Glossary

Close up- a feature or part of something that takes up the entire frame (i.e. a humans face)

Cut away- where something other than the subject is the main focus of the shot.

Cut in- shows other parts of a subject in detail (i.e. the hands).

Dolly- a dolly is a cart that travels along tracks. The camera is mounted on the dolly and records the shot as it moves.

Extreme close up- shows part of a subject in substantial detail (i.e. the eyes), this can be used for effect, to add tension to a scene for example.

Extreme wide shot- the purpose of this shot is to show the subject's surroundings.  Ideal for beautiful landscapes that you want to capture.

Medium close up- is the middle ground between a ‘Close-Up’ and a ‘Mid-Shot’.

Mid shot- Includes parts of a figure (head and upper torso), shows parts of the subject in detail.

Mise-en-scène is a French term and originates in theatres. It means, literally, "put in the scene."

Noddy shot- this usually refers to a shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject.

Over the shoulder shot- this is where you would be looking from behind a person at the subject.

Pan- is a horizontal camera movement in which the camera moves left and right about a central point.

Point of view shot- this shot shows a view from someone’s perspective.

Two shot- is where two subjects are in shot at the same time, and is framed very similarly to a mid shot.

Very wide shot- the subject is barely visible, but some emphasis is made on him in his environment. 

Weather shot- this shot focuses on the particular weather conditions.

Wide shot- this shot shows an entire object or the figure of the person in shot, and is usually intended to place it in some relation to the surroundings.

Types of Sound

whose source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film:

-voices of characters

-sounds made by objects in the story

-music represented as coming from instruments in the story space ( = source music)

Diegetic sound is any sound presented as originated from source within the film's world

 

Digetic sound can be either on screen or off screen depending on whatever its source is within the frame or outside the frame.

Another term for diegetic sound is actual sound

Non-diegetic sound

 

Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action:

-narrator's commentary

-sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect

-mood music

Non-diegetic sound is represented as coming from the a source outside story space.

The distinction between diegetic or non-diegetic sound depends on our understanding of the conventions of film viewing and listening. We know of that certain sounds are represented as coming from the story world, while others are represented as coming from outside the space of the story events. A play with diegetic and non-diegetic conventions can be used to create ambiguity (horror), or to surprise the audience (comedy).

Another term for non-diegetic sound is commentary sound.

Soundtrack- The music that accompanies a movie

Theme music- is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_music)

 

Incidental music- is music in a film, play, video game or other that isn’t necessarily musical. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidental_music)

 

Sound Effects (FX) - Are artificially created sounds, commonly created by the use of a synthesizer. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_effects)

 

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Ambient sound- means the background noise present in a scene. (http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/ambient/)

 

Dialogue- is spoken conversational exchange between two or more people. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialogue)

 

Voice-over- (known as off-stage commentary) is a voice recording played on top of film, video game etc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_over)

Analysing a Music Video

I have decided to analyse Tiao Cruz's Troublemaker music video. I have chosen this particular video as I believe it shows frequently used stereotypes throughout the duration of the video.

Firstly, he sexualises women frequently (which is typical of an r&b music video). This is fairly derogatory, and is used to capture the attention of a certain audience. The video itself is a visual representation of the lyrics, with one line stating "You ain't tryin to hide it, girl you're a troublemaker". The word "girl" in the line reinstates the use of generalisation, with "girl" not personal to any particular female. This picture (time code 2:58) perfectly demonstrates this. The composition of the shot itself, and the wide shot used, shows the whole of the women's bodies, which exploits them further. They have also chosen to make each woman into a silhouette, which you could say is generalising women as a whole.















Throughout Tiao Cruz's video he expresses his power in various ways. These two screenshots of the music video represent this.

The first screen shot (time code 2:36) shows Tiao standing in the middle of the shot, showing that he is the main focus. There are two very expensive cars either side of him, being smashed into a brick wall, and this is another sigifier of his power- as it is not detrimental to him if he ruins the two sports cars. The second screen shot (time code 1:37) consists of 2 females standing to either side of him, with their faces directed away from the camera, with Tiao (again) being the focus of the shot. He looks sternly at the camera, and directly into the lens to show his authority and power. The power figure that Tiao wants to portray in his videos is typical of that for most r&b videos, with the representation of both genders being very 'black in white' in the way women and men are portrayed. 

TV Scheduling

TV scheduling is a very important part of TV, and you never really take any notice of it.  Some of the scheduling times for certain programmes is obvious, i.e, if programme contains inappropriate content. TV shows which contain such material will normally be cast post watershed.

The watershed is a period of time (which is 9pm in the UK), which adult content may air. This may be due down to violence, sexual content, inappropriate language etc. The 'watershed' is not strictly for this country- it used in countries across the world. For example, it is known as 'safe harbor' in the United States and in Venezuela it is called 'Adult Time'.

The time in which television shows are broadcast is paramount to their overall viewing figures; as each channel is aiming to get the highest number of viewers. If shows are broadcast at a time slot which would be awkward for the particular audience the programme is aiming for- viewing figures will decrease as a result.              

These were the current viewing figures of the Top UK TV channels between the week starting the 17th of September and ending the 23rd of that month. (This information was taken off the website http://www.barb.co.uk/)

The channel with the most people tuning in is BBC 1. This could be to do with the content shown, airing popular shows such as Doctor Who, Casualty and Eastenders- but also because on the TV guide, it is the first channel that will appear. Due to the fact that people will; (most likely); not want to scroll through pages worth of virtual TV guide, the channels that appear first- will probably get far higher viewing figures than the other channels provided.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

How are stereotypes represented or challenged in this clip?

In a clip from hit BBC soap opera 'Eastenders' racial stereotypes are certainly challenged throughout and are clearly represented.

In the segment of this episode of Eastenders; Ray was seen to be stopped by a passing police car, and the poilceman inside had suspicions that he had stolen something. Throughout the duration of the 3 minute clip, Ray becomes increasingly defensive, coming to his own defense extremely frequently. When the police officer asks him to perform a stop and search, Ray is clearly bothered by the request, he becomes increasingly agitated, and he (almost) knows the stereotype cast upon him- and this in turn leads to him getting angry with the officer. To clear the sterotype from him, almost; he reveals the bump underneath his outerwear was infact weights that he'd trained with earlier in the episode.

This is where stereotypes become challenged. In the part of clip after Ray uncovers his weights, unveiling his innocence to the officer, the stereotype that had been shadowed upon him previously, disappears- and the contrast in power between Ray and The Officer is less strong.

The camera angles used throughout the clip could be representational of the stereotype shown. The significant angle is where Ray (to the left of shot) and The Officer (to the right of shot), are continuing their confrontation, and the camera angle is looking up towards them. Low camera angles could signify that they have more power, as the angle makes both characters appear taller. Adjacent to eachother, they both remain on the same level; which could give an indication into how the scene will unfold.

This again shows stereotypes being challenged, because stereotypically the police officer would have far more power than the typical pedestrian, but because both characters are presented on equal levels; some say, that stereotypes, therefore- become challenged.

This was my first essay question titled 'How are stereotypes represented or challenged in this clip'. We were asked to find a clip, and explore how, why and what things may support the question given. I was given a few targets to help me improve my answers for essays in the future. These were to:

1. Explore stereotypes in both sides.
2. To analyse shot by shot and refer to each in detail.

I will take these both into consideration for my next essay, and hopefully will produce an even better piece of work.

An Introduction to the Media Exam.

The Media Studies AS exam (which makes up for 50% of our overall marks) differenciates from the coursework that we're studying at the moment. The coursework revolves more around magazines, and what they symbolise- the exam side of things focuses more on TV Drama and Film (with film being studied in A2, or Year 13)

In Year 12, TV Drama will be the main focus. There are a few different sub-genres in TV Dramas; these include

- Crime
- Sci Fi
- Detective
- Soap Opera
- Comedy
- Medical
- Book Adaptation
- Period Drama
- Thriller
- Costume Drama

...and many more

As time goes on, and we develop our knowledge on the 'TV Drama' side of Media Studies, we'll get to know a lot more about techniques and such; and not just what you would see on the surface. Because really, that's what Media Studies is about, 'studying' the media- in great detail. Going into depth and exploring the different ways in which directors/producers portray their thoughts and ideas onto our TV screens. It's fair to say, I'm looking forward to it all- and what's about to come.