MOJO: REPRESENTATION

 TASK:  Copy this MOJO 2019 cover into a new blog post entitled  MOJO: REPRESENTATION. Then write 4 points, one each about about the following.

How the producers have chosen to construct a version of reality that represents events, social groups and ideas to fit their purposes:

• MOJO wishes to attract a target audience that shares its reverence for ‘classic rock’ so constructs a version of reality that represents musicians as authentic heroes, striving for excellence

• We Love Pop wishes to attract a target audience of young female teenagers so constructs a version of reality centred on social media, appearance and romance

The messages and values conveyed and issues addressed:

• MOJO’s front cover associates musicians with quest, danger and struggle, celebrating the values associated with rock music of ‘living fast and dying young’
  

How and why (e.g. to enable quick interpretation) stereotypes have been used, including anti-stereotyping / counter-stereotyping:

• MOJO’s selection of a cover photograph of a white male may be to fit the stereotype of rock musicians – this will enable instant recognition by audiences
  

• MOJO’s anti-stereotypical positive representation of older people as popular musicians. This may reflect the anti-ageism of an older audience

Which social groups are under-represented or misrepresented:

• MOJO’s front cover represents predominantly white male musicians in photographs, under- representing female musicians and musicians of colour.

• We Love Pop’s front cover only represents young adults and appears to exclude older people.

Prep 25/2/22

 PREP: What is a POV shot and what meaning could it create?

A POV shot is a camera technique that films from a particular angle. It shows the audience what the character is looking at from a first-person perspective and is often followed by a character's reaction. 

It could create an opportunity for the audience to see exactly what the character sees.

 

The Lego Movie poster campaign

 PREP You all have a handout with the individual character posters and the ensemble poster.

Analyse how gender has been represented in The Lego Movie poster campaign. Use the written handout to help you answer this exam question (10 marks). 

In a typical 'action and adventure' film, there's *normally* male characters represented as the heroes, whereas in the Lego Movie, it's the complete opposite. In the poster, on the other hand, the cover looks traditionally male dominated. E.g. male superheroes of Batman, Superman, Lloyd and Green lantern. Also, Lord Business is displayed as an aggressive person due to his appearance, mainly facial expressions. 

Emmet, the main character, is just an 'ordinary guy' who has no capability of saving the world but with the help of female superhero Wyldstyle, Wonder women and more, they successfully complete the mission.

Wyldstyle can do the following: drive cool vehicles like James Bond, fight like Batman, think like a genius and has many more attributes! On the other hand, Emmet can only have the intelligence of thinking of a 'double decker couch' which is described as "the worst idea ever"! Wyldstyle has skills that typical male heroes have but yet she's female. Awesome?

All of these points act as ways to break down gender stereotypes. 

Vitruvius is the final main 'stand out character' on the poster and he's displayed as a stereotypically male and portrayed as a wise and mysterious man who appears to be powerful (holding a staff / stick). 

LEGO REGULATION

PREP: Task 3: Go to the BBFC site and research age ratings. Why was The Lego Movie (2014) given a U rating? You need to click on the Ratings info

  

Go to the PEGI site and research what age ratings are about. Why is The Lego Movie video game classification 7+?

The Lego movie was given a 'U' rating despite the violence and occasional bad language. There are lots of fight sequences in which the good characters take on various baddies, including Lego robots and Lego skeletons. Furthermore, there is some very mild bad language, with uses of 'butt', 'bum', 'darn' and 'heck'.

"Age ratings are systems used to ensure that entertainment content, such as games, but also films, tv shows or mobile apps, is clearly labelled with a minimum age recommendation based on the content they have. These age ratings provide guidance to consumers and parents in particular."

LEGO INDUSTRY

• franchise - A collection of media products (like films, TV programmes, video games) all based on one original work. For example, Star Wars.
• synergy - The promotion of linked products across different areas of the media. For example, Lego released several products that helped to promote the film itself, such as Minifigures, building sets and more.
• tent-pole production - A film that can make large profits to support funding of other projects.
• ensemble cast - A cast made up of multiple important characters.
• conglomerate - A company that owns multiple companies involved in mass media enterprises.
• vertical integration - Where a single company (or merged companies) controls both the production and the supply of a product. 

LEGO MOVIE TRAILER

We start with the Lego movie. Watch the official trailer here

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

Emmet is just 'an ordinary guy' who's fragile and not agile and makes the most out of his life being a construction worker. He just happened to be the most important person in the universe due to a piece that he somehow will find... Emmet is forced into many crazy situations with modern day superheroes like Batman and is on course to become the hero of the Lego Movie. Although he isn't a traditional hero, and is often being told what to do, he proves that everyone has an inner strength!  

You can also see by the trailer that he clearly gets on well with everyone and is a little bit goofy, hence the will to pay $37 for a coffee (£27)!

This trailer would have been extremely effective in promoting the film as it tells a story of its own and leaves people wanting to know whether Emmet and the others will succeed. I personally laughed most at Batman when he said "First try" after clearly missing the entrance button many times. 

TV

PREP: Write out these terms under the class post and define them:

SCHEDULING - The pattern of timing of an advertising which is repeated.

LIVE TELEVISION - A programme you watch or record as it's being shown on TV or live on an online TV streaming service.

'SECOND SCREENING' - When viewers are watching television but are also using a secondary electronic device during that time.

AUDIENCE INTERACTIVITY -  Any computer / electronic system that allows the user to control different types of media.

THE WATERSHED - The time when TV programmes which might be unsuitable for children can be broadcasted.

PEAK VIEWING TIME - The time of day when most people are watching television and when advertising costs the most

HIGH PRODUCTION VALUES - The quality of a media production.

Prep 3/12/21

PREP: Film making

JCK productions is a 3 person group consisting of myself, Jacob, Charles & Tom (King). We came up with the name as it symbolises all of us, using mine and Charles's first names and Tom's second name. Unfortunately we are still in the process of making our logo...

For our filming part of the project, we used a lot of objects / props that created a sense of a crime / robbery scene. Posters of a missing girl and even police jackets and scarfs helped JCK create a spectacular beginning to a film. Tom's camera work was also very helpful as he was able to keep a steady hand which made my speciality of IMOVIE editing much easier. 

We made our robbery and chase scene as realistic as possible by using the back of the mansion for some steps and interesting close up shots. My personal favourite clip was the part where the policeman, Charles, caught the robber, me, and shot me down as it was so perfectly in sync!

As I stated above, we used IMOVIE as our main piece of software and that was very fortunate as I'd already had previous experience of this particular software in the past. Our sound affects were, a chase scene, a gun shot, a boat horn (for the intro) and a background sound at the start when we showed our audience what role we all took. I was the director, Tom and I were editing, Tom was the cameraman and myself and Charles acted the scenes out!

On the whole, I really enjoyed working with Charles & Tom and would love to do it again in the next project. We didn't really have any problems or arguments, just professionalism and a bit of banter! If I had to outline one small problem then I'd definitely say to the group that our time management could have been better as it was the only thing that meant we couldn't give our intro a second attempt but as I said above, I'm very happy with how it turned out and found this project very enjoyable!

Thanks - Jacob

 

Tuesday 30th November

Prep 29/11/21

 PREP: Today in class, my group, JCK productions designed our own boat sailing animation using a webcam sort of thing. We managed to make it look very good once using IMOVIE for final touches and it was also very interesting to learn about where exactly the different places in Australia are. 

(Thanks Chaz & Tom! 🤣)

Prep 16/11/21

PREP: This week, in class, we began our filming and for my group in particular, it's safe to say it was a massive SUCCESS! We managed to take all the videos we set out to film and also edit the beginning of the film. We blended the music into the title which was an outstanding piece of editing and a piece which we were all pretty chuffed with.

Personally, I'm very happy with how my groups doing as being the director, I get the privilege of having the final decision so I sincerely hope for us to keep improving and enjoying ourselves!

Prep 12/11/21

 PREP Write up an account of what you did in the lesson. Tabletop film opening: 

In Wednesday's lesson, we started to film and edit, via IMOVIE, our first project. My group (Myself, Tom and Charles) decided to call our group 'JTC productions' which, in my opinion, worked very well as it used the first letter of all our names. 

On our black cloth, we decided to turn our table into a robbery / hostage attack which included a fire and smoke affect, briefcase, a few posters of people who could have supposedly been taken, a map, a 'wanted' sign and more! 

We managed to achieve a really realistic scene with the props available and also a very good start to the editing part of the lesson. E.g. a cool name like 'The ace of spades'.

Prep 8/11/21

PREP To prepare for tomorrow's practical work of filming an opening sequence, please watch the following two title sequences which are filmed in in a similar 'table top' style.

KEY: Bold = Answers

Grey = Question

• What titles and credits appear on screen? - Cast and crew, producers, editors, costumes designers, script supervisor, assistant director and more!
• How is the film's genre conveyed? - Delicatessen comes across as a horror style of film as there's a man with a knife and also a low beat music & lighting. On the other hand, To Kill A Mockingbird has more of a melancholy feel to it.
• What use is made of sound? - Sound specifically tells us, in these clips, what genre these are. E.g. a more low beat sound shows us somethings scary.
• What hooks the audience and makes us want to carry on watching? - On the first clip (Delicatessen), nothing makes me want to watch on as I really dislike horror / scary films and it came as a surprise to see those faces on screen. In the second clip (To Kill A Mockingbird), I did in fact find it interesting that when the wooden box was opened there were some crayons so this could mean children are portrayed as the main characters. There was also two wooden figures who seemed to be touching heads which could show a connection.

Cuffs

 PREP Look back at the bullet point questions and write down your own responses on your blog:

• Which characters start to reveal more about themselves?

In Cuffs, we always see little hints about the characters and their lives outside the police station. For example, Ryan (Jake's mentor) may come across as a bossy and unsociable person but once we realise just how difficult his home life is, the watchers opinions will almost certainly change. He has to look after his children cook, work around the house and also work many long hours at the station to keep the family under shelter.

Another key character who starts to open up about themselves is Jake and his situation is very honourable and interesting as he comes out to be gay. Not many people would have the courage to open up within your first few days at a new job like he has and that to me is very respectable. 

Finally, Jake's mum. Jake's mum opened up about the fact that she was diagnosed with cancer. One of the most deadly and horrible diseases. This was always a possibility as she was in the process of losing her hair and you could see how hurt / distraught their family was.

Prep - 1/11/21

PREP Watch the first 10 minutes (after the title sequence is over) of The Avengers on Clickview. Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. You can use any part of the opening scenes - both the opening scene at the seaside at Little Bazeley or the scene in Emma Peel's flat:

• first identify an example - use terminology such as diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound, dialogue.
• then give the example - " Little Bazeley is constructed as a seaside village through realistic sound codes such as..."
• "One example of how sound is used is when Steed makes conversation with Emma Peel..."
• then explain what meaning is created - "In the exchange of dialogue between the fisherman and the undercover agent who arrives from the sea they talk about...... which creates suspicion and comedy because....."
• "Steed's dialogue reveals his accent and shows that he is..." "What Steed says to Emma Peel suggests that he feels in charge because...." /  "Emma's comment about the coffee and cream show that..." / "Emma's throwaway comment about having just finished a scientific article shows that..."

What Steed says to Emma Peel suggests that he feels in charge because he’s a male and they were the dominant gender in this period of time. Although Peel suggests that she feels in charge, as my point above states, she is put right back into reality when they have their fight and Steed plays dirty.

Sound is extremely important in the Avengers but especially in the scene where they’re fighting in Emma Peels’s flat as when he first opens the door a sense of romance is created by a typical violin and high pitch orchestra. Once they begin fighting, a beat drop is heard and a more comedic sense of music is being played e.g. when he hits her on her bottom and or when he catches her in the curtains.

SK8R BOI

 Yr 10 MUSIC: SK8R BOI

 Avril Lavigne Sk8R Boi is our second music video. We study:

• how the genre of her music comes across in the music video's media language 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avril_Lavigne#Musical_style_and_songwriting
• this means the style of editing, the pace, the way she uses the camera to engage her audience, the lighting and colours
• representation in the video - of LA, of Lavigne, of her gang, in particular, the mise-en-scène - Themes in her music include messages of self-empowerment from a female or an adolescent view.
• Avril Lavigne Sk8ter Boi

POLICE PROCEDURAL GENRE CONVENTIONS

        We discussed police procedural genre conventions and compared those of Endeavour with Cuffs.  

We identified several mise-en-scene codes such as clothing codes, locations, uniforms, weapons, ranks. There was more evidence of violent crime, whereas Cuffs is pre-watershed and has to be family-friendly.

We noticed differences: Cuffs is set in the 2020s so there are representations of different ethnicities, of gay people, of women.

We then watched the opening title sequence to Strike. This TV programme is about a disillusioned private detective (rather than a police force). The colours are low-key and dirty. The title sequence uses strong contrast lighting - chiaroscuro. 

We then experimented with setting up photos to achieve a similar effect.

Props included a fedora, cape, mackintosh and guns.
 

MY MEDIA WORLD

Recently, my team, Fulham destroyed Huddersfield 5-1 away!