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.

 

Film technology

This blog post will explore the developments in film technology and explain how they are used by companies and enjoyed by audiences.

CGI - Computer Generated Imagery

·       At the most basic level, Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) is the creation of still or animated visual content with computer software. CGI most commonly refers to the 3D computer graphics used to create characters, scenes and special effects in films, television and games. The technology is also used in everything from advertising, architecture, engineering, virtual reality and even art.

 

·       CGI is used extensively these days because it is often cheaper than physical methods which rely on creating elaborate miniatures, hiring extras for crowd scenes, and most commonly for when it's simply not safe or humanly possible to create the visuals.

 

 

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CGI is created using a range of different methods. The use of algorithms can produce complex fractal patterns. 2D pixel-based image editors can create vector shapes. 3D graphics software can create everything for simple primitive shapes to complex forms made from flat triangles and quadrangles. 3D software can even simulate the way light reacts to a surface and generate particle effects.

 

·       The first movie to use computer-generated imagery (CGI) was Westworld released in 1973, which had received great reviews from audiences and critics. Disney Pixar is a company that focuses entirely on CGI and it is an essential part of their films and its success the first film to be released entirely using CGI was Toy Story which was a landmark moment for cinema and hugely successful.

 

 

 

70mm Film

 

·       70mm film is used to project onto bigger cinema screens so that the audience feels they are part of an experience. It is used as it can capture more imagery into one shot and is helpful for capturing smaller details ahead of visuals effects being added to the film.

 

·       To make the most of 70mm film, an anamorphic lens captures extremely wide aspect ratios to be used while still preserving quality. This was used with incredible success in the 1959 film Ben-Hur and the 2015 film The Hateful Eight, both of which were filmed with the Ultra Panavision 70/MGM Camera 65 process at an aspect ratio of 2.76:1. It required the use of a 1.25x anamorphic lens to horizontally compress the image, and a corresponding lens on the projector to uncompressed it. For the audience this allowed them to capture the epic landscapes used in the films.

 

·       Both 65 and 75 mm film are not used that regularly however limited use of 65 mm film was revived in the late 1970s for some of the visual effect’s sequences in films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, mainly because the larger negative did a better job than 35 mm negative of minimizing visible film grain during optical compositing.

 

 

IMAX

·       IMAX is filmed using high end digital cameras which allow for extreme detail and colour enhancement. The films are screened in special IMAX theatres where the screen is 4500 times bigger than the average tv screen. Seeing a film in IMAX feels and event for audience members because the experience feels immersive.

Here are some interesting facts about IMAX:

 

·       The film is strong enough to pull a truck.

• A 2D IMAX camera weighs approximately 36kg. That means if wildlife shows up, you can’t grab a camera and follow it as you can with video or 16mm. The 3D IMAX camera is the size of a hotel mini-bar refrigerator and weighs 120kg.
• Light from the 15,000-watt lamp in an IMAX projector is so bright that if it were on the moon, we could see it from earth with the naked eye.
• If a large log were held in front of the light beam from the projector, it would spontaneously combust.
• The l5/70 film frame used by the IMAX projection system is 10 times the size of a conventional 35mm frame.
• The Sonics Proportional Point Source (PPS) loudspeaker system was specifically designed for IMAX theatres. The system typically uses 44 laser focused speaker drivers located throughout the theatre to fully envelope the audience.
• IMAX is filmed and screened on massive film stock, cameras, and projectors. The cameras are heavy and noisy but provide a 12k resolution and the film is run horizontally instead of vertically when screened on a projector.

 

    Advances in Distribution Technology

 

·       The introduction of Netflix and other SVOD (streaming video on demand) platforms has disrupted the way that films are delivered to audiences.

 

·       The platforms provide quicker access to an entire library of films which gives audiences members far more choice than traditional terrestrial channels.

 

·       During 2020 and the pandemic cinema distribution was halted. This led to the release of big films on digital platforms to ensure that film releases didn’t stop entirely. As a result of this the delay between a film being in cinema and then being released to a digital platform will now become much shorter. This means that audience members have increased choices around how the access films, in the past if someone wanted to watch a film, they would have to go see it at the cinema knowing that it might take months before they could buy it. Audiences now have the choice to wait for a digital release and watch at home now that the waiting times are much shorter.

Richard Dyer and Star image

 Richard Dyer is an English academic who held a professorship in the Department of Film Studies at King’s College London. He is the one responsible for coming up with the Star Image theory.

There are four areas of this theory that I will be looking at in this blog post:

Star construction 

• Richard Dyer believes that a star is not a real person. The star is constructed by the artist themselves, their record label and other businesses that can make money off them.
• A star is created through movies, music videos, magazines etc.
• The image of the star is created and how they are shown to the world is controlled. For example the way they dress, the way they speak, the messages they put out into the world are all constructed to capture the audience.
• A stars public persona is not necessarily how they would act in the privacy if their own home for example Katy Perry wears extra gent costumes in her music videos but might not necessarily wear these types of clothes regularly in private.

Star as a commodity 

• Richard Dyer believes that stars are produced to create a profit from their image and off their audience with merchandise such as t shirts, posters etc.
• Record labels will create similar stars as they know that their image will generate certain trends and patterns that will increase their own profit 
• This is why a lot of boy bands were made to be very similar as record labels recognised that their image sells and that they can create as many as they need to to produce more profit.

Star as an ideology 

• Stars will represent certain parts of their audience and create similar views to their audience this allows them to amass a large following of people believing in everything the star does and believing that everything they do they have a right to do it.
• As a result fans of the specific star will begin to copy their style of clothing and try to act in the same way as them.
• For example fans of Beyonce will share her views on women and how they are independent and shouldn't be controlled.

Paradox of the Star

• The star must be both ordinary and extraordinary
• This means that the person must have some section of as normal enough life where then fans can relate to the star on a more personal level but must also be different enough from an average person that they can be idolised by their fans 
• The star must be present but also absent 
• This means that the star must have mystery surrounding them so that it keeps the audience of that star interested in their lives at all times but must also be revealing in that the fans know something about the person their idolising.

Social Media Posts

 

Instagram 

just finished recording the final take for new album releasing March 25 swipe across to hear new snippet!!!

Twitter

Finished writing a song that I started just after my mother passed away just 2 years ago its very important to me and i feel its about time a share my story of grief and acceptance with you all. 

Just Released the CD for our new Album check out our online stores to own it today!!