Attending the Medway Media Conference No17

This year’s Medway Media Conference was based around the topic of gender and partly next years theme Genre. Lucy and myself attended the conference an found it very helpful. The conference takes place annually at The Central Theatre in Chatham. The conference followed many aspects of the broad theme of gender, stated below are some of the presentations made:

-Men and Genre,

-Nordic Noir,

-Hitchcock's Blondes,

-Suffragette's,

-Representing Gay Men in the Media,

-Sexism in Media,

-How Girls are Represented in Disney,

-Plus Sized Models,

-Female Representations and Sexual Violence in American Horror Story,

-How has Social Media changes Feminism,

-Male Character in The Walking Dead,

-The Social Hegemony of the Heterosexual Male and Misogyny.

  

All of the above presentation helped me to understand the topics far better than I had before going to the conference. The themes that will help me with our preliminary task the most would have to be Nordic Noir and Hitchcock's Blondes. Using my knowledge gained from the presentations:

Nordic Noir:

Nordic Noir is an umbrella term to describe Scandinavian crime fiction, a genre which has gone stratospheric in the last few years on the back of the popularity of the Millennium series of books by Stieg Larsson. Kick started by the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the subsequent films, Scandinavian crime drama has gone from strength to strength with the screen adaptations of Henning Mankell’s Wallander spawning the BBC Four English language remakes starring Kenneth Branagh. The genre was further cemented into the psyche of British viewers in early 2011 when the 20-part Danish police procedural drama Forbrydelsen (The Killing), was aired on BBC Four. Racking up a million viewers per episode and winning over the hearts and minds of the UK media, Sarah Lund and her traditional Faroese knitwear shot to success and made Danish crime drama a must-see. Nordic Noir is the UK home of Forbrydelsen I, II and the forthcoming (and final) III, Borgen I, II & III as well as the Swedish Wallander films, Sebastian Bergman (soon to be seen on BBC Four) as well as the Van Veeteren films from the books by Hakan Nesser. Nordic Noir is also releasing feature films and has a library on DVD, including the original version of Insomnia, starring Stellan Skarsgard. All of the information above was in the presentation and can be strongly linked to our preliminary task as our theme is thriller and Nordic Noir as discussed is a unique and dark type of genre.

Hitchcock's Blondes:

One of the most esteemed directors in the history of filmmaking, Hitch was also a peculiar man with numerous obsessions, chief among them women and, specifically, blondes. All of his most renowned films feature a blonde in a pivotal role. These blondes aren’t just picturesque stars at whom Hitch directed our gaze. These blondes are beautiful and eye-catching, sure, but they also project the qualities of independence, poise, range, determination and, most significant, mystery. It’s that last quality which led to the related label “icy blonde” in reference to Hitchcock’s female protagonists. Hitchcock's leading ladies complement their classic 1950s/1960s beauty and elegance with an added curiosity that often drives the film, creating tension and contradiction. Hitchcock blondes are the "Bond girls" of Hitchcockian cinema, each radiating with beauty while servicing her own mysterious agenda. This mysterious secret world beneath her surface pulls the audience deeper into Hitchcock's universe of suspense. The Hitchcock blonde represents a restructuring of the submissive, domestic female popular image of the time. While she fits the physical appearance of the classic model, she operates as a modern woman with a simmering sexuality and emotional complexity hidden beneath a clean wardrobe, aloof perfection and hairspray. The blondness of her mane only amplifies her duality: an iciness stored within the buttery innocence of flawless style. Her sex appeal is indirect; she is a cool exterior with an inner fire. All of information above will help innovate our preliminary task as Hitchcock’s work is very sternly linked to thriller and he has been very successful with all of his work.

Preliminarily Task-4

The next step we took as a group was to collate all of the videos we had filmed look over them as a group and start peicieng the videos together. Scanning through the videos we found many were off centre, not in focus or that we needed to shoot that take again. Taking this into consideration we use all of the videos that we all agreed were suitable and priced them together to form a rough idea of what the video would look like. After playing what we had through we noted down the shots we would need to complete the video for the next lesson and to ensure the takes matched the originals we knew the actors (Lucy and myself) would have to wear the same outfit, hair and makeup as we did in the original shots to ensure the shots did not stand out and the final video would look professional. 

To add to this we then began to look for music that would fit in with the video and would ultimately add to the effect we intended to have on the audience. Due to this we looked for music that provoked suspense and tension for the beginning portion of the video were the two actors are having a conversation. We also looked for sound affects such as a bang and scary voices for when the third scary actor appears. The music then progresses in the videos final moments to a loud heart beat as one of the actors flees the scene and the video comes to a close. Here are some examples of the shots we took to enhance the video and provoke tension and emotion in the audience. 

The shot shown above is a worms eye view shot. This shot is used to show that the audience is at lower point that the actors in the frame. We used this shot as it reflects the danger the actors are in. The audience is watching the video and feel sorry and as venerable as the actors that is why this shot was used. This ultimately triggers emotion in the audience. 

The shot shown above is an over the shoulder shot. This shot is used to focus on one actor when they are having a conversation to get across their emotion and point of view as the camera is only focussed on them. 

The shot shown above is also an over the shoulder shot. This shot is used to focus on one actor when they are having a conversation to get across their emotion and point of view as the camera is only focussed on them. (Lucy is this shot).

The shot shown above is a two person mid shot. This shot shows two actors in a shot from just above the waist up. This shot can also be used to show a conversation and it also shows parts of the setting in the shot.  

The shot shown above is a birds eye view shot. This shot is used to show that the audience is at higher point that the actors in the frame. We used this shot as it reflects the danger the actors are in similar to the worms eye view shot. The audience is watching the video and feel sorry and as venerable as the actors that is why this shot was used. The shot us also used to show the actors emotion as she s facing in the angle of the camera and her head is tilted upward. This angle allows the emotion to be captured and shown clearly to the audience. 

Preliminarily Task-3

After sitting down as a group and brainstorming ideas with the help of a now complete storyboard we have now progressed onto the stages of filming. We followed the storyboard closely and chose our setting carefully. We shot in a building that worked well with our chosen theme of thriller as it was quiet and we were able to flicker the lights when shooting scary scenes. We took a range of different shots and made sure that they matched up to allow the video to look professional when it came to the editing stage.

Game Of Thrones- Winds Of Winter Analysis

I have chosen to analyse this chosen episode as practise for the longer and more in detail clip my group will have to produce after completing our prem task. However, this analysis does help will creating the plot and story line of our prem task. As well as this the episode shows many unique ways of using sounds and camera movements to create emotion and suspense this is very useful to my group and myself when editing our prem task.  

"The Winds of Winter" is the tenth and final episode of the sixth season of HBO's television series Game of Thrones, and the 60th overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D.B Weiss. In my opinion the end Season 4 seemed to suggest a new chapter was going to begin for many of the main characters (Tyrion left King’s Landing, Stannis arrived at the Wall), while Season 5’s finale was the darkest hour in a show that had plumbed the depths of darkness all season (Jon Snow and Stannis killed, Arya blinded). This season, the show put on what might just be its finest hour to date, as the main character’s found most of their goals slowly becoming complete. Cersei Lannister is Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and all that opposed her are dead. Jon Snow is King in the North, and the majority of the Houses in the North stand behind him, ready to fight the Night King. Arya Stark is murdering her enemies with the training she got from the Faceless Men. Sam has found heaven in the form of the greatest library in the world. Tyrion Lannister is Hand of the Queen, not because his father gave it to him, but because he earned it. Daenerys Targaryen is coming to Westeros with her unstoppable army.

But for every “happy” ending in this finale, a shadow looms. The largest shadow, of course, was the one cast by the first half an hour of the program, dedicated to King’s Landing. The show, which has always operated in a certain format, switched things up a bit, with the opening scene taking up around a third of the hour. We’ve had episodes dominated by long sequences before such as “The Lion and the Rose” and “Hard home”, but never at the bottom of the hour rather than the top. The music in the opening scene was striking and intense. The track sounded like nothing we had heard under our scenes in Westeros before, and with good reason. Even as we contrasted Margaery’s hair being braided for her with the High Sparrow shrugging himself into his plain shift, something already seemed very wrong. Cersei: “Confess it felt good beating me, starving me, frightening me, humiliating me. You didn’t do it because you care about my atonement, you did it because it felt good.” In one fell swoop, Cersei took out everyone in King’s Landing who stood in her way, in the show’s largest bloodbath to date. (Olenna asked her sneeringly the last time she saw her: “What are you going to do, kill them all yourself?” Turns out the answer was, “Well actually…” The High Sparrow. Margaery, Mace, and Loras Tyrell. Kevan and Lancel Lannister. Pycelle. Even Tommen. His absence, more than Cersei’s, seemed to be what triggered Margaery’s certainty that something terrible was about to befall them all.

By leaving her son in his chamber to watch the destruction of the Sept, she revealed to him who would really be running things from here on out, and Tommen, knowing that he could never stand up to such a horror, did the only thing he could. He took off his crown, threw himself out the window, and joined her death toll. Ten episodes ago, it would have been the ultimate punishment for her. Now it was just another notch on her belt, and with him gone, there was nothing to stop her from sitting on the Iron Throne herself: Cersei Lannister, First of Her Name, the Mad Queen. But although Cersei might have achieved her happily ever after, the shadow lies in wait. Down south, Olenna and Varys have finally come together to solve a problem like Dorne. In doing so, they also join forces with Daenerys Targaryen and her oncoming army to take out the Lannisters. Jaime rides to King’s Landing, thinking he will rescue Cersei from her trial, only to discover she’s moved beyond his help. The horror he once worked so hard to prevent, the horror that drove him to slay his own king, forever ruining his name, had been perpetrated by his own flesh and blood, at least in part. Walder Frey: “Here we are now, two Kingslayers!” When Jaime was feasting with the Frey's the serving girl smiled coquettishly and looked away, caught staring at the highborn lord. But that face was merely one she wore. Underneath, we learned that serving wench had minced Walder Frey’s sons into the pie. Underneath that face was Arya Stark.

Following Arya, the girl who left Winterfell so long ago is a cold-blooded killer now, and one that should frighten anyone she meets. Not that Sansa is much warmer. The scene between her and Jon earlier in the episode was one of the few sweet spots in the episode, as they cheer on the official arrival of winter. But although Sansa says that only a fool trusts Littlefinger, the man still poured poison in her ear about how she was the trueborn Stark, while Jon is “a motherless southerner.” The way the smile slowly slipped from her face as she caught Littlefinger’s eye, surrounded by chants of “King In The North,” is worrisome. It is he who sits upon the Iron Throne, not her. Tyrion: “I’ve been a cynic for as long as I can remember. Everyone’s always asking me to believe in things: family, gods, kings, myself. It was often tempting until I saw where belief got people. I said no thank you to belief. Yet here I am. I believe in you.”

If Littlefinger and Sansa take Jon Snow down, there will be no resurrection. Jon Snow has gone and done the honourable thing again, dismissing Melisandre from his service after learning she burned Shireen at the stake. It may be true that these are the sorts of things he does not expect to be happening in his name. But we already know that doing the “honourable” thing is also usually the stupid thing, as discussed in my character analysis of Ned Stark. Daenerys Targaryen is finally turning her back on Essos, Meereen, and even Daario Naharis. She has no need for love. She only needs the best of those around her, be it their swords, their ships, or their wisdom. From Theon to Yara to Grey Worm to Missandei to newly appointed Hand of the Queen Tyrion and Varys. Of course not forgetting her three dragons. Daenerys Targaryen is not the only Targaryen in the world. Littlefinger may call him a motherless southerner. Lyanna Mormont may have just crowned him King in the North. After this episode, after nearly 20 long years since A Game of Thrones was first published, we finally saw what happened inside the Tower of Joy. We finally saw Lyanna whisper to Ned Stark, and hand him a baby, the one he took back to Winterfell and told everyone was his bastard. This was skilfully revealed through a shot from the baby to Jon Snow's face. 

This post will help with my preliminary task as when analysing the episode I was able to take away from it unique camera angles that triggered emotion. This could be very useful as the aim of my groups video is to provoke a reaction from the audience. Also the story line and plot of the episode was jaw dropping and highly detailed which made for an amazing finale in my opinion. This is also useful when shooting our video.

Preliminarily Task-2

We then continued our brainstorm and used a story board to map out our ideas for this task. The story board is shown below. We made sure to include a range of shots and angles to make the video as interesting as possible and fit the Thriller Genre. The storyboard is important as it will help us to make a smooth transition from a script to filming, and allows us to see the film before filming. The storyboard is a rough plan of the shots and storyline we would like to use in our final outcome. However shots may be developed when shooting takes place. 

Preliminarily Task-1

As a group we sat down in class and decided that our theme and genre for our preliminarily task would be thriller. Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television, having numerous sub-genres. Thrillers are characterised and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. We discussed the themes common within the genre and brain stormed some ideas. A common theme in thrillers involves innocent victims dealing with deranged adversaries, as seen in Hitchcock's film Rebecca (1940), where Mrs. Danvers tries to persuade Mrs. De Winter to leap to her death.

My Group

Ellie Spencer-Webb- A skilled camera woman who will act as a key member of the group due to her skill, she is also taking A-Level English which allows her to check grammar and could help to write scripts.

Joby Oukhouya-A good director, able to edit videos as well as help to map out camera shots.

Lucy Czaplinski-Also a good director, can be used as an actor when called upon to do so as well as helping to edit videos. When our tasks progress to a higher level Lucy will be able to apply makeup to actors.  

I chose this group because all of the members are hard working and can work independently and in a team setting when called upon to do so.