BLOB OPERA

 

Today we went on Google Arts and Culture to use Blob Opera. We filmed a small 45 second ad break of the Blobs singing together. We then made a flyer to advertise the concert. 

CUFFS MISE-EN-SCENE AND OTHER ELEMENTS

• Non-diegetic, abrasive sounds,  
• Vladimir prop identified stock characters 
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END OF UNIT ASSESSMENT

 1. Zoom shot

2.Gentlemen, Manners, Dressed very formally

3. The audience will feel grateful that the war is over and they will be thankful for Steed and his part he plated in winning the war. The audience will also feel an overwhelmed sadness when they see Steed look at all the graves on the floor as they will remember all that they went through for the saving of our people. 

4. Does not listen to Steed when he asks her to get her cream, she just says its in the kitchen, Emma also lives by herself in an apartment that she worked for and she payed for with no help from a man, Emma also does not get scared easily when she is in danger, she just stays calm. 

5. Point Of View Shot, this shot is there to show the audience that Steed does not believe Piggy Warren that Emma has left and he has proof as her bags are still there.

6. Emma is teaching Steed and she currently has the power over him.

7. Emma lives by herself, she has travelled a lot, she does not let Steed boss her around. 

8. Voiceover- non diegetic , It is contradicting the scene that is happening and making it sound more dramatic even thought the scene is quite comedic .

9. Chief  Super Robert Vickers

10. Jake Vickers, Son

11. Jake is homosexual 

MUSIC VIDEO: MUSIC LANGUAGE

PREP Explain how music videos use media language to promote their artists. Refer to the pair of music videos you have studied from the list below in your answer.

Our music videos are Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag Avril Lavigne Sk8ter Boi

HOW TO ANSWER: Media language points to consider:

the prioritising of the star / the group; the privileging of the star / the groups in the frame

authenticating the star's performance / the band's performance to show their skills

the use of close ups; lip syncing to camera; eye contact with the audience

 

• How do they use it to promote the artist
• How much are they in the frame/video 
• Teenage dirtbag - lost eyes, wants to belong, dream world. Everything is delivered on his face.
• Sk8ter boy- 

Music videos use lots of media language to promote their artists. In Avril Lavigne's music video, she is the main splash and there are lots of close up shots of her lip syncing the song. In the video, we also see lots of people following her and going to her public concert on the street which then shows the audience that she is very popular and loved by people. Avril also makes a lot of eye contact with the audience which makes it seem like she is speaking directly to the audience. In teenage dirtbag, we see the band performing the song in the gym of the high school. Seeing the band play the instruments and sing to the camera compels the audience into thinking they have a lot of talent and are driven by their work. There is quite a lot of close up shots of the band singing which makes the audience believe that they are very talented and good at singing.

MUSIC MAGAZINES: MEDIA LANGUAGE

 Look carefully at the front covers of MOJO and RNR magazines. 

QUESTION: How far do MOJO and RNR use different media language to create different connotations? (CONNOTATION meaning: an idea or quality that a word makes you think about in addition to its meaning.)

Answer on your blog. This is a high-value question and should take all lesson to answer. You can use the class blog search engine for more examples of how to analyse music magazines.

In your answer you should have 2 paragraphs:

• analyse the media language in MOJO and RNR magazine. 'Media language' includes the placement of the main image, the type of photography, lighting, colours, fonts, how busy or restrained the cover is, the layout (such as alignment to the margins), how serious or playful 
• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the media language is used differently in both extracts to create different connotations. Are there similarities in both covers? What sorts of audiences are they targeting? You could think about MOJO's rock aesthetic of living loud and dangerously compared to RNR's folk, rock, blues vibe. 

In the MOJO magazine, there are lots of bright colours and popping images that stand out to the reader. For example, the text of 'Foo Fighters is placed in the centre of the magazine in a bold red font so that it stands out to the reader. David Grohl is also placed in the middle of the magazine and is reaching out to the camera as if he is ready to pounce on someone/something. David is presented as quite aggressive as his face is all scrunched up and he is bearing his teeth at the camera. The cover is very busy as there are lots and lots of different titles, pictures and statements. In the bottom left there is a vibrant green CD cover that pops out to the reader because of its neon colour.  In the MOJO magazine, the lighting is very harsh and bright which presents Dave appear striking and bold to the reader. The quote 'We've been to funerals, we've been to jail...' presents Dave as very hardcore and brave and also shows how devoted Dave is to his music and how far he would go for it.

 

In the RNP magazine, there are lots of neutral colours like brown and white that give a more neutral tone to the cover. Christy Moore has a slight smile on his face and the lighting is very warm and kind presenting him as a heart-warming and loving person. The quote 'These days it's yoga, camomile tea and three Our Fathers' shows that Christy is a very simple and basic man who does the everyday things that most people do. In the bottom left there is a simple CD cover with a slight pun of 'Un-herd' which relates to the zebra in the corner and being 'un-heard of'. This presents Christy as kind and funny. This cover is more simple and boring compared to the MOJO one which has bright colours and popping images that catch the eyes of each reader.

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CUFFS: REAL LIFE

 How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'?

The extract tries to create a sense that it is portraying real life by showing the police officers in normal locations to make them appear part of society. The officers are seen in  a town centre, a café and on roads around the town. Most of these locations are seen in everyday life so this then makes them appear included in society and everyday life. Seeing the officers here make them a part of normal life which everyone experiences.

Another way the extract tries to convey a sense that it is portraying real life is by showing the police officers trying to arrest people who have committed a crime. The female officers are shown in a close up moving shot talking about Jake the new officer. In the next clip we see a tractor crash into a shop to steal the cash register, we then see the officers call for backup to try and help. Seeing the officers doing this makes them look like a part of society and a part of normal life. 

POPCORN PREP

 Q: What is the difference between diegetic and non-diegetic sound?

A: Diegetic sound is sound that comes from the setting of the film, for example the voices of characters, noise in kitchen or the sound of trees in the wind. However, non-diegetic sound is sound that comes from our world. For example, a soundtrack in the background or voice over narration.

THE OBSERVER POSTS

 

MOJO: MEDIA LANGUAGE

 

Main splash / image: who is it and does it celebrate the person? How is it lit? Is the singer made to look important? How many other images are there? 

The cover of mojo features Neil Young. The cover is very well lit and is very colourful which means it celebrates the person in a good way. Neil is made to look important as he is the centre of attention with a close up shot of his upper body and face. There are a few other images including one in the bottom left which I believe is a CD cover. This shows that the magazine is advertising Neil's music.

How 'busy' is the cover as a whole?

Are there cover lines (additional articles)? How organised are they? Do most music magazines have a similar number of cover lines (additional articles)?

The cover is quite busy as there is a lot of writing on the sides This writing is talking about all the articles inside the magazine. The cover lines are quite organised and easy to see, most magazines normally have a similar number of cover lines.

What are the main colours and is there an accent colour?

The main colours are blue and a sunset shade of orange. 

Is there a cover mount and is this typical of MOJO?

This is a typical MOJO front cover as it has a big picture in the middle and other articles/adverts on the side.

LEGO INDUSTRY TERMS

 

• Franchise: a film series or a collection of films that share the same fictional universe. The Lego Movie has a sequel called The Lego Movie 2 and there are other similar films such as The Lego Batman movie. 

• Synergy: Refers to the way that media works together to promote the same product e.g. Lego movie uses miniature figures that are Lego-movie related

• Tent-pole production: A big-budget movie whose earnings are expected to help and compensate for the studio for its smaller and  less profitable movie/movies. For example the Lego movie company is so huge that it can help support other less wide scale movies. 

• Ensemble cast: An ensemble cast is one which is composed of multiple actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time. In the Lego movie the ensemble cast is Wyld Style, Emmet, Vitruvius, Lord Business, Uni-kitty, Shakespeare, Batman etc

• conglomerate : A media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. For example Lego land is linked to the Lego movie and is owned by the same company.

• vertical integration: When a Media Company owns different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution. For example, the Lego movie company owns the movie and the video game too which is in the same chain of production and distribution as the film.

AGE RATINGS

 The Lego Movie was rated a U because there was mild violence scenes between the characters. The violence is between the Lego robots/skeletons and the good guys, the punches thrown never seen to be blown and the violence is only every between the figures and not humans. No one in the movie is seen to get hurt and the violence only occurs with the animated toys so therefore is not harmful to children.

LEGO MOVIE

Task 1: how does Emmet come across? How effective would this trailer be in promoting the film?

 Emmett comes across as an innocent kind man who just wants to fit in with everyone else. He is presented as the opposite of the 'special one' as he is not very smart or very leader like. Emmett is aware that he does not have the qualities of a leader as he explains that during his heroic speech. Emmett also is not presented as not physically fit like a hero stereotypically should be.

This trailer would be effective as it shows the humour or the movie and the more serious side too. It also shows the side characters in the film such as Wildstyle who is has the perfect characteristics of the 'special one': smart, leader like etc..  

FILM MAKING

 Our production company logo was 'Tiger Tales Productions' and we used a tiger puzzle to create the stop motion. We placed the puzzle on top of the text so that it covered most of it, then we one piece away at a time to slowly reveal the logo underneath. This took a lot of precision and we had to make sure we did not move anything but the puzzle pieces. To make the animation, we used a HUE camera which we propped up with some books so we could get a perfect Birdseye view. We also used the HUE app on the Mac to take the pictures, this was quite easy to use but we had to make sure that nothing moved so we could get the perfect shot.

For the table top filming, we placed each item in a specific place so that when we panned the camera it all told a story. We used things like jewellery and pictures to portray a woman's dressing table as our story was based on a woman. The only issue was trying to make the camera as stable as possible so that it panned the table in a smooth way. We had to really concentrate on not shaking it and not going too quickly so that everything could be seen perfectly.

For the live action filming, we filmed on the stairs of the Mansion as we wanted our opening to show that it was set in the olden days. We then used a stuffed cloth to portray the baby being abandoned. We also had Maddi holding a Japanese sun shade to show that she was wealthy and well brought up. We wanted the film opening like this so that the audience would starting asking questions like Why is she abandoning the baby? Did she have a choice? Was she in danger in any way?

We added a tiger's roar to the production company logo as it added a nice touch to the animation. To do this we used an app called 'Hue, we took lots of photos of the jigsaw being pulled apart to reveal 'tiger tales productions'. We then transported the sequence to IMovie so we could add in the roar. We used traditional Japanese music for the rest of the film as it showed the audience that the film was set in Japan and there was cultural aspects to it. Our film title was 'A cherry blossom dream'. In the film, we added credits which showed the director, actor, lighting and sounds. 

I think our production went well, we had some challenges such as: keeping the camera stable; making sure nothing moved during the filming of the stop motion and editing the whole thing so it ran smoothly. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and I love the outcome of our film.

CHRISTMAS ADVERT

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

In this picture, you can see the animated pig coming out of the box. The lighting is dimmed but the Christmas lights make it feel more bright than it actually is. This then creates a warm atmosphere which reminds the audience of Christmas which is the purpose of the advert.

We then move onto a scene where the lighting is brighter so therefore the audience recognises the supermarket. You can see the aisles of the supermarket with all the food freshly stocked.

In this picture, you can see the advertisement for the m&s food. You can see how the food is well lit so that it is easy to see. In the scene, you can see that the food is placed slowly that the audience have time to really study the food.

FILMING

 In Media, we filmed a credits scene using props on a black background. We used a variety of different objects to portray a posh Japanese style movie. We used things like : pearls, fans, jewellery boxes , komodos and different pieces of jewellery. We made a lengthy clip, zooming in and out on each object so we could focus on each on for a second. At the end of the lesson, we went outside to film a live action scene where a women abandons her baby in a very emotional way. 

02 MUSIC VIDEO

 I have watched Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus and made a comic using ComicLife in class. It is about a teenage boy who has a crush on a popular girl who does not know who he is. The music videos shows him desperately wanting to belong in his high school but he is made to feel like a loser by everyone around him. He claims that he is a teenage dirtbag meaning he is kicked around by the more popular boys and girls around him. 

In the chorus he talks about listening to Iron Maiden and how it is different to what everyone else listens to. This foreshadows about the back story behind the song which was about a boy who was killed in one of the band members home town. The boy was different and he listened to different music to everyone else and that scared the band member as he was like that too. 

At the end of the music video, we see the popular girl approaching the 'teenage dirtbag' and asking him to watch iron maiden with her. At this point, the teenager was mesmerised by her and he couldn't believe what was happening. Then, the disco ball falls on his head and the scene cuts to him asleep which was what the music video also opened with; meaning it was all a dream.

CULTURAL,SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The Cold War:

From The Observer in the mid 1960s, I learnt that people were very worried about the Cold War.

COLD WAR

 The cold war was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War 2 between the US and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. Audiences were so concerned about the Cold War because of how bad the last world wars were and how much damage they caused. One of the main concerns was communism and how it could evolve badly. The Cold War was 'cold' because the US and the Soviet Union did not fight each other directly.