Kelly and Niki first video

This is a video that myself and Niki filmed in the quad called snatched. We started by planning it out into 8 shots on a whiteboard, by showing the position of the characters, the camera angle and also which shot would be used. We did a range of filming from filming it ourselves, to having the camera on the tripod and finally by miss taking certain shots for us where techniques like tracking were used.
I naively thought it would be quite easy to film basic shots in the quad, but I quickly learnt that not everything goes to plan! Firstly, Niki fell over which made me aware we needed to be careful where we chose to film our shots to make it safe. On a more technical basis, I discovered that it did not matter if there was additional sound in our recordings as we could quite easily edit this out in a programme which i was introduced to called Final Cut.

On Final Cut I learnt how to put all my shots in a 'bin' so I could select and play them and then cut the shots down with 'I' and 'O' so I could chose certain parts to use. I then learnt how to put them together to make one video, as well as learning how to import music in and render it so it will play with my video. Then I learnt how to mute sound that was created when I was recording so my chosen music was the only audio. Having said that, I kept the noise of the footsteps in the first scene on top of the music to create effect. Finally I was shown how to add in slide transitions to make it more smooth, and how to add in text for our title and closing credits.

Here is our video; Snatched

If I were to do this again i would work more closely with timing to ensure it looks right and runs smoothly, also to ensure the camera is stable to reduce poor quality of filming. Also there was a point where one shot sharply jumped into the next which we had to cover up with a slide transition. Although it was not the best transition to do it covered up the error which we will be sure to avoid next time. I will also try and use a space where people are not walking past, just a trivial thing but it will make a difference in my final work. Also we will both need to work on timing as this was an issue at the beginning leading to us having to do various takes of the same shot which was quite time consuming.
This was a process I really enjoyed and was very pleased with the finishing result.

 

Camera shot practise

I'm just playing around with the camera and taking different shots to work on my basic skills. Here is an extreme close up of my eye. I chose to upload this picture for one of two reasons;
1. I think the close ups can be dramatic and mysterious when used in films, and also emphasise certain features
2. The eye to me symbolises various aspects of media
-Point of view
-Emotion
-Genre

So here is my extreme close up of my eye:

Positive representation of women

This morning I was delighted when I read the Sunday Mirror as I saw an article about Singing phenomenon Adele as she spoke about her plus size figure. Admittedly it was a bit ironic that the article was on page 3 beside a raunchy picture of Coronation Street's Samia Smith but a positive article was written never the less. In the interview, Adele says she feels her curves helped her success and said she wouldn't 'get my tits and ass out for no one'. I feel a great deal of her success has come from her not in fact being a stereotypical skinny, blonde celebrity but instead a beautiful young woman who embraces her curves. She said, and I quote: 'I don't want to be some skinny Minny with my tits out'. Adele goes on to say she has never had a problem with her fuller figure. She also said 'no matter what you look like, I think the key is to be happy with yourself''. This is the sort of message that should be given out to teenage girls to prevent eating disorders and depression because of the ridiculous amounts of pressure to be size zero. I think it is great Adele is happy to share her story with others and encourage girls that curves are beautiful, and being pregnant, it proves you don't have to look a certain way to get a males attention and be happy.

Negative representation of women (toddlers)

I read an article titled ''American glamour kids craze sweeps Britain''. The article is all about children being dolled up in make up, fake tan, wigs and nail polish to enter beauty pageants. This particular article focuses on the Miss Mini Princess UK competition, where the youngest finalist is just 12 weeks old! The initial show which was broadcast in the US called Toddlers and Tiaras has actually been forbidden to air any more as it has been rightly accused of 'sexualising little girls'. It has even gone as far as parents dressing their young children as prostitutes and teaching them pole dance routines so they have an edge over their rivals. The shows are surprisingly legal but concerns are arising about the girls being exploited. A French MP said girls were being 'disguised as sexual candy'. Mother of Aloka-Romaine (girl in the picture below) said 'I don't see what the fuss is about...it's just harmless fun'. 

Personally I felt sick reading this article and seeing the way mothers are treating their daughters. It is bad enough it being on young girls, but children of no older then 12 weeks should be illegal. 'Fun' is the wrong word to describe this outburst, as I am sure at Aloka's age of 15 months she has not given consent and is therefore being exploited by her own mother. Having family members of this age myself, I am horrified at the way these girls are being treated, not only is it morally wrong, but it is giving out the wrong message about the UK to the rest of the world, if this is what is being published in our newspapers.

John Berger, Ways of seeing, 1972

This is a photo of the homework sheet that I completed on the view of women in the media by John Berger.

Kelly and Niki - The Amazing Spider Man

This is the videos that Niki and I recorded of us talking through The Amazing Spider-Man, we talked about the Production, the Distribution, and Exhibition of the film. We got our friend to film it for us so we could position ourselves in different shots. If I could do this differently next time I would probably put the camera on a tripod and film it from there to make it more steady.

Annotated low angle shot

The point of this exercise was to get used to using different camera shots and then to be able to annotate them and use Screen grabbing shortcuts.

New vocabulary

Semiotics: The study of signs
Voyeuristic: Looking at something you are not supposed to look at
Patriarchy: Male dominated society
Dismemberment in a mid shot: Pulling apart bits of the body
Misogyny: Men despise/look down on women
Pernicious: Nasty in a sly way

Representaion of women in music videos

In the music industry women have a very interesting portrayal. It is rare that videos show female artists in conservative clothing. Instead it is small, skimpy and usually provocative outfits that are worn. It is argued that it is not in fact the artist who chooses such raunchy outfits and dance routines, but instead the label they are signed to, who want their brand to have a particular image.

For my first focus I am looking into Nicki Minaj. Nicki is a hip hop/R&B artist signed to Lil Wayne's label Young Money. To escape her parents fighting when she was a child, she invented characters in which she would pretend to be. This is where her identity as 'Harajuku Barbie' came from. For this image she had bleach blonde hair, pink lipstick and and barbie accessories.

Here is Nicki Minaj with her barbie image:

This character carried on into her music videos until her most recent ones like 'Starships' and 'Pound the alarm' where she has taken on a more provocative look.In the video for 'Starships' Nicki is in a small pink bikini strutting up and down a beach, where camera shots are frequently zooming in on her breasts and bum. In addition her extremely flat stomach is also emphasized. Here are some print screens I took from the video:

Here is the link to the Starships music video:

Not only is this giving out the wrong image to younger fans who look up to her, but also for women as a whole, as it suggests that big breasts, a large bum and a super flat stomach is 'the look' and that all women should look like this, which is not the case. It is from scenarios like this that in the long run lead to girls having eating disorders and even depression because they may feel fat or ugly. The pressure that the media and music artists indirectly put on girls to look this way is too much.

For my second focus I am looking into Flo Rida.  He is a rapper/songwriter signed to Atlantic Poe Boy International Music Group. The video i am referring to is 'Whistle' one of his latest releases. The song name itself has sexual connotations as he is not actually talking about a whistle. In the video he is topless and the girls are all in bikinis, having fun in the water and acting playful. There is also various close ups of them emphasizing their figures and breasts as well as pouring water over themselves attracting attention from the males.
Here is a picture of Flo Rida:

Here are some print screens I took from the video:

The whole point of the women in this video is to please the man, not only are they pretty to look at but they are portrayed as 'up for it' as well. Once again it is ridiculously thin girls setting the bar that this is what all women should look like, which is just not reality.

Here is the link to the Whistle music video:

The Amazing Spider-Man Research

Production:

The Amazing Spider Man was produced by Marvel and Columbia Pictures. This company is part of a conglomerate who are well known for producing comic book, superhero films. There was initially a trilogy of the Spider Man films with the last one coming out in 2007. However they reinvented it and 'The Amazing Spider Man' came out in 2012.The original franchise of Spider-Man was directed by Sam Raimi, whilst The Amizing Spider-Man was directed by Marc Webb.  Tobey Maguire was the first actor to play Spider-Man in Raimi's trilogy with Kristen Dunst as Mary Jane. In The Amazing Spider-Man it is Andrew Garfield who plays Spider-Man and Emma Stone who plays his love interest. This led to the couple having an off screen relationship.The film is available to view in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D, with a budget of $230 million to help with stunts, music and advertising.

Distribution:

The film was very cleverly advertised and marketed, even before the film was set to be released. In February 2011, the official site was launched where a picture of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man was unveiled. American shop Walmart offered tours for the film, where they even included never before seen footage. In January 2012 a Marvel select Spider-Man action figure was available to buy, being the fifth Spider-man figure to come out, although the previous ones were related to the comics. Merchandise for this film went crazy, with worldwide brand OPI even bringing out a Spider-Man nailpolish. A teaser trailer was leaked on the Internet and aired at San Diego's Comic -Con International in July 2011. There was even a 'sneak peak screening' in 13 cities world wide in February 2012, cities included  London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York and Berlin to name but a few. The official Twitter account then revealed a scavenger hunt by posting "Property of Peter Parker... Lost" with the longitude and latitude coordinates in major US cities.It it clear there was long anticipation for the film to come out, and it was not a dissappointment when it did with a rating of 73% from review site Rotten Tomatoes.

The BBFC certificate for the movie was pg-13. This may have been chosen because the movie may have contained mild violent scenes of which parents should be cautioned. The film was released in July 2012 which was close to two international sporting events which were the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.  The film company may have released the film at this time because it was during school summer holidays in which young adults and teenagers and younger ages would want to go watch the film. Also people from all around the world came for the Olympics and may have wanted to view the film whilst being in London. Globally the film had a staggered release. This is because after being released in cinema there is a higher demand for the film itself. Therefore the film company will give the film a staggered release because people and viewers will want DVD’s and to view it on television. There may have ben high demand for this because it was the forth film although they have different directors.

Exhibition:

This film was shown in multiplexes such as city cinema, cineworld curtain, cinema empire, cinemas odeon cinemas, oiron cinemas, real cinemas, vue cinemas and imax cinemas. The reason why the film company decided to show the film in multiplex cinemas is because it is a worldwide movie and would be get higher demand and ratings when shown in multiplex cinemas. The sort of people that went to see the film were people of all ages such as children, teenagers, young adults, adults and may be even elderly. During the time the movie was released it was summer holidays and therefore people could have gone to see the film at any time of the day. It has had a immense success after its theatrical release because it has been well advertised and had a really an incredible buzz before it was even released.

The Amazing Spider-Man had a worldwide total of  $744,402,260 at the Box office. It is the 44th highest grossing film worldwide and the 4th highest grossing fillm of 2012. On its opening day, a pre-holiday Tuesday, it set a Tuesday-gross record with $35 million, which was previously held by Transformers. In China the film grossed $33.3 million over a seven day period, which is considerably more then the trilogy itself earnt in China. The IMAX screening earnt $1.2 million in 300 venues.

Link to the trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_XayxMPrUP4

 

 

 

The start of something new

This is my first blog as an AS Media student. I chose Media as one of my A - Levels as  I have an interest in the film industry, music industry and how to make videos in general. I aspire to be a journalist when I have finished my studies, and I really look forward to seeing how this will help me on my journey. I am keen to get into Media studies as it is something new for me.

Here is one of my favourite songs by The Script featuring Will.I.Am.

Here is a picture of The Script - the artists of the above song.