Q1b: Genre

More to follow

This is a useful starting point [source]:

G325 a using genre theory in an essay-

View more documents from gdsteacher

Most of you are opting to examine your AS work which was mainly slasher, so a few quick pointers...

Although there were earlier antecedents, Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) is the genre's archetype, laying down the basic template of sexually confused male killer, with the choice of weapon giving the genre its name. The knife also functions, according to psychoanalytic approaches to film theory, as a phallic object - rendering the attack with a knife as a symbolic rape.
Alongside Psycho, which attracted considerable controversy and an X-rating, even though shot in B+W, Micheal Powell's Peeping Tom is often neglected. Released in the same year, and arguably the superior film, Martin Scorsese has seen it recently re-released and remastered; such was the disgust

POMO/MEDIA 2.0: Get giddy over Giddens

[cross-posted]


This is difficult, abstract stuff but I'd like you to have a go at reading up on the work of Anthony Giddens and summarising the main features.
We will discuss what these are, and how you might apply these ideas to the question on Media and Collective Identity. His ideas on globalisation and localism are useful, but its especially his theories on identity, and his use of the concept of narrative, which we will focus on.
You can choose from a number of resources on this (or try googling anthony giddens + additional terms):

• http://www.sociosite.net/topics/sociologists.php#GIDDENS A further set of links on Giddens
• http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/giddens.html Brief summary
• http://www.newinfluencer.com/mediapedia/anthony-giddens/ Another brief summary!
• http://www.theory.org.uk/giddens.htm Its challenging reading but split into clear sections
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_giddens Still a challenging read! Use the topic index to go to the more relevant sections
• http://old.lse.ac.uk/collections/meetthedirector.20031001/faqs.htm Giddens' own FAQ page might be a good starting point!
• http://www.ldb.org/giddens.htm A variety of quotes from his work
• Understanding Media Cultures - google books sample (espec from p.133)
• Modernity + Self-Identity - google books sample
• Media, Gender and Identity [by David Gauntlett] - google books sample; Giddens chapter starts p.99 
• Media Studies: Media History, Media and Society - google books sample;useful on globalisation
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/reith_99/ Giddens on globalisation
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/anthonygiddens Various Guardian articles - Giddens is associated with the 'third way' political philosophy that saw Tony Blair try to merge right- and left-wing thinking in New Labour
• http://www.polity.co.uk/giddens6/blog/post.aspx?id=34 Very useful blog post on the question of national identity, discussing reasons why it might be increasingly fragmented and declining in Britain

Representation theory

Some useful resources on the general concept, of which the first text is the most useful
Representation

A more basic rundown:
Media Representation - David Chandler


This next one is university-level, but may be of particular interest to those of you also studying English/Lit., as it focusses on the possible links between narrative and representation:
The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality

You can also look to find some useful materials on YouTube, such as this piece by Stuart Hall (who developed the idea of there being 3 levels of reading, and is a key thinker of the world of Cultural Studies):


SOME FURTHER READING:
http://ww2poster.co.uk/2010/04/lucy-noakes-gender-and-british-national-identity-in-wartime-a-study-of-the-links-between-gender-and-national-identity-in-britain-in-the-second-world-war-the-falklands-war-and-the-gulf-war/
http://www.edwardashbee.com/USERIMAGES/beingamerican.pdf
http://www.media4xav.org.uk/National%20identity%202010.docx (or as HTML)
http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/44_ACT/ACT-DiscoursesEssay.html
http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/sacs/vol2/issue1/BritishSouth-AsianCinemaAndIdentity_1.pdf
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/2342/

Applying U+G theory

(to be adapted)

See the links lists for links to resources on Uses + Gratifications theory. You'll also find many Googlebooks references if you google this! (eg)
Here's the Wikibooks link.

A very useful theory not just to discuss in terms of the general active v passive audience debate, but also to apply...

Take any text we have looked at, or that you have personally studied, for this exam. Consider the four uses Blumler and Brown, building on Lasswell's (1925) work suggested audiences apply to the media:

Diversion—Escape from routine and problems; an emotional release.
Personal Relationships—Social utility of information in conversation; substitution of media for companionship.
Personal Identity or Individual Psychology—Value reinforcement or reassurance; self-understanding, reality exploration.
Surveillance—Information about factors which might affect one or will help one do or accomplish something (Severin and Tankard, 1997) [from wiki]

How would different audiences respond to a given text? Consider Scots and English audiences for Braveheart; Northern Irish and English audiences for Mickybo and Me; Scottish and English audiences for the Scottish Sun's "cocky English" cover story; Unionist and Nationalist N.Irish for Hidden Agenda - you can apply this to any text.

When doing so you could also make reference to Stuart Hall's theory of readings, in which he argues that meaning resides as much in the audience as the text itself, reversing traditional 'passive' audience theories for a more 'active' conception of the audience.

There are many audience theories you can consider... [slideshare Ppt should appear below]

Audience Theory from zoe currie

I might embed an A2 pack on audience theory later

Here's a clear U+G summary from the BBC.

Here's an excerpt from a detailed overview of the theory, breaking down Dennis McQuail's original categories, with examples of how specifically they might be applied when engaged in semiotic, especially audience (including 'mode of address'), analysis;

An empirical study in the U & G tradition might typically involve audience members completing a questionnaire about why they watch a TV programme. Denis McQuail offers (McQuail 1987: 73) the following typology of common reasons for media use:

Information

• finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world
• seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices
• satisfying curiosity and general interest
• learning; self-education
• gaining a sense of security through knowledge

Personal Identity

• finding reinforcement for personal values
• finding models of behaviour
• identifying with valued other (in the media) 
• gaining insight into one's self

Integration and Social Interaction

• gaining insight into circumstances of others; social empathy
• identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging
• finding a basis for conversation and social interaction
• having a substitute for real-life companionship
• helping to carry out social roles
• enabling one to connect with family, friends and society

Entertainment

• escaping, or being diverted, from problems
• relaxing
• getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment
• filling time
• emotional release
• sexual arousal

...

Cultural imperialism

(to be adapted)
I would assume you'll all look here for help with the homework task...
A simple definition of this concept:

Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting, distinguishing, separating, or artificially injecting the culture of one society into another. It is usually the case that the former belongs to a large, economically or militarily powerful nation and the latter belongs to a smaller, less important one. Cultural imperialism can take the form of an active, formal policy or a general attitude. A metaphor of colonialism is employed: the cultural products of the first world "invade" the third-world and "conquer" local culture.^[1] In the stronger variants of the term, world domination (in a cultural sense) is the explicit goal of the nation-states or corporations that export the culture.^[1] The term is usually used in a pejorative sense, usually in conjunction with a call to reject foreign influence. [Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_imperialism]

 You can find some much more in-depth discussions (though the wiki does have further detail too) at the following, including some writers who scorn this theory:
Some chapters from John Tomlinson's Cultural Imperialism book
Phil Taylor (writing for the British Council) rejects the theory
David Rothkopf, "In Praise of Cultural Imperialism?" Foreign Policy, Number 107, Summer 1997, pp. 38-53
Reconsidering cultural imperialism theory By Livingston A. White
Cultural Imperialism: An American Tradition by Julia Galeota
Cultural imperialism: essays on the political economy of cultural domination By Bernd Hamm, Russell Charles Smandych
A breakdown of the theory and further useful links

Should we be concerned about the ubiquity of (typically US-owned) companies such as MTV? Does it matter that the likes of Starbucks and McDonalds can be found in towns and cities all over the world? Is this evidence of a process of globalisation, homogeonisation...or, indeed, cultural imperialism?

Postmodernism

This is a key topic, and a gift really as far as exam prep AND coursework blogging/Eval is concerned: a complex but digestible idea which invites consideration of conflicting views + arguments. Not surprisingly, I've blogged on this many times; I'll gather links to these below then you can carry on to what has been the main post on this key topic.

http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/11/gta5-postmodern-theory-baudrillard.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/06/your-sample-q1a-answers.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2011/05/1a-1b-guides.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/06/dictionary-of-pomo-terms-alterity.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2010/05/you-simply-must-read-this.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/05/q1a-guide.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/04/pomo-by-louderthanwar-blog.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/04/slasher-sitcom-holliston-fearnetcom.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/03/q1b-audience.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2012/03/digitisation-self-published-short-film.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2011/04/postmodernism.html;
http://prodeval.blogspot.com/2010/04/some-prompts-for-q1a.html;
 

UPDATE 11TH JUNE 2012: single paragraphs on famous postmodern theorists added to the end of this post. Pick one or more + think of how you can apply such ideas to your own work - you don't have to agree; the point you might wish to make can validly be a rejection of the theory (of any theory) ALSO: dictionary of pomo terms added to bottom of post

A PowerPoint on pomo theory: for all your A2 vids, and most of your AS openings, you should be able to apply the concepts of bricolage or pastiche...

Postmodernism theories and texts

View more PowerPoint from raybloggs

http://alleynsmedia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Postmodern%20Media is useful.

Strinati's (1995) 5 Key Features of Postmodernism

The following notes are based on the relevant chapter in Dan Laughey's Key Themes in Media Theory, a very useful book as regards the exam...
The concept of postmodernism denies definition to some extent, but Dominic Strinati outlined 5 key characteristics in 1995 that are often cited:

1. Breakdown of the distinction between culture and society
2. An emphasis on style over substance
3. Breakdown of the distinction between high art and popular culture
4. Confusions over time and space
5. Decline of metanarratives ['grand theories such as Marxism, Christianity and ... modernism have lost their currency for modern societies']*

*quoted from pp. 147-148

Jean Baudrillard and Simulacra

Baudrillard is famed for the notorious argument that the Gulf War did not happen, labelling coverage of it an example of hyperreality, or a simulacra:

The Gulf War did not take place, according to Baudrillard, because it was won by the mighty US Air Force before it had begun. The lasting memories of this war for most people were screened images - transmitted via military operations to CNN and other western media - showing how US pilots pinpointed and then bombed Iraqi targets (...) from thousands of miles above land. As such, 'This war is conducted according to the media model: war as a technological relationship ... founded on the abolition of symbolic exchange and the simulation of real communication' (Merrin 2005: 84). This is not a war in the sense of prolonged combat and conflict (the first two world wars, by contrast, really did take place); instead, we experience a virtual war, much like a video game simulates real warfare, and therefore this real-time, media-saturated spectacle is nothing other than what Baudrillard calls a 'non-event'. Subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq amount to 'a rehash of the past, with the same deluge of military forces, bogus information, senseless bombardment, emotive and deceitful language, technological deployment and brainwashing. Like the Gulf War: a non-event, an event that does take place' (Baudrillard 2002: 34). [Laughey, 2007: 151]

A more detailed breakdown (source: http://www.sociology.org.uk/pcpmod.doc) follows:
Www.sociology.org.Uk Pcpmod

Intro paragraph

What to include?
Start with the brief - opening 2 mins of a new feature film including titles
(sub-)genre (hybrid?)
Title
Synopsis: keep info on narrative brief [what] - bin opps, n'ive enigma; dis-equilibrium?
Setting: where, when

Coens on using Final Cut for Oscar-nommed True Grit

Useful not only to put into context the work you undertake here (with A2 moving up to Final Cut from iMovie at AS), but also as a detailed example and analysis of how even at the very top level, digital technology of the sort you are using in Media Studies in a West Yorkshire school is being used by legendary, critically acclaimed auteurs at the top of the Hollywood ladder!

This comes from Apple's site, so of course is part-designed as a plug for their software and kit, but still very insightful:

Straightforward storytelling is the last thing anyone expected from the Coen brothers, more famous for tight filmic twists and dark comic turns. But in their new feature film, True Grit, based on the classic novel of the same name by Charles Portis, the Coens deliver precisely that. The movie’s narrative line is as unwavering as its precocious hero, 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), whose determined pursuit of her father’s killer in the post-Civil War Indian territories drives and directs the plot.
Making the film was anything but straightforward. The Coens, in their fashion, co-produced, co-wrote, and co-directed True Grit. They also co-edited the picture in Final Cut Pro, which ultimately gave them frame-by-frame control of its pace and direction. But before they got to the cutting room, the brothers chased the project far and wide with a trusted posse of veteran production talent.

Talk This Way

In writing the script, the Coens stayed very close to the novel. “It’s such a good story, a very simple and compelling story, about a young

Creativity + MANGeR: Everything is a Remix?

From: http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/2011/02/everything-is-a-remix-.html

Everything Is A Remix

"the remix is the very nature of the digital" William Gibson

As Faris (from whom I remixed the Gibson quote above) has said eloquently for a few years now, culture is inherently recombinant. Kirby Ferguson, a New York-based filmmaker, is producing a web series on the subject. The first couple of short films are quite absorbing, and make the point very well with some fascinating examples. Worth a watch.
Part 1:

Everything is a Remix from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.
...and Part 2:

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.
(HT to Rubbishcorp for the find)

Posted at 08:24 AM in culture, digital | Permalink

Creativity sans la femme + Bechdel Test

I'll add the full article below (and see the longer post on fem dirs.), but first, an extract and then a video containing a rather useful but also intriguing bit of theory (v. useful for hoovering up a few marks...):

Birds Eye View started out as a positive response to the fact that women make up only 7% of film directors (a statistic that remains accurate for Hollywood, and that has fluctuated between 6-15% in the UK over the last few years), and around 10-18% of screenwriters (depending on which year, and which side of the Atlantic). That's 6-18% of the creative vision in the world's most powerful medium. We live in a visual culture, and what we see on screen profoundly affects the way we see ourselves and each other. Film offers us an incredible thing – an immersive trip into someone else's universe, someone else's vision of the world. But if that vision is dominated by men then we are missing out on so much complexity, richness, diversity and creativity.

Here's the theory, wrapped up in a short but entertaining vid for you...

Exam board guidance

OCR have given a brief summary of their suggested approach on a Media Studies blog:

Structure for A2 exam q.1a

This was requested from the e-community; there are other versions elsewhere, but this is probably the simplest!

paragraph 1 should be an introduction which explains which projects you did. It can be quite short.

paragraph 2 should pick up the skill area and perhaps suggest something about your starting point with it- what skills did you have already and how were these illustrated. use an example.

paragraph 3 should talk through your use of that skill in early projects and what you learned and developed through these. Again there should be examples to support all that you say.

paragraph 4 should go on to demonstrate how the skill developed in later projects, again backed by examples, and reflecting back on how this represents moves forward for you from your early position.

paragraph 5 short conclusion

Remember it's only half an hour and you need to range across all your work!

A2 exam question 1b

And a minimalist summary of what to cover...

para 1 Intro: which of your projects are you going to write about? briefly describe it

para 2: what are some of the key features of the concept you are being asked to apply? maybe outline two of the theories/ideas of particular writers briefly

para 3; start to apply the concept, making close reference to your production to show how the concept is evident in it

para 4: try to show ways in which ideas work in relation to your production and also ways in which those ideas might not apply/could be challenged

para 5; conclusion

Again remember you only have 30 minutes and that you really need to analyse the finished production, rather than tell the marker how you made it 

Sheffield Doc/Fest Youth Jury 2010 – Call for Entries

I'll post this here as the most likely blog you'll be looking at:

4 June 2010

Sheffield Doc/Fest Youth Jury 2010 – Call for Entries

Micro-budget films +DCRUP

Have a look at the post (and others on this blog!) at http://mediabritishcinema.blogspot.com/2010/06/25k-kitchen-table-auteurship.html which is particularly useful for the topics of creativity and digital technology

Another very useful article from the Guardian... (skip ahead and read the article if you wish!)

As with the $10k US Indie detailed in a separate post, this article (and accompanying video, with clips and interviews) centres on the growing phenomenon of micro-budget film-making, made possible by digitization, new media, web 2.0; call it what you will.

The cost of film itself, whether 8mm or 35mm reels, used to be an effective barrier to low-cost film-making. Digital media reduces this to effectively zero, and means, certainly as increasing numbers of cinemas install digital projectors, distribution and exhibition is made possible at a similar near-zero cost. Self-distribution through the web is also possible: this movie has racked up 810,036 views at YouTube by 1.6.10 - and thats just the full-length posting; its also split into 12.

The article's author, Tom Lamont, uses a superb phrase to describe director Kate Madison's status: 'kitchen-table auteurship'. He refers to another, well-established, concept seen as a key characteristic of creativity in the online age: 'crowd sourcing'. Read more on this concept: wiki; wired on rise of this; twitter feed; a slightly bizarre blog, crowdsourcing.com; and, of course, The Guardian's articles on this!

It may seem a hell of a stretch, but the sort of features this article discusses aren't a million miles from you do at AS and A2 Media Studies, and the particular exam board we use, OCR, are especially keen for students to take this on board. The concept of web 2.0 was coined to describe the radical change from the early days of the web (web 1.0 in effect): users, the passive audience, went on the web to search and use media; in web 2.0 the audience and 'the media' effectively merge, as so many users are also now media creators. If you've exhibited your coursework on YouTube, well done, for you are now a distributor (the blog to drum up attention and feed potential fans inside info!) who has found an exhibitor (YouTube)!

Even just 5 years ago, Media coursework would remain largely within the confines of the school it was created within, with the possibility of exhibition at a handful of festivals including the Co-Op's. Now, you all have the power to put your work out there and attract an audience (from which you can make money if you attract a large audience: you can join YouTube's advertising programme, and take a cut of the advertising revenue they rake in from people who click through to your channel!).

I've detailed several examples of micro-budget films in this blog, all very useful to consider for your AS exam and coursework blog, not to mention both sections of the A2 exam. If any of you do watch (or have already seen) Born of Hope, Colin or any other feature-length micro-budget movie, post a comment below.

[Read more on Colin, reportedly a £45 movie that got a cinema release: Guardian article; BritMovie.co.uk forum thread; is the true budget much higher/is it all hype?]

Born of Hope – and a lot of charity

A budget Lord of the Rings prequel put together by hundreds of people working for nothing has recorded nearly a million hits on video streaming sites

Tom Lamont The Observer, 7 March 2010 http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/mar/07/born-of-hope-lord-rings

On the eastern flank of Epping Forest, a short walk in from the town of Debden, there is a huge tree, lying on its side, upended by a storm. It was in this clearing that independent film-maker Kate Madison, along with dozens of game volunteers, filmed Born of Hope, a homemade prequel to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy that has caused a great stir since its release in December. A production pulled together over four years with a budget of a mere £25,000 – about a tenth of one per cent of the cost of Jackson's epic – it has impressed critics and recorded close to a million views on video streaming sites.

Providing a synopsis

AS I've said in the general guidelines for Q1a/1b, you should start by providing a brief summary of what you did at AS + A2. This needs to include a synopsis  a very brief outline of your narrative, which say something along the lines of

The opening two minutes of a new feature film, including titles, based around...

• a period drama set in WW2, featuring the female protagonist receiving a letter from a uniformed soldier informing her of her lover's death
• a rom-com showing a young office worker rushing to get out for work, and tripping himself up just as he spots what will be the love interest
• a slasher featuring two friends making the deadly mistake of taking a shortcut through some woods, where one disappears, leaving his friend to try and make it back to safety
• a horror movie inspired by The Ring in which our protagonist is seen confused and panicked, running out of a building; he appears to hallucinate an ominous female character

Q1b: Representation

UPDATE JUNE 14TH 2012: SOME THEORISTS + HOW TO APPLY

Judith Butler + gender performativity
Fairclough (discourse)
framing as 'the other'
Hegemony + 'the other'
Daniel Chandler [genre theorist] + positioning audience
Bechdel test
Laura Mulvey + male gaze
Carole Clover + final girl

Queer theorist Judith Butler has written about how gender and sexual identities are wholly artificial constructs; concepts which do not have any objective meaning or exist in nature, but which we learn to perform through the reinforcement of acceptable, ‘normal’ behaviour through videos such as ours. We were aware of reflecting common stereotypes and encouraging such ‘performativity’ of gender, as Butler would put it, but felt that it was necessary to stay within the dominant discourse (as Fairclough would put it): we had fit within the expectations of the genre and our stated audience even if this meant being consciously heterormative, and indirectly contributing to the hegemonic perception of homosexuals as 'the other'. This highlights that genre is more than a neutral means of categorising content. Daniel Chandler has also raised similar points, arguing that genre texts provide a “reading position” for audiences; embedded within texts are assumptions about the 'ideal reader', including their attitudes towards the subject matter and often their class, age, gender and ethnicity.

We failed/passed the Bechdel test (The Bechdel Test: In order to pass, the film or show must meet the following criteria: 1 It includes at least two women, 2 who have at least one conversation, 3 about something other than a man or men). Only 7% of films are directed by women. (more here)

Feminist film critic Laura Mulvey famously coined the concept 'male gaze' in 1975. Again, there is a tension between the desire to create a recognisable genre text (vital to marketing and the commercial prospects of most films), and to more generally give the audience what they want, whilst squaring this with the knowledge developed over two years of media studies of how the media manipulate and objectify women on screen! [Carole Clover's final girl concept was a riposte to Mulvey; she felt horror films actually represented a mixed representation of females: objectified, sexualised often nude female victims (screan queens) but the actual hero was typically an unglamorous, typically academic (remember Laurie Strode panicking because she's forgotten her chemistry book in Halloween?) female] ----if film, discuss your final girl/scream queen and any countertyping used. This next point (on Mulvey) is taken from feedback on a sample 1a essay by ConorO:

We also went against convention somewhat, and we created a binary opposition to Laura Malvey’s Male Gaze theory (1975), as the frontman of our band was male [maybe… you weren’t really objectifying Sam. Female performers are objectified by being represented at least partially through shots which focus on individual body parts – Sam’s face was always in shot; female performers’ buttocks, legs, cleavage etc are often shown in isolated shots. At the diegetic start of the iconic Welcome to the Jungle video by Guns n’Roses we follow singer Axl Rose’s gaze and slowly pan up the long legs of a woman in high heels (a ‘hooker’ stereotype’) to her buttocks … and then cut away. There’s no need to show her face as she’s simply not important. That’s an eg of objectification. Regarding the AS you could also judge yourself against the Bechdel test (see this; (2^nd post)],

In addition to Carole Clover's objections that Mulvey was overlooking the final girl in her critique of horror films [Mulvey's original focus was on these; her idea has been applied to every type of media text since], there is a more general objection to the so-called "Screen theory" that Mulvey is linked to: their simplistic view of the audience as passive.




[ORIGINAL POST]

Some initial guidelines on this (we'll look at how to apply specific theory, especially the framework of David Gauntlett, and perhaps ideas such as Judith Butler's 'performativity', later)

THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE: TAKE A STEP BACK
This is YOUR work, YOU've created it, YOU're being asked to analyse it ... but its vital you try to step back from it, and view it as you would have the AS exam clip. To put it another way, look at it as if you weren't a young person from Yorkshire.

THE STARTING POINT: IDENTIFY POSSIBLE REPRESENTATIONS
Consider which social groups/collective identities (think about the links to the other section of the exam) you have represented. You may not have consciously planned much of your representations, but even so ask yourself if you have represented any of the following:

• Gender
• Age
• Ethnicity 
• Sexuality
• Class and status
• Physical ability/disability
• Regional identity

You should recognise this list - the 7 categories used in the AS exam question, a useful framework. You can also extend areas such as 'regional identity' into national identity.
We'll explore below what factors you might be considering within this.

INFLUENCES ON YOUR REPRESENTATIONS?
Denoting/listing possible identities you've represented in some way is one thing; what might you discuss in terms of influences behind these - if you like, what factors shaped this aspect of your Media Language?

• DEMOGRAPHICS + ACCESS - In the context of schoolwork, it was natural most of you .....[TO COMPLETE]

The following is one of several very useful documents from Mick Googan's uploads to http://www.slideshare.net/mickgoogan/presentations 

08. G325 Section A Q1B Representation

View more presentations from Alleyn’s School Media Studies Department.

From Charis Creber:

Exam 1 b representation

View more PowerPoint from Charis Creber

Slideshow on media terms

Useful run through this of key media terms and concepts (from http://www.slideshare.net/mcmrbt/media-glossary):

Media Glossary

View more presentations from Rob McMinn.

Creativity: Gauntlett + Csikszentmihalyi

David Gauntlett (we're going to be drawing heavily on his take on various media theories in the final weeks) has produced a useful site on the theme of 'Making is Connecting', on the topic of how constructing media texts is to engage with a wider community. See http://www.makingisconnecting.org/

There are more useful links at http://www.theory.org.uk/

The following is what he says on creativity (extracted from http://www.makingisconnecting.org/gauntlett2010-extract1-v3.pdf)

Creativity is channelled through tools, enabling us to make things

Creativity is often talked about as a general Good Thing, and something

Q1b: Media Language

The January exam Q read: "Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions."
A question on this topic then might read something like: "Analyse [the use of] media language in one of your coursework productions."
In Monday's lesson I'll ask you to have a go at answering this question, then swapping with a colleague and marking (though, more importantly, discussing).

This is a very widely framed question, which in fact requires some detail on at least some of the other 4 MANGeR topics. At a basic level, its asking you

Practice mini-mock 1: Q1a Creativity

For anyone who happened to miss this, fear not, you will get your chance.
in 13A that means SophieB, Emily, Theo
in 13D that means Saskia, Ellis, Holly, Josie, Conor

I'll do this with you after school if need be, but will accept your timed, handwritten response up to Tuesday of next week. You are addressing, within 30mins, how your AS/A2 work showed creativity, and how this developed over time.

Q1a: POST-PRODUCTION

post-production

UPDATE JUNE 14TH, 2012: egs from your work
I'm doing this from memory (so may not be 100% accurate!), but some egs from each group's A2 work (remember to contrast each point with the comparative weakness of AS work for Q1a) that would help to illustrate analysis on this. As I've had a quick think about each one I've listed arising points below...
(1) Consider the variation between your rough cuts and sample footage with the final cut;
(2) give egs of how you used web 2.0 features to get aud feedback which influenced changes made(being specific with the impact this had on shots/editing style/ideas).
(3) Discuss how you were guided (or not) by existing vids;
(4) Discuss whether you continued with research as you edited.
(5) Discuss whether you worked as an auteur or collaboratively on editing. Don't get personal here; you're writing an academic essay. But it is potentially a very useful point. Give detail on any creative differences. 
(6) Did you use more FX than in AS? Did you experiment with but abandon further FX? Did you experiment with colouring distortion at all? What AS FX did you use - be clear on this to show the difference.
(7) How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in? Were you influenced by specific vids or directors (Anton Corbijn?) Did you include animated movement with any layering?
(8) Does your final vid deviate further from storyboard/animatic than final AS did (ie, was editing a more creative process)?
(9) What practical problems did you experience through post-production? (don't get bogged down in a negative rant, but you could briefly address issues with crashing, failing hard drives [and failing to responsibly back up!] where appropriate - compare to greater issues working with mini-DV tapes though)
(10) Were your ideas more abstract; your narrative approach more non-linear; your editing showing discontinuity features? Did you avoid closed narrative to make your vid better suited to multiple viewings?
(11) Did any single change from one cut to the next make a particular difference (eg the final shot in HBK's vid)?
(12) Were reshoots/additional shoots necessary ... and/or possible? Did this new footage change the signified reading of existing material and/or provide the extra exposition needed for an audience to be more likely to follow your preferred reading? (perhaps you were able to use shots intended to signify one thing to something quite different?) How did audience feedback differ from the first cut featuring this new footage compared to your previous rough cut?
(13) Were you able to work round any lack of shot variety (or improve shaky footage) by using FCE tools (eg creating CUs using zoom tool)?
(14) Any tension between target aud and song type (espec if ballad)?
(15) Did you take out (or reframe) any shots which didn't fit with your aud/theme/mood (eg shots of alcohol, or swearing)? [see 18 too]
(16) Did you create any matched cuts through editing that weren't originally planned?
(17) Were your ideas more ambitious at A2; influenced by the extra possibilities FCE offered?
(18) Was there a tension between genre expectations and your own views on representations? [most at AS stuck with basic gender stereotypes fitting archetypal character roles] eg Blazing Grace took out some shots which focussed on performers' bodies in isolation (objectifying the female performer; male gaze)
(19) Would your vid have worked as performance or narrative alone, or was this blend (contrast to AS remember) key? 
(20) How did you create verisimilitude through editing? (eg, perhaps you had to experiment with different lines/takes to get closer fit for lipsynching on some lines?)
(21) Re feedback, did it matter/make any difference whether or not the sample aud were genre fans? What aspect/s of your editing/vid did you retain despite critical feedback?
(22) Did you leave yourself enough time to edit as best you could; did any comparative weaknesses/failings through the R+P (pre-production and main production phases) handicap your editing? 
(23) Was decision-making around the balancing of performance/narrative footage (plus pace and general narrative sequencing) as important as the FX used? 
(24) If you look back to your AS, did you start the A2 editing thinking such accomplished work was likely/achievable (ie, did your ambitions grow once you entered post-production?)? Did viewing past coursework spur you on at all?
(25) Did you experiment with colouring? [many of you applied blue or red filters at AS, and/or B+W/sepia...] 

• HBK/NiN: the concept was abstract from the outset; closed, heavily anchored readings were not the intention. Storyboards only served as rough ideas, and the concept only fully emerged through the process of editing. The final shot, of the eyes opening, utterly transforms the overall reading though, switching from an overly downbeat narrative hinting at suicide to an ending hinting at hope and revival. The genre, and style of previous NiN videos (give examples tied to specific parts of your work), was a key influence on creative decision-making. The process of multiple layering also led you further away from anchorage; narrative enigma not only fitted with the genre and track atmospherics, but also helps make a music video open to multiple viewings without becoming dull. Applying a standard linear narrative, using Todorov's structure, wouldn't help with this
• Mellie/N'Sync: did you test out different endings, experiment with polysemy v anchorage of ending? How did your idea of ending change/get redrafted through editing as opposed to the original footage shot? Did you add further footage following on from feedback on rough cuts (I'm sure you did, can't rem the details)? Did you initially have an issue with repetition due to insufficient coverage or insufficient range of setups? Why did you re-edit the shot of Charlie with whiskey bottle, and did you have to manipulate existing shots (creating artificial zoom in FCE rather than taking new shots perhaps?) given that the main shoot was over and access to performers difficult? What difference did layering make when you began to add that? How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in? Discuss the issue of pace and length of takes - any tension between target audience and song type (youth - ballad)? How were you influenced by existing vids?
• NUmusic/Robbie Williams - your journey was from a fairly literal and linear initial cut to a more abstracted, non-linear final cut: why? Discuss the process of tweaking many individual shots, adjusting (and cutting) to minimise shakiness and adjusting aspect ratio - could you have done this with AS (iMovie06)? You also created additional shot variety by artificial zooms through FCE. Your post-production additional/re-shoot options were limited by the children, but you did get some extra performer footage; discuss that. Would an additional setup with each of the three pairs have helped the edit? Did you seek to create 'matched cuts' that weren't in your original (linear) plan/storyboard/animatic? Did you cut any shots (handprint...) which were flagged as inappropriate?! How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in, and what feedback did you get once these began to be added?
• Swillob/Muse - your initial sample footage and final cut are very different; discuss the journey and why this was. Each of you experienced extensive AS reshoots; what did you learn from that experience that you applied to the A2 post-production process? How/why did you select shots + parts of frame to layer in? What FX did you use and why (easy comparison with AS)? Did you experiment with but abandon further FX? Was there any tension/point of difference between general audience feedback and Muse fan feedback (accessed through web 2.0 sites?)? Were your ideas more ambitious at A2; influenced by the extra possibilities FCE offered? 
• Blazing Grace/Destiny's Child: at what stage did you decide to shoot extra footage, and why? Did this new footage (ducks!) change the signified reading of existing material and/or provide the extra exposition needed for an audience to be more likely to follow your preferred reading? How did audience feedback differ from the first cut featuring this new footage compared to your previous rough cut? One of your key editing issues was how far to go with the objectification of your female performers: you took out a shot which showed Sophie's legs in isolation [objectification makes dehumanising] - why; did this make any difference to feedback; were you applying learning from AS here? Was there a tension between genre expectations and your own views on representations? Was sharing editing duties problematic - were there creative differences? What, specifically, makes your editing here superior to that on the AS? Layering a key factor.
• BY NOW I'VE ADDED 18 POINTS ABOVE, SO I'LL BE BRIEFER....
• Sublime Transcendence/Sunburnt in December: Colour distortion of the 'creature' - discuss! Would your vid have worked as performance alone? Taking out swearing + Conor urinating. Did you include animated movement with any layering? What issues did you face with the genre convention of very fast pace/short takes? Given the extreme nature of the music, was feedback from non-genre fans notably less useful? What aspect/s of your editing/vid did you retain despite critical feedback? Did you leave yourself enough time to edit as best you could; did any comparative weaknesses/failings through the R+P (pre-production and main production phases) handicap your editing?
• HayeFattie/Girls Aloud: The alcohol bottles and how you got around that. Issues of representation: framing the female performers. The wide array of FX trialled and how you decided which to use/reject, including the diverse audience types you got feedback from. Changing the ending. Were the FX the key part of your creativity here, or were any changes to pace/length of takes/shot variation and/or the narrative sequencing and balancing between narrative/performance as important? If you look back to your AS, did you start the A2 editing thinking such accomplished work [its worth noting the charity accolade] was likely/achievable (ie, did your ambitions grow once you entered post-production?)? Did viewing past coursework spur you on at all?
• TwoTwigs/Swing Movement: Your balance between performance and narrative changed dramatically from your initial edit; the competition success of your performance-only cut is also relevant here. By the final cut, was the balance right, and what guided this decision-making process to (re-)shoot additional material? Changes made to shot angle of raw footage (too extreme dutch angles). Open ending to A2 vid compared to AS? You could briefly reflect on how this would have turned out (how pre-production influences post-production) if you'd stuck fully to original ideas. 

I'll remind you first of all of some of the prompt questions suggested earlier:

•     How much of your text was ‘created’ only in post-production?
•     What technologies did you use to modify your raw material. How did this change the meaning of your work?
•     How much did you manipulate sync sound or create new sound for your text? What effect did that have on your text?
•     How much of your footage ended up ‘on the cutting room floor’ (unused) and why?

Consider the Digital technology topic in particular when you're working on this one.

Some points I'll address below:
iMOVIE 06 v FCE 4
AUTEUR + COMBINING DIRECTING/EDITING
THE DIRECTOR'S CUT
IMPACT + SPREAD OF NEW MEDIA
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
'SALVAGING' WEAK FOOTAGE 
RE-SHOOTS
DRAFTING
PACE/TIMING is frequently a key factor and influence on Media coursework post-production
TIME LIMITS: HELPFUL?
EXPOSITION