Representation

Nowadays, people in the media can use any picture, video or even a single word to completely change a certain opinion on something.

For example, in this video Russell Brand highlights, in a comedic but ultimately serious manner, how Bill O'Reilly manipulates the argument against immigrants in the US on Fox News:







There are several key definitions used to summarise representation:

Bonjour: Above is a
stereotypical Frenchman

Stereotypes: These are used so the audience can instantly understand a character and make assumptions.

Archetypes: This is the ultimate stereotype. An example of this is an English person watching cricket, eating scones and drinking tea.

 

Counter type:  This is someone or something that doesn't conform to the traditional stereotype.

 

Mogul: This is the person who has control over editors and owns a media outlet who has great power and can manipulate issues to suit what they want. An example being Rupert Murdoch. 

 

Representation: This is the way people or events are presented to the audience. This is normally done in a way in which viewers can identify with. So if you were making a film about drug dealing in an urban ghetto it is likely the characters would be represented with specific stereotypes, for example being black or mixed race.

The Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey):

In Laura Mulvey's opinion, the cinema puts the audience in a males position, with the women on screen seen as an object of desire. Mulvey suggests two distinct modes:

• "Voyeuristic" - women as whores
• "Fetishistic" - women as unreachable Madonna's

Although recently there's been change.Such as in the new James Bond movies, as you can see below:

Role Reverse: The women in Spring Breakers (left) are all scantily dressed and are composed in a way which suggests promiscuity. They are seen as sexual objects. James Bond (right), is being portrayed as a sexual icon.

The Bechdel Test:

The Bechdel test asks if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Many contemporary works fail this test of gender bias. This is a prime example of how the media represent women and men.

The test revolves around the idea of two women having a conversation:

1. The conversation have at least two (named - important) character women in it)).
2. They have a conversation with each other.
3. The conversation has to be about something other than a man.

Representation Task



In this particular scene of Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle, some little boys are behaving mischievously on an overcrowded train which is travelling through the Indian countryside.

 

This scene represents the Indian community to be very poor and impoverished. The little boys cheekily move through the train stealing food. This highlights that crime is a problem in the region. The train is very cramped and in poor condition, this further helps create a stereotype that the Indian community is lacking in widespread wealth. Some of the people's clothes are dirty and have holes in which gives the stereotypical impression that the people are unclean and lack sanitation.



Pre-Lim Task Feedback

Our presentation had been shown to our classmates and people in other classes. We were then given feedback on our short film.

Overall, we were given many positive reviews- people really enjoyed our film. We were mainly given the criticism that our film didn't comply to our Rom-Com genre. This was an acceptable criticism to take, although, completely accommodating all of the Rom-Com conventions to our short film would have been difficult in a group of three boys so I personally think that we did well to put an original spin on the Rom-Com idea.

Positive Reviews: Here is one of many positive reviews which my group received as feedback to our short film.

Rom-Com Pre-Lim Task: Sweet Potato

 After much planning, preparation, filming and editing, Sweet Potato was born.

Here it is:







Logo Creation

We were set an assignment in which we had create a logo for our own made-up film institution. Logo creation is a task which I am established with, as I've had previous experiences creating one during my ICT GCSE course last year.

If you look at pre-existing film institutions (which can be seen below), such as Paramount or Fox, their logos are relatively simplistic. They use matchig colours and do not incorporate many features into the design. With this in mind, I decided that I should base my logo on these guidelines. 

The Major Six: Above are what can be seen what are commonly thought to be the six major film distributors in the world.

I took all of this new information and research into account when I created my very own film studio brand and icon.

 

I set myself several guidelines which I wanted my logo and brand to incorporate:

• I wanted to give it a clever twist.

• 'I See' also sounds like 'Icy', helping to tie up the theme of ice and fire.

• The logo feature's an iris and pupil, relating to 'I See'.

• I used the shape of a sun as it is hot like fire.

• I attempted to use a limited colour pallet.

• I predominantly used matching colours, black, blue, orange and white, keeping it limited to four.

• I tried to make it personal to me as the creator.

• 'I See' sounds like the letters 'I' and 'C', which are my initials.

• I knew I had to make it iconic.

• I tried to use things which were relatable to people but not used in pre-existing institute logos.

• I finally realised that simplicity would be the best route for creation.

• The logo is mainly comprised of simple shapes; rings, circles and triangles.

Here is what I managed to create:

 

I See Fire Productions: The logo which I created on Microsoft PowerPoint
as I thought it would be the most simple software to use to achieve my desired end product.

Institution

Film Narrative

In today's lesson we were educated about some renowned historic figures within the film industry.

The lesson centred around four key people:

Izetan Todorov - Todorov suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium (normality) where any potentially opposing forces are in balance. The balance is then disrupted by some events, thereby setting off a chain reaction of other events (often problems). The problems are then solved so that order can be restored once more to the world.

Todorov suggested that narratives are typically structured in five key stages:

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset.
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by an action.
3. A recognition that there's been a disruption.
4. An attempt to repair the disruption caused.
5. A reinstatement of equilibrium.

This concept can be applied to many mainstream films.

Here's an example using a scenario in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. II':

Equilibrium (and reinstatement of equilibrium): Hogwarts is protected by a magical shield...
This is also a reinstatement because it is a solution to the Voldemort's forces outside Hogwarts' battlements.

Disruption: The shield protecting Hogwarts has been destroyed by Voldemort and his minions...

Recognition: The character's realise the shield has been broken (the equilibrium has been disrupted),
causing them to defend themselves...

Attempt to Repair: The character's fight to restore a state of equilibrium by vanquishing the enemy.

Reinstatement: The enemy (Voldemort), has been defeated, there are no opposing forces left,
 Hogwarts is left to recover to it's former glory. Equilibrium has been restored.

Levi-Strauss - Levi-Strauss observed that all narratives are organised around the conflict between binary opposites (black and white, old and young, day and night).

Vladimir Propp - Propp founded the idea that a certain type of character was to be used in every type of narrative structure. Propp suggested that every narrative has eight different character types which are:

• The Villain - against the hero.

Villain: The Joker is one of the
main malefactors in the Batman franchise.

• The Dispatcher - makes the villain known, sends the hero off to defeat them.

• The Helper - assists the hero in their quest.

• The Prize - the thing or person that the hero works to achieve or attain.

• The Father - gives the hero the task and identifies any false heroes.

• The Donor - prepares the hero by providing things they might need.

• False Hero - takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to steal the prize.

Sometimes characters can cover several of these roles.

Ultimate Prize: The ultimate prize for hero Harry Potter is happiness, the destruction
 of his enemy (and villain), Voldemort, provides him with his desired content.

Roland Barthes - Barthes narrowed down the action of a text into five codes which are woven into any narrative, we studied three of his codes (highlighted in yellow):

• The Hermeneutic Code (voice of the truth) - The code of enigmas.
• The Enigma/Proairetic Code (voice of the empiric) - The code of actions.
• The Symbolic Code (voice of the symbol) - Traits and actions which constitute a character.
• The Cultrural Code (voice of the science) - The code which we use to interpret experiences.
• The Semantic Code (voice of the person) - Binary oppositions or themes.

We were mainly told about three of Bathes' statements about key features of a movie.

These include:

Symbolic references: for example a wreath could be used to represent the coming of Christ, a wreath can also represent a crown.

Jesus Walks: The magazine cover portrays Kanye West as Jesus
on the front cover of Rolling Stone (February 2006).

We studied action; what things the characters do in the film which help the audience relate and associate things to them. In 'The Matrix', themes of reoccurring violence (such as the Lobby scene), scenes of death and destruction help the audience understand the characters and setting, this is an example of how action is put into place.

Finally we studied enigma. Enigma is the study of how an occurrence in a film can cause the mind to ask questions. An example of  how enigma is created would be when bullets are fired at main protagonist of 'The Matrix', Neo, and the audience wonder how he is going to survive.

Enigmatic Neo: Neo solves the enigma as to how he's going to overcome the obstacle (bullets),
in this case, due to his unique ability to manipulate the coding of the Matrix,
 he manages to halt the bullets in their path.