Gender

Comment on the representation of GENDER,

• Mise-en scene
• Editing
• Sound
• Camera work

Throughout the clip the representation of Gender is shown through different editing techniques. Eye-line matches are used a number of times. For example at the very beginning of the clip there is a eye-line match between the women and the man in the suit. During this eye-line match the man is shown to be masculine as he is portrayed as dominate. A flashback is also shown in the clip which uses the montage editing technique. During this flashback the women is portrayed to have a masculine role because she controlling the way people are thinking about the doctor. However just before this flashback there is a cross dissolve of the women shown to be struggling. This shows her feminine side because the stereotypical women cannot cope in tough situations. Straight cuts are also used to show one scene and then another one at a quick pace to keep the viewers attention. While the women is telling the story there is a shot reverse shot used while in conversation. The women is portrayed to be dominate as everyone is listening to her she becomes masculine. 

Mise-en scene is also used in various ways to show the representation of gender throughout the clip. The costume worn by the man is a suit which is stereotypically worn by a masculine man. Therefore this instantly makes the viewers assume he is masculine. Whereas the women are wearing dresses they are portrayed to have a feminine role. However the main women character isn't wearing a dress which could suggest she has a masculine side to her. The prop used by the man character which is the doctors sonic pen shows he is masculine because he is in control and has the power. Make-up is also used to show the female characters are feminine because stereotypically feminine women wear make-up. The lighting used is very bright throughout the whole clip which could suggest the main man character is not masculine because in a stereotypical masculine film the lighting would be very dark and mysterious. The setting of this clip being shown as a space ship lookalike portrays a masculine stetting as space is associated with men. Throughout the clip personal distance is shown between all the characters. This could suggests that they all have a feminine side because they are not brave enough/masculine enough  to create intimate distance. The body language of the male character at the beginning is shown to be very confident. Therefore this portrays him to be very masculine. The main female character is also shown to be quite masculine when she starts laughing at the male character. This is because she is shown to be very brave which is associated with masculinity. The doctor being stuck in a cage shows that he is vulnerable which is stereotypically a convention of feminine characters. 

  

Another way of showing the representation of gender is through the use of sound. Throughout the clip diegetic, non-diegetic, asynchronous and synchronous sounds are used. The diegetic and synchronous sound used in the clip is the dialogue/speech. The deep, loud voices portray the characters as masculine, whereas the quite, sweet voices portray the characters as feminine. Also through the characters speech you can hear when they become scared or unsettled which shows a feminine side. There are a number of non-diegetic and asynchronous sounds used. For example the background music throughout the clip which changes when the atmosphere becomes tense. The exaggeration of the footsteps in the clip creates a masculine feel as it also creates a tense atmosphere, meaning something is about to happen. The sound effects used such as the ticking clock creates suspense for the audience and also the laugh which shows masculinity as it is a women laughing which shows she is brave in this situation. 

Camera work is used through shot types, angles and movement to show the representation of gender. At the very beginning there is a medium long shot of the female character showing her fear. This shows her to be feminine as she is portrayed to be scared. There is a long shot of the doctor in the cage which allows the viewer to see his venerability. Therefore showing him to be feminine as the stereotypical women is venerable. There is also an over the shoulder shot used showing the male character looking at the clock. This shows him to be masculine as it shows the control he has in the situation. Shortly after this there is a master shot showing where the action is taking place. There is also a close up of the girl laughing at the male character. This shows her to be brave therefore showing she has a masculine side to her. A medium close up is used to show the male character becoming stressed, this portrays him as feminine because a stereotypical convention os a feminine women is stress/cannot cope in difficult situations. A medium close up is used during the flashback to show the women struggling this portrays her as feminine because she cannot cope. During the flashback there is also a medium close up used of the people listening to the girl when speaking, this shows she is masculine because she is controlling what the people are thinking. It also shows her to be dominate. A high angle is used when showing the male character. This therefore portrays him as masculine because he is of a higher level than the other characters. A lower angle is used to show the women which then shows she's of a lower level than the male character. This shows that the man is dominate and the girl is subordinate. There is a overhead angle used when showing the doctor in the cage this also shows his feminine side as he is shown to have no control over the situation. This then changes when there is a high angle showing the original masculine male character now looking up at the doctor. Therefore showing that the situation has changed and the masculinity now belongs to the doctor not the male character. A pan is used to show what the girl character is looking at in the beginning of the clip. This shows that she is feminine because during this shot the viewers can tell that she cares about the characters shown in the pan. At the end of the clip there is a tracking shot that follows the doctor as he gains his power back showing he is masculine and then a tilt shot of the male character follows after the tracking to symbolize the doctor getting higher and higher. 

Overall the representation of gender is shown through masculine,dominate, feminine, subordinate characters with the use of editing, mise-en scene, sound and camera work.    

sexuality

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of Sexuality using the following: 

• Camera shots
•  Editing
•  Sound
•  Mise en scène

Firstly the representation of sexuality is shown through a medium close up. This shot allows the viewers to see the two women looking in the mirror as the women behind complements the other while she is trying on a dress. This could suggest that the women have a sexual feeling/attraction between one another and portrays them to have a cense of lesbian sexuality because when the women is complementing the other women her tone of voice makes her sound very passionate about what she is saying. The cense that the women is a lesbian is also shown through the women's facial expressions in the medium close up because she looks slightly scared when she is complementing the women as if she doesn't want her to find out her sexuality.

Following this there is a zoom shot showing the women character watching the lady sleeping. During  this you see that the women has an urge to touch the ladies body, however she is preventing herself. This shows her to have the sexuality of a lesbian but as she is portrayed to hide her sexuality throughout the clip, it suggests that it is not acceptable to be attracted to the same sex. 

There is also a close up used of the women who is painting the lady. During this shot you see that the women is distracted by the lady as she is shown to be daydreaming. In this shot you also see the women's paint dripping on her clothes and a shot reverse shot is used to show the audience what specific parts of the body the women is looking at(breasts & vagina) as she is looking at these certain body parts it shows her sexuality to be portrayed as a lesbian. 

After this a long shot is used showing the man character to be very angry that the women is showing an attraction to the lady and not him. He is portrayed to have a heterosexual sexuality as he is shown to be very against the women looking at the other lady. 

The sounds used throughout the clip to show the representation of sexuality are either diegetic, non-diegetic, synchronous or asynchronous. There is a diegetic voice over at the start of the clip which shows the women's sexuality of a lesbian due to her expressing how beautiful she thinks the other women looks. There is also a non diegetic sound of the birds, this is used to portray a peaceful setting. 

Throughout the clip there are many cross dissolves used to allow the audience to see two shots at the same time. This therefore shows between the two shots. By using the cross dissolves it helps keep continuity. A number of eye line matches are also used throughout the clip. At the very beginning there is a eye line match between the two women as one character is trying on a dress. This shot allows the viewers to see the sexual tension between the two and portrays their sexuality to be lesbians. Another eye line match that was used to show sexuality was also between the two women when painting. During the eye line match it shows one of the women to be looking at the others breasts in a daze. Therefore this shows that the women's sexuality is lesbian. Shot reverse shot is used during a conversation between the male character and the women character. During the shot reverse shot the audience can see that the male character is heterosexual because he is disgusted when he sees the women looking at the other women in a sexual manor. Towards the end of the clip parallel editing is used when showing two events at the same time cutting from one to the other. One event is the conversation between the man and women characters and the other event is the other women walking towards them. The parallel editing being used in this way allows the audience to see the relevance between both events. 

The costume used in the clip shows that the clip is set in a different time period. It can also suggest that the women have the same sexuality as they are all wearing long dresses. The costume of the women could also suggest that the women are not prohibited to show there sexuality as there dresses cover their whole body and are not reveling at all. The costume worn by the male character portrays him to be a straight man as he is wearing a masculine suit. In some scenes the lighting is very dark, this could support the idea of the women not being able to express her feelings for another lady as it creates an emotional,scary  atmosphere. The male character is portrayed as a heterosexual this shows that he is against sexual attraction of the same sex. However because of the way he acts by making the women pretend to love him it could suggest that he is afraid of others finding out the women he's with is in love with a women. The setting of this clip shows that it is set in old fashion times, therefore being a lesbian or having feelings for a person of the same sex would not be accepted and therefore this could suggest that this is the reason why the women is hiding the way she feels. 

Overall the representation of sexuality is shown through camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en scene, this allows the viewers to see the two types of sexuality: Lesbian & heterosexual to be portrayed through the use fear and a secretive atmosphere.   

Ethnicity

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of ethnicity using the following: 

• Camera shots - angles, movement and composition
•  Editing
•  Sound
•  Mise en scène
• 
  

Camera Shots


At the start of the clip there is a long shot of the coloured man, wearing a suit walking, from the way he is walking he comes across quite camp and shows he has a feminine nature. This wouldn't normally be associated with the ethnicity group he is from. This is supported when the coloured man in the suit says to the dreads man that he 'looks good'. However there are a number of over the shoulder shots between the two coloured men.


During these shots you can hear their conversation and during this conversation the coloured man with the dreadlocks is talking about weed which is associated with coloured people and their ethnicity group but the man in the suit disagrees with the man with the dreadlocks and he comes across very nervous when weed is mentioned this shows that although the two men are from the same ethnicity groups they both have different jobs and lives now even though they had the same background. These shots also allow you to see that they have the same colour skin. This could therefore then mean that they are from the same ethnicity group because they are of the same race. Just after this shot you see the typical hotel cleaners in their uniform. However in the long shot you can see that the cleaners are staring to strip for the man on the left. Just before this long shot there is a close up of the money on the table. 

Therefore these two shots are linked to show the importance of the money because it shows that the two girls are from the same ethnicity group. The cleaner on the left hand side in the picture then begins to stop stripping, this then shows that they are from two different ethnicity groups because one believes what they are doing is right and the other believes its not. The audience will know that the cleaners are from the same ethnicity group because they have the same accent. The audience will also then know that the cleaners are foreigners due to the way that they are speaking during the close up of them when they are first introduced speaking about the man in the room paying double for double.

• • 
    
  Mise en scène

• 
  

The setting of the first scene being a swimming pool/ spa area supports the idea of the coloured man in the suit having a feminine side because women would normally be associated with spa areas. The lighting used is also very bright and fun showing that it is also feminine because a masculine setting would be dark and spooky.



The chefs towards the end of the clip are seperated with different chef costumes, one group has white and the others have black. This could suggest that the people in the white chefs uniform are all one ethnicity and the people in the black are another ethnicity, meaning that they are split into different ethnicity groups. During the conversation at the start of the clip the man with the dreadlocks has a very strong Jamaican accent therefore showing clearly which ethnicity he is, where as the man in the suit hasn't really got an accent but because in the conversation the man with the dreads talks about how it used to be it suggests that they are from the same ethnicity because they were brought up together. When the cleaners start to strip for money it suggests that they come from a very poor ethnicity group as they are willing to strip for a man they do not know just to get some money. 

Sound

Dialogue throughout the clip represents the different ethnicity of each character. The two mean at the start are both talking about their appearance which could show they are from the same ethnicity group. However the man in the suit is portrayed to be posh, whereas the other man comes across quite common. This shows that they may be from the same ethnicity but have different backgrounds and different life styles. The two cleaners have the same accent, meaning that they are from the same ethnicity. The music playing while the cleaners are stripping shows to be a different ethnicity group to both the cleaners and the man sitting on the bed. This is because the cleaners accents are different to the peoples accents in the music and even though you do not hear the man sitting on the bed accent due to him being Japanese his accent would also be different to the music. Towards the end when the two chefs speak, the one in the black has a different accent to the one in the white. This shows that they are from different ethnicity groups because they speak differently. The man at the start of the clip with the dreadlocks uses a lot of slang words and says the word 'ganja' which is a stereotypical word associated with his Jamaican ethnicity group. 

Editing 

There is a shot reverse shot at the start of the clip, allowing the viewers to see the two men are from the same ethnicity group because of the colour of their skin and also because the shot reverse shot keeps the conversation flowing the viewers can see that they are also from the same ethnicity group because they are talking about the past and what they both used to get up to. During the shot reverse shot there are eye line matches  which supports the idea that the two men in coversation are of the same ethnicity but now have separate lives and jobs. 

13th February- Homework

Successful media products depend as much upon marketing and distribution to a specific audience as they do upon good production practices. To what extent would you agree with this statement, within the film area. You may make reference to other areas in your answer. For example: 

• Film 

• Music

• Newspapers 

• Radio 

• Magazines

• Video games.

In the film industry marketing, distribution and good production practices are massively important. Marketing, production and distribution are ways of making the film popular, if this is not done correctly then the film will not be very popular. Therefore this is a very important factor that companies have to take into acount when making a film. It can be said that successful media products depend on all three(marketing,distribution and production companies) in a equal way as they are all as important as another but it could vary. 

A well known large film company is Disney. When making Disney films marketing and distribution are the key to making the film a success. The film company Disney has made over 158 films since it came about in 1923. When the first animated films were made, For example: The lion king, Disney became very popular. As the audience for Disney films is children it has more of a wide range audience because all children will like animated films and the films will stay popular for a very long time as children are born. Disney films then became available for children all over the world. For example: Robin Hood was a wide world film as it was shown in sixteen different languages. This shows just how important distribution of a film is. 

Marketing for Disney is very easy because they have their own shops, television channel, clothing and radio station. Therefore films can be can be advertised on the Disney channel which is watched all over the world, as the channel is there own company the distribution of the film is easy. Disney use viral marketing as they promote their films online making it appeal to their audience and allow people/children to see from everywhere as its on the internet. This is a reason why Disney are so popular because it allows the audience to be up to date with new films as they are advertised all across the internet. 

Although Disney shows that distribution and marketing of the film is a highly significant reason for films becoming a success the producion practices could been seen as more important. This is due to the fact that the better production practices the film has the better the film will be because of the budgets the production practices will have. Therefore the quality of the film will be massivly better and the film will become more popular as more people will want to watch a very good quality film. Also using well known/higher level production practices can make your film more popular because the viewers will know about previous popular films they have made and want to watch the new films because they know the films will be good and will appeal to them. 

Overall a good, quality, well known production practicies are more important when it comes to successful media products depending on marketing, distribution and production practices. 

Digital distribution- Homework

Question 2: To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media area you have studied? Candidates must focus on the following media areas: Film?

Digital distribution is a very positive affect of the marketing and consumption of media products in the media. This is due to the fact that there are many advantages when using digital distribution. The main advantage is the alternative of sending film files over the computer instead of carrying 20-25 kg tins of film to cinemas. Another advantage is its cost effective by being cheaper in the long run and overall digital distribution makes the process a lot quicker and a lot less stressful. 

Main actors/actresses/characters or the directors of the film can be interviewed on air, on television, on the internet or even shown on movie news channels. This will increase the amount of consumers because if people like a certain character they will want to go watch the film because he/she is in the film. This is because it will create excitment for the viewers if they like one of the actors/actresses.  

Marketing the film is also affected by digital distribution. For example the development of the internet has allowed film trailers to be promoted all over different websites. Such as: YouTube. This is a positive affect for the marketing of films because it allows the film to be seen more worldwide and gets more of the public wanting to see the film as it will be advertised more frequently all over the internet. Trailers are also advertsied on Television through adverts, this also gains more public wanting to watch the film. The marketing being done in this way allows loads of people going to watch the film because they want to know what happens and then as a result of this people will start to spread the word, known as 'word of mouth' to friends and family, making them watch the film or trailer and then increases the number of 
consumers watching. 

On the other hand there are also a limited amount of disadvantages with digital distribution. For example when the films are sent by files insstead of be delivered by tins of film, it is possible for the files to be hacked. In this case films are then put online illegally/on illegal film websites. Therefore this will decreadse the companies profit of the film because people will watch the films online, illegally instead of paying to watch the films at cinemas. Since the development of digital distribution producing DVD's it is currently a lot easier and faster to download films illegally and upload them all over the internet. 

Harry Brown Homework

Questions:

• Year of release: 2009

• Classification: 18 years old

• Companies responsible for making the film: 

- Uk film council
- Marv Films

- Framestore
- Hanway films

• Distributed: Lion Gate UK

• Revenue the film took: 

- Budget: 7,300,000

- Domestic gross: 1,818,681

- Worldwide gross: 6,294,140

- Profit: - 1,005,860 = no profit


http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2010/HBRWN.php



Brief Synopsis: 

The film Harry Brown is based on a estate that used to be peaceful until the gangs formed. The film contains a number of violent scenes involving the gangs and very strong language is used frequently throughout the film. Harry Brown is the main character and his friend is murdered on night by his own weapon by the gang. Harry is told by the police that his friend was murdered and Harry's reaction is very different from others who live on the estate. He decides that enough is enough and he is going to do something about it by finding the killer. Whereas others who live on the estate just let the gangs get away with everything. Although Harry Brown is an elderly character he has a military background and therefore is very capable of catching the killer of his friend. During the film you see drug taking and sexual scenes. The ending of the film shows present day after Harry Brown has killed the killer. During the ending scene you see Harry Brown walking through the subway where is friend was murdered because the estate is now safe because the killer is dead. The film is set in Marks Gate, London. 

The characters involved in the gang are portrayed as violent and use very strong language. They are all shown wearing hoodies/jumpers because this is one of the conventions when portraying crime. The lighting used through out the whole film is very nature. This is to make the scenes look normal, as if they have not been set up. For example when you see the scene of the gang members beating a man in the middle of the estate, the lighting is very nature, just street lighting. The titles at the start of the film are very little and the main characters name 'Harry Brown' is also very small because it is showing that he is just an ordinary man. The first scene of the gang is filmed on a hand held camera, this puts the audience in the perspective of the youth. There is a shot when the police officers have just come down the estate stairs, in this shot you can see the rubbish on the floor, dirty walls and the car with no wheel trims. This shows that everything in the shot has been put there for a reason, nothing in the shot is there by accident. When the gang members are being questioned,  there is a specific shot showing the lawyer and one of the gang members with a very big gap between them, this is done to show the different status between them because of where they come from/background. Some of the members in the gang are real actors and others are real gang members who live in the estate, this is to show real life. At the very start Harry Brown is shown making tea and cleaning up, this is done to show ordinary life tasks.

Gender

Mise-en scene

Mise-en scene is used throughout the clip to show the representation of gender. This is shown through many different conventions. For example: setting, lighting, make-up and costume. 
In the first scene both of the women characters are trying to impress someone. This shows that the two females are both feminine because stereotypically feminine women feel the need to impress everyone. The costume of the characters show masculine and feminine. This is because the men are wearing suits which ca suggest they are masculine and the women are wearing skirts that then suggest they are feminine. The main setting of the clip is in the clothes shop. This is a feminine setting as you would relate a cloths/dress shop to a feminine women. Throughout the clip the lighting used is very bright, this could also support that the setting is feminine because bright, bold lighting would be associated with feminine scenes. Whereas in masculine scenes the lighting would be very dark and mysterious. The make-up that the young women is wearing shows that she is feminine because it makes her look elegant, gentle and sweet. In the scene when the alarm goes off, the man covers up the alarm in order for the person on the phone not to hear that he can not fix the alarm and is having trouble. This can suggest that the man doesn't want to be seen as if he can not cope because that would then make him become feminine. When the younger man character is introduced into the shop, he 'finds' the ring and then leaves the shop with it. This shows that he is masculine because he has control over the other man and doesn't listen to what he is saying, he just does what he wants to do. When the ending is reveled it shows that the who situation of the ring going missing was the women's plan, this makes her a masculine women because she has the power over the young man. This then makes the young man character who was portrayed as masculine before seem to be feminine. 

Camera shots

A variety of camera shots are used to show the representation of gender through this clip. 
The first shot used is a master shot. This shot establishes that the shop owner is a man which shows that he must be feminine in order to own a clothes shop. A over the shoulder shot is used between the shop owner and the elderly customer. This shows that the shop owner is masculine and the women is feminine because the man is looking down on the women and stereotypically men have a higher status then women. There is a close up used on the women's ring. This then draws the shop owners attention. Therefore this shows that the man is feminine because he is interested in jewelry and fashion. A tilt shot is used on the women. This shot shows she is a feminine character because she is wearing a long, expensive, elegant dress. There is a medium long shot showing the new men characters when being introduced. In this shot it shows the men drinking whisky, smoking and speaking about business, this then makes these characters masculine because drinking whiskey is associated with masculine men. A medium close up is used of the women panicking, getting stress and upset, this shows she is feminine because stereotypically feminine women are not able to cope is hard situations. There is also a close up showing a similar meaning of the man who can not fix the alarm, in this show it shows him to be stressed and unable to cope. This makes him then seem feminine. A long shot is used of the two men characters in the shop, this shot allows the viewer to see the man picking up clothes off the floor while the other man stands and looks at him cleaning. This makes the shop owner look feminine and the other man character masculine. 

Sound

Non-diegetic and diegetic sounds are used throughout the clip to show the representation of gender.
When the masculine men characters are introduced in the bar, you can hear their deep voices. This shows that they are masculine because deep voices are associated with masculine men. When the women is in the shop she says "my husband will kill me" when she has lost her ring. This shows that she is a feminine women because her husband has control over her. Another thing that the women says is "hair dressers appointment" this shows that she is feminine because she is getting her hair done. When the women is panicking about her ring the shop owner says "can I make a suggestion" this shows that he's masculine because he's taking control of the situation and telling her what to do. When the alarm sound is introduced it shows the man character to be a feminine man because he can not cope and fix the alarm. The background music throughout the clip shows both masculine and feminine. When the feminine women are in the scene the music is calm and innocent. Whereas when the masculine men are in the scene the music is deep and more up beat.

Editing

A number of editing techniques are used in the clip to show the representation of gender.
There is a shot reverse shot used between the shop owner and the young women. In this shot you can see the women's make-up that she is wearing. This makes her a feminine women as make-up is stereotypically associated with feminine women. There is a fade to black editing techniques used in the start of the clip when the scenes change over. The mens deep voices are introduced before the men are actually introduced. This makes them seem masculine before you even see what the characters look like because you hear them before you see them. The same editing technique is used with the women, the sound of her unzipping her bag is introduced before she is, this makes her seem feminine before you see her because bags are associated with feminine women. 

Overall the representation of gender is this clip is shown through mise-en scene, camera shots, sound and editing to portray characters as masculine men, masculine women, feminine women and feminine men.