End of Year NEA Task

Since starting the mini-NEA, my skills in photography, directing and modelling have improved greatly. My understanding of lighting and its effects is much greater than before. I have learnt the importance of fluidity in camera movement to capture a variety of shots in terms of angle and framing, as well as in encouraging movement in models in order to achieve photography with models who are confident and at ease, in order to capture emotion. I have also gained understanding of how to model for others so have an appreciation of the difficulty of modelling in order to be a effective director.

At this point of the NEA I have built on my modelling, photography and directing skill and have captured a range of shots that could be used in my NEA. I have completed the cover page for my the first edition of my magazine and through this have established an identity and house style for my magazine. One thing that I would do differently in September would be to allow my models more movement and to deviate from the original idea planned and to capture shots with a range of different framing.

In the future of the NEA, I am planning to continue with my current project, with the same magazine title, house style and models, with shots captured on the studio day to be used on my contents pages and website. I am going to shoot some location shots over the summer, some of which I may use as background shots for my photography. In September I am planning to shoot some cover shots for the second edition of my magazine in the studio.

Homeland Continuity Task

1. What was your role in the task and what did you actually do?

My role in the task during planning was to create a story board and shot list, which involved deciding on the shots we were going to take, how they were going to be framed and considering the placement of camera once on set. During the shoot I helped to arrange the set before hand and was then on camera and sound for the duration of the shoot. This involved framing the shots, controlling any camera movement and ensuring that the audio was clear.

2. What factors did you have to take into account when planning, filming and editing?

When planning we had to make sure that our ideas were achievable, by making sure that we could film everything in the given time and decided how we would arrange the set for filming and how this would effect camera placement. During filming, we had to consider the camera placement to ensure we didn't break the 180-degree rule. We had to ensure that we were not filming when the bell ran, to avoid the noise of the bell and the movement of people after it. We had to ensure the action in our CU and OTS shots was as similar as possible to the action in the master shot. During editing, we had to ensure our editing was smooth to achieve continuity by carefully considering what shots to use, keeping up the pace of the clip by using a variety of shot types and correctly bridging sound.

3. How successful was your sequence? Did you manage to demonstrate match-on-action, shot-reverse-shot and 180-degree rule? Did you achieve continuity overall?

I think my sequence was quite successful as I managed to match-on-action successfully in my edit, as seen when Oliver walks through the door. During filming we kept to the 180-degree rule. Shot-reverse-shot was used successfully to add suspense and conflict to the interrogation scene. Overall I achieved continuity, however differences in lighting throughout the scene takes from this slightly.

4. What have you learnt from completing this task?

From completing this task I have learnt the importance of continuity in film and how to achieve this both in filming and editing. I have also learnt the importance of ensuring that the lighting on a set is correct and the same throughout a scene to improve its continuity.

Celebrity Magazine Cover

1   1. Summarise the music celebrity you have created.  Include name, music genre, personality and how they are being used to comment on contemporary celebrity.

     

      The celebrity I have created is a pop singer called Alice Casey. She is a stylish and innovative character with a love of creating music. She is honest and open and this is being used to comment of the intrusion into contemporary celebrities lives and how this can damage or further an artists career, while also distracting audiences from the artists talents. 

      

     2. Evaluate how you have constructed the representation of your celebrity through your cover image and cover headline/text.

      The direct address of the audience achieved by the model looking directly into the camera creates a sense of intimacy between the artist and the audience, making the artist appear as though they want to be open and direct with the audience. The choice of a MLS shows the artists pose and costume, which represent the artist as a star, highlighting their celebrity status that the audience wish to hear about. The cover title represents the star as a celebrity with a high status, while also highlighting the scrutiny the contemporary celebrity undergoes. The editorial summary represents the artist as a creator who cares very much about her music, even with many people focusing more on her life as a celebrity. 

      3. Analyse how far you have used and/or challenged stereotypes of gender/race/age/sexuality in your cover.  
    
      I have used stereotypes of gender to show the artist as stylish, feminine and surrounded and concerned by the media and people's attention through the use of costume, pose and cover title, giving the audience what they expect. However, I have also slightly broken away from the gender and age stereotypes of a thirst and care for fame and people's attention, to show the artist as being more concerned with their own creative output, through the use of the editorial summary.

     4. Reflect on the production/editing process.  Are you pleased with the end result?

Identify what is successful about your shot?  What would you have done differently in hindsight?

I am pleased with the end result of my celebrity magazine cover. The successful parts of my shot are the effective use of make up and costume to create the character and the effective high key lighting to highlight the characters face. i feel that the colour schemes is cool but striking and that I have use the text to clearly highlight my message on the contemporary celebrity. In hindsight, I would have experimented with more interesting poses during the shot, which may have allowed me to convey my message more effectively and allowed me to position my text in a more effective way. 

Current Music Video Analysis

Conventional Techniques in Music Videos 

'Good Grief' by Bastille

1)Use of CUs

    27 seconds into the video, a CU of the lead singers face is shown. This is a familiar face to the audience and highlights the involvement of the band with both the song and the video, which is very appealing to the fans of the band who expect to see the members in the video. 

2)Extreme Contrast in Shot Type

  Three minutes into the video the shot type changes form an ELS of a location to an MCU of a woman screaming. The effect of this jumpy cut allows the video to establish a fast pace and also supports the seemingly random message of the video, highlighting the ideas of the characters jumping between different locations. This appeals to the TA who enjoy the strange videos often accompanying Bastille's music, and wish to hunt for a meaning behind it.

3)Multiple Set-Ups

   The music video features a selection of different characters from different locations, who then begin to enter each others lives. For example there is a woman winning a game show introduced 17 seconds into the video a MS, with high-key lighting and some roller skaters introduced 33 seconds into the video. these seemingly random characters and their interactions, make little sense, which will encourage the viewer to watch the video agin in order to make sense of the video and find meaning. 

4)Costume

   One of the characters shown 11 seconds into the video is wearing a bright red jacket. this distinguishes him from the other characters and allows him to quickly change locations, whilst allowing the viewer to keep up with what is going on. it is away of helping the audience to keep up with the very fast pace, common in music videos.

5)Extreme Contrast in Camera Angle

9 seconds into the video there is a HA ELS zooming in on a man running through a field. This shot then cuts to a MS with no drastic angle, showing the man running towards the camera. this sudden change is common in mooch video and this particular change zooms the audience into the action and makes the feel more involved in the events of the video. 

Trailer Analysis

La La Land 
Audience Appeal
The trailer would appeal to the audience due to the cast. Fans would be excited to see Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, if they had seen their previous films. The trailer also features John Legend, who plays a smaller character in the film, but who will greatly appeal to fans of his music. He is shown playing a guitar in a MS, which highlights to the audience that his musical skills will feature in the film, encouraging them to watch it. The trailer also mentions that the film was directed by the director of Whiplash, which will encourage audience members who have seen that film to watch La La Land. The romance and musical genres of the film will appeal to fans of these genres. The trailer also shows the many 5 star ratings the films has received, to highlight to the audience the popularity of the film, encouraging them to see it.

Genre Signifiers
The film La La Land combines the romance and musical genres. The romance genre is hown through the many shots of the main characters dancing together. The first interaction between the characters shown in the trailer, show the characters kiss in a restaurant in a MS, clearly highlighting the romance genre to the audience, and encouraging fans of this to see the film. This is also done with the musical genre, showing a large ensemble dance and a review claiming that the film is 'a musical masterpiece'.

Character and Representation
The lead characters played by Gosling and Stone are shown to be artists, who are struggling to find success. Stone's character is struggling to get an acting job, while Gosling's character has just been fired from his job. This creates a clear motivation from the characters, the audience know that they will be chasing both their dreams and each other. This situation will appeal to audience members who are struggling to achieve their dreams or secure a good job, leading them to sympathise with the characters and encourage them to see the film.

Branding
The brand the film is trying to create is that of a unusual new film, with a classic Hollywood musical feel. This is done through the upbeat, fast-paced music used throughout the trailer as well as the font used. this is further emphasised through the jobs of the characters and a review claiming that 'they don't make films like this anymore'. this will appeal to audience who want to see a different kind of film to what they usually see in the cinema, or to those who wish to recapture a sense of old Hollywood glamour.

Reflections on Shots

1. Analyse your chosen shot and identify in what way it could be described as signifying your chosen TV Drama genre/subgenre.

Our chosen shot was a still from a mystery TV drama. It shows the character looking nervous as he peers around a corner. He appears to be looking intently at something and his expression connotes that he is observing an event at which he is not comfortable with or not welcome at. The fact that the audience is unable to see what it is that character is looking at is a genre convention of mystery dramas, as the audience has to try and find out what is going on from the character and his reaction. The character appears as though he is trying not to be seen through the way his body is partly hidden behind a wall and the way he seems as though he has just appeared from a darkened corridor.

2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

The mystery drama genre is further signified through the shot type and lighting. The LA MS makes the character appear slightly imposing and clearly shows both his facial expression and body language, which allows the audience to connote that he is hiding and viewing something that he finds shocking. It leaves the audience to question what it is the characters is hiding from and what he has seen, which is a signifier of the mystery drama genre. The low-key lighting is used to create shadows on the character, especially around his hands and face, which further heightens the characters fear and emphasizes the idea of him emerging from the shadows. This connotes that he is trying to find information about something which is a common plot-line in mystery dramas.

3. Identify what what is successful about your shot?

The things that I believe make the shot successful are the use of lighting to create shadows and the choice of MS to show the right amount of the character needed to allow the audience to find the meaning the shot is trying to convey. They audience can interpret both the meaning of the show and the genre from these two things.

4. What would you do differently in hindsight?

In hindsight I would make the character more central in the shot so that more attention can be focused on the expression of the character. I would also ensure that the face of the character is focused rather than the wall in the shot for the same reason. I believe this focus would allow the audience to interpret more from the shot.