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Moving Image, NEA, Production, Semiotics

ANALYSIS OF FILM WEBSITES

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Analysis of Film Websites


La La Land

https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/la-la-land

  • Contains background image of dominant signifier. Introducing the two main characters; their action in the image also linking to the theme of the film.
  • Information regarding when it is available to buy or watch: “Now available on Blu Ray”
  • Scroll down layout rather than linking to separate pages.
  • Links to social media accounts with symbols to represent the apps.
  • Film poster featured at the top of the page in a rectangular box.
  • Iconic sign of a ‘play’ button with the anchorage ‘Watch trailer’ including a link to the trailer for the film
  • Production stills alongside information to give insight into the contents of the film, a way for the audience to see snippets before watching or buying. A gallery of images included
  • Brief description of the making of the film and the release date
  • Information on the main cast and production team
  • Line of images at the bottom of the page which show the different versions of the posters. Also a line of links to watch related videos such as interviews, scenes and trailers.

Blinded by the Light

  • The film has distributed two different websites to correlate to how the film was produced by a indie company (Bend it Networks) which is owned and supported by the conglomerate (Warner Bros).

https://www.benditnetworks.com/filmography/blindedbythelight/

  • Scroll down layout rather than linking to separate pages.
  • Black background.
  • Contains link to YouTube film trailer.
  • Contains a overview of the film including; List of cast members and their credits and also the genre/inspirations/descriptions for the movie.
  • Quotes from the director and also comments from the writer.
  • Link to article and related videos and other media.

https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/blinded-light

  • Structured in different sections and links rather than one continuous page containing all of the information.
  • The header of the “home” page includes a production still and also a link to film trailer.
  • Information and symbolic signifiers on where the film can be streamed/bought from. Also providing information on release date, age rating, genre and social media.
  • About section provides information on the director and the link to Bruce Springsteen’s music.

Bombshell

https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/bombshell

  • Transition graphics displayed when opening the website.
  • Anchorage; “Available now on Digital, Blu Ray and Combo” under title and next to film poster. Also a link to where you can buy the film “Buy Now”.
  • Background image of the 3 main characters.
  • Structured in different pages with links on a drop down menu rather than one continuous page.
  • Additional information to connect to potential audience through displaying extra events called the “Conversation tour”
  • Pages called “Gallery” and “Videos” and an ‘About’ section which gives information on the synopsis and cast.

Tick, Tick, Boom

https://www.ticktickboommovie.com/home/

  • Header of ‘home’ page includes a video reel with snippets from the film.
  • Structured in pages rather than one continuous page.
  • Anchorage in a scroll down section which displays the synopsis.
  • Poster and information on production, cast and concepts.
  • Section which lists the cast, director and producers
  • Gallery of production stills
  • Anchorage with key information on where it can be watched (“ In select theatres and on Netflix”) and a button with a link to the trailer.
Production

PRODUCTION – MOVING IMAGE (CROSS-MEDIA)

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‘The Little Book of Loneliness’

Synopsis

Fred, a 17 year old boy, feels lonelier and even more lost than ever. To jot down his memories, thoughts and feelings, he begins to write an open diary as a way of coping with life. Every day he walks to his favourite spot on the beach and writes whilst sitting on the sea wall. One day, on his way back home, he leaves the book behind on the pathway. This story shows his journey through finding his prized possession.

Statement of Intent

I intend to produce two posters to advertise my film through including signifiers that link to the narrative I will create and introduce the central concepts, ideas and characters without explicitly revealing the details of the plot. My first poster will include the dominant signifier of a notebook, as the notebook is the central plot device in my narrative. I intend to put this image in the centre of the poster, the main focal point as a foreground on a black background. On top of the notebook, I will put the anchorage “He was lost, waiting to be found” , with the words ‘lost’ and ‘found’ in bold.

In my second poster, I will include a picture of a bench in front of a bush. On the bench, the male protagonist will be sat, writing in the diary with a rucksack next to him. On the wooden slats of the bench, I will edit in the title of the film “The Little Book of Loneliness” in a large font size. As well as this, I will put the text: ‘Featuring the music of Harry Styles’ as a way of advertising the link the film has to the artist through the use of his music. I will take inspiration from film posters for ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ (2014) and ‘Titanic’ (1997) as their narratives have similarities to mine. I will use their designs as a style model to ensure I have a structure I can loosely replicate and know which images I need to take.

I intend to create two different film sequences that would be featured in my short film. They would provide insight for my audience and give a teaser into how the whole film would look visually, how it would be edited and also how it would sound. My first sequence would introduce the setting, the main character and include the ‘exposition’ of the linear, chronological narrative structure. I intend to create a ‘morning routine’ montage which will be fast paced through incorporating sharp cuts between shots. This part will include different shots such as an alarm going off, a pan of a sunrise, a toaster and a kettle as a way of leading the audience into the storyline and introducing the character. I will also introduce the key signifier of the film; the main character’s notebook, to set up the object’s importance in the plot line. For audio, I will use a continuous background sound of a ‘nature soundscape’ which will include bird song and wind noises to link to the way in which my story has a link to nature through the character going outside each day. I will also include a recording of the main characters voice, reading the contents of his notebook, as an overlay, whilst a shot of him writing in the book is on screen.

I intend for the second sequence to document the main character’s daily walk to the beach where he writes in his notebook and jots down his thoughts and feelings. I aim to start by including a establishing, long shot of the beach landscape which slowly focuses into the character by using a series of medium shots of him walking, closeups of his shoes and an extreme close up of him writing in his notebook. To link back to the brief of including a link to a famous music star, I intend to include the song “Fine Line” by Harry Styles for audio as it creates an atmospheric tone. The climax of my film would occur in this sequence; when the character unknowingly leaves his notebook behind on the path.

I intend to create a website that provides information on the content of the film, about the brand identity and further information about the cast, crew and production elements. I aim to create 4 website pages; a ’home’, an ‘about’ page, a ‘production’ page and also a page called ‘take a look’ which will allow the audience to see my film sequences.

I imagine that my cross media production would be produced by a small, independent company which is owned by a large conglomerate such as ‘Warner Bros’. The two posters would be created for distribution on a streaming platform eg. ‘Netflix’. The production would project to ‘The Explorer’ audience who can connect to the main characters journey to discovery and also ‘The Mainstreamer’ who can connect to the cathartic aspects of the narrative.

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Notes, Theory

THEORIST RECAP

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Institution

KEY THEORISTS :

  • Hesmondhalgh (The Creative Industries)
  • Curran and Seaton (Ownership)
  • Livingstone and Lunt (Regulation)

What is the difference between the culture industries and other industries?

The cultural industries “play a pivotal role in organising images and discourses through which people make sense of the world” (Golding and Murdock). The creative industries influence the way we think and look at the world around us.

There are similar processes in which creative industries and other industries work through production, distribution and consumption.

The creative/media industry is a risky business, meaning it is unpredictable. Creativity is not essential to life however there are necessities which are. All industries try to make a profit, this is the primary purpose so if this doesn’t happen, it won’t carry on.

The creative industries are versatile, diverse and don’t always follow a linear process of creativity – Unpredictability.

Media Ownership

Public Service Media/Broadcasting = State-related institutions.

  • Government is at an ‘arms length’ from the media, they don’t control it but advise and ‘look after’ the content. It is critical of the government. –
  • Funded by the public/ tax payer. Through TV License for BBC in the UK.
  • No advertisements shown.
  • Examples = BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation – Regional)
  • Public Service provides impartial news (equal), high programming standards, no need to make a profit so, they can tailor to many different interests with their different channels (Diversity, provide for everyone)
  • What is it? – Broadcasting that involves television, radio, film which is funded publicly (by the government via the general public). Its purpose is to cater to many different people, therefore providing a wide range of different programming. It needs to inform, entertain and educate whilst living up to high standards.

Commercial Media = Corporations

  • Funded through advertisements.
  • No state obligations, privately owned.
  • Audiences don’t have to pay.
  • Examples = ITV (Multi regional)

Transnational Media = Global control

  • “communication, information or entertainment that crosses international borders without the regulatory constrains normally associated with electronic media”
  • Has aspects of the company worldwide.
  • Examples = Netflix, Sony, Apple, Disney

Curran and Seaton

  • “Commercial broadcasting is based on the sale of audiences to advertisers” —-> Commercial broadcasters (such as ITV) need to secure long term advertising revenue to survive programming. – Jean Seaton.
  • ”profit-driven motives take precedence over creativity in the world of commercial media”. – The business function of the media industries take importance over its creative expression.
  • Due to risk, the production of media products has resulted in the organisation of a small number of global players (conglomerates) who use vertical and horizontal integration to control all of the worlds commercial production.

Conglomerate =  A company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises.

Horizontal Integration = When a conglomerate acquires media companies of the same media type.

  • Production costs reduced, sharing of resources, controlling the market.

Vertical Integration = Ownerships that allow a media company to produce and distribute products. Monopolies (companies that produce, distribute and consume) are illegal —-> Companies get around this by controlling the majority and giving an aspect over to another company to control.

  • Production devisions, distribution services (without the need to employ externally, allowing full control)

Curran and Seaton suggest that ‘Culture is controlled by social elites’ who work for the benefit of themselves. They perpetuate the idea of ‘media pluralism’ which argues that the media industry should be populated by a range of companies (commercial and public).

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Exam Prep, Notes, Television

CSP – TELEVISION (ESSAY PREP)

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No Offence (UK)

  •  The show was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 2015. It acquired over 2.5 million viewers. This was Channel 4’s biggest launch of a mid-week drama in over 3 years. It ran for 3 series, finishing in 2018.
  • Channel 4 is publicly owned (owned by the state) and commercially funded (funded through advertisements).
  • From Channel 4’s website; “Channel 4 was created to be a disruptive, innovative force in UK broadcasting.” “We have a unique public service remit to represent unheard voices.”
  • No Offence was broadcast on ‘France2’, the public service broadcaster. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group. The show was first broadcast in February 2016, with 5.46 million viewers.
  • No Offence is produced by ‘AbbotVision’.
  • ‘AbbotVision’ was the independent producer of Shameless (set in Manchester, the programme ran for eleven series and aired from 13 January 2004 to 28 May 2013, it was released in many different countries).
  • The shows creator ‘Paul Abbott’ said, in a 2017 guardian article, said that his previous project Shameless “Became too hysterical. I was glad to see it off”.
  • (Steve Neale) No Offence uses the same genre conventions of Shameless, being a ‘skittish’ show which provides its comedy elements through ‘profane anecdotes’ and ‘rat-a-tat laughter’. Linking to how creatives stick to the same or similar conventions as a way of building up a loyal fan base who will continue to watch and consume
  • Contains all of the codes and conventions of a police drama —> Caution tape, missing people, sirens.
  • Many different narrative strands that help move the main plot line along. Example: The elderly woman accusing her grandson, Down syndrome man talking about his relationship.
  • Perhaps the appeal to an international audience is a deliberate strategy. Not only representing the working class British area of Manchester, the programme represents the polish community in the UK through the female protagonist being from a Polish background and also the use of the language. These identities are also used as a selling point internationally through the appeal of difference.
  • Social Realist films = Films that emphasise the link between location and identity.
  • National style but is also popular in Europe


The Killing (Forbydelsen, Denmark/Germany)

  • Søren Sveistrup, series creator, worked closely with lead actress Sofie Gråbøl, who was stunt casted to aid marketing for the series, throughout the writing process to develop her character.
  • Danish is the official language in Denmark. It is spoke by approximately 6 million people worldwide.
  • The show was originally released in 2007, in Denmark on ‘DR1’ a channel under the ‘Danish Broadcasting Cooperation (DR)’.
  • Produced by DR and German company ZDF, the police drama was created and written by Søren Sveistrup.
  • This allowed more opportunity for global networking and international release, bringing more viewers and therefore, money.
  • Following the global success of the show after being released by BBC4 for viewing in the UK in 2011, production of American and Turkish versions took place.
  • Alike to No Offence, The Killing was designed to exploit the economic possibilities offered by a global market. However, the shows social media presence wasn’t wide spread, only having a Facebook account.
  • Sarah Lund (the protagonist) is presented in both a ‘feminine and masculine sense’, she follows the stock character of the hero and is a familiar detective character.

Representations

  • Female protagonists (Sarah Lund in The Killing and Viv and Dinah in No Offence) with authoritative power and autonomy in high up detective roles at the forefront of both stories juxtaposes the binary norm of men dominating these positions in society or how society perceives how being ‘tough’, ‘masculine’ and showing strength are particularly male traits. Judith Butler expresses how society creates an identity stereotype for which we fall into based on our biological sex which codes for our masculine or feminine gender identity. Gender is performance and is fluid, not fixed. These representations subvert the need for a male detective lead.
Notes, Television

CSP – NO OFFENCE AND THE KILLING

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Needs to be reference to; Representation, Institution, Language and Audience.

No Offence – Media Magazine Download

‘No Offence’ S1,E1

  • Created by Paul Abbott, Produced by Abbott Media
  • Originally released in 2015
  • 3 Series
  • 21 Episodes
  • No Offence was broadcast on Channel 4, can still be accessed on All4, it was also broadcast in France.

‘No Offence‘ is a mainstream television series in which the codes and conventions of the police procedural crime drama are intertwined with aspects of social realism. ‘No Offence’ is unusual in popular television series due to the dominance of female characters.

The narrative in Series 1 follows follows a team of detectives from ‘Friday Street police station’, a fictional division of the Manchester Metropolitan Police. The plot focuses on the team’s investigation into the serial murders of young girls with Down syndrome.

EPISODE 1 : PLOT

‘Dinah catches sight of a robbery suspect on her way home from a night out, but when she chases him into the path of a double decker bus, her candidacy for promotion to sergeant is thrown into question. Meanwhile, two young girls with Down’s syndrome have been murdered, and a third young girl is missing. Dinah notices a link between the cases, and it’s not long before the team find themselves running out of time to find the latest victim before the killer strikes again.’ – Wikipedia

The Manchester police force is used as a microcosm (the epitome) of society to examine changing gender roles. The focus of the case which features children and adults with Down’s syndrome, examining the position of people with disabilities in the wider society.

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Letter to the Free, Music Video, Notes

CSP – LETTER TO THE FREE

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Common’s ‘Letter to the Free’

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known by his stage name Common, is an American rapper and actor. He wrote ‘Letter to the Free’ in 2016.

  • His debut album was ‘Can I Borrow a Dollar?’ (1992).
  • Common won his first Grammy award in 2003 for ‘Best RnB Song’ for the single ‘Love of my Life’.
  • He co-wrote the song ‘Glory’ for the 2014 film ‘Selma’. He starred in the movie and won the Academy award for best original song.

Lyrics

Lyrics from ‘Letter to the Free’

“We ain’t seen as human beings with feelings”

  • The idea that black people living in America are often considered ‘lesser’ to those in political power and even civilians who support the right wing, hegemonic views.

“Black bodies being lost in the American dream”

“Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13“

The 13th Amendment  

Politically, the 13th Amendment states that …

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

  • The 2016 Netflix original documentary film ’13th’, directed by Ava DuVernay explores how slavery and racism is still present in the prisons of America even though it was seemingly abolished in 1865.

The Idea of Resistance and Political Protest

Key idea = The political, personal and cultural are always intertwined.

Culture is what influences people’s hearts, minds and opinions. This is the site of popular change.

Antonio Gramsci talked about Hegemony and Hegemonic culture, the way in which the dominant ideologies are in power.

Sub cultural theories – Subcultures offered young working class people a solution to the problems they were collectively experiencing in society.

Postcolonialism

Looking at identity and representation through the lens of Empire and Colonialism under the shadow of Slavery. It is a way of critically looking at culture.

Edward Said

He said that ‘the privileged role of culture in the modern imperial experience’. The way in which literature, music, art etc. frames the Western countries as the dominant culture and Eastern countries inferior. He has the idea that culture was created by white Europeans to give themselves a privileged position. He wrote a book called ‘Orientalism’ in 1978.

Orientalism = The stereotyping of the east. The assertion of western power over the east.  a general patronizing Western attitude towards Middle Eastern, Asian, and North African society.

Jacques Lacan “the other”

  • Lacan was a French Philosopher. He came up with the ideology that we never really know who we truly are, our identity is impossible to fully see ourselves.
  • His ideas stem from the way in which children first see themselves in a mirror and make a connection that it is themselves in reflection.
  • We are exploring ‘The Other’ as a way of exploring ourselves.
  • Linking to postcolonialism, this would be to suggest that the West uses the ‘Other’ (East), to identify and construct itself.
Moving Image, Production

ANALYSIS OF FILM SEQUENCES

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Analysis of Film Sequences

Opening sequence from ‘The Sound of Music’-Begins with a long, large establishing shot of the setting.
– This slowly and smoothly transitions from the long shot and zooms into a mid-shot into a close up of the main character (dominant signifier) of the sequence.
– The camera pans around the character in a circular motion whilst the character also does the same in the middle.
Opening sequence from ‘West Side Story’– Shot progression is used to introduce the setting and the characters in a way that audiences can be transitioned into the narrative methodically. It is a technique used to create verisimilitude (believability).
– This sequence is edited through cuts on action. For example, there is an extreme long shot, birds-eye view angle of the basket ball court. This cuts to a closer shot before zooming into a close up on a group of characters.
– Each of the characters in the group are given a close up shot which introduces them.
Sequence from ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ – Extreme close up on the main character allows the audience to be let into their emotions/ thoughts/ feelings.
– Zooming in shot – As if the audience is being let into her story.
– Different character introductions.
Montage sequence from ‘Up’– Montage = The connection of images / ideas to create a new meaning and symbolism.
– In this sequence, the narrative uses flashback (creating a shift in time frame) to show a sped up life story of the main character. Montage is used as a way to cut aspects of the narrative together to save time.
– Even though the sequence is a time lapsed version of a whole narrative, there is still elements of equilibrium, climax and denouement as well as a beginning, middle and end. It is designed to create catharsis within the audience.
– Non-diegetic sound is used alongside the montage to provide extra information and emotion into the character’s life’s (sound that is added during the edit, it is external and can’t be heard by the characters in the story).
Dialogue/ conversation sequence from ‘The Social Network’ – External Reverse = Including both characters.
– Internal Reverse = Closer than an a behind the shoulder shot.
– Insight into character relationships
– Rack focus changes to shift importance in scene.

Moving Image, Notes, Theory

MOVING IMAGE

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Each media form has a unique set of key language terms which link to a set of rules/ conventions, as well as the genre and how this is constructed through narrative

Focusing and Depth of Field

Rack Focus = Focusing in on something and then changing the focus on to something else to further the narrative line.

Example in my sequences:

  • I could change the focus from the bench to focusing in on the notebook on the floor which was once unnoticeable.
  • I could focus in on myself writing in the book and then focus in on the writing on the page.

SPACE – SIZE – SCALE – ANGLE

  • Angle = High angle / Low angle / bulls-eye / birds eye / canted angle
  • Space = Tracking / Panning / Craning / Tilting / Hand held / Steadicam
  • Size/ Scale = Establishing Shot / Long Shot / Medium Shot / Close-up / Big Close-Up / Extreme Close Up

Example in my sequences:

  • I could take a extreme long shot from the top of a hill to capture a wide landscape over a beach. Then I could use a close up to the boy sat on the beach which could slowly zoom out to a middle shot to establish the exposition of the narrative.

Insert Shot = A shot added in to a narrative to control the viewers’ gaze and to provide detail.  Inserts cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasize a different aspect of that action

The Edit

In theory, without any footage, there is nothing to edit.

Moving image products are constructed around the concept of putting things together (stitching pieces together to create narrative). This idea of sewing / stitching the audience into the text was developed by theoreticians of the “Screen theory”.

When to edit?

  1. EDIT ON ACTION
  2. EDIT ON A MATCHING SHAPE, COLOUR, THEME
  3. EDIT ON A LOOK, A GLANCE, EYELINE
  4. EDIT ON A SOUND BRIDGE
  5. EDIT ON A CHANGE OF SHOT SIZE
  6. EDIT ON A CHANGE OF SHOT CAMERA POSITION (+30′)

Examples in my sequences:

  • During my morning routine sequence, I will edit on action when the character is making breakfast.
  • When my character is walking to the bench, I will include a shot of my character looking at the sky and cut to a pan shot across the sky to show what he is seeing.

Shot sequencing

Parallel Editing = Two events edited together, cut back and forth. So that they may be happening at the same time, or not?

Montage = Often the connection of images / ideas to create a new meaning and symbolism. COLLAGE and MONTAGE ART creates meaning through putting ideas and objects next to each other.

Example in my sequences:

  • I could use a montage replay of the events leading up to the point in which the narrative begun (‘In Media- Res’ of the characters life story).
  • I could film my main character trying to look for the notebook whilst the female character finds it and begins to read and invest herself in his story.

Shot progression = To create realism and believability (verisimilitude).

  • establishing shot / ES, moving to
  • wide shot / WS,
  • to medium shot / MS,
  • to close up / CU,
  • to big close up / BCU;
  • and then back out again

Examples in my sequences:

  • Establish setting such as park/beach (where the bench is set).

Shot/ Reverse Shot

External Reverse = Including both characters.

Internal Reverse = Closer than an a behind the shoulder shot.

Genre, Notes, Theory

GENRE

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Predictable expectationsFilms often include conventions that can be seen in many products of the same genre. As the audience becomes familiar with them, they become predictable and typical of the genre.
Reinforced
Amplify
Repertoire of elements Key elements of a film that are consistently repeated throughout a genre.
CorpusThe main body of a narrative or genre.
VerisimilitudeThe appearance of being real and true.
Realism Representation that is true to real life.
Construction of reality Genre is a way in which reality can be constructed under a particular theme/category.
Historically specific
Sub-genresA sub division of a certain genre. For example, a thriller film is a sub section of the horror genre.
Hybrid-genresA combination of themes and elements from two or more different types of genres
Different
Familiar
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