Narrative Theories Analysis

Roland Barthes- Enigma and Action Codes:

Enigma Codes: Some of the enigma codes in this scene are why did he push her?, will she survive or die? The enigma codes make the audience become much more interested in the movie and make them more inclined to watch till the end of the film so all their questions can be answered.

Action Codes: The overall setting of the scene acts as an action code as it seems dangerous and the perfect place for the director to kill-off a character. The water dripped also acts as an action code as it conveys to the readers that itis slippery and the girl might fall to her death.

Tzvetan Todorov - Equilibrium:

Equilibrium: When everyone is walking calmly onto the bridge, chatting to each other

Disequilibrium: When the man pushes the girl off the bridge making her hold on for her life

New Equilibrium: (Although not shown in the clip) The man allows the other characters to help her up and teaches the importance of not giving up.

Vladimir Propp - Character Theory:

The Villain: In this particular scene, the man who pushed the girl off the bridge seems to be the villain but when watching the movie, it is shown that he is not the actual villain but he is a helper to the real villain.

The Helper: In the clip, the helper seems to be the girl who gives words of support "come on Chris" but this character is actually the main character and the hero in the film.

The Hero: In this clip, the hero seems to be the girl hanging onto the bridge as, like the hero, the girl  faces an issue and (although not shown in the clip) works her way out of the difficult situation she is in. 

The False Hero: In the clip, the man who pushes the girl can be seen as a false hero as before the incident happened, he seems to be caring as he asks the girl, "you feeling a little better?", but then is shown to be bad as he pushes her off.

Roland Barthes- Enigma and Action Codes:
Enigma Codes: Some of the enigma codes in this scene are why is he in this torture chair? and will he get out?
Action Codes:  The main action code in this scene is the sparks coming from the chair. The sparks show that the chair can electrically shock people which is proven when the main character shouts in pain from the chair.

Tzvetan Todorov - Equilibrium:
Equilibrium:  (Although not shown in the clip) As this TV show is abut the problems the main character faces when he turns into a werewolf, the equilibrium is only shown right at the beginning of the series when the main character was an ordinary boy enjoying life.
Disequilibrium: The disequilibrium started when the boy turned into a werewolf which made him face many problems but the particular disequilibrium in this scene is when he and his two friends are captured and put in the shock chair.
New Equilibrium: When the boy finally realises the answers to all the questions the old woman continuously asked him, he was released and he began his new mission.

Vladimir Propp - Character Theory:
The Villain: The old woman who continuously asked questions
The Princess: In this clip, there seems to be two princesses, the girl who is strapped to the other shock chair and the girl who is forced to choose to shock the boy or the girl (after reassurance from the boy, she shocks him instead of the other girl as the boy is a werewolf and can heal whereas the girl in the other chair is human and will die from the shock). Both these girls may be the princesses as they both need the boy to save them.
The Hero: The boy who is getting shocked. Like most heroes, this hero has found himself in a difficult situation but ends up finding a way out along with helping everyone else.

Roland Barthes- Enigma and Action Codes:
Enigma Codes: As this is a trailer rather than a clip, there are many clips packed into the trailer, meaning that there are many enigma codes such as will the werewolf boy kill many people or will he be killed the end of the movie.
Action Codes: Some of the action codes include the werewolf features being shown such as the hands with claws or the changing eye colour as it shows that the werewolf boy is losing control and might hurt/kill someone.

Tzvetan Todorov - Equilibrium:
Equilibrium:  When the werewolf boy lives happily with the family and starts learning how to live like a human.
Disequilibrium: When the authorities lock him up and try to kill him
New Equilibrium: When the girl saves him by letting him go free 

Vladimir Propp - Character Theory:
The Villain: The man who is pushing the authorities to kill him and persuades them that the werewolf boy is very dangerous.
The Hero: The werewolf boy can be considered as the hero as saves the girl on numerous occasions but the girl can also be considered as the hero as she is the one who restores peace by letting the werewolf boy go and stopping the authorities from looking for him after.
The Princess: Like the hero, the princess role can be interpreted as the girl who got saved many times by the werewolf boy or the werewolf boy who had to be saved by the girl at the end.

Media Awards

Trill:
As the atmosphere of the overall production was dangerous, the setting used helped create the dangerous atmosphere. The lighting, at the beginning was high key lighting to show that it was day-time but it built up tension when the lighting changed to low key lighting as the audience can see that the low key lighting foreshadows the terrible events that will follow when the character who seemed to be the villain, finds the protagonist.The facial expressions and body language of the actors were also very effective as the villain looked very intimidating and the close up shot of his hand clenching emphasizes his strong character. The watch and the gun were also very effective props used to convey what was happening in the scenes. As the villain waited to receive his package, the close up of the watch showed that it passed the time and enigma codes are created as to what the villain was going to do and how it will affect the protagonist. When the villain took out the gun, it creates action codes as the audience know that he will shoot the protagonist. There is also a binary opposition of good vs evil created as the protagonist doesn't want to do anything bad whereas the villain is persistent in dong whatever he can to get his package, even if it includes violent actions.


Insincere:
The most memorable aspect of the production was that there was no diegetic sound but only non diegetic as the only sound was the voice over of the protagonist. As the scene was a flashback, the voice over was very important to make the events happen a lot quicker to keep the scenes from the past, very minimal. Also, as the flashback scenes were edited to be black and white, the fact that the events are only memories becomes more apparent. The costume of the characters were smart-wear to show off that they were businessmen and as they were drinking beer, it made them seem mature. The lighting used changed from high key lighting to low key lighting to show the change of relationship between the protagonist and his business partner. The low key lighting used when the business partner was tied up in the garage reinforces the meaning of the title that the protagonist was never sincere about his business partner who was like a brother to him. There were various close up shots used to show different stages of their relationship such as the close up of the signatures show their partnership whereas the close up shot of the tied up hands show that the strong relationship no longer exists and the protagonist is trying to get rid of his 'partner'.

F Block: 
As the overall setting of the production was at school, the costume and make up were very natural as they wore casual clothes like a sixth former would wear. Also the lighting used was mainly high key lighting to emphasize the absence of seriousness in the production.The actor's facial expressions and body language also showed their individuality and personality which makes the audience identify with different characters. There was music playing in all the scenes where there was no dialogue and although there were scenes where the characters were playing instruments, most of the sound was non-diegetic but also parallel with what was happening in the scene. The camera movement was the most memorable aspect of the production. There seemed to be a point of view, tracking shot used when each of the characters were introduced as the camera seemed to be going through the school, shooting the different characters through the point of view of another student. The editing was also very good as the irrelevant travelling around the school was sped up and when it the camera came to the characters, it slowed down to show importance. Also, when all three different ways the character's got ready for school was edited in one shot, it showed the different personalities which helped the story line when they discussed what was the best type of music.

CoolBrands Brand Value

Apple:

Apple fits into many of Dyer's line of appeal such as rich, luxurious lifestyles, experts and successful career. I think Apple made the coolest brands in Britain as they have various different technology that is very simple to use yet very trendy. Many people may be under the impression that owning Apple technology makes them see rich as the latest products are highly priced which make people more inclined to buy the products. 

The O2:

The O2 fits into Dyer's line of appeal of successful career of  successful careers as several successful artists and other performers have performed at the O2 showing that it is where you will find people with successful careers. I think it made the coolest brands list as different forms of entertainment that suit all generations can be found there.

Krispy Kreme:

Krispy Kreme can fit into Dyer's line of appeal of happy families as an image is created in customers minds of sharing the doughnuts with friends or family. Krispy Kreme is a brand that has been around for a very long time and as it has been around for a long time, more people know about the particular brand and a general opinion that their doughnuts are very tasty is a known fact to many people and therefore has made the list of coolest brands in Britain.

Spotify:

Spotify can fit into Dyer's line of appeal of dreams and fantasy as music can make listeners emphasize with the artist and can also make the listener be in the same atmosphere as the particular song. Spotify made the list of coolest brands in Britain because music is very important to many people, especially the younger generation and Spotify gives them access the listen to music whenever they want. 

Virgin Atlantic:

Virgin Atlantic fits into Dyer's line of appeal of rich, luxurious lifestyles as Virgin Atlantic is a very luxurious airline that serves the passengers to the best of their ability. Virgin Atlantic made the list of Britain's coolest brands as many people must have been very pleased with their flight experience since it is a luxurious airline.

Brand Values 100-10-1

Samsung:

1. Samsung is a company that specialises in electronic goods such as TVs, smart phones and other devices. They come across as a company that is very advanced in their technology and their products are necessities. Samsung can fit into many of Dyer's lines of appeal such as successful careers and elite people as their smart phones are what many working class people use not only for their social life but also for their work. They may also fit in the line of appeal of happy families as Samsung produces TVs which normally have connotations of the family togetherness and bonding.
2. Samsung persuades people to work and play with their electronics.
3. Smart

You Tube:

1. YouTube is used by millions of people every day and to many, using YouTube is part of their daily routine. It allows people to share interests, experiences and opinions with the world and allows them to see other peoples interests as well. YouTube fits into many of Dryers line of appeals such as successful people as there have been many people who are successful uploading videos on to You Tube and earning money. It can also fit into art, culture and history, and comedy and humour as all those aspects are accessible on You Tube. 
2. YouTube allows the world to share their interests and experiences.
3. Sharing

Nintendo:

1. Nintendo is a very successful brand from Japan. They produce several different game consoles such as the Nintendo DS and the Wii. Many of Nintendo's adverts show the fun of playing together with friends and family, therefore fitting into Dyer's line of appeal of happy families. Other line of appeals that it fits into includes successful people as Nintendo's success relies on the hard work from their staff. Nintendo can also fit in with rich luxurious lifestyles as the consoles are rather expensive and owning them may show that the customers have money. Nintendo can be associated with dreams and fantasy as there are many games that are based with dreams and fantasy.
2. Nintendo shows the importance of relaxation with their game consoles.
3. Enjoyment 

Converse:

1. Converse is a very popular brand of shoes and gives their customers a wide range of choices which varies in colour pattern and type of shoe. Converse fits in with Dyer's line of appeal of self importance and pride as the people who buy the shoe show off their style. It can also be considered to a certain extent to fit into childhood as converse focus on trainers. This has connotations of active and energetic lifestyles which is what most children are like. It can also fit in with nature as the shoes converse produce are shoes mainly for outdoors which show their customers may like being outdoors in the nature.
2. Converse lets customers show their individuality and style through footwear.
3. Individuality

Galaxy Chocolate:

1. Galaxy chocolate is a smooth milk chocolate that is constantly presented as a lavish chocolate. The chocolate could fit into several of Dyer's line of appeal such as successful people and beautiful women. This is because galaxy is always endorsed by beautiful female celebrities showing that successful people eat their chocolate, which make more customers want to buy it. It also fits in with rich luxurious lifestyles as the people who tend to eat galaxy in the adverts look like they live a very rich lifestyle.
2. Galaxy shows that their chocolate serves as a luxurious snack.
3. Luxury

Film stills

Close Up 

The close up of the character's face allows the audience to see all the facial expressions. The facial expressions show that the character is surprised as his eyes are opened wide. The close up also communicates to the audience that the character has been exercising a lot as sweat is visible on the face and hair. The close up allows us to purely focus on the character and none of the surroundings.

Extreme Close Up 

The extreme close up of the characters eyes puts emphasis on her particular emotion which seems to be shock. As we focus on her eyes, the audience knows that the character is in shock as her eyes are opened very wide. The extreme close up communicates to the audience that what she is reacting to is very important and creates enigma codes as to what is making her so surprised.

Medium Shot

The medium shot allows the audience to see what the character's actions and other body language are along with still having the ability to see important facial expressions. The medium shot communicates to the audience that the character is having difficulty brushing his teeth which has connotations of the genre being humour. The medium shot allows us to see what the character is wearing which may help decipher the character's personality.

Long Shot

The long shot gives the audience the idea of the setting while also being able to the characters body language. This long shot shows a very colourless setting with guards which may connote that the genre is action. The woman shown is the only one wearing colour and has a bold hair style which may connote that she has an eccentric personality and the way she is standing is body language that shows confidence.The woman's facial expressions are not completely clear with the long shot which shows that at this moment, her facial expression is not important and  not what the audience should focus on.

Extreme Long Shot

The extreme long shot allows all the setting to be seen but the character's facial and bodily expressions are completely invisible (This can be also considered as an establishing shot as the setting has been established) .This shows that they are not important and at this moment, the audience should only focus on the setting. In this image, the setting is a playground which has connotations of fun but as its is lit in low key lighting, we get the impression that the genre is horror. With the long shot, other aspects of film language will become more prominent such as lighting and sound.

Low Angle

Low angle shots make distorts the image seen, to be much larger and more intimidating. In this particular image, the low angle shot makes it  seem like it is from the little girls perspective. As it is shot form her perspective, it allows us to identify with the girl. The low angle shot may not show the image in a realistic format but it adds variation to the scene.

High Angle

The high angle shot puts the audience in an all-knowing position of the scene.It also helps create a particular atmosphere such as mystery or suspense which may connote the genre of the film. In this image, the high angle shot is used to put emphasis on the content of the bowl that may not be seen in a different shot. This makes the bowl hold importance in the film . The high key lighting of the bowl makes it look more prominent, yet mystical, but it also brings attention to the shadows created by the use of chiaroscuro, strong shadows created by the contrast of low and high key lighting.

Parallel and Contrapuntal Sound Videos

Parallel Sound

Contrapuntal Sound

Blog Feedback and Learner Response

WWW: Good to see you are highlighting media terminology - this is an excellent habit to get into early in the year. Your Mercedes advert was an interesting choice of text and your dominant/ oppositional reading of the RBK advert was thought-provoking too.

EBI: Generally, there's a lack of depth and detail that you will seriously need to work on this year. A Level is demanding and one paragraph for each advert analyses just doesn't give you enough room to explore the text fully. Use a new paragraph for each aspect you are analysing and you'll soon realise the detail required. Your media consumption also needs a rocket boost this year if you want to aim for the top grades!

LR: Reflect on your first month of AS Media. What is your strongest piece of work so far? What is your weakest? What specific skills or knowledge do you need to develop over the rest of the course?

The first month of AS Media has been very interesting and I have enjoyed all the lessons. I think my strongest piece of work so far is my RBK advert analysis as I thought I used many key media terminology and analysed it very well. My weakest may be my institution research as I hadn't researched the different channels in detail and didn't have enough depth. Over the rest of the course, I need to be analysing all my work in more detail and use as much media terminology as possible. I also need to increase my media consumption as it is very important for AS Media.

Institution research

High Brow: Journalists respectfully, research and write the story

Low Brow: Rumour based articles that rely on the shock value of the stories.

Public service broadcasting:  Electronic media outlets such as TV and radio, whose main mission is services to the public.


BBC1: 

 BBC1's main remit is to be the BBC's most popular mixed genre television service across the UK.
It fits in with the concept of public service broadcasting as BBC1 provides the public with a wide variety of programmes ranging from BBC News to talk shows such as The Graham Norton Show which both informs and entertains and acts as a service to the public
Audience members would include most of society but may not attract very young children

BBC2:

Great British Bake Off and Russel Howard's Good News are two of many programmes aired on BBC2. There are no apparent links as BBC2 also has a variety of programmes but it seems that BBC2 focus slightly more of humorous shows. I think the main aim is to entertain but I do not think that the shows would be very appealing to the younger generation. 

ITV1:

Shows such as Coronation Street and XFactor, air on ITV1. There are many soap operas and variety shows that air on ITV1 and it seems to be focusing on family entertainment. Simon Cowell and Jonathon Ross are major stars associated with ITV1 as Simon Cowell as they have shows that are aired on the channel. ITV1 would be considered as low brow as they rely on the celebrities to bring viewers to watch their shows which wold inevitably lead to many gossip and rumor driven media to also be featured on the shows.

Channel 4:

Channel4 includes shows such as Hollyoaks and the Inbetweeners. There arent many informative programmes and the channel rely on soap operas or comedic shows to gain viewers.Channel 4 was launched in November 1982 and their main aim was to entertain and inform viewers from all ages. Their audience would reach teens to middle aged people.

Channel 5:

Shows such as Big Brother and Home and Away air on Channel 5. A variety of childrens programmes also air on this channel. The channel could be considered as low brow because their are many shows that have elements of rumor driven media and dos not inform the viewers very much. The audience members for this channel can be anyone as it airs programmes suitable for people of all ages.

Institution lesson feedback

• Lovely opening clip - grabs attention of audience.
• Good starter question follows clip and is important
• presentation covers excellent background/historical info. A bit too much reading from Power point but the content is very good
• Space on the handout to fill details in is a great idea and forces class to engage with the material. However, this could have been made clearer when handouts were being given out
• importance of institution emphasized using statistics which is good to see
• Sky news is a good point, could have been given more info here ( hosted one of 2010 election debates)
• Needed a plenary to test what people had learned - even a referral back to hand out could have helped here.

WWW:  Some of the info in the power point had references to the opening clip we showed

               The class were engaged as they had to fill in details in the sheet 

               Had a lot of good information

EBI:       Needed a plenary

               More crucial information needed

               Read less from the powerpoint

Institution Summaries:

News corporation: Australian based company who publish some of the top newspapers sold across the country. Created in 1979 by Rupert Murdoch. Own many large companies and have a wide range of audiences. Aimed at people all ages.

Vivendi:   French Company that focuses on digital entertainment and telecommunications.

BBC:  British Broadcasting Corporation is based in the UK, founded in 1922. Aims are to entertain, educate and inform.

Viacom: Founded in 2006. 5th biggest institution in media. They own smaller institutions and own various tv channels.

Time Warner: An American international media corporation. Second largest cable provider, who owns and manages cable systems throughout USA.

Walt Disney:  Founders were Walt Disney and his brother, Roy O. Disney. The company is worth around $45.429 billion and some of its products include cable television, theme parks, radio etc.