Production Diary

The picture featured shows the diary which we filled out throughout the process of the production of our advertisment. The whole process of unit 3 did take much longer than we previously thought, so the dates on the sheet are not a real resemblance of the whole unit being completed.

Codes and conventions of a television soap

The UK's population live off TV, especially soaps. Soaps are entertaining programmes which are based around reality, but are extremely exaggerated. For example, in Eastenders, not everyone goes to the pub every day and gets into fights.
Here are some conventions of a Daytime Soap:

• Arguments
• Hatred
• Family
• Romance
• Acts of Violence
• Sense of Community
• Social Groups
• Conversations
• Secrets
• Gossip
• Meeting Place - E.G. Pub, cafe etc.
• Good/Bad Characters
• Community Hierarchy
• Recognisable Theme Tune
• Establishing and other camera shots

     Coronation Street - 1950

This very early episode of Coronation Street, first of all you see the very mouldy colour scheme which is understandable to the time the soap was shot in. The technology is very poor but for the year it was shot in, it was revolutionary. At the beginning of the video, there is a very short establishing shot of the long road and the brick wall. This convention shows that the soap is set in a very poverty ridden city, with small cramped houses. Straight away, there is lots going on. An argument on the street brings everyone out of the local pub to watch. One of the camera shots in that scene shows the 180 degree rule in action, but the lady furthest away has a massive crowd behind her. The code behind this convention, is that the woman dressed in scruffy clothes, is the good character. this is due to the fact that everyone is standing behind her, almost supporting her in the argument. Whereas the woman who is to the right of the screen, is dressed in more posh clothing, which shows she is the more upper class in the community with no crowd, shows she is the villain in this certain scene. The attempt to make this scene tense, is slightly spoilt by not using silence to build atmosphere and tension.

Coronation Street - 1980

Compared to the early version, the technology has improved dramatically . Colour has been introduced into TV broadcasting which automatically gives the programme a more positive feel, which then contrasts to the first scene of the programme. This episode shows no establishing shot, so it goes straight into the shot of a character walking very slowly into a room. With the camera shot showing the whole room in silence and the character slowly sneaking across the room with the sound of his footsteps, this shows he is not really meant to be there and it clearly is not his house. With the long takes, it builds tension along with the silence. The characters body language is viewed with the choice of shot, this also shows that he is being cautious and that he is a bad character. When the old man confronts the intruder, above the old man is a huge amount of head room then they use the close up shot. This is to show the old man as being weak and unstable compared to the person that he is confronting. Every shot that is focused on the old man, is shot from a high position looking down on him, to show throughout the scene that he is weak and helpless.

Coronation Street - 2010



Compared to both the other videos of previous corrie episodes, this is the most technologically advanced out of the three. With the bright and vibrant colour palate, it portrays a more positive and happy feel to the programme. The camera shot is much smoother and effective due to the improvement of filming technology. Crane shot is mainly used in the introduction to show several parts of the city where the soap is actually filmed. The introduction shows many important sights that you will see in the programme, which are the most recognisable. Overall, this episode is much more advanced and suitable for the population at this year in time.



Group filming task & evaluation.

Group Task - Video Evaluation on Prezi

180 Degree Axis Rule

180 Degree Axis Rule on Prezi

History & Development of Chart Shows Over The Years.

Brief History of Radio.

Example of a 80's retro radio. This Phillips radio
was one of the first to run FM radio.

The format of Hit Radio Shows started in the early 60's, playing the latest music to a large amount of people over radio. This was a massive change in the lifestyle of people in the 60's as listening to the radio and latest music became a daily routine throughout the nation. Even now, radio is the best was to listen to the latest music, with CD players wich not hold radio, home stereo's and car radios, the growth of this format of media has rocketed over the last 50 years.

80's Radio 

80's radio was revolutionary at the time of its creation. They had a very miniscule abount of equipment to produce the shows which would be recorded and broadcasted to the people of Britain. 80's radio was very basic, with very cheesy backing music and jingles which were very technological at that point in time. Although the quality of recording was low, the shows were a huge hit! The host of the show talks very quickly and unclearly to try and fit all of the music into the 2 hour slot he has. The host has a plain, simple and monotoned accent as the listeners were mostly interested in the music at that time, and not the person talking. The introduction is very simple and short, after that he continues straight away with the top 40, which he has to read the first few as he cannot fit them all in the show.

Modern Day Radio

Modern day radio is very different to the 80's. The introduction to the show has the hosts name in a jingle with cuts of up-to-date music pasted together to form the jingle. Equipment has improved dramatically which has aided the radio shows, pushing the limits of radio. This radio show is live, whereas the 80's were pre recorded incase of any mistakes or wrongly said statements. As the interview is being held, in the background you can hear music, which is related to the person being interviewed. The music has become more advanced which has changed the look of radio over the years, also with the invention of the internet and youtube, you can now watc recorded and live radio shows, stremed directly to the web. The radio show has differend hosts with different dialects, as there are many different culture groups in england now, so they try not to be discriminative and cater for different races and cultures.



Different ways we use the term 'media'.

Please ignore the 'graphic missing' message. it is erroneous and the video works perfectly.

Different Ways We Use The Term 'Media' on Prezi

Different genres of film and their codes and conventions.

Before we watch a film, we think of the genre of film we are watching and think what the film may include.
Conventions is basically this, the things people expect to find in a film which is under a certain genre. For example, Action films include guns, violence, explosions, spys, car chases etc.
Here are some genres of film and what conventions come under that genre.

                                                                                     Horror

                                   -Blood & Gore                  -Brutal weapon

                                  -Death                               -Violence

                                  -Evil                                  -Lunatics and other vile characters

                                 - Murder                             -CGI

                                -Establishing shot             -Danger

                               -Fear                                 -Extreme close up

                               -tilt/pan camera angle     -Old fashioned clothing (in some cases)

                                -High/Low angle



 Victim of a torture contraption in the film SAW IV
                                                                                         Screenshot from the western True Grit.
Western

-Cowboys                          -Gunfights

-Indians                              -Smoking

-Desert Mise-En-Scene     - Weapons

-Horses                              -Train Robberys

-Gunfights                         -Old American dialect

-Duels                                -Slow motion as revolvers are drawn

-Tobacco                           -Rodeo

-Saloons                            -Card games

-Bar brawls                        -Tumbleweeed

                                                                                                         Codes

Codes and conventions are very different from each other. Conventions are factors of a film which are expected to be in a certain film, by the audience. Such as the examples above. Whereas codes are the ways and methods that emotions and feelings are presented in films and productions. For example when you watch a horror film, and a character's arm has been decapitated, at that moment the audience feel queazy and horrified. This feeling is usually portrayed by the sounds and images which the audience views. such as screaming/shouting when the arm is torn off and the image of the arm being torn off both link together to make the feeling almost exaggerated. 

Here are some more examples of codes from different film genres:

 

 Action Genre

Image: Person being shot in the chest.

Code: The feeling portrayed when the person is shot is amplified my the sound of the gunshot, the image of the victim crippling up and falling on the ground as blood is ejected from his body This makes the audience feel sympathy but also adrenaline fuelled as they feel as if they were there in person, or they pulled the trigger themselves. 

Romance

Image: Couple on a bridge over a lake in the winter

Code: The audience feel happy for the couple as they walk towards each other. As the characters exchange emotions by a kiss, the audience feel all gooey inside. some may even feel regret as this certain scene in the film may mirror a relationship that a person i the audience may have had. 

 

Adventure

Image: Man running away from an avalanche.

Code: The audience feel as if they ate there in the moment. They find themselves holding their breath as the characters is running down the hill away from the snow. When the man trips and rolls down the hill, the audience feel shocked and worried for him, almost as if they are related to that character in some way.