Camera Workshop 1

 In this media session we had our first camera workshop in preparation for filming for our opening sequences. In the session we covered how to assemble the camera with different components such as the tripod attaching the camera to the tripod and bubbling the camera etc.

Setting up the camera:

• First in setting up the camera you have to set up the tripod you do this by loosening the notches on the sides of the tripod to then extend it to the height of your subject and you can further adjust the height by then turning the upper notches.
  
  
• Next to attach the camera to the top of the tripod you need to check all the grooves to make sure that nothing is protruding out the grooves so that the camera slides smoothly into the top of the tripod. 
  
  
• After this you have to attach the pan handle to the side of the tripod this is used to tilt and pan the the camera side to side and up and down.
  
  
• The finally step to set up the camera is to bubble it to do this you will have to loosen spirit level by a quarter then get the bubble to centre inside the bigger air gap and then tighten it again. This means that the camera has become level.

Type of Camera:

• The types of camera we will all be using to film our opening sequences will be a Blackmagic Arri Alexa film camera these cameras are very high quality are are even used in professional productions.

How to use the camera:

• To focus the camera you should always zoom in on your target fully and then focus this is because it picks up the finer details and then retains them when you zoom back out to your original shot size.
  
  
• You can zoom in with the Alexa by turning the focus pulling  ring around the lens this allows you to zoom in and out.
  
  
• White balancing is essential for filming as it can determine the whole feel of what you film and whether the colour matches the scene. To adjust the white balance on your camera you will turn the switch until you get your preferred lighting which matches the intensity of your scene.

Camera safety:

The "yours and mine rule" is a precaution to make sure that there is less chance of the camera being dropped and damaged when it is being handled by a crew.

When someone is passing the camera they should say "yours" when they know that the person they are passing it to has a firm grip on the camera. The person it is being passed to should then say "mine" when they know they have a firm grip on the camera. This clear communication ensures that the camera is not dropped.

Digipack Conventions

 A digipack is the entire packaging of a CD which is used to attract audience members to buy the CD.

A Digipack consists of: the album artwork, track list, artist, warning, barcode and images.

Whilst CDs are not purchased so frequently anymore elements of the digipack are still vital for digital download and streams such as cover artwork and the track list.

The blog post below will explain the typical conventions of a digipack.

Typical conventions of a digipack

• Digipacks tend to have eye catching pictures or cover art that take over the whole front cover of the pack with the title over the picture.
• The picture illustrated on the front cover tends to have a relationship to either the songs on the album or the overall feel of the album.
• The song title and artist's name are typically shown on the front cover of the digipack.

Track List 

• The track list for an album is very important as it has all the song names and the order they are in on the CD it also gives somewhat of a description of what type of music you're going to be listening to as the names of the songs can often give that away as they are usually intended to.
  
  
• Track lists are also important so fans can know what songs are going to be featured in this album and whether its songs they like or songs they are not really fans of.
  
  

Artist/Band name 

• The artist or band name is usually plastered onto the back and the front of the Digipack, The font in which is done in can vary depending on the vibe and style the artist is trying to convey with the overall design of the digipack.
• The artist/band name could also be what draws in certain audiences and helps them decide whether this is the type of music they want to listen to and whether the band is suited to their tastes.
  

Warning(if applicable)

• Warnings on digipack usually come in the form of a parental advisory sticker plastered on the CD cover usually on both the front and the back, this is mainly used to notify parents if their child is the one buying the CD that there is strong language in many of the songs and that they should just be advised.

Barcode

• The barcode is usually put on the back of a digipack they are used to scan the CD when they are being purchased.

Images 

• The main images used on digipacks are the pictures or artworks used as the front and back covers of the CD these again are used to draw attention to certain audiences based on whether the pictures appeal to them aesthetically or not this can be a deciding factor on whether someone will buy the CD or not.

Add images 

Enigma Codes Theory

 Enigma Codes 

• The Enigma Code Theory by Barthes is a series of questions posed to the audience to leave a sense of ambiguity and to leave them hooked by the media they are consuming. An enigma code is a piece of action raised with missing information that makes the audience wonder what the answer to the question raised might be. For example, this could be a character who is first introduced in a mysterious way making the audience think, “Who are they?” Enigma codes are used in films and television but also advertising and other forms of media.

Action Codes:

• Action codes are a part of almost every film. They are questions left for the audience to wonder what will happen after a specific action or location has been teased and will later be brought back to light in the film e.g. A secret door in a house is seen.
  
  
• Action codes are foreshadowing events that we will most likely see in the film later and the audience will get their questions answered behind the mystery or question raised earlier in the film.
  
  
• Its important that action codes raised during the film are at least addressed later in some form. Tank 432 is a bad example of this as they raised many action codes but did not pay most of them off towards the end of the film, this left the audience feeling dissatisfied with the film.
  
  
  

Examples of Action Codes in films:

Silence of the Lambs (1991)

• The Silence of the Lambs is a psychological thriller about a female FBI agent, Clarice Starling, who has to rely on the help of a convicted cannibal, Hannibal Lector, to help track down a serial killer.
  
  
• At the beginning of the film Clarice is training when she is asked to go and see her superior Mr Crawford. This is an action code because it changes the narrative and the direction of what would have happened within the film. We see another action code as Clarice gets in the lift full of men to go see Mr Crawford. The lift scene is an action code as it represents some of Clarice's  characteristics of being a strong, independent woman as she's in a lift full of men. If she had taken the stairs, things could have also been different; she may have missed Mr Crawford and we would not have found out what he wanted. When Clarice enters the lift full of other men, they are all wearing bold red uniforms whereas she's wearing a pale blue uniform. There is also a huge difference in height between Clarice and the other men. This emphasises the fact that she's an individual and that she stands out from the rest of the agents and also that she can hold her own in a male environment. Another action code used within this scene is the Behavioural Services sign as this reveals more about the location she's in and hints at the type of people she might be involved with later in the film.
  
  
  
  
  

Steve Neale Genre Theory

 Neale - Genre Theory 

• Steve Neale believes that film genre changes throughout its lifespan and never stays as one thing during its entirety.
  
  
• He thinks that the genre will change its structure in order to carry on evolving this cycle of change.

His cycle is:

• Form finds itself 
• Classic 
• Pushes the boundaries 
• Parody 
• Homage 

Forms finds itself:

E.g.  Star Wars

• This was a film that was heavily based on sci-fi and action and because the first of the Star Wars films was released so long ago it was a massive change for fans as they wouldn't expect to see such an advanced film for their time culminating genres such as sci-fi, action and drama.

• It set the standard for what people wanted Sci-fi to be like and how it should be portrayed. This had allowed for Sci-fi to be brought into the mainstream.

Classic:

E.g. Wizard of Oz (1939)

• The Wizard of Oz is a Fantasy/Musical film the main theme of which it being a fantasy this was one of the major fantasy films that most people still remember to this day as it is widely know as a classic around the world. It has the typical conventions of a fantasy one of which being set in a different world and having magical creatures.

• Was the stepping stone for other films that had references to it or were heavily inspired by the film. The film is now seen as iconic.

Pushes the boundaries:

E.g. Deadpool

• Deadpool is an action film which also relies heavily on its comedic elements it is a film where it is neither strictly action or strictly comedy it is a fusion that has created a sort of hybrid genre. it has the typical conventions of an action film such as violence, fighting etc. 
• The film was made after a staple amount of Marvel and DC comic book films and basically flipped the formula they used in those movies on its head.

Parody:

E.g. Zombieland 

• Zombieland is a comedy/horror film that meets almost every stereotype in any classic zombie film but decides to turn some of those stereotypes on their head such as the running zombies. The film also chose to have very unconventional methods to surviving in a zombie apocalypse and how they dealt with the zombies.  

• Zombieland is playing with tropes from the original genre and changing them to see how fans of the originals react to references made in the film.

Homage:

E.g. Pulp Fiction 

• Throughout the whole of Pulp Fiction it is riddled with direct references to many movies spanning from the 1920's to the 90's. This is a movie that pays homage to the many movies that inspired it through the ways scenes are shot and props that are used, such as the scene where Vincent Vega is looking into the suitcase this is a direct reference to Pandora's Box(1929). 

• The list of films that Pulp Fiction references is extensive but shows Tarantino's love for classic films that have come before.