Blogger of the Week

goes this week to Kayleigh. Well done for updating your coursework blog so efficiently. Shame on others, who did not do any blogging last week!

Production Task Tip

For ideas on how to link memories from the past juxtaposed with the present in your film opening, check out the opening of 'Mean Streets' at http://www.artofthetitle.com/ , where memories are presented using amateur video-style footage of family life just after a shot of the main protagnist waking up in bed alone. What does this suggest has happened to the family?

Blogger of the week

without more ado is, for last week's work on representation of gender in magazines, Dani. Great post.

Blogger of the week (better late than never)...

took some deciding this time, hence the delay, as I wanted to see as many of your coursework blogs as possible. However, Holly makes it to the prize last week for having the idea, modelling the blog and beginning to map out her planning. Can't wait to read the rest of the journey until the March deadline! Load it up, dudes!

How to embed video from YouTube in your blog

Reading Film and TV - Useful Tips

This comes from Media Studies teacher, David Allison, who belongs to the OCR E-Community:

Action match

When following a single character (e.g. Billy Elliot dancing) this is a purely technical device. However, when an action match is used for intercutting, it can heighten the parallels/contrasts between two different characters in two different situations – an opportunity for juxtaposition.

eg: in Skins, the young Russian woman’s swinging of the axe – all sex and power – is juxtaposed with the fat Russian dinnerlady’s heavy serving of congealed mashed potato. It draws attention to the contrasting ways in which Russian women are being represented.

Eyeline match

Eyeline match usually provides insight to a character's private thoughts.

eg: In Doctor Who: Last of the Time Lords, Martha exchanges glances with all the people she loves, as though this may be the last chance she has to communicate with them before she dies. Similarly, as she confronts the Master, we keep cutting from her to the family and friends watching her, signifying that she, the woman, is the centre of the action.

Final shot

In any scene, which character or characters are shown in the final shot of the sequence? This is often the character with whom the audience is expected to identify.

eg: In Primeval, although Abby saves the day, the last shot is on Cutter, signifying that the audience is intended to adopt the male, not female, point of view. See also every EastEnders cliffhanger ever.

Intercutting: juxtaposition

Although typically a narrative device, intercutting can set up juxtaposition between parallel storylines, exaggerating the impact or meaning of each by highlighting a point of difference. eg: in EastEnders: Wedding Night, the warmth, light and music of the happy pre-wedding feast is in stark contrast with the two unhappy families represented in the cold and dark whenever we cut away. This provides a more favourable representation of Asian family life over white Londoners.

Intercutting: tension

When intercutting is used to draw two storylines together, this can be structured to create tension, and therefore heighten the audience;’s identification with a particular character.

eg: in Primeval, intercutting between the tiger’s pursuit of Cutter and Abby’s running in with the rifle is action code and prompts the question: will she get there in time? In Hotel Babylon, intercutting offers both tension and

juxtaposition: just as Adam is saving his colleague’s life with a jar of jam, another African immigrant, Ibrahim, is being lost. The tension and juxtaposition lead the audience to identify with both characters.

Jump cuts

These are rarely used in TV or film; when they are, they tend to suggest either a) chaos and disorder, b) self-conscious ellipsis (drawing attention to the rapid pace of the action) or c) a director who likes to break the rules!

eg: In Primeval, two jump cuts accelerate Cutter’s preparation to slide down the zip-wire; this could be read as speedy and decisive.

Motivation

A motivated edit is any transition ‘forced’ on the editor by the development of the action, nar-rative or character. Whenever shot (a) refers to the existence of an event outside the frame, and we then cut to (b) which shows that event, that’s a motivated edit. We can sometimes judge a character’s worth or importance by the number of cuts they motivate.

eg: In Primeval, Cutter runs away from the tiger, drawing it away from Abby.

His constant motion motivates many of the cuts in this sequence, again reinforcing his status as the protagonist, if not the Proppian hero.

Pace of editing

This can imply character qualities, especially if only one or two characters are in the se-quence. A fast pace might suggest energy or panic (depending on context) while infrequent cuts (long takes) might suggest calm, a casual attitude, or provide documentary-style realism (as in Cast Offs). Similar effects can be achieved with speed ramping and slow-motion.

Prevalence

How much screen time does a character get? The more time we see them on screen, the more important their role. This can develop during a scene to change characters’ status.

eg: in Hotel Babylon, Adam is invisible – just one of many refugees – until he steps forward to treat the diabetic maid. Suddenly, the editing favours him, and we realise his importance and skill, despite his menial status in the hotel..

Selection: to show or not to show

As experienced film-makers yourselves, it can sometimes be interesting to ask what informa-tion has been included or omitted in an edit.

eg: in Primeval, as Jenny comes under increased threat from West, at no point do we cut away to her colleagues approaching the barn. To do so might have reduced the tension in the scene; not doing so arguably increases Jenny’s apparent vulnerability. Narratively, it’s also a nice surprise when the team arrive in a single cut, which contrasts with the early tiger chase (see intercutting).

Shot/reverse shot and reaction shots

S/RS indicates the relationship between two characters: it signifies and sometime exagger-ates their closeness – or their opposition (depending on the context). The amount of time given to a character’s reaction shots can convey their status in the scene. For example, if two character are in S/RS conversation, do they get equal screen time, or do we spend more time looking at one character, speaking and reacting? Equally (though this is also a function of camera, are the two characters framed equally?

eg: in Doctor Who, the S/RS between Martha and the Master gives Martha CUs and the Master MCUs, conveying Martha’s greater status as a character, even if narratively she appears defeated.

Propp's Narrative Theory

http://latymermediawanda09.blogspot.com/2009/10/vladimir-propps-narrative-theory.html

Check out this student blog and then you can blog your own example.

Blogger of the week

last week was Lizzie. Well done to her for making sure her blog is complete at least with all homework tasks. Blogtastic!

Back up your Blog!

Dear Media Students

You will have to supply your Blog on CD when you submit your coursework, so now is the time to start backing it up. I have downloaded the Blog Collector, on which you can syncronise, back up and export your Blog into a PDF so that it is printable.

To add your Blog, click on the Blog Collector icon on the Mac Desktop, click on Add A New Blog on the toolbar menu and follow the instructions from there. Simple, but important just in case something happens. You wouldn't want to lose months of hard work!

New forum for media studies bloggers

Check out this new forum for media bloggers - claims to be a place to upload and share work that's more focused than YouTube...
http://www.spotliet.com/

And last week's champion blogger is...

a joint effort from Shereen and Kayleigh! Well done, you two, for being the first ones to complete your homework and blog your application of Todorov's narrative theory to a film of your choice. Blog on!