White Girl
The opening shot used for the extract is an established shot, which shows the audience where the setting and mise-en-scene. We can see that the grass (which is a bright green) and two buildings is the centre of attention indicating that families and children live here. The use of the non-digetic music indicates that the figure in the background will be a young character as the tone of the music is quite friendly and childish. The very bright green mise-en-scene exaggerates the young character Leah, as the environment looks child friendly and a place which holds happiness.
The extract the cuts to a close up shot of the girl pedalling on here bike in where the camera tilts side making an obscured effect. The camera focuses on her trainers suggesting how young she is and looks to be a playful child so far, the close-up also focuses on the little pink bike that Leah is riding, once again demonstrating how young she is. A high-angle shot is then used to show the clear blue sky and sun shining suggesting that this is how the child should be and that maybe she is naïve, innocent and is openly prone to vulnerability by how open and simple the sky looks.
As Leah places her bike against the wall, a close up is used to focus on the pink bike however, you can not see the whole bike as it is blocked off by a grey fence which could suggest that there are problems in her life that do not allow her to be a happy child that she should be.
A medium shot is then used to show Leah collecting ‘skunk’ off another male character showing that her life is not as normal as it could be and foreshadowing the upcoming events and showing how open she is to vulnerability, as she has been manipulated to buy drugs. Furthermore, this shows that her lifestyle is not normal and is missing the basic needs as a child.
(To be continued...)
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Research - Initial Titles for the Magazine
Masthead - Title Ideas
Here are some ideas of magazine names that our group thought of that would fit the Indi/Rock genre:
Indieitis - This title came from the idea that 'Indie' is the focus of our magazine and 'itis' comes from the end of a word normally associated with a disease, however we found that this was a good thing, as we wanted to portray to the audience that the Indie/Rock genre lifestyle is like a disease and the music is like a drug. This was also liked by our target audience when asked, as out of the overall number of 10 people, 7 liked this for the magazine.
AIR - This is a simple anagram of the words 'Alternative' 'Indie' 'Rock' as these are the genres focussed on our magazine. It is a very simplistic idea, as there are other alternative magazines such as 'Q' and 'NME', which gives it a more alternative feel. Also, the word 'air' could also be associated with air guitar, also connoting the genre of the magazine. When asked, this was the 2nd most popular title, as 8 liked this idea.
Rapture - By definition could mean getting carried away by overwhelming emotion, often listening to music. This is a good title name for the magazine due to the fact that rapture seems quite rocky as it seems like quite an aggressive word. This was the most popular title, as all 10 people thought it would suit the indie/rock magazine.
Azure - Normally categorised as a blue/purple colour. It sounds pretty cool and modern for a magazine title, it would attract our target audience as the magazine is aimed at teenagers. The name is overall quite catchy and is memorable.
Here are some ideas of magazine names that our group thought of that would fit the Indi/Rock genre:
Indieitis - This title came from the idea that 'Indie' is the focus of our magazine and 'itis' comes from the end of a word normally associated with a disease, however we found that this was a good thing, as we wanted to portray to the audience that the Indie/Rock genre lifestyle is like a disease and the music is like a drug. This was also liked by our target audience when asked, as out of the overall number of 10 people, 7 liked this for the magazine.
AIR - This is a simple anagram of the words 'Alternative' 'Indie' 'Rock' as these are the genres focussed on our magazine. It is a very simplistic idea, as there are other alternative magazines such as 'Q' and 'NME', which gives it a more alternative feel. Also, the word 'air' could also be associated with air guitar, also connoting the genre of the magazine. When asked, this was the 2nd most popular title, as 8 liked this idea.
Rapture - By definition could mean getting carried away by overwhelming emotion, often listening to music. This is a good title name for the magazine due to the fact that rapture seems quite rocky as it seems like quite an aggressive word. This was the most popular title, as all 10 people thought it would suit the indie/rock magazine.
Azure - Normally categorised as a blue/purple colour. It sounds pretty cool and modern for a magazine title, it would attract our target audience as the magazine is aimed at teenagers. The name is overall quite catchy and is memorable.
Research - Colour Schemes
I decided to ask my target audience of 16-18 year olds, what colours they were most attracted to, to use on the front cover of my magazine and throughout the magazine. I tried to use mostly gender neutral colours, as the magazine is aimed at both girls and boys. However, it is quite difficult to find gender neutral colours because the indie/rock/alternative genre generally use quite dark but vibrant colours
This colour scheme was the most popular when asked. It was described as "simple but effective" as these colours are quite dark, but also quite bold. In addition, these colours are quite neutral for both boys and girls, although the colours could be argued to be quite boyish as they are dark, but show the quite 'rocky' and edgy feel.
This colour scheme uses quite bold and bright colours to convey the rock and indie feel. In addition, the colour scheme looks quite like the colours the magazine NME would use, which is good as the magazine I want to make is an indie rock magazine. However, the colours are very simple and maybe too bright. As I asked my target audience what they thought, they thought it was too bright to be a consistent theme throughout the magazine.
This colour scheme is very neutral and has quite a soft feel, as they are pastel-y colours. Although they are not as 'rocky' as the other colour schemes have had, this could be quite a good colour scheme to use, as it connotes a more alternative and indie feel, just not as heavy as the other colours used before. This colour scheme was also quite popular throughout my target audience.
The colour scheme used here are very light, pastel colours which use the typical gender neutral colours of pink and blue to give the understanding that the magazine will be gender neutral. However, the colour scheme doesn't show the theme of the magazine well at all, as the theme and genre of the magazine is based on rock and indie. These colours would suit more on a pop magazine such as Smash Hits or Top of the Pops, but not on the magazine I want to create
Overall, the best colour scheme used here is number 1, as it connotes the indie rock feel for the magazine I want to make, as the colours used are mostly blacks, reds, blues and greys
This colour scheme uses quite bold and bright colours to convey the rock and indie feel. In addition, the colour scheme looks quite like the colours the magazine NME would use, which is good as the magazine I want to make is an indie rock magazine. However, the colours are very simple and maybe too bright. As I asked my target audience what they thought, they thought it was too bright to be a consistent theme throughout the magazine.
This colour scheme is very neutral and has quite a soft feel, as they are pastel-y colours. Although they are not as 'rocky' as the other colour schemes have had, this could be quite a good colour scheme to use, as it connotes a more alternative and indie feel, just not as heavy as the other colours used before. This colour scheme was also quite popular throughout my target audience.
The colour scheme used here are very light, pastel colours which use the typical gender neutral colours of pink and blue to give the understanding that the magazine will be gender neutral. However, the colour scheme doesn't show the theme of the magazine well at all, as the theme and genre of the magazine is based on rock and indie. These colours would suit more on a pop magazine such as Smash Hits or Top of the Pops, but not on the magazine I want to create
Overall, the best colour scheme used here is number 1, as it connotes the indie rock feel for the magazine I want to make, as the colours used are mostly blacks, reds, blues and greys
Results from Magazine Questionnaire
Introduction
As a group we had to ask 10 people each. We had to make sure that it would be a fair questionnaire. So we had to get equal responses from both genders by asking 5 girls and 5 boys to fill out the questionnaire.
I chose to focus on asking students who were in my college instead of the general public unlike Lauren who wanted to find out what young adults outside our college thought. After collecting the responses from my target audience i found out that:
Boys:
The majority of boys are aged 16-18 and they hardly brought any magazine's and if so they would only buy it for a specific reason, such as a technology magazine. The majority of the boys said "If they were to buy a magazine they would be more interested in the picture and style of the magazine", instead of what is inside the magazine. Most of the males wanted to see Review on music,articals on concerts/events and interviews. This showed me what the males were intrested and what i'd have to include in my magazine for it to attract males, instead of producing a biase magazine.
All of the boys were attracted to bright colours that caught their attention and the fonts used on the magazine. When asking them what magazine they would be attracted to more, a majority of the boys picked an Indie/Rock magazine such as 'NME' and 'Kerrang¬!', which shows what kind of music magazine boys would be interested in and fits my chosen genre.
The second dominant genre of music picked was R&B, which was a similar result from another questionnaire from our group. There were harldy any 'other' boxes ticked, showing that they were the main music genres to be included in the magazine.
The average amount taken from the pie chart for how much they would like to pay for a magazine would be around £2.00 - £2.50 indicating how much i would sell my magazine, if i put a price on it.
Girls:
The age of girls was the same as boys, mostly 16-18 years old. Majority of the female brought magazine's 'very often' unlike the males, indicating that my magazine may slighlty appeal to females more.
Like the boys, the girls are also attracted to magazines with loads of images. Although they were more intrested in articals and issues that would be in the magazine. They wanted to see interviews with celebrities included and tips with fashion and 'new trends' surronded with bold colours. The genre they mostly picked was Indie/Rock and once again R&B, showing me that these two music genre were the most popular with young adults.
The girls mostly brought KERRANG,NME and Vibe, giving me an idea of what kind of magazine they are intrested in. KERRANG! and NME are two magazine that fit the Indie/Rock genre.
Most of the females said that they would pay £2.00-£2.50 for a magazine, however some said they would pay above £2.50.
Conclusion:
From looking at the results from the questionnaire, i found out that both of the genders were interested in the genre Indie/Rock, showing me what genre i should base my magazine on.
Furthermore, the magazine should include interviews with celebrities, posters, up and coming concerts and events and must use bright and bold colours as well as loads of images to attract my target audiences attention. Finally, i will sell my magazine for around £2.00-£2.50 so that my target audience will buy my magazine.
As a group we had to ask 10 people each. We had to make sure that it would be a fair questionnaire. So we had to get equal responses from both genders by asking 5 girls and 5 boys to fill out the questionnaire.
I chose to focus on asking students who were in my college instead of the general public unlike Lauren who wanted to find out what young adults outside our college thought. After collecting the responses from my target audience i found out that:
Boys:
The majority of boys are aged 16-18 and they hardly brought any magazine's and if so they would only buy it for a specific reason, such as a technology magazine. The majority of the boys said "If they were to buy a magazine they would be more interested in the picture and style of the magazine", instead of what is inside the magazine. Most of the males wanted to see Review on music,articals on concerts/events and interviews. This showed me what the males were intrested and what i'd have to include in my magazine for it to attract males, instead of producing a biase magazine.
All of the boys were attracted to bright colours that caught their attention and the fonts used on the magazine. When asking them what magazine they would be attracted to more, a majority of the boys picked an Indie/Rock magazine such as 'NME' and 'Kerrang¬!', which shows what kind of music magazine boys would be interested in and fits my chosen genre.
The second dominant genre of music picked was R&B, which was a similar result from another questionnaire from our group. There were harldy any 'other' boxes ticked, showing that they were the main music genres to be included in the magazine.
The average amount taken from the pie chart for how much they would like to pay for a magazine would be around £2.00 - £2.50 indicating how much i would sell my magazine, if i put a price on it.
Girls:
The age of girls was the same as boys, mostly 16-18 years old. Majority of the female brought magazine's 'very often' unlike the males, indicating that my magazine may slighlty appeal to females more.
Like the boys, the girls are also attracted to magazines with loads of images. Although they were more intrested in articals and issues that would be in the magazine. They wanted to see interviews with celebrities included and tips with fashion and 'new trends' surronded with bold colours. The genre they mostly picked was Indie/Rock and once again R&B, showing me that these two music genre were the most popular with young adults.
The girls mostly brought KERRANG,NME and Vibe, giving me an idea of what kind of magazine they are intrested in. KERRANG! and NME are two magazine that fit the Indie/Rock genre.
Most of the females said that they would pay £2.00-£2.50 for a magazine, however some said they would pay above £2.50.
Conclusion:
From looking at the results from the questionnaire, i found out that both of the genders were interested in the genre Indie/Rock, showing me what genre i should base my magazine on.
Furthermore, the magazine should include interviews with celebrities, posters, up and coming concerts and events and must use bright and bold colours as well as loads of images to attract my target audiences attention. Finally, i will sell my magazine for around £2.00-£2.50 so that my target audience will buy my magazine.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
'Life On Mars'
The first editing shot used that is obvious to the audience is the reverse shot which is used quite quickly and equally between each character. This is used to show a heated and intermit conversation going on between a male (Sam) and female (Maya). The audience can tell that the two characters are more than colleagues, as the editing shot is clearly trying to show emotion from both characters. Maya is standing behind Sam, contradicting the equal use of camera time on both characters, showing that she clearly has lower statues than Sam, who is the male protagonist in this episode. Sam is showing obviously that he is more interested in the case rather than talking to Maya about a personal issue. This shows that Sam is the dominant figure in their relationship even though she is working aside him in the case. The use of close up shots shows how Maya reacted to his dismissal of not wanting to talk about personal issue, which suggest that Sam is a stereotypical male who does not talk about his emotions and can be closed up. Eye-line shot is also used in this scene to show the audience what Sam was analysing on his computer empathising Sam’s higher statues in the episode. Furthermore, he is the character who is sitting down and analysing the case, showing that he has more power over Maya. His power is proven when he takes Maya off the case. He does not ask her nicely to leave the case but demands her putting his personal relationship with her aside. Maya begins to object to his decision but as he has greater power over her she is helpless and leaves, while he returns to his computer.
The next editing technique used is an ellipsis to quickly cut to the next significant scene, in which Sam immediately answers the phone to Maya. The ellipsis has been used to show the audience that time has passed from the previous scene. The camera is focusing on Sam and not Maya empathising his power and position. Maya tells Sam where she is and what she is doing disregarding Sam earlier. As the scene progress a long take is used showing the significant of the scene. Later on in the conversation Maya seems to be in trouble. She is kidnapped and murdered. This is where Todorov’s theory is used, as the Equilibrium is changed to Disequilibrium. The director or playwright has chosen for Maya to be one main feature of the episode for the audience to find it interesting.
A cutaway is used to show Sam arriving at the scene in his car, where Maya was taken from. He walks slowly to the crime scene and walks straight passed the other officers, once again showing his higher statues and authority. As he continues to walk the camera pans out and uses a medium shot to focus on his body language as he walks towards Maya’s bloody shirt. The audience can see that his body language shows how vulnerable in this situation. He is also staying calm and acting professional instead of freaking out. As he stares at Maya’s shirt, a colleague approaches him. His tone is calm and shows no emotion, keeping his personal life aside and focusing on being professional.
A significant shot is shown to show Sam trapped by the swing through both chains beside him. This may indicate foreshadowing to the audience, as he will not be able to keep the façade up and will show that he will become weaker; which is evident in the later scenes.
As Sam walks away from the scene a high-angle shot is used to show the audience the view of the children’s park. A children’s park has the connation of a safe and loving place, however this is ironic as there is a dangerous crime scene taking place there, which places the children’s park as an unsafe place. The high angle shot also puts the authority in a more powerless and defenceless position as the audience is watching them and it could be the killer’s viewpoint.
A cutaway is used again to show Sam in his car driving away from the crime scene. The audience can only see Sam from his car through the car window, suggesting that the window is a barrier used so the audience do not see the condition and emotion from Sam. However, when the camera then moves into the car we begin to see the surface of how he is feeling. He begins to let his guard down and show that emotion. An over-the-shoulder shot is used so the audience can see into the car mirror, indicating that he is finally letting the audience in. It then goes to a close-up of Sam’s face showing him crying and the pain from the murder of his girlfriend. We then get the camera showing Sam from outside of the car suggesting that he does not want to let the audience back in.
The non-digetic music used creates suspension and tension, as the audience want to know what will happen next.
Suddenly a car overtakes Sam and he is brought back into reality by the digetic sound of the car horn. He immediately stops and a jump cut is used as he gets out of the car to allow himself to calm down. He exhales a couple of time so that he can back to his normal state instead of the “mess” he is in and re-gain his power back. A high-angle shot is used again to show that Sam is alone and away from civilisation. The digetic music playing allows Sam to become back to his old self, however, as the music gets increasingly louder it foreshadows Sam being run over.
As Sam gets run over it is fast paced showing the severity of the accident and how fatal it was. The camera angle then goes back to a high-angle, which is a significant view point, as the busy roads before now have a massive gap where there is no cars and it is empty, suggesting that Sam is now alone and has no-one by his side. The camera then turns upside down indicating that is how Sam life has taken a turn for and that all his power and position has been stripped away from him. We then get close-up shots of Sam’s face as the audience can see how helpless Sam has become. Furthermore, the audience can hear than an ambulance is coming for Sam, indicating that help is coming and that Sam does not always uphold the powerful position.
The scene then cuts to a dreamy-like scene where it is in slow motion and quite blurry showing the audience that Sam is in the same state. Bright lights are used, which could suggest that there is a new beginning or story, which will lead on.
Finally, digetic sound is used as Sam is trying to be brought back from the dreamy state he is in.
In conclusion, the protagonist Sam is perceived as a powerful man who has authority over all of the characters in the clip. The editing used emphasise the importance and dominative character of Sam in ‘Life On Mars’.
Genre and Audience
I have decided that my chosen genre would be Indie/Rock genre. But first I have to find out if my target audience will be interested enough in the Indie genre. The magazine will be aimed at 16-18 years old, as it is a music magazine aimed at college students. I have created a questionnaire which will find out what my target audience would like in my magazine.
My magazine will be similar to other music magazines that have been already published. They will include the conventional qualities like other magazine, such as reviews of new music and upcoming events that will be related to music, for example small gigs. There will also be gossip, posters and interviews. This will help my magazine to be successful as I have researched other magazine that have the same ideas.
Overall, I have picked this genre as I know it will appeal to a vast audience that will be interested as there is not many Indie magazine aimed at young adults.
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