THEORIES and KEY TERMS I've learnt

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Take care to PARAPHRASE any of my blogged work or lessons notes; don't use my quite distinctive linguistic style!! Use yours!!

You'll learn terms and theories/ists linked to all 4 of the Key Concepts (previously MANGeR, changed for 2021 exams onwards...): LAIR... Your coursework learning is tightly linked to your exam learning, in which you're also specifically assessed on both your use of terminology and of media concepts and theory.

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GETTING STARTED: BASIC SHOTS, ANGLES

[don't copy/paste my text, paraphrase; put into your own words] 

We were shown these ... then challenged to create each! I've put our shots into a Ppt with some brief explanations of why certain shots might be selected.

VODCAST: SHOT VARIETY IN FILM OPENINGS

[don't copy/paste my text, paraphrase; put into your own words] 

I examined the opening 2 minutes of 3 film openings, focusing on the number + variety of shots. I counted the # of cuts and logged each basic shot type (from ELS to ECU) + any notable uses of high/low/dutch angles. The short video presents my findings over sample short clips from each: 

• Film 1 (genre/s + main production company, budget, year)
• Film 2
• Film 3

eg: Yesterday (musician rom-com from Working Title, $26m, 2019)

You have to keep copyrighted clips short or risk a video being blocked. 'Fair usage' copyright law allows use of short clips. If you find film openings on YouTube you may want to make an offline copy in case its taken down. You can use a mix of screenshots + clips (sound on/off; use slo-mo + repeat clips where its helpful). To be clear, the task is:

Take 3 film openings from a list I'll provide

Note how many idents + how long these are in total.

Starting after the end of the last ident, count the number of cuts in the 1st 2mins (regardless of how abruptly that ends). 

Note how long the opening actually is

Now watch again + using ECU/BCU/CU/MCU etc denote each take (the shot before a cut) in a simple list, written or typed. Screenshot or photograph the list, + count the number of each basic shot type used.

Note at least 1 striking use of LA/HA/DA from the 3 openings overall (ie, from all 3 pick one low angled shot).

Feed this detail, + your reflection on the importance of shot variety, into the vodcast with screenshots/clips/titles and voiceover. Upload to your Media YouTube account, setting it to unlisted or public but NOT private, and embed it.

SHOT TYPES CROSSWORD!

[don't copy/paste my text, paraphrase; put into your own words] 

I tested my grasp by doing this online crossword!!! (embed a screenshot of it completed)

FILM INDUSTRY TERMS

[don't copy/paste my text, paraphrase; put into your own words] 

I'll keep updating a simple non-alphabetical list here, clustering terms on a single line after any single lesson where I've learned it, but as I do I'll also be adding it to a Word doc with my own definition/explanation, which I'll post here when its finished!! We started learning these way back in week 2...

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CONVENTIONS RESEARCH: KEY INFLUENCES

This is one of the most important posts on your blog!!!
Its close to being a draft of Eval Q1!
Its basically your chance to very unsubtly scream at the examiner - oi, mate - look over here at all this APPLYING of research!!!
Overall, its a summary of your key findings - you needn't repeat all the detail (but highlight the specific bits that you might mimic/simulacra/be influenced by with direct/specific illustration). Key word here is MIGHT - you're not stating you WILL be influenced by aspects you include here.
Its definitely helpful to include egs you've seen that you consciously reject/want to avoid - explain why. You could do that as a separate vodcast or section, or just as you go along theme by theme.

Try to be as specific as you can about how you might apply these aspects of media language (included titles, idents etc) BUT remember that this is FUTURE TENSE ... this is how I might/will use this influence. It doesn't need to be a true reflection of what you eventually did.
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1. IDENTS, COMPANIES, PRODUCTION CONTEXT
2. TITLES
3. SOUND; GENRE SIGNIFICATION
4. 1ST SHOT
5. CENTRAL PROTAGONIST + NARRATIVE
6. MISE-EN-SCENE FOR EXPOSITION
7. TRANSITIONING TO MAIN FILM
8. AUDIENCE/REPRESENTATIONS + OTHER POINTS

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CONVENTIONS – titles, idents, production context

... USE THE GUIDE POST

1. IDENTS, COMPANIES, PRODUCTION CONTEXT
2. TITLES
3. SOUND; GENRE SIGNIFICATION
4. 1ST SHOT
5. CENTRAL PROTAGONIST + NARRATIVE
6. MISE-EN-SCENE FOR EXPOSITION
7. TRANSITIONING TO MAIN FILM
8. AUDIENCE/REPRESENTATIONS + OTHER POINTS

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THEME 1: IDENTS, COMPANIES, PRODUCTION CONTEXT

How many idents do we expect, how long are they, are they simple/complex, is there a specific order, do they use music...

This is a simple task, requiring limited use of terms/theory, but clear + specific research is key: look at a good range of openings, calculate the total running time of idents, and use this as a basis for estimating a typical number + duration.

NOTE: You will see some with none or only one; note those, but make clear they aren't typical

How many idents do you expect to see? (3-4, but sometimes 1 or none!)
How long is a typical ident? (varies! typically 6/7 secs?)
Are idents typically complex or simple? (mostly simple?)
Do most have sound (jingle/music)? (yes, but look at audio bridge point)
Do we see any difference between studio/subsidiary + Indie movies on this? (studio idents often longer)
Is there any particular order (reflecting company role or size)?
Are they all for production co's, or also for distributor/s?
Is this the same order as in titles?
Is an audio bridge, starting the film audio, common over 1 or more ident? (you'll often see WT or Warp's ident with the film sound starting over it)

THEME 2: TITLES

Careful consideration of the number, duration, sequencing, design and selection of titles.

Number of people/company names in titles:
Start/end time of main titles: 0:02-1:01
Running time of main titles: 1min
Titles in order using exact text (including case) [see this eg]

4 THEMES TO STRUCTURE TITLES RESEARCH + ANALYSIS

See below for some further pointers.

THE RAW NUMBERS:

• how many titles do you expect to see?
• provide counter-examples with very few or no opening titles
• what total running time is typical?
• again, note exceptions

THE SPECIFIC WORDING + ORDER:
Look carefully at the precise wording for each of these:

• companies (presents, a ... film/production, in association with...)
• director (auteur theory reflected in TWO credits - a ... film, directed by; where do these come in the order?)
• actors (introducing, starring, featuring, co-starring ...)
• technical roles (you need to be clear on which you will include; look for specifics eg director of photography or cinematography by?)

THE DESIGN
Look at use of these aspects and how they are used to distinguish/denote relative importance:

• (sans-)serif (consider to what degree titles connote genre here)
• size (names usually bigger than role, by etc; bigger stars bigger title?)
• colour
• case (UPPER, lower, Sentence case, maybe mixed)

FX, ANIMATION
Some titles are simply static, but often there's some form of movement...

• animation/movement/FX?
• transitions or straight cuts? fade to/-in from black?
• intertitles? (over black screen)

THE COMPANIES
State how many companies were credited, and use your earlier research to discuss why/what different terms were used for different companies. This is very important detail for creating convincing titles.
Look out for companies/institutions like Film4/BBC (often commission a film to be made), or BFI, National Lottery, UK Film Council, Screen Yorkshire, EM Media (etc) - who more often finance productions.
Try to use terms such as Indie, subsidiary, conglomerate, big six to denote the types of company.

ROLES
How many specific roles were given a title? How were actors roles split up? Are you surprised at how many/few there are? You could have a look at IMDB's full credits listing to get a sense of how selective these opening titles are!!!
Which ONE person gets TWO credits for the same role? Detail precisely the order/wording of this.

You must provide a complete list, in appropriate order + with appropriate wording, of titles you intend to use as a result of the research on roles + companies.

GENRE/NARRATIVE CONNOTATIONS
Denote (describe in detail, illustrating with screenshots) the design of the titles: font (Georgia is a serif font; Helvetica is a sans-serif font), colour, case (UPPER, lower, Sentence), size, positioning, any movement/animation, any additional graphical elements.
Discuss the probable preferred reading: what the filmmakers are trying to symbolically communicate to the audience. Do the titles/their design connote/signify the genre and/or anything about the narrative?

THE FILM INDUSTRY

You can gather as much material as you like on the film industry; you need to show overall you've learned from the research you've presented that you've understood the fundamentals of how the industry works for Indies and big 5 alike. This is an opportunity to utilise and reinforce exam-centred learning.

You should find yourself using a LOT of terms - update your overall list as you go.

You'll need to reflect on this learning in the evaluation question on distribution - and there's a lot of industry context to the titles as well.

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Use the following themes to help you set out what you've learned about how the film industry operates, using key terms (and updating the theory post as you do!). Once you've summed up the big 5 make particular use within each theme of your Warp v WT (indie v vertically integrated subsidiary) knowledge to boost your exam preparation.

1. THE BIG 5 AND GLOBAL MARKETING/DISTRIBUTION - GANT TEST AND RISE OF CHINA
2. CAST/STARS
3. GENRE, HYBRIDITY
4. FRANCHISE, IP
5. SOUNDTRACKS/OSTs
6. DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... HAS THE RELEASE WINDOW BEEN SMASHED? PVOD, NETFLIX et al
7. DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... PIRACY, HOME CINEMA + THE END OF THE DVD BOOM
8. DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... MICROBUDGET MOVIES, SELF-DISTRIBUTION + MY MEDIA EXPERIENCE!
9. DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... VR AND GAMING
10. AGE RATINGS
11. FILM FESTIVALS, CRITICAL ACCLAIM
12. CGI/SFX
13. 3D/IMAX (3D), 4D
14. REPRESENTATION ISSUES: BECHDEL TEST, MALE GAZE, GEENA DAVIS, WHITEWASHING

THE BIG 5 AND GLOBAL MARKETING/DISTRIBUTION - GANT TEST AND RISE OF CHINA

CAST/STARS

GENRE, HYBRIDITY

FRANCHISE, IP

SOUNDTRACKS/OSTs

DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... HAS THE RELEASE WINDOW BEEN SMASHED? PVOD, NETFLIX et al

DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... PIRACY, HOME CINEMA + THE END OF THE DVD BOOM

DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... MICROBUDGET MOVIES, SELF-DISTRIBUTION + MY MEDIA EXPERIENCE!

DIGITISATION, DISRUPTION, CONVERGENCE ... VR AND GAMING

AGE RATINGS

FILM FESTIVALS, CRITICAL ACCLAIM

CGI/SFX

3D/IMAX (3D), 4D

REPRESENTATION ISSUES: BECHDEL TEST, MALE GAZE, GEENA DAVIS, WHITEWASHING

See Dr Strange whitewashing...