Matt Foster's blog

Box office bombs

2010-05-13T02:18:00.001-07:00

Film
Year
Total cost (production+marketing) (USD)
Worldwide theater gross (USD)
Net losses (USD)
Net losses inflation adjusted (2008 USD)
Cutthroat Island
1995
115,000,000
10,017,322
-104,982,678
-146,947,958
The Alamo
2004
145,000,000
25,819,961
-119,180,039
-134,784,016
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
2002
120,000,000
7,103,973
-112,896,027
-134,396,524
Sahara
2005
241,000,000
119,269,486
-121,730,514
-133,141,605
The 13th Warrior
1999
160,000,000
61,698,899
-98,301,101
-125,887,312
Town & Country
2001
105,000,000
10,372,291
-94,627,709
-115,352,672
Heaven's Gate
1980
44,000,000*
3,484,331
-40,515,669
-104,542,449
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
2001
167,000,000
85,131,830
-81,868,170
-99,798,592
Inchon
1982
46,000,000*
5,200,986
-40,799,014
-89,870,942
Treasure Planet
2002
180,000,000
109,578,115
-70,421,885
-83,833,389
The Postman
1997
80,000,000*
17,626,234
-62,373,766
-83,346,947
Red Planet
2000
100,000,000
33,463,969
-66,536,031
-82,406,208
Soldier
1998
75,000,000*
15,000,000
-60,000,000
-78,912,404
Gigli
2003
74,000,000
7,266,209
-66,733,791
-77,961,644
Around the World in 80 Days
2004
140,000,000
72,178,895
-67,821,105
-76,700,771
Ishtar
1987
55,000,000*
14,375,181
-40,624,819
-76,015,712
A Sound of Thunder
2005
80,000,000*
11,665,465
-68,334,535
-74,740,255
Hart's War
2002
95,000,000
32,287,044
-62,712,956
-74,656,332
Hudson Hawk
1991
65,000,000*
17,218,080
-47,781,920
-74,619,989
Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988
46,630,000*
8,083,123
-38,546,877
-69,286,783
Stealth
2005
138,000,000*
76,932,872
-61,067,128
-66,791,597
Rollerball
2002
70,000,000*
18,990,798
-51,009,202
-60,723,655
Catwoman
2004
135,000,000
82,102,379
-52,897,621
-59,823,389
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
2002
70,000,000*
19,924,033
-50,075,967
-59,612,690
The Scarlet Letter
1995
50,000,000
10,382,407
-39,617,593
-55,454,143
Gods and Generals
2003
60,000,000*
12,923,936
-47,076,064
-54,996,536
The Last Castle
2001
72,000,000*
27,642,707
-44,357,293
-54,072,241
Battlefield Earth
2000
73,000,000*
29,725,663
-43,274,337
-53,596,134
The Bonfire of the Vanities
1990
47,000,000*
15,691,192
-31,308,808
-50,947,847
Nothing but Trouble
1991
40,000,000*
8,479,793
-31,520,207
-49,224,424
All the King's Men
2006
55,000,000*
9,450,897
-45,549,103
-48,603,808
The Avengers
1998
60,000,000*
23,384,939
-36,615,061
-48,156,375
Son of the Mask
2005
100,000,000
57,552,641
-42,447,359
-46,426,400
Money Train
1995
68,000,000
35,431,113
-32,568,887
-45,587,820
Windtalkers
2002
115,000,000*
77,628,265
-37,371,735
-44,488,999
Man on the Moon
1999
82,000,000*
47,434,430
-34,565,570
-44,265,696
The Majestic
2001
72,000,000*
37,317,558
-34,682,442
-42,278,444
Timeline
2003
80,000,000*
43,935,763
-36,064,237
-42,131,987
K-19: The Widowmaker
2002
100,000,000*
65,716,126
-34,283,874
-40,813,070
Delgo
2008
40,000,000*
694,782
-39,305,218
-39,305,218

Dead Ringers - Question of values

2010-05-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R22QUqy6wM&feature=related

In this video Dead Ringers parodies another BBC programme (Top Gear) which questions the values of the BBC as it seems that creating humour for the audience is more important than their personal pride.

Heroes - Postmodern elements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_(TV_series)

2010-05-12T05:58:00.000-07:00

Comparisons with other works
The show's creators have answered criticism over similarities between elements of the show and the X-Men in their live blog, saying "I think there is a shorthand to compare it to X-Men when you have not yet seen the show. However, my guess is that that comparison will go away once you have seen what we are doing."[133][134]
On February 7, 2007, Jeph Loeb, co-executive producer of Heroes and the other creators compared Heroes to 24, stating that, like 24, each season would conclude and the next season would introduce a new plotline. In the same interview, Tim Kring compared Heroes to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Incredibles, stating the characters in Eternal Sunshine were "ordinary...and unexpected," but well responded to; and the characters in Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles were superpowered people who had to deal with the stresses and problems that arose when they attempted to live a normal life.[36][135]
Bob Smithouser at pluggedinonline.com, reviewed the Heroes pilot and compared it as a combination of elements from The 4400, Lost, X-Men, and Stephen King's The Stand.[136] Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski have stated that "comics have a huge influence on us." Watchmen, "Days of Future Past", Y: The Last Man, The Dark Knight Returns, and The Long Halloween are a few examples that they gave. Other non-comicbook examples included the 9/11 documentary Loose Change and the novel The Fourth K by Mario Puzo.[137]

Critical reception
During the series' first season, the American Film Institute named Heroes one of the ten "best television programs of the year."[87] Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "the show's super strengths are its well-developed filmmaking, smooth pacing and a perfect cast. It views like the first hour of a fun, thoughtful movie." Barry Garron at the The Hollywood Reporter also stated, "Heroes is one of TV's most imaginative creations and might, with luck, become this year's Lost."[88] Less favorable reviews included the Philadelphia Inquirer, who commented that although the show had lots of "cool effects," it "lands, splat, in a pile of nonsense and dim dialogue." In response to the first pod of season one episodes, The Chicago Tribune went as far as saying, "you could watch the first few episodes of Heroes, or you could repeatedly hit yourself on the head with a brick. The effect is surprisingly similar."[89] At Metacritic, the Heroes pilot received a 67/100, with generally favorable reviews from critics.[90]
The second season of Heroes was criticized by commentators and fans for a much slower pace, less engaging storyline and lack of focus compared to the first season. Milo Ventimiglia stated that "when there's a little bit of a delay, there's not that instant, rewarding scene or moment or episode… people get impatient, so it has been extremely important for them to strike a balance between giving and getting."
Mythology
Main article: Mythology of Heroes

Activating Evolution
Heroes includes some mysterious fictional recurring elements that have been ascribed to science fiction or supernatural phenomena. Tim Kring and the creators of the series refer to these fictional elements as part of the mythology of the series. Kring confirmed that although the show has a unique mythology, he does not want to sink too deeply into it. Rather, Kring has used volumes to wrap up ongoing plot lines instead of carrying storylines over long periods of time as in Lost.[84] As far as the overall mythology of the series, Kring said, "we have talked about where the show goes up to five seasons."[1][85] As far as the show's ending date, Kring has commented that, "This show doesn't posit an ending…" The show does not have a designated ending point and is "open-ended."[86]
Among the show's mythological elements are the Company, the legend of Takezo Kensei, paintings of the future, superpowers and their origins, the Shanti virus, 9th Wonders! comic book and numerous other elements and mythological themes.

Box office flops - Stormbreaker

2010-04-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

Budget
$40 million (£25 million)

Gross revenue
$23,937,870

A number of films that are released are flops at the box office. Stormbreaker is a prime example with the film adaptation of the Anthony Horowitz making huge losses at the box office which has halted plans of a film franchise which includes the later Alex Rider books. The Main problem with film adaptations of popular books is the weak protrayals and the absence of key scenes from the book which weakens the film's narrative and appeal to its audience as a result.

Heroes (Postmodern TV) trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMMiqwxFtbc&feature=related

2010-04-15T03:38:00.001-07:00

Heroes (postmodernist text)

2010-03-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

Heroes is a postmodernist text firstly, because it is hyperreal with the use of superhuman abilities which i reality no-one possesses. It is also quite quite self referential as it shows the negatives of having these abilities where a lot of the audience wishes that they had a superpower and wanted to be a hero. Heroes sometimes works on the borderline of reality and hyperreality, because those with the powers are normal individuals who live normal lives and display the human side of their 'identity'. This differs from normal superhero texts where they display the extraordinary side of their personality a lot more often than their normal human side as they try to escape their normal lives and use their powers in order to be someone special. It also plays on the fear factor as one of the characters (called Sylar) begins killing other people with abilities in order to steal their powers. This is evidence of the importance of possessions and the crime that usually is committed is to steal other people's possessions, such as wallets or handbags but in Heroes, Sylar wishes to possess powers and it represents our sometimes hunger for our possessions like our computer and mobile phones and it can be ahunger that we may not be able to control if push came to shove.

Reservoir Dogs

2010-03-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

This was Tarantino's debut film and was made in 1992. It had a budget of $1.2million and had a gross revenue of $2.8 million. It is about the events before and after a failed jewel heist. Like a lot of Tarantino's other films such as Inglorious Basterds, Tarantino starred in the film as well. It recieved substantial criticism for the violence and language that were used and censorship was not as big an issue.

Quentin Tarantino film festival

2010-03-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

This takes place in Austin, Texas and Tarantino screens some of his favourite films using the prints that he owns. Themes include 80s horror and 70s Italian crime they have all been inspirations for him when he was making his own films. There have been six festivals so far and Tarantino introduces all of the films himself, shows trailers for all film genres and discusses films with the fans who have paid to come to the festival.

Coen Brothers filmography

2010-03-25T03:56:00.001-07:00

Year
Film
Director credit
Academy Award Nominations
Academy Award Wins
Golden Globe Nominations
Golden Globe Wins
BAFTA Nominations
BAFTA Wins
1984
Blood Simple
Joel
1987
Raising Arizona
1990
Miller's Crossing
1991
Barton Fink
3
1
1994
The Hudsucker Proxy
1996
Fargo
7
2
4
6
1
1998
The Big Lebowski
2000
O Brother,Where Art Thou?
2
2
1
5
2001
The Man Who Wasn't There
1
3
1
1
2003
Intolerable Cruelty
2004
The Ladykillers
Joel & Ethan
2007
No Country for Old Men
8
4
4
2
9
3
2008
Burn After Reading
2
3
2009
A Serious Man
2
1
1
2010
True Grit
Total
23
6
17
3
20
5

Quentin tarantino stats

2010-03-25T03:02:00.000-07:00

Inglrious basterds trailer

2010-03-25T02:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOMKloOEKcU

Inglorious Basterds advertising

2010-03-25T02:40:00.000-07:00

Inglorious Basterds

2010-03-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

From watching this film in class I have been able to pick up key elements of the film, such as the audience reaction due to the self refernetial way that it depicts the Nazi hunting of the Jews and the ruthlessness of the Nazi party. Another way that representation works is the way tha Brad Pitt is depicted. He is depcited in the eyes of the American public at least as a hero and do not stop to think whether he is truly the good guy as he and the rest of the inglorious basterds commit violent acts that can be seen as similar to the acts of the Nazi troops. It is also interesting that a number of key themes from previous Quentin Tarantino films remain in this film. The Soundtrack at times sounds similar to Kill Bill and it maintains the heavy violence seens form both Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction. Especially Pulp Fiction as this opened everyones eyes when they first saw it.

Trailer for the new series of Doctor Who

2010-03-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpbmMhNe6aA
I chose to uploa this link as Doctor Who is a good example of a postmodern text and the key concepts of hyppereality which are also featured.

The Wire

2010-03-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

The Wire uses realism elements, such as filming on location in Baltimore. It tackles several key issues , such as drug abuse and problems with bureaucracy. The target of the show is to show how american cities function and how everyone gets on with each other. It is written around the experiences of co-write Ed Burns who was a former homicide detective such as the frustrations he suffered of the ineffectiveness of the beaureaucracy of the police department so there are a lot of political elements featured in the Wire.
The Wire is postmodern, because it is based around true events which shows that the structure of the narrative is less creative as ideas for the narrative already exist that can be used to construct the plot for the series. It also is postmodern as it hits out at the weaknesses of the police department. This in the past would have been too risky to attempt to do, but nowadays writers of TV programmes aren't for example afraid to break the fourth wall. Also most of characters involved are based on real life Baltimore figures. Also some important events occur off camera and flashbacks are common so another postmodern element is the growing emphasis on technology on media products. This is just like the A2 media projects which now depend more on technology such as recorded evaluations.

Last lesson

2010-03-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last lesson we related soap doc to real media texts like the office. Extras is also a good example. It is designed to be a comedy but has plenty of drama elements as well like you'd find in a soap like coronation street. We also watched a number of films relating to postmodernism such as '500 days of summer' and 'pulp fiction' and dissected those texts and pulled out key elements and themes, such as 500 days of summer's slogan 'its a story about love not a love story' and the very heavy violence of pulp fiction.

How does your project relate to real media texts ?

2010-03-05T06:02:00.000-08:00

One of the key existing media conventions that my project relates to is the work of Joseph Campbell. One of the most useful of Campbell’s texts to relate to is the book: ‘Hero of a thousand faces’. It gives a postmodernist twist on the concept of a hero as he structured the journey of the hero around a concept called monomyth. It takes in the trials and tasks that a hero must face. The hero starts in an ordinary world and is called to a strange new world with strange powers and events and also links to the concept of ‘fight or flight’. This refers to whether a hero will step up to the plate and make the effort to reach his target or fail and be doomed to misery and failure. The structure of the narrative that Joseph Campbell uses is postmodern, because there is also a strong presence of mythology which comes with ‘the journey of a hero’. As some myths often differ in the approaches that need to be taken, especially in terms of the order that they need to be taken. These ideas crucially link back to my own project, because the structure of the narrative of my project is one of the main concepts that is aimed at being brought forward as the hero of the film Miles is starting his journey after leaving home and going in search of his hero. He is pictured in my project performing many tasks, such as hitchhiking and looking to others for help and guidance. This shows the structure of the narrative of my project and also the order in which events unfold which is what Joseph Campbell tries to do with the concept of mythology and how a hero completes the tasks and trials and the way he completes them.
There is evidence to show that George Lucas used the ideas of Joseph Campbell and monomyth to create the Star wars films with the structure of the different episodes of the star wars films and the trials and tribulations of Luke Skywalker becoming a Jedi throughout the Star Wars trilogy with the clear order of events of the trilogy of flms.

Matrix trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtqU57sR0B8)

2010-02-23T07:48:00.000-08:00

I have linked this trailer as The Matrix is a very good example of a Postmodernist text and is also a great example to back up the theory of hyperreality with the Matrix plot centred around a world run by computers and machines.

How did you get inspiration from other media products in order to make you own project?

2010-02-11T02:24:00.001-08:00

My project was about a boy who leaves behind his turbulent life and goes off in search of his hero in a long and eventful journey. I got the inspiration for my project from existing media products, such as ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘Home Alone’. These films also involved child actors and Little Miss Sunshine was particularly important in terms of my research as the trials and tribulations and voyage of discovery were some of the themes that featured on my own media project. Home Alone was important in gaining an understanding of a child actor and how it launches the career of a child actor. I needed to understand this before I could start planning the filming of the project. The road trip/journey element was inspired from films, such as Planes, Trains and Automobiles as the journey goes on a long journey there are bound to be highs and lows along the way plus the fact that the journey was central to the film as it is the core of the narrative : ‘ searching for their hero’. I also researched by looking at film trailers from films, such as Spiderman and Planes, Trains and Automobiles in order to gain some understanding on how a film is edited for a trailer and also how long they should be.
Another discovery film that inspired my project was looking for Eric. This is another film where someone gains inspiration in search of their hero, in this case legendary footballer Eric Cantona. So in conclusion my project gained an inspiration from a range of existing media products and tried to extract the themes from them which helps to make my film seem more like a hybrid.

Comparison of woman clone CD cover and my film poster

2010-02-10T03:46:00.001-08:00

The genre between the 2 different texts differs, because the CD cover seems to contain cultural themes, such as feminism and obsession. This is due to the fact that the main image is of a large image of a woman which is strategically positioned under the words woman and clone. The obsession comes from all of the magazine and newspaper extracts that are positioned in and around the woman’s head and also contains a presence of feminism with the titles of the headlines, such as ‘THE QUEEN PALACE DIARY’ and ‘THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WOMEN DESIGN A COOKER’. The second one also shows connotations of sexism by the portrayal and stereotype of women designing something that turns out to be a failure. It is also a cry out for independence with all of the cover being based around women.
The film poster by contrast that was part of my practical project is centred a lot more around more general themes, such as ambition and hope. These themes are much less serious than themes shown on the woman clone CD cover as they are more general and are not up for debate in modern society. Ambition is a connotation in both the CD cover and my film poster, but the ambition is aimed two different bigger issues and goals. The CD cover shows the ambition with the feminist themes for women to be given the same rights as men and to be truly equal. The film poster on the other hand has the quotation ‘How far would you go to realise your dreams ?’. This shows the pursuit of happiness and also looks at the bigger picture, but it is the happiness of an individual not of an entire culture though.

Explain how you used digital technology to adhere to or deviate from the conventions of real media texts?

2010-02-04T02:31:00.000-08:00

I used digital technology to adhere to the conventions of real media texts by having a film teaser trailer that uses a range of camera angles and also to have the footage mainly around the escapades around one main character to give the film its own unique identity. An example of this is in superhero films, such as Spiderman or Iron Man where the emphasis in the full films or the trailer is of the film’s main protagonist and we used editing on the apple macs to shorten clips and also change the transition of shots in order to make this happen. We also used a voice recorder to record the voice of Miles’ angry parents at the part of the trailer where he leaves home. We chose not to show the parents in the shot, because I thought that it would be more effective if you could here the voices only in order to keep the emphasis on Miles with him being the only one in the shot and therefore the pain is felt by Miles and the sympathy is felt by the audience.
I also added sad farewell music to the part of the product where Miles’ turns down help from a stranger and walks into the distance. This adheres to media products with the sad walking away music when a character departs when all hope seems lost. I then for the next clip used uplifting hopeful music when Miles runs through a field in order to balance out the emotions that are being felt by Miles and being shared by the audience. This also shows the unpredictability in the plot to show that there are plenty of surprises in the film. If the film was too predictable then it would risk audience as the different twists and turns help to create the link to real life as the old saying goes: “life is full of twists and turns”. I also tried to show the harshness of reality when Miles is kicked out of the house to show that life can be cruel and also has many trials and tribulations along the way. When using the farewell music I adhered to real media products by fading it out when the uplifting music started in order to make the mood transition more smooth and make the editing seem more professional. All of these things I feel were each important.

"The concept of narrative is essential to media". In what ways did you use narrative in the construction of your media product?

2010-02-04T01:58:00.000-08:00

I used narrative in the construction of my media product by trying to structure the teaser film trailer with a beginning, middle and end. This way the audience sees the full picture of the distress and despair of the Main character’s (Miles) life. The transition is eased slowly in the different shots form the despair and feeling really low when leaving home to the excitement of his journey to find his hero and to start a new chapter in the life of Miles. We needed to use the different black screens as a sort of record as to how each step of Miles’ journey is going. For example when it says “For Miles his life was torn apart” and then later “no-one could help“.
I used narrative to shape our project around its genre. For it being a feel good film filled with highs and lows we had to show on the teaser trailer a range of different emotions coming from Miles. This can be compared to another feel good film called Happy Go lucky that was produced by Film Four. This was another feel good film filled with highs and lows and therefore makes good viewing for the audience, because no-one likes a film that is too predictable where everything is set in stone. The audience is more likely to seek unpredictability and suspense as if a media product is too predictable then it can lead to boredom within the audience. As well as this narrative was also used in the construction of my media product by contrasting the different environments that featured in the teaser film trailer. At the start we have the upsetting environment of Miles’ house where he is unloved and neglected by his parents. Whereas at the end you see him running through a field in search of his hero having been filled with a new lease of life and risen from ‘the depths of despair’.
The narrative also shapes my project, because Miles is on a journey of discovery and finds out new information about the world around him, but also things that he didn’t even know about himself. His journey is the main core of the film. What is also significant about this is that the audience discover these facts with Miles as by watching the journey they can feel like they are tagging along with Miles. Helping the audience to engage more.

Media and collective identity Precis

2010-01-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

The media helps to shape the identity of certain groups within modern society. Identity can be thought of in a number of different ways. These include protection of identity, such as an identity card and your own unique identity on social gatherings such as the internet networking website Facebook. The media usually targets social groups , such as the classes and also minority ethnic groups, such as the police, teenagers, the elderly and the disabled. The media’s opinion on all these unique groups which exist within our society. The way that the media represents these different groups, especially if they do it in an extreme way can help to shape or even change our opinions about the different groups in our society. Magazines and gender are two factors that link easily together, because a lot of magazines target one gender as their core reading audience. For example heat magazine is targeted at women, because they like to read about the celebrity lifestyle and gossip as the research carried out by the publishers and editors has lead to them creating a well structured magazine based on their research of their target market. Nuts magazine does the same for the male reading market. One of Karl Marx’s main areas of analysis was on feminism and them holding their own unique identity and how that it is a key importance in society.
Celebrities are another key area in terms of taking about media and collective identity. Celebrities are thought by many as idols and something to emulate. Celebrities are also usually the key targets of the media, especially stories like scandals and fashion tips etc. Celebrities are usually thought of as spoilt and as a sort of cult. However the opinion on celebrities usually varies as some struggle to understand why they are so important and why we care about them and what they think. Whereas other see them as their idols and will watch reality TV shows, such as celebrity big brother or I’m a celebrity get me out of here , because they care about them so much. Sexuality is also a big topic , especially for the newspapers as they are usually represented in a less neutral way. Either they are being criticised or praised using media, such as films like, Brokeback mountain, Philadelphia and sugar rush.
British cinema has also helped to make a decent contribution to media and collective identity especially in films like Bend it like Beckham as stereotypes are often used to base different culture roles within the films. For example the proud Indian culture shown in Bend it like Beckham contrasting with the football and British cultural representations. However the downfalls and negative features of an identity can be shown in British films. This is England is a prime example of this, because it shows the effects of crime and gang crime in Britain today so they also realism to the content of the films. This helps to show cultural development.

Postmodern texts

2010-01-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayYiMygqlfo
( daybreakers trailer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qndn1WnP3xM
(Doctor who trailer)

I have found what I believe are useful learning resources for postmodernism in media. I chose these 3 posters, because pastiche is key to these as they are twists on the reality that we actually know. For example the machine run world of The Matrix, the gang culture in This is england and the adrenaline filled action of Hot Fuzz all of which used pastiche to construct new identities. I chose these two trailers, because Doctor who is a prime example of pstmodern TV. It combines new ideas of reality with all the monsters, aliens and new worlds with the reality that we all know and recognise and therefore it plays with postmodern ideologies like cultural diversity and pastiche. Daybreakers is a new film that has come up where vampires rule the world and farm humans for blood to keep the vampire population alive. This is a similar idea to the matrix with the idea of an alternative reality and the insuperiority of the human races and all its weaknesses with the race on to save the human race from extinction.

Postmodernism chapter : Précis

2010-01-09T09:20:00.001-08:00

Pages 136-167 of the A2 textbook looks very closely at the idea of postmodernism and the effect that it has on the media industry. Postmodernism plays with the relationship between media and reality. Images and representations of key issues are the core of this. Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudillard gave different interpretations of postmodernism. Baudrillard’s theory gives a clear idea of how the media effects our lives and so helps to make sense of why postmodernism is such an important theme and attribute of today’s media. Lyotard on the other hand wrote the book postmodernism explained to children so both theories try to make postmodernism easy for everyone to understand, but with different aims.
In terms of examples of postmodern media ‘The Matrix’ is a prime example. This is, because of the plot of the film imagining an alternative reality to our own and the machines taking over our minds as well as other ideologies of the film have been interpreted by many as the controlling force and the machine run world is a less ‘savoury’ reality. The Coen brothers are also big influences on the postmodern media world. They have made films, such as ‘The Big Lebowski’ and ‘24 hour party people’. In these films intertextuality helps to sew
in our knowledge of other media texts with our interpretation of the film which helps to give films their own idea and own postmodern unique attributes. The Coen brother films are often hybrids where they are made up of two different genres in order to possibly confuse expectations of their films.
In terms of Postmodern TV, programs like the Mighty Boosh carry the idea of Ecclecticism whereby a piece of media has completely strange and new ideas running together or the plots are fractured and some of ideologies of the texts are different from each other. For example in The Mighty Boosh features strange music and the ideologies of a very different perspective on reality with ideas of music lovers working in a zoo which is where you would imagine would be the last place they would work as well the utterly bizarre happenings within the Zoo, particularly with the animal behaviour so the setting is made full use of to provide the most laughs as can give to the audience. Ricky Gervais’ two comedy smash hits ‘the office’ and ’extras’ have similar aims to the Mighty Boosh with the characters trying to make it big in the world, but also portraying the trials and tribulations that can be linked to real life society.
Magazines and video games are the other 2 media platforms that provide a real insight into the ‘post modernistic world’. GTA has taken video gaming to a different level with all the attributes of crime within the real world which can influence the players to do it themselves and magazines also help to construct postmodernism with playing with audience desires, like in ‘Nuts’ magazine and the desires of men being played upon.

Doctor Who - Postmodernist text

2010-01-05T03:37:00.002-08:00

Media newsflashes, TV news within, Doctor’s speech about importance before regeneration links to the speech that Ricky Gervais gave in Extras when he was in the Big Brother house which relates to ego and your personal importance within society. Counters Royle family with scene where he visits those he cares about. This shows a sort of battle for our attention between technology and real people. Doctor Who can also be related to by the audience, especially the Americans who believe in Aliens, even those who have life insurance against them in America (no joke) . Especially because as Doctor Who is one of the countries that the BBC distributes Doctor Who too. Doctor Who is also culturally diverse, because of the supernatural world of the Doctor and the higher powers involved in the evil plot to destroy the Earth and the inicent population of the Earth.
Doctor Who has also become cult viewing with 10 million people watching the episode on New Years Day. Mary Whitehouse originally targeted Doctor Who for censorship, but now by today's standards it is no longer an issue. There are many important connotations that come with Doctor Who. These include sacrifice, danger, suspense and drama that is sure to keep you watching, especially if an episode is two or more parts long.

Bricolage

2009-12-09T06:39:00.000-08:00

Music narratives:
• 8 mile
• The Doors
• School of Rock
• Tenacious D
• Michael Jackson
• Mighty Boosh: Fresh perspective on rock music and rock bands.
• Boat that Rocked (parody of real life events= when rock and roll took off.
• Remixing existing audience opinions about the music industry
• Stereotypes: Rock musicians: Drugs, women etc.
• Woodstock parodies
• Hippies

These music narratives help to shape our understanding of music culture and how it influences society. The music narratives that are listed above help to show this and help to break the boundaries and establish new stereotypes and link to bricolage in terms of 'building' our knowledge and some of these examples are based on real events such as woodstock and the emergence of rock and roll music. These help to create perfect parodies for a new piece of media.

The Mighty Boosh

2009-12-08T02:09:00.000-08:00

· Looking in the camera: Reaching out to the audience and giving them a more detailed idea of the current situation.
· Postmodern ideas over what is good music: ‘no-one listens to Jazz’
· Eclectic ideas of costume. Nothing they wear makes sense in the scenes.
· No laughter track
· Characters have similar characteristics, but also very different ones
· Tying in new musical ideas that modern artists like Lily Allen attempt to use.
· Mise-en-scene working on music in small room. Like working on a car in a garage. Personal thinking space.
· Active audience: playing on the hilarious side of eclecticism encourages people to watch after seeing the adverts.
· Postmodern: Takes self reflective approach
· Mixture of pleasure and trauma like in the Office
· Eclecticism gives it own identity in tough TV area : Sitcom
· Parody of music programmes that are focused on a love of music but are a lot more mature
· Audience can empathise with the characters as these are the sought of situations that can crop up in everyday society.

Postmodernist film poster

2009-11-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

I believe that this poster that I have created has postmodernist ideologies, such as the morals ( with Miles being kicked out of the house) , mix of low and high cultures ( football and the need for adventure) and also the mix of setting with the playing of football and Miles' house in different moods. The slogan also refers to chasing your dreams which shows the element of adventure and ambition which blended with the new generation of younger people I believe creates a true feeling of Postmodernistic impressions.

Genova notes

2009-11-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

Road to Guantanimo notes

2009-11-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

Oh brother where art thou ? notes

2009-11-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

lesson notes

2009-11-24T03:27:00.000-08:00

Pastiche = Mixture of styles
Leone Tarrantino (Good the bad and the ugly)
Principles – Morals, values
Blade Runner: Dystopian science fiction. It is about time or the lack of it. Real world concerns in a fantasy setting
Jameson (Postmodern critic)
“Pluralism is the inevitable state of late capitalism”

Technology problems

2009-11-23T03:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to upload the notes from the analysis of films , such as intolerable cruelty due to internet connection problems with my computer at home.

Summary of the week's lessons

2009-11-19T02:13:00.001-08:00

This week I ahve learned a lot about about the different aspects of PAINPIPES, such as nihilism and pastiche. I also watched adulthood in order to gain more understanding of postmodern society and its good and bad elements as well as how it links to the real world society in which we live.

Notes from Last lesson

2009-11-06T02:06:00.001-08:00

Last lesson I learned about postmodernism and its different aspects. · PAINPIPES: Playfulness, Aesthetic ( the way things look), Intertextual (bringing in another text) Nihilism, Parody, Irony , Pastiche, Eclectic (blend of genres), Self referential

· High culture : Ballet, TV, Film, Newspaper, Religion
· Low Culture: Club membership,
Modernism starting with series of paintings showing positives and negatives of cultural identity and clear messages and values were portrayed.

Boat that Rocked H/W

2009-10-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

Truth Representation Reason for change - media theory and analysis where possible
Tony Benn was postmaster general in charge of shutting down pirate radio. He was a labour minister Kenneth Branagh as Minister Dormandy (loose parody of Benn) an implied Tory he aims to shut the station down Stereotype of austere minister, humourless, creating a binary opposition to the DJs.
Musical output and style of presentation of the first (pirate) station ( Radio Caroline) very similar to BBC radio light programme Compares restricted and very non recorded output of the BBC. 3 radio services of 1966. One liberal service Anti-Elitist, pluralistic ( pop culture) showing how people can challenge governments
By the late 1960s, Britons were able to enjoy a host of media Collective identity of naïve Britons huddled around radio for pirate stations Mythological image of 2nd world war and 1950s families huddled
Most music played on most radio stations was classic with only about 45 minutes pop or rock played in the day Radio rock playing rock and roll 24/7. Constant reference to this fact. To show the significance and showcase the importance of the emergence of Rock and roll music.
Radio One DJ Emperor Rosko Represented in the film as the Count To keep the idea of the characters the same but not make them too similar or the film would lose it’s personal identity
The significance of Jazz on the BBC Not mentioned in the film Keep the emphasis on the importance of Rock and Roll for this narrow area of music culture
Tony Blackburn breakfast disk jockey during 1960s Chris O’Dowd’s character Simon is used for the film Showing the more modern equivalent of Blackburn and portraying him in a more humorous way to suit Curtis’ style of directing.
Families used to be huddled round the radio for the broadcasts Shows not just families but also others, such as kids staying up instead of going to bed To try and link it to present day audiences and in so doing help the audience of the film to relate to the listeners of Radio rock
Many previous generations were brought up on the Radio Rock’s type of music Portraying the vast audiences so effectively For the older members of the viewing audience to relate to their childhood
All of the real pirate radio ships of the 1960s used single-mast antennas Ship that was used for filming used twin mast antennas Better sound quality to make the film more professional

The boat that rocked

2009-10-02T04:22:00.003-07:00

The target audience for the boat that rocked is those who like the top British actors and comedians all in the same film and generally enjoy a film that has a clear sense of humour. They also may be those who like 1960s culture which is when this film is set. There also may be music fans who watch the film for its soundtrack which received rave reviews.
I know this, because of the film’s soundtrack and the clear element of slapstick comedy that’s central to the film and its plot. Also Richard Curtis has become an icon of British film and the success of actors like Bill Nighy and Nick Frost means that a larger audience is attracted as they are clearly aware of their talent.
The film relies on the stereotypes of radio djs being irresponsible and also of politicians having no sense of fun with them attempting to shut down radio rock. It also stereotypes celebrities being nothing but thick and driven by the limelight and sex
Celebrities being bad role models British media
Bad attitude Controversial
Irresponsible Negative
Selfish Scandal
Rude Celebrity bad press
Arrogant corrupt
Dumb wrong
Childish Inappropriate content
Immature Influence
Bad people skills Popular
Involved with substances like drugs Widespread

These stereotypes are be quintessentially British, because the British press often receives severe criticism from the public and higher powers and British celebrities are all too often surrounded in controversy.
The ways that Curtis and the team can be said to be appealing to the mythological tendencies of the audience, include the fact that the British government is all powerful and that many people root for the underdog and this is the core of the film with the radio station fighting off government pressure to stay on the air. They also try and make the impossible possible which is what can make a film so appealing. They try and play on the audiences desires to see a great British comedy film that is very appealing and heart-warming whilst also including all the mythological elements that the audience may also desire.

Film making process from concept to culmination
Firstly an idea is pitched to the producers and film companies for the plot of the film. When it is agreed upon a script must be written in order for the film to be properly planned and be prepared for. They must then hire the crew, including of course the actors to make the film a reality. Some may not be available due to other commitments so those hiring the crew have to come up with a shortlist in case this happens so that they have a back up plan so that the film won’t lose its appeal or integrity if the first choice wasn’t available to work on this film. Then the film must be shot which can take several months to a year to shoot especially if some actors commit to the film as well as any other commitments that they may have. Then it must be edited and then distributed to the audience .

Stereotypes – collective or individual?

2009-09-30T03:14:00.001-07:00

· Reflection: In terms of what’s reflected most of us are willing to wear positive generalizations to get with pride, but argue with those who criticise us. Positive generalization could also be insulting e.g. black runners being the best and only highlighting them as in a small minority. The problem with the traditional view is that stereotypes reflect culture. Religion is another key factor of reflection as it is almost central to the way millions of people base the way they live their lives. For example Christians will God as all loving where as atheists who have no faith at all will immediately dismiss this view as it challenges their beliefs and also they stereotype God as being non existing or hateful for example. Stereotypes can either be fair or unfair, for example in skins they possibly represent unfair stereotypes such as sex and violence whereas not all teenagers will act in that particular way.
· Intentional: Social forces can influence the way that we describe things influence to use culturally derived stereotypes in conversations. This can include political factors, satire and political correctness. Often the stereotypes we here about encourage or discourage behaviours by certain people and groups within society. We’re not only told what to think, but we are also taught for example in secondary school and on work courses. There is also the factor of prejudice. Prejudices are important to intentional behaviour description as we all have the tendency to prejudge people and also many different important issues without knowing all of the facts first. We also can use stereotypes intentionally when we are being bullied for example and the feelings such as fear and hatred act as the social forces for a counter attack on the bully , for example for a bully saying how they are stupid and also maybe in the heat of the moment may make insulting comments about the bully’s family. In skins for example hormones can make stereotypes intentional and also through social forces such as mistreatment in school.
· Constructed: Most stereotypes are uniformly held so evidence for collective representations are weak. The role of culture in our everyday lives helps to construct some particularly strong social stereotypes, such as the irresponsibleness of teenagers in Britain through consequences, such as teenage pregnancies and teenage drivers being reckless. Other factors include cultural legitimacy and consensus. Powerful cultural messages about stereotypes can be expressed publically and under other conditions as well. Stereotypes are usually very well structured, because they are based around a strong issue in society and those particularly political and social ones have many attributes to support them. An example of this is from the time of George Bush being president of USA and people stereotyped him as being corrupt, having low intelligence and also having a poor grasp of reality and everything that was going within the world both politically and socially. Skins represents constructed stereotypes with mainly the worst of British teenage culture shining through.

Culture work

2009-09-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

USA History France History UK History
World War 1 World war 1 World war 1
World war 2 World war 2 World war 2
Cold war St. Bartholomew’s day massacre Hundred years war
Kennedy assassination French Revolution Creation of the BBC
Cold War Hundred years war Battle of Britain
Gulf war Battle of Waterloo Great depression
9/11 Invention of sports such as cricket.
Wall street crash
Moon landing
Wright Bros. Flight
US sports invented

US sports may be played little elsewhere according to Barthes, because they signify more than themselves and have more meaning to US culture than other cultures. It is also a symbol of USA’s natural identity and that signs can sometimes cover up past history. USA is a sports fest with many different sports played so maybe also out of the pride that comes with landmarks or inventions it encourages that society to show off its gift to the world.
The function of these sports is to enrich local culture and bring it together and to show their possible superiority over other countries and celebrate the countries culture with the public.

Gangster genre in US culture

Typical signs (codes) and conventions Signified Mythical function to audience
Gun crime Legal Lack of responsibility
Drugs Lack of moral behaviour Power of certain influences
Car jacking Innocent victims Poor values mean that it can be seen as a more natural occurrence.
Gangs Fear of big groups of people, particularly teenagers Makes them a stronger and more dangerous culture than other US cultures

Michael Shields freed after Jack Straw intervenes

2009-09-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

This is a case study that I've found that has been all over the newspaper headlines. Michael Shields is a Liverpool FC supporter who was jailed for life for attempted murder and has spent the last 4 years in prison. He has been released after overwhelming evidence was presented that he wasn't even at the scene and the citizens of Liverpool even both Liverpool and Everton supporters marched in protest and gave overwhelming support backing his innocence

What I learnt in today's lesson

2009-09-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

Today I learned in Mr. Wroe's lesson about what areas of the media have the most influence on British youth and the stereotypes involved in this using microcosms and macrocosms to explain them. The lesson was good for me to get back into the groove of media lessons as i may have been rusty during the summer and it was a good warm up and introduction to the work that I'll be covering this year.

How the issue of censorship affects our notion of collective identity and therefore britishness in film

2009-09-02T02:57:00.000-07:00

In terms of choices in production a film script and plot is based around a target audience and how scenes are planned and carried out depend on the age group targeted and how to make the scenes suitable for their specific viewing age. For example the portrayal of themes such as violence and swearing can be used in order to portray the link to real life themes although these wouldn't be suitable portrayals for younger viewing audiences to see. However films that are rated PG contain some of these more adult themes, but are strictly limited in order to stay within the boundaries of set by the BBFC and still attract a large age base for the film.

In terms of how the issues of censorship can affect our consumption of a film through semiotics the themes of violence and sex for example signify a link to real life portrayal and signifies that some younger audiences need protection from these themes as they will stop them influencing them and also may not understand why these things occur. Also changes in the censoring of films signifies that times are changing in the film industry in terms of what lower age viewing audiences should be allowed to see. For example in 2002 the new 12a rating replaced 12 as the first Spiderman film had driven away so many young fans and this was a prime part of the target market. Therefore 12a was introduced where a child who saw a 12 rated film in the cinema must be accompanied by an adult.

Britishness in film is also effected by the notion of collective identity especially as 18 rated films such as ' This is England ' can represent the worst of British culture and also in lower rated films the best of Britishness with attributes such as equality and helpfulness higlighted almost like the worst of britishness in films is trying to be kept as secret as possible through higher film ratings.

Hot Fuzz - Working title

2009-07-17T01:12:00.000-07:00

Hot Fuzz is a police action comedy film set in a sleepy village in the English countryside. Working Title has also produced such films as Shaun of the Dead which also starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They have also made a number of films starring the popular actor Rowan Atkinson including the Mr. Bean films and Johnny English. However working title doesn't just specialise in comedy films it also produced such films as Frost/Nixon and Atonement. Hot fuzz's director Edgar Wright has also directed films, such as Shaun of the dead and A fistful of fingers.

scene near the end

2009-07-11T05:14:00.000-07:00

middle scene

2009-07-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

Opening scene of my proposed film

2009-07-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Richard Curtis

2009-07-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

He lived in different countries during his childhood, including Sweden and The Phillipines and was born in Wellington in New Zealand . Studied literature at Oxford where he first met Rowan Atkinson and ironically now lives in Notting Hill. He based some of his work around his personal life including 4 weddings and a funeral with him and his partner's experience of meeting so many times at other people's weddings before finally getting together. Richard Curtis portrays Britishness by combining a range of different factors/ingredients to make one of his rom-coms. These include a good location either in or outside of London as well as making the values very clear to see as well as the humiliation that frequently is present in the humour of the film. He also portrays Britishness as a proud heritage which probably influenced him while spending his main educational years in Britain. He may also have been influenced by the way British culture was developing over the many years and working with people like Rowan Atkinson influenced his sense of humour and how he could adapt it to the big screen. His atheism also is a key factor in the writing of his programming.

Proposed year 13 film

2009-07-06T03:43:00.000-07:00

Values and ideologies:

Trust- Trying to work together to fight off the incoming threat
Loss- The deaths of the video game characters
Suffering - Torture and pain as well as unpredictablity during the chaos.

Key demons/Folk devils

The film is against the playing of violent video games and also betraying others.

I will be consistent with these components in every shot and scene by doing plenty of close up shots and highlighting the characters emotions as well as showing the effects of the demons and what they can do for the worse. Also show the pain and threat of those fighting the games characters while others are screaming in pain.

British myths : Work of Richard Curtis

2009-07-06T03:24:00.000-07:00

According to the writer Richard Curtis combines a range of different factors/ingredients to make one of his rom-coms. These include a good location either in or outside of London as well as making the values very clear to see as well as the humiliation that frequently is present in the humour of the film. It compares the work of British myth to American myth with American myth portrayed. His views of humour are firmly based on his own beliefs and the morals in his films are clearly highlighted around the 'moral universe'.

How are British Icons (and others) used in Notting Hill ?

2009-07-02T05:39:00.002-07:00

British Icons are used in this film, firstly with the familar British cast members. These include Tim Mcinnerny from Blackadder and Emma Chambers who played Alice in Vicar of Dibley. By including these British Tv stars it helps to maintain the film as British and also helps the audience to relate to the film more easily. Another way that British icons are used is the use of the small area of Notting Hill which is location of the film. This is iconic as it is an area of London as Will mentions at the start of the film is very busy and full of history and tradition. As well as that the use of an American actress being in one of the lead roles helps to show the strength of the Anglo-American relationship. Having a big Hollywood actress, such as Julia Roberts appearing in the film shows the ambition of British film makers.

Notting Hill - Working Title Films

2009-07-02T05:11:00.001-07:00

There are a number of ways that Notting Hill can be linked with the idea of myth underpinning cinema, because the plot is entertaining as the plot is so unique and unlikely and this helps the film to play on the audience's humour. Another way is that it helps to portray the theory that films nowadays aren't really truly conventional. The version of Britishness that's being portrayed in Notting Hill is the true love elemant and that poosites attract. It helps to show the attractiveness of living in Britain and the people have their own personalities and live their own unique lifestyles. For example the character of Will is self-deprecating, clumsy and disorganised and loveable whereas Anna is Cool yet passionate fragile and extremely fragile, but ambitious.

They're completely different from Honey who is wacky rebellious and lacking direction or ambition and Spike ( Will's roomate) who's outrageous, like Honey lacks direction, is an alcoholic and also is likeable but not really loveable.

Comparison of Italian Job and Get Carter

2009-07-01T01:36:00.001-07:00

The Italian Job and Get Carter both starred Michael Caine and are both classic crime films. However there are plenty of similarities and differences between the 2 films. The similarities include, the fact that Get Carter also stars Tony Beckley who played Camp Freddie in The Italian Job and the vehicles that were featured in the film were similar to The Italian Job such as the iconic British Cars, The Mini Cooper and the 4x4 Land Rover. Michael Caine's character in both films is a strong male figure with a no nosense attitude and always with a clear motivation for his crimes. In terms of the portrayal of Britishness they both symbolise the hardship and sometimes the glamour of British crime culture. However the British pride that's represented in The Italian job using the idea of 'The self Preservation Society' is clearly absent in Get Carter. The use of mob violence that's features very rarely in The Italian Job features greatly in Get Carter with torture and gun fights the name of the game. This is comparison with the Italian Job making British culture look good with its bravery and pride whereas Get Carter is full of negativity with the use of Mob violence, betrayal and death.
Other differences between the two films includes the fact that this 'job' is motivated by revenge and in The Italian Job it was to help Britain's economy. Also Michael Caine's character in Get Carter in much more violent than when he played Charlie Croker in The Italian Job and the story is mainly based in Britain rather than London and Turin in The Italian Job. The cast in Get Carter is also less prestigious. Also Michael Caine's character in Get Carter is more sympathetic than when he played Charlie Croker and is tougher on those who fail him.

Get Carter : Did I find it shocking and disturbing ?

2009-07-01T01:28:00.001-07:00

Even though this film was made about 38 years ago I still found it as shocking and disturbing to watch as a modern day gangster film which shows how far the film was ahead of its time. To me it really highlighted the bad side of British society and culture and it shocked me as to how far one man will go just to restore his pride and avenge his brother's death.

Myths and mythology

2009-07-01T01:10:00.001-07:00

A Myth is something that isn't true and follows basic narrative structures such as good/evil. Night at the Museum is an example of a film underpinned by myth as it's a unique idea and unlikely to be true although you can imagine it happening. The mythical system is made up by idols such as heroes such as spiderman and batman, people who's lives we would love to live.

2009-07-01T01:10:00.000-07:00

British film pitch

2009-07-01T00:56:00.000-07:00

It's big its bold it's now the new wars of fallen video game. However the buyers of the game are in for a bit of shock as the characters escape the game and start attacking the inhabitants of London. Will a bold team of individuals led by Martin fuller stop the chaos and restore order or will London be turned into ' the battlefield from hell' ?

What I did in today's lessons

2009-06-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

In the first lesson I watched Get Carter to continue the Michael Caine case study and will watch the second part tomorrow. I find this film interseting due to the different factors at work such as loss and redemption. In the second lesson I improved the Blog using feedback from Mr. Wroe which I'm grateful for as it made the blog much better.

10 adjectives of Britishness acording to British film

2009-06-29T02:29:00.001-07:00

Tradition - Cricket and other british sports
Novelty - Happy go Lucky
Distinction - Pride and prejudice
Political - Houses of parliament
Stereotype - Gentleman in picture 3rd from left
Ground-breaking - The Italian Job
Sophisticated - Gentleman in picture 3rd from left
Humourous - Shaun of the Dead
Cultural - Happy go Lucky
Charming - Pride and Prejudice

My I web experience so far

2009-06-25T06:36:00.001-07:00

This has been a steep learning curve for me as I have had to master new technology and have to include features such as hyperlinks which I have recently figured out how to use. It is much trickier to use than my blog. The homepage was easy to set up as the tools were quite simple. I have tried uploading files from my USB stick to my website and that is at least something I’m used to doing. I’ve found customising the homepage quite enjoyable and the fact that it’s easy to edit means that it’s less of a stressful task for me to do. I feel more confident than the film editing that I did on the Macs, because it’s not as strenuous and I am now more familiar with a lot of the tools and programs. I am enjoying making the web page as I think it will be a useful resource and it also allows me to be able to show some creativity. I hope in the near future that I can create more links to pages and can also upload more of my British film industry work to my website as this will make it an even more useful media resource for me to use.

Working Title link

2009-06-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

www.workingtitlefilms.com/ : They have porduced films such as Johnny English, Shaun of the dead, O brother where art thou ?, The boat that rocked and Pride and Prejudice. The company produces a range of different films incorporating different genres and outlines. It produces feature films and Tv productions. Their parent company is Universal studios and the website is professionly done with fim trailers, previews , downloads and poster galleries among its many features. It's a truly British film company with its films encorporating key British themes and traditions.

Summary of today's lesson

2009-06-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

Today I watched the second half of The Italian job and took more notes on British Identity and the second half of the film integrated a key factor ( self-preservation society). The film was enjoyable to watch and at the same time turned out to be a very useful learning resource.

What I learnt in today's lessons

2009-06-22T03:43:00.000-07:00

In Mr Wroe's lesson we learnt about what requirements would be needed for our blogs and webpages. This was useful as I could now my plan my actions for the upcoming lessons. In Ms. Baird's lesson we watched the first half of the Italian Job as part of our case study on Michael Caine. It helped me to further tie in British culture to my knowledge and will be watching the second half of the film in the lesson tomorrow.

British Film Industry

2009-06-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

www.bfi.org.uk/

2009-06-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

2009-06-21T04:53:00.000-07:00

What I did in the last lesson

2009-06-19T02:18:00.000-07:00

In the last lesson I watched Saturday Night, Sunday Morning and took notes on how British culture is portrayed in this film. it was a worthwhile experience as because it's a classic British film I could compare to modern day British society so it was a useful exercise to do.

links to teaser trailers

2009-06-19T02:08:00.000-07:00

www.cinemagora.co.uk/movie-2553-the-queen.html : The Queen
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGSvNKqLOzg : Pride and Prejudice
v=www.metacafe.com/watch/.../looking_for_eric_teaser_trailler : Looking for eric

Teaser trailers are short previews of films or tv shows. Although, because a lot are made by fans they contain little or relevant footage. This means that they aren't as reliable as official trailers. Youtube is a big source of teaser trailers with channel users editing footage to create their own trailers.

British film websites

2009-06-17T01:39:00.000-07:00

www.theboatthatrocked.co.uk/ : The website is very thorough in its content with different features included such as film trailers, characters, photos and downloads. This means that the audience can engage more with the film and gain a better understanding of the film, its content and the plot. The layout is excellent and very user friendly as all the content is easy to find and in keeps with the film with the boat and sea theme in the film.
http://www.lookingforericmovie.co.uk/ : The website really engages with the viewing audience, particularly with the competition for the best postman jokes. It features pop ups of all of the great reviews of the film in order to raise th prestige of the film. The trailer running in the middle means that the audience's attention is never lost while on the site's homepage. Like the boat that rocked website the layout is very good and there are many different features to explore and also plays on the prestige of Eric Cantona and his life in football with the feature : ' The cult of Cantona'.
www.happygoluckythemovie.com/: The website maintains the film's idea of the use of the feel good factor with Poppy on the trampoline. The website is possibly aimed at the female audience with the use of a pink background and the attention that's focused on Poppy who is the main character in the film. This website isn't as thorough in its content as the other two but makes up for it with its own features based around the fact that it's a truly British cult film made by Film 4 and other small british film makers.

What I did in the last 2 lessons

2009-06-17T01:28:00.000-07:00

Firstly I tried adding some new features to my practice website. These features included hyperlinks and text comments which helped me gain more understanding of the technology that I have been using . In the other lesson I watched Bend it like Beckham and took notes on a number of areas including race, ethnicity and gender.

British images

2009-06-17T01:25:00.001-07:00

what i did in today's lessons

2009-06-15T05:14:00.001-07:00

In todays lessons I worked in a group investigating what truly makes a British film. We did a variety of activities such as internet research and investigating the films found in magazines. i also created my own website on the apple macs. The fact that the tools were easy to use made it an enjoyable experience.

DVD

2009-04-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I managed to get my film onto a DVD. It was frustrating at times, but it was another valuable technology skill that I now possess !

Important questions of evaluation of media project

2009-02-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

• In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

It develops on the themes of tragedy by signifying cowardly behaviour with the character of the kid running away and leaving the tramp to his fate. It uses the conventions of real TV dramas by making the film surprising with the different plot twists and keeping the audience guessing what will happen next which means that the audiences attention is likely to be kept. TV dramas, such as “Heroes” are particularly effective at conveying this.

• How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Our project shows the difference between different social groups with the tramp representing the difficulty of being lower class. It represents the stereotype of the higher class citizen looking down the noses at some of those who are lower down ‘the social hierarchy’.

• What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Institutions such as the BBC or ITV might like to use it, because they may need them for documentaries and use it for areas, such as reconstructions. Homelessness and car crime are two of the big issues and an institution such as BBC or ITV may want to outline them in the form of a documentary. BBC is known for this with the broadcasting of programs, such as Horizon and Panorama. Also a company may want to use it as an advert, such as The Police for the themes of crime and not looking where you are going.

• Who would be the audience for your media product?

People who like drama films and like the many surprises and action of a drama film. These people would be fans of films, such as the Oxford murders. This is, because a lot of dramas are unique and that’s why they attract a large audience and I think my film is a case in point.

• How did you attract/address your audience?

It tries to get the audience to feel sympathy for the tramp. This is done by the random kid taunting him and the film also has surprises in store, such as the car appearing out of nowhere and the car hitting the tramp while the random kid leaves the tramp in the road and doesn’t help him .It attracts the audience by the themes displayed by the part such as tragedy, loss and selfishness.

• What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

You have to patient as it takes a while to properly edit a film. The technology doesn’t always work properly so that was another benefit of having plenty of time to edit. I took the view “If at first you don’t succeed try try try again”. I got used to the macs eventually, but I needed time to get used to them. It was an important new skill to learn though and one that could prove useful in the future.

• Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I think that I’ve learnt how important it is to make your film as unique as possible like in the film industry when you try to come up with something that no-one else has done. Another thing that I’ve learnt is that using different filming techniques such as match on action is important in order to convey to the audience where the plot is going and the feelings and emotions that are being shared between the characters.

Video upload

2009-01-27T05:27:00.003-08:00

Me and Jesse have uploaded our project to Youtube. Click the on the video bar that is labelled final to view it.

Evaluation of the main task

2009-01-15T03:32:00.000-08:00

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

It develops on the themes of tragedy by signifying cowardly behaviour with the character of the kid running away and leaving the tramp to his fate. It uses the conventions of real TV dramas by making the film surprising with the different plot twists and keeping the audience guessing what will happen next which means that the audiences attention is likely to be kept. TV dramas, such as “Heroes” are particularly effective at conveying this.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Our project shows the difference between different social groups with the tramp representing the difficulty of being lower class. It represents the stereotype of the higher class citizen looking down the noses at some of those who are lower down ‘the social hierarchy’.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?Institutions such as the BBC or ITV might like to use it, because they may need them for documentaries and use it for areas, such as reconstructions. Homelessness and car crime are two of the big issues and an institution such as BBC or ITV may want to outline them in the form of a documentary. BBC is known for this with the broadcasting of programs, such as Horizon and Panorama. Also a company may want to use it as an advert, such as The Police for the themes of crime and not looking where you are going.

Who would be the audience for your media product?
People who like drama films and like the many surprises and action of a drama film. These people would be fans of films, such as the Oxford murders. This is, because a lot of dramas are unique and that’s why they attract a large audience and I think my film is a case in point.

How did you attract/address your audience?
It tries to get the audience to feel sympathy for the tramp. This is done by the random kid taunting him and the film also has surprises in store, such as the car appearing out of nowhere and the car hitting the tramp while the random kid leaves the tramp in the road and doesn’t help him .It attracts the audience by the themes displayed by the part such as tragedy, loss and selfishness.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
You have to patient as it takes a while to properly edit a film. The technology doesn’t always work properly so that was another benefit of having plenty of time to edit. I took the view “If at first you don’t succeed try try try again”. I got used to the Macs eventually, but I needed time to get used to them. It was an important new skill to learn though and one that could prove useful in the future.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
I think that I’ve learnt how important it is to make your film as unique as possible like in the film industry when you try to come up with something that no-one else has done. Another thing that I’ve learnt is that using different filming techniques such as match on action is important in order to convey to the audience where the plot is going and the feelings and emotions that are being shared between the characters.

The main task was the opening of a two minute thriller film. A tramp enters the scene walking down a road in the evening. A random kid runs across the road following the tramp. However as the tramp crosses the road followed by the random kid a car suddenly appears and the random kid yells: "I'm getting out of here!" and runs off up the top of the street. However the tramp is hit by the car and is left on the road and that's when the film ends. The target audience were people who like a film that’s unpredictable and exciting, in short primarily people who enjoy thriller films that contain different real world issues.
I was inspired by the work of classic films like I am legend and the effects those types of films have on their audience. I was influenced to do a thriller film as the film industry has seen plenty of high standard films that were of the thriller genre and have had a big impact on the industry especially films like “Mission impossible” , “North by North west” and the “Bourne” films.

There were plenty of positives to take from the project. For instance most of the footage we got in one take which meant that we didn't have to get rid of as many outtakes as we expected. Another good point was that we handled the apple Mac editing tools quite well and were able to successfully add sound effects and a soundtrack to our film. The uploading like the preliminary task was pretty simple and we mostly were able to stick to our filming schedule and managed to film and return the equipment on time. As well as that we managed to incorporate some useful filming techniques, such as match on action.

However there were some negatives. Firstly we had to cancel our first scheduled day of filming, because it was raining. This put me and Jesse under more pressure to get it done before the end of the week. As well as this we found it hard to fit everything together well and editing the film took about a month to do. Sound effects were also hard to come by, because on the websites with free downloads it was sometimes hard to find the effects that you needed. For example me and Jesse had to search thoroughly in order to find decent footsteps sounds and to download them for free from a website. When filming we also had difficulty matching our storyboard to our acting and as a result it took us more time to do even the simplest of filming. Another one was that the dialogue wasn't as clear as it could have been which meant that it would be more difficult for the audience to understand what was going on.

To analyse this project I think we did well, because we managed to combine normal filming and amateur footage filming in our film which was done in order to see the situation from the random kid's perspective and to engage the audience and more effectively. We also managed to fit in match on action which is a key filming technique. As well as that many themes were involved in the film, such as anguish, regret and death. This can help to draw attention to the audience. I think the use of the tramp connotes loss, despair and poverty and the random kid immaturity, disrespect and arrogance. Filming at night also signifies suspense and unpredictability with the car representing speed, risk and responsibility. Responsibility is linked to the person who was driving the car. To conclude I think that the main task went well although not as smoothly as the preliminary task which is predictable considering we had to plan this task a lot more carefully and particularly the filming schedule as the main task took about a week to film. We also managed to work well on the Macs. For next time we could try and spend time at home researching sounds and music ready for lessons so that it doesn't interfere with our editing time. We could also try incorporating more filming techniques like 180 degree rule into the film to make it more effective as a whole. As well as that we could change the speed of the credits, and make it lighter so the darkness isn’t a problem. Overall the audience feedback was very encouraging and the video got an average rating of 3 out of 4. They liked the music and credits, the camera positioning, heart beat and the fact that the film was tense.

Total word count : 1293

Adding effects

2009-01-13T05:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday me and Jesse added fading and new sound effects to our film. We could soon add more by exploring different sound effects library websites and downloading sounds ready to add to our film.

The start of editing

2009-01-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

On Monday me and Jesse used the macs to start editing our project and we got it down to about 1 minute and 15 seconds with the removal of outtakes and the shortening of scenes. Next lesson we're planning to add sound effects to it. I hope it goes smoothely and according to plan !

Uploading

2008-12-18T01:58:00.000-08:00

We have successfully uploaded the footage to the apple macs. It went successfully without any problems and now me and Jesse are ready to start editing in January .

The end of filming

2008-12-15T01:05:00.000-08:00

On Thursday 11th December me and Jesse finished the filming which was a big relief. We hope to upload it to the Macs by the end of the week !

The start of filming

2008-12-11T03:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday me and Jesse started filming the main task. We've made an encouraging start by filming the early scenes very well. This gives us something to build upon and hopefully we can do that and get the filming done by the end of this week.

Frustration

2008-12-09T04:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we were looking forward to start filming, but unfortunately we couldn't do anything as it was raining heavily. Hopefully we can start filming tomorrow, weather permitting !

Location finding

2008-12-05T03:23:00.000-08:00

Me and Jesse yesterday found the ideal location in which to do our filming. We will film outside the Ferry Sports Centre and filming will begin on Monday.

Pitching to the media teachers

2008-12-03T06:59:00.000-08:00

It went very ell. Thanks to mine and Jesse great organisation and hard work we managed to convince the teachers to give us the equipment. Our pitch was memorised very well which helped us get off to a good start and the blog presentation also helped our cause. I'm very pleased with how it went and grateful for the advice that me and Jesse were given in terms of evaluating our main task for when we need to do it.

Film schedule

2008-12-01T02:02:00.001-08:00

Where? : It will be filmed in one of the offices in the school and in another area possibly in town.

When: 4 days in December. Around the middle of the month.

Continuity: We plan to shoot it on 8th, 11th, 12th and 15th of December. This will be filmed after school, as we need semi-darkness.

Storyboard for the main task

2008-12-01T01:10:00.000-08:00

Film Schedule

2008-11-28T04:05:00.001-08:00

Where? : It will be filmed in one of the offices in the school and in another area possibly in town.

When: 5 days in December

Continuity: We plan to shoot it on 3rd, 5th, 8th, 9th and 11th of December. This will incorporate some time after school and free periods.

Once done we will use media lessons to edit our film.

Synopsis of the main film

2008-11-27T04:09:00.001-08:00

A victim of economic downturn, John Smith is made redundant and is plunged into severe debt. The only method for him to survive is crime and this changes his life causing him to be constantly under pressure and stress. It starts with minor crimes like shoplifting, but then it evolves into more serious crimes like burglary and bank robberies. His intention is never to hurt anyone physically. He is someone who just takes the goods and goes, he’s not a killer.
During an armed robbery a person appears who’s not expected and falls victim to the startled Smith. When investigating into the murder starts, Smith is not found to be one of the suspects. However, due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time an ex- convict, who has turned his life around, is found guilty and sentenced for life. Smith runs away and one who knows the truth searches him out looking for revenge unless Smith confesses. Smith can’t go back or he’ll be caught and maybe face worse consequences.
After 7 years of running Smith is run over by the one who knows the truth and left for dead, but he is saved and the experience is a turning point convincing him to turn himself in. It shows that there was still a part of him that contained pity and regret. He is jailed for life and can’t turn back time and save the person who he killed, but at least he has regained some self respect and no longer feels the guilt of leaving the innocent person to rot in jail.

Film Project Pitch

2008-11-24T02:15:00.000-08:00

Thought provoking thriller set in the suburbs during economic collapse. John Smith, a previously average man, is separated from society by the tragic events from his past. Can he rectify his mistake and find forgiveness or will he be overcome by the guilt, tragedy and self pity ?

uploading the storyboard

2008-11-20T05:13:00.000-08:00

This was very frustrating, because I couldn't do it as a powerpoint or slideshow. I also couldn't upload the A3 version as it wouldn't be able to scan properly. I, therefore decided on word to create a table and pasted the images into it to make an A4 version of the storyboard. The finished product as you can see has come out well, although it did take me a while to get the scanner to get the image perfect. After I did the A4 version I printed it off and placed it faced down on the scanner and saved it in my pictures as an image and was therefore able to upload it onto my blog.

My storyboard for the preliminary task

2008-11-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

Match on action between slides 10 and 11

Evaluation of the preliminary task

2008-11-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

I filmed my preliminary task with 3 other people: Jesse Lloyd, Robyn Furtado and Lily Joyce. Our film was about someone who got a bad haircut and paid a visit to the hairdresser to complain about it. However he was killed by being blown off his chair after threatening to sue the hairdresser and is stood over by death at the end of the video. I have uploaded the video to my blog and it can be accessed by clicking on the image above my posts on the video bar. Our video is on Youtube after Jesse uploaded it and can be accessed by typing “The Drying” into the search engine. We edited the video using Apple Macs and this was very useful in making our finished product as good as possible.
The positives that we got during our preliminary task were that we managed to edit our film on the Macs very successfully and on Youtube it turned out very well. It was important that we got the hang of using them in preparation for the main task. It was also very simple uploading it to Youtube again a useful skill to have prior to working on our main task. The film was also planned out well and we were also able to incorporate the techniques match on action, 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot which we need to include in our main task in order to get higher grades for the coursework. As well as this uploading it to the blogs was easy and planning out the storyboard was relatively straight forward after we added in the photos.Me and Jesse were also able to help out other groups with the technology.
However using the Macs was stressful at times and isn’t easy to do. Also it’s hard getting rid of unneeded footage whilst being careful not to delete the footage that you need.
To analyse this Preliminary task it could be said that we incorporated the key concepts into our film very well, using match on action, 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot as well as representing injustice, violence and irony in the film. We also signified the dangers of business with the one to one meeting between the two main characters, the use of a gun in the storyline connotes crime and death is significant as it represents the end of your life on Earth and possibly the start of something new.
To conclude I think that the preliminary task went very well overall, because most of the steps, such as the uploading were completed very easily and successfully and I learnt a lot in preparation for doing the main task. For next time I would try and complete more work in lessons and to use better pictures for my storyboard.

2008-11-17T01:43:00.001-08:00

In our video we've used several important techniques, including 180 degree rule, match on action and shot reverse shot.

clear progress

2008-11-17T01:31:00.000-08:00

Me and my group have now uploaded our video onto youtube and it's now available on my blog. It's such a relief to have finally done that. It can be accessed by clicking on the image above the posts. ENJOY !!!

Film making experience

2008-11-10T02:44:00.001-08:00

It's difficult to make progress when you don't have the equipment. I've found that out as my hard drive has not arrived yet and that has prevented me from uploading the film onto my blog or Youtube yet. Also our group haven't done our photo storyboard yet, but hopefully we'll get it done by the end of the week (fingers crossed). Hope we can make progress tomorrow so we have less pressure on our shoulders !!!

2008-11-07T01:58:00.000-08:00

The new series of Heroes is showing on BBC 2 Wednesdays at 9 and 10 on BBC 3. This is a good drama to analyse for your drama log.

Film intro

2008-10-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GVnk2bE6RgY
If you use this hyperlink you can see an intro of a film that's just over 2 minutes long. It's useful as it can be played back very easily and almost the exact length of intro we can analyse for practice.

Jurassic park 4

2008-10-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

www.jurassicpark4.org

This image previews jurassic park4. Movie news can be found on Youtube by typing in Jurassic Park 4 news into the search engine.

Welcome

2008-10-08T01:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. I hope you'll find my posts useful and will benefit from using my blog as a media resource.