Common themes of representations in media

Representations of Old People/Pensioners that are common in western media:
-That they are incapable and can't live without help e.g the image of an old woman needing help crossing the road or younger people helping them to live at retirement homes
-That they are weak/disabled e.g it is common to see pictures of old people in wheelchairs, mobility scooter or with walking sticks
- That they are victimized against by younger people in society e.g you often see pictures or read news about old people that have been robbed, hurt, etc. by younger people in society
-That they are respected e.g when events such as remembrance day happen we often see pictures of old people that represent them as proud and something to look up to

Research- Short Film Introduction Scenes

I decided that starting by looking at the introduction scenes of a few already existing short films to see the different techniques and methods used throughout them. I didn't really focus on a particular genre of short film and just decided to watch a variety to get an idea of how different types of short film go about introducing their films.

First i watched the science fiction short film Time Trap by Michael Shanks.

Video:

We can see that this short film uses a few techniques to have different effects on the audience. The first shot of the film is a very shaky, fuzzy and hazy blurred shot which we can't really see much of. However it gives us as the audience an almost dizzy and surreal feeling which already emphasizes and tells us that this film is not at all any kind reality. This is effective and interesting as without clearly showing us any kind of image of a scene we already know about the themes and ideas of the film. I think it is important to start a short film with something that will introduce the audience to the kind of themes the film will be presenting throughout it. I think the film maker did this to purposely hit the audience straight away with what this short films ideas are and it allows the film maker to create a sense of being lost so that we can relate to how unknown and strange space is.

The scene then comes into focus where we see a small spaceship fly past and the camera follows it and pans to a large wide shot showing space and planets to set the scene. This was effective as the camera following the spaceship tells us that we will be following this spaceship and/or the people inside it throughout the film. I think this technique is very good as it introduces us to our fist moving thing/ character well and allows the audience to gain some basic understanding of what is going on. The large wide shot of planets is also great for setting the scene after the confusing hazy shot as we keep the confused and dizzy effects from the first shot and are then overwhelmed by the vast size of space which shocks us as viewers into seeing just how large the space and scene is. I believe that the creator did this to straight away make us focus our attention on the ship so that we can recognise it as a main object throughout the rest of the short film. He also used a very colourful space with a lot of the colours bright and sharp which i think Michael Shanks used sprecifically to set a more light hearted theme and instantly tell his audience that this is a comedic short film as well as sci-fi

Then i watched the introduction to Post It another short film by Michael Scott

Video:

The first shot shows a post it note on a bus stop. The shot has lots of bright colors which puts us as the viewer in a happy mood and sets the mood and atmosphere of happy, sad and a more emotional film focused on characters. The first scene instantly introduces us to a character to and shows us clearly what he looks like and how he dresses to allow us to recognize him as the main character. He is also carrying a box with nothing on it and we can't see what is inside. This adds a sense of mystery and hooks the audience straight away. This is extremely important as if you don't establish clear characters and their roles the narrative can become sloppy and confusing which makes the film not enjoyable for the audience. Also hooking the audience straight away is a great way of ensuring viewers are entertained and want to watch more to find out the mysteries. I believe that Michael Scott used this as his first shot to specifically set the audience's mood to be quite happy and carefree so that they are set up for the whole short film

Overall from watching these clips i have seen that some very important techniques of making films that i should include and take into account when creating my own short film such as setting the mood and atmosphere for the film, clearly establishing key characters to develop narrative ans setting the scene of the film well so the audience can understand characters relationships with their environment.

Media Magazine Creation Project

Make up/ Abuse advert response

This advert plays on the fashion industry to raise awareness for physical abuse towards women. It does this very effectively by using make up as an example of how people hide the things that happen to them just like how make up hides your true appearance. It also makes people feel very obliged to say something due to the nature of the image heavily orientated around pathos and making people feel uncomfortable due to the blood on her face which would make a lot of people somewhat horrified or disgusted that someone would do this to another person and also annoyed that she would try to hide it. Although the image may be considered highly offensive and inappropriate i believe that it is completely justified as it is clear that because it is so inappropriate that more attention is brought to the issue of abuse and it will ultimately cause people to pay more attention to this issue and hopefully make an attempt to stop it.

Logo Research

Logo Research

By definition a logo is a graphic mark, emblem or symbol that is commonly used by commercial enterprises, organisations or even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. This tells me that the entire point of logo is that it is meant to stick in the minds of those who see it so that it is instantly recognised by everyone. Looking at this tells me that for me to create a successful company logo for my TV or Film Company I must ensure that above all else that it is something that is easily recognised and makes people know exactly which company it is when they see my logo. This is necessary because it allows companies to easily be recognised on posters, TV, sponsorships without even having to put any proper text on it. This has many advantages as the company don’t have to pay as much to put just a logo on something, it is recognisable and also can sometimes be more effective and catchy as people don’t even have to read anything they can just see it.

Also my research into logos and what makes a good one lead me to see that logos that are simple, clever and catchy. This is shown in many logos such as this one I found while browsing the web.

As you can see the logo is simple and clever by putting a play on the image. Even if the logo had no text it would be easily recognisable. I think it is important for me to take inspiration of logos such as this as having a easily recognisable logo is essential to making effective advertising for a company and advertising for a product can be just as important if not more important than the actual product itself because almost all sales will completely rely on how a product is sold to an audience.

My research also brought me to the attention of logos that current actual TV stations use so I could see what kind of idea and themes their logos are portraying.

As you can see each of the logos keep a very simple theme, I believe it is also important for me to do the same when designing my logo as it makes the image the company gives off seem much more professional than a messy logo would. Taking inspiration out of both the memorable and smart adverts and the simple yet effective aspects of the examples above will be my aim when creating my own to ensure I create a logo that is easily recognisable and gives a good first impression of the company.

Lesson 25- Looking at company logos and their characteristics to inspire our own.

The twitter logo’s intention is to make you see how simple yet recognisable twitter is by using their recognisable font with the signature light blue colour on an overall very simplistic design to make their brand easily recognised. This is good for me as I want to make a logo that is simple effective and recognisable. 

The intention of the Instagram logo is to instantly make you see that the product is all about taking pictures because it is designed as a camera. It is good for me because it instantly conveys what it is about to the audience by just taking a look at it. 

The paramount logo portrays very good ideas about the kind of things I would like my logo to portray. The logo instantly tells us what paramount are all about and where they want to go. The giant mountain tells us that paramount want to make only the biggest and best films and it shows that they want to become a giant of a film company and over-shadow any other companies that they have competition with. Although this isn’t necessarily the goals of my company, I do want to use the idea of using a logo to tell everyone what your company is all about and what your goals are. 

I think that the rocky mountain film company logo has good attributes that I would like to incorporate into my ideas when designing my logo. It is a very simple design that is also very clever my making an image of mountains from film reel. Also the fact that they did it out of film reel shows that although they want to be big like mountains their primary focus is to make good films for you to enjoy which reinforces the idea that I want my logo to be able to easily portray the ideas and goals of the company instantly to anyone who looks at it.

Here's the result of the photo shoot/advert creating we had to do.