Task Seven

Watch a UK-Based Drama and consider how young people are represented?

The programme ‘Common’ is about a young teen getting caught into a murder that he didn’t commit. The character Johnjo gets asked by three mates if he will drive them to the pizza shop, where the fatal murder of Tommy takes place. Johnjo unknowingly took place in the murder under the ‘law of joint enterprise’. The programme explores the contentious issues brought by ‘joint enterprise’.

· Use of costume;
The four main characters are wearing quite simple clothes, showing that they are just normal person. They aren’t really rich and wear designer clothes. Also the parents and friends are also wearing common clothes, showing that they are just an average family and they are just like everyone else. I think this is very effective because it shows that something like this could happen to anyone that it doesn’t just happen to certain people. That it an effect everyone it could be someone you walk past or someone that lives down your street.

· Use of actor;
The four main characters are played by young actors, they use language and act in the way for ‘typical’ teenage lads would act. When they find out the trouble that they could get into they all start to blame one another and bicker about who needs to take the blame. By using a young actor it helps the audience connect with the feelings that he would be going through, the actor that plays Johnjo takes on the role well and shows the real emotion that a young teenager would go through, making a good connection with the audience.

·  The character’s actions;
The main character Johnjo gets caught in a murder he didn’t commit, he drives the getaway car and doesn’t understand that one of his friends has killed another boy ‘Tommy’. After the murder has been committed the boy that committed the murder threated Johnjo to not be ‘grass’. But after Johnjo’s parents find out his position in this murder case, Johnjo walks to the police station and hands himself in. Telling the truth hoping that they would see that he isn’t guilty of murder, he only gives the name of one of other boys involved he never revels the rest, he only thinks that they need the killer to sort the case out. But with the new law all the boys need to be named because they were all involved.

After he has been sent to jail Johnjo writes a letter to Tommy’s mother Margaret explaining that he never wanted Tommy to be hurt. That he hopes he can forgive her for what has been done, he then explains that he understands that he is guilty for what had taken place. The two mothers then embrace and that gives people the understanding of both sides of the ‘joint enterprise’ and how they cope with it.

Task Six

Choose a director and watch as many films directed by them as you can.

Steven Spielberg; Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, Jaws and ET

Do they tend to direct a specific genre of film?
Steven Spielberg, doesn’t have one specific genre. He has movies that are non- fiction like Jurassic Park and he also had made sci-fi films then his films began expressing issues such as the Holocaust, the slave trade, war, and terrorism. So he doesn’t stick with just one genre of film, he is very experienced in lots of genres. Spielberg won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Are the storylines/ themes of the films similar?
Steven Spielberg has made movies like Schindler’s list this is very specific to the Holocaust and shows the effect the Holocaust had on everyone and that one man’s actions can help save people’s lives. Also he has made Jurassic Park which is completely different it’s a non-fiction and is about a childhood dream coming true and everything goes wrong. The storylines for most of the films are very different and have very different storylines e.g. Jaws and Schindler’s List they both focus very different subjects.

Is lighting/colour used in a similar way in your director’s films?
The lighting and colour is different in most of films, this is to help portray an image and for dramatic effect. In Schindler’s List they don’t use any colour it’s a black and white film, apart from a young girl who is in a red coat. The colour red shows that the little girl is being effected by the war without even knowing what’s going on, showing the deeper side of colour and how that’s effective. Jaws and Jurassic Park use similar lighting when the film grows more dramatic the lighting becomes duller and darker creating more drama and suspense. 

Are the films edited in similar ways?
The sci-fi films and the horror films are edited in the same way, they have very fast pact scenes and that is followed by a cut into another part of the film. By using the fast cutting editing it helps the film create drama showing that during the film there is much distress and drama going. They also use a lot of Action editing showing that there is more action making it more interesting, like in Jaws when the shark starts attacking everything is so manic and water splashing everywhere the cuts are short and sharp. They use dissolve out when a character dies this way it’s slowing the film down letting the drama disappear and the attention be focused on that character before rushing straight back into the drama.
 
Does the director tend to use the same actors?
No he doesn’t use the same characters, in every film he uses different characters. I think this is a better than using the same characters because the audience will connect with that character, also by using different actors they will take on the roll differently. Tim Burton always uses Jonny Depp, but he is quite a versatile actor and if you don’t have an actor like that then it’s always better to use an actor that will perform its best.
 
 Which production company distributes your director’s films? What other sort of films do they distribute? Are there links?
Steven Spielberg’s main films like E.T, Jurassic Park and Jaws are produced by Universal Pictures they all achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film at the time. Universal Pictures doesn’t really produce on genre of films, they produce different types e.g. Fast and Furious, The Mummy, American Pie and Les Miserables. The links could be that he uses Universal Pictures because he knows that they will help make his movies popular and also they are very well known and recognized.  

Task Five

 

Choose and advertisement from a magazine of any genre and analyse the following aspects, in terms of what it tells you about the product and the audience it’s targeting?

I’ve chosen an advertisement for make-up, from ‘Glamour Magazine’.

Use of image;
The main image is of the model, showing off the make-up and the effect that gives. She isn’t focused on the camera, she is looking away also the image has been taken in quite a soft light which doesn’t make her standout. The sharper image is in the bottom right-hand corner, it shows the make-up that the model is wearing making the make-up stand out more than the model, making the reader focus more the product. This makes the image very effective because it’s showing people that’s they can look like a model with just a simple touch of make-up.

Use of colour;

The image doesn’t use much bright colours, it uses neutral colours and black, the black border gives the image quite a sophisticated and formal look. Also the main image gives quite a dusty effect, showing that the model is in the background and the bolder colours standout. The three main colours used are pink, white and black this gives the advert quite a simple effect not making everything overcrowded or too in your face. The simple colours gives the advert a calm scene.

Use of font;

The advert doesn’t use too much words, the use of the font is very simple and effective. The font is bold and in white, this is very powerful against the simple pinks and stands out on top of the black. Also the use of the simple font really shows that the make-up is simple and easy to use. The font doesn’t standout over the picture, but also the advert isn’t full of words and uneasy to understand, the little use of font is more effective.

Choice of words;

The text is bold and simple and main points are in bold, ‘Max Factor’ is in bold and at the top, sowing straight away that the image is all about that. Also they don’t waffle about their make-up, they use intriguing words like ‘voluminous lashes’ and ‘perfect smoky eye’. This is drawing the readers in making them want to get that look also the word ‘Now’ is in capital letters, which gives the sense that this make-up is only available for a limited time making the readers buy their products. ‘#MAKEGLAMOURHAPPEN’ they use a hashtag this is connecting with the social media and drawing a bigger target audience for their products.

Task Four

My Media consumption over the period of a week

Week One		Television	Radio	Social Media	Magazine
Monday		1h	0h	4h	30mins
Tuesday		0h	1h	3h	1h
Wednesday		2h	2h	1h	0h
Thursday		3h	0h	0h	2h
Friday		0h	1h	1h	1h
Saturday		1h	30mins	0h	30mins
Sunday		30mins	2h	2h	1h

Week Two		Television	Radio	Social Media	Magazine
Monday		2h	1h	30mins	30mins
Tuesday		1h	0h	2h	1h
Wednesday		0h	30mins	1h	2h
Thursday		2h	0h	1h	0h
Friday		30mins	1h	0h	1h
Saturday		1h	0h	30mins	30mins
Sunday		0h	1h	1h	1h

What do you consume the most?

Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

What do you consume the least?

Radio and Magazines

Three texts that will help bring my media up to speed.

Media Week Magazine, Media.Edusites.co.uk, The Daily Mail.

Task Three

                      

                  Why I've taken Media Studies for A-Level