Fargo 1996

The use of long takes, wide shots and dramatic metaphorical mise-en-scene.
Fargo openeing shots resemble isolatation and hardship due to weather conditions- Isolation is a psychological concept i.e. being lost in the snow,buried and dying of hypothermia etc.
The landscape is really important for Amercian culture as they have masses of land - important part of mise- en- scene.
There is a juxtaposition from a black to white background - always used in Thrillers.
The sleet creates an enigma because you can't see anything i.e. Who's driving the car?
The pace - use of a long take which creates tension and anticipation, with the slow driving and the particular music it gives the car real importance.

Fargo Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEYPIO8DlY4

Cape fear 1991:

Strong simple imagery .
The use of water / lake.
Shot with Chiarascuro lighting.
A dark lit lake - enigma.. drown/being drowned/ something lurking in it.
The choice of just shooting the water in the dark light unlocks lots of primal fears.
Instead of cutting to a location or to a character dissolves are used which makes people and objects very ominous.

Cape Fear Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwhVBVcQfpE

Opening Sequence Research

The Brief:

• Create an opening / title sequence to a thriller lasting 2-3minutes for an 18 year old audience.
• Undertake Secondary research into real texts.
• Undertake Primary research into real texts.
• Undertake Primary / Secondary research of audiences for real texts.
• Undertake Primary / Secondary research into real institutions.
• Produce a production schedule.
• Plan production.
• Script idea.
• Draw / Plan storyboard.
• Source sounds.
• Secure cast.
• Secure locations.
• Produce running order.
• Produce shot list for shoot day.
• Film production.
• Edit production.

Preliminary Task

We’ve been looking at TV drama such as 'The chase' and 'Skins' and analysing the shots used and why. For example Tony's press up's and weights in the morning tells us he is a typical teenager who wants a nice body to impress the girls.























We have had a moving camera lesson and decided we are ready to practise some of our new found skills so ...our teacher set us the Preliminary task.
After learning all the camera functions, and how to use it, we used a storyboard that provided us with dialogue.. And out of this we had to create a situation. In our group, we decided that the suituation would be a the stereotypical idea that women should clear up, however me (playing the women) decided I would no longer conform to William Spooner bossing me around! Shooting from a storyboard made the process very quick, therefore we realised planning is essential if you want everything to run smoothly as you have guidelines. It was important in this task that we understood how a conversation between two people was shot and cut and the importance of continuity between shots and editing, and lastly not crossing the line (180 degree rule.)

Some groups edited their preliminary task very quickly, however some struggled. We managed to get the hang of the Final Cut pro very quickly and we managed to finish the editing after 2 lessons.

This is the final product:

This was the story board:

Using A Digital Camera

Firstly we got put into groups, where we went off into the grounds of our school and took pictures of eachother in order to use them in our posters.
Matt and Vicky told us about the functions on the camera, here are a few:

• On/Review button


• Focus Lens


• M=Manual


• The control wheel - A= Aperture (the cameras eye, the pinhole lets in light).


• Turning the wheel will change the shutter speed i.e. if you were taking a picture of the moon at night, you would need to let lots of light in (Aperture) but would also have to take the picture with a fast shutter speed, to avoid blurring the image.

After learning about the camera functions and how to use it, our class went out and took pictures inorder to create a poster using photoshop. This was the first time I had ever used photoshop, therefore i discovered how to play around with each layer i.e. brightening it, fading it out etc. In my case inserting the picture of Giovanni making him transparents however more bright so that he doesnt completely blend in with the background. I inserted the background in from google, however i made the contrast between the trees and church differ, inorder to make it spooky and to make the church look misty and scary. The text i inserted was the most difficult thing to get right in my opinion, as i needed the text to fit it perfectly. I still don't think its perfect, but it will do for my first try!

Introduction To My Media Blog

Hi And Welcome To My Blog!

I have no previous experience in Media Studies, I took it as i thought it would be interesting and something different. I am quite creative, therefore i thought media would be a good subject to take. It also fits in nicely with my other subjects (Theatre studies, Art and Sociology.) The fact that we will be making a music video was very appealing to me as i love to choreograph dances and work with other people etc so i thought it would be fun. To be honest im not sure what i want to do when i am older, but it will probably be something in the media field.