Magazine Timeline

Poster Timeline

Secondary Research for Ancillary Task

Secondary Research for Ancillary Task from alicesoph96

Secondary Research for Magazine Cover and Poster

Secondary Research from alicesoph96

Poster and Magazine Cover Research

Poster and Magazine Shoot Research from alicesoph96

Film Posters

Film Posters from alicesoph96

Magazine Covers

Magazine Covers from alicesoph96

Horror Film Timeline

Horror Film Timeline from alicesoph96

Research for Filming

Research for Shooting from alicesoph96

Evolution of the Horror Film Genre

Logo Research

Logos from alicesoph96

ALONE Title Sequence

Annotated Plot

Annotated Plot from alicesoph96

Film Plot

It is late one night and some girls have been lost in the country for a few hours, and they are getting tired and it is getting dark. They come across an old abandoned farm building that they decide would be the best place to sleep for the night due to the shelter it gives from the rain. One girl is unsure whether it is safe and does not want to go through with it, but seeing as they others want to and decided there is not better option, she has no choice but to go with them. She keeps saying she feels someone watching them and wants to go and look, but everyone is telling her she is a wimp, and then feels pressured into just going along with the plan no questions asked.

After finding the best place to sleep, they get comfortable and share a bottle of vodka one of the girls had brought with them.  The girl who felt uncomfortable starts to fall asleep quickly due to the alcohol and tiredness. The others stay awake a bit longer but soon are all asleep.

While they are sleeping, a masked male figure comes in quietly and watched them for a while holding a knife and cloth. While he starts to make his way towards one of the girls, another starts to stir in their sleep and get up. In panic of getting seen, he hides behind a wall. He notices that she has gone outside to go to the toilet, he goes a different way to her and sneaks up behind her, gagging her and carrying her away to an outbuilding.

As they enter the outbuilding, you can see it is already set up with torture instruments, and a dead body is tied to a chair in the corner, next to a pile of body bags. He the throws the girl onto a table and restrains her. He then starts to torture her. Deciding to take a break and choose another girl, he goes back to room, and drags one of the girls back to the room. She wakes up and notices her friend in pain and tries to help with her hands and feet tied and gagged, which angers him and decided to just kill the first girl, bagging her up and pushing her into a pond. While he is on his way back, the other girl who did not want to stay wakes up to find herself alone. Scared, she walks around trying to find her friends.  She notices the bag half out of the water, and goes to look. She opens it to see her dead friend and lets out a scream.

As the masked murderer is tidying up, he hears the scream and grabs his chainsaw. The girl hears this and runs to the path. He sees her, drops the chainsaw and runs, grabbing her which makes her fall down, and the throws her over his shoulder thrashing around. He then ties her to a chair while he continues to torture them both.

It comes to morning and the second girl is dead and he is sleeping. The third girl managed to get out of the hand restraints and free herself. Grabbing the first thing she could, she attacks the murderer, but not strong enough to kill, just enough to walk him, throw him off guard and give her time to run. She takes the weapon with her, running back down the path. She keeps on running and screaming but no one is around. She trips over, hurting her leg and slowing down. This allows the murderer to catch up with her, she fights him off and keeps running. She soon finds help, but they think she is insane when they could not find any murderer, weapons in the abandoned house, or dead bodies.

Code Analysis

Code Analysis from alicesoph96

Media Theories

Todorov's Theory

• Suggests that (most) narrative starts of with a equilibrium and the protagonists are happy. 
• This state is then disrupted, most likely by the antagonist, and they have to fight to gain that equilibrium back. 
• There is resolution to the problem, however it will most likely be a different equilibrium to the beginning. 
• Can be applied to most films. 
• Trailers tend to not show the resolution in order to make the audience want to find out more. 

Equilibrium -> Disequilibrium -> New Equilibrium

Barthes Theory

• Suggests that narrative works with five different codes to help the audience make sense of it. 
• These are; Action, Enigma, Symbolic (connotation), Semic (denotation), and Cultural. 

Claude Levi - Strauss

• Narrative contains binary oppositions, for example, if there is a bad guy in a film there will be someone - not necessarily a hero - contrasting them. 

Propp's Theory

• Analysed Russian Fairytales. 
• Noted that there is a specific character list made up of; Hero, Villain, Donor, Dispatcher, False Hero, Helper, Princess, and her Father. 
• Although this does not directly apply to films as it is based on Fairytales, it can be applied to some film narrative in terms of the character roles. 

Detailed Trailer Research

Detailed Trailer Research from alicesoph96

Film Trailer Details

Filmtrailerdetails from alicesoph96

Film Trailer Survey

Film Trailer Initial Ideas

Film trailers initial ideas from alicesoph96

Conversation, Lockdown and Door video

Overall, I think that this turned out really well, with the three different ideas showing the editing and shots correctly and neatly.

I did previously shoot the conversation video, however I can clearly tell from looking at this version and from shooting, this is much better. The shots are are the same in composition and show the right proportions with the character speaking taking up two thirds of the composition. The editing is also quite good with fast cuts and includes close ups.

The Lockdown shot of Jo walking towards the camera is also good as I split the shot into smaller clips which show good jumps. I also included a freeze frame as it worked well with the way the shot was cut.

The door scene is a lot better than my last ones I attempted, as this time the shooting had improve drastically. showing the proportions and compositions better. The cuts join together smoother as well, showing the actions flowing together better. I also made the part where Jo is in the building slow motion as it went well with the movement and to end the video.

Shooting List - Conversation

Shot reverse shot
Master shot
Shot reverse shot x 4
Master shot
One person getting up (tracking shot), exiting, going through a door

Doors

I made this video of Yasmin and Rhiannon going in and out of doors to show continuity editing. I think doors show a good example of continuity as the idea can clearly show continuity.
To edit these clips together I used Final Cut Pro which allowed me to easily trim the clips I wanted and put them together well. Overall I think this video is good as the camera is not very shaky, and the clips showing someone walking in and out of the doors link together well. One clear mistake that I did not see when shooting, is a reflection in the lift as Rhiannon is going into it.

What is a Film Trailer and Possible Genres I Would Use

Film types and Possible Genres from alicesoph96

If I was to make a music video, which style would I use?

If I was to make a music video, which style would I use? from alicesoph96

Music Video Types

Music video types from alicesoph96

Production Schedule

TO DO	TO BE COMPLETE BY
Research	06.01.14
Planning	24.01.14
Filming the trailer	26.01.14
Shooting for ancillary – magazine/poster	21.02.14
Editing trailer	31.03.14
Editing ancillary tasks	07.03.14
Evaluation	04.04.14

Illustrated Essay

Chose THREE music videos, and analyse them in terms of the representation of women, Gaze theory, include both male and female gaze.

The Male Gaze theory was thought up by feminist and theorist Laura Mulvey in 1975. It states that females are only used in media - i.e. music videos and advertising - as objects of visual pleasure for men. This theory does apply to certain aspects of media and music video, but not all. This is mainly due to advances in how women are perceived in society now and are seen as equal rather than in 1975 when that was not the case. This theory can also be flipped as well to show the Male Gaze, men being used as visual pleasure for women.
It can be argued now, that this theory is no longer relevant or at least not as relevant as it was due to the fact women and men are seen as equal now, and both sexes can relate to the gaze theory.

The purpose of the music videos are to promote the artist and gain money as well as provide a visual story for the song. This means that the song was selected for a reason and the music video was tailored to that artist and that song in a way that will stand out and make an impact. This is where the male gaze comes in, if the video is made in a bold and even a controversial way; such as the Blurred Lines video, more people will hear about it and it will become more popular which is the aim.

Mediation is also important to keep in mind when looking at music videos. The music video will have been planned and edited a lot to get the finished product, showing the audience a carefully crafted representation of the storyline to hopefully get the intended reaction. This also links into the previous point I made about the purpose of the music video as when shooting the video, you could get loads of different takes, but only certain ones and certain edits would represent what the artist and director wants to be seen.

The three videos I have chose to analyse are, Kelly Clarkson - Since You Been Gone, Paramore - Misery Business and Robin Thicke ft T.I, Pharell - Blurred Lines.  I have decided to use these three videos as they all relate to and show different ideas in relation to Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory (1975).

Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone



This video directed by Alex Da Rakoff in 2004 shows Kelly Clarkson destroying her ex - boyfriends apartment and of her performing on stage. I decided to use this video as it contrasts with the typical way women are perceived to be after a break up such as sad and crying, instead it shows her as powerful and strong. Although this is the what is shown and what the message of the video is, it can be argued that the destruction of his property is a sign of weakness. But overall, this represents women in a modern, strong and powerful way.

Throughout the video, Kelly is fully dressed, even when on stage and not in a revealing outfit. This automatically makes her appear somewhat more       powerful, and in control rather than her in just a bikini for example as that would make it look like she is using her body for power and to attract the audience. The outfit that she wears in the scenes where she is destroying the apartment, her clothing strongly goes against the male gaze theory, instead showing her in a grungier, tomboy outfit. However, during the parts of the video where she is on stage she does wear quite a low cut top. This would help attract the male audience and adds a strong contrast to the other outfit she wears, in some ways showing two different "sides" of her, a more casual one, and then a stage and performance side.

Although the way she is dressed goes against the male gaze theory, she is heavily made up, particularly during the performance scenes. This does link into the gaze theory by making her seem more visually appealing to the viewer. This I think helps draw in the male audience, as this video is mainly relateable to women giving them the message to be strong and not weak which would not appeal to men.






In terms of body language as well, this video goes against the male gaze theory. This is because she is not flaunting herself around in a sexual way. For the majority of the apartment sections of the video, she is sitting cross - legged. This is more of a manly, casual pose, showing her to not conform to typical girly stereotypes and instead being herself. In contrast to other female pop videos, her body language overall strongly contrasts throughout the video but during the stage scenes, it is most evident she is going against typical female representation in pop videos. Instead of having a dance routine, or her acting in any sexual way, she takes on more of a "rock star" style approach due to the way she is acting on stage and her presence.

The male gaze not only relates to how men objectify women,  but how people - in this circumstance mainly women - look up to the person in question. In this video, Kelly is a positive and strong role model for her mainly female and teenage audience as she is showing herself as independent and not reliant on males. It contrasts strongly to other popular female artists and videos as instead of making a sad song and video about the after math of her break up or one where she goes out clubbing, she acts in control and powerful.
In terms of mediation, the different scenes have been put together to show her as both powerful and at the same way feminine through the different outfit choices. This carefully shows two sides of her and promotes her image as well as being a story for the music.


Paramore - Misery Business




In this video directed by Shane Drake in 2007 you see the band both performing in room decorated to match their album cover, and playing the role of high school students who in the end effectively over throw the schools bitch. I decided to look at this video to show the way in which females are represented as there is two different representations in this. Firstly their is how Hayley Williams (lead singer) is represented, then how the other girl is represented. Although these representations are exaggerated, they do highlight to different stereotypes and the way they are represented.

One of the most important factors in this video that represents Hayley and the girl in the blue dress is body language. These play a big part in showing their status and attitude in this video. For instance, the first time we see the girl is when she is pushing her way through a gang of cheerleaders. This immediately asserts her power, as stereo typically the cheerleaders are the most popular and powerful in American high schools. This continues the almost the whole way through the video almost. Her facial expression also adds to this. She looks down at everyone she goes past. This representation is showing female power in a negative way, showing that if you have power then it will be used for personal gain. In the video she walks up to a guy in the hall - who we know from previous that he has a girlfriend - and kisses him. This emphasises the fact that she uses her sex appeal and looks for power.
The way in which Hayley is represented through body language contrasts this completely. Firstly, during the performance sections, she is dancing and moving around the space in a way that conforms to the punk rock genre of the music, and as if she was on stage. This contrasts not only the way female pop singers tend to act, but also contrasts earlier female bands of a female genre such as Hole where the band members would rely more on sex appeal in videos. I think this is mainly due to the time difference, as the male gaze theory was more relevant in the fact that in previous years such as the 80's and 90's women were still seen as visual objects to men. But now, women are seen as equal and do not have to rely on looks and sex appeal which is what Hayley is showing. The way Hayley is represented throughout the high school scenes are similar to how Kelly as they are both shown in more of a tomboy, independent way. For this video the fact that Hayley is hanging around with her band full of guys almost as if she was one of them emphasizes the fact she is not conforming to typical representations of women.

In terms of the way they look such as clothes and makeup, these also give strong representations. Both of them are wearing a lot of makeup, but for different reasons. With Hayley, her makeup is bright and creative, not what someone would typically wear to school. This gives the impression that it is for the purpose of the video and relates to the punky genre and style of the band. Although these are the predominant reasons why the makeup is being used, it can be said that the makeup is adding to visual pleasure for the male viewers. Her hair also goes against the stereotype that women's hair always has to be perfect by having messy, multicolured hair. With the girl, her makeup strongly suggests that she is viewed as a attractive or that that is the aim. The heavy, dark eye make up and dark red lipstick colours are related to darker attitudes, and being used to attract men. Her hair is also perfectly curled with no fly aways, this gives girls a false impression that to be powerful and popular then you have to look perfect. The way they are dressed also shows different representations and people. For instance Hayley dresses in relation to the punk rock style with bright clashing colours and black and the girl has a low cut dress on.

Although the message from this firstly shows that that the girl is the most powerful one at the school, it soon flips when Hayley takes out her bra padding and wipes off her make up. This makes the girl upset and weak. This changes the power and gives a strong message about female popularity, looks and attitude, basically contradicting the whole male gaze theory and saying that being false and using looks to get things will not get you anywhere.

In relation to how the audience would take this video in in relation to the Laura Mulvey's theory relates to who watches it. The target audience being both male and female teenagers who are rock fans, they would firstly understand that this is making a joke and being exaggerated. In this video Hayley is a good role model for her fans showing that bully's and people that look down on you are fake, and being fake and only concerned with looks will not get you anywhere and being yourself is the best option.
With mediation in this video, the director wants to show Paramore as a feisty pop punk band, therefore the shots are created to show a strong contrast being Hayley and the brunette girl's character and attitude, as the same effect would not be created if say the girl Hayley was standing up to was similar to her. This shows a reality in the video where stereotypes are used to enhance the way the band are seen and to create visual aesthetics to go along with the song - both selling the song and the band and creating them a powerful image.

Robin Thicke ft. T.I and Pharrell - Blurred Lines



This video directed by Diane Martel in 2013 shows the singers in front of a blank wall with models doing unrelated things around them. Due to the fact the artists in this video are male, there is obviously going to be women in it. The original version got banned from YouTube due to to much nudity.
Out of all three videos I have looked at, this one relates most to the Male Gaze theory as the models are dressed in revealing clothing throughout the entire video,  and in some cases only a thong. Laura Mulvey's theory states that women are just objects of visual pleasure for men, and in this video, that is the case.

In terms of how the models act in the video shows that they are there for the entertainment of the singers and for the viewers, because none of what they are doing actually relates to the song or creates a story line for the video. This makes the models appear as if they are toys, and doing whatever the men want them to. This also makes them appear weak and as though they do not have any control. The body language in this is quite important, especially of the men. In some parts the video, the men are facing away from the women and not acknowledging them, this then leads the women to try and get their attention again. This is sending out a bad message to women as it is telling them that they have to always have male attention. Although the women are mainly doing random things that necessarily do not relate to any sexual or suggestive ideas, but with this they flip them. For instance just they are standing or hanging onto the singers looks promiscuous.


How they look plays a big part in this. The main difference between looks is that the men are fully dressed in suits and the women are wearing barely - there clothing. This accentuates the fact that they are seen as less than the men and objectifies them. The suits also make the men look powerful in contrast to the women who are wearing what looks like plastic clothing, that could be seen as making them look trashy. The plastic also adds to the fact that they are being represented as objects as it makes them look fake. In some parts of the video, the women appeal almost completely naked other than a thong and something covering up their breasts such as an animal or object. This further continues to make them look weaker and that fact they are covering them self up gives the impression that they are not unclothed by choice and are trying to hide. The men are wearing sunglasses throughout the majority of the video. This makes them look shady and adds to the fact they look important.

In terms of the male gaze relating to men, this is giving a strong impression to males as they look up to these popular artists, and this video could make them think that women are less than men and just sexual objects. It would also make them think that if they act in a obnoxious, "powerful" way they can get women and women would do whatever they want to. This is only sexist, but could strongly effect and impact the way teenage boys view women and effect the way they treat them later in life.

With the way women can view this video, they could see the way the women both act and look and damage their self confidence and make them feel like this is the way they should act around men. If they think this is the way to act around men, doing what they want them too, this could make an impact on the view of them self and think they could not be higher or equal to men. In terms of looks, this could trigger something in teenage girls and lead to something dangerous such as an eating disorder to look like them.
Although the Male Gaze theory is prominent in this video, you have to take into consideration mediation and the purpose of the video. From the hastags that appear during the video, you can tell that the point of this video is to become viral, which is most likely why it is so controversial, where if it was not so controversial it would not have made such as big impact.

Overall

After looking at these three different videos there are different things that factor into how women are represented in a music video. Firstly, the genre. If the genre is rock - such as the Paramore video - then the video is more likely to show women as more equal or to focus more on the bands performance as that is a part of what the style is like. But, with a pop video such as Blurred Lines, it is quite common for the videos to show women in a sexual way. Another thing to consider is whether the artist is male or female. This would determine the way women are presented in the video as men would want to look as them as visual objects, whereas women would not as much. Out of the two points I just mentioned, the most important one would genre, as in a pop video by an artist such as Britney Spears she herself could dress in revealing clothing and act promiscuous to attract the opposite sex.

As well as the looking at how the women are being represented in these videos, you have to consider the mediation of the video, such as the reasons as to why the women were presented in the ways they are. This could mean its the way the label/director want to show the artist, the relation to the point of the song and the impact they want the video to make. For example when making the Blurred Lines they probably knew it would be so controversial and with the Since U Been Gone video that shows Kelly in a strong independent why which reflects her as an artist.

The way in which women are shown in relation to the Male Gaze is crucial to to the way the video is received by both men and women. Music videos are widely accessible and are shown almost everywhere and therefore can create a strong impact on people - especially teenagers and children. If the message is good and positive like the first two videos I looked at then they will make a positive impact and, but if the message is like the last one, then it could give a strong negative effect to people.

Out of all three videos, it is pretty obvious that the Blurred Lines video relates quite strongly to the gaze theory as it shows women as nothing but objects of visual pleasure for men. Since U Been Gone would have to relate the least as it shows Kelly as independent and not trying to get a males attention. Misery Business is also going against the theory by not as much as Since U Been Gone as it shows both a woman trying to use her looks for power and it also shows someone independent.

Bad Journey Remake

This was meant to be a remake of my journey through college had quite a few problems. However, for a few reasons this turned out really bad, worse than the first one.
The problems with the first one were that it was primarily too long, making it boring and long winded for the viewer. Then I zoomed quite a bit and moved the camera in general which isn't what was meant and disoriented the video.
The aim for this video was to correct these problems and show improvements and a new storyline where Yasmin was going to meet Lois at a table. However, a few problems made the whole video basically a mess. Firstly, I did not have a list of shots or a storyboard to work from so no plan and no previous checking of the shots. That was the first obstacle, then the camera died and I swapped to a different one disorientating me and I lost track of the shots. These all led to the overall bad result.

The Argument (Conversation 2)

I am so much happier with this conversation than my first one as  I have worked on the areas that needed improvement and I got an overall better outcome this time around.

The main area that needed improving was the framing and composition, and in contrast to my previous video this one is a lot better. For example the composition this time is much better with the focus character of that shot takes up two thirds - roughly - of the composition and the framing is tighter, removing more of the unnecessary background.  Something else I done different is adding some more master shots in the video other than the first establishing one. This gives the viewer a better understanding of what is going on as it shows the body language and relationship between the characters more as well as reiterating the setting. I also kept the camera still in terms of zooming, keeping the lens on 100mm when doing the over the shoulder shots. In my first video I zoomed in the shots, and with not doing that now I got a smoother running video with better transitions.
There is more of a story line this time with the Chelsey and Yasmin having an argument rather than a conversation. This makes it more interesting for the viewer.

The main area for improvement with this would be keeping the camera from shaking which will be improved with practice when filming. I could however eliminate this from happening with the use of a tripod.

Conversation 2 Storyboard

I have made this storyboard in order to plan out this second conversation video so the overall outcome is better that the previous one that I made. This illustrates the shots I am going to use in the video and allowed me to plan out the framing and composition, which compared to my previous conversation video is a lot better, showing more of the subject and less of the surroundings.

Chelsey and Ollie Journey Through College

Overall, I think this video achieves its purpose, which is to show a journey through college. What I like most is that there is a range of different shots showing Chelsey walking though college. These clearly illustrate her journey through college and show her surroundings. For the most part the different shots flow into each other quite well, but there is a few that are a bit harsher and cut quite abruptly and could disorient the viewer. I did try to remove these, but they were necessary in the overall video outcome.

The main problem with this video is that it is too long. This is a problem for a few reasons. Firstly, it drags a bit and the viewer could easily get bored. The second key problem is that when looking for music too add to it, there was none long enough for the whole video. This prevented me from therefore adding music and making the video more interested and appealing. Something else which I thought was a good idea at the time is the zooming in and out during the filming, This ended up giving a blurred look in a few places and wobbling the camera.

In terms of this video relating to my previous storyboard it links strongly and I constantly referred to it. The only major difference is that there is a bit missing from the video that is in the storyboard. I did not include this as it was not a key section and I wanted to shorten the video a bit.

If I was to redo this I would not change the idea but I would shorten it so that Chelsey would start walking from a classroom instead of going straight across college.

Conversation Video

For this video I decided to use the cafe as my location as it makes the video relaxed and informal which goes well with the casual conversation that Ollie and Sam are having. Overall, I like this video and think it is a good first attempt, although there are some areas to improve and I will do this idea again.

What I like about this video is the fact that the shots are clear and go well together, and the subject is clear and I have not broke the 180 degree rule by keeping the camera on the same side. I also like how the camera is in the same place and does not change dramatically which would effect the overall video outcome.

The main problem with this is the composition of the over the shoulder shots which does not show enough of the focus character and there is too much space in between the two. For instance, when the camera is looking over Ollie's shoulder at Sam, there is the bin in between where there should not be any space. This is a problem as it separates the characters and the bin dominates the shot. I would also like to prevent the camera from shaking as much as well to help get more of a professional video.

To improve upon this video next time I am going to test out the shots before I shoot the video first to make sure I have it all planned out therefore making the shoot run more smoothly. I am not going to zoom either, which is a mistake I made with this and therefore had to cut quite a big section. I am also going to shoot the over the shoulder shots better so that the gap in between the two characters is closed.

How to Make Sure my Conversion Video is Correct

As I did not previously do a conversation video, this will be my first try. To make sure it goes right I need to make sure a few things are correct. First, I need to start and end with a master shot to give the audience a feel of the characters relationships and setting. I also need to make sure that during the over the shoulder shot the focus character takes up two thirds of the composition. As it is a conversation, I do not need to zoom in on there faces, or pan, instead just do over the shoulder shots.
When editing to make the conversation easier to follow I am not going to add and transitions or sound just cut to the next shot to keep the emphasis on the speaker and conversation.

Story Board

I think that this storyboard clearly illustrates my plans for my video of Chelsey walking through college to meet up with Ollie in the canteen. This contains a range of different shot types, and I have noted where the panning and tilts will be, often these will link the different shot types together.
Although I have showed the different shot types, there are gaps in the story which I did not include as it would be repeating the same shot types and similar images. These gaps are just the image continued.
This video has helped me establish what shots I am going to use and what for in my video and have more of a solid idea for my story.

Simple Shot Types

This video is to show a few of the basic shot types for filming. Overall, I think this is a good video and achieves its goal of showing the shot types. although I think it is good, there are clear areas for it too be improved.

The clips are clear, but some parts the filming is wobbly, especially when following the model or panning. This could have been avoided or improved by holding the camera better, or in future a tripod could be used to keep the camera even more steady. Other than that, I think the clips are clear, for example they are not blurred.
One area that could have been improved with the individual shots is that I done the close up and extreme close up shots in the same take. If I had done them separately it would have extended the video a little bit and made the different shots clearer.
When putting the video together I did not have to cut the individual clips too much as they merged consistently into each other. The transitions I added work well with the video as they help make the transition between slides smoother. They also go well with the flow of the video, for example the transitions follow the same direction that Sam is walking. The sound i added also works well with the video as it is happy and upbeat making the video more fun and interesting. I chose to use a sound for the entire video instead of different ones for different shots as it makes the video more consistent and links the different clips together better. I chose to use a blue screen to start the video and to end it as it goes well with the bright, outside park theme of the video.

If I was to re do this task, I would think of a better story line and make the video longer, rather than having Sam just walking into the park. I would also spend more time making sure the shots were steady and for some of them, making them longer.