G322: Key Media Concepts (exam)

This part of the blog is designed to act in conjunction with your lesson notes and resources on the VLE.


There are two sections to this paper:

Section A: Textual Analysis and Representation (50 marks)

You will watch an extract from a TV Drama (including US Drama) and analyse the ways in which the following elements represent a specifed social group:


Mise en scene

Meaning 'everything within the frame': Location, Costume, Props, Facial expression and Body Language, Lighting, Balance of objects within the frame.

Thanks to King Alfred Media for putting this powerpoint together that illustrates the elements very well. The clips are from films but exactly the same comments apply for TV Drama.
Mise en-scene
View more PowerPoint from kingalfredmedia
Lighting
In the early years of Hollywood lighting wasn’t meant to draw attention to itself. In some countries such as Germany lighting was used very early on to create dramatic effects. Low angle , low key lighting was used in German Expressionist cinema . There are three main aspects to lighting:
  • key lighting – hard light, used to highlight focused on a particular subject
  • Fill lighting – used to illuminate the framed space overall
  • Backlighting – this can distort and brings out silhouettes (commonly used in horror / film noir / expressionism).

    Camera Work










    Editing



    Sound

    Key words:
    Non diegetic: Sound that doesn't exist in the world on screen, the characters can't hear it. This includes the music soundtrack, voiceover or narration.
    Diegetic - The sound that exists in the world created (diegesis). Can be on-screen (were you can see it) or off-screen (where you can't see what's making the sound but it adds to the creation of the created world).
    Foley: this is sound that has been added in post production, it can include explosions, car sounds, horses hooves, people falling over (foley artists are great at finding objects to create sounds that you can't really do in real life, like stabbing someone; they'll use fruit, paper, coconuts...all sorts!!) ; sounds that are difficult to record during filming or need to be exaggerated.
    Parallel: Sound that matches what is on screen: a light happy music to accompany a beach scene, or eerie low tones in a dark forest.
    Contrapuntal: Sound that goes against what's on screen. Can be used to exaggerate, create comedy or shock. Imagine a lovely beach scene and then you hear those cello notes. EEEEEkkkkkkkkkk




    The social groups represented (and some examples of extracts that have been used in previous exams for you to analyse) are:

    Gender







    Age







    Class and Status





    Ethnicity              



    Sexuality






    Ability/Disability




    Regional Identity



    Several!



    Responding to the question:
    You need to show analysis of the aspects by indicating what is done and how it represents the specific focus (gender/age etc.)


    So for example is you used the extract from Monarch of the Glen and were asked about the representation of age:

    The low angle shot of the middle aged male when he and the younger female are arguing clearly represents him as superior and dominant. He is stereotypically more powerful than her. This is emphasised after a reaction shot with a high angle shot of the girl, which adds to the sense of powerlessness we associate with youth.

    By picking out specific examples and explaining how each aspect represents the stereotypical (or subverts/challenges that stereotype) you are showing the examiner you can analyse, can give examples and can use terminology accurately.

    This notes grid is useful.




    Here is a real life example of a Level 4 answer:

    Candidate answer Question on the representation of GENDER

    Extract from Primeval series 2 episode 3


    G322 June 2010

    Section A (48/50)

    Throughout the extract representations of gender are illustrates through various elements such as editing and sound. A mix of dominance and equality is produced through the extract however overall it is conveyed that women are physically subordinate compared to physically strong and stereotypically hegemonic male.

    Representations of gender have been clearly illustrated throughout editing. For example a mix of pivot/panorama shots as well as fast tracking shots have been incorporated when the girl is trying to save and protect the male character. This illustrates the fast movement and action of the cut however it may also signify a chaotic environment where women struggle to take and maintain power. Another example of a tracking shot is portrayed when the male character is travelling down the rope. This editing however demonstrates to the audience the thought and power the character has from making a quick rational decision which is a stereotype of male behaviour. A long establishing shot is used which clearly signifies the three male characters in an equal line. The equal line personally connotes equality however as the majority of characters were male this illustrates women inferiorly in serious situations. Near the end of the extract one male in the process of saving a women from another dangerous man however the framing of the cut demonstrates representations of gender. For example the female protagonist was placed significantly behind the male which illustrates the girl’s subordination compared to the male.

    The next element which produces representations of gender is through sound.

    In one cut once the female had saved the male from the life threatening situation from the dialogue such as “Come on” with a high intensity, provoking the animal, suggests bravery and a strong masculinity. This dialogue may have been said as an attempt to regain status as he’s just been saved by a girl. At the start of the first cut a synchronisation from the strings is displayed when the music matches to the sombre or negative topic. “Let her go” by a different male suggest he may think of the male as being superior therefore shouldn’t have to run after her. In this scene within the barn one female protagonist was trying to bribe the male character through dialogue. Therefore this could represent woman being manipulative to convery power in antithesis to males who assert their power in a physical manner. “My best coat!” also creates representation of women such as an obsession of appearance and vanity. However positive representations towards woman are also portrayed. For example once one woman has undertaken the stressful experience the other female protagonist says “you okay” which suggests women to be expressive and caring in contrast to males who are minimal with their dialogue. The diegetic sound the dogs barking emphasise the bad situation of the woman conveying the woman’s vulnerability further. This is also emphasised by the harsh sound effects which build and sustain tension creating a climax.

    The next factor which displays representations is through mise en scene. Expressions play a key role, for example when the blonde male is approached by the sabre toothed tiger his expression coveys fear leading to a sympathetic response from the audience however this contrasts greatly to the calm and collective expression of the girl, which suggests a swap in roles involving dominance. At the start of the scene the colour intensity is high on the male compared to the grainy background. This demonstrates the natural setting however focuses the attention on the male protagonist which could suggest male superiority. The females clothing (blonde) presents a male style which is in contrast to the stereotypes of a feminine woman, however another female character in the film is represented with a high pride in her appearance which conforms to the stereotype.

    This however portrays the different roles and characteristics of women which may have changed in contemporary times. The props such as the heavy machinery emit connotations such as manual masculine feelings. However the female is in charge of the stereotypical male vehicle. Therefore this suggests equality and an improvement of women within jobs and status compared to the traditional domestic duties. Even though the women within the extract portray dominance through props, the male characters continually illustrate dominance. For example the males usage of the guns for example, the shot gun in the barn and the hand gun involving the key protagonists. This contrasts to how the brunette women displays authority by attempting blackmail. Overall this could suggest males and women are equally dominant although just portray it through different criteria.

    A final way in which representations of gender have been displayed is through camera work. For example the low angle looking down on the male in the whole illustrates his vulnerability and helpless position which displays him as subordinate. However a different low angle in conveying the tiger illustrates dominance of man and a hierarchy with the animal being lower. Establishing shots such as before the male jumps looking on in the long distant horizontal plane suggests his thoughts which leads to the male’s hasty decision. An extreme close up on the woman’s face when she’s been knocked down suggest demonstrates her fear and panic further suggesting the women’s weak position compared to the male. A pivot shot is used which creates the effect as the camera is on a fixed position that someone or something would be looking at them for example the dangerous tiger which overall represents vulnerability to the male and the woman.

    Overall the particular extract conveys elements of representation through various ways of media aspects. In conclusion a mix of equality is suggested overall, however the traditions where the male characters save the day are clearly presented. Although a mix of response from empathy juxtaposed to spite is displayed from the audience involving both genders.

    EAA 19

    EG 19

    T 10

    Section A Total 48


    Question 1 (48 marks)

    The candidate response is detailed, thorough and sustained from the outset and the response is analytical and clearly links analysis between the micro aspects of the TV drama to that of gender representation; this is exemplified throughout the candidate response. The candidate begins by analysing the technical feature of editing, the richest of the micro features to disarm and discuss and does this very well. For example, “editing however demonstrates to the audience the strength and power of the character has, from making a quick and rational decision, which is a stereotype of male behaviour”. There is confidence in analysis here embedded with a command of and appropriate use of terminology.

    In addition the candidate is able to select/ discriminate with the use of appropriate examples from the extract. The response is one, which addresses the question in a non-chronological order. The candidate’s response continues with equally confident analysis of sound, again a micro feature, which is under analysed by a majority of candidate in this exam. Another response demonstrates this point explicitly- “The diegetic sound of the dogs barking emphasises the bad situation of the woman conveying the woman’s vulnerability further. This is also emphasised by the harsh sound effects which help build and sustain tension, creating a climax.” The analysis of mise en scene and camera cleverly sustains argument with frequent exemplification.

    An excellent and detailed response, the use of terminology is excellent and importantly analysis of representation covers a range of points, linked to examples constructed by the technical aspects of the drama itself. This response was awarded a high Level 4 mark.


    Section B: Institutions and Audiences (50 marks)

    You are focusing on the film industry and the people who watch films.

    Through specific case studies, candidates should be prepared to demonstrate understanding of contemporary institutional processes of:
    production,
    distribution,
    marketing and
    exchange/exhibition
    at a local, national or international level as well as British audiences’ reception and consumption. There should also be some emphasis on the students’ own experiences of being audiences.

    KEY WORDS:
    Vertical Integration – where a studio owns all stages of a films production, distribution and exhibition.
    Conglomerates – a collection of diverse companies (usually with an overall owner) not bound by common activity or product, but often reinforcing even promoting each others interests.
    Oligopoly – the control of the market for a particular product by a small group of companies e.g. the Hollywood film industry: 20th Century Fox, Disney, Universal, Warner etc
    Horizontal integration – where companies develop by buying companies in the same section of the market.
    Synergy – using a range of diverse companies to promote a single product e.g. Warner – Spiderman film and ride in theme park.
    Disney’s Pirates of the Carribean started out as a ride in a theme park then promoted throughout Disney’s conglomerate including in Disney stores.
    Viral campaigns - Iron Man 2. The director tweeted pics of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow
    Cross Media Convergence - We no longer live in a world where TV, phones, films, games exist seperately on seperate devices






    Distrubution

    Digital Distribution and audiences. Talk in 2007 by Peter Buckingham head of BFI. Bit old but points he makes are highly relevant.

     


    Case Studies, companies and films you should use as examples:
    Working Title Films (British, owned by Universal) - Les Miserables, Rush, World's End


    20th Century Fox films (owned by 21st Century Fox) One of the big 6 Hollywood film companies. Avatar is the case study you have done in detail but you might look at X Men and particulalrly Wolverine (2013).

    Vertigo - Independent film production company. Monsters is your case study.
     You could look at The Sweeney for it's place as a film adaptation of a very British TV series. It came in £1million under budget at £2 million. It topped the UK box office in it's opening weekend and earned £1.5 in that opening weekend. Pretty successful stuff for a UK based film studio that aims to produce 4 films a year in comparison to 20th Century Fox's 14 movies in 2013.




    The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production and distribution, marketing and exchange

    For this question it is crucial that you are able to discussDIGITAL FILM PRODUCTION- Digital distribution, digital delivery or electronic software distribution (ESD) is the practice of delivering content without the use of physical media, typically by downloading via the internet straight to a consumer’s home. Digital distribution bypasses conventional physical distribution media, such as paper or DVDs.- Digital cinema refers to the use of digital technology to distribute and projectmotion pictures. A movie can be distributed via hard drives, optical disks (such as DVDs) or satellite and projected using a digital projector instead of a conventional film projector.There is excellent material on the economic issues that surround this at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_cinema. It summarises some of the debates very well.There’s more good stuff on this at screenonline and windows media and launching films.Find out more about the Digital Screen Network in the UK which has been supported by the UK Film Council.DIGITAL FILM PRODUCTIONThe wikipedia on this is great. Try to focus on the ‘Economics’ stuff towards the end of the page rather than the earlier techie stuff (which you can ignore)

    Level 3 answer:
     

    Section B (39/50) Film Industry

     

    What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?

    The technology that is used in the film industry is on a massive increase. This increase has created massive advantages for both the institutions and the audiences with the institutions, it has made the whole production, distribution and exhibition much cheaper, saving millions for companies such as warner and fox.

    3D is now making loads of money for these companies as well as the cinemas. Having a film out in 3D would mean that a lot more people would want to go and see it so that they could witness these effects. Then with people going to the cinema, this then raises money for both the film company and the cinema. Because the development in digital technology it now means that companies can produce these films for a much cheaper price. As well as the institution enjoying the success of 3D, the audience also benefit because they can now enjoy the whole cinema experience, because they cannot watch the 3D at home. This is also good for the cinema because when a big 3D blockbuster is out it means they will get a lot more customers because the audience will all go to see it.

    As well as digital helping 3D and cinemas, it also helps the movie itself. This is because movies can now have better sound and a better soundtrack, because of the change from analog to digital. This now means that it is easier to record the songs, meaning a better soundtrack. This is an example of convergence, as well as cross-media convergence such as having a soundtrack on a film.

    With technological convergence digital has helped because now, for example, everything that was going to be put on a mobile phone, is now saved digitally. Which means it creates the software using less memory, meaning you could have a lot more on there.

    With digital media continuing to increase, it means that different companies will now benefit more than they would have done without digital media. An example of one of these companies would be Warp. They started out as a record label, but have now diversified as a film company, as well as a online store. Because of the increase in digital media it now means they can now create and produce films for a much cheaper cost, because they do not have to shoot on 35mm film. Doing this also means that they do not have to spend a lot of money on the distribution and getting the films to the cinema, because they now do not have to transfer over 100 film rolls costing £4k each. As well as digital media helping the production and distribution, it also helps with the exhibition of films made by Warp. This is because digital films can now go to cinemas that belong to the Digital Screen Network and Screen Yorkshire. This is a massive advantage for Warp because they get some of their funds from Screen Yorkshire, which means that they will be getting their films shown for a very cheap price. With all of these helping the film institution, digital media also has effects on the film audiences, in different ways.

    For the audiences, home entertainment is crucial in their daily life. Because of the increase in new figital media, it now means that they have a better viewing experience.

    For example, digital media includes HD and BluRay. This is good for the audiences because nto only does it make their viewing much better, but it also means that a lot more films will now be shown on TV in high definition and in a better quality on DVD and BluRay.

    As well as audiences being increased because of the newly developed digital media, it now makes it much easier for the people at home to make their own films. This is because digital cameras are now selling cheaply on the market rather than film roll cameras. This means the ordinary people and people of the audience can now shoot their own clips. As well as the hardware, digital software such as Final Cut Pro allow the audience to edit their films for a much cheaper price. And not only can they edit and shoot their own films, they can also distribute, advertise and show their films on different website such as Youtube, DailyMotion and advertise cheaply on their Facebook pages; and what we did with our own films was advertise and share them on each of our own blogs.

    EAA 15

    EG 16

    T 8

    (39)

     

    Question 2 (39 marks)  Examiner's comment

    Film is the media area addressed. The candidate begins with evaluation of 3D as a digital initiative, but there is an absence of the use of specific examples. The response shows a systematic and methodical attempt to address and assess the impact of digital initiatives on the film industry. The response further considers technological convergence and advantages for the audience, but this needs developing with more detailed exemplification and case study material in relation to ‘Fox’ and ‘Warner’ film studios, as mentioned in the opening paragraph. The candidate progresses to a discussion of ‘Warp Studios’ as a case study and how cross media expansion is a benefit for the institution and there is an attempt to evaluate the advantages of digital initiatives for this company. This is a high level 3 response in terms of explanation, analysis and argument and a low level four response in terms of use of examples, an area where higher marks could have been gained with a little more thought. Terminology used is mostly relevant and accurate.







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