In class to help us with the representation area disability, we watched the first two episodes of Phoenix Nights a comedy drama wrote by Peter Kay. This is a unusual program as far as stereotypical disabled people are portrayed. This is because the main character played by Peter Kay is disabled is is also the boss of a working men's club. This is unusual because its is very rare that a person with power and authority. He very rarely shows he struggles with his disabity in the episodes and doesent show may of the stereotypical trates of a disabled person on the TV.
He shows signs of his disability on 3 main occasions this is when he is unable to get him self a drink becaause he cant stand up to reach.
When he had to ask fo his wheelchair because he couldn't get it himself.
In class we looked at how disability is presented in the media, to help with this work we saw a video clip from youtube featuring Ricky Gervais although it is made for purely comical value it express very serious points about the way the disabled are represented.
From looking at this we saw many sterotypical view presented
"Poor little fellow"
People of a differnet race are disabled
Pollitically incorrect
Gay
Unattractive
Characterised- what sort are you
Ricky Gervais in this sketch is also very partonisaing
As a Futuristic/Sci-fi Action film would be the matrix we have chosen this to because it will have a completely different range of action characteristics.
The matrix describes a future in which reality perceived by humans is actually the Matrix: a simulated reality created by sentient machines in order to pacify and subdue the human population while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Upon learning this, computer programmer "Neo" is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, involving other people who have been freed from the "dream world" and into reality. Also this type of flim covers these interest of what people may find interesting to watch for;
cyberpunk and hacker subcultures; philosophical and religious ideas. Other examples of films which have used these ideas are classics such as "Alice's adventures in wonderland".
Looking at this film we found:
Quick bursts of flashing images, gets your attention
Instant Action, special affects e.g Slow motion, colour changing.
Rains is used for an affect.
I found it hard to gather positives for this type of action film as it is not something I would usually watch however there are some good features that can be used in all aspects of action like, scenes with high intensity, comical moments.
Another type of action film is gladiator which has historical content, so the element of action will be different e.g clothing and props and venues will differ to other types of action movies.
From this Trailer we learnt it is import ants to include:
Strong Story lines
Unexpected changes in Characters, who became a gladiator.... The Gladiator
24 seconds into the Trailer there are examples of the different settings and culture (the coliseum in Rome)
Colour affects
Slowing Down scenes adds to the affects of Action Scene
High intensity e.g when The Gladiator Dives out of Fire
Shows Name of film straight after big scene.
Good Sound effects e.g Crowds roaring, Swords Clashing, thuds of feet and armour.
For this Part of research me and Dan looked at the different types styles used by directors when producing action films. Our reasons for doing this is so that we can get a better understanding of what works well and so we can see the mise en scene of the films e.g seeing what clothes are worn, props etc.
To do this me and Dan looked at a few trailers so we could pick up on all theses aspects and give us a in depth look into the Action movie style.
This is one of my and Dans favourite films Hot Fuzz, This is comes under a Comedy Genre as well as being full of action. From this trailer we noticed that...
There policeman- serious, responsible, but also portrayed to play jokes and which takes the seriousness out of it and makes it a more enjoyable watch.
Murder- makes you realise the film is serious and is full of action which again makes it a enjoyable but more interesting watch.
There is a personal dilemma in the film as well as in the story as a whole which makes you gripped to it and want to stay focused.
In the opening to the film you instantly know who the main character is and what his role is, you realise this when he shows his police badge.
Showing the weapons symbolises that the characters have power and are better than those who don't.
Sponser straight away in a spin effect "Universal" and then working title after his description "working title" makes film more professional.
Description of main character blended into various character and whats the dilemma and how he can overcome it.
Action in a silent speech of comedy to inflict more interests and makes it more successful and affective and not just a typical action film. (1.10-1.14) (1.32-1.39) (1.50-1.58)- minute in Video
Comedy speeches can inflict violence and action e.g. "three people have died in a week" ... "accidents happen all the time what makes you think it was murrrdderrr?"
Police badge symbol code effective background and colour that resembles the police society of today/ blue (1.15-1.17)- "minute in video"
The genre our group has chosen to use for our film opening is action/thriller. We have chosen this Genre because we feel we have a stronger knowledge about it than any other so we will be able to work to our potential. We all have many ideas for our 2 minute intro and will soon discuss in detail and decide on our ideas. I am working with my friends Adam and Dan and we all have simalar interests so working together shouldnt be a problem. In this lesson i looked on youtube to find out what made a good into to gain these ideas.
What is needed in an opening movie sequence that involves? • Big bold title • Mise en scene for the type of genre • Camera angles, how many shots? (10-20) • What clothes for the character, what way should he act? • What the character emotions are and the he acts • The type of text in the title, font, size, colour, bold, Underlined • What editing in the camera we need to do, fade in, fade out, zoom in, and zoom out? • Maybe a logo to represent the film like maybe a army film or gangster film etc. • Slow motion effects, fighting, gun shot; point of view like someone is watching someone etc. • Sudden bursts of noise, silent to loud in an instant, short and snappy. • Colour of the background, black and white, bright and bold, colourful and loud. • Historical vengeance, Job reference? • Point of view with a question to answer, a target on a person? • Appropriate surrounding quiet, day, night, sunny, windy, rain, busy, lazy. • Where’s it set on a building / sniper. In a street/ cars, gangsters, knifes, guns. In a house: quiet, close combat, anger, scene and signs of historical vengeance / flashbacks. • Angle of guns the way they point to represent that they are the main aspect or the character. • Maybe sort 20 seconds of background life of the chararacter, family, causes – convicted – shot and left for dead – etc.... • Is the dilemma set in the local environment or far away in a different country? • Maybe a rise of monsters vampires, demons, zombies, aliens and needs to be a very intimidating and big dilemma! • Maybe the main character could turn him into the dilemma and be the dilemma without knowing, quick twists. • Brief summary of the story and how characters link to each other. • An opening scene slowly getting bigger and building up tension of what it includes, e.g. a mystery box, graveyard, symbolic codes. • End of movie clip which leaves an enigma code to make the person want to find out what happens next. • Abstract clever backgrounds maybe e.g. cartoony, (Sin city) (Kill bill) (Crank) • Explosions, powerful and fast or slow moving enrolment and tells the tempo of what the film maybe like e.g. (Crank) • Over the top action scene, maybe compare it to real life and then to the main character e.g. James bond
In 1961 a theorist called White spoke of the ‘Gate Keepers’ these are the people who make the decisions in the construction of media texts. Gatekeepers are people such as; • BBC Commissioners • Law makers • Directors • Producers • Editors • Audience e.g Test Screenings etc • Men which are generally White and middle class
The Constructionists Approach
This is the representation is constructed with a set of ideas and values ( the producers intent)
The Context of the representation is part of the representation, Media, Language, choices, anchorage, media form, Placement/location, genre, and expectations etc.
The audience reacts to this representation and this depends on their own personal interpretation context: age, gender, religion, nationality, gangs etc
A key point when explaining Representation is SELECTION
Everything in the media today is a representation this includes everything we see.
The SELECTION process is: The decision over what is chosen to be represented and what is rejected; The choices made when organising the representation, The options taken, that focus the audience in a certain way.
In many instances stereotypes are used negatively by dominant groups to describe subordinate groups.
• Stereotypes are not always negative an example of this is that black people are quick runners. • They can be held about one’s own group an example for me is that cricketers don’t like contact sports. • They are not always false e.g. Cricket players will wear white. • They are not always minority groups or the less powerful e.g. The Rich and powerful are disrespectful to them worse off than them.
A key term used with Stereotypes is mediation
The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance.
Argued that we resist adjusting our attitudes unless faced with overwhelming evidence against it. Believed that we seek out confirmation of our thoughts/beliefs. This links with Pluralism audience theory.
My name is Ian Turner and I live in Enderby, I go to Lutterworth college and im currenty studying my AS levels which are Media, Psychology and PE. In my spare time I play alot of cricket for Enderby where I am a wicket keeper, also I enjoy having a good laugh with my mates either out or at home chilling! I am a big supporter of Liverpool Football Club and my favourite player is Fernando Torres.
