Title Ideas

Originally i wanted to call my magazine Clubbers Guide, and have an edition within it. So that for my coursework it would be Clubbers Guide, Trance edition. However as Clubbers guide is already a well known CD title, i was unable to use it. I wanted to keep the same idea of making a general music magazine within an edition in it. So i decided on the Title 'Hands up'. i chose this as it relates to the type of music my magazine is based on. There is a CD called put your hands up which includes djs such as Ian Van Dahl, so i thought this name is definitely relevant to my music genre. My music magazine is going to have a main title of 'Hands up' and a sub title of 'Trance edition'. This means i can make my magazine more general to dance music but incorporate trance as a main feature.

Ideas for my front page

These photographs attracted my attention because, yes, they are very revealing but they are also very attractive. They represent the fact that when at trance concerts or clubs you dont tend to wear much as you get hot, and as well as the music, trance is all about the way you look and the atmosphere. They arent from a music magazine but they are modelling for different companies. they follow the theme of trance and all feature tattoos. The poses the models are holding are very professional and look stylish. I also like they way one of the photos contrasts black and white to colour. It makes the lips stand out and draws attention to them and it also compliments the rose. I like this idea, and have considered using it on my front page.

Note taking

Today in our theory lesson we watched a clip from Gavin and Stacey, a tv series. We took notes on the camera angles, the setting, costumes and props and the characters. I have realised that my strengths when note taking are on the costume and props and the reason for why they are used. however i have noticed my weaknesses are on the characters and being able to evaluate their actions. Note taking within my theory lessons is giving me extra practice for my exam. To improve on analysing the characters i need to take more detailed notes on how they act so i can begin to compare and evaluate their actions.

My favourie song

This is my favourite song at the minute, it gets me ready for nights out and i listen to it all the time. I genreally listen to music through my headphones and whilst getting ready, doing homework or just relaxing. It makes me feel so good, it can make my mood go from down to up. The beat has a certain sound which makes me want to smile. Its not played in many clubs but if it came on it would deffinately get me dancing and smiling. I like this song and this style of music because it has a good uplifting beat and repeats different parts so it gets stuck in your head! It gives me chills and makes me excited. Songs like this are what im interested in.

Music Influences

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Music magazine

At the minute I'm quite undecided on what type of music i want to produce my magazine on, so instead I've research a different variety of magazines and music types to help me make my decision.

The pictures above all represent the theme of trance music. Trance is generally represented by logos, pictures and tags. The pictures above show the theme of nudity which is used a lot when advertising trance. Tattoo's are also very common within the theme of trance as you can see from Carl Kennedy at the top. I picked out these pictures as they show a good representation of trance so when i come to photographing my front cover i can justify why i did what i did.

Virtual music magazine shows a good overall look of how trance is shown and what theme it follows.

I have found ideas of magazine covers and spreads from both trance and other magazines that have inspired me.

This page spread inspired me because i like the way they have used dark colours as if it was at a festival and the way they have included a picture from a concert. As people are used in the image it shows what kind of atmosphere you experience when at festivals. I also like i the phrase 'for the love of house music'.

In this spread i like the way the image is on half of the page whilst the writing is on the other. This is promoting the DJ and also the writing is giving us an insight into his thoughts as he is writing it himself. This has inspired me to do a double page spread in my magazine from my DJ's point of view. I also think the border used makes the magazine look more appealing.

I like the images used as they are very seductive and fit in with the male gaze theory, which is the theme trance magazines tend to follow. The images make the magazine more appealing and this has created extra ideas for my front cover. I like the Vanity Fair page as Madonna stands out and is the first thing you look at.

I like the magazine cover on the right, the U2 one. I like the way their name is bigger than them, And as U2 are a very famous world wide band this is showing how big they are as a group. I like the colours used, they stand out and look attractive.

This contents page appeals to me because it has a variety of colours which makes the page look more attractive. It is also set out clearly, it includes images and summer blast dates. Its informative yet it isn't writing in long paragraphs.

Music video analysis

I chose a music video that i thought we could apply the Male gaze theory to. At the very begining of the video it features a girls stomach where a close up shot it used. This is used to grab the attention of the audience as it appeals to many males. A long shot is also included to show a girl walking towards the camera, she is wearing a very small bikini which shows off her body. She also has a small tattoo towards the lower abdominal part of her body, this draws attention to her stomach. This is effective as it captures her whole body and shows her figure off. Both women and men want to see this as women aspire to look like that and men want their girlfriends to look like that. When she enters the gates the man on the door stares at her, and this is representing a stereotypical male. This is relating to Laura Mulveys theory as she said the media is viewed from the propspective of a hetrosexual male.

Seven areas of representation

There are seven areas of representation... Gender, sexuality, class and status, age, ethnicity, regional identity, and physical ability.

Shameless

We watched a clip of a series called Shameless. We had to analyse different characters to see how they were represented in series one and how Mise en scene is used.















Many binary opposites occur within Shameless as Fiona is a shy girl, who doesn't speak much and likes to do things herself. Her best friend is very loud, obnoxious, very forward and dresses very differently to Fiona. This is contrasting the two characters. Fiona and Veronica have a night in the town, Fiona is wearing a red dress which symbolises romance. Fiona dances on her own and the clip is slowed down to show Steve watching her, this is using the male gaze theory again as she is focused on to give her the attention from the male (Steve) who is watching her. Veronica is very different as she dresses in a shiny black dress and she has bleach blonde hair. She likes to dance with the boys and she speaks her mind. She calls the bouncer a 'fat twat' showing she is very outspoken and forward. This again contrasts the two characters as binary opposites. There is also Lip and Ian who are two brothers. They are very different to each other as Ian comes across as very insecure and innocent. He also hides the fact that he is gay from his family so he is shown as very secretive. However his brother Lip is very intelligent when it comes to physics, he is also very resourceful and is capable of looking after himself. He is very out spoken and doesn't hesitate to speak his mind. Again this is contrasting the two characters as Ian keeps himself to himself yet Lip speaks out.



The 39 steps




We watched a clip from the film The 39 steps. We analysed the two main characters from what we could see being represented. Josh Hannay is the main character. He is very well dressed as he wears a suit which we generally associate with upper class people. He is very well spoken and is seen as a bit posh as he has clear pronunciation of all his words. He comes across as a very 'manly man' as he is running away from spies and the police. He also comes across as unfazed that the spies are shooting him. The camera work used when filming this scene is clever as it uses a point of view shot which enables us to see the action from how the character would see it. This is effective as it involves us in the film more. He is shown to be a city boy but as it is shot in the country side we are left with the question as to why he is there. As he is alone he comes victimised and vunerable which lowers that 'alpha male' aspect. Victoria Sinclair is also another main character, she is one of the only women seen in the clip we watched. This highlights the time when the film was set, as women were very inferior. Victoria is a very strong minded, stuborn character as she likes to speak her mind. She believes very strongly in women rights as she is seen arguing for women rights in voting. She uses her feminity a lot throughout the film to get her way, however she shows masculine trates. For example she lifts her dress up to climb over a wall.

Camera Angles and filming

Long shot
When telling the audience where the film is set, a long shot is used. This lets you show all the important information.
Medium shot
The most commonly used shot, this is used to show any character interaction
Close up
This is used when there is something important to show/tell the audience.
Reverse shot
This is used for dialogue.It focuses on the character talking and the camera is positioned over their shoulders.
Tracking shot (parallel)
The camera is perpendicular to the action and follows the subject or action.

High angle
A high angle shot connotes power over the object you are viewing to show status. e.g. a giant over looking a human,
Low angle
This is designed to make an object appear stronger.

Editing
Continuity (Hollywood editing) follows the shows A to B
Montage (Soviet)
When shots are connected in different orders to have an effect on the audience, and make us think and fill in the blanks.
Montage (Hollywood)
The way the narrative is presented. A lot of action compressed into a small number of shots.
Transition
The move of one shot to another. E.g. one shot to a different one, or one faded into another. This sets the mood or the pace.
Cross cutting/ parallel editing
Editing that alternates shots of two or more lines of action occurring in different places, usually simultaneously.
Dissolve
Transition between two shots. First gradually disappears, second gradually appears.
Wipe
another shot comes across like a picture.
Action editing
the pace gets quicker.

i applied some of these techniques when filming my prelim. For example i used a reverse shot to film the dialogue. This was effective as it enabled the audience to see both sides of the conversation and who was speaking. I also included a long shot of me walking towards the computer room. This enabled the audience to get an idea of the scenery and where the film was taking place.

Valdimir Propp

Valdimir Propp was a theorist that studied ancient Bulgarian story tales. He analysed over 100 Russian fairy tales, and he believed that characters have certain functions and roles.

He stated that every story has certain characters within it...

• the hero = the one who seeks something


• the villain = the opposite of the hero


• the donor = helps the hero by providing the magic object


• dispatcher = sends the hero off


• false hero = falsely assuming the role of the hero


• helper = gives support to the hero


• princess = the reward for the hero, also to be protected from the villain

We watched a Disney Pixar called 'Boundin'. We had to analyse the film and determine the roles of each character.

typical male character roles

Coronation street

Tony Gordan

The typical business man

Tony is 38 years old, originally from Scotland. He is a co-owner of Underworld, which is a lingerie factory. He also is a property investor. Tony has very stereotypical characteristics of a business man. He is a good looking, middle aged man who is married to a gorgeous lady. He always wears a suit and always looks very presentable. He is also hated a lot by many people in the soap. The producers of Corrie would have used these characteristics to represent whats known as a 'typical business man'.

Ken Barlow

'wise old man

Ken is the longest remaining character within Corrie, he is a very kind man. He has been married four times and had three children. He follows the stereotypical 'wise old man' as has been a teacher, a newspaper editor, a community activist and a trolley-pusher at a supermarket, before returning to teaching and writing. He is also always trying to help everybody out as well as being the first to criticise everyone for their wrong doings.

Dev Alahan

'Player'

Dev owns seven corner shops around Manchester. Dev has a history of getting together with unsuitable women. He has had many relationships with different people within the street. He has a daughter and has previously been married. He has also had relationships within familys, for example he was with Deirdre and then moved onto his daughter Tracey.

Norris Cole

'Geek'

Norris has a very camp pasona and is known for his gossiping. His theories are usually true, for example he was suspicious about Richard Hillman being a killer. He has a very big ego and has innacurate views of his own abilities.

When analysing soap operas we can identify the typical male character roles because they are stereotyped to represent their role. For example a typical business man will be middle aged, good looking, have a lot of money and have some hatered by other characters. We can apply the theory of typical male character roles to help break down the program and analyse each character more thoroughly.

Preliminary task questions

Magazine Cover

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Olivia as a pair. Olivia took the picture of our model and i directed how to shoot it. We then worked together to edit it and put our ideas together.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What element did you use for your inspiration?

We planned our magazine on paper first using insperation from popular magazines e.g. Vogue. We then changed our ideas when editing it as some things we didnt like. For example we originally was going to use a full image of Rachel, But realised having a close up of her smilin was more effective. We used a dark colour scheme so it would match her hair. We knew then that it all would all blend in, and look effective.

3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

We used a camera to take the picture and we then edited it on photoshop. We used photoshop to edit it and lighting effects etc.

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

We had to consider what colours we were going to use so that they didnt clash with what the model was wearing. When we were editing it we also had to decide what age group were aiming it at so it was suitable.

5. How successful was your magazine cover? Identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I was pleased with our magazine cover however i feel we could have made it have a better effect. I would change the style of the picture so we could cut her head out and change the background as i think the colours were dull. However i like the position Rachel is standing in as it is an appealing side shot. The lighting highlights her facial features and she is posing that 'super-smiler' look that Ferguson identified. Her pose is also very invitational so readers will want to pick it up.

6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework?

I have learnt how to use photoshop and what effects work best on different pictures. This will help me in the future as when i come to edit my photo's and covers etc i will have more confidence and will become more effective.

Preliminary task questions

Short Film

1. Who did you work with and how did you manage the task between you?

I worked with Olivia, Alex and Reece. We all worked together to figure out how we wanted to stage each shot. Alex and Reece filmed the Shots as me and Olivia acted. After doing each shot we would get together to work out how the next shot would fit, and how to stage it.

2. How did you plan your sequence? What element did you use for your inspiration?

We Followed the instructions of having a conversation between two people. We chose a simple scenery as we knew it was our first video so we should keep it basic. We saw a video from another film somebody else had done, and we used insperation from that.

3. What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?

We used a camera to video our shots and then we uploaded it to Imovie and edited it. We cut shots out and shortened the length of some shots so that they blended into the next.

4. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?

We considered the fact that we were knew to videoing and staging shots so we tried to keep it basic. When editing we did basic edits so that it all flowed and looked presentable, we didnt try to do to much with it. When shooting we knew that being in a school it would be busy so we chose a quiet area so we could control the noise.

5. How successful was your sequence? Identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?

I thought it was a good effort, however it could have been more creative. The match on action worked well as we did the opening of a door which looked effective. To improve it i would make it more creative with a different range of shots.

6. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework?

I have learnt how to work the camera properly to remove cinema borders etc. I have also experienced using Imovie which will help me in future. When i come to videoing again i will be more confident using Imovie, so my films will be more presentable and edited a lot better.

Representation

A stereotype is a simplified or standardized image investing with a special meaning and held in common with members of groups. Stereotypes can be used in many different ways. In many instances stereotypes are used pejoratively by dominant groups to describe subordinate groups. They are also seen as delineating, basically overviewing the invidual, the place and groups. Qualitites are often exagerated. The media industry does this alot and this is known as mediation.

Tessa Perkins
She stated many different facts about stereotypes...

1. Stereotypes are not aloways negative (e.g. black people are good at sports)
2. They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful (e.g. the police)
3. They can be hed about ones own group (e.g. teenagers are rebelious)
4. They are not rigid or changing (e.g. racism has decreased)
5. They are not always false (e.g. teenagers are moody because of hormonal changes)

Stereotypes play a big part within media as we create films and soap operas on typical everyday stories including typical everyday characters. For example many soaps have typical 'teenage chavs' included. They are usually around the age of 17, short hair, tracksuits, trainers and a cap. These ideas have only been produced because of our society and the roll of stereotypes.

Mise en scene

Mise en scene is a french term used for the analysis of what you see on screen. This does not include sound and involves five different categories.

Setting

Characters (facial expression, body language etc)

Costume/Props

Camera angles

lighting

Learning the Mise en scene has now enabled me to analyse films at a better and more detailed level.

The 'male gaze'

Laura Mulvey coined the term 'male gaze' in 1975. She believed that film audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a hetrosexual male.



She said that the features of the 'male gaze' included...

1. The camera lingers on the curves of a female body
2. Events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a mans reaction of these events
3. The 'male gaze' relegates women to the status of objects
4. The female viewer must experience the secondarily, by identification with the male.

Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'male gaze' had been criticised as others said some women enjoy being looked at , for example we have beauty pageants etc.

Another criticism towards Laura's theory was that the gaze can also be directed towards members of the same gender, for several reasons, not all of which are sexual. Such as in comparison of their body or of their clothing.

I applied this theory of the Male Gaze to an essay i wrote. We had to analyse an advert for Calvin Klein. Eva Mendez a famous actress was modelling underwear and i had to create an essay on what effect her pose and and editing had on the audience.

Calvin Klein analysis

Narrative Codes

In our very first theory lesson we were taught the five narrative codes, and how they are used within films.

• Action code

applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be

• Enigma code

Refers to any element in a story that is not explained and therefore exists as an enigma for the audience, raising questions that demand an explanation.

• Semantic code

Any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by the way of connotation.

• Cultural code

Any element in a narrative that refers to a science or a body of knowledge. In other words, the cultural codes tend to point to our shared knowledge about the way the world works.

• Symbolic code

We were taught that this is a very hard code to understand so we were taught Binary opposites to help us understand...

Binary Opposites

Levi Straus believed that the world was split into series of binary opposites. Essentially one thing can only be defined in a relation to something it isn't, e.g. a hero is only a hero if there is a cowardly option.

Director presentation

In one of our theory lessons we were set the task of creating a powerpoint on our given director. We were given Spike Jonze. We had to research different information about Spike, for example what films he has directed and information on how he likes to direct his productions. Below is my powerpoint

Spike Jonez

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School magazine cover

In groups of two we were set the the task of designing and creating a school magazine cover and a contents page. Our criteria included a mid shot and 3 or 4 pieces of usefull text. We took a range of pictures of a girl in year 11 that we wanted to feature on our front cover. We chose to use Rachel as our model as she is very photogenic and would attract a lot of readers. Majororie Ferguson identifdied four different types of facial expression, Rachel is showing the 'siper-smiler' look. She has a wide smile, her head thrusted forward and her hair is very brushed back. This is very inviting for someone about to read the magazine. Trevor Millum also derived the same theory of what emotion they are trying to portray. Rachel looks very 'carefree' as she looks vibrant, very healthy and looks as if she is always smiling and grinning. We chose this picture as our final photo ...


We edited her picture in adobe photoshop, changing the brightness and contrast, so we could highlight her features to make her picture stand out more. This task took us a couple of lessons and was quite easy to complete. This task has helped to boost my skills on photoshop and i now have more experience using this program which i can apply to other tasks.