Thriller Evaluation - Re-Submission

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In the planning and construction of our thriller opening, we have taken inspiration from many of the thriller conventions relating to location, costume and characters.


To begin, I will summarise the forms and conventions of the thriller genre. They can be broken down into four categories, characters, narratives, themes and iconography. With reference to characters, some common examples demonstrated within the thriller genre include assassins, victim, criminals and detectives. They may not all fit under these specific brackets, some characters do hold similarities with one of the above but may slightly challenge the common characteristics. Narratives include being watched, deception and death. Death is a narrative most are familiar with as it occurs in numerous films, being watched may be shown in a spy thriller. Entrapment, isolation and revenge are all examples of common themes of thriller films. Finally, iconography includes confined spaces, running water and bars on windows. These are often shown but not specifically as worded, for example, some objects may remind us of bars and entrapment but not be 'bars on windows', this is shown in my case study of Panic Room, in which the tall buildings give a feeling of bars and entrapment.

The house used in the opening is at the end of an extensive driveway, the establishing shot used at the beginning was aimed at showing the large scale of the house and how it overwhelms those who travel along the driveway. I think it does well in introducing the audience to the location. It gives a sense of isolation and danger for the character involved, the pizza delivery boy. This helps to add suspense to the film immediately as we sense something may happen to the boy, these things conform to typical thriller films in that there is suspense, isolation and possibly death. Something seen in thrillers quite often is the sense of confinement/entrapment; we have tried to show this through the camera work and sound.

This idea of entrapment with the underlying sense of danger is seen in the thriller The Others, which is also set in quite a similar location. At the beginning we angle the camera slightly so as to make the fence significant, it seems as though as I cycle down the driveway I am being trapped inside. Also, the sign of the bare trees symbolises time passing and death, which are very significant in our film, as time has passed since the home video at the beginning and the girl has died. Below is a screenshot of the establishing shot..

With reference to sound, the bulk of the soundtrack has quite an eerie high-pitched noise which, to me, gives a sense of isolation and unknowing. This adds to the tension and the overall achievement of the product with regards to fitting in to the thriller genre through conforming to its conventions.

Running water is also a convention of the thriller genre; we have incorporated this in a sense in the use of the swimming pool. But, instead of the usual running water, ours is still, slightly developing this convention of the thriller genre. It is seen just after the girl is seen so it suggests there is no longer a happy and energetic girl, her life came to a halt and she is a ghost of her former self. It could also connote the stillness and emptiness of her father’s life after she passed away. Below is a screenshot of the swimming pool..

As aforementioned in another post, the location is quite similar to that of The Others, with a large building and large surrounding gardens. This location is daunting and adds to the suspense as the audience will see the location as mysterious and maybe evil.

The sinister character of the girl is quite a common character in thrillers; an example of a film including this character is REC. This is an unusual character in that is the shell of a dead girl, with an evil and vengeful mind. There is usually an evil character in thrillers, bringing about death and suffering but to make the film more tense and believable, a more relatable character had to be involved; the pizza delivery boy. This helps to add to the suspense and tension as he is seen as vulnerable and as the audience can relate to him, the sinister situation seems more scary and tense. This challenges the conventions of the thriller genre as the strong character, be they a victim or a villain, is usually male. Thrillers demonstrating this convention include Taken and Law Abiding Citizen. Taken emphasises the power inequality between men and women as the story revolves around the kidnapping of a young girl. However, in our film, the strong character is the young daughter. Below are the two contrasting characters..

In the thriller genre, many scenes seem to be quite dark, adding to the tension. For example, the opening scene of Vacancy, the surrounding darkness of the car gives a sense of the unknown and suggests that something is lurking within it. We wanted to do this although the darkness in our opening is artificial, using an effect on iMovie to make it seem like night. I think this is good in that it makes the location seem more mysterious and sinister, it also makes the delivery boy seem more vulnerable.

In addition, a tool very commonly used in thrillers to help create tension and suspense is non-diegetic sound. Many thrillers have a well thought out soundtrack which matches the action so as to effectively create the desired atmosphere. I think our soundtrack that Jack made especially for the film is very good in adding to the atmosphere, especially as it matches the action and thus intensifies the various scenes within the opening.

Finally, conforming to the features of many thriller films, we tried to include many polysemic objects/effects, to add to the atmosphere of the film. For example, in the home video at the beginning, we decided to increase the intensity of the red colour in the picture. This colour connotes warmth, stability, success and emotion, but it also holds connotations of blood, danger and death. This is effective because in this warm and happy time, it is suggested to the audience that dangers are lurking around this young girl, creating suspense.

Throughout the genre there are various modes of address used to communicate to the audience, for example, some have a narrator, usually one of the main characters. In our opening, although it probably would have changed as the film progressed, the main communication to the audience is through camera shots and effects, very little dialogue is used. I think this adds to the tension in that it helps to create a sense of isolation whilst the boy is walking or cycling around the location on his own.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

One of the characters, the pizza delivery boys, is quite a normal character, around the age of 16. We have this character as the delivery person as the difference in height between I and Ed, the father, shows him to be vulnerable. But, also, it is quite usual to see young people in jobs such as these, simple jobs that acquire them some income in order to buy products and services the youth are interested in. This is quite a current character, it does not referring to a social group seen in the past. This character is quite recognisable through the iconography around him, the bike and the bag. The character is quite common in the thriller genre, not necessarily with all these specific attributes, but with the same essential factors. Many thrillers have young characters that are established as quite innocent and vulnerable, as in ours, for example, the young girl at the beginning of Law Abiding Citizen. She is taking part in the usual activities of her social group, like the boy in our thriller. The audience can relate to her in that they will recognise the type of person she is. We have used this character for varying reasons, a main one was because he is around the same age as the bulk of our target audience, 16-18 year olds, therefore they can relate to him.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I do not think it would be released in cinemas as films released in this way are mostly new and exciting films, contributing to the film industry with features not commonly seen. On the other hand, our film very much conforms to the conventions of its genre with not really anything new to offer to the audience. So, being against the method immediate cinema release, I think it would be released onto DVD for the audience to purchase. Also, I think it would be shown on television, late at night to conform to its sinister nature, not suitable for young children therefore a certain classification would be needed. Older teenagers and adults interested in film would watch film channels that would show the film and be interested to see new releases, therefore watch our film.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

I think our target audience, with the help of our audience research, are people around the ages of 15-18, both male and female. The full production of our thriller, done well, would probably demand an age 15 restriction. I think many other people, older than this age range would also enjoy our film. The audience would need to be quite intelligent, but not greatly. As shown in our feedback to the rough edit, I think we have quite successfully created the beginning of a film that is enjoyable for this age range. They need to be able to think and understand the story which, already showing an abnormal twist, would show many complications demanding the audience to figure out what is happening. Our audience would enjoy thrillers/horrors with paranormal experiences, for example, Paranormal Activity, The Others and Inception.

I think films demanding thought from the audience are generally more successful, especially with today's audiences as they want something different from basic storylines seen in the past. Psychological thriller is now a very popular sub-genre. An example of a recent film demanding careful thought and focus is Inception. Audiences today have a very big impact on the films produced due to their needs and demands, they express these through new media such as Youtube, on to which they can argue what should be made or even created something of their own. Gauntlett (2007) says that the boundary between producer and audience is eroded by new media to the extent that it is makes little sense to talk about media audiences anymore- 'Media Studies 2.0'.

Referring to data on imdb.com, people aged under 18 rated The Others 7.9. I chose this data as this film is reasonably similar to ours so this shows how this age demographic may respond to our media product. The response is quite successful and hopefully ours would attract similar attention. Although this shows data from all the ages below 18, it is likely that these people are no younger than about 15; people younger than this probably do not get involved in things like this.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We knew that the interaction with our audience was very important; we needed to hear their thoughts and feelings towards the draft edit in order for us to gain a more informed idea of our current progress and how we could improve it further. The screening that we carried out, along with the questionnaire that was given to them, enabled them to emphasise the positive and negative aspects of our film so we knew the strengths which we could then build on and we knew the weaknesses which we could attempt to eradicate.

We utilised many of the typical thriller conventions in the attempt to engage our target audience and comply with their preferences. For example, to increase the tension and suspense, we had very little dialogue, with eerie music in the background as the delivery boy travels through the dark location. This suggests to the audience something is going to happen, danger is exciting for young audiences so hopefully it is successful in maintaining their attention as they wait to see what happens. Also, the delivery boy is around the same age as our target audience making him relatable and therefore the situation is intensified.

Features in the final edit were included, in some cases kept from the rough edit, as we knew they successful because of the audience feedback. We conducted a viewing with a group of our target audience and they filled out a questionnaire. For example, the effects we used were very popular amongst the audience. This, as well as many other things were successful in creating tension and invoking emotion in the audience, this is seen in the answers of the question 'What did you feel when watching it?'. 4 people said fear, 3 said intrigue and 2 said tense.

See Audience Feedback.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Before the project I had no experience with the use of camcorders or editing. But, as we used them throughout the preliminary and the final project, I felt a growing confidence with both and now have no problems with either. I can now record confidently and import videos on to computers with ease. My group used iMovie as our editing program so I am not familiar with Final Cut. To begin with, I was quite anxious to use iMovie with its various tools that I suspected I would find difficult to remember the location and purpose of, but with the help of others I became comfortable with it quite quickly. I can now confidently do things such as edit clip lengths, add effects, add text and add music. These techniques were very useful in improving the film and making it more effective, for example, adding the light to dark effect was very helpful; if it was left in daylight it would be nowhere near as tense as darkness is always much scarier as evil things can hide and wait to attack the character being watched by the audience.

Another new experience for me was the iMacs. I have used the windows operating system for as long as I can remember so it was quite strange using this new system. There were many very slightly problematic differences for me in the different layout of the keyboard, but that was quite quickly gone with help from other students and teachers with experience with them. Also, the use of the system itself on the computer took quite long to get used to with things such as the different location of saving tools confusing me slightly until I got used to it.

New media has been a great help throughout the planning and production stages of our product, including Blogger and Youtube. Blogger was the central point on which we posted the various pieces of information needed to plan and produce our product. Youtube enabled us to view other media products for inspiration, in particular, thriller films. It also allowed us to get out product on the internet.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I think that although our preliminary task product turned out to be alright, our preparation could have been quite a lot better. For example, group discussion is vital, as I learnt through the lack of it in the preliminary and the success of it in the final project. By making the mistake of not having enough discussion in the preliminary, I tried to contribute as best I could and tried to encourage the group to discuss the project. Discussion is very helpful in many areas, not only in planning. For example, when editing there are many opinions which we didn't always express, especially me. So in the final project, I was sure to give my ideas in planning and construction.

Also, in the preliminary task, we put quite a lot of effort and people onto one task, instead of spreading the work and therefore getting more done. In the final product we learnt from that and it seemed more like a group effort. I now realise how important it is that you utilise the people you have and also make the most of the time you have. In the preliminary, through the lack of the things mentioned above, quite a lot of work was left quite late, leaving the final push quite hard and stressful, well, it wasn't as stressful as it would have been in the final project, which is why we made changes in our method in the final project and we were far calmer and more confident with our product.

We all had many different individual tasks. I created a post about the conventions we aimed to include in our opening and I also created a synopsis. And I made a shooting schedule. Also, I played the pizza delivery boy and brought in the costume, the bag and the bike, with Ed providing the pizza box we used. Ed created the plot for the rest of the film, and a characters post containing information on all the characters in our opening. Also he played the girl’s father, and brought in all the things needed for his character. Jack created a post on the location and he created the soundtrack on GarageBand. He filmed the opening and with some help from the rest of the group, made decisions on the shots used and what the characters done. Emily made a post about the costumes props and objects and she played the girl in the opening. She brought in all the things she needed for her character.

I also learnt how important it was for individuals in the group to share ideas and knowledge, I feel this was not done as well as possible in the preliminary but when done in the final project we seemed to be making good progress and coming up with more ideas, and supporting members when they done so. Because we contributed more, we had a larger variety of things to choose from to include in our product, giving it a better chance of success.

In the preliminary, with the advice from Ed, we recorded many shots multiple times so as to make sure we would have at least one that was satisfactory. This was a very successful method which proved to be worthwhile when editing so we carried it through to the final project.

Whilst editing the preliminary project, we realised how important the music was and to choose an appropriate soundtrack. After having looked for quite a long time, we found a successful song and felt that it had a huge impact on the film and its effect. So, in the final project I knew music would be important. With Jack's expertise he was confident enough to create it himself, so we had music specifically for film, so the effect was more likely to be successful in making the film more tense.

I think the audience feedback went quite well and we learnt many of the audiences thoughts towards our film. For me it was very helpful, as I expected. I thought there would be quite a lot of silly answers but there were very few. I felt the audience understood our films story and grasped its intentions for the rest of the film.

I think a strength of our opening is the effects that we used. I think it makes certain parts much better and helps to make it more tense. Including the effects of the flashes of the girl, the day to night effect, the effect used on the point of view shot from the girl and the effect used when we see the girl behind her father. A weakness of our production is the poor continuity at the end during the conversation, I think this makes it look poor and very amateur. Another strength I believe it has is the location. It is very compliant with our needs to make it conform to thriller conventions.

The most important thing that I have learnt in this process is how vital group cooperation and effort is. I had an idea that this would be needed but underestimated how important it is in successfully planning and constructing a film product. It is needed to get the multiple tasks done and compare and choose different ideas. Without doing this successfully, we probably would have turned up at the location (if we had decided on one) with barely anything to work from and not really know what we would film or how we would do it.

Thriller Opening - Re-Submission

This is the re-edited version of my thriller opening which I hope is an improvement on my 'Final Edit'.

The Stereotypes of Immigrants

Stereotypes:
They immigrate into a country merely to 'steal' the potential jobs of the native people
They engage in a lot of criminal activity
They claim a lot of benefits, a lot of which they have no right to receive
They immigrate illegally


I think people's opinion that they come to the country to 'steal' jobs just stems from the fact that it is currently very difficult to find employment and these people are angry that a lot of jobs are occupied by people whom have immigrated into the country. People also think that the majority of immigrants are illegal, despite the fact that this is untrue, many come to the country legally and train hard to gain high professional jobs such as doctors. This also dispels the stereotype that immigrants are lazy.


In my opinion, the main cause of these views being held is the media, and in particular, newspapers. They often focus on features that have little relevance to a story, for example, the ethnicity of a person involved. Also, they sensationalise stories which may give the image of someone being highly dangerous when in fact the incident was relatively small. Here is an example of this..

Ethnic Representation

Alvarado et al 1987
 Four key themes in racial representation
Exotic - character who is racially different to the main characters is done because it is unusual - exotic
Dangerous
Humorous
Pitied - evoke sympathy from fellow characters and the audience


Changes in Representation over time:
Slave - Blaxploitation - Clown - Rising Middle-Class Figure


The attitudes towards the involvement of ethnic minorities as changed a lot over time. This is partially due to the fear of being accused of falsely representing the ethnic minority concerned. This causes awkward situations when people recognise that producers fear to create storylines for characters of ethnic minorities.
'Albert Square's previous Asian family, the Ferreiras, were criticised as boring and unrealistic - their first names were a mixture of Muslim and Hindu, their surname was Portuguese. "We admittedly came under the spotlight with the Ferreiras," says John Yorke, the BBC's controller of drama production. "We played safe with them and ultimately didn't give them good story lines. We're certainly not doing that with the Masoods, but the devil is in the detail and now pretty much everything we write for them that has a cultural or religious aspect is checked."' http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/22/masoods-eastenders-bbc


Current Ethnic Representation
An example of a humorous character whom is of a different ethnic group to the majority of the other characters is Fat Boy from EastEnders.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/characters/




A character who is racially different to the main characters is Neil Cooper from Hollyoaks. This is an example of the key theme of a character being 'exotic'.

http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/cast/boys/index.html

Ethnicity

This is a group of people that share a similar heritage and culture. They usually have a common language and religion. People are usually conscious that they are a member of an ethnic group.

Shifting Attitudes Towards Mental Illness

Television dramas have a lot of influence on the attitudes of the public towards mental illness, a subject shrouded in ignorance and misunderstanding.


What responsibilities does the industry have with regards to the shaping of people's attitudes about mental illness?


Some see an opportunity for old stereotypes to be turned on their head. An indication given by some television dramas is that mental illness is experienced by very few people, when in fact it affects many. 


Key findings of content analysis:

• 63% of references in dialogue were pejorative or unsympathetic, including 'crackpot' and 'basket case'.
• 45% of programmes featuring mental illness storylines portrayed those with mental problems as dangerous.
• 45% of programmes had sympathetic representations.
• Key themes in the characterisation of those with mental illnesses include representations as 'dangerous outsiders' and 'tragic victims but deserving of sympathy.

The industry feels a responsibility for producing authentic and responsible drama on this topic. Writers claim to be stuck in a 'cul-de-sac' while trying to balance a dramatic pace and realism. The consultation by programme-makers with people with experience of mental-illness and experts varies enormously.

Some believe that multiple portrayals of mental illness have led to exaggerated public fears of people with mental illnesses. These portrayals have upset many people with mental illness and those close to people with a mental illness.

Conclusion

• Television drama has enormous potential to challenge stigma and improve the public's understanding of mental illness.
• Unsympathetic portrayals and references are still predominant.
• Professionals, charities and people with mental illnesses are keen to help the industry to create authentic programmes.

Lighting

Key Light
This highlights the form and dimension of the subject, omitting the key light can result in a silhouette effect.
High
This aims reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. Nowadays, it is used to suggest an upbeat mood, often being used in sitcoms and comedies. It is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.
Low
This lighting creates a chiaroscuro effect (see below).It accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade. Low-key lighting has a higher lighting ratio than high-key lighting.


Back Light
This lights foreground elements from the rear. It is sometimes called 'Shoulder Light' because when lighting an actor/actress it causes the edges of the hair to glow. It is often used to show the characters as good/pure. It is used quite a lot in soap operas.


Rim Lighting
This creates a thin outline around a subject without necessarily hitting the front.


Chiaroscuro ('light-dark')
It is used to indicate extreme low-key lighting to create distinct areas of light and darkness.


*All of the information above that I collected was from Wikipedia.

Atonement Fact File

Institutions
The film was directed by Joe Wright, it is based on the novel by writer Ian McEwan. The writer involved with the film was Christoper Hampton. The production companies included Working Title Films, Universal Films, Studio Canal and Relativity Media. Filming locations include London, Cambridgeshire and Buckinghamshire. In the UK it was released on the 7th September 2007, in the USA it was released on the 4th January 2008. The film had an estimated budget of $30,000,000, in the UK, on the opening weekend, it made £1,634,065 from just 411 screens.


The film has multiple reviews claiming its excellence, one user review from IMDB says 'Atonement - a feast for the eyes.'. Also, the demographics statistics show that the film pleases a vast range of audience groups.

	Votes	Average
Males	60,706	7.7
Females	29,974	8.1
Aged under 18	1,105	8.4
Males under 18	354	8.3
Females under 18	736	8.4
Aged 18-29	57,269	8.0
Males Aged 18-29	35,829	7.9
Females Aged 18-29	21,175	8.2
Aged 30-44	25,231	7.5
Males Aged 30-44	19,019	7.5
Females Aged 30-44	6,043	7.8
Aged 45+	7,068	7.7
Males Aged 45+	5,167	7.7
Females Aged 45+	1,829	8.1
IMDb staff	19	7.9
Top 1000 voters	597	7.1
US users	24,590	7.8
Non-US users	63,013	7.8
IMDb users	102,321	7.8

Working Title Fact File

-British Film Production Company based in London
-Co-founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983
-Produce feature films and television productions
-Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan are the co-owners


With reference to their productions within television, they are engaged in a venture named 'Working Title Television', it is a joint venture with NBC Universal, their parent company.

Skins Trailer Analysis - Representation of Young People

Sound
All sound in the clip is non-diegetic, with the song 'Standing in the way of control' by The Gossip playing over the clip from the beginning up until the voiceover states what the program is and when it starts. This dominance of music perhaps symbolises the dominance that parties supposedly have in the lives of young people. The lyrics of the song itself show that young people are perhaps rebellious and like to go against authority. 'We live our lives, because we're standing in the way of control' suggests that they like to enjoy life as much as possible, which, for them, means disobeying rules. It also suggests that their age group are the only thing preventing complete control and conformity; they must maintain the fun factor in life whilst adults remain responsible and spend most of their time at work and do not usually go to parties. The song also helps to give the clip a quick tempo, showing the 'non-stop' nature of young people and their party-going stereotype. Finally, as the clip comes to a close, the music slows down as the party does; the characters are beginning to feel the effects of the drugs, alcohol and tiredness. This perhaps suggests that they are not responsible and forward thinking, they merely live for the moment which some may see as a negative characteristic.


Mise-en-scene
Throughout the scene there are many toys shown in the frame, these include a trike, water pistols and someone is dressed in a massive bear costume which obviously reminds us of the traditional childhood toy. This perhaps suggests that people of this age still are rather immature and tend to cling on to their younger days in the refusal to grow up and take more responsibility. Also, there is frequent evidence of drug use in the clip, this is a stereotype of young people, some people say that a lot of young people take drugs. It could suggest that they are quite irresponsible and do not care for their well-being or that of their peers.


Editing
The shots of the clip are edited to cut very quickly to the next and give the clip a very quick tempo. This could symbolise the lifestyles of young people in that they rarely calm down and relax; they frequently go to parties and engage in these kind of activities shown in the clip.


Camera
The camera composition is quite important in this clip. The frame is regularly filled with the faces and bodies of young people, this suggests the chaos and lack of control that these parties have, showing how uncontrollable young people are. There are quite a lot of close-ups in the clip, possibly suggesting that people of this age are quite 'in-your-face' and maybe disrespectful and inconsiderate.

Doctor Who Clip - Evaluation of Answer

I think my answer is worthy of a level 2. It shows examples relating to various technical areas, but not in enough detail to gain a level 3. I have used some terminology but again, not enough so as to reach level 3. My main target is to analyse the technical areas in greater detail and to make greater use of terminology whilst making my points.


In this exemplar answer, there are many examples of terminology in the analysis of the text. Also, the points, despite the proficient detail, are concise enough to allow for further answers to be made about the current, and other technical areas. This is something I aim to improve in doing in future answers.


For example, in the analysis of camera shots, a lot of terminology is used and the points are concisely explained to show that they have understanding of the question. Also, the answer is written in a style that consecutively shows the various technical areas, as opposed to being in chronological order. This is good as it ensures all techinical areas have been covered as opposed to concentrating on analysing the whole clip.

Monarch of the Glen - Camera angles and shots

1. The beginning of the clip shows the use of a wide shot to introduce the audience to the area and the people living/working there. The characters in shot are all older and are shown to be hard working and collaborative. The wide shot helps to express this by including many of them in the shot, showing that they are working as a team.

2. When we are introduced to the young female character, the camera tracks her and seems to pivot around the boy, this perhaps suggests she is important to him. As he is looking away, but still the camera tracks her form his position, it shows he may not be confident enough to speak to her but still pays her a lot of attention.

3. In this next screenshot, the camera is angled so as to show the girl quite trapped in the car, with various things covering her from the camera. This perhaps suggests that she feels quite trapped and nervous. 

4. This low angle shot shows the man to be powerful in the conversation and be quite intimidating for the girl.

Corporate Intrusion into Cyberspace

When previous 'do-it-yourself' media institutions such as Youtube and MySpace were purchased by big media companies, the relaxed approach to copyright ceased and the sites became more visibly corporate. For example, much legally posted material has been removed from Youtube and MySpace is now using Gracenote software to clear copyright and intellectual property at the point of download.


SOPA is the Stopping Online Piracy Act. It is a United States bill introduced to expand the ability of United States law enforcement to fight online trafficking of copyrighted material. Court orders have beeen requested to bar advertising networks and payment facilities from conducting business with copyright infringing websites and search engines from linking to these sites. The law would incur a maximum of five years in prison for unauthorised streaming of copyright material. Proponents of the bill say that it protects material and the industry it contributes to. Opponents say that it threatens free speech and innovation and enables law enforcement to block access to entire internet domains because of infringing material on a single webpage or blog.


Corporate intrusion has also led to a huge increase in internet advertisement. For example, they can sometimes be seen at the beginning of popular Youtube videos. Advertisement has become a very large source of income, internet advertising in the UK generates around £2 billion a year- more than 50% of the money made from television advertisements. The money invested in internet adverts has increased since 2007 due to the increased amount of people with broadband connection which led to more spent time online (an opportunity to advertise to a large amount of people).


The internet accounts for 23.5% of all advertising money spent in the UK, while television advertisement spending accounts for 21.9% of marketing budgets.


According to Luhrs (2007), digital media will continue to grow in significance in the foreseeable future.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is a new phase of the internet in which we can create material, distribute it and perhaps move closer to the democratic spirit of the internet that it's inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, had intended. This new era is a positive development for ordinary people, they have relatively cheap instant access to film production and distribution, even a webcam combined with broadband connection can make you an overnight sensation on Youtube. An example of this is the 'Numa Numa Guy', who found his way to fame by recording himself singing and dancing to a well known song..

The man in this video had such great success with this video he went on to create a new Youtube Channel named Numa Network and now has his own website, http://www.numanetwork.com/SVkbT/.

Web 2.0 allows interaction and collaboration within a virtual community. This differs greatly from the mere creation and viewing of controlled content with the previous nature of the internet. Although, it was not a sudden and immediate process to get to Web 2.0, it has been a gradual evolution. Features that allow the seemingly infinite communication include message boards and forums. Also, websites such as Amazon now have systems allowing people to rate and review products.

The most popular Web 2.0 websites are owned by huge companies, for example, Youtube is owned by Google, so, social networking 'We Media', creates profit for these companies. These were also the people that were making money from the web previously. According to O'Hear (2006), Digital media will continue to provide it's owners with huge profits.

Despite these changes into a phase in which people have the opportunity to create material to be viewed by people online, most people still choose to just watch, read, play and listen rather than create and distribute. Only 0.16% of Youtube users actually upload videos.

 



Kat And Alfie Trailer - EastEnders - Sound

Sound that plays throughout the clip is the wind. It adds to the feeling of desolation within the location. Also, it gives emphasis to the characters (Kat and Alfie) as the location seems empty apart from them. It may suggest that without these characters, the soap has not been quite the same, with a sense of emptiness. So, when the music begins and the returning characters are shown, it has a big impact on the audience and draws them in.

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The similarity of the sound to that of a Western styled film suggests that there is going to be some sort of conflict. When Kat enters the set, the sound of her walking is louder than usual, adding emphasis to her return to the square, suggesting it is a significant event and will effect other characters living in the area.

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Also, the sound of her bag hitting the ground after she drops it is emphasised. Perhaps this means that she means to stay and it will take a lot to collect her belongings and leave again. This will interest the audience as they may want her to stay. The bag sounds very heavy, along with suggesting her plans to settle in this place, it could also suggest that she has a lot of things to deal with in this place, possibly unfinished business with other characters.

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The suggestion of conflict is again shown when Kat opens her mirror. It sounds quite alike to that of a gun, again, similar to a Western style film. The feeling of conflict is given as it reminds us of a duel, the way she is standing reinforces this idea. Again, this will interest the audience as they will look forward to the future storylines involving Kat.

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The music from the beginning despite it's occasional increases in volume, has been quite calm, yet tense. But, when we see Alfie, the music changes and the volume increases. This may be because the two characters have now returned and will together, have a large effect on the square. It also raises the question of conflict as up until now, Kat has been shown as a dominant character, but she is now seen as subordinate to Alfie. The music plays a big part in showing the position of these characters.

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The motif at the end of the clip is very effective. As we hear each bang of the drum, it switches between the two characters' eyes. The sound suggests their strong feelings towards each other. This implies the conflict is going to be big.

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Finally, the non-diegetic sound after introduction of Alfie sharply lowers and we can only hear the squeaking of a sign. This may symbolise the 'calm before the storm', the square is empty apart from these two characters, they dare not venture outside and be caught in between this crossfire. 

How has the expansion of digital media been an improvement for audiences?

The shift from 'push media' to 'pull media' is an improvement for audiences as it allows them much greater control over what products are produced. This links in to the rise of prosumers, audiences now have the technology to produce and distribute their own products easily. This not only creates audiences, like that of Be Kind Rewind, which is about people remaking (or Sweding), films, but also expresses what films they are interested in and gives producers an idea of what consumers want to see. The film industry has changed from being a value chain to being a social network, consumers and producers are now mixed up.

The expansion of digital media allows niche audiences to have an intimate network within their audience and be able to discuss with each other and advise each other about their film interests. These smaller, niche audiences are what Csigo (2007) describes in his theory of audience fragmentation; bigger audiences have now fragmented and fallen together into smaller audiences with similar, specific interests. As their interests are more focused than others that may have a wide range of film preferences, social networking is key, it allows them to easily find media products that comply with their interests. Before the expansion of digital media, this social networking would have been a lot more dificult.

Due to the expansion of digital media, 360 degree branding has come into effect and is used by a large amount of filmmakers to help raise the awareness of their film. The broader range of media allows audiences to experience their film in many ways. It also allows them more choice to experience it when and where they want. For example, they can download an App for their iPod and play it when travelling; no longer constrained by the lmited digital media.

Audiences now have a lot more freedom and ability to conduct price comparisons between film distributors. With a computer they can navigate to and from various websites to decide where the best place would be to buy their product. This saves money for the audiences.

One of the biggest technological advances in the film industry is the introduction and development of 3D films. This provides a greater experience for audiences when they watch a film.

Digital cinemas now present an opportunity for audiences to view films in a far greater resolution. Digital projectors capable of 2K resolution began deploying in 2005.

Home cinema is a very big improvement for audiences. Previously, the cinema was by far a better way of viewing films, it still is but the gap has decreased. For example, we now have Blu-ray films and surround sound systems which immerse us in films far better than a mere DVD.

Soap Opera Conventions - EastEnders

All the episodes begin with an establishing shot of the area the soap is set in. Because it is in London, the shot shows a densely populated urban area, this could suggest the nature of the film, in that it is busy, possibly involves violence and includes a range of characters from various backgrounds.

The establishing shot is a typical shot within Soap Operas, for example, in Coronation Street the episodes begin with an establishing shot of the rooftops and shows the viewers the street. Also, the camera shows the audience the local pub, 'Rovers Return Inn', this is a convention of soap operas as it is amongst the vast amount of meeting places that allow gossip to circulate. The example of this in Eastenders is the 'Queen Vic' pub.

Soaps also have interweaving storylines, this helps them to flow better and keep the audience entertained with a multitude of plots to think about. For example, in this episode the emphasis is on the relationship between Ben and Christian and Phil's feelings towards it. But, as we follow this story we also see the story between Ian and Jane. The way these stories interweave also shows the precise continuity that Soap Operas exhibit; as Phil walks out of the pub we go to the other stories, but we then see/hear Phils actions with the baseball bat from their perspective.

Another convention of Soap Operas is the use of music for a motif. The music is one of the main associations we have with them and reminds us of them when we hear it. In Eastenders it is the famous drums at the end, usually sounded when there is some kind of shocking advance in a storyline.

A further convention of Soaps is the dominant use of diegetic sound. Watching and listening to the Eastenders clip above, we can hear very little sound added from outside the actual clip. But, there is an exception with Hollyoaks, they quite often have non-diegetic sound, especially at the beginning; usually there is a song playing quite far into the episode as opposed to having a theme song that finishes as the episode begins.

Finally, another feature amongst Soap Operas, and shown in this EastEnders clip is over-the-shoulder shots and two shots.