Introduction to Media: Blog index

1) First blog task - 10 questions

2) Denotation and Connotation

3) Introduction to Photoshop: fruit bowls

4) Mise-en-scene: Stranger Things

5) Camerawork: shots and angles

6) Camera movement and editing

7) Blog feedback and learner response

Blog feedback: Learner response

 Y10 blog feedback October 2024

SEHMBI, Jaskaran

WWW: This is an excellent start to GCSE Media – well done! I really like your detail in the Mise-en-scene Stranger Things clip analysis. Your Photoshop fruit bowl practical examples are brilliant - this shows you are developing the technical skills that will hopefully result in excellent coursework in Year 11. Keep up the good work! 

EBI: The main thing to work on is pushing yourself to complete any extension tasks for any blogs to ensure that achieve that top grade in Media Studies. On a side not, consider the theme you use for your blog to avoid the text and background being different – I think this happens when you copy information from Media Macguffin, have a play around with different themes and click ‘View blog’ to see what it looks like as a preview.

LR: Create a new blogpost on your Media blog called ‘Blog feedback and Learner Response’. Copy and paste this WWW/EBI feedback into your blogpost then complete the LR tasks/questions below.

Reflect on your first month of Media. What do you feel is your strongest piece of work so far? What is your weakest? What specific skills or knowledge do you need to develop over the rest of the course?

• I think my strongest piece of work is the Mise-en-scene task
• My weakest piece of work is camera movement and editing

Camerawork task: Movement/editing

 1) Handheld- The camera is held manually. Makes the scene feel more real for the audience and it creates a tense and fast-paced atmosphere

Pan- When the camera is moved left or right horizontally, sometimes done quickly (whip pan). Gives the scene a sense of action and drama.

Tilt- Vertically moving the camera up or down. Forms a feeling of intensity and thrill as the character jumps from a large height.

2) Cross cut- jumping between the same cut more than once, usually with two people. Makes the scene intense as both characters are looking at each other dramatically. 

Cut away- jumping from a cut then jumping back. Makes the scene suspenseful because the cuts are going back and forth which makes the audience feel anticipation

3) 

Medium close up:

Only the face and shoulders of the character are visible. Allows the people watching to understand the characters emotions through his facial expressions.

Low angle:

The camera shot is captured from below. Makes the character seem powerful, helps the audience understand the character better through how he is portrayed using camera angles.

Camerawork task: Shots/angles

1)

• Medium close up- only the head and shoulders are shown. Shows the emotions of the character and may focus on any important objects they may have in their hands, draws the audiences attention to the object

• Two shot- two characters are shown together usually using a medium close up. Compares the emotions of both characters side by side, helps the audience see two perspectives or emotions at once

• Close up- only the face is visible. Zooms in on the characters facial expressions to reveal their emotions, allows the audience to see the inner thoughts or feelings of the character

2) Low angle- a camera shot taken at a lower level from the subject. Makes the character look dominant or superior, gives the audience an idea of what the character is like and how they are represented in comparison to other characters

Extension:

Establishing shot: 

To introduce the audience the setting and give them an idea of what the show is about. It also adds suspense as the scene is set at night.

High angle: 

The camera is towering over the character to make him look small and weak as he is in an inferior position compared to the monster. Helps the audience understand what the character and the monster is like

 

 

Mise-en-scene: Stranger things analysis

 Costume: The character at the start is wearing a white lab coat. This suggests to the audience he had some kind of important job in the facility, and he might have had something to do with the alarm and the creature.

 Setting: The beginning was set in a laboratory. This implies that the creature might have been created or tested on in the facility and escaped, the scene was also set at night, which creates an atmosphere of suspense and mystery 

Lighting: Throughout the opening scene, flashing lights were shown. This tells the audience that something unusual and unnatural is happening. However this also creates a feeling of anticipation, as the audience can sense something bad may happen

Actor placement/movement/expression: The character at the start and the kid that was taken having shaky hands emphasises how urgent the situation is for both of them when facing the creature and makes the people watching just as anxious

Props: The kids playing a board game and riding bikes at night illustrates their childhood innocence that contrasts and foreshadows the predicament one of the children later in the scene. This surprises and intrigues the audience as the small detail of the game has such a big impact on the scene.