Genre (finish essay)

Definition ::: come from the French word meaning "type" or "class". It is a catagorization of a media text not only to make it easy for someone to find what they like but to make it easy to sell those categorized media types to people. Genre's consist of codes and conventions.

Music Video Theorists

Goodwin

Vernallis

Film Opening Theorists

Steve Neale - Genre is repetition and difference, repeating what is expected of the genre (following similarities) and then trying something different to keep interest from the audience. Conforms to the stereotypes and conventions of genre but also subversion of the conventions makes it.

Rick Altman - semantic/syntactic approach. Semantic is where the conventions of the genre are applied but also syntactic is used, syntax; the connection of semantic and narrative. Also mentions the Pragmatic approach - institutions and audiences.

****Did you challenge (subvert) or conform (follow) the theory?****

Apply the concept of Genre to one of your coursework pieces.

Intro - state what piece you are talking about, brief overview (short and concise) what genre of you production is, inspirations.

Main Paras -

1st - 3 ideas from concept that sum/show the genre of the piece, choose a bit from DISTINCT, how do they show genre of the piece? Compare to real media products to back up your choice.

2nd - Apply some theories - which theories does the pieced conform or subvert?

3rd - Final - Comclusion - how did genre hep or hinder the process? did it bring creative? did it help make it your own?

Essay

Last para -

With our piece we had to push the boundaries of the genre trying to make it cinematic to pass as an intro but also stick to documentary conventions, the genre helped to give a direction and guide through research of documentary piece, a regime to work with and to feed off creatively.

Narrative

telling a story, plot and character, give a brief summary of your film opening.

Theories ----

Levi Strauss - binary opposite

Todorov - equilibrium, disruption = new equilibrium

Propp - typical characters - heros, villian, damsel, sidekick, dispatcher (there are many more)

Barthes - codes - action, symbold/objects, enigma - all have meaning and connotations.

Narrative - Linear or non linear

Venaleus

Goodwin


Apply the concept of Narrative to one peice of work

Intro - State briefly whjat it was and media type, quick summary of the plot (keep the intro brief because there are no marks in it, only to get the examiner to know your peice)

WHAT THEORIES DID YOU USE AND WHY? the marks scheme asks for a variety and use of technical terms (media terminology)

Just interms of disruption and equilibrium in our narrative :::

When we set out to make our film opening we decide to go against todorovs theory of disruption and equilibrium because our genere was a documentary that follows a simple narrative of finding the answer to the questions set out at the beginning but prehaps beyuond the opening 2 minutes disruption may occur in the struggle of finding the answers.

Conventions Research

Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how this understanding developed over time.

• Refer to your AS blog, research of conventions and the fulfilment of those conventions...

Film Opening
Title and Order
Size and Font
Enigma (holding back the story)
Research of film openings
Style, mise en scene, camerawork
Film Posters

Music Videos
Disjuncture
Genre
Camerawork
Focal Image of the band
Branding

Digital Technologies (Finish Main Paragrpahs)

- refers to hardware, software and online technology.


Hardware

Nikon D3300 - DSLR was used across both years, now used much more professionally.
Lenses - Lenses for the camera, variety of camera equalled in a variety of shots, wide angles, sharp close up etc.
iMacs - used across both years, now much more confidently used.
iPhones - used to record sound, for dubbing, and diegetic ::: connects to software because of the voice recorder app we used.

Software

Photoshop
Premiere Pro
Screencast-O-Matic

Online Technology

YouTube
Blogger
Prezie & Emaze & Slideshare
Survey Monkey
Facebook Messenger
Bubble.us
Email
Google Docs/Drive


Example Question and Essay

'Digital technology turns media consumers in media producers' In your experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete coursework productions.


Introduction - Explain the tasks you have done across the 2 years of the course and mention anything made outside of the course that might be relevant.

In year 12, my group and I created a Film Opening as our final product for that year; we had worked separately on preliminary tasks before that. The Film Opening was for a documentary about Tattoos, titled "Tattooed Generation" and it worked on the premise of our generation and the ones above and below are going to be the most tattooed generations in history as tattoo culture becomes ever more popular. The Yr 12 Prelim was just a small scene piece showing drama between friends, it where we learnt a lot of our first media lessons in terms of creating a product. In Year 13 our media focus was on Music Promotional Package. In our prelim this year we copied the first 40 seconds of an official music video - we did History by One Direction - and then our final Promotional Package, which included a music video, website and digipack was created around a song that we found and a band that we created ourselves. The music video follows a band called Avenue and the song is called Monday Morning, its all about not wanting to work and do fun things instead.

Main Paragraphs - Start by writing about the technology you have used with some reflections on how you got to grips with it initially.
Discuss your editing package, the camera, blogger, YouTube...etc.
How easy is it to use the technology?
How did you use the technology in particular tasks?
How has creativity has creativity affected your work? What does it mean to you? How has it been encouraged by tasks matched with the technology?




Conclusion - Try to bring together these strands - tech and creativity - to answer the question....tie in the quote.

Technology allows inspiration of creativity because you can reach beyond what you could before thus giving the opportunity to be creative to your full capability. technology turns the consumer into the creator because the technology provides a path and system where the creativity can be manifested into a media product or text. Just as Adobe Photoshop allowed me to explore all the possibilities, creatively, of my digipack and to fulfil them.

Post Production (Write essay)

All Editing, after taking the pictures and filming the clips.

• Premier Pro CS6 - all the editing tools
• Photoshop - used for picture edits (for album), Magazine cover, Digipack, Tour Poster.

Adobe is industry standard, professional, software.

Yr 13 - Music Promotional Package (included many more post production creations, shows so much improvement)

Yr 12 - Film Production Package


Layout and Plan

In your experience how have your post production skills developed through creating your productions?


Intro same as always - state what your productions were and any other creations that are relevant.

Main Paras -

• What is post production
• Write about the tech used in post production on prelim and film opening in yr 12 - write about editing in detail  - Adobe Premier Pro, Editing on a iMac rather than a PC
• How much of the text was created only in post production - key part of the production I would say it 60/40 split of post-production and production.
• How much footage ended up being unused or rejected and why? Understanding that not everything has to be used, some shot don't fit with the feel of the film opening or prelim. The Close up shot of text on the phone in prelim and some tracking shots in the film opening were not smooth enough because Steadicams were not available and we had to just hand-hold a tripod, becomes shaky, even though it was a part of the story board had to be dropped and replaced because it reduced overall quality of the text.
• How did you use sound and music? YouTube music library of royalty free music, Folly sound effects, narration - uses of it in prelim compared to film opening how it has developed for telling the narration and bringing a pace to the visual.
• Transition ranges? Why? Fade to black used effectively in prelim to smoothly transition from establishing shot to first scene of prelim, Film Opening used basic hard cuts in video to go along with the spoken narration creating a montage of images reflecting the narration - hard cuts also equal a pace - understanding that the pace keeps interest from a viewer compared to our prelim which had longer shots and longer times before.
• What titles did you add? Development from prelim to film intro - prelim just used black screens with the titles but for film intro skill developed with Adobe Premiere and titles for the opening such at Director, Producer, Writer etc were overlaid on moving image of the opening. Also these titles were faded in and out and we found out how to use different fonts for the title rather than just using whatever we got with the prelim.
• After the edit what was done? Film Poster - use of adobe Photoshop and Audience Feedback - understanding the right questions to ask to get the best possible feedback and improvement of product also what type of feedback to take on.
• Then do the same thing for MUSIC PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE and the prelim before that - Adobe Premiere Pro, facebook messenger, google docs, backing up video onto a secondary memory stick, Photoshop. Transition of spin up transition uniting camerawork in production with the editing in post production, a whole seen got rejected because it didn't fit with the video (white sheet scene) other idea for the music video were dropped such as the idea to present th3e final montage as BOXY ART WITH COLOUR?. Much more footage than anything we had shot before, so many shots are necessary, the song reflected the visual sometime much like narration did in the film opening but this time it is lyrical. Photoshop skill improved by work experience being in a photography studio for two weeks during summer, learnt how to use photoshop very well in that time helped with the creation of digipack and teaching other member of the group how to use photoshop for tour poster and such.
• Then talk of the final evaluation - the software used, producing it, how you made an evaluation more interesting this year? Different software used? Yr 12 - slide share, emaze, prezi, YouTube, adobe premiere pro for vlog, Yr 13, much more to evaluate so we used green screening in adobe premiere, emaze and prezi and bubbl.us, narrated video, screencast-O-matic. Blogger to hold it all ,   Place to present everything. Survey Monkey.

Conclusion - full on just answer the question back up with mentioning the factors you have already brought up. Overall summary of how much your post production skills have developed from creating productions.

THE EXAM - G325

Outline of what the exam consists of...

Section A - 1 hour

• Theoretical evaluation of production
• Two compulsory questions, 30minutes each
• Based on all the coursework we have done, from AS to A2

Question 1 - Evaluate your progress over time a s media student?

• Will be applied to :: Digital Technology

                                           Research & Planning
                                          
                                           Post Productions

                                           Recreate Codes and Conventions

                                          Creativity - wont be asked directly, would be added on to others.



Question 2 - Apply a media concept to one of your pieces of coursework.

• Concepts that could be applied :  Narrative

                                                                Audience

                                                                Representation

                                                                Media Language

                                                                Genre
Theory would applied to these.


Section B

• 1 essay, choice of 2 question

Based on Collective Identity

• Representation of British Youth

                      - Old texts (30ish years ago)
                      - Contemporary text (last 5 years)
                      - Future
Look at 3 media Platforms : 

• Moving Image
• Print Work
• Web Representation