Task 1: Is the DVD dead? (58.1.1)

Is the DVD dead?

What are the conventions of DVD's?
A Conventions is something that is accepted and expected of a genre, for example when you buy a DVD you would expect there to be a start menu, and on that start menu you would expect the basic option – ‘Play’ ‘Special Features’ and ‘Scene Selection’. Having these options will be a convention of a DVD menu.

- Regional Codes. This was designed for Film Distributors to protect content, release dates, and change price’s according to a certain region.
A regional code is a code that is given to every country, and those of a same code can watch the same disks, but those of a different regional code will not be recognised in the different countries due to the codes.

- Copyright Protection; copyright is put in place for anything whether it be Films, adverts, books, anything that belongs to someone and they don’t want other people to use it without there permission or paying them to use it.

- Parent Controls- Now a days parents have a lot more control over what there children see. Now there is even a special DVD player specifically designed to stop anything you don’t want your child to see, just by changing a few settings on the DVD player, this apparently works with ANY DVD rented from stores.

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What are the functions on a DVD?

Menu is something that you will see on ALL professional DVD’s, these give you the chance to play your movie, select a specific scene, see special features, change the language and many more. This makes the DVD home experience interactive for the audience and saves a lot of time. (Overlay menu and layered menu).

Moving image; This is something like a film or a trailer – something that moves constantly and smoothly. This will be used at most cinemas, this also shows the audience what is happening more clearly.

- Animations; This is the first thing that you see when a DVD menu comes up – The animation can be anything from the animation of the ‘play’ and other buttons available for you to press, or what’s going on in the background. Animations are important as it makes things more interesting for the audience, it will also tell a lot about the film before it’s watched. The animations shown can tell you parts of the plot in the film and the genre of the film.

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Do you think DVD's have a future?

I believe in some ways DVD's have a future even though we live in a world full of new technology and gadgets. Nowadays, people watch movies in cinema or download and watch them online, leaving the DVD industry an in-continuous gadget. However, some people like to buy Blu-ray DVD's for good quality movies to watch at home. 

Having said that, Blu-ray players aren't flying off the shelves. Trepidation and mystery surrounding the up-and-coming technology can be partly to blame for this. A lot of consumers who are expected to buy into Blu-ray are the same people who had to be convinced to switch from VHS to DVD no more than 15 years ago, or maybe as little as five years ago, if they were late to jump on the bandwagon. And when technology does the job it is meant to, people will question why it needs updating again. 

I believe that one day DVD's will reach at a dead end and everyone will see it as a nostalgic memory and an old gadget.

Task 4: Be Able to develop responses to media products

Mean girls is a 2004 American teen comedy film directed by Mark Waters. The movie is based in a High School drama setting, re-creating how schools in America is like for young teenage girls. The plot begins with a girl named Cady Heron who was home-schooled in Africa and have returned to the United States after a 12-year research trip in Africa. While settling in her new school in Evanston, Illinois she encounters new characters (Janis and Damian) and the schools most exclusive cliques, the plastics, who was led by ‘’The queen bee’’ Regina George. The plastics take interest in Cady and invited her to have lunch with them everyday. Making Cady one of the plastics, Janis see’s this opportunity to plan a revenge against Regina, using Cady as a spy to gather information about the plastics and report back to Janis.

The demographic audiences for this film are girls aged from 16-19-years old.  Within the movie, all four girls are seen wearing stereotypically girly clothing, focusing on pastel and bright colors such as blue, pink, purple etc. The clothing is seen featuring jeweled studs when infused with stereotypical girly clothing, indicating that these characters are representing an extremely girly and feminine group of girls in society. The location of each character’s home indicates their personality and their social class; for example, Regina George is seen to be upper class because of the unnecessary belongings and the environment that she lives in. This reflects her popularity and how she is seen from the world as an ‘’innocent’’ and ‘’girly’’ character due to her clothing, immediately contrasted by the manipulative nature of her personality. Telling the audience that looks can be deceiving.

Gender itself within the film is a major theme of representation. The leading characters within the film are all female immediately giving the female sex a dominant and powerful presence within the film. In addition to this, Cady, Regina and Gretchen are all portrayed at some point strong. However, when these characters are seen as strong, it is when they are plotting against each other, presenting another teenage girl all ‘’stab’’ each others back. The character of Cady Heron is seemingly the only female who is seen with the most power by the end of the film due to her ‘’honest’’ actions.

The narrative of ‘Mean girls’ itself clearly reflects the films institution, the simple and clear plot/characters make it easy for audiences to watch and it ultimately requires little to no thinking on the audiences part. The use of Cady’s voice over at certain parts of the film also promote an actor/audience connections as it brings audiences to a more closer and personal approach to the character making her seem even more relatable. Furthermore, it reinforces the idea that being honest and good will get you wherever and whatever you want making this an ultimately ‘wholesome’ and ’mild’ representation of the teenage experience.

As the four lead characters within the film are teenagers, one can immediately expect that audiences would be those close to their age and those who can relate/identify with the characters and the experiences they are encountering, this is then furthered by the primary location of the film being a high school, immediately attracting those who are or have been in high school. In addition to this, due to the 'tongue n cheek' nature of the film along with its sexual content, younger children are uliminated from the audience as the content would be deemed as inappropriate. As the films focus is on four female character, the audience for the film would most likely be mainly female as they could relate and identify with the characters the most. The cast of the film itself also acts at indicating the intended audience, fans of lindsay lohan will most likely have seen the film, in addition to this through having Tina Fey apart of the cast older audiences are somewhat drawn into the film allowing the film itself to appeal to teenagers and adults.

Video Art Installation

Video Art Installation


Audience Response

Unit 14: Working Freelance in the creative media sector

What is a freelancer?

A freelancer or freelance worker is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer.

As an employee, you enter into a contract with an employer. The deal is that you show up every day and do a certain type of work. In return, you get a regular paycheck and benefits. Your contract is exclusive, meaning you work for that one employer and (generally) no other.

As a freelancer, you also enter into contracts, but with many “employers.” The deal is that you will do a certain type of work, but you can generally do the work at any location you choose, and the work is usually on a project-by-project basis. In return, you get paid for the work you do according to a fee that you and the business mutually agree to for each project. There are usually no benefits. Your contract is non-exclusive, meaning you may work for as many other businesses as you like.

Advantages:

• More freedom and flexibility
• More highly paid for hours worked
• Choice of work
• status in organisation

Disadvantages:

• At the whim of employers or clients
• may work or unpaid hours to get work done
• insecurity of income

Task 3: Understand how media producers create products for specific audiences

A 12-year-old boy edging into adolescence without a father, his dad having lost his life the year before in the Falkland Islands War. A gang of skinheads -- tough guys in their teens and early twenties who shave their heads, wear Ben Sherman polo shirts, and Dr. Martens boots, and listen to ska music -- walk the streets in Shaun's neighborhood, and one day they start picking on him. Shaun, however, shows he can give as good as he gets, and gang leader Woody (Joe Gilgun) takes a liking to the boy. Woody takes Shaun under his wing, and he starts hanging out with the skins, getting advice on dressing right from Woody's girlfriend,(Vicky McClure), and learning about Jamaican music from West Indian skinhead Milky (Andrew Shim). However, the gang begins to change when Combo (Stephen Graham) is released from prison and returns to the neighborhood; like many skinheads, Combo has been recruited by the National Front, an openly racist right-wing political party, and soon the gang begins to fracture, with Combo taking one faction toward violence and petty crime against blacks, Indians, and Pakistanis, while Woody and his friends follow a more benign path.

The film pays close attention to the British working classes and this comes across in the poster. This is mainly achieved through the location. Two blocks of council flats are visible over the fence and these carry connotations of a low standard of living and a real shortage of money both of which are associated with the working classes. Also the title helps to create a gritty atmosphere. Instead of having clean colours it has been given a worn effect that contributes to the overall feel of the poster.

Another major element of the film is nationalism, which is represented on the poster by the use of colour on the title. The red, white and blue creates a strong association with this theme due to the strong link to the Union Jack and Great Britain.

'' A target audience can usually be noticed by the age of the characters used for filming, however Meadows has used a various amount of different ages. Also the decision of Meadows giving different character types and personalities for instance Shaun, Combo and Woody's contrast. A lot of people could say that this film is targeted to people who grew up with this era surrounding them, which is possible as Shane Meadows has included iconic values from this era such as the music the people enjoyed listening too, games people enjoyed playing with etc. Those who grew up with this era surrounding them would find they could relate to the issues which where dealt with in this time such as violence, skin heads, racism, and would also have a background knowledge on Margret Thatcher and feel like they are apart of these issues. I also think that is is a warning for those who never grew up in this era, so this would mean it is also targeted at young adults (teenagers), this is be because it is wanted to be seen as a message or warning, as the title of the film is This Is England and not This Was England, it is Meadows way of warning the teenagers that this is still happening now. Another reason why teenagers can relate to this is because they can also link to issues with are dealt with, for example growing up without a fatherly figure can relate to Shaun's character, and how he also got involved with the wrong crowd of people. '' 

presentation of own photos

Demonstrate blurred movement

1. Slow Down Your Shutter Speed
The reason for movement blur is simply that the amount of time that the shutter of a camera is open is long enough to allow your camera’s image sensor to ‘see’ the movement of your subject.

2. Secure Your Camera
There are two ways to get a feeling of movement in your images – have your subject move or have your camera move (or both). In the majority of cases that we featured in last week’s post it was the subject that was moving.

3. Shutter Priority Mode
One of the most important settings in photographing an image which emphasizes movement is the shutter speed (as outlined above). Even small changes in shutter speed will have a big impact upon your shot – so you want to shoot in a mode that gives you full control over it.

demonstrating framing techniques

Framing is the technique of drawing attention to the subject of your image by blocking other parts of the

image with something in the scene.

1. giving the photo context (for example framing a scene with an archway can tell you something about the place you are by the architecture of the archway or including some foliage in the foreground of a shot can convey a sense of being out in nature).

2. giving images a sense of depth and layers (in essence framing a shot generally puts something in the foreground which adds an extra dimension to the shot).

3. leading the eye towards your main focal point (some ‘frames’ can draw your photo’s viewer into the picture just by their shape). Some also believe that a frame can not only draw the eye into a picture but that it keeps it there longer – giving a barrier between your subject and the outside of the shot.

4. intriguing your viewer. Sometimes it’s what you can’t see in an image that draws you into it as much as (if not more than) what you can see in the picture. Clever framing that leaves those viewing your image wondering a little or imagining what is behind your frame can be quite effective

Large Depth of Field

Portraits that use shadows creatively

Shallow Depth of Field

documentary : society/education

Script for animation

By the time a child turns 5 years old, he or she is taught that the better the grades they get in secondary school, the better the sixth form/college they go to, the better the university they will attend. 

They were told that if they get a degree from university, they will get any job that they've dreamed of and that means becoming a lawyer, doctor, nurse, lecturer etc.

Students were taught to believe that if they don't get into a good university, they will have the path to no where in life and will not fulfill their dream job. Nowadays, internships and apprenticeships are becoming more available to students and had promised them the skills and knowledge that will prepare them for the future and maybe even offer them a job.

[video inserts]

Tuition fees was first introduced to the UK in September 1998 as a means of funding tuition to undergraduate and postgraduate students. They were required to pay up to £1,000 a year. where in 2004, the government increased it to £3,000 a year, now we are forced to pay £9,000 a year.

A poll of more 9,000 students by High Education Policy Institute found that first- and second-year undergraduates have, on average, 13.9 hours of timetabled tutorials, seminars and lectures a week.

Although 58.4 per cent felt their first year wasn't worth the £9,000, most said they don't regret it or at least consider it a worthy investment.

[insert in quotes from students saying its not worth the money in the first year]

[video inserts]

Most people planning on going to university have been told throughout their education that getting a degree will mean a good job. This is demonstrably false with a record number of jobless 16-24-year-olds in UK. 

Getting a first or a 2:1 in a relevant degree from a good university will increase your chances of work but not guarantee it. 

Even if you answer positively to both questions, consider that you will come out with at least £50,000 debt. 

Will the potentially higher salary you command be enough to pay this back, or would you be better getting into the job you want via another method?

[video insert]

A quote that is said by totaljobs.com said ''In my experience, graduates who chose non-business degree courses tend to be more impressive job candidates – in the same way that people who try to suck-up to the system are generally less likeable than those who follow their own instincts. But these candidates are infinitely more attractive than someone who went really narrow and did a degree in ‘Applied Golf Management’ or ‘Equestrian Psychology’. And yes, they do exist.''

[video insert]

We went to  interview David Pigden about what he thought about university fees and why the government might of increased the price for university.

[Interview Insert]

[Student riot clips]

Since the government have changed the tuition fees from £3,000 to £9,000, students have been enraged by the increase of university fees and decided to march through central london to the House of Commons. It was claimed that the police arrested 153 students during clashes in london on the third day of protests against plans to raise student tuition fees.

[Pick footages from student riot]

university isn't the only option to success, sure it may make your CV look impressive and if your career requires you to have a degree then I can understand the importance of university. but to those who aren't planning on going to university or to those who still don't know what they want to do in life and just going to university for the sake of it. don't go. the reason being because you'll be going for no reason and wasting a lot of time and money. 

Theres many ways to get a job, just get out of your seat and find a job, don't be fussy, any job will do. 

As a student, I believe that education doesn't measure a persons intelligence and a degree doesn't define how much money you will make. it's about the persons hard work and dedication that they put into getting what they always want.

Your young and free, take this opportunity to go out and explore the world and find what you really want instead of being cramped behind a desk listening to a stranger talk about a subject that your not even sure its gonna guarantee you a job. 

http://blog.totaljobs.com/recruiter-soapbox-is-it-worth-going-to-university-to-get-a-job

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2189377/Ive-got-place-university-worth-paying-fees-go.html

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/may/17/students-time-lecturers

short documentary outline

1 .Give a brief summary of your story idea:
We investigate whether is it worth going to University? or is it just a scam into getting our money? we interview students, teachers, parents and principals to find out what they think.

2. Give as much detail as possible by answering the 5Ws and 1H

Who is it about?:	About students from age 18+ who are thinking about going to university and whether it is worth it going to university also about teachers and parents who 'brainwash' their students/kids into thinking that university is the only way to succeed.
What happened?:	University may not be the only way to success and that we should try and teach our kids to be more creative in their own way to create their own future. therefore, Students may be going to university because of parents and teachers say so - ''if you want to get a good job, you must go to university''. but do students really know what they want to do? or are they just going to uni for the sake of studying?
Where did it take place?:	Everywhere around the world.
When did it take place?:	years and the increase may have gone higher now that the tuition fees are even more expensive.
Why did it happen?:	Because more and more students who graduate from university are unemployed and in debt because of high tuition fees. this might of caused a high rise of unemployment in the UK because students may only just go to university for the sake of it but not get enough experience for the job that requires that skill.
How did it happen?:	high tuition fees, may be putting off to some people in the public also there are more  internships and apprenticeships available to students therefore given students who aren't in university to stay active and more ''hands on'' with the job rather than going to a classroom every week.

Prepare the worksheet so you can pitch your story to the class next lesson.You may work in groups of three.

Overall Evaluation

During my pre-production, I didn't research enough about fashion magazine and looked at only one magazine when I should be looking at different varieties of fashion magazines. this would of helped me to inspire my moodboard a little bit more and give me more ideas on how I will create my own photography portfolio.
However, I did manage to find a simple photographic technique that is very achievable and doesn't require lots of props. My idea was the teen vogue magazine, I asked a classmate to model for me for the shoot because I believed that she was suited for the magazine.

I noticed that in all of teen vogue's magazine images the models are based outside and not in the studio but because due to the weather on the day of the shoot, the natural lighting wasn't bright enough where instead I used a blank studio background as my alternative background for the photo's. I should of thought about it more carefully and decide to use the green screen in the studio instead and paste a bright scenery instead of using a blank background.

In my post-production, I was pleased that I was able to achieve the magazine style of photography skills where the camera creates a full body shot of the model to show off her fashionable clothing and the expressions of the model. What I did not achieve that I should of asked if the model had any bright/bold coloured clothes as some of the clothing in the magazine were quite bold and rich in colour.

TASK 3: MIND MAP

My video pitch

video installation research (task 1)

This article will be about controversial video art installations that has caused a twisting response from the public and whether or not if its appropriate. The artists I will be focusing on is:

• Bill Viola
• Wolf Vostell
• David Wojnarowicz

Bill Viola

Most of Bill Viola's video art that he produces relates to life and death and he has stuck with this theme throughout his time creating video art installations. It has became his artistic identity within the art world - This is where his work leads to a controversial issue to the public.

An example of his work (Above) called ''Anthem'' started off showing construction buildings, city areas, fruits, bread and vegetables; further on to the video, it started displaying insides of fruits as this relates to the human body. Life in this piece is represented through cities, food and humans whereas death is related to out-of-date fruits and vegetables, insides of an eye lid and an opened body. The camera techniques used in Viola's work was still, the camera did not move at all which became the focus of the scene; he described this piece as ''Our deepest primal fears, darkness and the separation of the body and spirit'', the audience found this very dark and extremely graphical because of the separation of the body and soul which might of caused religious believers to be upset about this particular art work.

Wolf Vostell 

An example of Wolf Vostell's work called ''Elektronischer: Happening Raum (Happening Room)’'' made in 1968, it was videotaped recorded with sound and colour, the video showed a spaced out room with objects scattered around. The items used in the video were classic televisions with weird tools attached to them that moved, an old pile of dirty, rugged clothing with meat on the floor and blood stained cloths. The video installation was set in a room which had strange happenings such as the television showing the key relevance about a past event also the shaky camera effect made it more unclear. Audience found this very confusing with questions unanswered due to the random meat and blood that was contained in this art. I believe that Vostell wants to tell the audience something and that he might be talking about the political society.

David Wojnarowicz
)
''Fire in my belly'' is David's most controversial piece which was done in 1987, this is famous for its biggest uproar in terms of video art due to the fact that it seemed that David has put religion down by putting an image of Jesus Christ with crawling insects all over him. The theme seemed to be very dark and gothic that it almost looked scary with a rotting hand. There was use of narration in this video as it had been said that he created this video in memory of his friend that had died from AID's, he was also suffering from the same disease when he made this video. He made this video to express his feelings; he felt that the world abandoned him and the US did nothing about this problem, he felt alone and felt that he was suffering the same pain as Jesus Christ. The audience thought it was irrelevant to add Jesus Christ and all the other religious imagery's that may have caused an uproar from religious believers.

research 2

There are 37% of 16-18 year old students in CWC College and 63%  19+. My idea is already an existing competition on BBC however, I want to base it only on college students. On ''The Great British Bake Off''' programme most contestants and judges, presenters were 19+, therefore I believe the 19+ year old students would be more likely to be involved in this activity than the younger people in the college.

'' How the Great British Bake Off changed Britain

In just three years, a homely BBC television talent show has transformed a nation’s view of baking. How has the alchemy of flour, butter, eggs and sugar turned to gold?''

 Three years and 23 days ago, something happened that changed Britain forever. At 8pm on an otherwise ordinary Tuesday, two and a half million of us tuned into the first ever episode of The Great British Bake Off, a new “talent” show on BBC Two. Amateur contestants, armed with butter, eggs and flour, stood with their wooden spoons above their mixing bowls and waited for that now famous Klaxon call: “Ready, set, bake!”

Since that evening, life hasn’t been the same. Although Britain has always been a nation of bakers, we have become a nation obsessed. We bake morning, noon and night. We bake for dinner parties, clubs and office competitions. We spend a fortune on edible glitter and piping bags, our evenings poring over the Lakeland catalogue and the rest of our time daydreaming about cupcakes. We read baking books in bed. We watch baking on television, with shows such as Lorraine Pascale’s Baking Made Easy and Eric Lanlard’s Baking Mad stoking the national fixation started by Bake Off judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood (a Telegraph columnist whose recipes you’ll find in his booklet, Delicious Pies & Puds, free in today’s and tomorrow’s papers).

Today, the British baking industry is worth £3.4 billion. We even have a week dedicated to the pastime: Monday marks the start of National Baking Week, a charity initiative designed to get even more Britons making their own buns. So, as we count down to the series four finale on October 22, it’s time to take stock of the ways in which Bake Off  has transformed our lives. ''

constraints

• finding a location to bake.
• finding 2 participants.
• not being able to take equipment home.
• availability of crew and participants.
• pay for ingredients and cooking equipment for the actual recording day.

how to deal with constraints

• create a scheduling calender, so we can both fit in the availability of both participants and crew.
• having to already have some ingredients ready for the bake off, we check what ingredients are missing and make a list of all the ingredients to buy.
• Having my own camera and tripod at home, I am able to record at any location.