Paige's A2 Media Blog

Thursday, 25 October 2012

Characters

Adam-Played by Adam, He wears quite casual wear and so this links in with my genre.

Pebz-Played by Chloe. I thought she would be good for the part as she wears what the typical teenager would wear and is quite casual, which is a convention of my genre

They are a typical couple and so i though would be perfect for the part.

Evil Spirit-Played by Neha Joshi, she is how i envisioned the spirit to be as she has long dark straight hair and is not taller than either of the other actors.

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

Storyboard

Below is my story board for my trailer

Monday, 22 October 2012

Music

Here are some videos of soundtracks that fit with my genre and what i am considering to use in my trailer. along with a heartbeat that gets faster and louder throughout the trailer to build up the tension and get the audience tense and there blood pumping just by the background music.

Friday, 19 October 2012

Audiences Pleasures

The Hypodermic Needle Effect

This theory was the first to explain how a mass audience react and are influenced by mass media, not just individually but society as a whole. There have been many theories that have tried to explain how the media works on the mass audience, theories such as 'The Cultivation Theory' and 'The Two Step Theory'. By researching these theories i can find out what one applies to my target audience which enables me to maybe alter my trailer in order to maintain the audience i am aiming at.

The theory explains that the audience is 'injected' with ideas, attitudes and beliefs through media text, the audience are without resistance and are overall powerless so have no choice but to be influenced by it. So when you see something you may go and do it yourself or something similar. The hypodermic needle suggests that we are manipulated by the media text we are also powerless to refuse this theory/idea which in turn makes it easier for our thoughts to be changed by the media makers.

that is why films like 'The Exorcist' and 'Clockwork Orange' were banned at fist because it was believe that they may influence people to carry out similar crimes that are shown in them.

However no one has claimed that everyone will be affected by the media texts in the same way, and because of this reason many people see this theory as simplistic due to the fact that it doesn't speak for everyone individually. But it is so popular because people are looking for explanations as to why people act in violent ways and so this seems to be the best theory to try and explain that.

The Cultivation Theory

This theory is a more refined version of the hypodermic needle effect. It has also been referred to as the drip drip drip effect, explaining how rather than being injected with information the audience are on a slow drip feed, it suggests that if a message is repeated over a long period of time then the audience will be effected by it, it suggests that if you watch violence for years and years it will make people less sensitive towards it and one media text does not have that much affect. This process is referred to as desensitisation. But still this theory is very difficult to actually prove. Most people have a general sense that the media has an affect on there behaviour but it is extremely difficult to actually prove how much a piece of media text can affect its audience. So even though this theory can not be proved it does not mean there is not truth in it.

Two Step flow Theory

Mass media has become an essential part of life within society everywhere and did not reduce populations to a mass of unthinking drones and new and more sophisticated explanation was invented. Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet analysed the voters decision making processes in 1940 during the presidential election campaign, they then published there findings in the newspaper "The Peoples Choice'. Their results showed that information does not flow directly form the text in to the audeinces' minds unmediated instead it is filtered through 'opinion leaders' who have a major influence on the final reading, they then mediate this information from the media with the ideas and thoughts that have been expressed by the opinion leaders. This means that the audience do not gain there own opinion instead they gain the information and are influenced by the media. So they are not being influenced by a direct process but instead by a two step flow.

This means that that social factors play a part in the way an audience interpret a media text. which is sometimes referred to as 'The Limited Effects Paradigm'.

Uses and Gratification

this theory is probably the mot important one of them all. This theory explains how everyone has different uses for media text and the individual makes choice on what they want to watch. What this means this that when we watch a media text we expect to gain something for it:some kind of gratification not just mindless entertainment.

The uses and gratification model shows how an individual has the power to select the media text that suits them best and what she will be able to gain from it. The psychological part of this model is the Hierarchy of Needs by Maslow.

1. Information-this is where we want to find out about society in the world and therefore satisfy our curiosity. This can be done through the new and documentaries which both help us learn about the world we live in.

2. Personal identity- We may sometimes watch the television to look for models for our own behaviours. So we may identify with certain characters we see in soaps, they then help us to decide whether or not we agree with their actions and what we feel about ourselves, and also when they succeed in something we feel better about ourselves.

3.Integration and Social Interaction- The media is a source for us to find out more about other peoples lives and circumstances. We are able to empathise and sympathise wit the lives of others in watching show which in turn could get us thinking about the characters in the show as friends, and could therefore help us get on better with out real friends.

4. Entertainment-Sometimes we watch media text simply for the entertainment, relaxation or just to pass the time.

Out of all of these descriptions i believe that the one that applies to my trailer is 'entertainment' This is because when people watch my sort of trailer they watch it for entertainment and are seeking for something interested to watch. My genre appeals to and is watched most by people who want to be scared or have an adrenaline rush while watching the movie. Also my type of genre evokes peer influence, what i mean by this is that some people have a need to prove themselves to their friends/peers by going to watch a scary movie. This is particularly evident in men as if they have seen a particular horror movie it could suggest to them that they are 'fearless'

Films such as Paranormal Activity from 2011/12 show that the horror genre has a realistic essence to it, this has been influenced by films such as the Blare Witch project in 1999. Many psychological horrors as now set in houses and/or filmed with handheld cameras this makes the entire experience more realistic due to the shots, settings and characters. Audiences nowadays tend to watch horror and need psychological horror as a form of gratification.

Moodboard

Thursday, 18 October 2012

Inspirational Trailers

I have taken my inspiration from various psychological films that i have watched and researched to make up my own. Films such as The Ring, as in this film they trigger the spirit girl to return and potentially kill them by watching a video tape, where as mine the spirit is triggered by a quote. The possession idea has come from the films Paranormal Activity sequel and the The fact that they turn on each other has come from the film The Shining as the man in this film suddenly turns on his loved ones.

The Ring (2002)

The Ring is a successful psychological horror film which is about a video tape that when watched you get a phone call from a girl saying you are going to die in seven days. A young reporter named Rachel is investigating these events, but after she and her small son watch the tape, it becomes a race against time to find out why the tape is killing everyone and how it could be stopped. I took inspiration from this trailer as i like the fact that they basically summon the evil being by doing something in this case watching the tape. The trailers clips are slow paced to begin with which is a typical trope of this genre but they also get faster and faster throughout creating more intensity.

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

This film is about a girl who starts filming everything in the house because she is suspicious of her younger brothers invisible friend, through this herself and her boyfriend discover strange occurrences such as silhouettes and cult symbols. This film applies to me as i have the idea of a silhouette as the spirit, this is because in most psychological horrors the evil being is not normally shown and if shown they are shown for a minimum amount of time. This trailer is slow paced which is a convention of the genre. the transition in this trailer is fuzzy and distorted lines, which links in with the film itself, however i have noticed that most of the transition used in horrors are distorted and not just jump cuts.

The Shining

This film is about a family who go to a hotel as the man has been given the job of winter caretaker, they then get snowed in, the man then gets told by a ghost to correct his wife and child and from there on tries to kill them. This film inspired me as it is about a man who turns on the people he cares about because of some ghost/spirit who is evil. This is part of my narrative as when the evil spirit possess the my characters it makes them turn on each other. The trailer is slow paced and then picks up speed throughout to build up tension.

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Sound Effects