Monday, 28 November 2016
Friday, 25 November 2016
Friday, 4 November 2016
Social class summary
Social Class
The groups into which people are divided as a result of socio-economic inequality. People in class strata share a similar economic situation such as occupation, income and ownership of wealth.
The divisions between the social classes however are quite vague e.g. where the working class end and the middle class begin.
Class is also closely related to status and lifestyle.
The social class system is regarded as MERITOCRATIC. i.e. where social position is achieved by merit rather than ASCRIBED by birth. However the social class you are born into can have an impact on life chance and therefore movement into a higher class group is minimised. The upper classes in the UK achieve their position via inherited wealth, thus the majority of citizens could never hope to achieve upper class status.
Upper Class
Middle Class
Working Class
Under Class
Looking at media representation of class is concerned with how different social groups are portrayed, the stereotypes used and the value messages communicated.
We are surrounded by images of class on TV, in film, and in print. These often perpetuate stereotypes which fuel prejudice.
Upper Class
The lives of royalty and the jet setting lifestyle of the rich are portrayed as a glamorous world we can only dream about e.g. Represented in the likes of Hello/Tatler etc. This image is contrasted by the use of the upper classes as a source of comedy, the working / middle classes poking fun at their lifestyle, the champagne swigging/polo playing set, the butt of many a joke e.g; They Think It’s all Over. This is often used to set this class apart, as most of us will never enter into this world, therefore ridicule overrides aspiration.
Middle Class
Images of the comfortable, white, middle class nuclear family is one of the most common images in the media e.g. advertising, sit com such as My Family. By accumulation we therefore associate this with the ‘norm’.
Middle class deviance e.g. racism, crimes such as insider share dealing/tax evasion is often ignored or presented in less hostile terms than working class crime.
Working Class
There are many mixed messages about working class life and sub-cultures. On the one hand many ads give a solid, romanticised view, often equated with the North e.g. Hovis/Warburtons/Boddingtons. Characters tend to be associated with qualities we admire e.g. ‘the jack the lad’, the straight talking, quick witted woman etc. On the other hand the working class can be portrayed as course, prone to violence and crime and party to all manner of social problems.
Underclass
The media tend to reinforce the popular prejudice that the poor are work-shy spongers living off the Government, some successful products have used this successfully e.g The Royle family. These stereotypes have a long history extending back to the Victorian era, where novels and images represented the underclass as a danger to society and its moral fibre
The groups into which people are divided as a result of socio-economic inequality. People in class strata share a similar economic situation such as occupation, income and ownership of wealth.
The divisions between the social classes however are quite vague e.g. where the working class end and the middle class begin.
Class is also closely related to status and lifestyle.
The social class system is regarded as MERITOCRATIC. i.e. where social position is achieved by merit rather than ASCRIBED by birth. However the social class you are born into can have an impact on life chance and therefore movement into a higher class group is minimised. The upper classes in the UK achieve their position via inherited wealth, thus the majority of citizens could never hope to achieve upper class status.
Upper Class
Inherited wealth, ascribed status. Owners of the ‘means of production’ e.g. landowners, titled gentry, aristocracy etc.
Middle Class
Those in skilled non-manual and professional occupations (white collar workers). Middle class may be ascribed or achieved.
Working Class
Manual occupations, both skilled and unskilled.
Under Class
Excluded groups, usually due to poverty and lack of employment. Often presented by the media as deviant – addicts/spongers etc.
Looking at media representation of class is concerned with how different social groups are portrayed, the stereotypes used and the value messages communicated.
We are surrounded by images of class on TV, in film, and in print. These often perpetuate stereotypes which fuel prejudice.
Upper Class
The lives of royalty and the jet setting lifestyle of the rich are portrayed as a glamorous world we can only dream about e.g. Represented in the likes of Hello/Tatler etc. This image is contrasted by the use of the upper classes as a source of comedy, the working / middle classes poking fun at their lifestyle, the champagne swigging/polo playing set, the butt of many a joke e.g; They Think It’s all Over. This is often used to set this class apart, as most of us will never enter into this world, therefore ridicule overrides aspiration.
Middle Class
Images of the comfortable, white, middle class nuclear family is one of the most common images in the media e.g. advertising, sit com such as My Family. By accumulation we therefore associate this with the ‘norm’.
Middle class deviance e.g. racism, crimes such as insider share dealing/tax evasion is often ignored or presented in less hostile terms than working class crime.
Working Class
There are many mixed messages about working class life and sub-cultures. On the one hand many ads give a solid, romanticised view, often equated with the North e.g. Hovis/Warburtons/Boddingtons. Characters tend to be associated with qualities we admire e.g. ‘the jack the lad’, the straight talking, quick witted woman etc. On the other hand the working class can be portrayed as course, prone to violence and crime and party to all manner of social problems.
Underclass
The media tend to reinforce the popular prejudice that the poor are work-shy spongers living off the Government, some successful products have used this successfully e.g The Royle family. These stereotypes have a long history extending back to the Victorian era, where novels and images represented the underclass as a danger to society and its moral fibre
Friday, 21 October 2016
Representation of class - holiday homework
How is the representation of class constructed in this extract?
Remember to:
- use technical elements of mis en scene, camera, editing and sound in your answer.
- talk about how these elements reinforce/subvert dominant ideology
- Watch it four times, making notes for the last three.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ekfdruvqko
Time yourself to write it in 45 minutes. Rule off then and continue if not complete.
Remember to:
- use technical elements of mis en scene, camera, editing and sound in your answer.
- talk about how these elements reinforce/subvert dominant ideology
- Watch it four times, making notes for the last three.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ekfdruvqko
Time yourself to write it in 45 minutes. Rule off then and continue if not complete.
Poster homework
Make a poster of the four elements of media (camera, editing, mis-en-scene, sound)
Must include 80 key words.Friday, 14 October 2016
The Magic of Movie Editing
90 minute documentary with all the great directors on the art of editing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKS5ohFo2I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKKS5ohFo2I
Oh ****
Creating the OH **** Moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IvhlF2wobo
And some good advice here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FinhQb3jiAs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IvhlF2wobo
And some good advice here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FinhQb3jiAs
Friday, 30 September 2016
Friday, 16 September 2016
Thursday, 15 September 2016
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Camera shots: homework
Copy paste each of these shot types onto a powerpoint slide, then illustrate that slide with a suitable still or clip from any film.
Save your work, under your name, here:
R drive/Student work/English/Media/MrD.
Due Friday.
Camera shots
Long shot (LS). Shot which shows
all or most of a fairly large subject (for example, a person) and usually much
of the surroundings.
Establishing shot. Opening shot or
sequence, frequently an exterior 'General View' as an Extreme Long Shot (ELS).
Used to set the scene.
Extreme Long Shot (ELS) - see establishing shot: In
this type of shot the camera is at its furthest distance from the subject,
emphasising the background.
Medium Long Shot (MLS): In the case of a standing
actor, the lower frame line cuts off his feet and ankles. Some documentaries
favour keeping people in the longer shots, keeping social circumstances rather
than the individual as the focus of attention.
Medium shots. Medium Shot or
Mid-Shot (MS). In such a shot the subject or actor and its setting occupy
roughly equal areas in the frame. In the case of the standing actor, the lower
frame passes through the waist. There is space for hand gestures to be seen.
Medium Close Shot (MCS): The setting can still be seen. The lower frame line
passes through the chest of the actor. Medium shots are frequently used for the
tight presentation of two actors (the two shot), or with dexterity three (the
three shot).
Close-up (CU). A picture which
shows a fairly small part of the scene, such as a character's face, in great
detail so that it fills the screen. It removes the subject from a context. MCU
(Medium Close-Up): head and shoulders. BCU (Big Close-Up): forehead to chin.
Close-ups focus attention on a person's feelings or reactions, and are
sometimes used in interviews to show people in a state of emotional excitement,
grief or joy. In interviews, the use of BCUs may emphasise the interviewee's
tension and suggest lying or guilt. BCUs are rarely used for important public
figures; MCUs are preferred, the camera providing a sense of distance. Note
that in western cultures the space within about 24 inches (60 cm) is generally
felt to be private space, and BCUs may be invasive.
Camera Angles
Angle of shot. The direction and
height from which the camera takes the scene.
The convention is that in 'factual' programmes
subjects should be shot from eye-level only.
In a high angle the camera looks down at a character,
making the viewer feel more powerful than him or her, or suggesting an air of
detachment.
A low angle shot places camera below the character,
exaggerating his or her importance.
An overhead (or bird’s
eye) shot is one made from a position directly above the action.
A worm’s eye shot is one made from the ground up to
the person – an extreme low angle shot.
Tilted shot. When the camera
is tilted on its axis so that normally vertical lines appear slanted to the
left or right, ordinary expectations are frustrated. Such shots are often used
in mystery and suspense films to create a sense of unease in the viewer.
More terminology (for real pros)
Point-of-view shot (POV). A shot made from
a camera position close to the line of sight of a performer who is to be
watching the action shown in the point-of-view shot.
Two-shot. A shot of two
people together.
Selective focus. Rendering only
part of the action field in sharp focus through the use of a shallow depth of
field. A shift of focus from foreground to background or vice versa is called
rack focus.
Soft focus. An effect in which
the sharpness of an image, or part of it, is reduced by the use of an optical
device.
Friday, 26 August 2016
Long takes (editing, camera)
12 Best Long Takes in the history of film?
Can you find a better one? Post it in the comments.
Thursday, 30 June 2016
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Editing - some funny remixes
Jaws original: brilliant editing, esp in terms of pace, and in terms of what you DON'T see.
Jaws with new sound (same edit): pretty funny.
Mary Poppins original
Scary Mary
Jaws with new sound (same edit): pretty funny.
Mary Poppins original
Scary Mary
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Thursday, 14 January 2016
Extract on Sexuality
Here's the clip. Your response is due next Wednesday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYQ0LsmQyJ8
This is tricky, as it's a collection of scenes from many episodes of Nashville. (Usually, an extract is from just one episode.)
It's also tricky because the camerawork isn't very special. You really need to dig for mis-en-scene, sound, editing, camera.
Please remember to revise and tackle your targets from your last piece of work.
And please watch FOUR TIMES and make LOTS OF NOTES each time you watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYQ0LsmQyJ8
This is tricky, as it's a collection of scenes from many episodes of Nashville. (Usually, an extract is from just one episode.)
It's also tricky because the camerawork isn't very special. You really need to dig for mis-en-scene, sound, editing, camera.
Please remember to revise and tackle your targets from your last piece of work.
And please watch FOUR TIMES and make LOTS OF NOTES each time you watch.
Wednesday, 6 January 2016
American Beauty - Age
How is the representation of Age constructed in this extract?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgc0MLjASt4
Cover mis-en-scene, camera, editing and sound
Please remember to:
1) Use clear topic sentences. (Remember when you each wrote a separate paragraph? Divide your essay the same way, under clear, different points.)
2) Use at least three elements in each paragraph. Make sure you cover all four in detail by the end of the essay.
3) Revise and improve on your previous targets - eg improve your explanations
4) Once you have watched it four times and made notes, time yourself: 45 minutes to write!
5) This is due next Monday - submit to Ms Peters please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgc0MLjASt4
Cover mis-en-scene, camera, editing and sound
Please remember to:
1) Use clear topic sentences. (Remember when you each wrote a separate paragraph? Divide your essay the same way, under clear, different points.)
2) Use at least three elements in each paragraph. Make sure you cover all four in detail by the end of the essay.
3) Revise and improve on your previous targets - eg improve your explanations
4) Once you have watched it four times and made notes, time yourself: 45 minutes to write!
5) This is due next Monday - submit to Ms Peters please.
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