Monday, 11 September 2017



Future ft Drake- Use To This   https://youtu.be/SZDmuHSqwtg



“Use to This” by future but also featuring drake is about how they have become rich and famous and they are now use to that life. The props used in the video go really well with the narrative as there is a lot of jewellery shown and also the women that are shown in the video all work to gather to help give the impression on how wealthy they are. Also, the lights and smoke helps give off this impression. Another thing that helps give off this impression and goes along with the story line is the camera works. Even though the shots are constantly changing it is clear that drake and future have a lot of authority as the camera is constantly featuring them in a vary of shot.



Stefflon Don- 16 Shots    https://youtu.be/m5TIDDx57-0





The music video, 16 shots by Stefflon don. It is about what she does when her mother has been kidnapped and they are holding her for ransom.  The video begins with a wide/ long shot of a beach in Jamaica, zooming in at a reasonable rate. It then goes into the next shot, which is a medium close up of Stefflon Don the next shot is where the performance element plays a key part as the next shot goes into a birds eye view of the streets of Jamaica and how Shefflon gets a phone call saying her mum has been kidnapped and she has to give money to get her back. The birds eye view also shows the visual effect and the conditions the mum is being kept in (as the streets are not that clean). It also shows that the mum could be located anywhere in these large streets of Jamaica. The next scene she is stall on the phone but we get to see who is keeping her for ransom and he is holding a gun which can express how seriouse they are about getting this money and what extent they have gone to, to make sure they get the money.  They next scene they jump from shot to shot all in all, about 20 different medium close ups shown in approximately 6 seconds. Which shows the amount of editing used the next scene starts with a medium close up of Stefflon saying how she is going to get revenge. This shot is then followed up with about 2 closes ups of her still singing and then a close up of a gun being picked up which can give the impression someone is going to get hurt or she is going to try and get her mum back without paying of the ransom. It then goes straight into the next shot where they are jumping from shot to shot all of them long shots. But then starts to show close ups of Stefflon again as it continues to jump from shot to shot. Even though they continue to jump from shot to shot they keep returning to a key scene that shows Stefflon managing to capture the person that was supposed to collect the money from her. It also shows her interrogating him to get information on where her mum is. Even though they jump from shot to shot you will be able to tell they keep returning to the scene that tell kind of a story and they shots are in slower motion then the other shots. This helps show the amount of editing used. She eventually finds out where her mum is kept and goes there with a gun which shows what extent she will go to get her mum back. It also goes along with the story line as she says, “everyone around here needs ammo” which also shows she is going to shot him. which she does but we don’t see the gun just after she has fired it and they cut to a different scene of a close up with her and her mum.



Dua Lipa-New Rules   https://youtu.be/k2qgadSvNyU


The music video “new rules” by Dua Lipa has a series of aspects in terms of camera work visual affect mise en scene and so on. All while telling a story. Right from the beginning you can see the camera work by starting with a close up into Dua Lipa face, slowly zooming out where you see her lying on a bed as she talks about how she talks in her sleep at night and how it makes her crazy. As this music video is based upon her and the one she loves she is clearly talking about how he makes her feel crazy. The next shot is a long shot as you get 5 singers in the shot. Also, they could give off the impression that they are a bit crazy from the way they are completely still but perfectly in sync showing no emotion. Which goes well with the lyrics. The song then goes on to talk about the rules she tells herself to help her stay away from this boy she is obsessed with.  Starting with rule one she attempts to reach out for the phone but is stopped by a backing singer this goes from a medium close up to a long shot. Where she then backs up but with the camera coming in close to capture her face in a medium close up. As she goes on to finish rule 3 she leaves the shot while the camera is left in a close up on one of the backing singers faces. The next shot the has Dua Lipa in a long shot with all the backing singers we have seen so far all in the hall way going into a hand stand as Lipa runs through the middle. This shows a bit of mis en scen as she is also sing (while she does this) “I’ve got no rules” and this goes well as they are clearly showing they don’t have to follow any rules. Then the next shot starts with a close up that goes into a wide shot. As soon as that shot ends it geos start into a close up again, going into a long shot this happens again in the next shot as they go from a close up to wide shot. Once that shot ends they change to a beach scenery which again goes well with what they are sinning as she repeats “I’ve got no rules”. As the video come to an end they have about a 5second period of a close-up shots. Before they go into a long shot instantly changing shot, into another long shot.

Thursday, 18 May 2017

Representation analysis


Hunger Games








Representation
The way Lions gate (the producers) show and represent, gender in the hunger games goes against the belief that strong muscly white males should be the main hero. Instead, Katniss Everdeen is the heroine and isn’t really muscly at all, nor is she rich. She comes from a poor back ground and has gained her skills through constant practise just to stay alive and feed her family. An example of her gaining her skill is right at the begging of the trailer where Katniss is hunting with a Bowen arrow.  This could be seen as unusual for a woman to be the heroine as you would normally expect a muscly male to be the hero.                                             Even though there is a herein instead of a hero, there are still male main character. But the representation of gender in hunger games reinforces traditional gender stereotypes. Peeta mellark plays the stereotypical male American action side kick. He is aggressive, brave and intelligent in helping the main character; katness everdeen survives the hunger games. When katniss is on the verge of death that when peeta really steps up to help and be the side kick of the heroine. But all after he has betrayed her once, unwillingly. This is a typical qualities associated with male sidekicks. This may make the audience feel for him and make them feel like he is really trying and giving all he’s got to help the heroine.
Films use unexpected representations in film so the audience will look  at the poster or watch the trailer and realise it’s not what they expected so will then go and watch the whole film as it’s something different to watch and possibly more interesting. But the film has still kept some stereotypical representations, for example peeta meelark. They possibly done this so the audience doesn’t feel like the film has represented all the characters differently to a past feel they enjoyed.

The hunger games also may have changed the stereo type of male men always being the hero as they are trying to get a real life point across. A point like, men are always the hero and women don’t do much but get in the way. So they have changed that, making the female the hero

Sunday, 7 May 2017

Narrative Theory



Hunger Games 


The trailer for hunger games uses many narrative techniques, applying the character theory. We have a clear protagonist in hunger games, katniss everdeen. She is shown to be the stronger character we also know that she is the protagonist from the trailer as it focuses on her saving her sister in the disequilibrium of the trailer. Gale Hawthorne, which you could call the mentor or theoretically the Donor of Katniss Everdeen, is also a major character you could call him the doner as you could tell in the first 25 seconds that he and the heroine are hunting together, possibly training together. Another main character is Peeta Mellark. He is the Helper as he helps the heroine, Katniss Everdeen. He acts as the sidekick. These well-known character types quickly help establish the genre, AdventureSci-Fi and action Thriller. It also allows the audiences to understand the main relationships within the trailer.

The film's narrative is introduced in the trailer and follows theory of equilibrium. The equilibrium starts at the beginning of the trailer, when the character, katniss everdeen and Gale Hawthorne are hunting freely and seem very happy as they hunt for food to feed their families, as the film is also based around poverty and equal rights. So, it’s not like they can just go out t o a supermarket and buy food. Instead they have to hunt for their food, which has become natural to them, it has become a hobby. The introduction of Effie Trinket creates the disequilibrium. along with the random selection of a male and female, where they are made to represent and gamble their lives for their district in the 74th hunger games. Which is a tournament where 24 people enter an artificial but only one is meant to come out. The new equilibrium is not shown in the trailer because is important that the audience watch the whole film to enjoy this resolution.

The trailer has many of Barthes' enigma and action codes. These enigmas are there to draw the audience in and encourage them to watch the whole film to resolve their questions. E.g. will Katniss Everdeen die or her helper peeta mellark? what happens to the winning challenger? Or what is the new equilibrium going to be like, is it going to be a lot different or is it going to go back to how it was before? However, enigma codes work alongside action codes. Action codes are there to engage and maintain the interest of the audience.  One of the first action codes occurs within the first 20 seconds, when Katniss and Gale are talking about running away from someone, the next happens not long after when katnisses sister is crying because she is scared of this person/people gale and Katniss wanted to run away from. You could tell that it was giving of an action code by the music, the music change and made more tension appear. And the only way to see what everyone is scared of and the new equilibrium is to watch the full movie. There are many more action codes that happen in this one trailer to draw in more of an audience to watch the film. This is a critical aspect of the film marketing.


Wednesday, 18 January 2017

SOUTHPAW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh2ebPxhoLs


Southpaw is a sporting drama featuring Jake Gyllenhaal. Personally I would have also called this a action thriller as well as sporting thriller as there is a lot of bloody violence  that happens in the duration of this film. as well as the boxing that makes it a sporing thriller  the film is based on the death of his wife, the life of his daughter and how the main character 'Jake Gyllenhaal' handles everything that happens in this short period of his life, through his talent. 

what it's about:
The film is based on a boxer named Billy Hope but also know as 'the great' who has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However this all is take taken away when tragedy strikes. Hope starts ttom after losing his wife is taken away from him over his house and his manager. He soon finds an unlikely saviour in Tick Willis a former fighter who trains amateur boxers. With his future on the line, Hope fights to reclaim the trust of those he loves the most.



NORBIT

https://youtu.be/MmSZJ17ppEQ

Norbit is a romantic comedy as the film is based on love and romance but is also a comedy. like my recent blog you may be able to tell this is a comedy as Eddie Murphy Is a main character. And Eddie Murphy is branded for comedies for example coming to America.

what is it about:

Norbit is about Norbit, who is a  middle aged black American that's not living the American dream. He has always had it rough, since the day he was adopted by a Chinese restaurant owner who ran an orphanage. he was then forced to marry a bad-tempered and nagging wife, Rasputia. he is at wit's end until, his childhood sweetheart who grew up in the orphanage, Kate. Moves back to town. Hating his current wife , Norbit tries to make a strategic plan to his true love, kate.