Research and Planning - Audience Theories

This is a sheet I have annotated during an exam lesson on a few of the different theories that I will be covering his year.

The hypodermic needle theory.

This theory suggests that the audience is powerless to what they are shown in the media, it says the media receive and accept the message from the text immediately and directly.

Cultivation theory.

This theory suggests that the more media we are exposed to, the more we take in and accept. For example, a person that watches Crimewatch weekly and listens to it telling them that crime is on the rise, would believe it and be more paranoid than that of someone whom doesn't watch Crimewatch.

Desensitisation theory.

Desensitisation suggests that people in modern day and times are less affected when they see violence and explicit content due to the media they have been exposed to. It suggests that when people see something horrific, they are not as affected by it as they simply know it is fiction. 

Modelling/Copycat theory.

This theory says people are more likely to copy something they have seen either on television or on a game, the audience are easily influenced by things they have seen.

Uses and Gratifications model.
This theory suggests that the audience will take in a text and use it to mean different things. The theory takes the individuals into account, and states that things taken from watching media will not overpower experiences taken from real life experiences.

Research and Planning - Film Certification (Regulation & Censorship)

For the film trailer we are creating, myself and Lucy have decided we will most likely rate our trailer a 15. This is due to the fact social realism films already have a limited audience than other types, therefore making it too old would even further isolate the audience. The plot of our trailer will be focusing on drugs, however the content will not be so explicit as to mean the age rating will have to be an eighteen. Many social realism films have a rating of fifteen, such as Shifty, this is due to the fact that there is not as much violence in scenes of an explicit nature and many film contain characters the age of the target audience.

Research and Planning - PEGI Guidlines For Game Developers

Over our exam based lessons we have been looking at company PEGI and the way they rate games. The following guidelines, print screened off their website regarding the rules as to games content. I don't think game regulation is as effective as film regulation by the BBFC purely due to the fact that although few people know that games cannot be sold to a younger than age appropriate audience, many parents think they are simply guidelines.

Research and Planning - Trailer Analysis 2

Shifty 2009 - social realism film.




Shifty is a social realist film created by independent company 'Between the Eyes' productions. It is set on what looks like an urban council estate - following typical conventions of a social realist film.
The opening shot is that of one of the main characters opening the door to the other main character, with character two introducing the film by calling character one 'shifty'. The way the first main character opens the door and half hides behind it connotates the idea that he has something to hide and is in fact 'upto' something dodgy, or perhaps.. up to something shifty. Lighting on him is intended to be natural daylight, however the fact that he is half in low-key lighting helps the representation of him being somewhat dodgy.
Diegetic sound in the scene of their conversation using slang words such as 'yes rudeboy' and other such colloquial language helps us to form an opinion of him, and a few seconds into the trailer we are introduced to the idea that he is a drug dealer. This helps build on representations of drug dealers being 'chavvy' and follows stereotypes.
Positioning in the scene of character one being on the floor and the camera being on the same level as him, helps connotate the idea of us as a general audience being able to relate to him, due to the average household surroundings and the way he is going about his business (ie. cooking and sorting things out). This appeals to the audience watching as the characters are both young and look like they're struggling with money.
In the next shot, a birds eye view is used showing the setting of the scene they are in being an urban council estate car park enables the audience to see in detail where the characters are and enables us to relate to them. The background music changes at this point to a somewhat upbeat tune and makes the audience feel happy and  connotates the idea that the dealer has an easy job. Close-up shots are used when showing the drugs being used and given to the old lady, following one of the main themes of the film, drug use.
The idea of the old lady being the customer goes against stereotypes of the older generation and is used in a way to appeal to the audience as humorous. It does follow stereotypes of the cats being dotted around the house, as if she is a 'crazy cat lady'.
The upbeat music continues and a wipe cut is used to skip to the next scene, with diegetic sound of a cash register opening to connotate another main theme of the film, money. The use of a wipe cut and the continued happy background music continue to make the film seem upbeat and happy and there is a series of montages used to show the main characters seeming 'happy go lucky' playing on parks and children's playground. Although they have just done something in which is illegal, there are connotations of innocence and freedom in their lives.
Humour is used throughout the trailer, I think this is a key part of social realism as young people often seem to find many more things funny than adults. The police chasing them is a key part of the stereotypes in this film, as young people are often seen to be always in trouble with the police.
The key changing part of the trailer, is the emphasis placed on the diegetic conversation between the two characters in which one says 'this is no way to live', the screen fades to black and the music suddenly becomes tension building. This connotates that the film has a key changing point in which is becomes quite dark and complicated. We are introduced to the person that seems to be the main 'bad guy' who is older and seems more powerful. This is shown through the way he directs orders on the phone and the mise-en-scene surrounding him. One of the main characters states 'you ain't knocking out weed anymore, this isn't college' and lighting on the scene becomes low-key and darker. A part of the scene in the car park is shown through a long shot, in which the camera is nearer to the 'bad guy', thus, making him look bigger than the main character. This connotates the way that the main characters might have got into a problem that is bigger than what they can handle.
Close-up shots are used throughout to make the audience feel close to the character and to some extent empathise with them. The music in the trailer plays a big part, as it somewhat gives a narrative as to how the characters are feeling and when they are facing trouble. Montages are used to show the ellipsis of time and different issues each character is facing, when main character one is in trouble the lighting focused on him is low-key and shows half of his face completely in shadow. This helps hint the lengths he would go to get the money, and the dark side of him.
The idea of violence is shown throughout the trailer; especially towards the end, with emphasis focused on weapons, violence and money. The trailer ends on a cliffhanger with the music coming to an abrupt end. This leaves the potential audience eager to know what will be happening.

Research and Planning - Trailer Analysis

This Is England 2006 - social realism film.



The establishing shot shows a beach looking to be somewhere in the south of England and helps to set the scene. Mise-en-scene included in this, shows that weather does not look particularly sunny or particularly glum, this is use of pathetic fallacy. Straight away shows text stating 'Winner Best Film, British Film Awards 2006', this immediately grabs the audiences attention and makes them realise there is more to the film than first assumed. First shot of a character we see is a mid-shot of child - Shaun - who we assume to be the main character, shot enables the viewer to see his facial expression - shown to be gloomy. It then zooms out to a long shot of character walking on his own whilst characters in the background carry on with their work and don't pay him any attention, this helps us see the age of him (as he is quite young) connotating his independence at such a young age. A fade cut is used to show the transition of time to him in his kitchen with a non-diegetic voice over of his mother asking how his day went. Mise-en-scene of the kitchen shows that it is decorated in a way that is typical of the 80's and sets the scene.
A series of images are used of the child on his own whilst flicking back to other children to emphasise the fact he is friendless. Whilst sat on the sofa, emphasis is placed on the fact it is just the son and his mother who are positioned on either end of the sofa, this shows the way there is distance between them and hints the fact that he keeps her at an emotional distance as well as physical.
At the point in which Shaun decides he has had enough of the bullying and jumps on one of the boys who is teasing him, as he does so, the music changes and suddenly becomes much faster and more playful, this connotates a point of plot change and also gives a much more happy ideology.

A fade is used showing text on a black background saying 'England, 1983' this is done to ensure the audience is aware of the time period in which the film is set. A short montage is used showing various pieces of film from the 80's, including that of a Rubix cube - a typical toy of that time - and a shot of royalty of the time.
The non-diegetic sound of upbeat music is used, the use of upbeat music throughout this section connotates that the film is somewhat happy, even though it is centred on bullying at first. Text is used throughout to help talk the audience through the main points of the film, as though a text narration.

A wider main cast are introduced through his main friend, who introduces the others through use of nicknames. In this scene, high key lighting is used to connotate the idea that these characters are good and friendly. A close-up shot is used upon Shaun in this scene showing his facial expression of him happy, this gives the viewer the idea that these characters will be good to him and that he has finally found friends.
The upbeat music continues playing in the background showing him with his friends and enables the audience to see the sort of setting the film is in. It shows urban scenery including graffiti and houses that suggest they are on a council estate.
Throughout these few scenes, emphasis is placed on the fact that he is happy, with his non-diegetic voice over even stating 'this has been the best day of my life.'

We are then shown the next main plot point, the introduction of new characters. This scene uses low-key lighting, and music of a more rock genre. This suggests these characters are not as necessarily good as the others we are first introduced to.
Shaun is positioned above these new characters, which is unconventional due to the age difference between the two, and the fact that the adult is normally in a more powerful position than the child.
We are shown a new main issue/theme of this film through the next scenes - racism. This is shown through the violence shown to a shopkeeper with a knife, and the voice over from the gang leader stating 'there are three and a half million un-employed out there, there's single parents who cant get a f*cking job'. This shows the theme of the new character/gang wanting to somewhat take England back.
In the flat scene, a contrast between the two sets of characters is represented by the lighting and each half being positioned on each side of the room.
The second half of the trailer is much darker and focuses on the issue of the racism, the lighting used is low-key and the music is much more rocky, violence is shown in a quite graffic manner throughout.
The ending is mainly used to show the awards the film has won and persuade more people to seeing it. This is often a point that social realism films struggle with, as they do not have features a hollywood blockbuster does, such as an all star cast , glamorous locations and special effects.

Research and Planning - Audience Polls

I created these audience polls using the website Polljunkie.com.

Research and Planning - Photoshop Challenge

This was the first Photoshop activity we completed after returning to college for summer. We used it as somewhat a refresher task, in order to see what skills we remembered and what needed developing from last year.

Research and Planning - Audience Interview Video and Evaluation

These are the results of my audience interview questions..

For my interviews I have asked 2 members of my class and my media teacher.

From the audience feedback, there is a constant expected theme of crime, drugs and violence expected to be seen in it. Interviewee's a lower age certificate of 15 as opposed to 18, with a general audience of old and younger people. The setting suggested on all videos is that of a council estate. Myself and Lucy will take this into account when preparing our setting and script.

Research and Planning - Audience Interview Questions

I will be looking to ask some members of my class the following questions. The results will enable me to decide what sort of storyline we shall be following in our trailer, and perhaps what they would expect from one. I will record the results using a video camera and edit them together using iMovie. 

• Do you generally watch social realism films, such as Shifty and This Is England?
• What sort of issues would you expect social realism films to deal with?
• What age range would you recommend I aim my film at, depending on the content?
• Can you suggest any story lines my film could contain?
• What sort of setting would you like to see my film in?

Research and Planning - The Chase

The Chase

This is my chase sequence. We worked in a group to film and edit it and have used a series of jump cuts throughout the clip. In the background a comical sound track has been edited over the sounds that were caught on film. We then uploaded the edited the video to Youtube and I embedded the link onto my blog. You can view the clip by clicking on the text above.