The Noodle

Stars and Stardom

2012-01-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

Stars (new lesson)

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Stars And Stardom

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Key Film Questions

2012-01-24T14:19:00.001-08:00

1 REDISCOVERING FILM STUDIES: SOME FRESH STARTING POINTS

History and historiography

1. Consider your own collections of films – or those of someone you know. What kinds of story/history can be constructed from the inter-connections between them?

2. Take three still images from different films that are important to you. Explore in each case some of the ways in which the image has a resonance for you.

3. Take all three images and put them side by side. Explore some of the ways they begin to ‘talk’ to each other.

In doing each of the above, what do you discover about single film images?

The document in time

1. Compare the two images Plate 1.1 (a) from The Grapes of Wrath on p. 000 of the fourth edition of Introduction to Film Studies with Plate 1.1 (b) from the FSA collection.

2. Account for how similar/different is your response to each. In relation to these responses, what do you understand by the ‘poetics of presence’?

3. Consider a film you know well which plays on the sense of time which escapes that of chronological ‘clock’ time. How does the film communicate this?

4. Consider a film from the past as you respond to it in the present. How do reflections on time alter the way you respond to the images on the screen?

5. Is it useful to make a distinction between films that are rooted in the ‘movement image’ and others that are rooted in the ‘time image’?

Performance:

1. Consider these statements:

Film cannot be defined precisely as a ‘told’ medium and neither can it be defined entirely as an ‘enacted’ medium.

Film is not past tense, but neither is it present tense.

How do we experience film?

2. What are some of the differences between watching people in a documentary as opposed to in a fiction film? Are there any similarities?

3. Think of a film that stimulates the effect of a ‘live’ performance. Do you react in a particular way to this film?

4. When we watch the moving image work which has no obvious narrative purpose, such as the Bill Viola work described in chapter 1 (p. 15-16), or the work of Gustav Deutsch described earlier in chapter 1 (pp. 4-5), what do we do as spectators?

2 THE INDUSTRIAL CONTEXTS OF FILM PRODUCTION

1. Does film censorship reflect or impose standards?

2. Taking the studio era blockbuster Gone with the Wind (1939) as a case study, would you consider the film entirely in keeping with the spirit of the Production Code? [PREFER QUESTION ON CASE STUDY GLADIATOR OR NEW MATERIAL PLEASE]

3. Does the BBFC underestimate the maturity of young audiences in the UK?

3 FILM FORM AND NARRATIVE

1. Compare and contrast any film that you feel is ‘mainstream’ and an ‘alternative’ text. Why do you think these films differ? Look carefully at the ways in which the ‘story’ is told. How far does each text use ‘classical narrative’, and how far, and in what ways, does it reject it?

2. Contemporary cinema is constantly changing. Try and define what now might be meant by ‘counter-cinema’ or ‘art cinema’. How does this differ from your understanding of ‘mainstream’ Hollywood cinema? How might these terms have changed in meaning – try and look at some aspects of the history of cinema to make your evaluation.

4 APPROACHES TO CINEMATIC AUTHORSHIP

1. Choose a director and watch a sample of his or her films. Note any consistencies of style and/or theme that occur across more than one film. Can you detect a ‘personal statement’ or ‘worldview’ in the films?

2. Having completed ( 1), list who else involved in the production of those films has contributed to their look, feel and meaning? In what ways is it meaningful or useful to describe the director as the author of those films? Are they authored by multiple people, or do you think that it is not worthwhile pursuing the question of authorship in relation to those films?

3. Increasinly films are being re-released as ‘Director’s Cut’ versions. How does the notion of the director’s cut relate to the idea of film authorship in terms of both art and commerce?

4. Explore the notion of ‘corporate authorship’ in relation to Disney or PIXAR. To what extent do their corporate brand names also mark out distinctive stylistic practices? Does the same apply for, say, Universal or Dreamworks?

5. When released on DVD an increasing number of films contain a ‘Director’s Commentary’ as part of their ‘Special Features’. After initially watching the film, watch it again while listening to the Director’s Commentary and explore the extent to which his or her explanation of the film’s thematic and stylistic features:

(a) reinforces your own reading of the film

(b) alters your opinion about the significance and meaning of the film.

5 GENRE THEORY AND HOLLYWOOD CINEMA

1. Read the section on ‘Genre as taxonomy’ on pp 112-117. In what ways does a consideration of animation problematise the notion of film genre? Is animation a genre in itself, or is it possible to draw generic distinctions between different animated films?

2. Likewise, try and list some of the difficulties and problems associated with grouping all non-fiction films together under the singular generic label, ‘documentary’.

3. Look at the Table 5.1 on p. 114. Video stores routinely employ categories such as ‘Family’, ‘Romance’. ‘Drama’ and ‘Kids’ to organise their titles. Is it possible to place these categories alongside those listed in Table 5.1?

Table 5.1 doesn’t list the ‘Biopic’. Where would you place it? Can you fit it into more than one category?

4. Read the section on ‘Genre as economic strategy’ on pp 117-119. If you were to invest in a movie, which genre of filmmaking would you choose in order to offset the financial risk and hopefully make a profit? Who would you want to star in it? List five things that would have to occur in the movie in order for you to sign the cheque. Also, what other merchandising products or tie-ins would you sanction in order to promote your film?

5. After reading the section on ‘Rethinking genre’ on pp. 124-6:

Choose a film to see at the cinema and before watching it:

(a) Describe why you chose the film that you did and consider the way your own taste in movies might relate to particular genres.

(b) Describe what you expect to happen in the film; where you expect the action to be set; what props are likely to be present; and how you think the film will end?

(c) Investigate how notions of genre are used in the promotion and marketing of the film. These can range from the film poster, trailers, TV spots, product tie-ins, soundtrack CDs, and so forth. How do these strategies use generic codes to pre-sell the movie to you?

6. After watching the film:

(a) Explore how closely your answer to (b) relates to what actually happened in the film. To what extent does the movie’s genre foreclose narrative possibilities and guarantee certain pleasures?

(b) Make a list of all the films, TV programmes, pop videos, etc. that the film prompted you to think of while watching it. Did it quote, copy, resemble or allude to any other films and texts?

(c) Consider the range of genres present in the film and how they were manifested. How did the film ‘play’ with generic conventio

Disney - The Power of Transnational Corporations

2012-01-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

Distribution - Case Studies

2012-01-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

Distribution is fundamental for a film to make profit, or even break even on its costs. A distribution company may be attached to a project during pre-production, especially for Studio productions for which the distribution company will most likely be a sister company of the production company. However, in the independent industry getting distribution can be a significant challenge. Sometimes a distribution company will be attached from the outset; this will significantly help the independent production company attract financiers. Often though, the film will be taken to film festivals in the hope that a film buyer will purchase the film. Independent film companies often employ a sales agent whose role it is to seek out distribution companies for the film.

In our contemporary society, so reliant on digital media, online distribution is a growing area, however using media sharing sites such as www.youtube.com to distribute a film attracts no profit (though it may attract distributors if enough hype is built). There is profit to be made in selling and renting the film via Lovefilm.com and iTunes, though the advertising campaign for the film will have to be strong in order for audiences to be aware enough of the film, to know to download it.

The Distributor’s JobThe distribution company is in charge of getting the film out to audiences, this involves organising for the film to receive an age certificate by regulation bodies, such as the BBFC and MPAA; arranging exhibition outlets globally and DVD/Television rights; arranging for prints of the film; and marketing, publicity and promotion of the film.

The Distribution Process
These latter tasks form the process of alerting audiences to the films’ existence. There are several critical things the distributor must consider in order to create a productive campaign:

A. Who is the target audience?

The distributor will think about the demographic and psychographic profile of the target audience.

Demographic profile includes: gender, age, socio-economic class and ethnicity. There are many measures used for identifying psychographic profiles, however that most commonly used by advertisers is Young and Rubicam’s 4Cs (Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation): www.4cs.yr.com

B. What do the target audience do?

What magazines and newspapers do they read? Where do they travel and how? What are their interests? What other films are they likely to watch?

The distributor will aim to define everything about the audience, in order to maximise profit for the film, by targeting advertising in the most appropriate places. For example, if the audience is unlikely to take public transport, but likely to purchase political magazines the distributor can avoid tube station posters and instead buy advertising space in The Economist.

The distributor will find out about their audience through surveys and data analysis and will divide their data into three areas:

1. Who the audience is

2. What they think

3. Their media

C. Is there a wider audience this film could appeal to?

Major studio projects are so successful because they are mainly family films. Distributors will look for secondary audiences or whether a film has mass audience appeal, they may create a number of different poster campaigns for example in order to appeal to these different audiences. This means they could advertise the film in trailers and posters as Action/ Adventure (mass appeal), then Science Fiction and Romance (secondary audience) if there are elements of these genres in the film.

D. What major cast or crew are involved in the project?

The distributor will consider how to maximise the exposure of key cast and crew, measuring the successful of their most recent productions will not only allow the distributor to see what audience/s particular stars attract and perhaps widen the audience appeal in the marketing campaign, but it will also allow them to see which stars or crew (mainly the Director/Producer) should feature prominently in the advertising campaign.

Case Study Point
Twilight triggered a zeitgeist for vampire and gothic films aimed at teenagers, thus Hammer’s decision to remake the Swedish film Let the right one in as Let me in, an obscure tale about a young vampire girl was pitched at the right time as the buzz from Twilight was still influencing audiences’ tastes.

F. Pre-existing Property
Films based on pre-existing property are not only safer as they come with a ready-made fan base; they also open up more advertising opportunities as synergy between the two products can be created.

G. USP
The film’s unique selling point is crucial to the distributor’s campaign: what makes the film special? What makes the film worth watching? What are the main selling points of the film?

Case Study Point
Despite being a safe Hollywood fantasy film, which many people have called a ‘remake of Pocahontas’, Avatar was the highest grossing film of all time, yet without any major stars. The film’s USP (As with many of James Cameron’s films) was the use of digital technology and much of the publicity and marketing focused on this with high resolution posters and HD trailers alongside TV, internet and magazines publicity regarding how the film was made. There was also a major emphasis on IMAX and 3D screenings in the marketing campaign and the film was released in several different formats, the releases of these were staggered to encourage people to buy the ‘newer and better’ version.

Once the distributor has a clear idea of the audience and the film’s assets they can then start to structure a campaign, which will be divided into the following areas:

1. Marketing

2. Publicity

3. Promotion

Marketing includes theatrical poster campaigns, trailers, online and outdoor campaigns. Outdoor will include billboard, bus advertisements and bus stop/ tube and train station posters. Theatrical and trailer campaigns will start with teasers that generally begin with enigmatic images and/or taglines (Cloverfield used the image of the statue of liberty without the head, Transformers the infamous transformer logo) then will build to fuller trailers and posters introducing characters and the plot. The Online campaign will include an official website, downloads, banner advertising (for example on www.imdb.com), viral marketing and use of social networking sites.

Case Study Point
Dark Knight - Viral Marketing
The viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight was perhaps one of Hollywood’s most spectacular yet and sparked off a major interest in viral marketing in the industry as it exposed the true extent of the format.

Marketing company 42 Entertainment were hired to invent a major viral marketing campaign for the film which centred at first around two websites: www.whysoserious.com and www.ibelieveinharveydent.com (the latter is now closed). I believe in Harvey Dent served as a campaign website for Dent and began to inspire audience members to support him, whilst in contrast, why so serious was a site for fans of the Joker creating instant rivalry between audience members.

Why so Serious lead participants to a game, which started with a secret message, which led to www.rorysdeathkiss.com, challenged people to take photos of themselves in Joker-esque make up in front of recognisable locations. Those who participated were rewarded with physical copies of The Gotham Times, whilst a sister website was created: www.gothamtimes.com. An array of other websites appeared after this, which created the ‘Gotham Universe’ and were related to companies featured in the online newspaper.

The Joker online phenomenon grew to include a larger number of websites and links eventually leading to www.Whysoserious.com/Steprightup that featured a countdown clock to December 4th – the release date for the teaser poster and trailer. This page also contained instructions to pick up packages in 22 American locations at a particular time on that date, the package? – A birthday cake with a cell phone baked into it.

Publicity will make use of the cast and crew. Firstly with a Press Pack sent out to publishing houses with key information about the film, then through magazines and newspaper interviews and articles. A Press junket will be held at which journalists are invited to interview the cast and crew over one day (a great example of a press junket can be seen in the film Notting Hill) and a Press screening will allow reviewers a chance to write reviews of the film before its release. Stars who are considered celebrities by the mainstream press will be followed by the media, adding further publicity to the film. Finally the Premier will gain further exposure for the film.

Promotion involves synergy and cross-promotions such as the release of comic books, novels or games related to the film, magazines and newspaper competitions and promotions with other companies i.e. drinks, cereal and McDonalds happy meals. Apparel and souvenirs related to the film can also be designed, for example t-shirts, bags, lunch boxes and action figures.

Film Distribution, Marketing, Publicity and Promotion Key Terms
360 degree, saturated marketing campaign –a campaign that covers every possible format in as many territories as possible and is extensive.

Auteur - a Director who has a particular signature to their films, i.e. Stanley Kubrick or Alfred Hitchcock.

BBFC - The British Board of Film Classification: the British film regulatory board.

Binary Opposites - a narrative technique- 2 polar opposites which are used to create conflict in a film.

Buzz - hype created about a film through publicity online and in the press.

Convergence - the use of different mediums, i.e. comic books, publishing, TV and Film to create a world outside just the film which in turn helps advertising.

Copy - text on a poster (or in an article).

Demographic profile - analysing audience in a quantitative manner, mainly consider gender (Male/ Female), age (ranges i.e. 5-12), socio-economic class (ABC1C2DE) and ethnicity.

Distribution company – the company in charge of getting the film released. Major conglomerates tend to have their own distribution arms, some of the important art house distributors in the UK include Memento, Eureka and Tartan.

Enigmatic images - images which raise questions (or ‘enigmas’) for the audience, increasing intrigue.

Film buyer - an employee of a Distribution company who is responsible for finding films with profitable potential, they usually search at film festivals.

Film festivals - major publicity events, filmmakers can enter their films into film festivals across the world in the hope of winning awards and attracting distribution. Some films at festivals will already have distribution, but are hoping for awards in order to boost profit.

Genre - a way of categorising film, this is a very useful tool for distributors as it helps them to produce sale forecasts.

Independent industry - all films produced outside of the Hollywood conglomerate system.

MPAA - The Motion Picture Association of America is the America equivalent to the BBFC.

Online distribution - distributing a film via the internet, either for free on media sharing websites or an official website or through channels such as Itunes or Love Film as a downloadable product.

Pre-existing property - something a film is based on, it could be a novel, another film, a comic book or even a theme park ride (as Pirates of the Caribbean was).

Premier - a major media event when the film is shown to the public for the first time, this will generally occur in a major central cinema such as in Leicester Square, London.

Press junket – a day when journalists are invited to meet and interview key cast and crew from the film. The cast will speak to each journalist for a set time, i.e. 30 minutes before the next is invited in.

Press pack - a document which gives journalists key information about the film, i.e. cast and crew, 10 frequently asked questions and a synopsis.

Press screening - a screening exclusively for journalists and reviewers before the Premier to encourage early reviews of the film.

Promotion - any advertising which involves competitions or involves the film being advertised through other products.

Psychographic profiles (Young and Rubicam’s 4Cs) – a qualitative way to analyse audiences, Young and Rubicam identified seven types of people in the world: Succeeders, Aspirers, Reformers, Explorers, Mainstreamers, Strugglers and the Resigned.

Publicity - press coverage of the film, this could take the form of TV or print interviews, articles or documentaries about the making of…

Sales agent - a person employed by the production company to help raise awareness of the film and to attract a distributor.

Sister company - under the umbrella of a conglomerate organisation a production company will have access to ‘sister’ companies such as distributors also owned by the conglomerate (who we can consider as the ‘parent’ company).

Special effects - the use of technology to create effects that are impossible in our real world or to enhance images.

Studio productions - any production made in Hollywood.

Synergy - simply when the sum of the profit of 2 products working together equals more than the sum of profit if they were standing alone (1+1= more than 2). For example a computer game about a boy wizard or a film about a boy wizard will not do as well if they existed as separate products, compared to the Harry Potter computer game and film.

Tagline - a brief, enigmatic statement which sells the film, normally seen on posters, trailers and online advertising.

Target audience - the key audience that the distributors are aiming their campaign at.

Teaser campaign - the early marketing campaign which leaves audiences asking questions and wanting more.

USP (Unique selling point) - the aspect that makes the film different from others, the main selling point to push in the campaign.

Viral marketing - interactive, online marketing. This usually refers to something beyond just a standard website.

Zeitgeist - the ‘thing’ of the time.

Marketing - all print, online, audio-visual advertising created for the film.

Time warner: global market analysis

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Time warner

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Film Marketing/Synergy Activity
The basic concept of Synergy can be explained through this mathematical formula:

1+1=3

Whilst this may not make sense to mathematicians, in business it does, when we think of profit value. If you sell two separate products, for example a video game and a film, they could both do very well, giving you a profit of £200 million each.

However if the video game and film were linked, i.e. both Harry Potter projects, this is synergy because the profit value of each will be more, perhaps £300 million each. Therefore the product value of intertied products is more than the value of two separate products.

As film students, of course you do not have to worry about mathematics, but you do need to understand the importance of synergy for the industry and to be able to identify and discuss examples.

Jill Nelmes, in ‘An Introduction to Film Studies’ defines synergy strategy as:

Combined or related action by a group of individuals or corporations towards a common goal, the combined effect of which exceeds the sum of the individual efforts. (Nelmes, 1996: 42)

Synergy can come in a number of different forms:

Product Placement

Companies pay to feature their product in a film, which often leads to a deal in which the film’s protagonist or other characters are featured in their advertising campaigns.

Tie-ins

Promotional Partnerships, where the film or its characters will feature on existing products. This may be in the form of competitions.

Spin-Offs

Products based on the original, i.e. the Film. A film may be a spin-off of a television series, or a television series may be created as a spin-off of a film. We can also think of this as media convergence.

Pre-Existing Property

If a film is based on pre-existing material (for example a video game, novel or comic book) the pre-existing material is often re-released featuring imagery from the film on its cover, or a special edition is released in synch with the film’s scheduled cinematic release.

Merchandise

Companies created products specifically for the film, for example toys, calendars, video games. These products not only help market the film, but the audience’s knowledge of the film brings their awareness to the merchandise.

Vertical Integration

When distribution and some forms of exhibition are kept in-house, meaning other subsidiaries of the conglomerate (who owns the production company) distribute the film and create DVD releases of it.

We do not consider publicity (i.e. press appearances and interviews) as a form of synergy though.

Synergy is a common action of the multi-media conglomerates who own the Hollywood studios. Often they will incorporate products from their different subsidiaries. For example, one of their Studios will produce a film, one of their TV studios will create a spin-off series, and one of their games manufacturers will produce a game. This will benefit the conglomerate as their products will be cross-promoted by each other, multiplying the profits for the conglomerate. Remember conglomerates are horizontally and vertically integrated meaning they have several companies in a number of different multi-media fields, which allows them easy access to synergy opportunities.

Looking at the synergy of particular case studies allows us to analyse the structure of Hollywood, how major high concept releases get the funding and profit they do and how they are able to dominate, through their distribution campaigns, over independent films. It is an important facet of Hollywood because it enables the conglomerates to continually accumulate large sum of profit, thus enabling them to continue to make major releases and dominate over the global market.

Another key issue with synergy is that it is in part responsible for the repetitive nature of Hollywood films. To encourage corporate partnerships, merchandise deals and other pre-sales, enabling large budgets to be sought means the films Hollywood produce have to be viewed as low-risk by the partners.

Safe films are those which seem to be almost guaranteed to succeed (remember there are never any guarantees in the film industry!). Partners and investors will want to see evidence that similar films have done well in the recent market, that the directors and stars’ recent films have been profitable and any pre-existing property or clear genre conventions help this.

Therefore, if you look at your local cinema listings, or a film magazine like Empire and Total Film for upcoming releases, you will see there are many similarities between the major Hollywood films. Filmmaking at this level is a business and films have been potential for synergy, therefore more potential for profit if they are safe investments.

Whilst we often say a film’s profit is dictated by the opening weekend box office figures; in today’s global society film’s often make as much, if not more profit, from the longevity of the film’s brand as a presence in the public sphere - this happens through synergy.

So to sum up:
•Synergy is an important part of a film’s marketing campaign- making the public aware of the film’s existence.

•Synergy is an integral reason for the success of the major conglomerates, who own Hollywood, and for their dominance over independents worldwide.

•Synergy is also a key reason for the studio’s preference towards safe films, because the safer the investment the more likely it is that they will be able to attract corporate partnerships.

•The synergy opportunities developed for a film can often be more profitable than the film itself and keep the film brand in the public sphere constantly- ideal if the studios are planning a sequel, which is more than common in contemporary Hollywood!

OVER TO YOU...
Marvel Comics and Disney-Buena Vista (who now own Marvel Comics) have decided to release a new film on their character Ms. Marvel (see her profile here: http://marvel.com/characters/bio/1010338/ms_marvel).

Look at a range of existing comic book examples, http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/ could be a helpful resources, research the different inter-linked products they have i.e. merchandise, spin-offs, cross-promotions, etc.

Mind map synergy potentials for the film Ms. Marvel remember to consider the different potential audiences you could appeal to and how you could develop pre-existing property.

Year 12 Film Studies - Hollywood

2012-01-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

American film industry

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Short Film Production 2012

2012-01-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Middle of Nowhere from retrofilms on Vimeo.

SCINTILLATION from Xavier Chassaing on Vimeo.

APRICOT — A Short Film by Ben Briand from Moonwalk Films on Vimeo.

Watching Shorts: Online
Atom Films
This is one of the oldest and most reliable short film screening websites, showing shorts from around the world.
http://www.atomfilms.com/

Britfilms.TV
BritFilms TV is a channel set up to showcase the work of independent filmmakers including: short films, documentaries, animations, trailers, and music videos. Note - not to be confused with the British Council-run site, Britfilms.com.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770046

BFI: film download space
For a fee you can download classic shorts and features from the British Film Institute (BFI) Collections.
www.bfi.org.uk/filmdownloads.html

Channel Four: Four Docs
FourDocs is the broadband channel for documentary from Channel 4. Watch short docs from around the world, as well as classic feature-length documentaries. The site also has great advice on how to make docs as well as a history of documentary making.
www.channel4.com/fourdocs

Channel Four: Shorts And Clips
The screening section is one section of a larger ‘Film’ website offering lots of helpful information.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770053

Coffee Shorts
In conjunction with Metacafe, Coffee Shorts offers a selection of quality short films in the drama, documentary, animation, comedy and experimental genres.
http://www.coffeeshorts.co.uk/

Current TV
Current TV is a global digital television channel on NTL and Sky. The website showcases short factual films and documentaries and the most popular films are broadcast on its TV channel.
http://www.current.tv/

Digishorts
This West Midlands-based site hosts short films from 2002 up the present, all of which were financed by Screen WM and the UK Film Council.
http://www.digishorts.co.uk/

Films Short
A roundup of the some of the best short films available to watch on YouTube and other websites, embedded directly into the site.
http://www.filmsshort.com/

Guardian Unlimited: Cybercinema
The Guardian used to provide this monthly round-up of some of the best short films on the web.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770064

ifilm
A more commercial site that has features, music videos, viral videos, games and information.
http://www.ifilm.com/

Love Film
Love Film, the online DVD rental service, offers a selection of free and pay-to-view short films as downloads and streams.
http://www.lovefilm.com/

Lux
A not-for-profit company promoting artists' moving image work. Includes a showcase of artists' video and clips.
http://www.luxonline.org.uk/

MiShorts
Described as a 'boutique' Video-on-Demand service, this offering from the screen agency Screen South and short film distributor Final Cut streams a selection of short films for free and paid-for films for download. You have to become a member of the community to view the content.
http://www.mishorts.com/

My Space: film
This popular social networking website has a section for films and filmmakers.
http://www.myspace.com.../

Pixar: shorts
Shorts from Academy award-winning animation studio, Pixar.
www.pixar.com/shorts

Pocket Movies
A selection of shorts (as well as animations, commercials etc) are available to download (for free but with the option of making a donation).
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770079

Raindance TV
A new offering from the people behind the festival: a blend of independently-produced, feature and short films via its website and other IPTV / mobile networks.
http://www.raindance.tv/

The Smalls
Short film showcase and filmmaking community. As well as the website, they run events and competitions.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770084

Trigger Street
Short filmmakers can upload their films, get reviews from other site members and download numerous screenplays submitted by aspiring writers.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770087

Videos.antsville
A music video wire - watch or post links to cool music videos.
http://www.videos.antville.org/

Vimeo
The video-uploading website is more credible among creatives than its rival YouTube and it's also easier to discover exciting new filmmaking through its curated collections and recommendations.
http://vimeo.com/

You Tube
Whilst this popular video sharing website is largely dominated by homemade videos and user-generated virals, if you know the short you're looking for it might be worth a look here.
http://www.youtube.com/

Watching Shorts On bbc.co.uk
Sites (other than Film Network) where you can watch short films on bbc.co.uk:

*Please note that all three of the below are no longer updated by the BBC, although archive video content is still available.

Blast
Blast is an initiative encouraging 13-19 year olds throughout the UK to get involved in dance, film, art and music. In the film section of the site, you can watch short films made by young filmmakers.
www.bbc.co.uk/blast/film

New Talent: film
New Talent run a number of schemes to find new filmmaking talent. In the Watch & Listen section, you can see shorts made by previous winners and finalists of these schemes.
www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/film

Video Nation
Online community where you can watch and post short documentary films about everyday life in the UK. This site also has an archive with FAQs and filming tips.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770100

Watching Shorts: Television
Channel Four: Animate!
Animate! regularly commissions slates of short animations that are funded by Arts Council England and Channel Four. These films are then shown on Channel Four.
http://www.animateonline.org/

Channel Four: 3 Minute Wonder
3 Minute Wonder is a slot on Channel Four that broadcasts up-and-coming new directors' three-minute documentaries after the Channel 4 News on weekdays.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770105

Channel 4: Four Docs
As well as being shown on the website, some of these four-minute documentaries are also screened on Channel 4 or More4.
www.channel4.com/fourdocs

Current TV
Current TV is a global digital television channel on NTL and Sky. The website showcases short factual films and documentaries and the most popular films are broadcast on its TV channel.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770110

Film24
A new digital satellite television channel on Sky. As well as showing short films, Film24 programmes include news and previews of upcoming and current releases, interviews with stars and behind-the-scenes filmmaking features.
http://www.film24.com/

Propeller TV
A not-for-profit digital satellite television channel on Sky and NTL that shows short films.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_94770115

Helping YOU to make a great Short:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/introduction/what-makes-a-good-short

Allegory Explained

2011-11-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

Allegory

More PowerPoint presentations from april

Really interesting article- Allegory, Rhythm and Metropolis
http://mcowan-research.mcgill.ca/wp-content/uploads/cowan-heart-machine-article-from-modernism-modernity.pdf

Religious Allegory in Metropolis:

Freder in Metropolis is one of the more overt examples. Freder's Father, Johann Fredersen, is the overlord of Metropolis. As Metropolis stretches for miles and includes good things (such as marvelous theatres and stadiums) and bad things (a red-light district) it can be seen to represent the World. Fredersen, as both ruler and builder of Metropolis symbolized God, and Freder, his son, would therefore be Jesus. Furthermore, when Johann Fredersen asks his son what he was doing in the machine halls, he says that he wants to see the little children who are his 'brothers and sisters'. He identifies with children, even though he is in his twenties, and this could be a reference to Jesus Christ's saying 'Suffer little children to come unto me' or a sign of Freder's inherent purity. His lover is named Maria, the German for 'Mary' as in 'Mary Magdalene' and Freder is 'crucified' as he works on a horrible machine that forces him into the position of jesus on the cross.

More RELIGIOUS ALLEGORY:http://www.blogger.com/goog_460110570

http://www.decentfilms.com/reviews/metropolis1927.html

Metropolis - Themes and Contexthttp://www.filmeducation.org/metropolis/pdf/Metropolis_Themes_and_context.pdf

INTERTEXTUALITY - The Odessa Steps meets Ghostbusters

2011-11-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

Let's make a 'ONE MINUTE' movie!

2011-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/oneminutemovies/howto/story.shtml

http://www.filminute.com/2011/screeningroom/index.php

Storyboards
http://www.frankwbaker.com/storyboards_mad_men.htm

German Expressionism Lesson Resources

2011-11-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

445 german expressionism

View more presentations from aleerivera

Year 13 Film Studies - Short Films Examples

2011-10-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

WARNING - This film is the winner of the 'Ctrl.Alt.Shift' short film competition which has a remit to produce films that fight global social injustice. It is shocking and thought provoking and as one commentator said: "This short film makes an admirable attempt at performing one of the key roles of visual media in social activism - bridging the gap between the audience and a distant reality. By changing the context of the violation the film recasts child soldiers - no longer are they 'distant others' worthy of our pity and damned to a place of violence, but precious children in need of our attention and support."

Ctrl.Alt.Shift Film Competition Winner: War School from Ctrl.Alt.Shift on Vimeo.

Year 12 Film - Micro Elements of Film

2011-10-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Art and cinematography

View more presentations from Rob McMinn

Continuity editing quiz

View more presentations from Rob McMinn

Editing

View more presentations from Armthorpe Media

Film glossary

View more presentations from Rob McMinn

Mise en scene

View more presentations from J Thrasher

Film lighting intro

View more presentations from Andy Wallis

The Importance of Sound

2011-10-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Four Ways Sound Affects Us

View more videos from The Sound Agency

Year 12 Film Studies - Wednesday 6th October 2011

2011-10-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Everyone,

I am going to be a bit late to your lesson this morning so can I please ask you to make a start on the following activity - I will be with you by 9.20/9.25am.

1. Read the following mini-story.

2. Split into groups of 4/5 (6 Groups in the class Max) trying to have at least one person in the team who has created a storyboard / learnt about storyboarding previously.

3. In your teams plan and storyboard the story in no more than 15 shots (12 minimum). There are storyboard sheets in the red box at the front of the classroom.

Tom is writing with a red pencil. He stops writing and rubs his eyes. When he goes back to write again, he can’t find his pencil. He searches his desk, but cannot find the pencil. As he searches, he notices the student next to him has a red pencil. Tom glares at his neighbour. Tom gets up his nerve and snatches the pencil back. Tom holds the pencil triumphantly. Just then, another student passes by, and bends to pick something up. It is Tom’s red pencil, which had fallen on the floor. She hands it to Tom, who now holds two red pencils.

When complete, you are going to film your sequence (Jack will bring cameras in on my arrival).

Please remember that I will be collecting 'City of God' micro essays and some of you will be presenting your mise-en-scene analysis PowerPoints tomorrow so bring memory sticks!

A/S Film Studies - Micro Analysis Resources Week 1

2011-09-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Film terms and techniques introduction

View more presentations from Andy Wallis

World Cinema

2011-09-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMo0UeuJqDE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO1Vyb8ANvA

Year 13 Film Studies

2011-09-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

RE Stop Day - Religion and Film Resources and Clips

2011-07-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.blogger.com/goog_589093924
http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/green_mile.htm

VPAB07 Whiteness in Hollywood Films

View more presentations from Cultural Pluralism in the Arts (CPA), University of Toronto Scarborough

Masculinity in Crisis

2011-06-14T21:42:00.000-07:00

Docker’s “Wear the Pants” magazine ad decries the feminization of males. It touts the concept that masculinity is valuable and good, that a lack of masculine men is harmful to society, and that the world needs men to step up and be true men. The advertisement contains a “MAN-ifesto,” shaped in the silhouette of a man (see picture), that says:

Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never crossed the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their Khakis and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by as cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad guys, WE NEED HEROES. We need grown-ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It’s Time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood. IT’S TIME TO WEAR THE PANTS!

The Docker’s ad campaign reveals that there’s an underlying sentiment amongst men that their masculinity has been devalued. They have been feminized – “left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny.” The new cultural definition of manhood does not “fit” with who they are, and they are keenly feeling the disconnect.

Men are not women. They are not genderless. They are not androgynous. They have an innate, God-given bent to initiate and be heroes. They want to untie the world from the tracks of complacency. They want to get their hands dirty. They want to answer the call of manhood. They want to be MEN… and what’s more, they want women to be women.

The ad astutely observes that “today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for.”

Magazines and Gender: David Gauntlett

http://theoryhead.com/gender/interview2.htm

http://theoryhead.com/gender/interview3.htm

http://theoryhead.com/gender/extract.htm

Resources to support your AS Media Film Industry Case Study Exam

2011-05-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

St Trinians/ Ealing Studios Articles you MUST read:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8550916.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6675169.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8550916.

Exam Practice Mind Map

http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/ecclestona/exam-question-practice

A/S Media Studies Lecture Resources - May 2011: Film Industry

2011-05-06T04:13:00.000-07:00

Mark Kermode on Avatar

Case study 2 st.trinians

View more presentations from JonPurday69

German Expressionism Lesson Resources

2010-05-12T23:31:00.001-07:00

Issues in Film Studies 1B - Week 3 Seminar

View more presentations from Holly Chard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Kracauer

Metropolis - Key Scenes and other stuff

2010-05-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Context:

Social change, destabilization, the rise of an authoritarianism that curtailed personal freedom and alternative thinking -- these were the conditions in Weimar Republic Germany during the heyday of the Expressionist movement in film. Spanning the years 1909-1924, theirs was a time of revolution (in Russia and Germany), war (World War I), and reaction (the rise of National Socialism in Germany). Anxious about the disintegration of their culture, filmmakers such as F.W. Murnau, Robert Wiene, and Ernst Lubitsch used cinema to create new forms of visual representation, exploring the possibility of reversing power relations through the look. The cinematic Expressionist movement in Germany is generally considered to be the classic period of German cinema; many Expressionist works are included in the canon of the world's greatest films. From Lubitsch's masterpieces 'Passion' (1919) and 'Deception' (1920), through Wiene's famous 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' (1919), to Murnau's brilliant 'The Last Laugh' (1924) and 'Nosferatu' (1922), there has rarely been a movement of such consistent inspiration and achievement. Expressionism in cinema, as in the other arts, attempts to 'reappropriate an alienated universe by transforming it into a private, personal vision.' With that in mind, Expressionist cinema tried to deepen the audience's interaction with the film, combining technology and imaginative filming techniques in order to intensify the illusion of reality. The Expressionists practically reinvented the look of film with innovative and unusual editing rhythms, perspectivally distorted sets, exaggerated gestures, and the famous 'camera unchained' -- a new technique that allowed the camera to move within the scene, vastly increasing the accessibility of the character's subjective point of view. The Expressionists developed new habits of seeing, new ways to interpret the way people relate to social living and self-identification. The Expressionists supplanted reality with myth and fantasy in order to liberate visual perception from the other senses. Their goal: to liberate the mind of the individual from the oppression that rationalism imposed on an industrial society -- an oppression that became more and more powerful as the National Socialists grew in power.

In Part 2, Freder sees the horrendous working conditions of Metropolis, including the famous scene in which a gigantic machine seems to become Moloch, ancient demon-god of human sacrifice, and tries to tell his father, Master of the city, what he has seen. Contrasted with the underground factories is a Utopian vision of the aboveground City as Freder rushes to see this father. Music is by Alexander Nemtin, after Scriabin, for Preparation for the Final Mystery and Nuances. The 1917 revolution had already occurred in Russia, but Hitler and the National Socialists (Nazis) had not yet taken over Germany. The rulers and adherents of both these systems killed millions of human beings through an enforced way of doing things that was based on a rigid philosophy rather than one having an awareness of human aspirations and honoring individual merit and achievements.

Wiki-link on Fritz Lang:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Lang

Representations of Women in the Film:
Women were represented in different ways throughout the movie Metropolis, but the underlying theme was women were seen as purely sexual. Maria was seen as the nurturer in the film, but also as a sexual object. She was the one who preached for peace and harmony down in the catacombs to the workers. Maria was also the nurturing maternal figure that was seen walking into the garden with all of the poor children. The vamp, on the other hand, was portrayed blatantly as a sexual object. This whole movie was seen through the eyes of the male perspective, which usually portrays women as sexual objects, and robs them of any identity. Lang shows Frederson as having fear of femininity which involves women's emotion and nurturing.

The robot was seen as a creation of technology and femininity and sexuality through the male imagination. This creation of the robot was to reflect the fear that men have of women and of technology. Women, machines, and nature raise fear in men because they threaten the male dominance and control. The female robot rose fear about threatening male control because of the idea that technology could become so large and advanced that it would go out of control of man and destroy humanity. Maria also posed as a threat to Frederson because of her emotions and nurturing. As seen in the movie, the scene where Rotwang leads Frederson down to the catacombs to watch Maria preach about peace is a direct depiction of the male fear of femininity. This fear comes from Frederson not having any control over this situation because he did not know about the catacombs, which scares him. Men need to control these women because of these insecurities about their own dominance.
Throughout the entire movie there is an underlying theme of men always controlling women. The world of technology has always been seen as being all men while the women were standing on the outside looking in. For example, Rotwang creates this vamp to satisfy his own sexual desires, and to be able to control and dominate her every move. Woman has been constructed by man to serve her master, be completely dependent, and meet his needs. Lang invents his females as technological objects that come to life at the hands, and visions of their male masters. This is clearly seen when the robot, disguised as Maria, is put on the stake to burn. Her clothes eventually begin to disappear to display her feminine body, while every mans eyes are glued to her.

Adorno and The Frankfurt School

2010-05-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.theorycards.org.uk/card07.htm

Theodor Adorno

Adorno (1903-69) argued that capitalism fed people with the products of a 'culture industry' - the opposite of 'true' art - to keep them passively satisfied and politically apathetic.

Adorno saw that capitalism had not become more precarious or close to collapse, as Marx had predicted. Instead, it had seemingly become more entrenched. Where Marx had focussed on economics, Adorno placed emphasis on the role of culture in securing the status quo.

Popular culture was identified as the reason for people's passive satisfaction and lack of interest in overthrowing the capitalist system.

Adorno suggested that culture industries churn out a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products which have replaced the more 'difficult' and critical art forms which might lead people to actually question social life.

False needs are cultivated in people by the culture industries. These are needs which can be both created and satisfied by the capitalist system, and which replace people's 'true' needs - freedom, full expression of human potential and creativity, genuine creative happiness.

Commodity fetishism (promoted by the marketing, advertising and media industries) means that social relations and cultural experiences are objectified in terms of money. We are delighted by something because of how much it cost.

Popular media and music products are characterised by standardisation (they are basically formulaic and similar) and pseudo-individualisation (incidental differences make them seem distinctive, but they're not).

Products of the culture industry may be emotional or apparently moving, but Adorno sees this as cathartic - we might seek some comfort in a sad film or song, have a bit of a cry, and then feel restored again.

Boiled down to its most obvious modern-day application, the argument would be that television leads people away from talking to each other or questioning the oppression in their lives. Instead they get up and go to work (if they are employed), come home and switch on TV, absorb TV's nonsense until bedtime, and then the daily cycle starts again.

German Expressionism and Weimar Cinema - Placing the films in context (Macro) Lesson Resources

2010-05-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

Weimar And Expressionism

http://korotonomedya.net/theoria/weimar.html

German Cinema.Key

View more presentations from nepaliain.

The Film Artist

View more presentations from nepaliain.

Culture in the Golden Years of the Weimar Republic

View more presentations from cinbarnsley.

Weimar Republic Culture Brown

View more presentations from cinbarnsley.

The Weimar Republic

View more presentations from avsalvatore.

Cabaret
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxmz3RcNNBE&feature=related

Exam Questions
International Film Styles
Your answer should be based on a minimum of two films appropriate to one of the following topics:
• German and/or Soviet Film of the 1920s
• Surrealism
• Neo-Realism
• New Waves

Either
3. Discuss characteristic features of casting and/or performance, exploring how far these features contribute the overall effect of the films you have studied. [35]
or

4. What is the relationship between visual style and the subject matter of the films you have studied? [35]
http://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/5797.pdf

Tim Burton on The South Bank Show

2010-04-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

German Expressionism - Whole Movies and Inspired Contemporary Work

2010-04-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Persepolis and How director drew inspiration from Expressionist Film
http://www.filmeducation.org/persepolis/prod-notes.pdf

Useful Links
http://faculty.cua.edu/johnsong/hitchcock/pages/expressionism/expressionism-film.html

German Expressionism - Film Noir and the relationship with Expressionist Movement

2010-04-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

From German Expressionism to Film Noir

The term Expressionism has a deep resonance in the history of the cinema. As Thomas Elsaesser explains in ‘Weimar Cinema and After’, it is not just a stylistic term for some of the films from the early 1920s, but “a generic term for most of the art cinema of the Weimar Republic in Germany, and beyond Germany, echoing down film history across the periods and genres, turning up in the description of Universal horror films of the 1930s and film noir of the1940s.”

Clips mentioned in this section are not available to view on the website but are readily available to buy or rent from the usual outlets or from other mentioned sources. The journey of German Expressionism from art cinema to the Hollywood mainstream began with the exile and expulsion of many film producers, directors, writers, actors, and music composers from Germany after Hitler came to power in January 1933. Settling in California, these German emigres had a significant artistic influence on Hollywood filmmaking. This influence was most clearly felt, Thomas Elsaesser writes, “in the existence of that famous 'Expressionist' genre, the film noir, combining the haunted screen of the early 1920s with the lure of the sinful metropolis Berlin of the
late 1920s (the femme fatales, Louise Brooks and Marlene Dietrich) mixed with the angst of German
emigres during the 1930s and 40s as they contemplated personal tragedies and national disaster.”

The term film noir was first coined by French film critics in August 1946 to describe a daring and
stylish new type of Hollywood crime thriller, films such as The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity,
Laura and Murder, My Sweet. Standard histories describe film noir as a synthesis of hardboiled
crime fiction and German expressionism. The term is also associated, James Naremore writes in
‘More Than Night: Film Noir and its contexts’, “with certain visual and narrative traits, including lowkey
photography, images of wet city streets and romantic fascination with femme fatales.” Most
commentators locate the period of film noir as beginning in 1941 with The Maltese Falcon and
culminating in 1958 with Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. Some commentators believe that noir began
much earlier and that it has never gone away.

The hardboiled private eye stories of authors Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain
and Cornell Woolrich provided the narrative source for many classic film noirs. John Huston began
the trend of crime novel adaptations with his 1941 version of The Maltese Falcon. This was quickly
followed by Double Indemnity (directed by German émigré, Billy Wilder who went on to write and
direct Sunset Boulevard), The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce and the Raymond
Chandler adaptations, The Big Sleep and Murder, My Sweet. Other classic film noirs that feature an
investigative narrative structure include The Killers, Out of the Past, The Big Heat, Kiss Me Deadly
and the Big Combo. A direct connection between the crime films of the German Expressionist cinema and the Americanprivate eye movie is made in the work of Fritz Lang, the German émigré director who fled into exilein 1933. Lang brought the dark vision of criminality of his Expressionistic classics, Dr Mabuse, the
Gambler and M to Hollywood and became one of the most prolific directors of the noir genre. His
films include The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The Big Heat, The Blue Gardenia, The Secret
Beyond the Door, While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Lang’s special subject was
the paranoid mentality. According to Martin Rubin, “No filmmaker has conveyed more powerfully
than Lang a sense of overwhelming entrapment, of a world whose every circumstance, every twist
and turning, every corner and corridor, seem to conspire against the individual and draw him or her
more deeply into a spider’s web.”

It is the visual style of film noir, rather than story or character type, that is seen as its defining
characteristic. The noir look was created by cinematographers, costume designers, art directors and
production designers. Its enduring influence on all genres of Hollywood filmmaking can be seen
today in films as diverse as Bladerunner, Seven, Barton Fink and Sin City.

The visual style of film noir, James Naremore writes, “is characterised by unbalanced and disturbing
frame compositions, strong contrasts of light and dark, the prevalence of shadows and areas of
darkness within the frame, the visual tension created by curious camera angles and so forth.
Moreover, in film noir, these strained compositions and angles are not merely embellishments or
rhetorical flourishes, but form the very substance of the film.”

The noir world is corrupt, threatening and violent. French film critics saw the typical noir narrative as
an existential nightmare from which the protagonist can never awaken. He is a doomed figure
journeying through an underworld of crime and deception until the final betrayal by the femme
fatale that he has fallen for. Expressionist lighting schemes and camera angles convey a sense of
entrapment as the hero makes his way through an often labyrinthine plot. In film noir, Expressionism found a worthy subject in the archetypal American antihero as film scholar Janey Place explains: "The visual style of film noir conveys the dominant mood (male psychological instability and moral uncertainty, paranoia, claustrophobia, a sense of doom and hopelessness, etc) through expressive use of darknesss: both real, in predominantly underlit and nighttime scenes, and psychologically through shadows and claustrophobic compositions which overwhelm the character in exterior as well as interior settings. Characters (and we in the audience) are given little opportunity to orientate themselves to the threatening and shifting shadowy
environment. Silhouettes, shadows, mirrors and reflections (generally darker than the reflected
person) indicate his lack of both unity and control. They suggest a doppelganger, a dark ghost, alter
ego or distorted side of man's personality that will emerge in the dark street at night to destroy him.

The sexual, dangerous woman lives in this darkness, and is the psychological expression of his own
internal fears of sexuality, and his need to control and repress it.”

A Personal Journey through American Movies: (02:06:36 02:28:00)

The BFI DVD ‘A Personal Journey through American Movies’, contains a 22 minute dedicated to film

noir. Martin Scorsese discusses the work of key émigré directors such Fritz Lang The American Cinema television series (available on video) The second volume in this series contains a 50 minute programme on film noir. A dedicated section of the programme explores noir lighting techniques.

A Brilliant Noir Site with a super section on Expressionism if you click on the shadow in the picture:
http://cinepad.com/filmnoir/dark_room.htm

A bundle of FM2 Goodies

2010-04-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

YOU MUST USE THIS AMAZING BLOG THAT IS CRAMMED WITH FANTASTIC FM2 RESOURCES AND LOADS OF OTHER SUPER-DUPER FILM GOODIES FOR THE DEDICATED FILM STUDENT. HERE ARE A FEW GREAT BITS TO GET YOU STARTED:
http://asanda2filmstudies.blogspot.com/

Eddie Izzard on British V Hollywood Film:

An Introduction to the Hollywood Film Industry:

Here is a fantastic link focused on the British Film Industry:

http://www.skillset.org/film/business/#

Exemplar Exam Questions

How important are film reviews in determining whether or not people choose to see a film?

What different kinds of attraction are offered to audiences by ‘home cinema’ compared with seeing a film at the cinema?

What is the significance of a large film company like Warner Bros being part of an even larger media empire (stimulus – chart)

How important is it for the British film industry to have internationally recognised stars? (The stimulus were film posters of Kiera Knightley)

What is the importance for audiences of the images used in movie posters and dvd covers? (posters)

What do you find interesting in the pattern of cinema-going by age group in the UK today? (British cinema ) (stimulus – chart)

What is the value to the film industry of having stories about the private lives of stars presented in the media? (Stimulus – articles)

Do you think it is a good idea to require UK television companies to put money into the financing of UK films? (Stimulus – articles) British Films

How are audiences attracted to different kinds of films? (stimulus – film posters)

How far does your experience of watching films depend upon the technology used to view them? (stimulus – user reviews of blue ray disc of “Black Hawk Down”)

(How far does the power of stars influence which films are made in Hollywood? (stimulus – comments on George Clooney and Tom Cruise on how George managed to get his films made and how Tom chose his films.)

What strategies do you think can be used to create a successful British Film Industry?

Stars and Hollywood Returns

This is a useful link for fairly recent figures on Hollywood stars and how much their films earn for every dollar spent on them. This could be helpful for star case studies, etc.

http://www.forbes.com/media/2008/07/22/star-salary-roi-biz-media-cz_dp_ph_0722payback.html

Hollywood's most expensive stars- they returned poor box office per dollar earned by them.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/12/business/12Forbes-actors.php

In pictures, with relevant information

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/12/business/12Forbes-actors.ph

British Films in Production

Here's a useful website for finding and tracking the production of a new film from the processes of production. You can then follow the film for its marketing and distribution and exhibition. This is great for FM2 case studies.

http://www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/inprogress/
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=chart_film_prod&FF=none&dept=Film

Financing Film in Hollywood
This blog has some excellent interviews with producers about Film Financing
http://www.hollywood-dream.com/blog/

ORANGE - Film Sponsorship and Product Endorsement

http://www.youtube.com/user/orange?v=8SNmDop1z08&feature=pyv&ad=4612110832&kw=cinema

AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

What do the terms “high brow” and “low brow” mean?

Would you say that in your experience going to the cinema is a “high brow” or “low brow” pastime?

What type or class of people do you believe go to the cinema? Does this vary according to the film, and/or depending on the particular cinema in question?

Think about your own cinema-going patterns.

Do you ever go on your own?

Do you tend to go with the same people to the same sorts of films?

How does the experience differ depending on whether you are on our own or with particular friends?

How do you decide what you are going to see and who you are going to go with?

Do you simply go to watch the film at a set time or do combine this with some other activity (or activities) such as shopping or eating out?

When did you first go to the cinema? What did you go to see? Who took you? What do you remember about the experience (not just the film but the event of going to the cinema as a whole)?

Questioning the importance of film gathering as 'entertainment'.

What kinds of entertainment did audiences gather to see in the past? What was the nature of the audiences’ experiences from other types of entertainment? (Who, what, why, when and how?) (Who, what, why, when and how?) Find out about a how crowds experienced narratives and stories in magic lantern shows, early theatre, ampitheatres, early music hall, etc.

Why have storytelling and performance always seemed to be important during such gatherings?

What do audiences gain from listening to stories and watching performance?

How did society or the community benefit from allowing the activities to take place?

Why should communities gather to see films and how are their experiences different from the experiences of audiences from previous forms of entertainment?

UK Film Statistics 2009

2010-03-16T23:30:00.001-07:00

UK FILM STATISTICS 2009

FM2 Producers and Audiences Study Support Resources

2010-03-16T23:24:00.001-07:00

FM2 Tracking Exercise Booklet

Guide to Distribution

How to write the Micro Film Studies Analysis

2010-03-16T23:20:00.000-07:00

How to Write the Micro Essay

German Expressionism Links

2010-03-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.cyranos.ch/metrop-e.htm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/synopsis

http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/metropolis.htm

http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/lang/magic.html

http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/1639.pdf

Some useful nuggets:
As an artist and at one time a man who wanted to be an architect, Hitler likely loved the set design for its human-dwarfing grandeur characteristic of Nazi architecture which, like Hitler's paintings, showed human beings as insignificant. (Without that trait, Hitler's artwork isn't so troublesome, but that trait likely shows insights into his character).

Second, the set design and models are themselves magnificent. The vileness of the world of Metropolis shows in the social relations between an irresponsible elite that fails to recognize its own cruelty and a working class stripped of its humanity. The sets and models aren't soulless as is Nazi architecture; it's the System that is soulless.

Third, the evangelical Maria suggests a solution very different from the Nazi solution -- one of shared humanity as a solution for economic distress of workers.

... As I see it, I came away with the idea that Lang and Harbou had a vision of a fusion of Christian ethics with Marxist socialism as the solution to the distress of what was plutocracy in Germany around 1928 -- or America today. The movie's solution is certainly not Hitler's solution. I can also imagine Hitler seeing the inventor Rotwang as a prime example of a Jewish intellectual, the definitive menace to the anti-intellectual, immoral Third Reich.

A'level Media Studies: Contemporary Media Issues G325

2010-03-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

Section B: Contemporary Media Issues

One question to be answered from a choice of six topic areas offered by OCR. There will be two questions from each topic area.

The topic areas require understanding of contemporary media texts, industries, audiences and debates.
Candidates must choose one of the following topic areas, in advance of the examination and, through specific case studies, texts, debates and research of the candidates’ choice, prepare to demonstrate understanding of the contemporary issue. This understanding must combine knowledge of at least two media and a range of texts, industries, audiences and debates, but these are to be selected by the centre / candidate. The assessment of the response will be generic, allowing for the broadest possible range of responses within the topic area chosen. Each topic is accompanied by four prompt questions, and candidates must be prepared to answer an exam question that relates to one or more of these four prompts. There should be emphasis on the historical, the contemporary and the future in relation to the chosen topic, with most attention on the present. Centres are thus advised to ensure that study materials for this unit are up to date and relevant. Candidates may choose to focus on one of the following contemporary media issues:

Contemporary Media Regulation
Global Media
Media and Collective Identity
Media in the Online Age

Media in the Online Age: YOUR CHOSEN TOPIC - Key Questions

How have online media developed?

What has been the impact of the internet on media production?
How is consumer behaviour and audience response transformed by online media, in relation to the past?
To what extent has convergence transformed the media?

Candidates might explore combinations of any two media, considering how each (or the two in converged forms) can be analysed from the above prompts. Examples might be music downloading and distribution, the film industry and the internet, online television, online gaming, online news provision, various forms of online media production by the public or a range of other online media forms.

In order to be fully prepared for the specific requirements of the question, the material studied by candidates must cover these three elements:

Historical – dependent on the requirements of the topic, candidates must summarise the development of the media forms in question in theoretical contexts.

Contemporary – current issues within the topic area.

Future – candidates must demonstrate personal engagement with debates about the future of the media forms / issues that the topic relates to.

In order to preserve the flexibility and freedom for candidates / centres to tailor the topics to their own preferences / interests, the list of examples offered above should be taken as a starting point but certainly not as a prescribed set of content. However, centres should approach a topic with the following general guidance in mind. Credit will be given for work which can be adapted to the specific requirements of the question.

Here is a copy of the Exam Board Scheme of Work :

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/sm/ocr_13437_sm_gce_unit_g325.pdf

German Expressionist Inspired Film

2010-02-10T13:25:00.001-08:00

Vincent by Tim Burton - What comparisons can you draw between Vincent and Nosferatu?

Year 12 Media: Constructing the Perfect PITCH

2009-11-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

Give your audience just enough to whet their appetite, and spark their interest, yet not so much that they get lost in the details. Leave them wanting more.

Speak with passion and enthusiasm about your project - if you're not enthusiastic about the film, why should anyone else be? And know your film inside out - because if you get past the pitch stage, there'll be questions and plenty of them.

Also, if there are any "name" cast or crew attachments, mention them in your pitch. Name dropping is perfectly fine in this situation.

"It's about dreams, guts and glory. It's a story of love, loss, jealousy and betrayal, set against the backdrop of motorbike road racing. Jeremy Stanford is to direct. Nicolette Freeman is DP. It's Days of Thunder meets Chariots of Fire. Its a story that could be about you, me, anyone on this planet - a story that celebrates believing in a dream and the ultimate triumph of the unconquerable human spirit."

"Its about believing the unbelievable. A story of love and loss, revenge and redemption, myth and magic. It is about an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances. A story that encourages you to live in the moment, believe in yourself, trust what you can't explain, love despite the odds and ultimately, finding through your past, the key to your future. Its about discovering and embracing your destiny."

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3416294.ece

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/times_online_tv/?vxSiteId=d8fa78dc-d7ad-4d5a-8886-e420d4bc4200&vxChannel=Arts%20and%20Entertainment&vxClipId=1152_Flashmini_0319&vxBitrate=300

http://www.filmproposals.com/Independent-Film-Pitch-Showcase.html#VisitorPages

Rules of Continuity - A/S Media Studies

2009-10-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

Match on Action
A match on action, a technique used in film editing, is a cut that connects two different views of the same action at the same moment in the movement. By carefully matching the movement across the two shots, filmmakers make it seem that the motion continues uninterrupted. For a real match on action, the action should begin in the first shot and end in the second shot.

A cinematographic technique which states that the camera must remain on the same side of an imaginary line, perpendicular to the camera's viewpoint, from which the establishing shot is taken. The 180 degree rule is an important element of the continuity style.

180 Degree Rule
Imagine two people standing face to face. Draw a line from the centre of the top of Person A's head to the centre of the top of Person B's. Now extend this line to infinity on both the x and y axes, dividing the two people bilaterally. To follow the 180 degree rule, the camera must, in each sequence of shots, stay on one side of this line. If this rule is not followed, the characters will not appear to be addressing each other and the cinematic illusion will be broken, as the viewer's sense of perspective is disrupted.

Saul Bass Links

2009-09-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

Why are Opening title sequences important to the film industry? Here's a few answers:
http://www.school-video-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=453:the-art-of-the-title-sequence&catid=44:edit-post-production&Itemid=111

Check out this awesome Saul Bass tribute site and click on the images to see stills of the title sequence that accompany the written commentary.

http://notcoming.com/saulbass/caps_casino.php

A/S Media Introductory Course goodies and Mise-en-scene Analysis

2009-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

Introducing AS Media

View more documents from The Cottesloe School.

Mise En Scene Analysis

View more presentations from kjera.

Jaws Shot By Shot - Part 1

View more documents from The Cottesloe School.

Tim Burton's Mise-en-Scene

2009-09-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

Fincher's Mise-en-scene

Short Animations

2009-08-19T00:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome back fellow Noodlers. I can't believe that I haven't blogged since June....wow....that's sad for an OCB (Obsessive Compulsive Blogger). I guess I've found other new hobbies and given this a rest. Still, I hope you are all having a fab summer. I thought I'd post some nice short animations to share with you given that you are embarking on Music promos in Media and Short Films in Year 13 Films. They might give you a bit of inspiration!

Here goes. Check out this amazing Graffiti animation:

Some simple stop-frame with a heart warming tale:

http://capree.blogspot.com/2009/09/record-of-life-owen-gatley-luke-jinks.html

I'll add some more as I discover them. Happy Holidays. Mummy Mediax

FS6 Film Studies Exam preparation Resources

2009-06-17T09:50:00.001-07:00

Film and video classification in the UK

View more OpenOffice presentations from Jim Barratt.

Censorship And Regulation[1]

View more OpenOffice presentations from Alan Fairnie.

BBFC - Certification and Targeting an Audience

View more OpenOffice presentations from M Taylor.

Shocking Cinema

View more OpenOffice presentations from Alan Fairnie.

MediaFilmExchange.co.uk Powerpoint

View more OpenOffice presentations from mediafilmexchange.co.uk.

BBFC PODCASTS AND VIDEOS LINKED TO ABOVE PRESENTATION:

http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/seminarvideo.asp

Feminist Film Theory Quiz

View more OpenOffice presentations from Rachel Jones.

Example FS6 Exam Paper:
https://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/papers/s08-426-01.pdf

Year 13 Critical Research Study

2009-06-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all having a good weekend and working hard to secure a decent grade on your critical Research Study re-sit. I am still awaiting notes from some individuals and need these by 9.00am by the latest on Monday morning if you want to use them in the exam. I also need to give everyone a front sheet to complete and sign. Could you please collect this from me on Monday morning? Thank you. Work hard, and remember to read! Good luck and I'll see you on Monday to give out Front sheets.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL RETURNING YR 12 STUDENTS

2009-06-13T12:40:00.001-07:00

Welcome back Year 12. We hope the exams went well and that you are now refreshed and ready to face the challenges of Year 13. All Media and Film lessons will commence this week but there have been some important timetable changes that have had to be put in place for the last five weeks of term in light of Alan's departure and my promotion. Please spread the word.

Changes:

Film Studies

1. The small year 12 Film Group that would normally have me on a Tuesday 3/4 (Callum, Jake, Tara, Ruby, Josie, George) has now been merged with the other Film class. There will be four hours of lessons each week with a double Wed 3/4 and Fri 1/2. We will be starting World Cinema this week and the FS4 Small Scale Research Study. You will be taught by me (Nina) for all four periods but this will change in September with the new Media/Film team.

2. The Year 12 Media lessons will be taught by Leanne but each class will only have a double of face to face teaching with another double with set independent study. The timetable has also changed because of clashes in teaching Alan's Year 10 groups. All Year 12 Media students will begin Music video preparation this term:

12D MS1 has moved from Monday 1/2 with Nina to Tuesday 1/2 with Leanne.
12A MS1 will have Media on Wednesday 3/4 with Leanne.

I WILL ANNOUNCE THESE CHANGES IN ASSEMBLY ON MONDAY AND NOTIFY TUTORS OF THESE CHANGES.

City of God and Chicano Cinema

2009-06-11T01:45:00.000-07:00

New Wave is a term used to describe a group of films emerging at certain times out of specific cultural and historical contexts. New Wave films are categorised as having a distinctive style, ideology or attitude. These films can stretch the boundaries of film-making with low-budget films conveying an exuberance and freedom lacking in more mainstream films. Often such New Waves can help to revitalise the mainstream industries. In recent years, a New Wave in Mexican and Latin American, sometimes called CHICANO cinema has emerged with City of God, Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Y Tu Mama Tambien. These films are notable for their often anti-Hollywood and pro-movement ideals of promoting ethnic political consciousness and pride. They can also be defined as 'HETEROGENEOUS' emphasising difference, contradiction and plurity. This is in contrast to HOMOGENEOUS cinema (Hollywood) that tends to assert HOMOGENEITY - representing similar groups, stories and ideologies (The American Dream) through film. Here are three Chicano films - what similarities can you identify between these and City of God? What comparisons can you draw in terms of MESSAGES AND VALUES, THEMES, MISE-EN-SCENE, CINEMATOGRAPHY, EDITING, STYLE etc.?

City of Men, Meirelles and extending the formula

2009-06-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Article from 'The Guardian'

Brazilian favela of the month

A gritty soap opera set in a Rio slum has been a huge hit, says Rodrigo Davis

On the hill behind Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro stands Dona Marta, another of the city's many favelas (slums), synonymous with the image of impoverished Brazil. An unlikely site for one of the country's fastest-growing industries. Into this community have come 400 young actors, trailers and innumerable security guards as part of director Fernando Meirelles' new soap opera, Cidade dos Homens (City Of Men).
In recent years the favela has undergone a cinematic reappraisal thanks to the work of homegrown directors. Following on from the initial wave led by Walter Salles and his Oscar-nominated Central do Brasil (Central Station) in 1998, Meirelles gave the poverty and drug-running culture of the slums some gusto with the cult hit City Of God. Although part of the film's initial attraction was its graphic depiction of gang warfare, he now finds himself taking the slum product in an entirely different direction in Dona Marta.

Brazil's domestic audience is more accustomed to Americanised soaps in the mould of Days Of Our Lives, something of which Meirelles is acutely aware. Portraying the lives of two young men in Dona Marta is, in theory at least, an assault on normal viewing habits. He admits that Cidade dos Homens is targeted at the Brazilian middle class who "live very close to, but have no idea of, poverty".

Charged with the idea that the original film was not the most glowing international advertisement for his country, he admits: "I am not very comfortable with the idea that everyone sees Brazil in this way. I never expected the film to go out of Brazil." None the less, it is within Brazil that the current work appears to be achieving popularity. In its first series, it drew 35 million viewers and, rather surprisingly, won the funding of media giant Globo, the stable for the more typically airbrushed series.
City Of Men works "because it's close to reality" contends Meirelles. The set-pieces use local actors and are filmed on location using the more rudimentary Super 16 camera.
However, an authentic favela experience on camera does not come without its logistical challenges. The crew freely acknowledge that the filming would not have been possible without making financial arrangements with local drug dealers, themselves the arbiters of what we recognise as the typical favela community. Dona Marta residents do not pay tax, and their community's structure is dictated by the drugs trade.
Meirelles regales me with the story of a troublesome local woman who refused to respect the evening curfew on noise to allow the filming to go ahead: her compliance was only forthcoming after negotiation with "those in influence" in the community.
The locally run shops and catering services that have sprung up to service actors and lingering crew members bear a strange artificiality, a sense of compromise within a community whose native establishments sell only reconditioned electrical goods and groceries.
The most significant contribution Dona Marta and similar communities have made to the film and the series is in acting talent. The series is a culmination of 2,000 auditions across 23 of Rio's favelas, after which a theatre group was set up to rehearse the young actors.
Alexandre Rodrigues, 20, has been in acting for three years and moved from his home to the favela of Vidigal to take part in a theatre group. Vidigal's group, run by a national NGO, is one of several that have become increasingly popular in recent years. Locally, much of the credit is given to President Lula da Silva.
Phelippe Haagensen, who plays Bena in the series, is another example of the social mobility that comes with the new-found favela acting industry. He hints rather longingly that he would take the opportunity to move out of Dona Marta if he had the chance; his defiant assertion that he is proud of the favela seems to be borne out of what is expected of him more than anything else.

When he first featured in the internationally successful film City Of God, 13-year-old Douglas Silva seemed as close to an authentic representation of a boy from Rio's slums as one could get. Now, in the wake of the film, in which he played Dadinho, things have changed inexorably for Silva. He and his family are now residents of the more salubrious Tijuca district of the city.
"I have a Playboy lifestyle," he admits, unable to disguise his boyish excitement at his success. Meirelles even talks of the possibility of Silva attending university, the prospect of which would have been fanciful for a boy too poor to pay to go to university and not educated enough to qualify for one of the country's elite (but free) state universities.
For Meirelles, however, the prospect of the protagonist in a chronicle of poverty losing his connection with the subject is not an important concern. The focus on characters is, he says, the means of humanising Brazil's most demonised communities. Ingrid Conte, an attractive 18-year-old, had herself been a player in the humanising experience, since her role on City Of Men was her first visit to a favela . Five years of theatrical roles and a contract with an acting agency were due qualification for her role in this social commentary.

Perhaps a gritty depiction of the lives of two young men and an attempt to reach out to Brazil's viewing public would not have been possible without the polish of the television industry and the compromises made in authenticity. The thriving careers of the drama's actors are, in one sense, giving rise to successful Brazilians with a connection to the favela - a social group that the country has crucially lacked until now.
Behind the camera it is easy to see City Of Men as a constructed universe: in front of it, though, it is hard to believe that one would ever come closer to Dona Marta.

Interview with Katia Lund about City of Men:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/katia-lund.shtml

A'level Media - 2735 Media Debates Exam Paper

2009-06-04T01:39:00.000-07:00

A GCE Media Studies 2735 June 2007 Question Paper
A GCE Media Studies 2735 June 2007 Question Paper DB3@IGS

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work Essays & Theses Research Books Non-fiction 2735

Some quotes to get you thinking about HORROR

2009-06-02T05:21:00.000-07:00

"This predilection for art that promises we will be frightened by it, shaken by it, at times repulsed by it seems to be as deeply imprinted in the human psyche as the counter-impulse toward daylight, rationality, scientific skepticism, truth and the "real." ... And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo--that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices." ~ Joyce Carol Oates

"Like sex, horror is seductive - enticing the reader to accept the forbidden; allowing a fascination with the carnal, the forbidden; titillating the mind as sex does both the mind and sense. Reading horror is an act oPublish Postf consensual masochism: you willingly submit to the pleasures of fear - scare me! Please?" ~ Paula Guran

"Sturgeons Law--which states that ninety percent of everything is crap--needs to be revised to be applicable to the horror genre; the percentage has to be raised." ~ Dean Koontz

"...Many of the feelings that typically attend being horrified are intrinsically unpleasant; for they include gagging, nausea, choking, stomach churning, tenseness, a creepy or crawling sensation, felt in the flesh, and so on."~ Noel Carroll

"If you want to be a writer, don't write horror whatever you do. Call it suspense, or dark fantasy, or anything but horror. Supernatural horror and hard-core splatterpunk are on their way out--unless it involves vampires." ~ Tom Beber

"Can there be something tonic about pure active fear in these times of passive, confused oppression? It is nice to choose to be frightened, when one need not be." ~ Elizabeth Bowen

"The problem is that horror is not a genre, it is an emotion. Horror is not a kind of fiction. It's a progressive form of fiction that continually evolves to meet the fears and anxieties of its times." ~ Douglas E. Winter

"I am conscious of writing in a tradition that blurs the boundaries between three fantastic genres: supernatural horror, fantasy and science fiction. I have always been of the opinion that you can't make firm distinctions between the three." ~ China Mieville

A few 'City of God' goodies to assist you with you wider contextual studies

2009-06-02T04:47:00.000-07:00

A very easy to access 'Brazil' fact file with some good stuff on the Favelas
http://www.globaleye.org.uk/secondary_summer2002/eyeon/index.html

Latin American Cinema

Slumcinema

View more OpenOffice presentations from Nina Moore.

City of God Exemplar Essay City of God Exemplar Essay Mummy Media An exemplar WJEC essay response to close focus film 'City of God'

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Essays & Theses School Work meirelles world cinema

FREE JOURNALISM SUMMER SCHOOL OPPORTUNITY

2009-06-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

FREE JOURNALISM SUMMER SCHOOL FOR SIXTH FORMERS

Are any of your students interested in the media? Now is their chance to experience it first-hand!

I recently wrote to you about the Young Journalists' Academy (YJA) (previously called the spiked Journalism Summer School).

I hope that you will encourage your students to apply to the 2009 YJA summer school, which is completely free of charge and takes place in Canary Wharf on
1 - 8 August. It's a popular programme and places are limited - so students are advised to apply ASAP. The final deadline is Monday 15 June.

The programme is open to 16- to 18-year-old London state school pupils. It is ideal for any student who is interested in a career in the media. The aim of the summer school is to offer a route into the competitive field of journalism to young people.

For more information about the programme or to download our brochure, please visit www.yja.org.uk. An application form can also be found on this website - it can be filled out online or printed out and submitted by post. As part of the application, students are required to submit a short statement of interest and a short piece of writing.

Successful candidates will get a unique chance to meet some of Britain's most renowned journalists, to participate in media training workshops and to visit the headquarters of high profile media institutions.

If you or your students have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch - my contact details are below. Kind regards,

Nathalie Rothschild
Co-ordinator, YJA
Journalism Education Ltd
Signet House
49 - 51 Farringdon Road
London
EC1M 3JP

Tel: 020 7430 2386
Email: enquiries@yja.org.uk

Young Journalists' Academy: Making the Newsmakers
www.yja.org.uk

Critical Research Study Re-sit - Sport and the Media stuff for Habib and Adam

2009-05-27T13:55:00.000-07:00

BT, Setanta, Top Up TV and Virgin Media - Ofcom Pay-TV consultation response BT, Setanta, Top Up TV and Virgin Media - Ofcom Pay-TV consultation response Robert Andrews

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work Non-fiction Business

Useful Secondary Wider Reading:
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/838529/Setanta-gives-advertisers-choice-Sky-share-live-football-rights

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/premier-league-to-cash-in-on-tv-windfall-1545159.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/2009/01/good_reasons_to_stay_up_late_1.html

A bit Fight and Ricky Hatton focused but some good audience debate and feedback that adds to your debates

http://www.rickyhitmanhatton.com/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=12966.0

http://www.digital-tv.co.uk/blog/category/setanta

Media Debates Revision

2009-05-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

Med 6 Revision

View more Microsoft Word documents from Rob Mcminn.

Some Brilliant Resources for the study of GENDER should you be bored of Football and fancy something different!

2009-05-27T12:35:00.001-07:00

50 key concepts in gender studies 50 key concepts in gender studies ilijapet

Publish at Scribd or explore others: School Work Essays & Theses Research world research

Judith Butler - Resource Pack

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Media A/S and Critical Research Study Re-sit Revision

2009-05-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

With the re-sits fast approaching, here are some goodies for you to help you revise for the A/S Media papers on:

1. Gendered Sitcoms

2. Action Movie Textual Analysis

3. NMT (Emma Gower ONLY)

and Critical Research Study paper.

A'level Critical Research Study:

Longroad Media Centre has some excellent resources in the form of blogs that can be accessed via

http://longroadcriticalresearch.blogspot.com/

A/S New Media Technology: Digital TV

Some notes towards the future of TV Some notes towards the future of TV BetaRish Some notes I prepared for an interview I had with Samsung about the future of TV

Publish at Scribd or explore others: web internet

The End of Television As We Know It The End of Television As We Know It TecoSodre IBM Business Consulting ServicesMedia and EntertainmentA future industry perspective

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Books Non-fiction media culture

A brilliant 6th form Media blog dedicated to devlopments in NMT and surrounding debates:
http://longroadnewmedia.blogspot.com/

Action/Adventure Films

Another great blog from Longroad with some good links

http://longroadactionfilms.blogspot.com/

GENDER AND SITCOM STUFF TO COME EMMA BUT YOU NEED TO RE-WATCH 'FRIENDS - NAPPING PARTNERS & MEN BEHAVING BADLY EPISODE. YOU NEED TO PULL OUT YOUR NOTES FROM LEANNE'S LESSONS FOR THIS OR ASK A FELLOW MEDIA STUDENT FOR THEIR OLD FILES AND NOTES.

Rough Trade Case Study Goodies

2009-05-26T08:01:00.000-07:00

New Technology

View more Microsoft Word documents from Rob Mcminn.

In this part of the exam you MUST show evidence of having researched a specific record label (Rough Trade) in the CONTEMPORARY MUSIC INDUSTRY that TARGETS A BRITISH AUDIENCE focusing on its PRODUCTION,DISTRIBUTION, EXHIBITION AND CONSUMPTION BY AUDIENCES. YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROUGH TRADE, THEIR FANBASE/AUDIENCE AND WIDER MUSIC INDUSTRY ISSUES/PRESSURES/TENSIONS (Majors V Indies; NMT; Piracy; commercial forces; changing hegemonic values; economy):

"While the division between the majors and the independents increasingly dissolves, particularly at the level of distribution, the independent label remains significant as innovator and instigator. It retains its status and pedagogic function in teaching an audience about new sounds and developing aural literacies."

"Rough Trade was instrumental in imbuing a spirit of cooperation and a benign mode of competition. A shift in the distribution of records and associated merchandizing to strengthen product association—such as magazines, fanzines and T-Shirts—enabled Rough Trade to deal directly with pivotal stores and outlets and then later establish cartels with stores to provide market security and a workable infrastructure. Links were built with ancillary agents such as concert promoters, press, booking agents, record producers and sleeve designers, to create a national, then European and international, network to produce an (under the counter) culture. Such methods can also be traced in the history of Postcard Records from Edinburgh, Zoo Records from Liverpool, Warp in Sheffield, Pork Recordings in Hull, Hospital Records in London, and both Grand Central and Factory in Manchester. From the ashes of the post-1976 punk blitzkrieg, independent labels bloomed with varying impact, effect and success, but they held an economic and political agenda. The desire was to create a strong brand identity by forming a tight collaboration between artists and distributors. Perceptions of a label’s size and significance was enhanced and enlarged through this collaborative relationship."
http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0605/13-brabazonmallinder.php

'It's about bringing music to people's attention which they've probably never heard before...music shouldn't have boundaries...it's just language, that everyone can identify with. That's the most valuable thing in music today. We're living in that time when things have got to unite..Talvin Singh

Britpop

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Rough Trade Homepage

http://www.roughtraderecords.com/

The Guardian 'Music Blog' : Rough Trade Article

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2007/03/26/roughtrade460.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2007/mar/26/canroughtradesnewrecordsh&usg=__1jgsRs4-KFsLIzk4jn4U0LPvPqQ=&h=300&w=460&sz=46&hl=en&start=2&sig2=uHvsF3Y4-ZRkC75fHRqMcw&um=1&tbnid=B-L4wnWLVa_eBM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=128&prev=/images%3Fq%3Droughtrade%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=RE8cSuGwCMTN-AbglPjXDg

Half-Term 'Essay' titles for Nina's A' level Film Students

2009-05-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of you for your hard work this half-term. The end is near and I hope you will spend this half-term holiday dedicating time to meaningful revision and exam preparation. Writing essays under timed conditions is the key to success, so here are some essay questions for you to choose from past papers:

City of God Essay Questions

How important is it to consider genre influences in reaching an understanding of City of God? Refer to specific sequences in your answer.

World Cinema films are often described as ‘alternative’, using distinctive cinematic techniques. How far is your close study film ‘alternative’?

How has wider research led you to a greater understanding of the time and place in which your Close Study film was set?

What aspects of mise-en-scène do you feel most effectively create meaning in your Close Study film? Refer to specific sequences in your answer.

How has research into the social and/or cultural context of your Close Study film influenced your understanding of it?

How important is the narrative structure of City of God in developing characters in the film?

To what extent do you think your chosen film challenges audiences’ preconceptions about particular social groups?

What do you consider to be the most distinctive visual features of your chosen film?

To what extent do you think an understanding of the director’s other work would allow the viewer a greater understanding of your chosen film?

Have the critical reviews you have read about your chosen film confirmed or challenged your own reading of the film?

Do you think it is necessary to locate your chosen film within its social and political context in order to appreciate it fully?

Gendered Film Studies Essays

How important is gender in the critical analysis of films? Refer in detail to your own studies.

Is it too simple to say that some films target male audiences and others target female audiences?

Explore the benefits of applying a gendered critical approach to studying film with reference to specific case studies.

Understanding Record Labels - Majors and Indies

2009-05-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Team media are aware that there is an air of panic about the A/S Media Section B Case Study on Record Labels. I am spending much of this weekend sourcing goodies and planning resources to help you better understand the macro (Big Picture) of the music industry and how to link your micro (case study) to form a debate. I have found a gem of a site that has some great industry interviews that can be found by acccessing the following link. Once in, they are on the left hand side:

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/articles/majors+vs+indies?link=video%2Flashoot%2Foh_majorindie.flv

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/the+role+of+major+labels+in+today+s+industry+and+is+a+major+deal+right+for+you

The Stills: Indie Label vs. Major Label.

An excellent report/essay exploring the industry:

http://hs.riverdale.k12.or.us/~hfinnert/exhib_06/davidp/exhibition.pdf

TASK:
Read the following articles in Rolling Stone Magazine and The Times, and undertake a SWOT Analysis of the current music industry: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15137581/the_record_industrys_decline

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2602597.ece

Mac- Some thoughts on the music industry:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/

8 Key Trends for the next 5 Years:

http://www.futureofmusicbook.com/

City of God Goodies

2009-05-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

Now that we have seen City of God, we must begin to explore the film as a commercial and artistic entity, exploring its representations and cultural significance within Brazil and the West. Here are some goodies to help you on your journey of discovery:

A Brilliant chapter on Brazillian Film post Cinema-Novo

http://books.google.com/books?id=FKdY0HVF0ukC&pg=PA117&lpg=PA117&dq=FERNANDO+

MEIRELLES+AND+CINEMA+NOVO&source=bl&ots=aHw4m

HepVU&sig=4xVw7te1GHLvGAA9ig2Ecf81sC4&hl=en&ei=GTML

StavJqC8jAesj6STCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=

2#PPA124,M1

BBC World Service Interview with 'Ricardo' talking about the REAL City of God:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/080715_city_god_story.shtml

The Real City of God: Photographs from children given disposable cameras to document their home:

http://www.ratchetup.com/eyes/2004/09/the_font_colorf_1.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6266770.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6263750.stm

Interview with Fernando Meirelles:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/cityofgod

BFI Sight and Sound Review

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/1483

The history of 'Favelas' in Brazil:

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Favela

http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Rio-de-Janeiro/Rio-de-Janeiro/Ipanema/blog-251914.html

An amazing contextual article about the actors 2 years after the success of City of God:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/mar/21/brazil.features

2009-05-13T13:37:00.001-07:00

The Horror Genre Surviving in Hollywood
The trend and abundance of horror movies and their sequels have caused the overall lack of recognition and quality of the horror genre.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/271742/the_horror_genre_surviving_in_hollywood.html

Eli Roth, Genre Cycles and Shifts

2009-05-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some goodies to support you with revising and enhancing your knowledge and understanding of horror developments:

Eli Roth talking about a new wave of Horror Movies:

Radio Interview with Eli Roth:

An Austrailian TV Review of Hostel 2 and interview with Roth:

Halloween Analysis in 3 parts:

Look at Genre cycles:
Halloween Sequence -

I Know What You Did Last Summer:

Funny Games Sequence

Interview with Michael Haneke on the original 'Funny Games' Part 1

Interview Continued Part 2

Some resources to help you better understand and analyse EDITING

2009-05-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

From marking your TV Drama mocks, it has become apparent that EDITING is the weakest link! Often considered invisible, editing can be tricky to write about, but you must explore how it aids the construction of meaning about representation. To help you, here are some goodies:

Editing is a way of compressing time and space or creating the effect of a dream sequence or flashback; it usually is ‘seamless’ and natural-seeming such that we tend not to even notice it.

Editing is the cutting and joining of lengths of film to place separate shots together yet still manage to suggest a sense of a continuing, connected and realistic flow of events and narrative
A montage is an edited series of shots that works as an ‘individual unit’ of meaning greater than the individual mise-en-scenes from which it is created.
Continuity editing refers to editing techniques that keep the sense of narrative flow such as matched or eye-line cuts.
A jump-cut is a dramatic edit that breaks time / space continuity yet still appears
continuous and ‘natural’; an MTV edit is a rapid sequence of fast jump cuts that creates a conscious effect such as in music videos; a cross-cut follows action in two separate scenes; a follow-cut follow action to its consequence, e.g. a character looking out cuts to what they look at.
Fades (sometimes to black) and dissolves create the sense of scenes moving forward. A sound-bridge carries sound across shots.
Parallel action allows two scenes to be viewed yet still retain the continuity and realism and uses cross cuts.
A sequence is a series of shots (i.e. a montage) that leads up to a climax as in a story sequence.

Daniel Chandler's Grammar of TV site is great for supporting you in developing your vocabulary and extending/reinforcing your K and U of TV production technique:

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/gramtv.html

Ohhhhh......I love Adrian Leicester! Check out Hustle in readiness for the TV Drama exam.

2009-05-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

This drama is extremely slick even filmic in its construction with its exaggerated postproduction work and highly stylised cinematography and choreography. The editing is fantastic and helps to make the implausible - plausible! Look out for how the character 'Mickey' breaks the fourth wall and consider the impact this has on audience engagement with character and narrative? If you like this Drama....have a look at Hotel Babylon too.

Good Night and Good Luck

2009-05-09T13:49:00.000-07:00

Leanne, Alan, Gerry and I would like to wish all our Year 12 Film students lots of luck with your Film exam this Wednesday. Obviously you will have spent this weekend re-watching your focus films; reading your notes and revising in readiness for the big day. To help you out a bit further, here is a treat of a report on the future of emerging NMT platforms within the film industry that explores in great detail the current and future relationship between film audiences and institutions. A great read in preparation for Tuesday's FM2 exam (Section A):

http://www.bsac.uk.com/reports/filmconferencereport006.pdf

My Space, Arctic Monkeys and Contemporary Trends in Music Consumption

2009-05-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Patrick Goldstein, writing in Sunday’s LA Times suggests that our elite, top-down culture is now being supplanted by a “raucous, participatory bottom-up culture in which amateur entertainment has more appeal than critically
endorsed skill and expertise”. “The era”, he says, “when studios, networks and record companies were tastemakers is long gone. Ask kids today where good music comes from and they’ll say iTunes or Myspace.com, not Warner Music. The best brands are being built from the bottom up”. Goldstein’s view is echoed by Rupert Murdoch, who last year paid $580 million for the MySpace.com site, saying “Young people don’t want to rely on a Godlike figure from above to tell them what’s
important…They want control over their media, instead of being controlled by it”.

Like it or not, MySpace is a promotional tool that musicians, especially unsigned bands cannot ignore. Today’s band must be web-savvy and must be on MySpace. As a multimedia-rich environment, bands have unparalleled access to their fans on both a social and musical level.

Prior to the Internet and MySpace music promotion was sketchy at best and was all about connections, fitting into an industry “mold”, luck, and more connections. It was often left up to the chance of being in the right place at the right time. It was an old boys’ network and the chances of an unsigned band breaking out and getting noticed were all up to politics, insider connections and chance. With the exploding popularity of MySpace music promotion, the power has shifted to the fans and the rewards are going to the bands who know the best way to reach their fans. Never before has there been a better chance for unsigned bands to get distribution for their music and to promote your unsigned band.

MySpace has given music fans the biggest coup, by literally giving them the power to choose and the voice to express that choice in a way that the music industry establishment and musicians cannot ignore. This gives indie bands and unsigned bands a tremendous advantage they have never had before.

Despite noise and griping about how crowded MySpace is with people trying to promote their unsigned bands, spamming other MySpacers with friend requests and using all kinds of software to make them appear more popular than they really are, at the end of the day, MySpace music promotion is the best thing to happen to independent artists since Napster. There is no question that MySpace and MySpace music promotion is the best unsigned band resource available today.

MySpace music promotion has changed the game and in doing do has put a damper on many of the traditional methods to promote your unsigned band. The old way to promote an unsigned band involved using posters, fliers, playing the local club scene and hoping to get discovered by an industry suit.

MySpace has completely revolutionized music promotion in these ways:

Allowing unsigned bands to reach an audience they never could before.
Allowing unsigned bands a global opportunity to sell their music and promote their music directly to their fans.
Giving unsigned bands access to a global fan base.
By allowing unsigned bands to connect with other bands and musicians to create a strong network.
By allowing unsigned bands the ability to reach out and touch their fans (and let them touch back) in a highly personal way that has never been available before.
This ability to reach out and touch their fans and let them touch back is probably the biggest advantage unsigned and indie bands can gain from MySpace music promotion. It may be a huge network, and the competition may seem fierce, but MySpace music promotion, when done right and consistently, gives bands the best advantage in the history of the music industry. When an unsigned band can create a global fan base with a grassroots effort and cut out the middle man, chances of getting noticed by the suits and getting signed by a label are no longer left to luck, chance, connections or politics. Thanks to MySpace, it is all about the fans and all about the music.

Arctic Monkeys Case Study
http://www.myspaceshowdown.com/blog/making-it-myspace-case-study-arctic-monkeys.html
http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arctic-Monkeys/9520450966
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/jan/30/arts.artsnews
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/5391258.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/oct/25/popandrock.arcticmonkeys

KEY WORDS / VOCABULARY:

AUDIENCE, INSTITUTION, FANBASE, PERSONALISATION, INTERACTIVITY, CONVERGENCE, PROLIFERATION, MOBILITY, PLATFORMS, SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP,

Year 13 Media and Film Cover Work for Thursday

2009-05-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

Good evening everyone. I won't be able to teach your lessons tomorrow as I am busy all day interviewing the 'Head of Media and Film' candidates. Sorry! However, I have lots of work for you to do so please read on to discover what I have planned:

Year 13 Media:

I want you to break into groups of no more than four people and work collaboratively on a 500 word essay response using the 'Horror' reader on my front desk + your knowledge and understanding of the four films studied to create a team essay. Here are 4 questions to choose from with basic structures:

How important is Genre to film audiences and the film industry?

1. Define Genre- a blueprint of conventions, useful for Audiences and Institutions alike.

2.Industry:

Think about it logically, its useful in, pre-production, Production- directors working with the same actors and crew- they know they work well together. Post modernism, inter textuality, directors and producers influences, auteur theory, etc. Post - Production, Marketing and distribution- via genre- trailers, press, TV interviews etc- all aimed at the target audience. mass or niche.

3. Audience:
Genre is a contract between I & A - marketed in a certain way to appeal to a particular audience who will have expectations of a film and be prepared to 'suspend their disbelief' to take part in this process of consumption.
They bring their own cultural & post modern references and experience to the film and may consume it on different levels. Roland Barthes theory of 'plaiser' & 'Jouissance'- audiences feel gratified that they have been intelligent enough to recognise these references and they also enjoy the film both on a visual spectacle level and also on a more challenging intellectual level.

“Generic conventions provide a basic structure, but that is all. Every film is unique” Discuss this view.

The following issues may be referred to by candidates:
•Generic conventions
•Case study analysis
•Auteurism
•Audience pleasures
•Hybrid, cross genre films
• Sequels and prequels

Explain how and why certain films combine the conventions of more than one genre.The following issues may be referred to by candidates:
•Audience pleasures and expectations
•Success of certain formulae and paradigms
•Industry preferences
•Promotional issues and strategies
•Hybrids and sub genres
• References to and comparisons with literary genres

How do you account for the growing popularity of Horror?

PLEASE PRINT YOUR TEAM EFFORTS AND LEAVE ON MY DESK! HERE IS SOME GENRE THEORY TO SUPPORT YOU:

Genre Theory

As audiences become acquainted with particular genres, they come to expect a specific type of viewing experience from films of that genre.
Genres typically have a life cycle, progressing from uncertain beginnings to stable maturity and parodic decline.
Though generic similarities between films have existed since the beginning of cinema, it was the advent of semiotics and structuralism that gave scholars a sophisticated methodology with which to analyze film genre (see Film Theory).
Jim Kitses defined genre in terms of structuring oppositions, such as the wilderness-civilization binary found in westerns.
Rick Altman divided genre into the semantic (iconographic elements such as the cowboy hat) and thesyntactic (structural and symbolic meanings).

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by hurtwoodhousemedia

YEAR 13 FILM: PLEASE WATCH 'CITY OF GOD' - IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU WATCH THIS FILM THIS WEEK PLEASE! ENJOY. X

Film Distributors Association 2008 Report - A super resource for A/S Media and Film Students

2009-05-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

The following resources are brilliant in enabling you to better understand the 'DISTRIBUTION' processes involved in Film Production in the UK in particular. We are going to be studying these resources as part of our exploration of Working Title Films in Media and for all you lovely A/S Film students busy preparing for the A/S Film exam next wednesday, these will really aid your learning too. Go on....dive in! This is the FDA Micro site with some excellent clips from industry professionals:
http://www.launchingfilms.tv/

http://www.britfilms.com/
fda guide 2008 fda guide 2008 mediamonkey Everything you need to know about the current film industry. Available online form the FDA

Publish at Scribd or explore others: guide user

Here is an example of the type of question you will be faced with in the Media Section B exam:

Section B: Institutions and Audiences

Answer the question below, making detailed reference to examples from your case study

material to support points made in your answer.

2 Discuss the issues raised by an institution’s need to target specific audiences within a media

industry which you have studied.

[50]

Fight Club - American Disillusionment, subverting the 'Dream' and Masculinity in Crisis

2009-05-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

A few goodies to support exploration of The American Dream and masculinity in fight club:

Brilliant thought provoking analysis of thematics:

http://www.criticism.com/md/fightclub.html

A very interesting essay that explores both American Beauty and Fight club:
http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/FightClub

Another credible critique of both films:

http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/mrindge/Cinematic%20Critiques%20of%20Culture.htm

Here is a nice extract exploring the subject matter entitled:

Purging the Male Soul: Why Fight Club is no Easy Rider
By Russell Brown, Jan 1, 2000.

Feel free to extract quotations to use in the exam:

" In this film, the American Dream is corrupted by the addiction to mass-merchandised material goods, the craving to stuff our empty lives with products. And underneath this is a common theme in art - an attack on conformity, its present incarnation being stores like the Gap and Ikea. For Fincher, the American Dream has become not just about having kids, but being able to dress them in leather (this season).

It sounds good on paper. And while I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with asking an audience to question the values it promotes by shopping retail, there is a flawed philosophy behind this film. It's an arrogance that stems from a cynical view of human nature, and it robs the film of achieving real depth, a true portrait of America in the 1990s. The main characters are Tyler Durden, the anti-establishment sadist played by Brad Pitt, and Jack (Edward Norton) the prototypical corporate drone. Tyler believes that the only way to experience the vibrance of life is to break the shackles of your desk job and return to the roots of your nature - for men, that would be experiencing the primal instincts of survival and war.

Jack's life at the start of the film is the quintessential and oft-portrayed existence of urban drudgery. He lives in a cramped apartment ("a filing cabinet for widows and young professionals"), spends his time shopping in mail-order catalogs ("I'd flip through catalogues and wonder what kind of dining set defined me as a person") while his days are filled pushing papers in a menial and grotesque job (evaluating the cost of settling with victims of car malfunctions vs. the cost of ordering a recall). These actions are portrayed with a sense of despair, the type of mind-numbing, robotic behavior that we have seen in earlier films such as Terry Gilliam's Brazil. Jack, under Tyler's influence, abandons his jail-cell job and antiseptic apartment and helps him form an underground fighting society, a place where men can purge their souls. The central argument of the film stems from this juxtaposition: Ikea-Boy (as Tyler calls Jack) breaks his addiction to products and, in doing so, finds redemption.

This, hypothetically, could be a scathing attack on middle-class values, a critique of our addiction to comfort, a rebuke of the contemporary incarnation of "keeping up with the Joneses." But, in reality, does it really serve any purpose to present day-jobs and shopping at Ikea as morally corrupt ? (As a side note, isn't there something incredibly offensive about a well-paid group of Hollywood hot-shots telling us that we should be buying more distinctive furniture instead of that plain - albeit affordable and dependable! - Ikea product? Hey, Brad, if I could afford an Eames chair, I would buy one.) And really, is there something inherently more noble in living in a dilapidated old house with crummy electricity and dripping water? I don't believe it. Living as a recluse and rejecting society in your ramshackle shack is just as much an affectation as living as a corporate hack in an apartment complex - they're both caricatures. I don't buy either as telling the whole story of how real people feel about their work and lives.

If the artists (and, granted, Fincher has a unique visual style; and Pitt and Norton share some of their best moments) behind Fight Club truly harbor such a disdain for the lifestyle of Americans, I think it behooves them to present a less juvenile alternative than freeing oneself by pummeling your fellow man into a bloody pulp as cathartic release. The fury of the first half of the film is, in an interesting reversal, not earned by the solution of the second. And it is this fury - this palpable sense that Fincher really feels that we are living miserable lives - that turned me off Fight Club. His vision lacks any basis in reality. It's a pretentious, wannabe-artist's view of the world.

Fight Club has conveniently glossed over the details of individuality in its attempt to make a statement. It sounds really good to make a movie saying we are all sucked in by corporate America's evil advertising schemes - but that's just not the way it is. If you walk into the apartments of the "common man,"yes, you may find an Ikea desk, and maybe a Pottery Barn lamp, and probably something from Hold Everything. But you will also see that person's photographs and that cool table he found at a garage sale and a hard to find one-sheet poster of his favorite movie. I don't think anyone in America defines himself by his Ikea barstool. Sure, I have some Gap T-shirts in my closet; but really, would that groovy Grateful Dead concert shirt with the holes and shredded collar really seem so special if it weren't for the dependable, reliable plain Gap T? Probably not. You need the plain to make the extraordinary, well, extraordinary. Like that wonderful scene in Harold and Maude - when Maude says to Harold, in a huge field of identical looking flowers, that all daises are not the same, that they may look to be but some have longer stems than others, some have more petals than others - people may share qualities, but to condemn society based on certain shared home products is both naive and immature."

The Ring - Some Mythology

2009-05-01T01:49:00.001-07:00

"The story of 'Ring' would seem at first to be rooted firmly in the 20th century, with its central urban-legend theme of a cursed videotape which kills anyone who see it within 7 days; however, the mysterious main character, Yamamura Sadako, is definitely based on a very traditional Japanese character: the vengeful female ghost. Long in Japanese art and theatre (certainly since the Meiji period), as well as the hannya (female demons) of ancient folktales, evil female spirits have been popular figures. In kabuki and noh, there are stories such as Oiwa (the tale of a woman poisoned by her husband who returns to kill him) and Okiku (about a female servant killed and thrown down a well which she then haunts every night). However, the real secret of the video-curse, a virus part-smallpox and part-Sadako's DNA, is again defiantly 20th century, ensuring that the story is relevant to contemporary issues as well as ancient mythology."

To see more on the mythologies of Japanese Horror, have a look at the following site:

http://www.mandiapple.com/snowblood/theringcycle.htm

What fears and anxieties are metaphorically explored in the film? Some food for thought.

Brilliant 'Horror Genre' goodies - A feast!

2009-04-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't blogged for almost a week! I am ashamed of myself. Still, I have found some 'Media Candy' here for you to get your teeth into.

An article on cyclic developments in Horror genre - Read, digest and regurgitate in the exam and you'll secure a great grade!

http://www.offscreen.com/biblio/phile/essays/return_of_the_repressed/

This is such an amazing Horror site with some brilliant links. Check out each decade to see important genre developments:

http://www.horrorfilmhistory.com/index.php?pageID=1990s

Great article about revival of the Horror genre in 1999
http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3663

Copy-cat killings inspired by Horror films:
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/movies_made_me_kill/1_index.html

Now for some fun - The M&M Dark Horror Movie Game in poster form above available as an interactive version:
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://candyaddict.com/blog/candy_pictures/dark_mms_horror_movie_game.jpg&imgrefurl=http://candyaddict.com/blog/2006/09/23/dark-mms-horror-movie-game/&usg=__xIUCyWYsEmbfLnvkx5TIC0IwYcA=&h=164&w=280&sz=13&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=ffOszH7aQJXucM:&tbnh=67&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3DM%2526M%2527s%2Bhorror%2Bsearch%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1

Cover work for Year 13 Media - Friday!

2009-04-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

Starter: How many Horror references?

Still got a very bad back....planning on some Acupuncture today as my last resort so I won't be in. Before Easter you watched Hostel 2. Today I would like you to read the following two articles from the Guardian Film site and Film Bunnies. Whilst reading, take notes/key quotes from them in a mature and diligent fashion:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/may/01/gender.world

http://filmbunnies.wordpress.com/category/alex/roths-hostel-2/

I would then like you to write a detailed 750/1000 word review of the film on your blog commenting on:

1 What you find interesting about the representations of men and women in Hostel 2?

2. What do you think the future of horror is post-Roth's Hostel? Where does the genre go from here? What next and why?

I look forward to reading these this evening. Missing you already x If you finish, have a go at creating a 'Horror' character in Cube Craft.

Create brilliant 'CUBE CRAFT' FILM/TV Characters - Great fun

2009-04-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

I discovered this brilliant site and I challenge you to create your favourite Film or TV Cube Character for display in the Media and Film Department. All offerings will be greatly received for a brilliant display. Download - Print - Cut - Fold - Give to Team Media!

http://www.cubeecraft.com/

Have Fun!

Cover work for Nina - Today!

2009-04-22T22:58:00.002-07:00

Good morning. I'm sorry but my back is still giving me a lot of grief and despite putting on a brave face yesterday, I was in a lot of pain by lunch and today I am suffering! However, because you are diligent and concientious students I know you will stay and do the work I set here. Please do, it's in your interests and I have made the effort to post this, this morning:

Year 13 Media:

Adam is bringing in Hostel 2 and you need to finish watching this film please. When you have finished, I would like you to read the following article from the Guardian Film site. It's brilliant - and take notes/key quotes from it:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/may/01/gender.world

I would then like you to write a review of the film on your blog commenting on what you find interesting about the representations of men and women in the film and discussing what you think the future of horror is? Where does it go from here? What next and why?

I look forward to reading these this evening. Missing you already x

Year 13 Film

1. AS A MATTER OF URGENCY I NEED YOU TO PLEASE ADD A FRAME (BLACK WITH WHITE TEXT) BEFORE YOUR SHORT FILMS THAT GIVES THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR THE EXAMINER:

1. SHORT FILM TITLE

2. CANDIDATE NAMES AND CANDIDATE NUMBERS

NOTHING FANCY-MANCY. JUST SIMPLE.

When complete, please tell Gerry and give him this information along with the computer you used and whether you used Final Cut or i-movie. Thank you. Burn a copy to DVD for you and DO NOT FILM OVER YOUR ROUGH FOOTAGE ON YOUR DV TAPES.

ALSO I NEED FS4 WORK FROM THE FOLLOWING:

GRANT - EVALUATION

DANIELLE- ALL PIECES

LANGFORD - EVALUATION

Can you e-mail me these at ninanoo@btinternet.com

NEXT IN CLASS AND HOMEWORK FOR NEXT THURSDAY:

1. Please read my most recent posting on Gendered Film 'Some Useful Notes on The Piano' and read the posting.

2. Complete the exercise is pairs and post your results on your blogs.

Try to map out all the oppositions you think might be relevant for middle-class men and women in Victorian society. Which qualities would be expected from men rather than women etc.?

Now apply this Levi Strauss's theory of Binary Opposites to the other films we have seen. What do these play in the films?

What other binary oppositions can you identify in The Piano?

What binary oppositions can you identity in Tomb Raider and Thelma and Louise?

If time permits, I'd like you to watch 'Persepolis' but I think Alan loaned it over Easter and he may not have it with him. It might be in my cupboard which I think I left open yesterday. If it's not in there, could you ask Alan? Thank you.

Thank you for your anticipated hard work and I look forward to looking at the work on your blogs. I'm sorry to let you down and I'll see you soon.

Good luck. Have Fun. See you soon x

Year 12 Film Studies Classwork and Revision for TODAY

2009-04-21T00:25:00.000-07:00

Good morning. I apologise, but I won't be in for your lesson today. I'm laid-up with a horrible back injury and the drugs I am taking have rendered me pretty useless. With only a couple of weeks left before the examination, I am eager for you to work on your two close-study films on Crisis in Masculinity and the American Dream. Before Easter, we started to draw comparisons between the characters and examine their links to 'The American Dream'. Today, I want you to look at my posting in the hols on Robert Bly's mytho-poetic masculinity and to spend the first hour reading the online support resources; watching the extract from 'Tough Guise' (I think there's more of it on Youtube) and making notes on the relevancy of these ideas to FIGHT CLUB AND AMERICAN BEAUTY, and if you can 'Pursuit of Happyness'.

I then want you to produce a mind-map on how these two/three movies represent masculinity in crisis making reference to specific characters, scenes, quotes from script and theorists, wider issues of masculinity in crisis echoed in culture and society (single parenting, educational underachievement of boys, rise of female empowerment in workplace and education, commercialism, comodifying culture, loosing touch with our deep sense of self because of consumerism, shifting family values etc that have led to men loosing their sense of identity). You probably won't finish it today so please finish for homework and start to read your notes, blog postings and my blog postings as preparation for the exam. You should be spendng about five hours a week revising now. Seriously!

I look forward to receiving your essays that you wrote over Easter too. You can e-mail them to me at: ninanoo@btinternet.com

Have fun and work hard. Miss you.
Ninax

Classwork and Homework for Nina's classes on Monday

2009-04-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

Good Morning. I hope you had a brilliant break. I'm so sorry but I can't be in. I have a horrible back injury and look like the 'Hunchback of Notredame'. Nothing too unusual in that I know, but with my added drowsy and dopey disposition from the drugs I'm on, I'm not looking or feeling great. I'm afraid it's a day of watching 'Kyle's children' and blogging for me! For you on the other hand it's WORK, WORK, WORK! Of course, your day will begin with the sixth-form photo and I hope all the glad-rags will come out for the occasion. After that, I'd like you to do the following in my lesson time:

Period 1 and 2 - Year 12 Media

1. Please create a brand new 'Blog' in blogspot for Media REVISION and all case-study work for the new topic on 'Institutions and Audiences'.

2. Check out my blog first posting 'G322 Institutions and Audiences Working Title Films Case Study' and familiarise yourself with the question expectations.

3. Complete the activity and analyse the two trailers for the boat that Rocked. Look at the American and British versions and on your new blog answer the following questions: Can you tell which one is for which audience? What are the differences? What does this tell us about audiences and institutions?

4. Classwork and homework: undertake detailed research into 'Working Title Films' and produce an A3 INSTITUTION mind-map that shows consolidated evidence of your research with branches on:

Company History

Institutional Profile

Genre

Messages and Values Working Title Films communicate about Britishness

Success in Britain and America

Here are some sites to help:

http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/working_title_history/

http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/WorkingTitle.php

Year 13 Film: Periods 3/4

1. AS A MATTER OF URGENCY I NEED YOU TO PLEASE ADD A FRAME (BLACK WITH WHITE TEXT) BEFORE YOUR SHORT FILMS THAT GIVES THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR THE EXAMINER:

1. SHORT FILM TITLE

2. CANDIDATE NAMES AND CANDIDATE NUMBERS

NOTHING FANCY-MANCY. JUST SIMPLE.

NEXT IN CLASS AND HOMEWORK FOR MONDAY:

1. Please read my most recent posting 'Some Useful Notes on The Piano' and read the posting.

2. Complete this exercise is pairs and post your results on your blogs

Try to map out the oppositions you think might be relevant for middle-class men and women in Victorian society. Which qualities would be expected from men rather than women etc.?

What other binary oppositions can you identify in The Piano?

What binary oppositions can you identity in Tomb Raider and Thelma and Louise?

Good luck. Have Fun. See you soon x

Robert Bly's mytho-poetic masculinity

2009-04-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

Tyler Durden: “We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.” Fight Club

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.... A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of manhood....
It appears as if men had deliberately chosen the common mode of living because they preferred it to any other. Yet they honestly think there is no choice left." (Thoreau, 1854/1971, p.8)

Like femininity, masculinity operates politically at different levels. At one level, it is a form of identity, a means of self-understanding that structures personal attitudes and behaviors. At another, distinct but related level, masculinity can be seen as a form of ideology, in that it presents a set of cultural ideals that define appropriate roles, values and expectations for and of men.

What does it mean to be a man in today’s culture? Susan Faludi, feminist theorist and Al Gore consultant, argues in Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man that modern men are suffering from an identity crisis of epic proportion. If feminism has redefined what it means to be a woman in contemporary society, so it has also redefined what it means to be a man. But how? For better, or worse? The films we have studied, all deal with 'The American Dream' and central to this ideological framework is the notion of masculinity in crisis. We are going to be comparing American Beauty; Fight club and in part 'Pursuit of Happyness' to explore this idea. Here are some resources to support our comparative study:

A super article on the resurrgence of 90's representations of masculinity in crisis in film:
http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/1999/10/15/fight_club/

Excellent chapter on Fight club and 'mytho-poetic' masculinity
http://books.google.com/books?id=jWj5OBvTh1IC&pg=PA300&lpg=PA300&dq=mythopoetic+and+fight+club&source=bl&ots=

A useful 'reader' with some excellent quotes on masculinity:
http://www.newmedia.lincoln.ac.uk/rmoore/pdf/action-men.pdf

These two links are from 'Media-ed' and support their programme 'Tough Guise'. The first is a study guide and the second a transcript of the programme. Brilliant insightful reading.

http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/211/studyguide_211.pdf

http://www.mediaed.org/assets/products/211/transcript_211.pdf

Masculinity in crisis Links :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2000/sep/25/firstchapters.reviews

Chapter on 'Gender' and representations of Masculinity in Film from Jill Nelmes Film Studies
http://books.google.com/books?id=vb_1ma9DKH0C&pg=PA269&lpg=PA269&dq=masculinity+in+crisis+in+film&source=bl&ots=0jDb3DVAsE&sig=wEkKez_j63IdGZ1jepVY0fScQ14&hl=en&ei=zl7rSaiZO8ehjAen6pyfCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3

If you LOVE FILM...check out this brilliant magazine

2009-04-17T02:58:00.000-07:00

http://digital.littlewhitelies.co.uk/magazine/22/

It's Ladies night...oh what a night!

2009-04-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a fabulous 'Gender' website full of brilliant links, essays, reviews and goodies to support you with your development of a debate around 'Gender' representations in the films we have studied. With an essay due-in n ext week, some wider reading around the three texts studied will definately support you with your writing.

http://www.wsu.edu/~amerstu/pop/gender.html

Plus, a couple of extra goodies on Thelma and Louise and The Piano:

http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/FilmReviews/T/thelma+louise-mcalister

http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/FilmReviews/T/thelma+louise-fuchs

http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/FilmReviews/the-piano-mcalister

Some useful notes on 'The Piano' by Jane Campion

2009-04-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

The Piano - Melodrama and representations of Gender through Binary Opposites

The colonial dimension of The Piano (it is set on a ‘plantation’ in New Zealand), points us neatly towards a further set of theoretical ideas suggested by the social anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. Genre theorists borrowed Strauss’ idea of a conflict structure based on binary oppositions to explain how many genre films were constructed. The oppositions which we can find in colonial melodramas are striking and provide us with useful insights into how a colonial narrative produces meaning. These narratives are based on ideas and values that the characters are likely to have had at the time. Consider the following oppositions:

White Settler ‘Native’

Civilised Savage
Educated Ignorant
Controlled Wild
Sexually restrained Sexually promiscuous
Moral Amoral
Rational Superstitious

You can probably come up with further oppositions which explain how the Victorian settlers viewed ‘native’ peoples. These are not necessarily presented as straight opposites. Rather, they map out a terrain. The European melodrama is rarely interested in the ‘colonised’ peoples, so the main work of the melodrama narrative is to look at the struggle of white male and female settlers to develop a healthy emotional state in the midst of the overpowering ‘otherness’ of the colonial environment. Usually it is the white woman who ‘succumbs’ – this always been thought more shocking than the white male with the ‘native girl’. In terms of mise en scène, it is worth thinking about the colonial environment, in which the heat, the scents of spices and exotic flowers, the strange animals and spectacular landscapes all appeal to the senses (‘arouse’ emotions) more than the familiar ‘home’ environment.

In The Piano the woman is drawn, not directly to a native (Maori) figure, but instead to a white man who has ‘gone native’ – in some ways an even more despicable figure for respectable society than the native male (who can sometimes be stereotyped as the ‘good native’ or the ‘noble savage’). The white man who adopts native habits has not only betrayed his own culture, but has also degraded what is worthwhile in native culture. When you see The Piano you should find little difficulty identifying sequences in which these binary oppositions are emphasised and which clearly propel the narrative forward. What makes The Piano particularly interesting (and perhaps led to some of the controversy over reactions to the film) is that the central woman character is also trapped in another set of oppositions – as a woman in the strictly patriarchal Victorian society. She has been sent/brought to New Zealand essentially as a piece of male property. Her transgression – the affair with Baines – is doubly marked, she has both broken out of her marital relationship, her enslavement as property, and sullied herself with a ‘degenerate’ man.

It is this double marking or ‘over determination’ which makes The Piano so much a melodrama. We have emphasised so far that melodrama mise en scène is expressive and excessive – everything seems to be exaggerated, almost to the point of hysteria. In this context, over determination can apply to both the events – piled on top of each other – and particular aspects of the mise en scène. To take just one example, much comment has been made about the costumes in The Piano. The woman wears a crinoline – a voluminous skirt supported by a rigid cage. This is both supportive (the woman and her daughter use the crinoline as a tent when they are landed on the beach) and restrictive (as she tries to cross the uneven and boggy ground – the endless rain is also a potential sign of sexual release). This supportive/restrictive clothing also provides great erotic excitement for the man in terms of what it hides and obstructs him from accessing.

The double marking of the woman in The Piano means that the colonial ‘discourse’ or argument is to a certain extent obscured by the feminist discourse – does our positive response to what the woman achieves by breaking out of her unhappy marriage prevent us reading the colonial discourse?

Exercise
Try to map out the oppositions you think might be relevant for middle-class men and women in Victorian society. Which qualities would be expected from men rather than women etc.? What other binary oppositions can you identify?

Some Useful Definitions when exploring gendered cinema at a macro level:

Woman’s Picture – like youth pictures, these films are defined by their audience address rather than by specific themes or styles. The central characters will be women and the narratives will centre on issues important to women. Some films may be ‘romances’ or comedies. Many of the 1940s melodramas were targeted directly at the disproportionately large female domestic audience during the war years. They were often disparagingly termed ‘weepies’ or ‘tearjerkers’. A more modern variant is the idea of the ‘chick flick’.

Defining Melodrama - Action films tend to be ‘goal-orientated’ - they progress to a particular resolution such as the war is won, the killer is captured etc. Action narratives have conflicts which are tackled through action - characters go out and do something. It follows from this that the editing of sequences to represent movement by characters is of central importance. By contrast, melodramas are about relationships between characters and the resolution of a melodrama narrative concerns the restoration of one or more relationships, or their replacement by others. In a sense, melodramas are more ‘circular’ than ‘linear’. The conflicts in melodramas can often not be resolved by ‘action’, it is the failure of characters to act or even to speak about ‘the problem’ which creates the conflict. The emotional struggle in a melodrama must be expressed or ‘displaced’ in some way. Instead of the editing of action sequences, melodramas deal in mise en scène, performance and music.

Extract taken from original posting on following blog: http://itpworld.wordpress.com/category/womens-film/

Some Extra 'Piano' goodies to assist you in the exploration of Gender representations:

An essay on the film:
http://members.fortunecity.com/smashx14/piano.html

An exploration of gender representations in the film:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/49323/the_representation_of_genderfemininity.html?cat=40

Book chapter on gender themes in The Piano and Thelma and Louise

http://books.google.com/books?id=o-CM8WNIMBIC&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=gender+analysis+of+'The+Piano'&source=bl&ots=0OGUePm-DN&sig=ODQxnwUKYj4yEJMSUPkE7lf2QPA&hl=en&ei=kZ3nSd72E8LH-Abr2dHIBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2

Cambridge University Press Film Analysis

http://assets.cambridge.org/97805215/92581/sample/9780521592581wsn01.pdf

Feminist Critique of 'The Piano'
http://diana.saco.name/Female_Gaze.htm