How to achieve my Aspirational Grade

Today I learnt that my interim grade is a B due to me attaining an overall score of 2.1.2.1 within my effort, ability to work independently, quality of writing and submission and quality of homework.

I have set myself 3 targets in order for me to achieve my aspirational grade which is an A, which will reflect on how hard I work up until the point when I will take my exam.

...My 3 Targets...

* Go over my notes taken in class in order for me to be able to remember what I learnt throughout the lesson and begin to revise for my exam, so that when I take it I understand what is being asked of me to do in order to receive full marks.

* Catch up on any work missed if I am absent for a lesson, to ensure that I do not fall behind during the upcoming weeks of the exam.

* Improve my quality of writing by practicing more questions and exam papers so that when it comes to me doing the exam, I am fully prepared to provide a detailed answer for the question of which I am being told to do.

Self Evaluation 2

...Attainment...

1 - I have graded myself a 1 due to the fact that I feel as though my attainment within the course has been continuous as I have always tried to do my homework to the best of my ability which as a result shows the teachers that I have understood the work and what has been taught by them.

...Effort...

2 - I have graded myself a 2 as I always aim to complete my work on time and always take notes during lessons, but I feel as though I could try harder within the lessons by contributing more in class discussions.

...Punctuality...

3 - I feel as though my punctuality to lessons has improved a lot since last term which is why I have graded myself a 3 but I still feel as though it could be a lot better if I was to come on time to all of my lessons as I am sometimes late but only by a few minutes.

...Submission and quality of homework...

1 - I have graded myself a 1 because I feel as though my submission and quality of homework is always good as I aim to meet deadlines and always work to the best of my ability to show that I understand the different concepts of media.

...Ability to work independently...

1 - I have no problem in working independently which is why I have graded myself a 1, reason for being is because as a class we are usually told to work alone and then feedback to the class which as a result allows me to share my ideas and opinions on a specific topic.

...Quality of writing...

2 - I have graded myself a 2 as I feel as though my quality of writing is fairly good but can be improved by linking the key concepts to the media terminology.

...Organisation of Media folder...

1 - I have graded myself a 1 as I know that my Media Studies folder is very well organised due to the fact that I have separated Mr Bush and Miss Holliday's work from each other by using dividers and I have also put all of my work in order of date.

...Oral contributions in class...

3 - I have graded myself a 3 as I know that I do not orally contribute within class as much as other people even though I know I am capable of doing so. I feel as though I could talk more within class discussions which as a result will allow me to share my ideas and opinions on a topic with the other people within my class.

...Contributions to your Practical Production Group...

2 - I have graded myself a 2 as I know that I have made equal contributions within my group and have therefore been able to share my ideas with the other people within my group, however as a group I know that there a few parts within our storyline that will need to be changed to ensure that we produce a trailer that truly reflects the way in which we work.

(WWW)

* My submission and quality of homework shows that I have understood what has been taught.

* I am able to link the different types of media terminology to one another which as a result provides a continuous concept flow.

* I am able to work well independently as well as in groups which shows that I am able to adapt to different types of situations.

(EBI)

* I contributed more within class discussions.

* I link the key concepts of media to the media terminology.

* I improved on my punctuality to lessons.

Next Best Step for Film Language Essay - Rewrite of my Second Paragraph which includes full stops and Information about Editing

I Am Legend

     The cinematography used within the opening of the extract is first shown in a long shot which then converts into a close-up shot of the protagonist. Due to the director having mixed these two shots together and using them as a combination the audience are able to see the main character's facial expressions in relation to what he is seeing and are able to see how he is reacting to what they see. For example, right at the beginning of the extract there is a long shot of one of the mutant-like creatures banging himself against a glass door which has been shown to the audience as we see that he wants to gain access to the man standing behind that door, this long shot then cuts to a close-up shot of the protagonist's face where we see that he is some what scared of the creature but sort of understands what it wants. In association to this is the non-diegetic parallel sound being played in the background which has come in the form of a music soundtrack with a type of haunting melody to it, with us being the audience and by listening to this we will notice that although we can see some of the actors' lips moving we cannot hear anything they are saying. This is most notable at 0:14 - 0:19 seconds where we can see that the female is holding the little boy and telling him to "shush", to the audience this gives off the effect that they are scared and don't know as of yet what is going to become of them. A straight cut has been used throughout the beginning of the extract which allows the audience to see that the ending of this film if not the whole thing has been continued on by linking the different shots used together to appear as though this part of the film has a continuous flow within it. The purpose of the director using this type of editing technique was possibly to allow the audience to be further led on into the ending of the film and to see for themselves how this type of edit will develop the narrative. Another reason as to why the director may have done this is because they wanted to show the audience how the use of this film technique builds up to the climax. It appears that there has been a jump cut used at 1:42 seconds - 1:46 seconds because from 1:42 seconds to about 1:45 seconds we are shown that the protagonist is taking a hand grenade out of a drawer, the big close-up shot of this then cuts to one of the mutants banging himself against the glass door. If the audience looks quickly we will see that at 1:46 seconds the protagonist is looking at the mutants, we do not see him put his head up in order to look; this is where the jump cut has been used. The reason as to why the director may have done this is because they did not want this shot to last longer than necessary, they most likely just wanted the audience to see the protagonist take the grenade out of the drawer and look straight at the mutants which has an affect on the audience that we know what the protagonist is going to do and cannot wait any longer for him to do it.

Film Language Essay

I Am Legend

0:00 - 2:10

2:30 - 4:07

   

     In this essay, I will be analysing the ending scene from the film "I Am Legend", as with any opening of the ending of a film I think that it always gives the audience some perspective into how the character's actions lead to the climax of the film and if whether the story will end up continuing into the next film.

      The opening of the extract is shown in a long shot which then converts into a close-up shot of the protagonist, with the use of this the audience are able to see the main character's facial expressions in relation to what they are seeing; for example, right at the beginning of the extract there is a long shot of one of the mutant-like creatures banging himself against a glass door which has been shown to the audience as we see that he wants to gain access to the man standing behind that door, this then cuts to a close-up shot of the protagonist's face where we see that he is some what scared of the creatures but sort of understands what they want, in association to this is the non-diegetic parallel sound being played in the background which has come in the form of a music soundtrack with a type of haunting melody to it, with us being the audience and by listening to this we will notice that although we can see some of the actors' lips moving we cannot hear anything they are saying, this is widely noticed at 0:14 - 0:19 seconds where we can see that the female is holding the little boy and telling him to "shush", to the audience this gives off the effect that they are scared and don't know as of yet what is going to become of them. The director's purpose of using this particular technique is possibly to let the audience know that the male character is thinking about what he can do to save the woman and the boy in an attempt to restore mankind. With the camera continuously being on him and the use of diegetic sound heard from him, it tells the audience that within the film he plays a type of hero character as we are shown that he is telling the woman what to do and where to go in order to save herself therefore connoting to the audience that he has put others before himself. 

     At the beginning of the extract, we see that the main prop is a weapon as we see that the male character is holding a gun as he awaits for the mutants to break into the part of the room where he is in, showing that he is anticipating a sort of attack from them and connoting to the audience that the only way he thinks he can save himself, the woman and the little boy is by fighting the mutants off, however when the scene does go quiet and we only hear the non-diegetic sound being played we do know that he is thinking of what he can do to save everyone, this is especially noticed when he looks at the woman. It then cuts to him putting the gun down and taking blood out of one of his "patients", with the main prop within this part of the extract being a syringe, we see that he carefully hands it to the woman and tells her to go, the director's purpose of doing this is to let the audience know that this is obviously the main reason as to why the woman had turned up to see the man and that they both know that this is what can save all those who have become mutants or to prevent them becoming mutants themselves. This juxtaposes what is seen within the first 12 seconds of the extract, the audience will clearly be able to notice that a butterfly has been formed within the glass door in result of the mutant banging himself against it, we also hear a type of voice-over letting the audience know that the male character is thinking about his daughter as she says "Daddy, look at the butterfly", as said before the camera cuts to the protagonist looking at the woman as he now realises what he has to do, to the audience this shows that he clearly thinks about his daughter a lot and how the butterfly reminds him of her.

     From 1:15 - 2:10, we only hear non-diegetic sound being played in the form of a music soundtrack and evidently the main mutant shouting at the protagonist, with us being the audience this builds up the anticipation as we do not know as of yet what he is going to do and how he is going to go about it. In association to the camera framing of some parts of the extract, we are shown what the male protagonist is doing at 0:35 seconds and 0:54 seconds as there appears to be a close-up shot which has been used as said before connoting to the audience that what has been injected into this syringe is very important and must be taken great care of. The extract then fades out to white and cuts to the next part of the scene, the director probably used this type of editing method to let the audience know that the narrative of the film has now moved on which as a result has the effect on the audience that they are about to see how the protagonist's actions within the film has resulted in what becomes of the woman and the little boy and possibly those who have not become mutants.

     The setting appears to be in a very confined area where the actors will have to make use of what is around them; for example, at 1:42 seconds of the extract, we see the main character reach towards the back of a drawer and pull out a hand grenade, which for the purpose of this has been used to show that the protagonist would rather risk his own life than risking those of the innocent. Due to what we are seeing and hearing within the first few minutes of the extract we know that it could possibly be the end of three people's lives as they are locked in a room with no way as of yet of escaping, which as a result provides low key lighting. The director has probably used this type of lighting to connote to the audience that it is possibly humankind's last chance of surviving. At this time the expectations of the audience are probably low as we do not know what will become of the three people, what will become of the rest of mankind and what will become of the mutants, if anything dramatic is to happen.

     The mutants' clothing to some extent appears to be casual as we see that they are wearing shirts and trousers, the director's purpose of using these costumes was possibly to connote to the audience that these mutants were in fact once human beings but as a result of some sort of disease were changed into mutants which consequently resulted in them losing all their emotions and anything they feel for others, most noticeably perceived when they continue to bang against the glass door despite the woman and the child being afraid, the director perhaps used this technique to connote to the audience that the mutants do not care about anything or anyone apart from what they came for; the protagonist. In relation to this is the main character's costumes and the female character's costumes, both appear to be very casual and natural which shows the audience that it is a very up-to-date film, but as a result of the low key lighting the actors appear to look grubby and grimy as their costumes appear to be dirty and clearly covered in blood connoting to the audience that they have evidently battled with these mutants once before.

    Within the first half of the extract, in regards to their facial expressions, they are shown to be very afraid of the mutants and what will possibly become of them, they all think that they are about to die and have no way of surviving, this is shown in a close-up shot of the male and female actors' faces. The director used this type of shot to give off the effect to the audience that this is how someone in the characters' position would feel, possibly feeling as though there is no hope of them escaping from what they are afraid of.  

     Moving onto the second half of the extract, (3:00 - 4:07) with regards to editing, it doesn't show much of it being used whereas we are able to see that there have been multiple camera framings and movements used. When the woman and the little boy are driving it shows that there has been use of a point-of-view shot which allows the audience to put themselves into the characters' position which consequently allows them to feel as though they are part of the film. A type of tracking shot appears to have been used within this specific part of the extract as the camera follows the woman driving, in association to this is the close-up shot which has been used on her face, the director's purpose of using this was to allow the audience to catch a glimpse of the female character's facial expressions, what is more is the effect it has on the audience. With the close-up shot being used it allows them to see how the woman is reacting to her new surroundings and quickly allows them to possibly think why she is there and why she is reacting in the way she is as the close-up shot shows her looking at something right ahead of her although the audience are not shown  what she is looking at as of yet. 

     The use of non-diegetic sound within this half of the extract quickly sets in as we begin to hear a voice-over which appears to be attributable to by the female character, within this voice-over we hear her talking about how in 2009 humans were nearly wiped off the Earth as the cause of a deadly virus but 2 years later a Doctor found the cure for this virus and restored all mankind allowing humans to live freely. This goes back to the ending of the first half of the extract when we saw the protagonist give up his own life to save everyone else's, she ends the sentence with "We are his legacy, This is his legend, Light of the darkness", the purpose of the director using this was to reiterate the narrative of the film to the audience once again before it ended. Due to the quote above the audience know that the protagonist seen at the beginning of the extract played the hero character within the film as he chose to save everyone else by risking his own life.

     The lighting used within this half of the extract is shown to be very high key which in a way connotes to the audience that mankind has been restored and that the characters within the film are now free of living. The characters' make-up throughout the entire extract appears to be very light and subtle, the director's purpose of this was to show the film as being very natural not wanting to take away from it's genre by having the actor's wear a lot of make-up as he/she possibly did not want to make the actor's look futuristic even though it is a science fiction film. The props used within this half of the extract are shown to be again a lot of weapons such as rifles shown at 3:26 seconds of the extract giving off the effect to the audience that even though all mankind has been restored there may be some mutants still lurking about, it also gives off the effect that they are from the Army as their costumes appear to be camouflaged. As a result of this and the female character's new surroundings, the setting appears to be in some sort of town that is protected where only humans live as they are shown to be welcoming her and the little boy into the new environment.

    As a final point is again regards to the camera framing and movements, within the last 20 seconds of this half of the extract, there is a close-up shot of the female character's face which shows her to be smiling and looking happy which as a result of this connotes to the audience that she is contented with the fact of seeing others like herself knowing that others had survived the virus. From 3:44 - 3:51 seconds the female character is shown to be handing a man a vial of blood of which he takes into his hands with gentleness. The director probably had the actors to act in this sort of way as he/she wanted the audience to know that it was the cure for the virus. A crane shot has been used in the final few seconds of this extract which lets the audience know that the film is ending and the narrative has come to a conclusion.

How Film Trailers are used to attract an Audience...

 Miss Potter

 (British)

Genre: Biographical 

    "Miss Potter" is a 2006 British-made biographical film which focuses on the life of well known children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. The film was directed by Chris Noonan who is best known for the pioneering live-action films he makes such as Babe which was released in 1995. The film itself was produced by Momentum Pictures which is one of the leading motion picture distributors in the UK releasing 20 theatrical films a year. 

     The voice-over provided for the trailer greatly emphasises what the audience will see within the film; for example, when he says "Beatrix Potter saw the world differently" we as the audience know that we will see the world from the eyes of Beatrix Potter. The non-diegetic sound also reflects on what will be seen within the film, as the soundtrack is being played in the background it tells the audience that there may be some sort of fantasy element which will be seen within the film, this is also provided by how the characters that Beatrix draws on the paper appear to move showing that they have in a way come to life. There appears to be a type of narrative enigma seen within the trailer as the audience will get to see the life of Beatrix and how she spent her life doing what she does which made her into such a well known author. With each clip being linked to the next, it shows the audience how the main character from the person that she was to the person that she now is.

      Due to what is seen within the trailer and the main character's name, the audience will have figured out that it is a biographical film based on the life of that character which is known as the voice-over provides the main content of what the film is about. Symbolic iconographies such as the characters Beatrix draws onto the paper relate to the genre of the film and how the audience may be able to interpret what the film will be about based on what they see within the trailer, it juxtaposes the biographical genre as people who may be familiar with Beatrix's work will instantly know the characters she is drawing which allows the audience to decide for themselves whether they want to see a film based on an author. A connotation of the biographical genre of the film is also represented by the mise-en-scène shown within the trailer, due to the actors' costumes and the different settings shown within the trailer such as the big houses and the publishing factory quickly shown at 0:45 seconds of the trailer, it connotes to the audience that the film has been set in a different period of time to the one they are in now which lets them know that the narrative will perhaps revolve around that specific time and possibly what happened during that time, especially to the main character. 

      As a result of what is seen and heard within the trailer, I would have to say that the film appears to have two target audiences; one being the primary audience and the other being the secondary audience, this is because again due to what is seen and heard within the trailer both types of audiences. The primary audience would most likely be children aged from 7-12 years, reason for being is because  the trailer seems to attract the younger generation of people in a way that it does not attract the older generation, this is due to the parts within the trailer where it shown that Beatrix is drawing the animals on paper such as the rabbit and the duck, children who have probably read Beatrix's books will be familiar with these little characters and therefore will want to know how they were developed. The secondary audience for the film is most likely to be parents as they will obviously have to take their children to watch the film and therefore will be forced to watch it themselves, in comparison to this it is most likely that the film would attract the female gender more than the male gender; this is because shown within the trailer is a romance between Beatrix and Norman Warne, people of this age generation specifically women will want to see how this romance may develop within the film. 

      The trailer shows the audience that this film is worth coming to see mainly due to the voice-over which has been provided for it, people may already be familiar with the stories that Beatrix has bought to their attention which juxtaposes what is said by the voice-over, especially when we hear "the real story will happen off the page", with us being the audience this in a way connotes to us that the film is worth coming to see as we get to see the person behind the pages of which they develop. Heard throughout the trailer is non-diegetic sound which is in the form of a type of backing track for the trailer, again this relates to the reason as to why the trailer will attract the audience to see the film; it is very harmonious and melodic which to the audience will sound a bit fancy and imaginative connoting that the film may have some sort of fantasy element to it, this tells the audience that the film is worth seeing as it sets up some sort of enigma for them as they will try to figure out how the two sounds may relate to each other and how the narrative will develop. 

     The target audience for the film appears to be children from the ages of 7-12, the film itself will probably be rated as U or PG; the reason as to why this may happen is because as you can see within the trailer, there is a romantic attraction between the characters of the protagonist and her co-star, talk of this romance may be a bit to graphic for young children and therefore could possibly be rated as PG so that there would have to be parental guidance if children were to see the film. 

    The representation of the setting of the film is given away within the first few seconds of the trailer, due to the actors' costumes, the audience will be able to know for themselves that the film is set within a specific period of time prior to the one that they are in now. The characters' costumes portray them as being very elegant and sophisticated which as a result the lets the audience know that the film will have a stern but at the same time joyful element to it as the audience are able to see how people in those times dressed. In addition to this is the representation of the protagonist Beatrix Potter, by saying this I mean the person who is portraying her, as shown near the ending of the trailer, we see that she is being played by Renée Zellweger who usually plays the part of the protagonist or a role which is associated with the protagonist within other films she has starred in such as "Bridget Jones' Diary", "Chicago" and "Down With Love". The audience also know that Renée Zellweger will portray the role of the protagonist very well as they are told that she is an Academy Award Winner which shows them that she has won big-time awards for her portrayal of the characters she plays, with knowing this the trailer could possibly urge it's target audience to see the film as they have shown that this new role in which Renée is playing will be portrayed to a good extent. 

      As seen within many trailers are the conventions which are the things of which a person could expect to see within a trailer such as who may be starring in the film and what the age certificate which notifies people of what age a person has to be in order to see the film. Seen within this trailer are many conventions which give people information on what the film is about and what they could expect to see, the trailer only lasts for 1 minute 48 seconds which in that time throughout is heard a voice-over detailing to the audience what the film is about and how the main character's view of the world had inspired many. Different camera shots are also shown throughout the trailer which shows the audience how the characters seem to react towards each other and how they acted within the period of time of when the film was set; this is mostly shown throughout the entire trailer which is provided by the close-up's and long shots displaying to the audience the characters' facial expressions and body language showing that during that time people seemed to react differently to how people now react in today's society .i.e. very elegant and well-dressed. The audience is shown a showcase of the actors and actresses who will be starring in the film which helps to sell the film as the audience may have seen these actors and actresses in films prior to this one and therefore decide for themselves whether they want to see the film or not based on who is starring in it. 

     It is known that in many trailers the title of the film is not shown until the end which occurs within this one as the audience are given clues on what it may be called but are not entirely sure, with the title of the film being "Miss Potter" it indicates to the audience that the film is clearly based on the life of someone and due to it having this type of title the audience will want to know why the film is named after this person and who this person is. The conversation between the characters within the trailer appears to have been reduced to one-liners which mainly focus on how Beatrix sees the world and how the drawings that she done in her room developed into something bigger, there is also some talk about love and marriage which will probably lure the secondary target audience into watching the film as they will want to see how the love between two characters develops within the film. Also shown near the beginning of the trailer is the institutional logo (Momentum Pictures), with the appearance of this it tells the audience who the film has been produced by. In addition to this is the non-diegetic sound in the form of a soundtrack which creates an atmosphere within the trailer giving the audience the impression that there may be some sort of amorous aspect seen within the film between one or more characters.

      The target audience for the film appears to be children from the ages of 7-12, the film itself will probably be rated as U or PG; the reason as to why this may happen is because as you can see within the trailer, there is a romantic attraction between the characters of the protagonist and her co-star, talk of this romance may be a bit to graphic for young children and therefore could possibly be rated as PG so that there would have to be parental guidance if children were to see the film. 

     To conclude, within the trailer is shown the release date at the very end, as the audience we are not told the specific release date of the film, we are only told that it is "Coming Soon" which for us builds up the anticipation for the film to be released as we expect it to be in the cinemas very soon, possibly sooner than we initially expected.