Edits

Action match: a shot which cuts to another continuing a piece of action movement between the shots. This allows the audience to see a smooth action despite a cut in the shot.

Shot/reverse shot: cutting between two people having a conversation. Helps create a contrast between the characters and make them seem different.

Cross cutting/ parallel editing: where the editor cuts between two separate scenes happening in two separate locations at the same time. This illustrates a contrast or link between them.

Jump cut: a cut that moves to a very similar part of the same scene but missing a piece of action out- increases pace.

Fast pace cuts: to increase the speed and excitement in an action scene.


Wipe: used to move the action on without a jump cut making the edit seem smooth and calm.


Dissolve: this is when the first shot is on screen and the second shot starts appearing on top of it more and more until all you can see is the second shot. Often used to link two scenes or 2 people together.

Visual effects: often depends on what the characters reactions to these special effects are. Graphics on screen

Graphic match: a cut from one shot to another that look visually the same. They are there to show us a clear link between two scenes.

Slow motion: is used to create a dramatic element in an action scene. 

Introduction

Hello! My name is Jess Castledine and I am a student at Ashfield School. I live in a small town called Kirkby in Nottinghamshire. I am currently studying Media, Photography and German. I decided to take Media Studies, as I found that after studying this subject at GCSE for two years, I really enjoyed the topics that we covered. Also, I thought that the elements we covered in Media would be useful for my future career and maybe even everyday life. I would love to have a career in either the photography or media industry, as I find this is something I enjoy incredibly.

Some of my favourite films include The Hunger Games and Divergent, though really I will watch any films which look interesting! I like soap operas too, including Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale.
One thing I would love to do when I'm older is travel; I'd really like to see the world, and especially go to Disney World! As well as this, I especially enjoy going to concerts; I love listening to music and seeing my favourite bands perform live. I find that concerts are a great place to be and the atmosphere always feels uplifting when the bands are performing. My favourite bands include The 1975, Catfish and The Bottlemen (my favourite album being The Ride) and many more. I have a few dislikes too, especially insects; I find them really scary! I enjoy being around family and friends too; when my friends and I are together it's guaranteed that we're always laughing.
I have had an interest in photography for quite a while now, so when I heard that I could do it at GCSE, I was over the moon! I received an A* in GCSE, so hopefully my skills from photography can help me with my media studies course.
I am interested in all aspects of media, so choosing this subject has enabled me to try out all of
the different things which I will cover in this course. I am intrigued by how films and other videos are produced, and I think that AS media will help me to broaden my knowledge of this. Hopefully over these two years, I'll learn lots of different techniques within the media lessons which I can use in the future.

I Am Legend

Today, we looked at a film called 'I Am Legend'. The plot was based upon a post-apocalyptic storyline which included features which were conventional in this type of genre. The opening scene consisted of a TV screen and two people talking; this was very similar to the opening of the modern film 'Romeo & Juliet'. We see a TV presenter and a doctor in the opening scene; the doctor is called Dr. Alice Krippin. The use of the surname 'Krippin' could relate to the Doctor Crippin, who was a criminal in America, and this leaves the audience wondering if any influence was taken from this and put into the film. In the film, we see that the doctor is very hesitant, whilst she explains that she has found a cure for cancer, and this has an impact on the audience as they may think that she is lying.

Additionally, there were many similarities in this film to 'The Book of Eli'. The use of establishing shots in the beginning of the films gives the audience a clearer understanding of where the events are going to take place. Moreover, in both films, animals are seen as a source of food; the main character (Will Smith) in the film 'I Am Legend' tries to shoot deer, but is unsuccessful. This is similar to 'The Book of Eli' where we see a masked man who has shot a cat. From this, we can learn that food is scarce and their only way to survive is to find and shoot animals.

Both of the opening scenes have very similar elements which are intense and leave the audience on edge.

Alone

Today, we looked at a short post-apocalyptic film called 'Alone'. This clip showed a man, who was living in the world on his own, after a drastic event had occured. The ending of the film left us with questions; was the man actually alone or is this a metaphor? What triggered the light in the house?

We were asked to come up with an alternative ending to which had been used in this clip, that would be effective and tension-building. As a class, we came up with different ideas, which were all good ones, that would be suitable if this film was remade.
For example, the ideas of footprints and footsteps were suggested, as this would create an eerie, mysterious atmosphere to the piece. Additionally, ideas like splashes of blood and weird smelling aromas surrounding the character were also given.

Furthermore, we watched the opening scene to a film called 'The Road'. This is also a post-apocalyptic movie. The plot of the story portrayed the stereotypical aspects of a film of this type; isolation, an abandoned city, desperation for supplies etc.

Camera Angles

13/09/16

In today's media lesson, we have been looking at the different camera shots/angles which are used throughout films. We watched a few short clips which described lots of different angles to us. The camera shots include extreme long shot/establishing shot, long shot, extreme close up, close up, mid shot, two shot and point of view.
We also learned the definitions of these shots and why they are used:

• Extreme long/establishing shot - you are able to see the setting, where the action is going to take place and this is generally used at the start of a film.
• Long shot - enables the audience to see the character from head to toe; you are able to see the relationship with the character and the setting.
• Extreme close up -  this draws the audience further into the characters emotions, which makes it seem intense.
• Close up - this is a shot of the head and shoulders of a person (and maybe even a close up of a certain object). There is usually not a lot of background shown, which helps the audience to focus on the main subject and the characters emotions.
• Mid shot - this is the view of a character from the waist up. The audience is able to see the facial expressions and the body language of the characters.
• Two shot - this shot includes two characters and their relationship with each other.
• Point of view - with this, the audience sees the characters viewpoint: this engages the audience with the characters motives.

Also, we looked at different camera movements which occur in films. Tilt shots, tracking shots, zoom, arc shots, crane shots and panning shots are all used frequently throughout movies.

• A tracking shot is used to follow the action; this means moving the camera backwards and forwards to let the audience follow what is happening. 
• A tilt shot is the upwards and downwards movements of the camera on an axis which shows the sense of height and power of a particular character.
• Zoom is used as an alternative to a tracking shot; this shows the focal length of the character.
• An arc shot is a full or semi circular shot around an object or a character; this increases the intensity of what may be happening. 
• A crane shot is used in a film to follow the action in a vertical direction; the camera is simply attached to a crane.
• For left to right (or vice versa) movements, a panning shot is used to create the effect. 

Additionally, we watched the opening scene of The Book of Eli. From this, we were able to see how film directors use different elements to creating a film.
We looked at the setting, sounds, camera movements, the plot/narrative, characters and how gender is shown. As a class, we were able to see that by using ghostly, mysterious sounds and adding this in with certain camera movements, like a tracking shot for example, it sets a good scene of a peculiar, eerie setting.