Monday 29 June 2015

Media Regulation Induction Session

To know about the theories and debates surrounding contemporary film regulation
To justify your position supported with theoretical perspectives, and a convincing concluding statement (win the debate)
To argue a given position in a debate on Film Regulation
To examine a range of theories on contemporary film regulation
To know about Film Regulation, the BBFC, Censorship and Restriction and apply to contemporary examples



What Factors do the BBFC has to consider when rating a film






Link to Deadpool 






What regulation would you advise?

A. Certificate - which
B. Censor - Cut or Ban?

Why - justify your reasons on wipeboards

New Info: Be clear on terms:

Regulation
Intervening in the production or consumption. State regulation laws ie (video recordings act). 2 ways to do this...

1) Classification
Restricting access on the grounds of age (BBFC films in cinema or home release)

2) CensorshipThe power to control what we are permitted to access (banning or cuts)

BBFC - Who are they?

Snuff Box BBFC 'by the few, for the masses' https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gytbhgHSENA
1:54 start

Factors the BBFC has to consider when rating a film:
  • Imitation - Newson Report  (Jamie Bulger)
  • Descrimination 
  • Context &Theme - artistic merit
  • Tone & impact on its audience
  • Violence
  • Sex & sexual references, 
  • Drugs, 
  • Language 
Create Meaning: 
You are the BBFC officer - what certificate?

Batman Dark Knight Rises 


Pulp fiction 

This is England 


Apply: feedback with large image of cert


Apply to demonstrate (Theoretical ways of thinking about censorship)






Task: Ways of thinking about censorship

Discuss the different viewpoints and ideas - what do you think each one means (use your resources to summarise)


Debate

"Is regulation (censorship or classification) still justified in contemporary culture?"


In your Teams Y & N, defend your given point of view with an argument



Yes

  • Newson to protect vulnerable audiences young people are impressionable and may imitate or disassociate reality
  • Controversial content can lead to desensitisation or a loss of moral norms, capacity for compassion
  • Deregulation slippery slope by making content permissible we condone its place in society ie rape
  • Film-makers have to keep pushing the boundaries of taste further to be controversial 'hype' HC2

No 


  • Adorno who is protecting who from what BBFC 'by the few, for the masses'
  • Uses & Gratifications audience watch for a number of reasons ie catharsis
  • Stuart Hall oppositional and negotiated readings
  • Is regulation and restriction even possible anymore when content is online & global
  • The context or intention of the message may justify the content

Recap: Concluding Statement

"Can we still protect the vulnerable in contemporary society, and is it the responsibility of a regulator to do so?"



Contemporary Media Regulation intro from Holly Taylor

Plenary Post it
Who
What from
Why
How
Whose responsibility?

Wednesday 24 June 2015

Homework 3.1 for completion next Wednesday 1st July

1. Write up your notes from this week on Semiotics and the Development of Horror into an annotated Timeline using http://timeglider.com/

Include images and video of significant characteristics and films

2. Write up the notes in your workbook. 

3. Prepare a pitch for your Film Idea to be shot and edited over the summer break (you will be storyboarding in class on Weds)


Monday 22 June 2015

3.1 Lecture Clips Development of Horror Genre and Representation



  • Post-modern Horror
  • The Genre Cycle - The Experimental Stage, The Classical Stage, The Revisionist Stage, The Self-Reflexive/Parodic Stage
  • The Final Girl
  • Representation of The Monster

Development of Horror Genre and Representation


1)      What are the 4 stages of Genre over time and what makes them different?

Example of films?

2)      What event led to social fears of the real world in 2000’s


Example of films?

3)      What are 3 characteristics of the Final Girl?

Key Films?

4)      What 2 ways can a Post-Modern Horror be identified?


5)      How have Zombies been used to represent and reflect on about society and humanity?

Key Films?

6)      What decade did the teenager become central to Horror?


Key Films?

7)      How can Horrors be read as social punishment for teens breaking ‘hegemony’ – the dominant ideas in society?


Friday 19 June 2015

2.1 Prep Work Next Monday



Prepare for your Lecture on Monday and Seminar on Wednesday

Outline and make notes on the following theories:


  • Final Girl
  • How Genres (conventions) Change over Time
  • The Male Gaze
  • What Zombies represent
  • Post-modern Horror
















Homework 2 AGP - Audience Research 1

Homework

Task 1: Go to this 13 greatest horrors of the past 13 years 

In Pairs, look these films up on imdb, watch and embed the trailers to your blog (8+ = Excellent, 5+ Proficient, 3+ Basic)

Click on User Reviews                Click on User Ratings











Screen-grab the User Ratings Table (Blue and Red)

Look at the breakdown of the audience by Age and Gender. Which groups is this film most popular with?

Look at the synopsis and the User Reviews, what was it that appealed to this audience (violence, choice of characters etc)

Write up your conclusions as a Szoter presentation

Here is an Example

Task 2: Build on your understanding of genre and who your audience is. Interview on your camera phones 10 people from a cross-section sample of your target audience about their expectations and preferences of the Horror.

  1. What scares them?
  2. What types of Horror do they prefer (9 sub-genres)
  3. What iconography do they expect (props, make-up locations, costume)
  4. What set pieces/scenes do they find scary or typical?
  5. What characters would they expect to see (type of monster/aggressor)
  6. Do they enjoy the use of a jump scare?

Monday 15 June 2015

2.3 Trailer Structural Analysis and Timeline

Examine
How the Trailers are structured around Narrative (Todorov, Binary Opposition, Engima Code)
Deconstruct
Sequence the Structural Elements on the Timeline and consider pace/rhythm etc (ie what and when)
Identify and Outline
Recognise the content (Iconography of the genre, Characters, Titles, Sections of the film, Sound ie what)

Framework 3:
Teaser and Trailers structural analysis of a current campaign looking closely at the conventions of form and narrative (not genre)

Example: Conjuring 2

Starter: What are the differences between a Theatrical Trailer and a Teaser Trailer?


  • Establish character (Propp)
  • Aggressor vs Victim/Hero (Levi-Strauss)
  • Narrative - 3 act structure (Todorov)
  • Montage 
  • Titles 
  • Enigma Code (Barthes)
  • Climax eg jump scare, 
  • Significant plot moments (5 scenes)
  • Pace (calm, build, climax) 




Task 1: Timeline Structure - Teaser Trailer Conjuring 2

Cut up the Teaser Trailer in Final Cut using the Blade tool. Be precise in cutting the start and end of each clip.

Plot out the structure of the Trailer as below by making a Timeline map (see below you can download template here)
  • Note down the timings and what you see, in what order including what Title Slates 
  • How many Title slates are included and what order do they come in
  • Note down any sound effects/soundtrack (such as Booms)
  • Split this up into Todorov's 3 Acts structure
  • Note which scenes
  • What is the Enigma Code
  • What do you notice about the Pace of the cuts?
  • Which transitions are used?
  • Time the average shot duration and note when it begins to change (twice?)


Task 3: YOUR OWN TREATMENT TEASER - Final Assessment for R&P (graded coursework)

Get video footage Shutterstock (search 'Horror') to re-create a Teaser Trailer - you must ensure it matches the structure of Conjuring 2 EXACTLY

Use the Map Provided (timings) 



Select footage for your own Horror film Treatment you will be pitching next lesson.

Using your Timeline Map, place your new shots and Titles ON TOP of the original ones from the Conjuring in the timeline above in Final Cut 

Create a Trailer - consider where the footage and the Titles ought to go

Homework: 
Complete your trailer and upload to Youtube and embed to your blog

Evaluate your trailer on your blog - make notes on HOW and WHY Trailers are structured in this way


Prepare for terminology test - next lesson

D describe the term
C apply the term to an example
B explain purpose/effect in an example
A justify its role in your trailer


Friday 12 June 2015

2.1 Semiotic Analysis Lecture

Starter:


Why do Horror films scare us - what fears do they tap into, what are they trying to say?


Analyse
Meaning and semiotics of sub-genres to own examples
Semiotics mini-Crit in booklets
Apply
Meaning & Semiotics to class examples of different sub-genres
Source examples of sub-genres based on conventions
Mind Map
Thinglink Mood Board
Notes on Semiotics
Identify & outline
Sub-genre of horror
Conventions of each sub-genre
Mind Map
Thinglink Mood Board

Task 3: Lecture Notes: In depth Semiotic Analysis of Horror films

Make notes on the Lecture on the meaning and messages for the different sub-genres in your booklets




Outcome:
D Apply the above to your examples in your Mini-Crit of 3 films (Booklets)

B/C Analyse the meaning behind the films to infer meaning (in your analysis of the films notes)

A Explain in detail the social commentary and meaning of these films, how are they analogies? 















Homework: Analyse Semiotics in your Content Analysis of 3 Trailers (in your Booklets) 
Set separate post "1.1 Homework"

------
number 7 4 min in


1.1 Homework (Review & Consolidate) Genre Conventions & Semiotics

Task 1: Create a blog (30 mins)


This is where you will present all of your Individual Research and Preparation for your group work. The moderator will have direct access to this.

Task 2: (1 hour 30)
In booklet: Individual analysis of 3 existing Horror Trailers in booklet (different subgenres)

Task 3: (1 hr 30)
Create an interactive mood board-poster on 9 sub genres using screen grabs from the examples

http://ctkmediaa2horror.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/12-9-sub-genres-of-horror.html


using https://www.thinglink.com for examples of each of these 9 sub-genres 


  • C Read 12 Icons of Horrors and mind map. Identify them in the Subgenre examples above. 
  • Discuss this as a class and make notes of student's analysis or meaning
  • B  Screen-Grabs from the class examples and your own and create a Mood Board Poster on Thinglink 
  • Embed this to your blog
  • A Extension Task: Write up your notes and make your poster interactive with annotation points 

Task 4 (1 hour)

Learn the Terminology words for assessment - make sure you can describe what they mean for the weekly Quiz





Task 5 (Prep - 1 hour)

Read the following and Summarise in a Blog Post in 300 words with screen grab examples from Horror Trailers or Poster
12 Icons of Horrors
Mise-en-scene, Iconography & Symbolism in Horror Films


1. Religious Symbols – Religion is very prevalent in horror, with themes of life and death, spirituality, man playing god, man fighting inner as well as outer demons, good versus evil, and so forth. Religious artifacts may be Christian, occult, satanic, voodoo, or about any other type of belief in something greater than humanity. 

2. Symbols of Death – Death is naturally pervasive in horror and there are countless representative objects, such as coffins, gravestones, skeletons, angels of death, and so forth. In Psycho (1960), the taxidermy birds are representative of the dead mother in the home and Bates’ schizophrenic attempts to keep her alive after death. In horror, there can be confusion between life and death, such as ghosts, zombies, and the supernatural, so objects can help symbolize who is on which side. Toward the beginning of Jacob’s Ladder(1990), Jacob gets trapped in an underground tunnel, which is symbolic of his being trapped between life and death

4. Light – Light can symbolize many things, such as hope, transition, escape, and even death (e.g. Poltergeist’s “Don’t go into the light!”) Sunlight normally provides a sense of comfort so the incongruity of sunlight and horror can be especially unnerving, such as the graveyard scene inNight of the Living Dead (1968). Candles, lanterns, and flashlights are common sources of light in horror, as the light can only be cast so far while the surrounding darkness is rife with shadows. In this early scene from Hellraiser (1987) the dangling light bulbs in the torture room instantly sets the tone.

3. Colors – Many films use color to symbolize themes and the powers of good and evil. Red is often associated with evil, blood, lust, and violence, for example the Red Queen in Resident Evil(2002). Black is also naturally associated with evil, while light, neutral colors or earth tones are associated with goo

5. Weapons – A majority of horror films involve the use of weapons, from machine guns to saws. Weapons have phallic symbolism that suggests masculine power and the woman that outsmarts the villain essentially castrates him. Leatherface's weapon in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) is the ultimate phallic symbol of raging power. The type of weapons a writer chooses for his or her villain – knife, gun, sword, club, saw –is most powerful when it reflects character

6. Doors and Windows – Doors and windows (or any portal) have many symbolic meanings. Often, they help symbolize characterization. With windows, a person has a limited perspective and is like a spectator, not part of the outside world. The person looking through the window may be frightened of the world outside or physically unable to be part of it. In The Others, the mother is often by the window looking out, trapped in her home because of her children and a dense fog. At the end, she and her children stand by the window looking at a world they no longer belong to. On the other hand, a character can walk through a door and doors are symbolic of opportunity. In horror, however, doors and windows are typically a means of entrapment or freedom. They are also highly utilized for building suspense… is something behind the slightly open door or lurking outside the window in the dark? In Night of the Living Dead, doors and windows are dangerous openings that the zombies can infiltrate, despite efforts to block them up. Some of the most frightening scenes are when zombie hands reach in through spaces between the wooden boards. Windows can also personify a haunted house as eyes, such as the always glowing, quarter-round windows in Amityville Horror.

7. Tunnels and Corridors
Tunnels and corridors repeatedly represent the passage to death, resurrection or life (Yonic)

8. Keys/Locks – Keys and locks symbolize secrets, confinement, and hidden objects or places. In The Skeleton Key, Caroline is trying to solve her patient Ben’s paralyzed condition. Her skeleton key works in every room in the house except one in the attic. She manages to get inside the room and discovers a host of disturbing secrets that will lead to her own demise. In The Others, the mother must constantly lock and unlock doors to prevent light from reaching her children who have a rare condition and will die if exposed to sunlight. In this film, the keys and locks represent her confined thinking as well as her physical confinement in purgatory. Only when she accepts the truth can all the doors be left unlocked, like the curtains can come down.

9. Dolls – Dolls have appeared often in horror storytelling. As a child’s toy dolls normally represent happiness, innocence, and nurturing. Yet their distorted human qualities, such as oversized heads, unblinking eyes or exaggerated features, can make them especially eerie. The doll on a string represents a figure that is not in control of its movements or destiny. The same unnerving effect has been used with clowns, though they have been so overused as to have lost much of their effect. Dolls, on the other hand, come in so many forms, from voodoo to Barbie dolls and battered antique to contemporary ones, that they offer vast opportunities for symbolic use. A doll’s symbolism, which may be expressed through children’s play or other means, might include sexuality, lack of control, death, desire, regret, families, ageing, and much more.

11. Masks – from the Phantom of the Opera to slasher classics, masks are most often used to disguise evil. Masks are devoid of movement, except for the eyes, which makes them unnerving, like doll faces. In TheTexas Chainsaw Massacre, Leatherface wears three different masks (made from human skin) that reflect his mood or victim. And who will ever forget hockey-masked Jason or white-faced Michael Myers? On occasion, the villain behind the mask may be a woman.

12. Mirrors – Mirrors, or a mirror effect such as reflections in glass or water, can have many symbolic meanings though typically represent the multiple dualities of characters. Broken mirrors have obvious connotations of shattered lives and personalities. Mirrors can also represent voyeuristic, vanity, and sexual themes – we display our bodies and beautify ours faces in front of them in private. Mirrors can also reflect dangers. 

Task 6: AGP Extension Video Recce
Take a Video Selfie on site at an actual location, discuss on camera why it would be suitable for filming one of the types of Trailers

  • Suitable to genre and mood (reference other films that have used these types)
  • Possibility of permission (council/private owners/residents)
  • Suitability of light and background sound
  • Risk assessment


Upload this to YouTube and embed in your blog