Trailer Analysis - The Shallows (2016)

 This trailer opens with an establishing shot from a high angle over looking the sea. In the water there appears to be a dark shadow which could possibly be foreshadowing danger for the main protagonist. In the distance on the beach a small figure is visible, this shows that the area the protagonist is in is very isolated. 

There is next a quick sequence of shots from various angles in which the female protagonist appears to be independent and strong. She is fighting the stereotype of females being weak in this sequence. At this point in the trailer there isn't any non-diegetic sound only the diegetic sound of strong waves which amplifies the idea isolation.

As the sequence we as the audience change our point of view to the shark's POV this is to begin creating fear for the main protagonist. The pace of the camera movement increases as we become closer to the main protagonist in the shark's POV. This movement is accompanied by non-diegetic sound increasing in volume, this adds to the suspense that the audience would be feeling.

The tension is then broken by matching the sound that represents a shark bite with the image of the main protagonist eating an apple. This removes suspense but still foreshadows to the audience that there will be intense action as it continues.

As the footage continues there is another change in atmosphere as we watch the main protagonist get dragged underwater. This shows the danger that she is through use of lighting as all shots leading up to the intense action have been bright. The red filter placed over the top of the footage only added to the feeling of danger that the character is in as it is showing that she is injured with explicitly showing a wound.

Overall I think this trailer used lighting, sound and camera movements really well when creating tension for the audience. After watching this trailer I think I will pay close attention to the lighting I use as it can have a big impact on the message the footage sends across to the audience.

  

Initial Ideas

Representation Theory - Gender and Identity

Representation : Concerned with the way that people, places, ideas and events are presented to us.
 What appears on screen, in print etc. is not by accident, but a process of decision making from within  media industries.

Laura Mulvey - Male Gaze
  The concept of male gaze is that its how the audience views the people presented, Mulvey believes that the character is either Male or Female. Through a males point of view they see women on the screen and sexualise them, the women featured are there to appeal to male sexuality.

Judith Butler - Social Construction

  'Gender is a social construction - it is learned and reinforced by society'

  

  The theory suggest that we as a society are manipulated and constructed depending on what kind of outlets we chose to view. So someone who decided to watch reality TV will chose their fashion and style based on what they have seen celebrities wear who inspired them. However a person who watches more action based TV programmes such as 'The Walking Dead' may chose to dress differently because they havent been constructed to want to dress and look like celebrities form other programmes. 

Lacan - Psychoanalysis and 'The Mirror'

  

  'The media is a mirror by which we form our own identity.'

This suggests that the media we are exposed to is meant to seem like a copy of society and so people think that is how the world really is. When actually you cant get an exact replica and so the products we are open to are suggesting that what we see is the same as reality. 

An example of this is a TVshow called 'Gogglebox' as it doesn't fully represent anything and can be seen as the observers paradox. As soon as the cameras are turned on it's no longer a true representation of society. 

David Gauntlett 

  'Identity is complicated, everyone's got one'

The theory suggests that the social world is no longer confident in tradition, a different approach to life is risky and needs to be worked upon to make over our own patterns of being.

Representation Theory - Age and Culture

Henry Giroux (1977)
  Giroux describes 'Youth' as an empty category in the media as representations of young people are constructed by adults.

• Reflect adult concerns, anxieties and needs
• Do not necessarily reflect youth identity. 

Dick Hebdidge - Subculture

  Hebdidge said that subculture is "a group of like minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and who develop a sense of identity which differs to the dominant on to which they belong" 

E.G :  Rockers, Chavs, Skaters, Hipsters.

Youth is not considered a subculture as all of these separate groups are subcultures of Youth.

Anthony Giddens - Traditionalist vs Post Traditionalist views of Society

  Giddens says ' we are living in a post traditional society where we are much less concerned with precedents set by previous generations and that our options are only limited by what the law and public opinion allows' 

• The mass media is likely to influence individuals' perceptions of their relationships. 
• We are encouraged to reflect on our relationships in magazines and self-help books (explicitly) and in movies, comedy and drama (implicitly)
• The news and factual media inform us about the findings of lifestyle research, and actual social changes in family life. This knowledge is then 're-appropriated' by ordinary people, often lending support to non-traditional models of living.
• Information and ideas from the media do not merely reflect the social world, then, but contribute to its shape, and are central to modern reflexivity. 

Representation Theory - Stereotypes

Tessa Parkins
  She suggested that stereotypes have elements of truths and are based on repeated representation, both in society and within the media.

Stereotypes for myself :
        Age - Teenagers are loud, like going out to party's, and also like drinking.
        Gender - I don't think i really fit the stereotype of a teenage girl as i am not too concerned with                          my appearance.

Richard Dyer
  Richard suggested that stereotypes legitimise inequality by marginalising certain individuals and social groups.


Medhurst (1995)
  Medhurst suggests that stereotypes are a type of media shorthand which provide an easy point of contact, as they allow a producer of media texts to communicate quickly with an audience

  They are also used for less significant characters or when introducing new characters.

  If a character is becoming long term they will begin to challenge and audiences first impressions, which provides for more complex enigma narratives.

Levi-Strauss - Binary Opposition
  Strauss believed that the way we understand words is not so much to do with the meaning they directly contain but by understanding its opposite.

  Binary opposites are usually the basis of our understanding of a story, they are used in films to help with plot lines and to easily establish to an audience which 'side' we should be supporting.
  E.G : Good vs Evil
            Black vs White
            Protagonist vs Antagonist
            Young vs Old

Stereotypes in Romantic Comedies
  In Romantic Comedies the female character is usually showed as being weaker then the male. A film which goes against this idea is 'The Proposal' as the female lead ( portrayed by Sandra Bullock ) is shown as being the stronger more independent character compared to the male lead ( Ryan Reynolds )

  In this picture it is clear to see that Sandra Bullock is in control of the situation while Ryan Reynold cowering away from her.

Narrative Structure

Narrative Structure

•  Takes place in a particular time or space weather realistic or imaginary.
•  Unfolds in an ordered series of events - though not necessarily chronological.  
•  Events in a narrative are brought by the logic of cause and events.

Key Terms

Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution.

Types of Narrative structure:

Linear - in chronological order

Non-Linear - The narrative moves around in time and space using flashbacks.

Circular - The narrative will start and end on the same idea.

Parallel - Multiple narrations run alongside each other, the action will switch between them,               throughout. 

Different types of characters

 Flat Characters ; Characters that do not go through any substantial change throughout the story or have much substance - they represent stereotypes.

 Round Characters : Characters who are more developed and change throughout the narrative.

Levi Strauss - Binary Opposition

  This is the contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or thing that creates conflict.

This relates to narrative structure given that it can only end on a resolution of the conflict. The opposition can be visual or conceptual or through soundtrack.

Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium and Disequilibrium

• The original state of equilibrium 
• Disruption
• Recognition of Disruption
• Attempt to Repair
• New Equilibrium 

Narrative Theory

Vladimir Propps - Spheres of Action
 He also suggested that a narrative is built up from folk conventions.
From his analysis of folk tales and legends, Propps determined that there is always seven certain 'types' of characters.

1. Villain
2. Hero
3. Donor
4. False Hero
5. Princess
6. Helper
7. Dispatcher

 In class we briefly looked at a season trailer for Dexter to try and allocate characters to one of the seven above. We determined that Dexter is portrayed as a Villain but also a Princess as he is shown as more vulnerable and in need of help. In the trailer we are then introduced to another character which appears to be Dexter's sister she is portrayed as the Hero at first because she intendeds to help save Dexter but she then transitions into being a Helper.

Noam Chomskey

  Chomskey said that narrative is a fundamental aspect of human existence as we need stories with recognisable structures to make sense of and describe human life.

Roland Barones - Narrative Codes

•   Enigma - Mysteries.
•   Action - Used to create tension.
•   Semantic - Deeper and alternative meaning.
•   Symbolic - Within a text. Props and costumes. Used to create meaning.
•   Referential - External body of knowledge.

  

Audience Theory - Indirect Media Effects

Cultivation Theory: Daniel Chandler 1995
- This suggests that media effects can culminate and build up slowly over a long period of time.

- Our beliefs and ideologies are built up throughout our lives/ handed down to us from previous        generations.

- Prolonged exposure to certain ideas can result in changed behaviour

- Suggests we have a set of existing beliefs and the media reinforced those ideologies.

Reception Theory: Stuart Hall 1980
- Media messages have a range of possible meanings.

Encoding: Originator has a point they want to get across

Decoding: Audience viewing the advert will decode the message in a variety of ways.

Hall's 3 Readings
 Dominant Reading : Agree and receive the message the producer wanted.

 Negotiated Reading : Audience accepts but also resists the message.

 Oppositional : Completely reject the message.

Relative Autonomy - One sense I am free to make my own choices based on my lifestyle.
                               On the other hand I am bombarded by adverts and may find the ultimately more
                               difficult to resist.

Web 2.0: David Gauntlett
 - Web 2.0 is the second stage of the internet. Characterised especially by the change from static web       pages to dynamic or user generated content.

Prosumer : Both consumers and producers of media texts.

Web 2.0 in trailers :

• Hashtags
• Links to Websites
• Links to ticket sales
• Links to social media pages

Responses to Web 2.0

David Buckingham 

 - Celebrates the power of active users'. It ignores structures that shape those powers.

Andrew Keen

 - 'Cult of amateurs' believes that it devalues the professionals.

 - Removes Gate-keeps. Talent and expertise are devalued in favour of those who shout the loudest. 

Audience Theory - Limited Media Effects

This focuses on the way media messages spread throughout an audience and are base on the trickle down effect. So messages may originate in the media, but they are received by the audience in a variety of ways.

Directly - By personally viewing the media text e.g. by watching a news broadcast

Indirectly - through social interaction with people who have received the media text directly. or a combination of the two (direct reception and interaction)

The Two Step Flow

• The media alone isn't responsible for audiences views - rather audience's involvement in primary groups where messages were discussed.

• Messages flow from the media to opinion leaders.

• The majority of the audience receive the original message in a form mediated through influential people in primary groups.

Three main elements 

• Primary social groups are more significant than the media in forming our opinions.

• Interpersonal sources of information are significant influences in how people receive and respond to media messages

• Limited direct effects - Any changes in peoples behaviour is likely to stem from the way media messages are communicates - the form they take.

Uses and Gratifications Theory: Bulmer and Katz 1972

This suggests that audiences pick and choose both the media and the messages they take from it. They use the media to satisfy their individual and group needs (gratifications)

Information - newspapers

Entertain - comedies

Interact - social media

Escapism - fantasy films

Identify - social realism

Audience Theory - Direct Media Effects

This model focuses on the role the media has. It has a strong and direct influence on audiences but it is usually negative.

Basic Communication Model - Shannon and Weaver 1949

1. Sender has a thought
2. Sender encodes thought into a message
3. Message is transmitted through a channel
4. Receiver decodes message 
5. Receiver internalizes message.

The Hypodermic Syringe

This suggests that media texts transmit messages that are then picked up by audiences. Media messages could be said to be a bit like drugs injected into the body that the audience is not equipped to defend itself against. This also suggests that information from a text passes into the mass consciousness of the audience unmediated and therefore as an audience we are manipulated by creators of media texts. However The Hypodermic Syringe assumes that the audience are passive and that they all react the same way.

Inoculation Theory

This theory suggests that eventually we become desensitised and are less likely to be moved.
For example with horror movies the producers have to continuously provide new content to keep audiences engaged.

Audience Members

Passive: This suggests that different media texts have an effect on the audience as the don't actively engage and because of this do not question the message of the media text they just simply accept what they are being presented.

Active:  This model of consumption suggests that audiences interact with the text and create their own meaning. They do not simply accept every media message but develop their own interpretation.

Link To Year 12 Blog

This is the link to my Year 12 Blog
http://chsmedia2015rskey.blogspot.co.uk/