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2/3 min film (Travel documentary)

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Documentary Comedy

Watch a documentary comedy of your choice and analyse how it creates parody in at least 300 words. Evaluate its use of reflexivity, as well as its use of stereotypes and clichés in narrative and style. Documentary: 'Super Size Me'

The comedy/parody documentary that I have chosen to analyse is ‘Super-size me’ this documentary tends to make fun out of people with obesity, the audience is already able to tell that it is a parody by the title of the documentary film. In one of the scenes the viewers able to see kids sing to a nursery rhyme about different fast food items. Which creates an air of parody because there is no such thing as a fast food nursery rhyme which shows that the children are making a mockery out of people who live off these types of foods. In the next scene the presenter says and I quote ‘’ what if I ate Mcdonalds for 30 days straight’’, the camera then is set to a medium shot on his face which tends to set a parodical mood, because he's doing something that's very rare and doesn't go hand in hand with society's standards. Comedy is generated through the equation that people will find it funny if something is harmless but includes a social taboo, people are going to find it funny or offensive. A clear case of how comedy is created by both examples. A comment like that would make the viewers think that he is making a joke but in fact he is serious about his comment, which we later find out when the presenter goes and consults a doctor about it, which makes it even more humorous in a way because now the viewers are left wondering if he would actually go through with it or not which creates anticipation filled with awkwardness.

When the presenter went for a check- up his results came back great which meant that he was quite a healthy person so now eating un-healthy would make him unhealthy which creates parody because he is now mocking his health by adopting to the unhealthy lifestyle. The fact that he Is eating un-healthy that alone makes it already a parody within itself, this is because people who are morally obese/overweight excess calorie intake, however the show only really covers one aspect of why over-weight people are over-weight but fail to educate the viewers on other aspects which allows this documentary film to continue to create parody for the viewers.

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Subculture

Research a particular subculture and write a mini-proposal (300 words text plus images). The subculture should be contemporary, but it can have historical roots. For example, it could be the punk movement, hipsters, emos, goths, or perhaps a particular fan culture (e.g. the One Direction fans “tribe”). Focus on performance of identity (performativity) through attire, body language, group spaces (including virtual spaces), rituals, objects, etc.

The particular subculture I have chosen to discuss is the Aircraft Spotting subculture as it is recognised on the list of subcultures. Aircraft spotters have been observing planes since it was first invented and have made it their job to study how planes operate an example being how they take off (fly) by doing this it will make them understand how such a hulking vehicle is able to fly. Techniques that plane spotters often tend to use are recognising different aircrafts, this is done by their model/type or by the livery of the airline that they are flying. Military aircraft is not excluded from this.  some of the rituals that are being performed are standing in different areas where planes are able to be observed, then they record videos of them and post them online, this is for other plane spotters to be amazed at. The reason why this is done is to create a sense of validation from spotters, whom may feel that they are scoring points for spotting a rare or unique aircraft type or serial number. Different spotters have different aim. They would like to see the registration worn by a certain aircraft, some have to see as many different types of planes as possible, and others would want to see as many different types as they can but aren’t to fussed if they do not reach that goal. Plane spotters can be frequently found using gadgets such as a flight radar to track aircraft in order to see when they are coming. These plane spotters tend to enjoy seeing rare colour schemes on aircraft, the first aircraft of its livery is often given a distinguishing colour from the others and certain rare cargo planes can be spotted, of which only single digit numbers have been built. Plane spotters tend to get a kick out of spotting a rare aircraft.  

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Hybrid Documentary

Choose a hybrid documentary and analyse it in terms of performativity. Refer to audio-visual metaphors, performance, multiple identities and spectatorship. Write at least 250 words and use images or clips. Reading your analysis should feel like experiencing a performance, so feel free to experiment with text and visuals.

A hybrid documentary is a non-fiction documentary which encompasses narrative film making techniques which include animation and special effects to convey elements that bring across the subject and theme of the documentary.

The hybrid documentary I chose as an example is called ‘Planet Dinosaur’ (British Broadcasting Corporation, 2011). Animation is used to bring light to the fossil evidence, by re-enacting this may have led to a certain fossil ending up with ‘scratch marks’ when the creature was still alive. also pictures show predator/prey relationships between the animals. In terms of performativity, the animations of the creatures are played in scenes representing them in their natural habitat shortly after these infographics are shown. I will provide evidence by inserting a link to a clip that i am referring to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpaZkVqQAFA

(skip to 0:27 seconds) the infographic is shown followed by an animation to represent the actual live creature ( at 1:01). Spectatorship is being used because the audience can now relate to something they have never seen before by using these animations, thus allowing them to effectively understand exactly what the show wants to get across.

This method allows the viewers to get an understanding of what the images were trying to do therefore allows the show, going back to  the previous point made about the fossil discovery which also brings to light the sense that dinosaurs are performing for the viewers even though it is a documentary all along. By this the documentary achieved to represent the films aim.

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week 1 Blog task ( Film Analysis)

Write no less than 300 words briefly summarising the argument and critically assess the essay in terms of form, technique, originality, clarity and any other aspect you deem relevant. The chosen video essay - : http://mediacommons.org/intransition/cruising-diff%C3%A9rance-3-scenes Essay:

the form of the audio essay was very skilled. this was because an introduction was done of the film and the date of when the film first came out, which allows the audience to appreciate and understand the context of the film as well as the details that make the film recognizable to the audience.

The Essay is very informative and gives out a lot of points which then are being backed up with evidence for example the reading references, this shows that the individual has done their research and has some sort of knowledge. The use of techniques are being constantly talked about which shows the audience that the maker of the audio essay is skilled by being able to point out the authors choice to utilize multiple texts in their work piece.

Technique

The techniques that were being used by the individual behind the video essay were quite standard and to the straight forward in terms of getting straight to the point, giving evidence and explanation which helped to elaborate on any points they have made, whilst helping to account for the quality of being logical and the state behind any theories that were being made.

Originality

In my opinion the work is very authentic, seeing as it came from a single source and did not seem as if it was plagiarised because coherent sounding essay being put together with advanced vocabulary, which helped to elevate the originality of this work.

Clarity

The clarity of this video essay was great, in terms of the usage of terminology. The individual behind the audio had some strong points on the topics covered, making it stand out from the rest of the text, seeing as it was applied between a paragraph of standard essay-writing and also introduced as a personal opinion.

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Week 10.

Choose a tv series and analyse whether it is of the super knot or super knotty rope kind.

1. Prison break is a TV-show that has a super knot rope. These episodes are connected to each other each plot that happens in each episode will continue to make sense in the next and will be solved in the next.

Analyse the risk inherent to the large amount of time employed in the narration and the strategies employed by the series to try and avoid these risks.

2. This has been avoided by not allowing to telling the story during the development of character. we not only get to follow Micheal and the other main characters journey during prison time but we also their life after prison. Flashback is seen at times when Micheal is thinking things through which reminds us exactly what we might have not noticed in previous scenes.

The seasons narrative is very structured from beginning to end the main character has a goals throughout each season. The goals always get solved at the end of each season. Reason why the goals is shown that it has been achieved towards the end is because if the plot was solved in the middle of the series what would the audience be waiting for the be solved after the solving has already happened? Also when a goal gets solved at the end another cliff hanger happens at the last episode of each season that shows another story will be unfolding in the next season.

Each season is different there for the knot is switched up and not continued to be the same. Not each season is regarding them getting out of prison but it is them escaping things in the real world now.

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Week 9.

Week 9

Choose a contemporary TV- series you know well:

The tv- series I know well and will be choosing to analyse is prison break.

How many characters does the TV series develop?

1. There are six character develop throughout the series. In total there are about 32 characters who all play a big role within the series because there are so many different episodes in one series but the main ones to look out for are six only.

Choose a character in your TV series and analyse the way their narrative is developed over time.

2. Micheal scofield is one of the main characters, the series follows him all the way through till the very end. He is a normal working man who has never been in trouble with the law ever in his life however throughout the series his character changes for the worst. He has to get himself in to prison in order to get his brother out. He tattoos the whole prison layout all over his body where the escape plan exits are printed on.

During his time in prison he talks through the escape plan with his brother whiles doing so four other characters hear him talking about each day one by one and demand to be on board with the plan too which eventually he agrees on and they from some sort of friendship during this period of time.

At the end of the fourth season everyone has already been out of prison for a while now and are living their own life’s however Michael scofield ends up getting cancer and dies on the last episode. We find out in the last ever series which is season five that he actually never died and that he had to pretend to his whole family that he did so that he wouldn’t get killed or them by these people who are after him. As allways he finds a way to outsmart people and the season ends up with everyone being safe once again because of him.

How does the expansion of time in the story serves the character development?

3. At the beginning michael did not expect that he would be in prison for a long period of time because the mission kept failing and because of this he had to experience prison life and had to kill a few people during this time which he was not prepared for that as that was not in his nature.

After hardship comes ease so whiles in prison he started a relationship with the prison nurse and once he managed to get everyone out of prison he ends up being with the nurse and moves away and starts a family with her.

Throughout the years the series follow him and his journey and even though his journey sometimes comes over as unrealistic it still tells a story has a beginning mid and end and the audience feel like they been a part of the journey throughout the years, from him and his brother being seprated multipule times to reunited at the end once again.

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Week 8.

blow –up

What kind of editing does the film use? Does it attract attention to itself or is it ‘’smooth’’, ‘’invisible’’?

the film uses a lot of cuts and no invisibles at all. The cutting is done from manny different angles but its within the same scene. Most of the time this is not actually needed. However I believe that this is because different angles of the same scene is viewed in different angles and not just one.

The film is set in London. Does it start with an establishing shot?

This does not start with a establishing shot. It actuall starts with a buildings around which means that it could have been shot anywhere, also the surroundings does not look like its set in london as there is no london busses, buildings or anything else that give it away that it is set in london.

Are there any kind of shots that are predominant- and how do these affect the overall narrative of the film?

when it comes to predominant shots, wide and medium shots are predominant. Which show more body language instead of just facial expersions which means emotions too. It also sets the location and space.

How is editing used to construct narrative space and time? And to ‘’progress’’ the story?

There is a lot of continuity within the editing. The scenes are related to the editing. Space and time are shown by the traveling scenes from one place to another also a wide is done whenever he is at a new location. And because of the long cuts being shown it portrays as if it there is a long period of time missing in the cuts.

There is a central scene with photographs. What is the editing like here? And is there a way in which the photographer’s display of the photographs relates to editing in film?

The pace is very slow which means when it was edited it was done quite slow, however the editing does pick up its pace when it comes to the scene of him realising the details in his photos which shows us the details in line with what the photographer is also seeing. He later finds out what is going on in the photographs and realises that he saved someone’s live and we are shown what his emotions are by the shot focusing on his eyes.

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Week 7.

Lost in La Mancha:

Can you identify the embedding and embedded narratives in lost in mancha?

The start of the film is not what the film is actually about as the story slowly starts to change. The story is of how the production is started which makes it jump in time. The viewers are following the process as it goes back in time. Even though the film seems like its heading somewhere great it ends up becoming the complete opposite.

Can you identify of different microtexts present in the film (spatial-temporal, psychological, ideological)?

there are different locations at times such as outside and office, there is no sense of time given. The audience however is able have an understanding in different location. I have noticed there are a lot of graphic images being used which tells what the film is really about and what is being created.

Can you identify a shift in narrator or in narrative?

Its very much shown that there is a narrator via audibly who tells the stories about the past history and then to reality the process of how the film is made in terms of history and storytelling. Also images are shown such as drawings and photos.

Where does the sense of validity (and truth) come from in the film?

This comes from people who help with the equipment’s of the film, seeing how hard it can be working behind the scenes. Even though there is a lot of pressure the outcome and being able to manage everything is shown too. The director doesn’t like the film due to the amount of complications the cast were having and a lot of decisions are needed to be made.

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Week 6.

Mulholland drive

How does the concept of double apply to the film, from the point of view of narrative, characters, space and time?

The characters situations between the first and second halves of the film is rearranged by lynch. This utilizes different types of doubling. Fred's double is pete, the one changed into the other and they are portrayed by different actors who look like a like. Alice and Renee are portrayed by the same actress,the film begins to break down towards the end this is when Pete finds a picture with both women in it. He wonders whether they are both Alice or not, and is incredibly confused by their identical physical appearances.

Can you think of other examples in literature, film , mythology or cosmics where the double is used in a similar way?

An example of another film would be ‘’the prestige’’ when two twins are being used for a magic show but not knowing they are actual twins until the end because it is not shown properly or explained throughout the film.

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Week 5.

Birdman

What are the geometrical points characters are seen from in the film ? The characters are seen through eye-level view most of the time. The camera is not above nor under the characters ever either. the camera follows all the character which connects them to each other and have a relation with one another and the ones that crosses their paths this wat the camera is able to change the characters to follow around.

What is the point of view/ position the subject sees from in the film? I have noticed that the spectator does not see more then the character and the information is discovered all at the same time as the character that is followed. The point of view is all eye-leveled. Some scenes point of view shots are being used in order to see what the character is seeing from their point of view. The camera does move in circles so there for it does go back to the expressions of the character.

Is there a space out of frame? there is a space that happens to be out of frame, the camera moves in circular motion so the spectator can see that there is a space that is out of the frame.

How is the relationship events/space constructed? The camera follows the characters around and when one of the characters walk out of the frame the camera follows and moves on to the next scene this is played out during days of a live show and it shows the things that are happening behind closed doors.

How does the long take structure affect all of the above? birdman uses long takes to make the film seem as though it was filmed in one single long shot. This is completed by filming long sequences and finding cut points that weren’t jarring.

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Week 4.

The matrix (1999) The Wachowskis

In the film there are things that show that matrix is a false reality. Such as the plugs that those who were ‘grown’ in the real world have on their skin, when in the matrix, the plugs vanish reason being is that they are not needed in the matrix. Which makes the audience think why they were there to begin with. Which leads to searching for more answers resulting in the exposure of the matrix.

Also in the matrix world as mentioned on the DVD commentary, was that everything in the matrix was filmed with a green tint purposely and everything in the real world had a blue tint as a colour cue to show the differentiate within the two.

This movie makes the audience think outside of the box they are in and makes them realise they should consider theories and philosophy’s. Using new technology like VR that transport you to a different world enforces ideas about the world we currently live in might be a part of something much bigger.

Time and space is represented by the symbols and equipments. The symbols used to represent the VR and the sunglasses, guns and violence. In the real world the symbols shown are computers, technology and programming. When the virtual world is shown the lights are much brighter and they are able to do stuff humans aren’t capable of. For them to be able to survive they need to free their mind and continue to keep it open because they control the world and the movements with their own mind. For example if you believe you die in the VR world you will die in real life too.

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Week 3.

Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind (2004) :

In the film Celementine had been erased from the happy memory but what really went down was that Michel Gondry pulled Kate away from Jim where jim was actually worried and really concerned and was searching for her.

When Joel came up to Clementine and she did not recognize him, he believed it was a joke but he later learned that she erased him from her memory. The doctors let her family know but not her. Which Joel discovered and he decided to do the same. Joel later goes through his memories of Clementine, he then realises that he wants to stop the treatment, he tries to hide her in to different memories where she did not exist yet which they then jump a lot in joel’s timeline events.

A camera trick that Is being used within the film was forced perspective. Doing this by putting the subject further away, which makes it smaller, an optical illusion is achieved by altering the surroundings of the subject. An example of a scene is when Joel is shown as his four year old self.

The film displays its narrative by using events in the past, scenes that have never happened, reliving memories in the mind of Joel. As such when Joel gets out of the car to run after clementine. The audience assume when he gets to the end of the pavement he is back at to his car once again, repeating it a few times, he is confused but clementine does not have a idea since she is technically just part of his actual memory.

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Week 2 approach to narrative. Run Lola run

Blog task Run Lola Run

I believe what Tom Tykwer’s claim is that he expresses how the smallest change in people’s actions could change their whole story. Such as the ‘runs’ Lola has changes in events, these events cause chaos. For example Lola’s father leaving her and her mother due to them having an argument. I think that Tykwer wants cinema to continue being filled with narratives that will keep the audience still thinking about it after it has ended, especially when things are being left unresolved which will make the audience think back to the smallest detail in the beginning of the film.

2.Run lola Run has a non-conventional opening scene that lasts about four minutes. with a voice over talking about why people are so worried about the meaning of life, this allows the viewers to accept and understand the idea that what they are about to view is total fiction. All the characters are presented to the audience as part of the “game” that is about to start. “The ball is round, the game lasts 90 minutes, everything else is pure theory” is being heard in a voice over. Herr Schuster looking straight to the camera before kicking a soccer ball and starting “the game” which is Lola’s journey.

3.The narrative structure is different from the linear narrative due to each run starting at the exact same place at the exact same time however the runs are shown after one another. Her journey is shown in three different aspects, the alternative events taking place because of her choice. The events are shown in sequences, however the narrative is presented in a non-linear with it starting at the same place each time.

4. The use of colours that Tykwer uses within the film have different meanings such as black and white is being used when showing the past. The colour red is usually means danger and this is used when Manni and Lola get killed. Flashing scenes are used as well and this means that the viewer is able to see what is coming ahead ( the future )

Spiral represents not only a journey of life but the changes that happens as it goes on. As such when Lola runs down the stairs a spiral is used within the film as a symbolical meaning the camera circles around the mother which then goes over the TV and an animated Lola is shown. The animated character runs down the stairs where she bumps into a dog and the dog barks at her, this all happens on a path of the spiral staircase, this represents just one of the events that she will encounter. another spiral is shown when she gets to the door on the window as she opens that door her adventure starts.

5. An example of changes the circumstances for others is when Lola bumps into a car that came out of an alley way, as that happens the driver brakes and this ends him nt crashing into the car on the main road, but in the previous version he did. Even though a crash does still happen it is not because of Lola.

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week 4. Ideology

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Story about family member blog task.

Before i was Born in the year 1985 my mother had a passion for baking cupcakes. She always used to bake them for her friends and family. As a little girl she always wanted to have her own little bakery shop and expand her talent from cup cakes to cakes, dougnuts etc. So one day she did exactly just that. After working from home and putting herself out there she collected enough money to open up her own shop. My mother owned her own little shop and she called it ‘familie cup cakes’ , the reason why family was spelt like was because she lived in Holland and that is how they spell family. Reason why it was called family was because she later on would teach her siblings to bake exactly just like her so that they could join with working with her at her work place and that only the members of staff would actually be family.

‘Familie cupcakes’ didn’t only contain dutch products but also products from across the glob, she became pretty much successful and well known in her home town. She would make wedding cakes, birthday cakes, bridal shower, kids birthdays etc.

But as the years went by the people around her got older and ended up having to quite and raise their kids my mother too had to let go of her job and shop and raise her kids especially because I was a very diffucult child when i was younger and very needy. Her bussiness eventually was shut down and her hopes and dreams of becoming a famous bakery woman came to an end.

Interviewing my mother about this topic brought back a lot of memories for her so i asked her if she would ever try to start over again as it would be much easier to start off a business at this time as we have the internet now to advertise our work on it and get amazing opportunity’s from there, she replied no. Because she had her time and she Will never forgot how amazing it was and is hoping her talent would pass over to one of her kids some day.

My mother still makes cup cakes at home for us every Friday and it never gets old.

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Camera format

Me and my film crew for film documentary switched things up and decided to film with our own camera instead of the university camera which was the DJI Osmo pocket. We used wide- angle lens because it is perfect for wide shots such as the wide shot we used in the theatre. Also because the camera is so small and is able to be put and connect on top of a mobile device it helps for our camera man to walk around and be more flexable instead of using a big camera and not being able to film in small tight places because some of the frames won’t be in frame properly. On top of the Osmo Pocket is a 12MP, 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor with a f/2.0 aperture which is capable of recording 4K video at a rate of 100Mbps. The camera is the same as what’s included with the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone. As such, you’re essentially getting a high-quality drone cam on a pocket-sized gimbal. This camera couldn’t been better for our film documentary because the first scene was done in such a tight space that it would have been almost impossible to get everything in frame. The camera’s sound quality is not the best so there for we had to use a lavalier mic in order to get the sound correct.