Genre

What is a genre?
Genre is a way of categorising a particular media text according to its content and style.
There are Hybrid and Sub genres

Hybrid Genres:	Rom Com (Bridget Jones)	Action Thriller (Taken)	Horror Thriller (Sweeny Todd)	Action Comedy (Knight and Day)
Sub Genres:	Drama- Soaps (Eastenders)	Horror- Slasher (Scream)	Drama- Coming of age (Juno)	Supernatural (Twilight)

Our chosen Genre - Horror - Sub genre - PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR.
My inspiration for Horror comes from the fact Horror is a genre people are myseterious about, the curiosity of being terrified engages many people including myself. Psychologically horrors are gripping and people like to divert from reality to see what a dangerous thrilling world could be like. It can prevoke many emotions and stay in peoples mind by them thinking what will happen after this? They empathise with the characters in the situations and violently shout at the screen 'Hes behind you!'.
Codes and Conventions
Codes are system of signs which create meaning. They can be divided into two categories
Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text for example camera work in a film.
Symbolic codes show what is beneath what you see. e.g. how the character acts and his/hers actions determine their feelings.
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something
There are general convetions in any medium such as the use of inteviewee quotes in a print article but convetions are also genre specific.

Conventions of the Horror genre
Stranded location - The characters are in a location where no one can help them e.g. in a wood. When the evil comes callin'. You know what they say about space. (Alien) The setting tends to be dark and sometimes is set where the character has a dark past.
Technical conventions
High and low angles - dominance and innocence
Point of view shots - see it through the creatures eye
Handheld - feel or terror and realism (Paranormal activity)
Extreme close up for victims
Ambient diegetic sound - footsteps and heartbeats
Fear of death
Typical characters - Usually a form of a Hero or Protagonist in the piece which must embark on a form of mission to kill/solve the problem at hand. Traditionally this role is taken by the male yet from time to time it can be taken on by the female.
other typical characters include the villian and creature itself.
Age and Character - Children are often portrayed as sinsiter in horror movies, they interact with the demon or even cause the event to happen. E.g the Ring and Let the right one in. In this way they are juxtaposed as normally they are represented as innocent.
Type of monster -Psychopath, Ghost, zombie, werewolf.
Props - E.g. Knife, chainsaw, razors (Sweeney Todd)
In some horror films there are connections with the Supernaural world e.g. Oujia boards to connect with the Spirits, or objects to awake the dead e.g. The Mummy.
Religion and Horror movies - Religion is nearly always intercepted in Horror films and props are a big hint to give religion away - E.g. Crucifix or Bible in an exorcism.
Fear of monsters help the audience to relate to the characters with dealing with them. The monsters that are Human may be psychopaths or even serial killers who have mental health problems. The horror movies can convey them as bad which may be an issue to consider.
Typical Themes
Revenge
Childhood issues
Depression
Science gone wrong
Religion
Insanity

History of Film Trailers

History of Film Trailers
A film trailer is a vital piece of marketing for feature films. Usually shown at the beginning of a film of a similar genre in the cinemas – but shown also on television and at the beginning of DVD’s and Blu-ray – they advertise up-coming films to attract the attention of their target audiences. Film trailers give a small snapshot of what will happen in the film to engage the target audience. For example a comedy would have fast paced editing with catchy music. In a horror the music would be
eerie and the editing slow and have de saturated light

The first promotinal trailer was not for a feature film it was actually a promotional reel for a musical produced by Nils Granlund which showed excerpts of production and raised awareness of it. Granlund also created the first trailer for a film in 1914 which was produced by for a Charlie Chaplin film. Up to the late 1950s film trailers were made by the National Screen service which was contracted by the film companies to create the trailers for upcoming films and the company lasted unti the 80's. The early trailers consisted of short clips showing the key features from the film alongside narration a big score soundtrack and screens with text and a cast run. An example of this type of trailer is one for the Casablanca.

As films started to change in the 60s so did trailers. The more liberal, freer, types of films would need to be adversed differently. The new breed of films spawned new trailers with new styles and new ways.

Andrew J Kuehen was a very influential film trailer producer. He changed the way trailers were made in his 1964 trailer for Night of the Iguana which is when he created Kaliedoscope Films. The company worked for decades creating some of the biggest film trailers for the biggest films and film makers of the time including many Speilburg films for example Kuehen produced the original trailer for 'ET'.

Trailers tend to have a linear pattern so they dont confuse the audience. They start with equilibrium and end up with disequilibrium resulting then in equilibrium. Some people suggest the best bits of the film are put into the trailer. Some trailers also include sequences that are not in the film. This is most famously seen in the six minute trailer for Hitchcocks 'Psycho' in which the whole trailer is shot post-production and even included a different actress for the main role. However some things are in the trailers from the original film. An example of this is 'Spiderman' in which there is a scene of criminals near the World Trade Center , where the film was released soon after the terrorist attacks when the area was still very sensitive.

The 1960s film trailers
Still used bold flashing words
tried to build on famous actors' names
used narration to summarise the story
often showed the ending of the movie in order to reveal an exciting effect

The 1970s film trailer
were still long, but tigthened a bit
revealed less of the story but still showed many key or spoiler scenes
enjoyed teasing us with mis-edited scenes often out of order                                                                                                   (1950s) 3d glasses

The 1980s film trailer
more abruptly edited
told very little about the movie
often included scenes that were cut from the final edit of the film
no spoilers and instead total mystery about the endings
began to reveal in catchy tag line.

Music Video Function

How does music video function as a marketing and promotion tool within the popular music
industry? How important is video? Did video kill the radio star?

The media is so diverese in the 21st century we can do almost anything with our diverse technology.Music videos are the most powerful marketing tool to help artists showcase their talent and uniqueness. A music video can also spawn buzz in the industry and help musicians gain exposure. The music video has progressed over time and now has become the most successful marketing tool in promoting artists. For example 'Odd Future' have many music videos expressing their idenitity by 'Tyler The Creator' doing bizzare things such as eating a cockroach and throwing up in his music videos. Music videos are a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Obviously the music video is going to be a powerful marketing tool as it can advertise on many different mediums e.g. TV, Internet, billboards which then attracts a mass of people where they can then share the video and the arists can become recognisable over night.

1926-1959 - The era of Talkies, soundies and Shorties
In the early period of 1920s many musical short films were produced.

1960 - 1973 - Promotional clips and others
In the late 1950s the Scopitone, a visual jukebox, was invented in France and short films were produced by many French artists, such as Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, Jacques Brel, and Jacques Dutronc to accompany their songs

1974-1980 - The long bristsh Tv hit show Top of The Pops  began playing music videos in the late 1970s, although the BBC placed strict limits on the number of 'outsourced' videos TOTP could use. Therefore a good video would increase a song's sales as viewers hoped to see it again the following week.In 1980, David Bowie scored his first UK number one in nearly a decade thanks to director David Mallet's eye catching promo for "Ashes to Ashes"

1981-1991 - Music Videos go mainstream
In 1981, the U.S. video channel MTV launched, airing "Video Killed the Radio Star" and beginning an era of 24-hour-a-day music on television. With this new outlet for material, the music video would, by the mid-1980s, grow to play a central role in popular music marketing. MTV has now 24 hour music videos everyday. In 1983, one of the most successful, influential and iconic music videos of all time was released: the nearly 14-minute-long video for Michael Jackson's song "Thriller", directed by John Landis. On March 5, 1983, Country Music Television, or CMT, was launched,^[31created and founded by Glenn D. Daniels and uplinked from the Video World Productions facility in Hendersonville, Tennessee

Music videos are the key to all advertisement of Artists. As an audience we enagage in the Arists life and look at their persona shown in their music videos. The video is the most important as it is the visual stimulus which makes us decide whether we like this person based on Apperance voice and character.

Short of the week

Short of the Week - New Boy

Narrative: Whats the plot and what is the story?
When researching short films we had to look at specific aspects which make it unique. Short films can last for a duration of around 2-15 mins. Short films can be professional or amateur productions,
Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals. Short films are often made by independent filmmakers for non profit, either with a low budget, no budget at all, and in rare cases big budgets. Short films are usually funded by film grants, non profit organizations, sponsor, or out of pocket funds. Short films can be apart of any genre and anyone can produce them.
There are some key aspects of short films:
An Exciting & Original Idea

A Strong Script

Good Acting

High Production Values

Make It Short

Strong Beginning

Avoid Repetition & Punchline Twists

Exciting New Techniques & Style

 Features of editing

 Easy to follow however with complexity.

New Boy
New boy is a childhood drama about a young boy from Rwanda who joins a primary school in Ireland. This short film is extremley good as it includes comical aspects as well as outlining serious issues. "The new kid in class looks different—he’s from Rwanda—and when the other kids start to tease him, it calls up memories of a violent past" Quoted from the director. It uses good editing techniques e.g. many cuts and the lighting and color-correction work during the Rwandan flashback sequences is stunning as well.


Short film: A day in the life of a sixthformer

We have learnt a lot about short films in the past few weeks and how they are constructed composed and which theories can apply to short films e.g. Todorovs Theory.
Here is my short film on A day in the life of a sixthformer

Music video directors

Music Video Directors and Auteur Theory

Auteur theory, theory of filmmaking in which the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture.Auteur Theory suggests that a director can use the commercial apparatus of film-making in the same way that a writer uses a pen or a painter uses paint and a paintbrush. The term auteur originates from France which translates as author which means that a directors film reflects their creative vision. The Auteur theory was introduced in the 1950s by French film directors like Francois Traffaut who advocated a focus on the contribution directors made on style and form of film he quoted
"a true film auteur is someone who brings something genuinely and personal to his subject instead of producing a tasteful, accurate but lifeless rendering of original material".

Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is an American director, producer, screenwriter and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television. Jonze is well known also for his music video collaborations with Weezer, Beastie Boys, and Björk. He was also a co-creator and executive producer of MTV's Jackass.
Hype Williams
is an American music video and film director. A signature style used by Williams throughout the vast majority of his videos (shot mostly with cinematographer John Perez) was the Fisheye lens which distorted the camera view around the central focus.
Another "signature style" involves placing shots in regular widescreen ratio, while a second shot is split and placed in the upper and lower bars. 
Hype Williams Nicki Minaj Video