Unit 6 Assignment 1 Amendments

Genre

The props used in this image are dangerous and the characters use them to inflict damage on each other, proving that the genre is action.We see that the setting is in the streets which is stereotypical for a superhero fiction as most superheros tend to do most of their crime fighting on the street i.e. Batman, Spiderman as it feels like the best setting to add suspense and drama to the scenes. The use of smoke, as we see in the image, adds elements of danger to the setting because it lowers visibility and it makes it harder for Arrow to fight the villains, resulting in more exiting and interesting battles which will keep people watching. The costumes used are very stereotypical to comic book costumes but they also have modern, up to date elements about them which are very appealing to both the male and female audience because they look good on the characters and they're not cheesy and they dont look silly. This is because they want to take the show seriously and not see it as a silly TV version of the comics. Genre is important to the audience as they need to find out if the product is something of interest to them and whether they should begin to watch it which is what the genre will tell you i.e. if theres a show about rom com and you only like watching horror, if these genres weren't there to inform you of the format of the show, we wouldn't be able to work out what we do and dont want o watch. Arrow challenges the conventions of a superhero fiction more than it conforms to them which is a good thing in my opinion because they have done it to make the tone of the show more serious and dramatic, in turn keeping people interested in it and expanding their audience. I feel that the representations of the characters send people positive messages about them. This is because of the way the act, look, and feel (mentally) i.e. people will aspire to be Arrow because hes cool and his life incredibly exiting. They also send these messages about the villains. Aside from the fact that they're evil they also look really appealing and 'cool' so the audience which is why the viewers also really like them. This product does have a lot of differences to your typical superhero fiction but the way they've changed it is very affective in drawing in different types of audience.

Psychographics

I think the group of people who are interested in this sort of product would be explorers as they are always looking for new ideas, and they enjoy adventure which Arrow is full of i.e. theres always a new villain for the team to face and they are all an interesting and new version of the comic style villain which i find interesting and exiting. Also explorers would like the fact that Oli always gets flashbacks to when he was on the island so that we get to see the struggle he went through and we also get to watch his transformation into what he is now. I would say the age range of viewers for this would be from 13 to about 35. This is because the young section of the audience will enjoy seeing their favourite superheros on TV and the older part of the audience will enjoy the violence and the fact that there are a number of attractive actress's throughout the show who occasionally loose items of their clothing. I think there would be a female section of the audience as well because there are a lot of actors that women would find attractive and they also loose items of clothing throughout, this is a sneaky but effective way of broadening your audience. Overall i think the majority of the audience is male due to the action, superheros, and women.

Narrative

An example of the non-linear structure of the narrative would be when Oliver hears about the 'Mirakuru' (miracle) formula is being used to create an army, he thinks back to when he was on the island and Slade Wilson was injected with it. It was a traumatising event for him which is why he has to stop it from happening again. using the flashbacks is also a good way of keeping things hidden and showing the audience different parts of the story. It means that we have to piece together the situations as we watch which keeps people entertained and pulls them in to keep watching. An example of this is with the costumes, in the second series we find out why Oli has the hood due to the flashbacks, and because it left it until so late to shoe that meant people would have to keep watching the whole thing before finding it out, which creates more views for the producers and expanding their audience. Also were given lots of clues in the first and second series that Slade Wilson, Oli's friend from the island, will become Deathstroke i.e. Slade's mask is shown from when he was in the marines which is the same as Deathstroke's mask, and his costume is very similar to the one deathstroke wears in series 2.

Unit 6 Assignment 1 Analysis of a Media Product

http://prezi.com/njh3xzw2juqd/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Unit 6 Notes

Genre-The style of film in question i.e. sci-fi, horror, action.

Target Audience-Who you're aiming your film/programme at i.e. age range, gender

Oppositional Readings- Comes from people who aren't the target audience or who disagree with the product. What your'e not supposed to think i.e. GTA-'GTA is evil and makes you violent'-Parents aren't the target audience. You can have an oppositional reading even if you are the target audience.

Mode of Address-The way the product speaks to you, it should make you feel a certain way

Preferred Readings-Agreeing with the product. Feeling the way the producer wants you to feel.

Generic Conventions-What you expect to see. Star Trek trailer is a good example. It meets the generic conventions of a sci-fi film, but at the start of it, we see someone jumping out of a car in slow-mo which are the conventions of an action film.

Star Trek Trailer
Action
Car chase scene
Explosions
Sci-fi
Aliens/robots
Props-guns,spaceships
Costumes-Space gear
Comedy
Simon Pegg
Men(stereotypically)
Effects-explosions
Costume removal...bra shown
Fighting
Women(stereotypically)
Narrative of a strong woman
Romance
Actor takes his top off
Star Trek Fans(oppositional)
Spock-Star Trek character
Movement of hand

Narrative

• Linear(in a straight line)
• Single strand-story of/based on one person
• Flashbacks-Makes the story non-linear by breaking the line of the story
• Multi stranded-when we follow different peoples lives/strands/situations
• Enigmas-Codes/puzzles for the character to solve that keep us interested
• Character types-(Hero/Villain/Victim)

The Inbetweeners (Genetic Conventions)

props     -car

              -car door

Costume-monkey costume

              -Neil's speedos and a vest

              -Neil's lack of costume

Dialogue-'muff'

              -'clunge'

              -'pussy'

              -'spunk'

              -inconsiderate arse holes'

Narrative-enigmas-car door-works at 'bp' not a garage

               -Will's paddy-cuts to wide shot of the front row

               -Simon pulls out in the middle of a funeral-wide shot of the hurst

               -Flash backs in an orange colour wash, makes the storyline non-linear, then it returns to linear.

Representation of Young Men

-Costume-dressed as casual lads, nothing 'scruffy' but not over expensive/in the middle

-Dialogue-language is informal as they're mates, and they use a lot of bad language and vulgar language. Tend to make fun of each other and laugh at each other, typical 'ladish' behaviour.

-Actions-Will-very sensible, he acts and dresses like he's a lot older than he is

             -Simon-slightly tense a lot of the time

Neil's movements on the floor shows that its a comedy and the way the other three stand there and laugh at him is is a good representation of how your mates would react instead of helping you. Appeals to the male audience because of how the lads act and the use of lines like "I get to ride...(jay)a mans cock in the bushes". This also proves that its a comedy. Other lines that we hear that prove that its a comedy are things like "well i'd give a left bollock for em' " and "today is about tits". A voice over is used to narrate whats going on.

Documentary Peer Review-'Christmas Markets'

Unit 3 Mark Scheme

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the research in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P2, M2 or D2

P2, There is primary and secondary research such as interviews and statistics or quotes

M2  There is primary and secondary research such as interviews and statistics or quotes that are useful and have come from well chosen places/people

D2: There is a lot of information given from interviews, statistics and quotes and is it all interesting and from relevant people, and not from just obvious places like Wikipedia.

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the sort of information in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P2, M2 or D2

P2 There Is a lot of the information on the topic but some of it irrelevant and awkwardly put in

M2 All the research and information is  focused on the topic and clearly teaches the audience about the topic

D2 The documentary draws conclusions (summaries) about the topic and the impact it is having on people/places etc

Pick one of the two options below that best describes the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it eitherP3/M3 or D3

P3/M3: The documentary is understandable but at times a bit confusing, or wanders off the topic.

D3: The documentary is  understandable and well structured, I feel as though I have learnt something

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the visual aids and or graphics used in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P3, M3 or D3

P3: There are visual aids and graphics but they are not clear/well presented and are not really showing information/research about the topic

M3: They have shown information statistics or information about the topic in visual aids and graphics that are clear and understandable.

D3: They have shown relevant information/research clearly through Visual aids or graphics in an eye catching way

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the references to research in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P3, M3 or D3

P3: The research sources are named/referenced in text and credits, but does it lack a sense of structure or miss things out like names/years etc

M3: Most of the research they have shown is credited in subtitles and credits and they look professional and well formatted

D3: They have references to all research typed in a proper format within the documentary and in a professional way in the credits.

Unit 38 Mark Scheme

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the research in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P4, M4 or D4

P4: The sound is clear, I am able to hear the interviews and non diegetic sound

M4: The sound is good, I am able to clearly hear dialogue and non diegetic sound (there might be one or two mistakes but it won’t affect your ability to watch it)

D4: The sound is creative.  It is  clear with little or no mistakes and it adds to the documentary, making it more engaging or powerful.

unit 1 assignment 1

Time

1)What is a shooting schedule?

-A shooting schedule is a plan of each days shooting for a film (or in this case documentary) production. Usually it is designed and managed by the assistant director, and then discusses it with the production manager who is in charge of the production schedule. Each schedule is used as a guideline to when and where any production takes place. Changes can be made to the schedule during pre-production, but after that it should be followed and respected. You cannot make a change before referring and negotiating the schedule. It is given to every production, cast and crew member involved in the film.

2)Why is it important to have a shooting schedule?

-it's important to have a shooting schedule because it keeps production running smoothly, without one there would be no order, and you won't get anything done well or on time.

3)How long does it take to get clearance for music/clips?

-We'll first of all, to get clearance we need to get in contact with the people of ownership of the music/clips, the producers. The time it takes to get any clearance all depends on a few things:

-how complex your request is, it might take a lot of negotiating depending on the size of your request

-getting hold of the owners can either be simple(ish) or very difficult depending on what they're like. If they're in another country and feel like they're better than everyone, it will most likely take longer to get an answer from them. Clearance companies are obliged to help clients contact the rights owners, and grant them a clearance 'request'. They will negotiate, explain the request, etc... but the final decision is down to the rights owners, who aren't obliged to anyone.

Personel
Super Size Me-Morgan Spurlock
Morgan Spurlock has been involved in lots of different documentaries/films in his career. Some of these include:

• Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
• The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
• Mansome
• Super Size Me

Super Size Me was released on May 7th 2004. He came up with the idea when he was watching TV and he saw a news report of two girls who sued McDonalds because they blamed the food chain for their obesity. He decided to go on a 30 day journey of eating from the Mac Shack for every meal of the day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. According to Spurlock, over this 30 day period he would be intaking twice as many calories recommended by the USDA. He graduated from New York University's Tisch school of the Arts with a BFA in film in 1993.

Editor
Editors aren't actually required to have a specific qualification to become an editor, although it would help. What they do need is a lot of experience on the post production process, and since editing is now done using computers, they should be able to use a wide variety of computer editing software. However, a good starting point to get you more experienced and give you a better chance at succeeding would be to something like taking part in short courses specialising in editing. The key skills required for this job role are:

• ability to be creative under pressure;
• imagination and an understanding of narrative;
• excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
• developed sense of rhythm and timing in story telling;
• highly developed aesthetic visual awareness;
• ability to lead a team;
• patience, attention to detail and good organisational skills;
• knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures.

Production Manager

The production manager needs to have good communication and leadership skills so that they can work well and smoothly with their team. They should have a strong knowledge on the technical aspects of production I.e. Camera, sound, editing etc. They also need to make sure they have all their licenses and clearances for where they're shooting, what they're shooting, and how they're shooting it. This is a very important requirement when making any sort of production because if you don't secure these requirements, you could end up in serious trouble with things like copyright or even with the law (if you don't get permission to film at certain places).

Key skills that are required for this job role are:

• initiative and problem solving skills;
• diplomacy and sensitivity;
• resourcefulness and the ability to troubleshoot;
• advanced analytical skills;
• budgeting and financial skills;
• excellent verbal and written communication skills;
• precise attention to detail and methodical approach to work;
• excellent organisational abilities;
• ability to conceptualise ideas;
• IT skills, and knowledge of the relevant computer packages;
• current knowledge of the relevant legislation, regulations, and associated procedures, including Copyright, Data Protection, Public Liability, etc. and how to comply with regulatory requirements;
• knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures.

Although it is not required, having a background in a media based course would be beneficial to your success as a production manager as it would provide you with extra knowledge and understanding of the job and what it entails.

Finance

Funding-Most documentary makers get their money from large funding organisations. They have to apply for the money they want by doing things like presenting the organisations with previous work; showing clips, teasers, pictures of what yo wish to produce(this isn't a requirement although it is highly recommended);they must show at least 20-75 minutes of edited footage to convey the narrative and aesthetics for the final production;they should also undergo audience engagement campaigns to gain pre-production funding. To get funding for your film you need to pitch your ideas around and persuade these organisations that your film would be worth the time and effort. I have found a website called indiegogo which gives you information and tips on how to get yourself funded. My favourite of their techniques is raising the money yourself. You would have to first create a campaign to promote yourself and your plans. To get people on board with this you would have to tell people what you're doing, how they will be helping, and tell them of the perks that they'll get as contributors. This I feel is a great way of obtaining funding for your film although it may be time consuming, you will end up with a better outcome than if you just borrowed the money.  

Clearance-The cost of the clearance all depends on the person you're asking and the scale of your request. If you are asking for a larger scale clearance, and the person in ownership has quite a high status, the price of the clearance is going to be larger.

Locations
In Super Size Me, they filmed in a lot of different places i.e. the streets of New York, Doctors practices, McDonalds. Usually, when filming on the streets you don't really need permission, but this depends on what you have in your shot. Every large city will have a film commission, and most of them wont mind you filming as long as you have a small crew, don't create any disturbances, and you're in and out quickly. However, some of them will require you to have a permit where ever you are. To get permission to film in public, you have to get in touch with the local authority or council. This is because they hold responsibility for public land, buildings etc. The UK Screen Agencies will help you to get in contact with the right authorities.

Facilities
As long as you have clear, understandable audio, you can film something with any camera available (within reason). Documentary makers will use mostly hand held cameras because they're always moving to new places and following people around. If the documentary is trying to find information that isn't publicly available, they will use hidden cameras i.e. on private investigators. The main camera equipment that you will need when making a documentary are:
-High quality cameras(JVC, HDSLR)-£20-£50 per day to hire
-Boom pole/shotgun mic(with all the shotgun mic accessories)-£5 per day to hire
-Clip mics(attatched to the presenter, interviewees etc)-£10 per day or £40 per week to hire
-Tripods-£10-£20 per day
-Field recorders-£10-£15 per day
-Three point lighting equipment(for interviews etc)-£20-£25 per day
-Head phones-About £5 per day

The best editing software to use for your documentary would be Final Cut Pro. This is down to the fact that it's the safe software that professionals use and it's easy to navigate and edit your work.

Materials/Copyright

A good example of visual materials used in a documentary would be from the Imposter. In this documentary they use a lot of the video footage from the families cameras of the young boy. This is a good way to keep audiences interested as they get to see the actual subject that the documentary is about. To get the clearance to use this footage they would've just had to simply ask for the families permission, any footage they had from Law enforcements would've had to be cleared by paying to use it, and it would've had to be thoroughly checked through to make sure it's suitable and legal for the public to see. The PRS are a society formed in order to pay royalties back to its members when their music is exploited within the media i.e. shared online, broadcast to the public, or performed/played in public. You should try and find things that are 'royalty free' because it means that you dont have to pay royalties for any copyrighted material you are using. Copyright is used to enable someone exclusive rights and distribution of a certain product, brand, media that they have created. It grants them right of ownership towards their product and it makes it illegal for someone else to use it without the permission of the creator.

Contributors
It is important to find the right contributor so that your product can be the best quality it possibly can. It also that it will be distributed to its fullest in order to make it popular, successful and profitable.

Documentary Peer Review-'The Inside Story:Bullying'

Unit 3 Mark Scheme

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the research in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P2, M2 or D2

P2, There is primary and secondary research such as interviews and statistics or quotes

M2  There is primary and secondary research such as interviews and statistics or quotes that are useful and have come from well chosen places/people

D2: There is a lot of information given from interviews, statistics and quotes and is it all interesting and from relevant people, and not from just obvious places like Wikipedia.

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the sort of information in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P2, M2 or D2

P2 There Is a lot of the information on the topic but some of it irrelevant and awkwardly put in

M2 All the research and information is  focused on the topic and clearly teaches the audience about the topic

D2 The documentary draws conclusions (summaries) about the topic and the impact it is having on people/places etc

Pick one of the two options below that best describes the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it eitherP3/M3 or D3

P3/M3: The documentary is understandable but at times a bit confusing, or wanders off the topic.

D3: The documentary is  understandable and well structured, I feel as though I have learnt something

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the visual aids and or graphics used in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P3, M3 or D3

P3: There are visual aids and graphics but they are not clear/well presented and are not really showing information/research about the topic

M3: They have shown information statistics or information about the topic in visual aids and graphics that are clear and understandable.

D3: They have shown relevant information/research clearly through Visual aids or graphics in an eye catching way

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the references to research in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P3, M3 or D3

P3: The research sources are named/referenced in text and credits, but does it lack a sense of structure or miss things out like names/years etc

M3: Most of the research they have shown is credited in subtitles and credits and they look professional and well formatted

D3: They have references to all research typed in a proper format within the documentary and in a professional way in the credits.

Unit 38 Mark Scheme

Pick one of the three options below that best describes the research in the documentary. Explain in the box why you have given it either P4, M4 or D4

P4: The sound is clear, I am able to hear the interviews and non diegetic sound

M4: The sound is good, I am able to clearly hear dialogue and non diegetic sound (there might be one or two mistakes but it won’t affect your ability to watch it)

D4: The sound is creative.  It is  clear with little or no mistakes and it adds to the documentary, making it more engaging or powerful.