Media theories

Stuart Hall
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The reception theory is that when the producer creates media text they'll insert encoded messages or meanings into it their work, these messages are then decoded by the audience. Although, some audiences will decode these messages in different way and sometimes not in the way the producer had originally intended.

There are different types of audiences when decoding text, the first one is dominant or preferred reading, this is where the audiences decodes the text how to producer had intended. Audience members will take this position if the messages or meanings are clear to them, this can differ due to there age or culture etc. The second types of audience is oppositional reading, this is when the audience rejects the meaning that the producer had intended and creates their own meaning. Oppositional reading can arise if the audience member is a different age, culture or the narrative is unclear to them. The final type is negotiated reading, this is where the audience member is stuck between the dominant and oppositional reading, therefore they accept part of the producer's views but they also have their own views on the story.

Representation

Representation
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Black power

This image is very inspirational, gives people hope and symbolises a key point in black history. 

Black actor struggles over the last 50 years

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Sidney Poitier was one of the first black actors on screen and in 1964 he was the first ever black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. When he moved to the U.S. he started to experience racism chasm, an impulsive audition at American Negro Theatre and was rejected forcefully. 

A black actor named John Marriott who was an extremely well-trained actor was harassed by film crews who "purposely went out of the way to sabotage his career, the technicians would adjust the lights so that there wasn't one shot that you could clearly recognise him".

https://jhu/name/nm0001627/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=T8I_zDq30IwC&pg=PA52&dq=black+actor+struggles&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjd0LPmz5_fAhVSSxUIHTjeCRMQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=black%20actor%20struggles&f=false

Choose and define character

• Black female
• 18 years old
• University student
• Studies music

  

Advertising

What is advertising?
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When a product us manufactured, its existence needs to be made known to the general public

Advertising appeals
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Advertising appeals are communication strategies that marketing and advertising professionals use to grab attention and persuade people to buy or act.

In rhetorical theory the idea of an 'appeal' dates back to Aristotle.

Ethos : an appeal to credibility or character
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An advertisement using ethos will try to convince you that the company in the more reliable, honest and credible.

Ethos often involves statistics from reliable experts, such as nine out of ten dentists agrees that crest is the better than other brand.

Pathos : an appeal to emotion
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Evoke an emotional response in the consumer. Sometimes, it is a positive emotion such as happiness : an image of people enjoying themselves while drinking coke.

Other times advertisers will use negative emotions such as pain : a person having back problems after buying the 'wrong' mattress.

Logos : an appeal to logic or reason
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An advertisement using logos will give the evidence and statistics you need to fully understand what the product does.

The logos of an advertisement will be the "straight facts" about the product : one glass of Florida orange juice contains 75% of you daily vitamin C needs.

Subjective and Objective

Subjective, has feelings, anything subjective is subject to interpretation. Usually subjective means influenced by emotions or opinions.

Objective, is a goal and to be objective usually means to be unbiased. If you're objective about something you have no personal opinion / feeling about it.

Camera movement

Motivated camera movement
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The camera moves directly with the action being shown, for example if a character moves across the screen the camera tilts, pans, or physically moves by hand or on a dolly.

Unmotivated camera movement
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When a camera move is imposing on the action rather than just following it, this is used for emphasis of any kind.

Zoom
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This is when you magnify an element of the scene, the camera itself doesn't actually move during this movement, it is done with a lens. This type of zoom is usually slow, which builds drama, suspense and tension.

Example : https://youtu.be/ZbMtUL-69_g?t=85


Crash zoom
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This is the same as a normal zoom but is done a lot faster, this is used mostly to shock, reveal action suddenly or to just reveal something.

Example : https://youtu.be/kjZ9EQ7LMD8?t=8


Pan / whip pan
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When the camera moves on it's horizontal axis, left to right or right to left.




Camera movement practical
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Rendering and compression

Resolution definition
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1920 x 1080p
1280 x 720p

The higher the resolution, the better the image detail is.

480p
360p

Lucas film
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Codec ; code and decode e.g.
H.267
H.264

MPEG ; moving pictures experts group

.m2v - MPEG 2
.ac3 - Dolby 2

Muxed - video + audio

Lossy
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Compressed ; small file size Mb
.mp4
.wmv

Lossless
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Uncompressed ; large file size Gb
.avi
.mov

Editing

Order of shots

• The meaning of a sequence can change depending on the order of the shots.
• Putting two shots together can suggest a connection or emphasize contrast (juxtaposition).

Soviet montage theory

• The Kuleshov effect is a concept in the film making created by Lev Kuleshov in the 1920s.
• Sergei Eisenstein, the idea that placing together separate sections of film could create ideas or have an impact beyond the individual shots.

Transitions

• The process of moving from one shot to another.
• The most commonly used transition is a cut.

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Fade

• Preceding shot fades into a black solid.

Dissolve or cross fade

• The preceding shot merges into the following shot, resulting in the two shots being superimposed.

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Pace and Rhythm 

• Duration of a shot will usually reflect the narrative context.
• Short shots conveys action and urgency.
• Long shots create a slower pace and convey intensity and intimacy within the narrative; it allows us to focus upon facial expressions and the other aspects of the mise-en-scene.

Continuity

• Cutting shots to tell a story with narrative continuity.
• Helping the viewer make sense of action by implying spatial relationships and ensuring smooth flow from shot to shot.
• Creates realism.