Why is it important to have British film?

British film in today's society plays a vital role in contemporary culture, without it the world wouldn't be able to gain an insight into the identity of UK nation and regions as well as the changing face of Britain's different communities. It is important to have British film as if they become successful it enables them to have the power to change attitudes and making people think, both at home as well as abroad. It is also significant as it is the mirror in which we see ourselves and the window through which the world sees us and the impact of British film upholds particular traditional values and mocked, challenged and undermined them. The importance of British film is it's diversity through class, cultures and multiculturalism, for example in the successful film, Notting Hill starring Hugh Grant, it explores the various cultures living in the particular area showing the audience the diversity within Britain. In another British film, Four Weddings and a Funeral also starring Hugh Grant explores the characteristics of different British people as well as the different classes within our society showing the sophistication of the middle class in comparison with the working class.

A2 Dancing In The Distraction Factory

Andrew Goodwin wrote a theoretical paper called "Dancing In The Distraction Factory" proposing many key features which distinguish a music video as a form.

• There is a relationship between the visuals and lyrics as the visuals usually illustrate, amplify and contradict the lyrics.


• There is a relationship between the music and visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.


• Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography, such as live stage performances in heavy rock.
  
• Demand on the part of the record company for alot of close ups of the main artist or vocalist.


• There is likely to be reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of females, but also in terms of systems of looking, i.e screens within screens, binoculars, cameras, etc.
  
• There are likely to be intertextual reference either to music videos or to films and TV texts.

Pop: Britney Spears; Hit Me Baby One More Time

Britney Spears is a well known pop-artist selling millions of records in her prime, I chose the music video "Hit Me Baby One More Time" as it films her in school dressed as a young girly girl which is very strereotypical of girl pop. There are many elements of the video which predominantly link to the Andrew Goodwin's theory, as their is a demand on the part of the record company filming various close ups of the artist showing the audience of who provides the vocals overall. The video is based in a high school with other students around, starting with the class breaking into a choreographed dance routine. The locations within the school include the gynasium, classroom, corridor and playground showing the mise en scene to be consistent throughout the video. There is a relationship between music and visuals as the rhythm of the music connects with the video itself which is essentially a key theatre within Goodwin's theory.

Rap: Eminem and Rihanna; Love The Way You Lie

Certain aspects of this music video conforms to Goodwin's theory as the lyrics link with the particular visuals shown, as the visuals illustrate the story to the lyrics of the song. For example Eminem raps about the house in the video being set on fire and it shows the house burning in certain parts of the video. It links with the genre of rap as it is seen to be violent which is shown in the video between the man and woman fighting as well as the excessive drinking which also shows the relationship between the lyrics and visuals as there is rapping about the woman wanting to leave the man shown in the video. The use of lyrics and visuals helps the audience gain a better understanding of what's actually going on in the video which is essentially like telling a story from the lyrics. Another theory proposed by Goodwin is the demand of close ups of the main artists who are Eminem and Rihanna, the structure of the video is sufficient as although there are actors performing the story based on the lyrics there are certain camera shots making the audience aware of who provides the vocals.

Country and Western: Billy Ray Cyrus; Achy Breaky Heart

This particular music video highlights Goodwin's theory of iconography as the artist is filmed performing to an audience as a live stage performance, there is also a variety of close ups of Billy Ray Cyrus as he's primarily the main artist singing. There is relationship between music and visuals as the filming has quick cuts from the artist to the audience linking to the style of the music.

Rock: Blink 182; All The Small Things

This music video links to some of Goodwin's theories as there is a relationship between the specific music and videos due to the fact that it's quite upbeat, fast and flowing to the genre of the music. There is a short, choreographed dance routine in part of the video and there are certin aspects of editing used such as quick cuts from one scenario to another. Throughout some of it there is a link to voyeurism shown in terms of systems of looking through binoculars as a man is being attacked by a dog referring to someone who habitually observes others without their knowledge which is another significant feature distinguishing a music video, there is also a demand on the particular record company for alot of close ups; there is a main artist but as Blink 182 consists of a group of 3 singers there are some close ups of the members individually and together through the duration of the video. This particular genre of music portrays the band to have their own particular music video style as well as iconography as it shows elements of some live performances to their fans.

Heavy Metal: Slipknot; Left Behind

By watching this music video you automatically get the indication that it's based upon a heavy metal genre, it essentially has a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The reason is because the band are singing about Corey's childhood, the lead singer of Slipknot and there are some elements of the video where there's a reconstruction of him growing up as a young child. As well as the relationship between lyrics and visuals there is also the relationship between the music and visuals because the speed and the volume of the specific genre is illustrated by the video itself. There is also a range of different camera angles, for example there are many close ups of the lead vocalist as well as shots of other members of the band itself; this links to Goodwin's theory as there may have been a demand on the part of the record company for the specifics camera shots.

A2 Media: Practice Productions Evaluation

As we are currently preparing ourselves for our A2 course we were assigned to make a short video called "The Phonecall". We were placed in groups of approximately 4 people following a plan of how the shooting had to be done, we had the choice of the scenario of the filming and we decided as a group to film 2 characters consisting of a male and female. The story was based upon a young vulnerable girl who rang up the boy telling him she was pregnant and trying to confide in him despite the fact they had problems in the past, he becomes worried and frantically tells her he'll be there to comfort her. We met the aim of our task by following the brief of the various shots to make in order to create a successful video.



I feel that the filming was very consistent and steady when filming the different shots, we managed to apply a range of camera shots in order to gain a more in depth understanding of the developments of filming. Although the characters didn't travel as much and were practically in one spot during filming meant we couldn't use much of a tracking shot but managed to pan the establishing shot of the young boy before he receives the phonecall. This type of filming was very proficient as we made sure that the speed of the camera was steady enabling the audience not to feel disorientated whilst watching the short film. We also used a ranges of camera angles as well as shot distances enabling the film have a more proficient and professional approach for the target audience. There were many problems such as the mise en scene, although we planned the establishing shots of both characters we didn't take into consideration any plug and light switches that were behind the male as it drew attention from the audience. As this was a problem it would be something significant that we'd consider in the future.



When it came to editing the shots we did start off quite basic due to the fact that we had no experience of using the editing program on the apple macs, we took it in turns of changing and adding features to the film. We applied various sound effects to some shots, such as the establishing shot of the male was in a crowded room which meant we needed to apply loud talking sounds to fit in with the scene. We also applied various transitions to our film such as the short credits towards the end informing the audience of the characters we filmed as well as the creators.

I felt the task was extremely beneficial as it gave me a good understanding of the different ways of editing the range of shots we filmed. In the future I will be using my understanding of capturing shots along side editing them sufficiently. To watch our final product click on this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhrASy_jL9s. Overall I found the task very enjoyable despite the fact some elements became tricky to edit but as a group we took it in turns to overcome any errors.

Slide 15 - Conclusion

In conclusion, I am extremely pleased with the outcome of my completed magazine as a whole and I feel I've developed through the use of technological elements I encountered whilst working through media product. My understanding of Photoshop as well as blogging has improved as I learnt new skills to apply when creating magazine and posting blogs regularly; despite the fact I'm happy with the outcome the only thing I'd take into consideration in the future is to spend equal time on planning as I tended to put a great deal of energy into my front cover and contents page which resulted me in somewhat neglecting the double page spread. I'd also vary the image shots and distances for my magazine to make it look more appealing, but overall I feel I have completed the task of using various forms and conventions applied in a professional magazine.

Slide 14 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

This slide shows the basic knowledge I had of using Photoshop and the progression I made through planning.

With regards to the style of writing, when creating my preliminary task the writing wasn't as professional as it could have been, whereas my main task looks more organised and structured efficiently but my preliminary task looks very dull and boring. As you can see on my preliminary task my images weren't edited and I placed them in any place on the page making my contents page look unorganised and badly structured as I did very little planning. Therefore I edited my photos in the main task so that they look sufficient enough to look less tacky.

The house style for my preliminary task wasn't consistent at all, the use of colours were different and the way it was constructed wasn't planned out which is why I'm glad that I leant from the things I done wrong in my preliminary task and made the improvements in my main task. As my background on the contents page was very dull as I used the "gradient" tool I made sure I changed it to look more formal by using the "fill" tool to make sure I applied different elements when using Photoshop. As I didn't organise my headings for the contents page in section in my preliminary task I researched various magazines and found that it looked more professional using specific titles for various stories included in my Fusion product.

Slide 13 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back at my preliminary task I feel that I've learnt a lot about the different elements of Photoshop as well as knowing how to construct a magazine with a professional approach.

As you can see in this slide my preliminary task wasn't as successful as my main task, I used the primary elements such as headings, headlines and basic images. I then did extensive research on how what to apply to my media product and progressed considerably as I took more time into my planning and this was therefore show in my completed magazine.


I feel my heading is unclear in the preliminary task and doesn't stand out as much as the type of font I've applied to my main magazine, having a dull title would portray the magazine to be somewhat boring and unappealing. On my front cover of the preliminary task there isn't a main stories as I have placed two images showing there to be two different stories, whereas in my main task I made sure I applied one main story on the cover to attract my audience and is also planned out and structured efficiently showing it to have a more formal yet professional approach.


With regards to the headlines I have used on my main task it explores a wide range of stories that are highlighted in my music magazine, this is a good convention compared to the way I've set out my preliminary task as I have ensured I've used different stories to attract different types of readers who are interested in my media product. This contrasts with my preliminary task as I used headlines that were to do with formal news within the school which showed I didn't widen the range of stories that could have been included in my magazine such as games, competitions and things helping students to relax in becoming stress free.


When thinking of applying a background to my preliminary task I simply used the "gradient tool" which was very simplistic, making me have a two tone background. Although this did fit in well with my task I made sure I applied the "fill" tool making sure my main magazine had more of a professional approach to it. As I have mentioned numerous times before, my planning for my preliminary task compared to my final task was extremely unorganized resulting in a messy and tacky product, I felt that planning helped me dramatically change the way I was creating my media product.

Slide 12 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

In this slide it also shows my technological understanding and progression through the use of Blogger, as at the start I had no experience on blogging which was something I needed to pick up quite quick. When first creating my posts as you can see I put minimal effort into them, but as I started to understand using blogs I began to get to grips with blog spot and I learnt to add photos which are shown in this evaluation. In conclusion, I feel I have learnt a great deal about blogging and how to add features to my blog.

Slide 11 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

This slide shows my technological understanding of using Adobe Photoshop, as you can see my final media product for my magazine is extremely advanced compared to when I made my school magazine for my preliminary task.


I've shown that I've gained a good knowledge of using Photoshop and applied a variety of techniques when creating texts as well as editing images, which include using the magnetic lasso tool, spot healing tool, contrasting the image and using hue, saturation as well as colour variation. I also used urban fonts website for some of my text.

Slide 10 - How did you attract/ address your audience?

As well as attracting and addressing my audience on the front cover I've also done it on my contents page by:


Including an editor's message for the readers using informal language to suit the audience I'm addressing. I've made a section of the contents page with stories sponsored by Fusion which you wouldn't find anywhere else.


I used a variety of images to show the different bands included in my magazine and I had another free inducement for the Fusion reader on the contents page for a chance to get free iPod downloads which also makes them feel as if they're getting more out of their money and this inducement is what a typical, young and technological audience would be interested in.

Slide 9 - How did you attract/ address your audience?

There are many ways I attracted ad addressed my audience, I did this by:
Making sure that I had clear and eye catching titles for each page making my magazine look professional as well as organised. I used clear, bold headings to support a variety of stories for my readers to have a clear understanding of.


Another way I have attempted to reach my target audience is by having it reasonably low priced as it's a weekly magazine and not many readers would want to spend a great deal of money as most of them are young. The fact that I have also included a website related to my magazine unlocks a whole new platform for advertisers to broadcast their products to their different audiences.


I have included different competitions to make the reader feel as if they're getting more out of their money and to attract them to thinking that they could win something if they purchase my product.


I have also included an "exclusive" interview to influence the reader to purchase my magazine as it would appeal o them because they will be getting stories they can't find anywhere else.

Slide 8 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

In this slide I have outlined the target audience for my media product, I have chosen my reader's to be both males as well as female because there are a rage of articles throughout the magazine to suit both genders.


They would essentially be aged between 18-36 s there are some elements of this genre of music that are too explicit for younger reader, also it's primarily upon rock and indie music and may not interest anyone over 36.


My readers would have a interest in a variety of things including:
Music, Fashion, Modern Technology, Attending Festivals, Gigs and Concerts.


They would be middle and working class; they'd either be in higher education, university and have a part time or full time job.

Fusion's ideal reader will also be extremely fashionable and be aware of all the new, current and up to date styles in today's society.

Slide 7 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I've taken into consideration two popular magazine publishing companies in the U.K which are IPC and Bauer, as you can see the magazine logos I have placed underneath their headings are the music magazines each of the companies publish.


The advantages of having my media product published by IPC would mean that it would be the second music magazine they'd publish, showing that they'd take a great deal of consideration into putting more money and promoting Fusion magazine as they don't have many music magazines to promote, besides NME. Whereas the disadvantage of having my magazine published by IPC would cause great conflict with NME for a target audience as they both focus on the same genre of music being indie, which could mean my magazine could be turned away as they'd both be rivalling each other.


On the other hand, Bauer have many music magazines that they've published but could be a disadvantage as the company won't have as much time in promoting Fusion as they have other dedications to other magazines they already publish. However, the fact they already publish a variety of music magazines would indicate that the company are experienced and could help strengthen the convention I've already applied.


After researching both companies, I've come to the conclusion that Bauer would be the ideal media institution that would publish my magazine.

Slide 6 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This slide primarily describes the particular social group I'm trying to represent in my media product; as the magazine is a rock and indie genre many people would stereotypically assume that the reader would be young, carefree and obviously interested in music. Also people who are interested in rock music as opposed to indie are assumed to maybe drink and take drugs as not any, but some rock musicians are associated with this type of lifestyle. Although sometimes this stereotypical assumption can be true I'm not trying to represent it in my magazine but it's what some people would expect young people to be associated with.

Slide 5 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

As you can see this slide compares my double page spread to one in a Kerrang magazine.

1. The idea of the images of separate band members in the Kerrang magazine influenced me to doing the same in my media product, this is a good convention as it informs the reader with the bands and the main story is focusing on them making the reader feel more connected with the magazine itself.


2. I have also put the names of each band member under each of their photos which helps a reader understand who the interviewer is talking about if they don't know the band already, this is another convention used in the Kerrang media product.


3. As I have done extensive research into stories in double page spreads I noticed that quotes are pulled out of the story itself as they are usually funny, interesting or even fiery which would make the interview appealing which is why I have included some in my double page spread.

4. As well as including images of the whole band I have used an image of one of the band members playing live, this is effective as it enables the reader to gain more of an insight into the performance element in the band portraying it to be a music magazine.


5. The main text consist of an interview with a male member of an indie band and a female member of a rock band which links in with both genres I'm trying to portray in my media product, the language used is informal, colloquial and uses a lot of slang which is another convention as it suits the target audience I'm trying to attract.

Slide 4 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In this slide I have compared my contents page to the contents page which is featured in the Kerrang magazine. As you can see my contents page is very similar to the one of Kerrang's as the layout influenced me when planning my media product.

1. My contents page has a heading to make it clear to the reader which shows a development into the conventions of a real media product.

2. Both contents pages have a main picture to show the reader that although the story on the front cover of the magazine is the main focus, it also show that there are many other stories within the magazine.

3. The heading above the contents is another convention as I've highlighted that it's a weekly issue and draws my reader's attention.

4. As you can see I've included heading to highlight the stories in sections which is another convention as the stories included in the magazine are well structured as well as organised, portraying a professional approach.

5. In Kerrang's magazine the publisher has included a short letter from the editor, which is very similar to what I have done with my media product. Having a short summary letter from the editor which has informal language and slang used, enables the magazine to connect with the target audience.

Slide 3 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Although there were many similarities on my cover I also compared the differences:
1. I've placed my inducements spread out over the cover compared to Kerrang.

2. As you can see there are two males on the cover of Kerrang portraying it's mainly targeted towards a male audience, whereas I put a female artist on the cover as well so I'm attracting both audiences equally.

3. I have a different coloured house style so that it wouldn't be too similar to Kerrang's music magazine. The colours on the Kerrang page mainly use blue to show it's more of a male dominated magazine, but the limited pink shows there are some elements within the product for female. To make sure my magazine is attracting both genders I used colour which would relate to the genre and not apply to one specific gender, by using red, black and white makes it seem more neutral.

4. The price and dateline on my cover is printed much bigger and bolder than Kerrang's showing that it's reasonably low priced.

5. Differences between the headlines on my cover and the one of the professional magazine I have focused my research on is that I've placed all my text in the left third as it's the first thing that catches my reader's attention. Whereas Kerrang have placed their text spread otu over the page, although it is clear and structured well I feel that it would be too much to cram into my product without making it look tacky.

6. The barcode is in the left third which also attracts the reader as they would get the impression it's a proficient magazine.

Slide 2- In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Here is how my media product uses forms and conventions of real media products:

1. The heading of my magazine and the Kerrang magazine product I have researched are similar in a variety of ways as they have a clear and recognisable title for the readers to remember easily. I also feel that my title of the magazine would be eye catching to my potential buyer when placed on a shelf as it has an informal look to it which would essentially stand out compared to other magazines.

2. Here I have included inducements for my audience which includes Competitions; this is a good marketing technique as it will make my reader feel as if they're getting more out of their money which would influence them to purchase my product.


3. As you can see on my cover and the Kerrang cover they both feature two main images linking in with the main story, this is effective as it shows the reader that it's the initial focus within this issue. This looks more professional because if there were a lot of images on the cover it will look too messy and unorganised, by making sure I have one image enables the magazine to have a professional approach and sell the main story for the week.


4. I have included headlines in my magazine which are placed in the left third also showing a professional approach, and I have made sure I have highlighted stories that will interest both a male as well as female audience.


5. I have made sure I had a main story heading which took up a majority of the page so that it stands out to the reader informing them that it's the main focus.


6. I thought of a variety of bands names to inform the reader of what's in the content of the magazine, and having them across the bottom of the page would inform the reader of what else is included in the content of my media product.

Slide 1 - Introduction

This is my evaluation for my creation for my media magazine, my product was created using adobe photoshop and the photos were all taken by me. It took on average around 3 months to complete the whole product which initially started off with the preliminary task as a trial plan to improve using elements within blogger and adobe photoshop, to the research and now this evaluation.

Music Magazine: Final Product

Audience Profile: Music Magazine

The magazine I will be creating for my main task will consist of a rock and indie genre, it will be a weekly magazine as it is focusing on two different types of music which therefore means there will be a great deal of information that wouldn't essentially fit into a monthly issue.

I have decided on the title of the magazine to be "Fusion" the reason is because if connotes a clash between both music genres suggesting they "fuse" together within the content initially fitting in with the magazine as a whole.

My target audience will be both male and female with a majority of the readers aged between 18-36 because some of the content may be explicit and contain bad language due to the stereotypical views based on the genre of music the magazine focuses on; the magazine will entail a variety of stories attracting both genders. I feel my audience would be interested in a variety of things including: music, fashion, festivals, concerts, gigs and modern technology. Some of the readers would be in higher education, university and have a part time or even a full time job. My ideal reader would be extremely fashionable and be aware of all the new, current and up to date styles in today's society. They would be wearing clothes from stylish retail stores such as Topshop, Topman, River Island, etc and attending a variety of music gigs such as V Festival, Reading and Download. The variety of cover lines I have used throughout the magazine will help my audience engage with the stories and i have related them to the uses and gratifications I have learnt about enabling my content to influence an individual.