Thursday, 29 December 2011

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Exemplar Response to Essay Question

Monarch of the Glen, Jan 2009, Age: Own Response



Opens with old man wearing hat carrying wood
Cuts to a girl in jeans, white top – binary opposition
Men toold box
Girl whispers to herself in the car – reassures her self – still needs support
Guy looks after her – longer time – worried
Diaget sound of car crash
Runs into young boy’s arms
Tilt from small her to bigger man
Old man – well dressed – neutral colurs – wealth 0 beard – posh voice
‘So sorry’ gets angry really quickly – looks immiutre ‘i hatye you’
Binary oppoistioj to what’s just happened and group of adults working to gether calmly – sensible
BO – girl in pink and red room – teddy bear with note on – pink lights – safe place for children
Woman gets worried that she’s gone
Paraalel editing Contasts with the grweat outside – symbolises the adult world – greater freedom than childhood
High camera angle on youngboy and girl – vulnerable – eye line match – see she’s physiocally smaller than the man
Blue car – boy colour, boy machine
‘when a 16 year old girl runs away can’t help but worry’
Shot reverse shot – see the conversation – see hoe angry he gets
Grabs her arm
Srs, 180, over the sholder shot – see she’s physically shorter than him – younger and vulnerable
Tilt and pans hot – room – show her room
Oler people wear nautral colours – girl bright and ‘trendy’
Jump cut – school – times’s passed
Handles alcohol – she can’t
‘dad’s never got any time for me and you’re just the sae’ runs out
Fiddle music with old people – hard at work
Strings – incidental – when she’s backing up and running away – creates sympathy
Continues when the old lady looks for her

The extract portrayals age in a stereotypical way, where the young children are seen as immature and the adults are seen as mature; this is shown through the use of mise-en-scene, camera angles, sound and editing.

Firstly, the use of mise-en-secene portrays the young girl in a stereotypical way through the use of binary opposition, where he’s wearing a bright yellow top and jeans, which has connotations of youth,  while the rest of the characters are wearing darker working clothes, such as the old professor who is dressed smartly in a tweed jacket, thus making her stand out straight away to the audience. There is also binary opposition between her and the farm setting, as the farm itself is dirty and from the viewers own knowledge (Recepetion Theory, Hall) is somewhere that involves hard work, so her bright clothes aren’t suitable for the setting, causing her to look a bit stupid, which is a stereotypical view of the young.

Also, the use of setting follows the stereotypical view that children are seen as immature, as the audience are shown her room through a series of tilt and pan shots that follow her movement around the room which is red and pinka colour typically associated with young girls, creating verisimilitude within the diagesis and thus following a stereotypical view. The audience can also see two teddy bears and magazines on her bed, which further highlights her immaturity as she’s sixteen and has a teddy bear. This also follows the stereotypical view of women being seen as vulnerable and therefore inferior. However, the use of parallel editing, which then cuts to the establishing shot of the outside and thus creates contrast as the countryside symbolises the adult world where there is greater freedom than childhood, which is symbolised by her bed room.

As well as this, the use of shots, such as a low angle shot and eye line match used on the girl when she is arguing with the older man in his house, suggest that she’s vulnerable as she’s firstly physically shorter than him, while he’s seen to be the most powerful of the two as he has a high angle shot, which is shot over the girls shoulder. Also, the use of shot reverse shot here uses a graphically discontinuous edit as you’re cutting from someone who is small and someone who is tall and therefore not the same hight or settings, which further emphasises her young age.

Additionally, the use of sound follows the stereotypical view as incidental music is used when the older men and women are working in the field. The music is quite upbeat and happy, suggesting that they like the work that they’re doing and this contrasts with the diagetic sounds used in the young girls shots, such as when she’s arguing with the man, where you can only hear what they are saying. This creates verisimilitude within the diagesis and emphasises the serious situation. Also, the dialogue itself makes the girl appear immature as she exclaims ‘I hate you’ to the older man when she can’t get her way, inferring that she’s quite emotional and therefore not mature. Her dialogue contrasts (binary opposition) with the dialogue of her school master who has a posh accent and speaks well, connoting that he’s well educated and mannered and thus more mature than the girl.

Finally, the editing makes the girl look like she needs to be looked after, while the grown ups appear to have more power, such as when the young guy  is looking at the car, which she is in. This elonged period suggests to the viewer that he’s worried or that he’s wondering why she is taking a while, inferring that she needs to be looked after – another stereotypical view of children. Then, the camera cuts to her in a blue car, which infers masculinity and power, where she’s muttering to herself aboput the ‘clutch’ and ‘exhaust’. The mutterings suggest that she doesn’t appear to be as comfortable in the car as she said she was earlier, creating suspicion. The camera then jumps back to the guy who is still looking after the car and it is only a second lter that we hear a crash, which would have been made by Foley technique to emphasise that he was right to worry about her.

So, in conclusion the extract supports the stereotypical view that young people are seen as immature and so they need to be looked after and watched closely, compared to adults who are free to do whatever they like.


Explanation/analysis/argument 10/20  - very little at the beginning, but improves as it goes on
Use of examples 14/20 - could be some more and they need to be more specific - less rambling
Use of terminology 7/10

31/50
62% C

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Section A Improved Paragraphs

Camera angle, movement and position

The representation of ethnicity is used through camera angles, such as the low angle shot used in the store cupboard where Jacky is portrayed as the protagonist because the use of the low angle shot connotes power and dominance, and thus suggests that she has a higher social status than the rest of those in the room (who indecently are immigrants), which is a key aspect of a protagonist.

Editing

This is further stressed through the use over the shoulder and shot reverse shot, where the protagonist is talking to one of the immigrants about the diabetic lady on the floor; here she continues to have the low angle shot, while the immigrant has as high angle shot, suggesting that he’s weaker than her, thus inferring that he’s of a lower status than her. However, Bineary opposition is used when the audience sees that he’s helping the diabetic lady on the floor, as he essentially saves her life, causing a shift of power from the once protagonist, Jacky, to the cleaner, which results in him having a low angle shot, highlighting his new sense of power, which doesn’t conform to stereotypes.

Sound

The tempo of sound varies throughout the extract from light and upbeat at the beginning, to a considerable increase in tempo when Ibrahim is about to get caught by the police, which creates tension and suspense; it also creates sympathy as the viewer doesn’t want Ibrahim to get caught creating an emotional bond with the character, supporting the stereotypical view as the viewer’s know that their original country may not be safe, and so if he gets caught then he’ll be sent home. This fear is further supported through the use of dialogue, such as when Jacky pleads with the officers, saying that if he goes back then he will be ‘killed’. The incidental music cuts out from this point and all you can hear are the diagetic sounds of the rest of the hotel, which are emphasised by the use of Foley sounds, such as the rustling of Ibrahim’s struggle. This creates verisimilitude within the diagesis and creates sympathy as it emphasises the realism of the situation.

Mise-en-scene
The costumes create binary opposition between the immigrants and the hotel staff as they are wearing smart business clothes(creating verisimilitude within the diagesis), such as the man at the beginning who has a purple tie; the colour purple is associated with the English aristocracy, and so connotes high status. Similarly, the woman at the desk is wearing a white suit. The colour white has connotations of innocence and purity, following the stereotypical image of women being seen as innocent, vulnerable and therefore inferior, however the fact that she’s on the desk suggests that she has a higher authority that the immigrants who are all wearing uniforms. This use of binary opposition in costume follows the stereotypical portrayal of ethnicity as jobs associated with the uniform aren’t successful, thus inferring that they aren’t important too.

Section A: Common Errors

·         Most notes taken did not follow the way I suggested – this will ensure you always refer to the impact on the macro and keep your sentences precise
·         Lack of terminology – protagonist/antagonists/verisimilitude/ realism/ diagesis/ sound terminology; diagetic/ connotations/ editing… etc
·         Too much waffling
·         Too long opening paragraphs outlining what you were going to do; waste of time
·         Many opening paragraphs did not state if the representations were stereotypical
·         Not enough specific examples from the extract
·         Too much discussion about how immigrants are treated in society – great to refer to this but only very briefly
·         Arguments were not strong enough as the impact on the macro was often forgotten – how did each example your offering create meaning – audience, genre, narrative, representation
·         Hardly any reference to Binary Oppositions, Todrov’s narrative theory
·         Balance between micro elements was nowhere evenly discussed 
·         Limited reference to the revision session and terminology we did the lesson before the exam
·         Not all micro covered as evenly as they could have been – limited editing analysis (should have considered what we did during the revision lesson) 

Specific Examples


Who is their core buyer? –how are they meeting market’s needs?
-          18-34 – mainly 18-24 year olds buy it
Has circulation dropped?
-          Yes by 14.3% to 29,020 (pressgazette.co.uk)
Traffic on website
Number of viewers - (12/12/2011)
Yesterday
5,258
+1,560
Change in Traffic Rank over the trailing 1 day period (A positive change means the site is getting less popular)
7 day
3,574
-211
Change in Traffic Rank over the trailing 7 day period (A negative change means the site is getting more popular)
1 month
3,697
+562
Change in Traffic Rank over the trailing 1 month period (A positive change means the site is getting less popular)
3 month
3,483
-132
Average Load Time for Nme.com
Slow (2.55 Seconds), 80% of sites are faster.
High Impact Search Queries for Nme.com
Query
Impact

1
youtube music videos
Medium
2
music videos
Medium
3
new music
Medium
4
rihanna
Low
5
rojadirecta
Low
6
nme radio
Low
7
straight from the vault
Low


Convergence – NME’s website – radio and magazine
Synergy – Apps – NME EXTRA, Radio app
Prosuming opportunities – ‘vote for the track of the year’ – website – prosumers can scroll over the number of stars they think each song deserves – can post these views onto facebook – mulit-platform – discuss views with fb friends – drives them to the website
Metal Hammer
Who is their core buyer? –how are they meeting market’s needs?
18-34 – mainly 18-24; males; with no children and some college experience
-          Mature dating.co.uk – audience are single with no children – can meet a new partner with same intersts
Has circulation dropped? – No – increased 0.1% 40,000
Traffic on website

Average Load Time for Metalhammer.co.uk

Average (1.466 Seconds), 52% of sites are faster.
Number of viewers (12/12/2011)
7 day
72,159
-23,957
Change in Traffic Rank over the trailing 7 day period (A negative change means the site is getting more popular)
1 month
82,079
+12,572
Change in Traffic Rank over the trailing 1 month period (A positive change means the site is getting less popular)
3 month
71,604
+3,544
High Impact Search Queries for Metalhammer.co.uk
Query
Impact

1
metal
High
2
hammer
High
3
metal hammer magazine
Medium
4
judas priest tour 2011
Medium
5
metal music
Medium
6
hammer magazine
Low
7
metal hammer uk
Low

Where Visitors Go on Metalhammer.co.uk
metalhammer.co.uk-  97.49%
spotlight.metalhammer.co.uk- 2.53%

7 day
02:14
-20%
Change in Time on Site over the trailing 7 day period
1 month
02:21
-2%
Change in Time on Site over the trailing 1 month period
3 month
02:19
-4%
Change in Time on Site over the trailing 3 month period

Convergence – Hammer fest; the Hammer Heavy List; Which game are you most looking forward to in 2012?; Merchandise

Synergy – ask Jergin
Prosuming opportunities - ask Jergin, Which game are you most looking forward to in 2012?; Forum; 

Section B: Common Errors


·         Common errors
·         Lack of terminology
·         Using examples that are from the OLD exemplar responses – this is very lazy and these stats are out-dated
·         Referencing examples
·         Focus on both AUDIENCE AND INSTITUTION
·         Hardware AND CONTENT
·         Own opinion
·         By far the biggest error was the lack of specific case study examples; evidence to support claims/ arguments
-          These need to be specific examples about content, statistics, figures (audience circulation)
Synergies push people to the website
Convergence is where all their stuff is in one place - website
Points that you should have considered:
Harware
-          Positive and negative
-          Advances in technology – can do more, smartphones, iPhones, tablets, technology is more accessible/ easily available (audiences can access it on the move 24/7) web 2.0, synergies and convergence
-          Software: Apps – specific examples from each institution
-          Fanzines: exist now due to proliferation in hardware and software and their accessibility – examples – audience more demanding; they can presume through sites such as YouTube so they expect more from institutions, impatient
-          How have institutions responded top these constant changing consumer/consumption habits?
-          Rise in competition due to proliferation of hardware (Twitter, fanzines etc) and how institutions have overcome this?
-          Production and distribution; advancements in printing process – has the internet meant a decrease in sales of institutions print products? Evidence
-          Internet – institutions now have much more knowledge about their audience because of the hardware/software used – so institutions and advertisers can now target their audience much more precisely thus satisfying
Content
-          Specific examples from your case study about that content offered
o   Convergence
o   Prosumers
o   Multi-platform approach
o   Synergy – specific evidence – driving audiences to their main product – vertical integration
-          Updated quickly
-          Who are their audiences? – stats, how do institutions content and use if hardware and synergies meet expectations; these are highly media savy audiences – evidence
-          Awards won by institutions for their content – what and when?
-          Institutions in constant race to make their products unique with UPB’s – how have MH and NME done this?
-          Difference between niche and mass/mainstream targeting – support with evidence to show comparisons
-          Music creates communities – online communities provided allowing audiences to create strong relationships with audiences with similar interests and taste’s – globalisation – thus creating stronger more loyal relationships with the brand
-          Powerful audience – Murdoch quote
-          Your own personal experience and opinion
-          The future?