sleek tilt shots for example in my advert for sportswear. This shows the audience the whole outfit to give them a feel of the outfit in motion. 
In the planning stage of my film opening in AS by going to similar locations and practicing the different shots using the digital camera allowed myself to get more familiar with using the zoom button to get an even speed and to keep on working on the pan and tilt movements to get them as precise as possible. After this still in the planning stage I edited these clips on premiere pro. This allowed me to get a feel of the site and to watch on web 2.0 on the well known site 'YouTube' to gain editing skills and short cuts that could increase my creativity for my film opening. Premiere pro was the main technology that I edited both my horror film opening and sportswear adverts on. From a lot of research from the web 2.0 I had gained the knowledge also of different technologies fro example 'Live type' which as a class we watched several you tube clips to know exactly how to create titles that would best fit for our genre which was horror for me. 
As my production group all decided on a horror film opening as part of the construction we had filmed parts of the film opening in the dark. This meant that we had to research how to make sure the lighting on the digital camera was allowing the actors/actresses and the location to be visible. Without the research of the night vision button it wouldn't of gave us more control on the effects we wanted in our film opening.
From using the digital camera to researching on the web 2.0 and YouTube to gain more skills for the editing process allowed the technology sites premiere pro and live type to be much easier to use. These all aided my skills to be much better for my A2 work.
Editing in my opinion was the most enjoyable out of all the stages of filming this was because it allowed me to use technology that advanced my creative thinking. This is because by doing a level media allowed my teacher to introduce me to premiere pro. By using the technology premiere pro in both a level years I feel massively developed as it made me more of a flexible editor. One part of the editing that I found very challenging was the sound. The sound was produced from the digital technology the microphone. To make sure the sound was equal to the actors/actresses lip movements was very hard. However by focusing on each individual one and increasing/decreasing the pace and volume on premiere pro made this process easier. Furthermore by also applying an echo to the sound made the sound much more creepier to fit the genre of horror.
When critiquing my own work I would have to say that sound was a downfall in our film opening this is because of using the digital microphone for the first time without as much research into as the actual digital camera. However from my teachers help and online tutorials on the web 2.0 made this down fall not as unsuccessful as I thought it would be. From this experience in my first year when filming my sponsorship in the second year which needed sound I made sure that the sound was produced in a studio to avoid any distracted noises. Also from the first year I had already known the best way to dub the sound which made my sponsorship sound a lot easier to edit.