Question 1

Menhaj Huda directed the film 'Kidulthood' Working with his friend George Issac Menhaj was able to get the total finance up to only 650,000, but he still thought this would be enough to make and produce the film. A problem that they would probably have come across was even though they were working with the production company 'Stealth', this was going to be their first movie, and exhibition companies wouldn't know how the film was goin to turn out.

Menhaj had another problem because his budget was lower than he thought as he had pay the writer's fee, the producer's fee, and some legal fees, he had to make cuts elsewhere, "We decided to shoot on 35mm and finish on High Definition, so if the film was a complete pile of rubbish we wouldn't be wasting money on getting a print". This would make the quality of the film not that good if they had a higher budget, but it is cheaper this way for them and even more if the film was a flop.

Convergence is when two things join to gather, eg. company's come to gather to make something else like EA games and the film producers of 007 to bring 007 the game, this is a convergence.

How to consume the film James Bond.

through the website http://www.007.com/ you can almost become part of the film.

A game avalible for XBOX 360 features the same front cover as the DVD
Instant Messenger Icons avalible to download
Wallpapers for your comupter avalible to download
An APP for your i-pod touch and I-phone avalible to download
A link to watch the offical music video
A link to play James Bond top trumps online

To what extent have the following two pictures gone through a process of mediation?

In this essay I will be analysing these two pictures, to see what they really mean. I will be doing this by referring to semiotics and ideology.

Semiotics is the study of signs, where a sign is defined as anything that has a meaning. Complicated ways of saying obvious things are a big part of semiotics. Semiotics is a part of "cultural theory." This includes, pop culture, advertisements, and much more. Anything can become the subject of analysis and have its meaning dissected and described. Here are a few French theorists such as ‘Derrida, Barthes’, ‘Deleuze’, ‘Guattari’, ‘Baudrillard’, and so on.

Ideology translates to the science or study of ideas. However, ideology tends to refer to the way in which people think about the world and their ideal concept of how to live in the world. The term was coined first by the French philosopher, Count Destutt de Tracy, who used the term in the 1700s to describe the more specific definition of the science of ideas. Today the term ideology is used in so many ways, that it is often difficult to know how to describe it.
Both of these images show connotations of destruction in America, and both show disturbing and shocking views of America.



The first image shows the statue of liberty, which in America, is a symbol of their independence and hope. But this changes when you look to the background and see the construction of the 9/11 attack. The September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others.

The image is contradicting it’s self, as Ellis island where the statue of liberty stands, is where foreigners use to get off the boat from other countries and the first thing they will see is this statue giving them hope freedom and independence. But the cause of the destruction was made by Al-Qaeda terrorists, and making the country full of hope, fearing for their life. The photographer has made sure that the statue of liberty is clearly shown among all the destruction that is going on behind it showing that America still believe they have hope, freedom and independence, but also showing that not everyone in America believes this and will try to destroy and cause pain to their own country; Knowing all that I believe that America and Americans have a lot of hope and strength to this day.



The second image shows the destruction of the pentagon, the ministry of defence, this is also linked with the 9/11 attack. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. In total ‘2,993 people’, died in the attacks. ‘The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 countries’.

Far in the back ground you can see the White House, whether this is intentionally or a coincidence we will never know, but I believe there are two different stories behind it. One is that the president is to blame for the reason of the attack, suggesting its corrupt and that there are a lot of secrets within the American government that America do not know about. On the other hand this could be seen completely different in sense that the government is being threatened, that he is a target of all this destruction as you can just see the White house as if it was next in line. Connotations are devastation, loss, hurt, tragedy and death.

So America have had a rough time but we are shown that they are strung country even with a conspiracy president, and semiotics and ideology have helped me see this through the two photos.

camra shots

Big Close-up - a shot taken very close to the subject (closer than would be necessary for a close-up), revealing extreme detail.

Bridging shot - a shot (cut) used to cover a break in time, or other break in continuity.

Close-up - a shot taken very close to the subject ( or with the subject of the shot very large in the frame), revealing a detail only. (i.e., the human face, or hands).

Coding - once the workprint and sound stock (mag) have been placed in sync, the rolls are coded with matching yellow edge numbers so they can be matched up later once they have been cut up into pieces.

Conforming - the cutting of the OCN to match the final cut of a film.

Tilt - to turn or rotate the camera up or down in shooting.

Contact print - a print made in a contact printer where the original element and duplicate element actually are pressed together at the point of expose (no lens involved). Workprints and "dirty dupes" are made this way.

Continuity of motion - the flow of action from one shot to the next as it is placed on the screen at the cut point. Placing the significant action at the end of a shot in the same area of the screen where the significant action will begin in the next shot.

Cross-cut - the intercutting of shots from two or more scenes so the fragments of each scene will be presented to the viewers attention alternately. - see parallel action.

Cut - in editing, a single unbroken strip of film.

Dissolve - a gradual merging of the end of one shot and beginning of another produced by the superimposition of a fade-out onto a fade-in of equal length.

Clapper - the sticks that are slapped together in view of the camera for the purpose of synchronizing film sound. These are usually, but not always, attached to the slate and appear at the head or tail of a sync sound take.

Dolly shot - a shot taken while the camera is in motion on a dolly.Dupe negative - a negative element printed from a positive print (an inter-positive). Release prints are printed from a dupe negative.Establishing shot - a shot used near the beginning of a scene to establish the inter-relationship of details to be shown subsequently in closer shots.

Academy leader - a leader placed at the head of release prints containing information for the projectionist and featuring numbers which are black on a clear background, counting from 11 to 3 at 16 frame intervals.

Fade-in - 1 a shot which begins in total darkness and gradually lightens to full brightness. 2.

Fade-out - the opposite of a fade-in.Inter-positive print - a fine grain print made from the conformed original negative which retains the orange cast of the OCN. The IP is used to produce subsequent dupe negatives.

Jump cut - A cut which breaks the continuity of time by jumping forward from one part of an action to another.

Lab roll - rolls of OCN compiled by the lab for printing which may consist of several camera rolls.

Legal effects - the lengths for fades and dissolves which can be executed by most printers’.

Library shot - a shot used in a film, but not originally taken for that film.

Long shot, a shot taken from a considerable distance. Often the LS serves as an establishing shot. (i.e., a human figure taken so it is shorter than the height of the screen)Master shot - a shot which covers an entire piece of dramatic action (usually a long shot, or wide shot).

Medium close-up - a shot between a MS and a CU. (i.e., a human figure taken from the chest up)

Medium shot - a shot between a LS and a MCU (i.e.,. a human figure taken from the waist up)Montage - 1) the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated shots or scenes which, when combined, achieve meaning (as in, shot A and shot B together give rise to an third idea, which is then supported by shot C, and so on), or 2) a series of related shots which lead the viewer to a desired conclusion (as in, shot A leads to shot B leads to shot C... leads to shot X; shot X being the outcome of the sequence).

Parallel action - a device of narrative construction in which the development of two pieces of action are presented simultaneously.

Sequence - a series of shots or scenes which has a beginning, middle and end (like a chapter in a book).

Shot - a recording of a single take.KeyKode - an extension of the latent edge numbers whereby each frame is given a number. These numbers are recorded as a barcode on the negative and can be read by a special reader in the lab or transfer house.

Sync pop - a single frame tone placed on the sound track so as to correspond with the "2" frame on the SMPTE leader.

'Does the media reflect society or is it merely instrumental in constructing it?'
I feel the media is both a reflection of the society but also aids in constructing it. There is no denying it, we cannot stay away from the media whether it’s a magazine, radio or T.V it is all around us all the time. Winning public opinion and raising awareness for an issue can all be helped by successful use of the media. We also have advertisement constantly in our face subconsciously making us by their merchandise, with their catchy tunes and subliminal messages. And my generation have been brought up with it; we don’t know life without a computer or not being able to switch on the TV to be bombarded with thousands of Telly vision channels all playing a big part in our life.

Magazines have a huge impacted on our life. Whether it is celeb gossip magazine showing us how fun the celeb life is, going to premieres, being on the red carpet, getting free stuff and just making us want to be them. Or fashion magazines, telling us what to wear and how to wear it, how to dress for occasions and best shops to buy it all. But they have a larger effect on how we respond to seeing size zero models and airbrushed celebs thinking that is the look we should all have. ‘Teenage magazines present images which result in low self-esteem amongst their readers.’
Read more: http://www.coursework.info/AS_and_A_Level/Media_Studies/Newspapers___Magazines/__145_Teenage_magazines_present_images_w_L7347.html#ixzz0ScufwMYU
And the news papers, they play a big part in our society. Telling us the latest news what the government is up to, subconsciously helping us vote for our new prime minister, “It’s not the sun that elects prime ministers it’s the public” ‘Gordon brown’, and making us change our minds, making our opinions for us. There is just no escaping it.

Advertising. It is everywhere from billboards to TVs; we are always getting some sort of merchandise forced on to us. We have no choice but to be sucked into getting the latest ‘phone‘ with the best deal. We use to get tricked into buying it with subliminal messaging.‘A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of the human mind's perception’. Making us (the public) subconsciously buys the advertised items; They did this by written messages which are quickly flashed during videos (sometimes called ‘25th frame’). This is now illegal says the government, but who’s to say that it has been stopped, we don’t realize that there are subliminal messages in an advert or in a song hence why it’s subliminal; So for all we know it could is still be going on; Another way the media is constructing the society.

The music industry is definitely playing a big part of constructing our society. With there sexual lyrics, “push me and then just touch me” and music videos that are degrading to women and immoral, as they are in underwear acting prerogative. And this is reflecting on our society as young girls are letting themselves be degraded and have no morals, wearing prerogative clothing heavy makeup and have boy friends at very young age; as they don’t know any different and think this is what they should be like. Compared to being in the 1950s where children were properly dressed, there were no obscene images on TV and women dressed respectfully and had morals and men respected them.

T.V is a little different it makes u think, does watching shows like "Waterloo road" or "holly oaks” ,both filmed and based on English everyday life, reflect society or are they creating their own image of how they think society should be seen in today's modern life. I personally think that shows like these are showing the public our society. They pick today’s problems and mix it into there shows, ‘knife crime, anorexia, racism and other topics that today society is dealing with. That’s why I think these shows are popular because people can relate and they are reflecting today’s society, but with allot more drama added to it to make it more griping to watch.
‘Richard Dilley’ "The media reflects society; just as there is diversity in society, there is diversity in the media."
Read more :http://www.coursework.info/AS_and_A_Level/Sociology/Media/_The_media_reflects_society__just_as_the_L17119.html#ixzz0SWHFGCTM

Though saying this. America shows are another way of life, with hit shows like “90210”, “Privileged” and ‘One tree hill’, given the British public an insight on how life is like over there; though to Americans this could be reflecting their life. But as we do not live in America we can only imagine that’s how all Americans live. In big houses, drive “Range Rover sports”, spend daddy’s cash and are all air brush pretty.

When in fact that is just what we are lead to believe; so in this case the media is instrumental in constructing it for us British. But may be reflecting life for Americans. This is why I think shows like this are popular because we want to be like this; and Americans can relate to this.

I believe that the media is both a reflection of the society but also aids in constructing it. With its reality TV shows reflecting how we live as a society, to its newspapers and magazines convincing us what to believe and changing our opinion. The media is just getting bigger and bigger with new generations being affected by it as it progresses.

Th Media