In what ways does your media product use, challenge or develop forms and conventions of real media products?
This question is essentially a Genre/Style question. It is asking for evidence which explains how you have used, challenged and/or developed the forms and conventions of your chosen Genre/Style in your own film.
So, you must be able to explain the typical conventions of your chosen Genre/Style. You should also be able to identify typical Genre/Style conventions along with any progressions and/or deviations from the norm in your three research films. Finally you should identify and illustrate how your own film has implemented the typical Genre/Style conventions.
So, you must be able to explain the typical conventions of your chosen Genre/Style. You should also be able to identify typical Genre/Style conventions along with any progressions and/or deviations from the norm in your three research films. Finally you should identify and illustrate how your own film has implemented the typical Genre/Style conventions.
The response to this question must be submitted in two forms:
1. A written blog page which is supplied with supporting videos and images which illustrate points made.
2. A Directors Commentary of the written blog posted on the blog page.
The Directors Commentary recording and editing is to be completed after the timed controlled assessment.
The following plan should be followed when completing this section of the evaluation:
1. Aims
2. Objectives
3. Identifying and Illustrating the Genre Conventions
4. Identifying and Illustrating the implementation of Genre Conventions in your own film.
5. Conclusion
1. A written blog page which is supplied with supporting videos and images which illustrate points made.
2. A Directors Commentary of the written blog posted on the blog page.
The Directors Commentary recording and editing is to be completed after the timed controlled assessment.
The following plan should be followed when completing this section of the evaluation:
1. Aims
2. Objectives
3. Identifying and Illustrating the Genre Conventions
4. Identifying and Illustrating the implementation of Genre Conventions in your own film.
5. Conclusion
1. Aims
The aim of this page is to explain how your film uses, challenges or develops forms and conventions of real media products. So, your aim is to compare typical examples from the genre with the 3 research films, explaining how media language, representation, ideology and narrative uses, challenges or develops forms and conventions from the genre/style.
2. Objectives
The objectives of the page will list every step you will take to achieve your aims, so the objectives here must:
Identify and Illustrate the typical conventions of your chosen Genre/Style.
Identify and Illustrate how your film uses, challenges or develops forms and conventions your chosen Genre/Style.
Identify and Illustrate the typical conventions of your chosen Genre/Style.
Identify and Illustrate how your film uses, challenges or develops forms and conventions your chosen Genre/Style.
3. Identifying and Illustrating the Genre Conventions
This section demands a demonstration of your research into your chosen Genre/Style, which identifies and illustrates the typical conventions of your Genre/Style. The Genre/Style of a film can be determined through a films use of:
1. Media Language
2. Representation
3. Ideology
4. Narrative
So, your first step in this portion is to list the typical conventions of the Genre/Style explaining how your research films use, develop or challenge the typical conventions of the Genre/Style.
1. Media Language
2. Representation
3. Ideology
4. Narrative
So, your first step in this portion is to list the typical conventions of the Genre/Style explaining how your research films use, develop or challenge the typical conventions of the Genre/Style.
All Genre's will implement certain methods in their Media Language, Representations, Ideologies and Narratives to identify themselves to an audience. For example, the traditional Observational Documentaries use handheld 16mm cameras which shot mainly medium and long shots to maintain objectivity, with real, unconstructed locations, real people not actors, natural light with mostly diegetic sound. The narrative generally features a binary opposition to propell its drama, with the representations usually featuring the everyday lives of people, predominantly of working class origins, sometimes featuring an oppressive party favouring the oppressed party, usually with a strong Liberal ideological ethic.
The following film, Divorce Iranian Style, released by Second Run DVD and screened on More 4 is a wonderful observational documentary featuring the trials and tribulations of Iranian women seeking a Divorce, The film presents a very different representation to the usual portrayals of Iranian women. These women are extremely vocal and do not fit into the traditional stereotypes of a silent and permissive Iranian woman, often portrayed by western documentaries. The film implements all the traditional conventions of the Observational Documentary but also adds a feature from the Expository Documentary Mode in that it uses a voice of god, voice over which explains the positions the action but does not take away from the validity of the piece.
The following film, Divorce Iranian Style, released by Second Run DVD and screened on More 4 is a wonderful observational documentary featuring the trials and tribulations of Iranian women seeking a Divorce, The film presents a very different representation to the usual portrayals of Iranian women. These women are extremely vocal and do not fit into the traditional stereotypes of a silent and permissive Iranian woman, often portrayed by western documentaries. The film implements all the traditional conventions of the Observational Documentary but also adds a feature from the Expository Documentary Mode in that it uses a voice of god, voice over which explains the positions the action but does not take away from the validity of the piece.
Peter Watkins, the psuedo documentarian, develops this style in his film Punnishment Park where he implements the exact conventions of the observational documentary with one revision in that he escalates the drama with the fictional
scenarios based on an actual law the US Government passed in the late 60's to highlight a paticular social injustice. Watkins had developed this style over a series of films and through this body of work his sense of observational realism and poltical commentary became the signature of his work.
The following videos are all directed by Peter Watkins. The first two relate the Punnishment Park (1971) and feature trailer and a clip from the film and the third and fourth are from War Game (1965) and Priviledge (1967) respectively.
scenarios based on an actual law the US Government passed in the late 60's to highlight a paticular social injustice. Watkins had developed this style over a series of films and through this body of work his sense of observational realism and poltical commentary became the signature of his work.
The following videos are all directed by Peter Watkins. The first two relate the Punnishment Park (1971) and feature trailer and a clip from the film and the third and fourth are from War Game (1965) and Priviledge (1967) respectively.
|
|
The modern Psuedo Documentarian, Chris Morris, like Watkins, manipulates the documentary style to present very abstract and satitical comedy/dramas which often challenge social norms and conventions. His Psuedo News Show Brass Eye saw Morris get into considerable trouble when he aired his faux investigation into paedophilia but what particularly influenced my film was his show, Jam. Morris presented variations of all of the documentary modes considering varying existential scenarios which ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime. In featured clip from episode 1, Suicide with an Escape Clause, we are presented with a talking head that describes the suicide. The next video is from the infamous Brass Eye Special.
|
|
4. Identifying and Illustrating the implementation of Genre Conventions in your own film.
In this section you are required to explain how your films has implemented its Cinematography, Mise-en-Scene, Editing and Sound, Representation, ideology and Narrative when compared to the traditional coventions of the Genre/Style from your three research films. So, you should firstly provide an illustration and an explanation of how your film has used, challenged or developed the Genre/Style conventions studied in your research films.
The following example is taken from a Psuedo Documentary I have made which will eventually feature a Voice Over explaining the motivations of the protagonist. The film entitled Gregory Pecked or An Empty Bliss Beyond The Sea (For European Audiences).
The following example is taken from a Psuedo Documentary I have made which will eventually feature a Voice Over explaining the motivations of the protagonist. The film entitled Gregory Pecked or An Empty Bliss Beyond The Sea (For European Audiences).
The film attempts to implement the conventions of the Poetic, Observational and Expository Documentary Modes in a Drama/Comedy format and keeping to the conventions of the Observational Documentary style the film itself uses natural light, real locations and non actors. It's cinematography is very stylised implementing precisely composed images which present its subject mainly in close up, from behind or in shadows to create an enigma for the audience in terms of an actual visual complete identity.
The editing is spaced between long takes which are intercut with rhythymic and metric montage which arranges an anachronic unilinear narrative featuring flash forwards and flash backs to the same location in its past, present and future representing the memories, dreams and hopes of the protagonist. All aforementioned features could be considered to fit the conventions of the Poetic Mode. All non diegetic sounds are taken from The Caretker. It was used as his process of creating the music involved sampling old 78's and processing the samples to bring attention to the degradation of the record. The end result is like the sub consicous of a decaying organism, much like the protagonist in the film. The full Caretaker album, An Empty Bliss Beyond this world is placed below.
The editing is spaced between long takes which are intercut with rhythymic and metric montage which arranges an anachronic unilinear narrative featuring flash forwards and flash backs to the same location in its past, present and future representing the memories, dreams and hopes of the protagonist. All aforementioned features could be considered to fit the conventions of the Poetic Mode. All non diegetic sounds are taken from The Caretker. It was used as his process of creating the music involved sampling old 78's and processing the samples to bring attention to the degradation of the record. The end result is like the sub consicous of a decaying organism, much like the protagonist in the film. The full Caretaker album, An Empty Bliss Beyond this world is placed below.
The film follows a traditional downfall, angry young man narrative however, the voice over, not featured here follows the Expository Mode in that it presents a voice positioning the audeince with a quite light hearted and accepting
explanation to his suicide. Rather than being doomed like the angry young man he is rather looking forward to it.
The film's themes are mostly existential and attempt to go against the harsh gritty dark realities of most psuedo documentaries. The film tries to present a sublime version of the banal, everyday dramas that catergorise British documentaries.
explanation to his suicide. Rather than being doomed like the angry young man he is rather looking forward to it.
The film's themes are mostly existential and attempt to go against the harsh gritty dark realities of most psuedo documentaries. The film tries to present a sublime version of the banal, everyday dramas that catergorise British documentaries.
5. Conclusion
In this section, you are required to sum up the points you have made in the page into a paragraph that illustrates exactly how your film uses, develops and challenges the Genre/Style. For example, The film, like Morris and Watkins attempts to present a realistic portrayal of life by implmenting traditional documentary styles however, whereas both Morris and Watkins produce somewhat jarring realities, the film presents a very dark concept with a far warmer and more optimistic approach.